The Solace Pill (Omnibus Edition) by Jason Werbeloff

Author:Jason Werbeloff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: speculative fiction, cloning, philosophy, technology, stress, telepathy, famine, 3d printing
Publisher: Jason Werbeloff

Chapter 13

Jordan Summers, known to Carry as ‘Ken’, had been sitting through the Solace Theatre performance for what felt like fucking eternity. He glanced at the chronometer on his watch.

2249-08-20

16:50

Only five minutes had passed since the show started, but it felt like years. Taking the Solace Pill deactivated his overlay, and that was a problem for Jordan. Ken was the personality that Jordan had stolen from his last mark, and ‘adopting’ Ken was hard work. M, Jordan’s overlay assistant, had to constantly keep Ken at the forefront of Jordan’s mind, so that Jordan stayed in character. At the same time, M had to keep the other personalities Jordan had stolen in the background, disallowing them access to Jordan’s consciousness.

This took up a lot of processing power for M, and the more personalities Jordan stole, the more work M had to do. So taking a Solace Pill was difficult, because with M offline, Jordan had to perform these mental gymnastics himself. Sitting through a Solace Performance was torturous.

Jordan’s jaw was tight, his molars clenched together from hours of grinding.

It’ll be over soon, he reminded himself. Fuck man, it should be over already.

But instead of the comforting feeling of time returning to normal, of M coming back online, of the world syncing into focus, that bitch on the stage continued playing her damned piano. The notes pounded against his forehead, accentuating his headache.

Relax Jordan. Just relax.

Jordan hadn’t heard that voice in years. M had been on top of that little problem, or so Jordan thought. Kore’s personality could be fucking irritating, especially when Jordan was trying to have a good time.

He’d met Kore a hundred and seventy years ago, on a sky-yacht. The ticket was fucking expensive, but it turned out to be more than worth it. Sky-yachts were the in-vogue playground of the wealthy, and he was aboard to find a mark to float him for a few months.

Jordan first noticed Kore because of her appearance. Almost everyone chose to reprint young, vibrant, and in peak health. But Kore looked much older than the other guests on the yacht – it was hard to say just how much older, since he hadn’t ever seen an aged person. But from watching antiquated holo-vids, he guessed she looked about sixty.

That day on the sky-yacht, Jordan couldn’t stop ogling Kore’s wrinkles, the soft jowls that gathered under her chin.

“They say staring is impolite, you know,” she said to him, a naughty smile playing on her fat lips.

“Sorry!” Jordan said, suddenly embarrassed. “I … I just haven’t –“

Kore laughed – a disgusting warble that made Jordan cringe. But below the repulsion, his cock stirred.

They spent the next few days together. Two holiday-makers frolicked on the yacht, sailing kilometres above the surface of ocean and city, the sun their constant companion. They swam in a bottomless pool with a transparent forcefield base. Through the shimmering ambrosia, the buildings below shivered in and out of focus. He was a god, swimming through the heavens, laughing at the meaningless lives below.

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