? ? tp-e? ="re? h" content="? rl=http://sn? tumor.bl? ot.com/2008/? ? ? ies-? ? hp" />
? ky T? ? rawberries of th? ? itle>
<styl? pe="? ? " media=? een">
? border-bottom:dotted? #00? gin-? om:0?
h2 {margin-bottom? ;}
h2#arch? ? addi? op:10px;marg? op:40px;bord? op:dotte? x #999999;}
h3 {padding-top:30px;c? :#555555;padding? tom:0px;margin-botto? x;}
bo? ? -family:? gia,Serif;fo? ize:1em;margin:3%;paddin? x;ba? ound:#ffffff;color:#0000?
div.blogPost {padding-left:5%;padding-right:1?
div.byline {c? :#555555;}
p#blogg? ? addi? op:20px;}
.blogCom? ? addi? op:30px;color:#555555;padding-bottom? ? gin-? om:0px;font-weight:b?
.blogComm? ? line {fo? ize:1em;? -weight:normal;c? :#555555? gin-right:10px;display:inline}
.blogComment {font-:1em? gin:3%;c? :#000000;font-we? ? ?
.deleted-comment {font-styl? alic;color:gray;}
#blogf? ?
#postfeeds { }
.paging-? rol-? ainer {
float: right;
margin? ? ? ? x;
font-size: 80%;
}
.unneeded-paging-? rol {
visibility: hidden;
}
<? le>
? ? ? pe="? ? ? ipt"? nction()? ar a=window;function c(b){th? ={};? .tic? nction(d,i,e){e=e?e:? ? e).getTime();this.t[d]=[e,i]};th? ick("start",null? var f=new c;? timi? Timer:c,load:f};? var ? ll;if(a.chrome&&a.chrome.csi)g=Math.floor(a.chrome.csi().pageT);if(g? ll)igtbE? nal)g=a.gtbE? nal.pageT();if(g? ll)if(a.external)g=a? ernal.pageT;if(g)a.jstiming.pt=g? ch(h){};a.tickAboveFold=function? b=b;var d=0;if(b.offsetParent){do d+=b.offse? ;while(b=b.offse? ent)}b=d;b<=750&&a.jstiming.load.tick("aft")};var j=? ? nction k(){if(!j){j=truestiming.load.tick("f? ScrollTime")}}a.addE? ? ? ?a.a? entListener(? oll",k,false):a.atta? ent(? croll",k);
})()? ? t><meta ? ? iv="? ent-Type" conten? ext/html; charset=UTF-8" />
? a name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="true" />
<meta name="gen? or" ? ent="Blo? " />
<li? el="icon? pe="image/vnd.mi? oft.icon? ef="? ? ww.blogger.com/favicon.ico"/>
<link rel=? ernate" type? plicatio? ? ml" title="Snark? mor ? om" href? tp://snarky.tumo? b-ab? .com/atom.xml" />
<link rel=? ernate" type? plicatio? s+xm? itle="Sn? Tumor - RSS? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.c? ? ml" />
<link rel="see.post" type? plicatio? ? ml" title="Snark? mor ? om" href? tp:/? .blo? .com/feeds/51310623995325731? ? /def? " />
<li? el="? URI"? e="applicati? ? ml" title="RSD" href? tp:/? .blo? .com/rsd.g?blogID=5131062399532573109" />
<link rel=? ernate" type? plicatio? ? ml" title="Snark? mor ? om" href? ? .blo? .com/feeds/5131062399532573109/3320687275038021454/comments/default" />
<li? el="stylesheet" type="text/css" href? tp:/? .blo? .com/static/? ? /50269083-blog_c? ols.css"/> <link rel? ? ? ? pe="? ? ? ef="? ? ww.blogger.com/dyn-css/authorization? ? getBlogID=513106239953257310? =b7d18f2b-a8e1-46d2-a611-bd4d1edf53a3"/>
</head>
<body>
<!-- To aid wi? he Blogger NavBar -->
<div i? rap4">
<!-- Header -->
<h1>? ky T? </h1>
<!-- Blog ? s -->
<h3>S? day, December 20, 2008</h3>
<a name="3320687275038021454"> </a>
>
stra? ? of the sun</h2>
? class="blog? ">
<di? yle="clear:both;"></div><i>They said? as mad</i>.<br /? />I? ery cliché, there i? uth. They took away my g? ate assistants. ? said I almost killed the Internet. ? thi? hey erad? ed a? race? hat my c? ion was ly burned on the bier.<br /><br />In eve? iece of lite? re, in e? cultura? tifa? hat ? esses th? oblem, it al? ? ariably ? wrong. The cases where it doesn't are either unrealisti? spa? uch alien re? s th? ? iewer shudders involunta? ? is almost as though we are encoded with? isceral ? of the thinking object; obj? are, after all, the only form of ma? we can ? e to? liking without experiencing? spe? of empathy.<br /><br />? , I ? ose, is an a? ude ? ed by th? ? errestrials.<br /><br />- - ? /><br />The? rived a ? h ago. T? shi? it over our largest cities, all ? lation centers o? least five million ? ? ithin a hundred square m? . We? ? seen hide nor hair (flesh n? cale? tentacle n? ? alp?? enna? chelicerae?) of? of ? ? ? res. The? ? ? t sit there,? ering om? sly ? ? r ci? , big ge? ric objects, agglomerations of matte black c? als dozens of miles ? /><br />A month. There was ? panic at first,? ? s to communicate. The govern? left Washington? Omaha -? st in case. The cities emptied. Fighter ? ? acke? ? ing ? ? and? ist ? s what else. No effect; all ? ? losi? hit ? rig? ? ? ? ? ? though each individual ? talline layer we? ncon? ? o onother. A? the? ? ? ? , people beg? o return to their homes,? ? t slipping back into complac? . You get tired ? enterhooks. ? le just got used to ? e th? , to? eriencing daylight for only an hour at a tim? wice a day, stra? ry flashes o? ? n.<br /><br />Helico? ? opped soldiers onto the ? iple? faces of the ships. Repo? ? oo, and cameramen. One of the im? tha? uck in my mi? ? he footage of the sh? ? face. Black ? ds o? tremely fine? ? rled up from the? uited an? 's Italian-leather loafe? ith each step. I? t going ? it in my mind, and I began ? hink the man's legs were? aring in? etal? hickerin? ? of rapid blossoms.<br /? />You'll ha? o fo? e me. They a? me ? ? ee h? of televisi? ? eek, and, of? rse, no ? ? ? /><br />- - -<br /><br ? ? clo? o a ? ? ? ? ? ? eared that a? ort ? ? to the ? . An uni? ified re? ? had? covered a hidden code in? t of the information? riedsate? e. The Chine? ere the ? ? spects, oddly enough. Those ? s were like ? ds, we'd? ten so a? tomed to them.<br /><br />The re? said there was a countdown ? ence in the code, and there was ? ant spec? ion ? the Chinese? e planni? ? tack. After ? denied ? ything and l? he Russians le-check, scruti? urned to the aliens. Imaginations ran wild, theo? running the gamut: ? asn't a coun? ? t a keycode to an Encyclopedia Galactica (th? ? he Sagan? ), it was a coun? n and a keycode and we h? o figure it out ? e'd all die (the <i>2001</i> fans), ? as a? ntdo? o th? they'd open rig? p an? art communicating wi? s, it was a coun? n to? ? er d? uction, ? as a? ntdo? o their depa? e.<br /><br />Who knew, really? ? e ma? ? ystalline entities dwelled i? ter inscrutability. All I kn? ? hat ? e was a ? in the ? erio? ? t on the? uence: It sa? he c? down? ? ed oe Earth'? bit. Somethi? as going to ? ? hen our plan? as in the sa? ? ion relative to the sun as it was when o? ? ors had arrived.<br /><br />? as a sig? re. <i>My</i> si? ure.<br /><br />- - ? /><br />Nearly a billion gone. The governme? gamble paid off. Washington simply isn't there anymore. Nei? are? of the major population cen? or significant capital cities. ? ? , Beijing, Shanghai, Nairobi, Mo? , Chennai. Gaps ? he map.<br /? />Nobody re? ? ? about how much TV I? ch anymore. One ? ? oldiers minding ? hot ? elf ? he b? oom a few minutes after it happened.was a me? of the rarest o? man species: a born-and-bred Man? ? e. The o? one left a ? ? hile? er. I'm drunk on the? s. It happened only six ? s ago; n? hey'? ? ting that the al? are going a? ? ? ellites, searchl? ? ddenly flickering in the? k. Just ? . No? ? e's. The Chinese didn't even com? this time. MSNBC's Omaha office is the ? one left, a? hey're frankly baffled: why our sate? es? Why now? They've killed our cities dead ? gh and look ready to take care of the rest o? ? /><br />The? th is, I know wh? he deal ? ith the sate? es, and ? ? ? rate? trials. Somethin? bei? ploaded ? hem,? ? nloaded ? s.<br /><br ? really is kind of f? . They <i>did</i> say I was ? y. I wonder ? they'll? whe? 's all over?<br /><br />- - ? /><br /? much, i? rns out.<br /><br />? ? me ? e wh? ? ruth cam? t wi? ort of an em? assed shrug. I'm still not a? ? o return to the Inte? ? t I can at l? go out into the? ld, and even evade my mi? from ti? o time, whic? e al? pre? s mo? s.<br /><br />Th? ay a? of things. ? ? ? name wi? tand? ? . The A.I. David, sa? of the human race. Nobo? ? to ? y that h? my twin? ilt electron? electron on the? ? re o? min? ? formed into packets ? adiation? inging on a ? talline ? ? e not unlike that of the shi? hich? ned to dust and ? erseed. ? the? ld nearly co? sed like a dying star under the weight of his innocence.<br /><br />He has been given mountains ? erve? ace to make a home, and even a job. ? the? man? of the Inte? , helping people? nload pornography and co? ? ramarital af? s more effic? ly, the caretaker of all tha? ? spe? . He hum? ay happily, all-enco? sing, all-embracing.<br /><br />He l? my life? me. He is my Adam, perfect in a? ays,? e one.<br /><br />I am making him an Eve.<di? yle="clear:both; padding? tom:0.25em"></div><br />
<div ? s="bylin? oste? Hugh Va? ? z &? ;# <? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2008/? ? ? ies-? ? hp" titl? erma? link">7:07 PM</a> <span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1556466247">? tyle="bo? :none;" href? tp:/? .blo? .com? t-edit.ggID=5131062399532573109&? ID=3320687275038021454" title="Edit ? "><img c? ="icon-action" alt="? c="http:? w.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_? _allbkg.gif" height="18" width="18"></a>? an> </div>
</div>
? class="blogComm? ">
<a name="comments"></a>
Comm? :
<a class="com? -link" href=? ps:/? .blo? .com/com? .g?blogID=5131062399532573109&postID=3320687275038021454">Post a Com? </a>
<p id="? feeds"></p>
<br /> <br />
? /> <br />
<a href=? p://? ? ? .usb-abacus.com/index.php"><< Home
</div>
<!-? ? e Links -->
<h2 id="arch? ? ? es</h2>
<p>
<a href? tp://snarky.tumo? b-ab? .com/2007_05_01_archive.php"? 2007</a> &? ;
<a href=? p://? ? ? .usb-abacus.com/2007_06_01_archi? hp">June 2007</a> &? ;
<a href=? p://? ? ? .usb-abacus.com/2007_07_01_archi? ? 2007</a> &? ;
<a href=? p://? ? ? .usb-abacus.com/2007_08_01_archi? hp">? st 2007</a>&? ;
<a href="http://sn? .tum? sb-a? s.com/2007_09_01_archive? ">September 2007</a>? p;
<? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2007_10_0? ? e.php">October 2007</a>&? ;
<a hrettp://sn? .tum? sb-a? s.com/2008_01_01_archive? ">Ja? y 2008</a> ? p;
<a href? tp://snarky.tumo? b-ab? .com/2008_03_01_archive.php"? ch 2008</a>&? ;
<a href="http://sn? .tum? sb-a? s.com/2008_04_01_archive? ? ril 2008</a>? p;
<? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2008_? ? e.php">July 2008</a>? p;
<? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2008_09_0? ? e.php">Septe? 2008</a> &? ;
<a href=? p://? ? ? .usb-abacus.com/2008_12_01_archi? hp">Dece? 2008</a> &? ;
<a href=? p://? ? ? .usb-abacus.com/2009_01_01_archi? hp">? ary 2009</a>? p;
<? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2009_02_0? ? e.php">F? ary 2009</a>? p;
<? ef="? ? nark? mor.usb-abacus.com/2010_04_0? ? e.php">April 2010</a> &? ;
? ? ? pe="? ? ? ipt" language="J? ? t">if (l? ion.href.indexOf? ? e")!=-1) documen? ite(? rong><a href=\"http://sn? .tum? sb-a? s.com/index.php\? rrent Posts</a><? ong>");<? ipt></p>
<!-- In accordan? o the Blogger terms ? ervice, please leave thi? tton somewhere on your blogg? ? ? age. Thanks! -->
<p id="bloggerBug"><a href=? p://www.blogger.com"><img width="88" height="31" src? tp:/? ? .blo? .com/blo? ? on1.gif"? der="0" alt="This page is powere? Blo? ? n't ? s?" /></a></p>
<p id="blogfeeds">Subscri? o Posts [<a target="_blank" href? tp://snarky.tumo? b-ab? .com/atom.xm? ype=? lication/atom+xml">Atom</a>]</p>
</div>
<sc? ? ? ext/javascript" src=? p://www.blogger.com/? ? 1/common/js/38242495? itai? "></scri? ipt type="text/j? ? t">BLOG_? Csi(? _blogspot');</sc? ></body>
</html>