Caught among the effluvium of a remote data node, this letter sits awaiting deletion. Its destination and source addresses have been scrubbed
Dear J,
It’s been a month since I arrived on Rubi-Ka and many amazing things have happened. I’ve fought hideous mutants in an abandoned subway; raided the coffers of a heretical sect brooding on the border of civilization; battled corruption incarnate on the edges of a parallel world; received the blessings of a strange elder race seemingly made of light; and more or less completely replaced all of my internal organs with artificial devices, making me stronger, faster, and more sensitive than ever before – though everything I eat has had a funny metallic tang ever since I replaced my brain last week.
Oh, and I can turn myself into a bird. You have no idea how much fun that is!
It’s everything we dreamed and more. Everyone and everything here is kinda’ larger than life. Ambient notum is present in the atmosphere and many people are a little drunk on the power, losing sight of those less fortunate in the face of the planet’s many wonders. I’ve tried to do some good where I can, but there is a lot of apathy here.
Still, I’ve kept my promise thus far – I’m living. Every day, I find some new region unexplored, some new mission needing attention, and some new challenge inviting my best efforts to conquer it. This planet is a whirlwind of experiences just waiting for an eager traveler to whisk away. I’ve done my best to ride that magnificent vortex every day with a smile on my face and a pleasant greeting on my tongue.
But I think of you a lot. It’s not the same without you.
Not that I’m lonely, though. Through happy fortune, I met up with an amazingly knowledgeable renegade who sort of took me under his wing and introduced me to his clan. After a while, they took a shine to me and now I’m an actual provisional member of a real rebel clan! It’s just like the holo-vids we used to enjoy where the renegade forces strike back against the evil corporate empire! It’s brilliant! I wish you could see it.
As of late, it looks like I’m being drawn into some sort of plot by an intimidating family of dangerous terrorists (or “freedom fighters” as one of my new clan mates suggested). It’s a little scary, but I’m determined to prove to the cynical patriarch of this odd tribe that real good does exist in the universe and can be accomplished in our lifetime. You’d be proud.
And Shannon would be furious. Heh.
It’s too bad you couldn’t make it here. I’ve ridden the reaper express tons of times and it’s an amazing thrill. To be honest, I’m a little addicted. I hope you don’t mind. There’s just nothing like watching that last spurt of blood hit the claw of the mechdog that’s ripped your neck open and is even now feasting on a chunk of your mangled windpipe – you feel your life slipping away and it’s like trust falling backwards off the edge of a skyscraper… for a moment, you’re just falling… and your heart is in your throat… and you know this is it, that you’ve gone too far and there’s no going back… and then you slam back into consciousness at eighty kilometers-an-hour, your heart beating fit to burst. Only it doesn’t. You come down from the adrenaline rush and everything returns to normal. I go on living. It’s amazing.
I’m just sorry you couldn’t be here to enjoy it.
I hope things are good where you are.
I’ll write again. Promise.
Take care.
Lots of Love.
-V
