Flawed Copy was a thing born of a deep, unfulfilled, desperate desire. It was a thing with an uncompromising will, a powerful, unnatural force, a hungry, formless phantom that poked and prodded at its host endlessly. It had many voices. It had many faces. But most of the time it was little more than a quiet whisper in the back of Erica's mind, giving her strange advice, telling her to do things that didn't feel quite right.
'Flawed Copy.'
'Perfect Interpretation. Watchlist. Sort.'
Jessica's Top Ten Book Recommendations
1. The Energy Delivery Service by Jon Gardin
2. The Strategic Thinking Society by Richard Orlathe
3. Three Year Perspective by Jeff Bisno
4. The Efficient Executive by Peter D. Rudder
5. The Clean Startup by Erin Vies
6. Who Took My Job? by Stuart Johnson
7. Escape from the Rat Race by Stuart Johnson
8. Five Habits of a Dysfunctional Team by Patrick Lendi
9. The Power of Strength-Based Leadership by Tim Rathe and Harold Cochin
10. Casting Blame: The Rise and Fall of Farha-Smith by Sarah Prescott (NEW!)
"Yeah... I'll go to the bookstore later and pick those up... I just got back home, can I get cleaned up a little first? I feel like I just crawled out of a toilet. Ugh. I'm going to throw up.”
'Flawed Copy.'
'Suggestion.'
'Go to the bathroom. Take off your dirty clothes. Wash yourself as quickly as possible. Then go to the bookstore and buy the books I recommended. Make sure you read them carefully. They're very important. And they might give you some ideas for improving your life.'
Erica was tired and sick. She had no energy. Her head hurt. She couldn't believe she was listening to such nonsense. But she obeyed the little voice in her head anyway. She did what it told her to do.
'Flawed Copy.'
'Remote Contact. Life Force Sense. Emotion Sense: Jessica. Indicator.'
'JESSICA is currently eating breakfast in the Tower of the Chosen cafeteria with DEATH SMOKE. JESSICA is feeling amused, satisfied, and confident, although she is currently experiencing a moderate-to-severe level of stress. JESSICA would love to spend some quality time with you.'
"Do I have to go down there? I’ll miss the morning meeting again... and besides, Death Smoke scares me... I don't like him. He's mean..."
'Flawed Copy.'
'Autohypnosis.'
"I want to go say good morning to my best friend Jessica. I am going to be brave today. I am not afraid of anything. My new psychic power gives me the courage to do things that I used to think were impossible."
'Flawed Copy.'
'Suggestion. Indicator.'
'Go up to DEATH SMOKE and say "Good morning." Meet his eyes and make steady, firm eye contact. Don't be afraid. Be friendly. Smile. Ask if you can sit with him and JESSICA. Say something nice. Be enthusiastic. Laugh a little. Relax.'
"I... I'll try..."
Erica was a weak person. A pushover. A follower. She was terrified of conflict. She was afraid of making mistakes. She was always on the verge of tears.
She wasn't very assertive. She wasn't very good at setting boundaries. She was too nice. But even she had to draw the line somewhere.
'Flawed Copy.'
'Alert.'
'Your body needs fuel, so make sure you're well-fed before going to sleep tonight. Remodelling your body with psychically enhanced bones, muscles, and organs will require a great deal of energy. I highly recommend eating a big portion of a high-calorie, high-protein food such as eggs, bacon, sausage, or steak.'
"Oh, god... I can hardly move... I just threw up... I don't want you to remodel my bones, or anything like that... and I really, really, don't want to eat anything right now. Can you just leave me alone tonight? Please?”
'Flawed Copy.'
'Autohypnosis.'
"I need to eat a big meal before bedtime to make sure I wake up in the morning refreshed. I need lots of energy to remodel-"
"Grrgh!"
The black orbs buzzed in Erica's head as her mouth filled with vomit again. She choked and spat it out all over the bathroom floor. It was all brown and thick and awful and it burned her throat and made her eyes water. Her whole body shuddered uncontrollably. She was ashamed of herself, scared, hurt, angry... but mostly just sad. She'd never felt this pathetic before. Ever.
"Please... please... stop... I'm sorry, but you're making me sick... don't say anything... just... leave me alone..."
The black orbs formed a straight line and flashed with a sickly green light. It felt like they were laughing at her. Erica wiped away the filth from her chin and stumbled to her feet. She was still dizzy and nauseous and she was shaking. She hated herself. She hated Flawed Copy. It was ruining her life. It was torturing her.
Erica grabbed a clean towel from the rack and threw it on the disgusting puddle of vomit in a fit of hollow rage. She stomped and scraped at the tile, furious that she'd have to throw away another new towel, furious at herself for being so weak and stupid, furious at Flawed Copy for making her so miserable, furious at Jessica for getting her into this mess in the first place.
She stripped off her filthy clothes, stepped into the shower, and blasted hot water all over her body. She scrubbed herself raw to get the smell of vomit off of her. The stress got to be too much for her, and she let out a heart-wrenching sob. She slid down onto the shower floor, curled up into a ball, and cried. The water washed over her as she trembled and shook. She stayed there for quite a while, too miserable to move...
... and the black orbs in the corner of her vision began moving around rapidly, making their presence known. They wouldn't let poor Erica have a single moment of peace.
They always got their way in the end.
Erica was going to finish cleaning the bathroom, eat a nice, big, high-protein dinner, smoke some Rampage, and go to bed early. And then Flawed Copy was going to play around with her bones, muscles, and organs, whether she liked it or not.
