The Autistic Blood Vessel glided unheard through the viscous fog. Alexandru Vromihene was trying to maintain his vertical position on the deck, next to the commander of the mercenary troop. Behind them, they waited motionless, wrapped in black robes that covered their entire bodies. They had fired

"Vivek, how's Bart's neural activity going?" asked the fat man who wore glasses and had a thin beard around his mouth, giving the impression of dirt created by oily hands rubbing against shiny skin. He barely finished his question when he alerted her

I look at the rope and the little body falls, horrifying howl, I hold her in my arms, we both lie down, it's raining on us, it's raining. Slowly, very slowly, the rapture grows fainter, the noise goes away, goes away, it's far away now, far away... I'm looking, it appears like a flash... light... light...

The subway was full of headset-wearing corporate people staring blankly, trying to ignore each other. After two stations a seat becomes available, which Ruxandra takes immediately, fitting her bag between her legs. Robert kept his iPod in his right pocket