/lit/ - Literature

Grob stood up.

„Eh, my body really needs to get some work.“

He was standing in a dark back street which was partially lighted. That street was rather cramped. Two regular men could not have walked side by side along it. Allthough there was plenty of room for single person. Grob could see several street forks, each leading to their own cramped passage. Streets have occational doors and windows, probaly used for back alley bussiness, you know, the kind of bussiness that doesn’t like public attention.

Grob walked up to one of the doors and entered. Inside he was greeted by a pitch black room. He nervously mumbled:

„Special savings account for dogs, just today, for half off.“

A door on the another side of the room opened and leaked in a thin strand of light. Bearded fellow stuck his head trough the opening and gestured with his head to call Grob in. Grob stepped into a hallway with a single candle flikering on the wall further up.

In the dark light, Grob couldn’t make up what exactly the old lad was wearing, but he could see that he was wearing a long mantle. It seemed awfully inappropriate for the local climate.

The man in the mantle led Grob into, what seemed, a basement. From the looks it looked like the bearded guy has fashioned it into a personal workshop. Room contained a table in center and walls filled with various kinds of eletronic equipment, cupboards, tools and chemicals.Bearded man turned and locked the basement door after Grob.

„Grob, I studied that object. Largely, it still remains a mystery. The item is obviously a vintage – definately not current gen. It seems to function well with modern equipment. It can accomplish all the basic tasks that one would expect from it. If you got the money, I can install it now.“

Grob handed him the money and fellow in the mantle told Grob to lay down on the table at the center of the room. Grob turns face down and the bearded figure starts to work on the mechanisms on Grob’s nape. After an hour or so the procedure was completed.

„Since it is not exactly standardized tech, it will take some time for your brain to adapt to its peculiarities. Now, you must really be on your way, I have other things to attend to.“

Grob was hurried out of the building, back into that dark back alley. He walked towards the closest main street. His journey was rather difficult thanks to the new installemnt. The modification still needed getting used to. When he reached the main street, he had mastered the controls good enough to stop being a wasted drunk and started moving with the agility of a mentally disabled person. But in that part of town this was not enough.

Grob crossed paths with a bunch of gruffians. Gruffians, seeing his retarded manner of locomotion, jumped him and dragged Grob with them.