Chapter 2

Poot! Poot! Poot! Poot! Zip! Zip! Pee! Pee! Pee!

Dr. Amarita Netel has been assassinated. I repeat: Dr. Amarita Netel has been assassinated.

Zip! Zup! Poot! Poot! Poo!

Tom was standing in the hallway connecting the kitchen to the living room when he heard the news.

His parents were sitting at the kitchen table. Everything just stopped. You could hear a pin

drop. Ask any person where they were when they heard that Amarita was shot. They'll tell you.

This was the defining moment of the 2020's. After that things changed. Oh did they change.

But, here, let me get you caught up.

Amarita Netel was a child prodigy who moved to the United States from India in the mid 2000's

to attend Harvard. She first received an MD/PhD in Neuroscience and soon thereafter a PhD in

Computer Science. This was all before her 20th birthday. She invented the headslot. Enough

said. The headslot is a conversion chip with USB port that can be surgically embedded in a

person's head. Amarita patented the system for accurately encoding and storing mental processes.

She created an early prototype to the I-Eye, simply called X, which was intended to treat

Alzheimer's. People carrying the gene for Alzheimer's could receive the headslot and

transfer as many memories as possible into the X before the disease took hold. All of these

memories could then be assimilated back into the mind as time took its course.

This was the idea, anyway. However Apple got hold of the X and created their own version,

the I-Eye, which was marketed primarily for entertainment purposes. The genius of the headslot

and the X is in their simplicity, and this is also their downfall. Shady doctors

were springing up in rundown offices offering bargain headslot surgeries. It's estimated that

as of 2023, 34% of Americans have a headslot, with 32% of them having knock-off versions.

Amarita was involved in a lengthy legal battle with Apple at the time of her death. She was

shot by a crazed, conservative Christian outside of her home in Los Angeles in June of 2023.

Within hours of her death all of the headslots became deactivated. Apparently Amarita hid

a secret line of code in the headslot program which would deactivate all headslots if

need be. It was thought that a member of her family was instructed on how to do this in the

event of her death, and most of her family had already fled to India.

The public and Apple are furious, and quite frankly many people don't know how to live without

their I-Eye. People kept it plugged in all the time while it drugged them and kept them sane in

an increasingly schizophrenic society. Tom was no different. He became depressed and spent

hours just fingering his open, empty headslot, staring into space. One day his mood was brightened

when a letter came in the mail.

Dear Mr. Thomas Saucin,

I-Eye Tom! How are you? Are you enjoying your summer? Have you made any plans yet? Boy do

we have a special opportunity for you! How would you like to work on the set of a real life

Hollywood movie?! Universal Studios is looking for young, talented, and ambitious college

students to intern on the set of an upcoming movie. A remake of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is in the

works this summer, and filming is going on practically in your backyard, in Harrisburg!

We'd love for you to join our team and gain valuable experience while having

a ton of fun! Please get back to me A.S.A.P if you are interested!

Walter Shoemaker,

Director of Intern Operations,

(717)232-4099

Maybe this was just what Tom needed. It would be fun, and as Walter mentioned, good experience.

He talked it over with his folks and it was decided. He'd be heading to Harrisburg in July to

begin a new adventure in his life. But little did he know that the white hot fire of Satan would be

waiting to infest his every pore, challenging him to discover if any part of him is good at all, and

teaching him the hard way that it is impossible to fight evil alone.