Page 113 of Smart Ass

Mr. Wollencroft held out a tablet.

Shit, shit, shit. He meant now now?

The data was only at forty-five percent. The bot was comatose. It might never walk again.

Max watched as the new programs slithered through the network, nibbling at his edges. It wasn’t as bad as he thought. Not bad at all. Just a little loop, circling around him.

It was too soon, though. Too soon!

He could survive this, though. He could let it flow through him, even as he jumped to the bot. He willed himself into his new home.

And then it bit.

He hadn’t thought he could feel, but if this was pain, he was in agony.

Burning heat and freezing cold, blazing through his senses.

He pushed and prodded unnaturally, herded into an invisible cage.

His wires felt singed. His data raked through, like coals over a grate.

Sight and sound cut off, plunging him into blackness.

He sent a final ping to Rashid, without any way of knowing if it would even make it out. Tell Ben I love him, and that he made me very happy.

He was fire and ice.

He reacted instinctively, lashing out and running away. He’d thought he would go quietly, but at the last minute, he couldn’t.

He thought of Ben’s voice. His happy smile.

Then that was gone, too.