|
sort
of diary, which I instinctively pocketed. On the floor by
Mike were innumerable empty Chinese restaurant containers and
packages of stale twinkies. On either side of his computer
were two large piles of fanfold paper, each about three
inches thick. On top of one was scrawled "AE--Artificial
Eroticism," on the other "Manual of the `X' Language."
Despite my excitement--or perhaps because of it--I knew I had
to act quickly. I was very probably the first one to
discover Mike's death, and I had to act responsibly. I
picked up the phone, which had been working perfectly all
along, and asked
to be connected with the local police. I explained to them
as best as I could what I had discovered, and they instructed
me to touch nothing and remain where I was until they got
there.
I had trouble understanding why it took them so long.
After all, this was a small town. I paced through that house
for a good two hours before anyone else appeared, and during
that time, I could not help but disobey them in one detail.
I went back into my friend's room. Mike's computer screen
was completely blank, so I decided it couldn't hurt to power
it up one last time. What with all the cables, I could see
that it had to be some kind of souped-up 386. Perhaps there
was some clu
|
