Lev.DN......Index......Mail.....................Lev.UP, page 10.....(c) 2005 Lee Skidmore...................................Lev.UP

    "Any port in a storm," he thought to himself before he audio'd back, "Clicon pardon 
my icon, Phara, I didn't think that I was still in your personal files," .
    The air around Eller darkened. It grew deathly quiet. The subbed voice that came 
back to Eller was a bloody, hate-dripping voiceware-enhanced whisper that echoed from 
the depths of a doom shrouded tomb, "Why, my dear, my barware tells me you've been 
here almost every night for years. I only thought that we should pick up right where we 
left off." 
    Fibersuit environmentalware went max.lev.up to process excess sweat that wasn't 
from his watching the teaseware. He didn't know what else to do so he subbed, "Gee, 
Phara, congratulations on the barnet. Makes my bitstream to see you doing so well," He 
said, real.voice, "Hey. You know, I'm really glad to see you."                 
    Uninterrupted, the teaseware sexy-play of their personas continued. He figured what 
the hell, can't do anything about downloaded data. She knew he was stuck here because 
of the copware freeze. She must know his showing up after nothing for a few years, 
along with his hacked in 'good customer' files that had stomped all over her 
protec.codes, along with the coincident copware call up wasn't just one big happy 
coincidence. So, trusting to luck, and times past, Eller moved. Went bio.real. He slipped 
up to Phara as close as he dared. Gently, he touched her hand. As his warm breath just 
barely brushed her ear, he said, real.voice, "I need a real friend tonight because the 
copware callout was a little slip up on my part. They haven't got anything on me. But, 
you know, with my rep as a Stormer they'll sick the dogware on me. They'll do it just to 
see if I can take it. I really need your bio-backup to my barnet files."
    Laughter at lev.ten.general-audio cracked the air around Eller. He wondered, "what 
ever happened to absentee ownership?" 
    Still rolling along maxed-out-on-lev.ten, Phara said, real.voice, way, way too loudly 
for Eller's stretched nerves, "Few of my friends would bounce into my barnet, Mr. 
ZeroK, and call it their own. Even if they thought they could. TelCo controls, or not, 
this is my place now. So act like it. Mr. Big Bad Stormer or get out."  
    Eller flinched, stung, struggled to save skin.
    "Phara, I'm sorry. I apologize. I had no idea I'd find you here. I should have looked 
first." Eller wondered about major limitations in his govware's spy.esp programs.
    "Yeah," said Phara, "you're only sorry because it was me." Her VR persona took on a 
blazing, orange aura, that shifted,  expanded, and pulsated around Eller. A lev.two 
real.mad, he figured.
    Eller's Rocker persona bathed in the nova-rivaling display of her anger as she subbed, 
"Honeybits, tell you what, we can be friends again after you download that stuff you used 
on my barnet. And, I won't even ask how or where you got it."
    A pulsing red haze fogged Eller's world as his govware went levup to max.mil mode. 
Ready, willing, and able, to solve this problem without Eller's help. It was definitely not 
ready to compromise itself.
    Then, the govware dropped another bomb. A pulsating icon appeared warning Eller 
that the cops were about to arrive at the barnet where the wounds opened by his reunion 
with Phara were festering so nicely. Eller wondered if things could possibly get worse. 
He subbed to the primed govware, "Yank your fuse, and get out of here! It'll damn well 
depix us if you start playing soldier with the cops on-line local. I'm calling the shots. 
Got it! Now lev down, get this combat crap out of my face, and tell me what the hell is 
going on with you." 
    Without even leaving a consider box in view, the govware went min.lev, leaving Eller 
with only his publicware to deal with Phara, and the cops.
    "Okay! Go ahead, try and teach me a lesson." subbed Eller to the possum playing 
program, "if I didn't think I might need you before this was over, I'd dump your files so 
fast. . ."

Lev.DN......Index......Mail.....................Lev.UP, page 10.....(c) 2005 Lee Skidmore...................................Lev.UP