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Homecomings That Don't Suck Rarely Make Good Stories

from The Forgotten Meme, A Cyberpunk Fairytale (Fp1) by Paul Shapera

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lyrics

Deep under the city, in the great, dark room the little meme had crawled out of, the odd, ever evolving biosphere had produced a species of cyber schistocerca. It possesed a hive mind that was born connected to the net, and found that its growth and evolution could best be fed by feeding on human consciousness. Thus it had co-opted certain corners of the net, creating traps whereby unsuspecting human psyches could be caught and caged like cattle, whilst the species fed upon them and grew.

Rebecca and the meme fell into just such a cage, where Rebecca was to be devoured by the hungry creatures. The meme wrapped herself around the girl, to protect her.

As the creatures came to feed, they paused.

Creatures:
you are one of us we see
why are you in the cage
step aside and leave us to our dinner for this day

Meme:
a distant music
there’s a beauty that’s elusive
in a world the vulgar reign and reek of
your hunger sated soon by others lost and wayard
leave this one she’s all that i love

Creatures:
you are foolish little meme
and we desire to feed
step aside and leave us to
our meal which we all need

we must feed and we must grow
you should understand
stay with your own kind down in
the sacred twilight land

Meme:
a distant music
there’s a beauty that’s elusive
in a world the vulgar reign and reek of
your hunger sated soon by others lost and wayard
leave this one she’s all that i love


Creatures:
you are foolish little meme
and so all alone
step aside or face our wrath
we'll chew on this one's bones



They laughed and came at her.

Memes are passive things, mostly unpossessing of consciousness, except in rare cases. But they are many in number. So very, very many. And the psychic residue they absorb from their amused hosts is incalculable.

The meme cried out into the net, calling to every other meme that could hear her cry. From across the great expanse of cyberspace they responded, a massive swirl of psychic residue pouring forth. And with this voice, the meme spoke again.

Meme:
a distant music
there’s a beauty that’s elusive
in a world the vulgar reign and reek of
your hunger sated soon by others lost and wayard
leave this one she’s all that i love

you cannot have her
you'll cannot take this one
you cannot have her
she is all i love


The psychic typhoon formed a great tunnel, and as Rebecca clung to the little meme, she found herself pulled back through the vortex, past the game and finally into the waking world where upon her lap sat a strange little metallic creature; a little frankenstein like rodent, that gazed up at her with love.

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from The Forgotten Meme, A Cyberpunk Fairytale (Fp1), released June 30, 2018

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Paul Shapera Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Cama’s attempt to commune with higher beings failed; she only found Decadent Dottie. Together they roamed, indulging in dangerous forms of psycho-neural self-exploration which Cama hoped would present the key to her people’s further evolution. It only led to her destroying her people so that one of their pets could evolve. She sat in her former civilization's rubble and listened to Paul Shapera. ... more

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