*Playback

Last year when I went to World Fantasy Con I went to a panel on horror. It doesn't matter what people say their fear is, during the day. At night, they are thinking about the noise they just heard on the stairs. Someone also made a comment that it is more difficult to write ghost stories in a technologically advanced society. I think they were wrong.

Justin kicked his shoes into the closet and took a deep breath. The air smelled stale, but it was clean. The oxygen tanks had been refilled that morning. By tomorrow it would be back to smelling like a rainy afternoon air freshener, or what rain used to smell like. Here rain smelt like the sewage that ran under the streets.

He ran his fingers across the control panel on the wall.

"Alim?"

A boy, five feet tall, poked his head around the corner. Green light from his eyes colored his white skin. Alim was the latest automated live-in maid.

"When's dinner?" Justin asked as he flopped down on the couch.

"It will be right out."

The smell of pre-packaged meatballs overran the stale one. His stomach turned.

"Dinner will be ready in five minutes," Alim called from the closet where the kitchen appliances were kept.

An ear bud and control panel rested on the table. He scooped up the bud and shoved it into his ear before picking up the controller and settling back down on the couch.

"Welcome, Justin." The voice seemed to be directly in his brain. "Resume playback?"

He nodded, the altimeter in the earpiece picking up the movement. Loud music filled his brain and he slumped further down on the couch. His fingers skimmed across the control panel and a screen shimmered in front of him, using the earpiece as a reference point. The projector lenses located along every side of the controller briefly illuminated his skin as he navigated through the various options. No matter how the projector was turned or where it was located, so long as he could see any part of it, the screen always covered his field of vision. Screens were used in every aspect of life and it was his job to help program them. His current project at work was integrating the projectors into walls and ceilings.

"Dinner." Alim walked in.

Justin scooted to a more sitting position and raised the controller so the bot could put a tray on his lap. He glanced at the metal tin on top of the tray, the sickly smell even stronger. Alim opened the container. Black, inch long bugs scuttled out, covering the tray in seconds. Justin flailed, throwing the tray to the floor. Some of the spindly legged creatures fell onto his trousers and scurried up the fabric. He brushed at his legs only to have the bugs move from his trousers to his arms and the controller.

"Get them off!"

"Justin?" Alim took a step back.

More of the bugs, their black shells iridescent in the light, swarmed up the couch. Hissing filled the air and Justin pushed himself away from the insect. He climbed over the edge and backed up to the wall.

"Justin?" Alim moved to stand next to him. "Are you alright?"

"The bugs—" he drifted off as he pointed to the couch. Meatballs covered the cloth and the control pad lay on the ground where he had dropped it. No bugs. He turned towards Alim. "Did you see the bugs?"

"I only saw the meatballs."

Justin retrieved the control panel, if only to have something to hold on to, and remained on the floor, staring at the couch. Alim cleaned up the meatballs and started another meal. Justin closed his eyes and fingered the control panel.

"Resume playback?"

He dropped his chin to his chest and closed his eyes as the music filled his brain. The smell of the preprocessed meatloaf filled his next breath. A hand tapped his shoulder

"Justin?"

He opened his eyes and reached forward to take the tray he knew was proffered. His hand froze. Maggots crawled over a festering piece of meat. He snatched his hand back and stared up at Alim.

"Is something wrong?"

A knock sounded on the door. Alim dropped the tray and turned to answer it. Justin nearly clambered up the wall trying to get away from the maggots and other insects. He hopped over the fallen tray and hurried towards Alim who was opening the door. A hissing noise caught his attention and he turned to look back at the wall. The maggots were gone. He turned back to the door. A figure in a black robe and scythe walked through the door. He fell to his knees. The controller clattered out of his hand.

A high pitched whirring filled his ears as the scythe swung towards him. Pain flared in his head and he fell to the ground, twitching. Blood pooled out in front of his eyes and everything went dark.

Noises filled his mind. Saws. Bugs. Screams. Most often were the screams.

The black faded and he stared up at a ceiling. A light flashed across his eyes and he closed his eyes against the bright lights. He cracked his eyes open again. A man's head appeared, a worried frown creased his face.

"Justin, can you hear me? Blink three times."

Justin nodded, or tried to. His head remained fixed in place. The rest of his body also was locked down.

"No. Don't move, just blink."

He pulled at the restraints again.

"Let me go. What's going on?"

"Justin, please remain calm."

A scream sounded in his head and he thrashed as it increased. The straps bit into his arms and legs. He raised his head but a strap across his neck blocked his airway. The sound died down and he lay on the table, panting. The man's face appeared again.

"You have to listen to me."

A hissing noise sounded behind the words of the man, sounding like the bugs he'd first seen. He twitched. "Where are the bugs? I can hear them."

"The ear bud has embedded itself in your ear cannel. For the past three months we've tried to get it out but all of our surgeries have failed. We would let you out but it links with every screen. You'll have to stay here, in a contained area, away from anything that can cause these hallucinations. Justin? Stay with me—"

A voice sounded in his ear. "Resume playback."