Still shaking, Aida tucked herself into a tighter ball. The too-vivd memory of seeing her only friend back in her last job and the fate that had befallen him had never really left her; nor had the "incident" (or as it was so described in the letter to Arnie) that had happened shortly afterwards. The multitude of scars that laced her back and arms and legs began to throb. It was times like these she wished she had a gun so she could end it all... but she wasn't sure if she would be brave enough to actually pull the trigger.
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"Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms such as you have named . . . but a DYING culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot."
-- Robert Heinlein in Friday
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