Review and Preview 2020/2021

It may be a tad early for my annual R&P, but I like to get it out of the way before everybody else starts their own laments – and laments will come!

There’s no nice way to say it. The clusterfuck of our Lord 2020 had been a low-blow chapter-wise:

• Only two new parts of Pony Boot Camp (sorry for that!), and Chapter VI of Æquinoctium (not sorry for that!)

Looking at the numbers for complete stories, we find ourselves with:

Neon Virus

Neon Virus

Inspired by lovetina0726‘s artwork “Raise of AI“

Data. Pure data. The good shit.

Respawn had switched from keyboard to neuronal interface. And although the screen before him blackened on command of a thought, he saw – far beyond the abilities of the human retina.

How many colours do you need to taste the source code?

He navigated with ease as algorithms solidified in his mind, binary values became tactile to the nerves of his fingertips. As his consciousness pushed on, a weighing sensation closed in on him, not unlike the hint of a claustrophobic episode. That fucking Polak had skimped on bandwidth again!

A Few Words about my Stories

With my twentieth story out on WordPress, I reckon it to be time for a little self-advertisement commented list to help navigating through my humble body of work. I found it reasonable to start each entry with a passage from the respective story, followed by some deep thoughts of mine. I also added a small guide, characterising the story in question with up to five points in the categories fetish, violence and humour:

○    none
●    a wee bit
●●    some
●●●    moderate
●●●●    plenty
●●●●●    pervasive

Of course these are my personal ratings, and they are based more on quantity than on quality. Therefore the rating is sometimes accompanied by a trigger warning in the genre description (“caution!”), if the story contains problematic topics such as portrayal of racism, sexual violence or controversial use of religious images.

The sorting is alphabetical and recognises articles, which leads us straight to…

Stand-Alone Complex

The following narration is a commission from Suspension Guy, a constant reader who had asked for an interrogation story set in the HardSkill universe. I have received word that he is well pleased with the result, and I hope to get similar feedback from other readers, too.

 

Stand-Alone Complex

Muriel hadn’t seen the punch to her neck coming. The grunt behind it was big enough to send her spinning into the nearest strut. The impact hadn’t only shattered her night vision goggles, but also had forced what air she had left out of her lungs.

Muriel was in serious trouble.

The guards had caught her on the mechanical level of the AReFa main building. And they hadn’t been on patrol duty. The company mercs had waited for her. Whilst two of them were holding Muriel subdued in collaborative joint locks, a third steel-trapped her wrists in rigid handcuffs. Before hauling her back up on her feet, her broken NV gear was replaced by a tight hood shutting out all light and most sounds – surely nothing a common security bloke would bring to his nightly round.

HardSkill — Gore Days (revised)

Gore Days is a little fan service, set between the first and the upcoming second part of the HardSkill trilogy. Like the uncompromising, ultra-violent main narrations, this story can be descriped as gore porn and is affiliated to the Japanese “guro” genre (the phoenetic resemblence between the two terms is incidential). I also took some places and elements from #Fear the Future, an older story not yet published (nor finished, for that matter).

Enjoy, but keep in mind that the HardSkill series is not for the faint of heart.

In December 2015

 

This is version 1.2 of HardSkill – Gore Days. I never felt quite content with the story’s original ending. There was something odd about it, partly because Lilith’s behaviour struck me as out-of-character. So I set forth to edit it – and became somewhat carried away. Where the original version had about 5,500 words, this one sports as near as makes no difference 7,200. To provide some orientation, I jotted down a mini FAQ:

Is this an extended version? – No, from the assembly hall scene on it is pretty much a complete rewrite.

I haven’t read the original version. Which one shall I read first/solely? – This one.

I have read the original version. Is it worth to read this one, too? – Definitely.

In February 2016

HardSkill – Gore Days

ATROTEC INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

A mess had to be cleaned up. Sometimes the organised crime became a bit too organised, and its actions appeared on the radar screens of those in the High Towers. Mega-incorporations were commonly not interested in drug trafficking, forced prostitution or protection racket, but didn’t take too well to acts of cyber-crime against their data cores.

The hacker with the irritating hair colour called herself Edgeplay, and – quite frankly – wasn’t as much fun as her name suggested.

“I didn’t get in! I didn’t get any data!” she babbled hysterically.

HardSkill — Gore Days

Gore Days is a little fan service, set between the first and the upcoming second part of the HardSkill trilogy. Like the uncompromising, ultra-violent main narrations, this story can be descriped as gore porn and is affiliated to the Japanese “guro” genre (the phoenetic resemblence between the two terms is incidential). I also took some places and elements from #Fear the Future, an older story not yet published (nor finished, for that matter).

Enjoy, but keep in mind that the HardSkill series is not for the faint of heart.

 

HardSkill – Gore Days

ATROTEC INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

A mess had to be cleaned up. Sometimes the organised crime became a bit too organised, and its actions appeared on the radar screens of those in the High Towers. Mega-incorporations were commonly not interested in drug trafficking, forced prostitution or protection racket, but didn’t take too well to acts of cyber-crime against their data cores.

The hacker with the irritating hair colour called herself Edgeplay, and – quite frankly – wasn’t as much fun as her name suggested.

“I didn’t get in! I didn’t get any data!” she babbled hysterically.

HardSkill

——

DISCLAIMER:

I.

This is a work of fiction.

II.

This is a work of FICTION!

III.

The author does not endorse or play down violence and brutality

of any kind against living beings in general and females in special.

The author insists on the consumption only by those legally of age

and where ADULT MATERIAL is not prohibited by law. If you get

offended by those topics, stop reading immediately.

Venom, March 2008

This is the revised, edited and extended version.

Venom, April 2013

——

Synopsis

This story is pure fiction about an ultra-tough Über-heroine who works as an assassin and “cleaner” for the unscrupulous Yamamoto Incorporation, not too far in the future.

This work doesn’t lay claim to realistic representation of today’s business practices – it’s just a totally over the top fun story: violent, sexy, cool!

Nevertheless this story graphically describes acts of torture, mutilation and female homoeroticism. If you are offended by such topics (why should you?), stop reading immediately. I mean it.