Glitch

table.
    I nodded. I’d had similar procedures done my whole life
    when new hardware was inserted as I’d grown up, but the
    probe had never seemed quite so big before.
    “I’m going to insert the subware right at one of the back
    corridors of the already existing hardware, so it shouldn’t
    look anomalous if they run a scan.”
    He picked up the intimidating instrument and clicked on
    an ancient video monitor on the table that I guessed he would
    use to navigate. “Okay. You ready?”
    I nodded, hoping he didn’t notice my trembling.
    He came around to face me, forceps in hand. I tried not
    to wince as he inserted the forceps deep into my nose to
    make a smooth path for the probe. My hands gripped the
    armrests as the forceps went deeper and deeper. Chol leaned
    in close, eyes intent on the monitor.
    I let out a little whimper before Chol fi nally said, “There.
    Got it.”
    Adrien took my hand. “Just close your eyes and it will be
    over soon.”
    I nodded, hearing the clink of metal on metal as the snake
    probe slid up the shaft provided by the forceps.
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    G L I TC H
    “And . . .” Chol said slowly, “we’re in. Keep absolutely
    still.”
    I swallowed, trying to keep my head still while I did.
    Chol was right. This part didn’t hurt— much. It was just
    an incredibly uncomfortable sensation. The occasional tug
    of the tiny probe felt like bugs squirming under my skull.
    Adrien squeezed my hand. “You’re doing great. Chol in-
    stalled all my hardware, which is pretty impressive, since I’d
    never grown up with any. He’s the best.” Chol looked over
    at me and winked. I squeezed Adrien’s hand, infi nitely glad
    he was here with me.
    After about ten more minutes of trying to sit as still as
    possible, Chol announced he was done. He slid out the
    probe, then pulled out the forceps. I jumped off the chair as
    soon as he was done, rubbing my head to get rid of the sen-
    sation. I let the shudder I’d been holding back run through
    my body, jumping up and down a few times and stretching
    my neck.
    “Your turn,” Chol said to Adrien.
    I looked at him sympathetically.
    He laughed. “Just a routine checkup. No probe for me
    ’cause my access port is free.”
    “No probe, huh?” I asked with arched eyebrows. I walked
    around him and pushed aside his thick bushy hair to look at
    his input port. I’d never really had the opportunity to look
    at one up close for very long. I’d seen them everywhere, of
    course, but it wasn’t like I could go up to someone and ask
    if I could inspect their input port out of curiosity. The tiny
    121

    Heather Anastasiu
    lights under the skin lit up along the microfi ber wires, and I
    traced the swirling line gently. The tiny fi laments fl ickered,
    blues and purples and oranges brightening in reaction to his
    brain patterns.
    I realized with a blush how long my fi ngers had lingered
    tangled in Adrien’s hair and I dropped my hands. Adrien let
    out a sigh, and I realized he’d been holding his breath. I
    smiled shyly, amazed at the completely new experience of
    sparking emotion in another person.
    “Nope, he gets off easy today,” Chol said, grinning and
    pushing Adrien into the chair I’d just vacated. “Let’s just
    plug this in here—” He attached a slim wire cable into the
    access port in the back of Adrien’s neck. “And voilà! Oh.
    Hang on, this machine is a little temperamental.”
    Chol banged his hand a few times on a monitor, mutter-
    ing, “Godlam’d secondhand piece of junk— A-ha! There
    we go.” The screen fl ickered to life, showing the map of
    Adrien’s internal hardware.
    “Now. Let’s just make sure he’s completely clean and he
    won’t set off their equipment as anomalous when you go
    back.”
    I nodded, watching the screen with interest. It looked
    identical to what we studied in school in my biotech classes.
    Most of the sliver- thin hardware webbed around the amyg-
    dala but tiny branches connected to other nerve receptors all
    throughout the brain. Chol tapped the screen to zoom in.
    “This would work better with a 3- D imaging system,” I
    said, leaning in to look.
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    Chol smiled. “Yeah, well, we don’t exactly have the same
    resources available to us as the Community. Mostly we get
    Community discards and junkyard parts. Stuff the Com-
    munity won’t miss. But we manage just fi ne.”
    I nodded, watching him check the coding on the tech to
    make sure it would clear. He was moving too fast for