The dance floor loomed, and you hoped that, for once, everything was as it seemed. You nearly tripped over your own feet, though, as you were struck with a flashbang behind your eyes. Your ears plunged underwater into whooshing static and your head was momentarily filled with snippets of radio advertisements, aerospace traffic control jabber, and other people's thoughts. Your stomach dropped and you jumped in place.
"Ow – hey – what the fuck?" you said into your skull. It doesn't feel quite the same as thinking to yourself.
"Yo," crackled Hachi, somewhere near your brainstem. Fuckin' Hachi.
"Y'know, it hurts when you do that," you said. "Scared the shit outta me, too."
"Not my fault you're surrounded by implants in there. You know how hard it was to find your code wiiiiiiiiiith…" They paused for a moment. "Eight-hundred ninety-seven other signals to contend with? Better to scare you than some rando clubber kid. How's it lookin' in there?"
You rubbed your temples and stopped walking forward, moving to one of the walls to escape the stream of new partiers. "Bit too easy getting in. Got me on edge. You sure the employer's trustworthy?"
"He's Guoanbu," said Hachi. "Real deal CCP crypto on the line from a real deal Beijing operator. But as for if you're compromised -- who's to say?"
You snorted. "That's reassuring."
"You seem fine to me," they said. You could feel their shrug. "Nothin' on my channels. They coulda just stopped you at the door, avoid a scene."
They have a point. "Fair enough. Well, why'd you call?"
You must've sounded nervous. "Chill, chill. GPS says you're in," replied Hachi. "Which means you're in. Which means we're gonna get it, we always do. But if you're in, that means..."
Oh, right. "What?"
"It's time for you to try a new drug! We know how much you like that."
[] "Oh yeah!" (sincere)
[] "Oh yeah." (sarcastic)
[] "Hachi, quit the bullshit."
[] "What's this stuff supposed to be again?"
