gistfile1.txt

The stink rising from the water was overpowering. He sunk his hands in, caressing the head of the alien, checking the electrodes. Around him other operators were caring for the dozens of others. They all worked with care, since their lives depended on the minds of these strange captives.

It would be so easy to rip that little piece of metal out of the ugly beast's head. If only the others weren't here to see.

He lingered too long, or his hands gripped too tight, and the beast moved in its sleep, splashing water on his slippers and slicking the metal walkway. He stood up too quickly

"Hey, be careful there," said his supervisor. "You know they don't like too much contact. Check the plugs and move onto the next one."

"Sorry, sir."

The dongle burned a hole in his pocket. He had to find a way to get the program into one of them before they reached the next planet. Before this horrific cycle could repeat.

He picked a creature over by a wall, where with his back turned nobody would be able to see him work. He leaned down to slide his hands under the water, tracing the wire from the creature's head to the nexus.

The creature's eyes were open, staring at him. Its mouths moved soundlessly under.

He whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Hey! What are you doing over there?"

He froze, his left hand on the wire, his right hand on the dongle in his pocket. His supervisor's footsteps began to approach.

"That one's already been done, you need to-"

A slip. A splash. A thud.

He jerked his head up, turning to see.

The room was empty. His supervisor lay across one of the pools, his head face down in the water next to where it had hit the edge of the walkway. Blood seeped into the pool, making the creature agitated.

The room was empty.

Nobody else was there. Nobody else could see them. The cameras would show it was an accident.

He quickly clipped the dongle to the wire, from where it could send its vicious little signal into the network, and rushed to his supervisor's side. "Sir? Sir!"

The beast in the bloody pool began to scream and thrash. He reached his supervisor's side just as the door opened and people ran to join them, shouting important things, their words a blur. He stepped back, letting them work. His job was done.