💯 STORY CHALLENGE

Shroomtech

13 of 100

I stick out my gloved hand and the courier drops a tiny glass vial in it. Inside was a pinch of organic material.

“Place it on the center of the board, and activate it with a few CCs of water. And use a delta configuration.”

I nod, as the courier steps backwards and leaps over the edge into the blackness. Alone on the rooftop, I examine the vial for a moment. My breath, crystalline vapors cutting through the crisp night.

I head into my unit and pressurize the door. Plopping down at the desk, I dig through the tattered shoeboxes in the corner.

Gotcha. A circuit board sitting nicely in my palm.

In another box marked ‘Faceplates’, I fish one with the fourth letter stamped on it. I thumb the components studded across the smooth surface, as I screw the plate onto the board.

Breaking open the vial, I dump the contents onto the board. I toss the vial in one trash bag, and my gloves in another. Taking an eyedropper, I squirt a few drops of hydrogen oxide on the lime green clump.

It fizzles as it absorbs the liquid. Filaments begin to shoot out, growing with startling speed. They spread across the board, linking into the components.

Opening my computer, I plug the board into the receptor. I replenish the enzyme solution and flip it on. The bioluminescence glows bright on the panel.

My palms sweaty as I absorb the wonder that radiates before me.

The blueprints to the most heavily guarded facility in the system.

Hell hath no fury. I bolt up out the door, frisson of excitement, grabbing my work badge along the way.

I watched Johnny Mnemonic the other day. What a trip. This is the quickest I’ve brainstormed, wrote and edited a story so far — under two hours. Hoping to cut it down further.

For the 100 Story Challenge, started by Zane Dickens. Read my previous story about the future of the career woman: