Machine Man
Previous Page

Get the Machine Man serial

1 page per day — the way it was meant to be

Next Page
Page 18.
Machine Man (serial)

I felt very excited after Lola Banks left the lab. She was the first person I’d shown my prototype leg, and her reaction exceeded all my hopes. To be honest, I had been bracing myself for her to be grossed-out. And maybe most people would have been—would still be. But not Lola. She had knelt beside the leg. She had touched it. Gently. Almost affectionately. I thought about that for a long time.

It was getting late. My lab assistants had left a long time ago. I was probably the last person down here. But I didn’t feel tired. I looked down at my leg, the good one. Well. “Good” was the wrong word. I mean the one I’d had since birth. I rolled up my pants and turned it this way and that. It looked fat, and weak, and ordinary. The more I looked at it, the more it bugged me.

18.

Next Page
Previous Page

Comments

This is where site members post comments. If you're not a member, you can join here. There are all kinds of benefits, including moral superiority!

Dan Guy (#3896)

Quote: "[email protected]"
Posted: 5467 days ago

Given the title, I've been wondering if he was going to replace more of himself; never the less, those last two sentences squick me out a little.

Jennifer M. Dambeck (#3061)

Location: NJ, USA
Quote: "Rock on"
Posted: 5467 days ago

OMGosh! Is her really going to?!?! Freaky!

Matt (#808)

Location: AZ
Quote: "The only 3 books I've read in the last few years have been from the Barry Collection"
Posted: 5467 days ago

Yeah it seems he may have gotten himself a little machine addiction starting.

Kevin Murray (#3767)

Location: Sydney, Australia
Quote: "You only get one taste and for this gift we are graced"
Posted: 5467 days ago

Off with his leg!

Machine Man subscriber gstein42 (#585)

Location: 127.0.0.1
Quote: "That's not change! That's more of the same!"
Posted: 5467 days ago

i sense another "accident" coming up

Machine Man subscriber Yannick (#3858)

Location: Heist, Belgium
Quote: "he reads things"
Posted: 5467 days ago

Hey, um, boss? I feel another accident coming up...

towr (#1914)

Location: Netherlands
Posted: 5467 days ago

If he had any sense he'd build a replacement first. Well, ok, if he had any sense he wouldn't consider cutting his other leg off, assuming that's what he's thinking.
Even if he did want to go full cyborg, piecemeal replacement doesn't sound like the most brilliant option.

Michael (#3884)

Location: Here
Quote: "Wait, what?"
Posted: 5466 days ago

For that matter he should probably make sure the first one works the way it's supposed to before hacking off his other leg.

Greg Karber (#1568)

Location: gregkarber.com
Posted: 5466 days ago

Awesome. Loved the ending!

Machine Man subscriber Narflz (#2594)

Location: St. Louis
Quote: "WARNING: Extended Use Of Narflz May Cause Explosive Diarhea"
Posted: 5466 days ago

Love this whole story, it makes checking my email each morning an adventure, and this has become just about the only thing I'm reading for pleasure up at college. Keep up the great work.

Jeffers0n (#3865)

Location: Maryland, USA
Posted: 5466 days ago

Ok, so he's going to cut off his other leg. We all know it. What's next after that? Is he going to replace the rest of his limbs? And what will he do once he's mostly cyborg, will he be a superhero? The superhero route seems dull and cliche, so I'm guessing not. So the question is what will he do with his life once he has a super powerful body.

MDH (#3934)

Location: Ireland
Quote: "You finding Ling-Ling's head?"
Posted: 5466 days ago

Obviously he will turn Lola Banks into a cyborg as well and they will have super-cyborg sex á la The Lawnmower Man except without all the terrible CGI.

Machine Man subscriber Toby O (#2900)

Location: Sydney
Quote: "vote with your wallet"
Posted: 5466 days ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIID

Machine Man subscriber David (#1456)

Location: Sydney, Australia
Quote: "Why are the pretty ones always insane?"
Posted: 5466 days ago

I feel now is not quite the right time for him to tear off his other leg, maybe someone comes in unexpectedly and interrupts him, leaves him frustrated for now.

Or he could gulp down some of that short-term memory blocker gas they have in Melbourne and do it and not remember doing it. In fact... that may be exactly what happened last time! He deliberately stuck his leg in that press after blocking his short term memory so he wouldn't remember the pain (and couldn't later be found out by the company via lie detector or whatever). Yeah, this dude has BIID as well as the hots for cruel sadistic women like the company lawyer.

Then he'll have super-cyborg sex with Lola, or the lawyer, or someone...

Machine Man subscriber Ian Manka (#3916)

Location: Los Angeles, California (school) | Akron, Ohio (home)
Quote: "Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance."
Posted: 5466 days ago

@David: Damn, said what I was going to say... with the memory blocking gas stuff.

It'd be weird if these pages were only the pieces he remembered of his history in between bouts of the memory gas.

The sequel can be (tentatively) titled, "Thoughts Exterminated From The Machine Man" and can be free for a little while, then $6.95 for the whole book after Max sees this is an awesome idea.

Abgrund (#3357)

Location: Atlantis
Quote: ""Redeem your mind from the hockshops of authority." - Ayn Rand"
Posted: 5466 days ago

Symmetry is beauty. Two cyber legs would be more symmetrical than one cyber leg and one meat leg, or even one ordinary prosthetic and a meat leg. I can totally understand it.

Another beautiful kind of symmetry would involve seven axes. Specifically, it would be symmetrical installments of Machine Man, seven days a week, without this ugly, awkward imbalance of not having a new page to read Saturday or Sunday morning.

Keith Nixon (#3894)

Location: BC, Canada
Quote: "Hmmmm......."
Posted: 5466 days ago

If you're gonna slice it off, you may as well dispense with all of your limbs at one go. Have your hot plate ready, as you will need to cauterize on the fly. I realize that this may be a little difficult with your lack of arms and all, but you should be able to shift this way and that to adequately sear your meat.

Remember to put your hack job on ice, as you should be able to sell them to science for a small sum. I may be interested in one...or maybe two (a tasty snack?).....hmmmmm......

Ajna (#3795)

Location: USA
Quote: "Judge if you want. We are all going to die one day. I intend to deserve it."
Posted: 5464 days ago

The current prevailing opinion of "piecemeal replacement" seems well and good, but after a song I heard lately, it's worrisome.

"Prosthetic Brain" by Logan Whitehurst... Check it out.

stanley becker (#5283)

Location: black hole
Quote: "DON"T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!!"
Posted: 4753 days ago

fat and weak and ordinary - this could apply to the cosmos as in "....the cosmos looked fat and weak and ordinary" - you see it can work anywhere ......

To post a comment, login or sign up!

Next Page
Previous Page