...

She stands on the side of the road and holds a cardboard sign that reads “Take an adventure with a stranger?” written in black ink, it is irresistible, she is irresistible. Her hair is dark, eyes hopeful, where ever I am going I want to go with her. “Are you human?” she asks as she peers inside the passenger window, “I think so, you?”, “Yeah, just a bucket of flesh.” She leans on the door, looks down, kicks the dirt a little, and laughs. My heart races, whether it’s out of fear or excitement, I’m not sure. She looks back up at me with only a slight smile, “We’re really two of a kind huh?” I don’t know what to say, I can’t help wonder if she’s going to kill me. “Quiet, I like that”, she says as she opens the door and gets in.

John the Nothing: Section 86 Part 3

--"Human beings are complex collections of ideas. It is possible to destroy, create, and manipulate another person or thing if you completely understand it."

The last words of Bizeln Yosidious, the grayest rainbow, before he was understood.

This is why John runs, with cloak and carbine against the wind, as the old city turns its back. The parasitic frenzied automaton is here, and is smiling terribly.