Read Only You Can Save Mankind for Free Online

of black, with the occasional star rolling past.
    “There ought to be six ships on the first mission,” said someone behind Johnny.
    Mr. Patel scowled at him. He pressed a key cautiously.
    “You’ve just fired a torpedo at nothing, Mr. Patel,” said Wobbler.
    Finally Mr. Patel gave up. He waved his hands in the air.
    “How d’you find the things to shoot?” he said.
    “They find you,” said someone. “You should be dead by now.”
    “See?” said the girl. “You get nothing but space. I left it on for hours, and there was just space.”
    “Maybe you’re not persevering. You kids don’t know the meaning of the word ‘persevere,’” said Mr. Patel.
    Wobbler looked over the shopkeeper’s head to Johnny and raised his eyebrows.
    “It’s like persistently trying,” said Johnny helpfully.
    “Oh. Right. Well, I persistently tried the other night and I didn’t find any, either.”
    Mr. Patel carefully unwrapped the new copy of the game. The shop watched as he slotted the disk into the computer.
    “Then let us see what the game looks like before Mr. Wobbler plays his little tricks,” he said.
    There was the title screen. There was the story, such as it was. And the instructions.
    And space.
    “Soon we shall see,” said Mr. Patel.
    And then more space.
    “This one was delivered only yesterday.”
    Lots more space. That was the thing about space.
    Mr. Patel picked up the box and looked at it carefully. But they’d all seen him take off the shrink-wrap.
    They’ve gone, thought Johnny.
    Even on the new games.
    They’ve all gone.
    People were laughing. But Wobbler and Yo-less were staring at him.

“No One Really Dies”
     
    “I reckon,” said Bigmac, “I reckon…”
    “Yes?” said Yo-less.
    “I reckon…Ronald McDonald is like Jesus Christ.”
    Bigmac did that kind of thing. Sometimes he came out with the kind of big, slow statement that suggested some sort of deep thinking had been going on for some time. It was like mountains. Johnny knew they were made by continents banging together, but no one ever saw it happening.
    “Yes?” said Yo-less in a kind voice. “And why do you think this?”
    “Well, look at all the advertising,” said Bigmac, waving a fry in the general direction of the rest of the burger bar. “There’s this happy land you go to where there’s lakes of banana milkshake and—and trees covered in fries. And…and then there’s the Hamburglar. He’s the Devil.”
    “Mr. Zippy’s advertised by a giant talking ice cream,” said Wobbler.
    “I don’t like that,” said Yo-less. “I wouldn’t trust an ice cream that’s trying to get you to eat ice creams.”
    Occasionally they talked like this for hours, when there was something they didn’t want to talk about. But now they seemed to have run out of things to say.
    They all looked silently at Johnny, who’d hardly touched his burger.
    “Look, I don’t know what’s happening,” he said.
    “Gobi Software’s going to be really pissed off when they find out what you’ve done,” said Wobbler, grinning.
    “I didn’t do anything!” said Johnny. “It’s not my fault!”
    “Could be a virus,” said Yo-less.
    “Nah,” said Wobbler. “I’ve got loads of viruses. They just muck up the computer. They don’t muck up your head.”
    “They could,” said Yo-less. “With flashing lights and stuff. Kind of like hypnosis.”
    “You said before I was making it all up! You said I was projecting fantasies!”
    “That was before old Patel went through half a dozen boxes. I’m glad I saw that. You know she actually got another copy and her money back, actually?”
    Johnny smiled uncomfortably.
    Wobbler drummed his fingers on the table, or partly on the table and partly in a pool of barbecue sauce.
    “No, I still reckon it’s just something Gobi Software did to all the games. I like the virus idea, though,” he said. “Humans catching viruses off of computers? Nice one.”
    “It’s not like that,” said