Jagged Glass Ballet

By Brendan Detzner

"YOU WERE JUST A MYTH! SOME LAB GEEK DUG YOU OUT OF SOME OLD BOOK! WE CALLED YOU USING THE OLD RITUALS, WITH THE PENTAGRAMS AND THE CANDLES AND THE KNIVES, AND WE CONNECTED IT TO THE COMPUTERS AND THE MACHINES. ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS TELL THE COMPUTERS WHAT WE WANTED, WHO WE WANTED, AND THESE WORLDS SPRUNG OUT FROM NOWHERE. THE PROGRAMS ACTED LIKE THEY WERE ALIVE, LIKE THEY WEREN'T JUST MAKING SOMETHING AS MUCH AS THEY WERE IMAGINING IT! AND THE PEOPLE IN THE MACHINES WOULD NEVER GROW OLD OR RUN OUT OF IDEAS OR DECIDE TO WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

"WHEN IT STARTED WE JUST WANTED THE MONEY, BUT WE KEPT PUMPING OUT MORE AND MORE PRODUCT, AND SOON EVERYWHERE WE LOOKED WAS SOMETHING WE HAD MADE! MUSIC, ART, MOVIES, BOOKS, PLAYS, IT ALL CAME FROM US! AND PEOPLE LOVED IT! EVERYBODY LOVED IT! AND IT WAS ALL US!"

There was silence. Then, Dragon heard Oracle's voice.

"You stupid old man."

The words lingered. Dragon took the radio out of his ear, and realized that her voice had reached them. It echoed throughout the room, bounced and stretched and warped until the words were replaced by loud, droning, all encompassing noise. The black space above the room began to change colors, from a deep black to a yellow to an orange to a hot, angry red. Oracle repeated her words.

"You stupid old man."