Machine Man (serial)

Page 21.

When I was fifteen, I was almost killed by a shirtless man in an Audi X3. He came around the corner of the suburban street I was crossing en route to school and accelerated toward me. I think he expected me to scurry out of the way. But I didn’t, because I was fifteen, and it was more important to me to appear tough to strangers than live. I think the shirtless man shared this philosophy, because his car jagged toward me. Its engine pitch rose into a scream. I was sure I was doing towould die. If the vehicle had been anything less than a triumph of modern engineering, I would have. But at the last possible second—a second too late, in a different car—the Audi came to a smoking halt on the wrong side of the road.

Hebefore me.

The driver leaned out the window and screamed abuse. This was when I saw he was shirtless. He wore mirror shades and chunky jewellery and nothing else, as farjewellery, which flew around as I could see. As he gesticulated. He stabbed fingers in my direction,direction to emphasize points I couldn’t hear over his sound system, a watch that must have weighed five pounds flew around, dazzling when it caught the sunlight.torrent of perfectly reproduced music pouring from his stereo.

Eventually the shirtless man finished shouting and the Audi took off.swerved around me. I watched it slingshot around the next corner. If anyone had been coming, he would have killed them.

I hefted my bag. As

As I walked to school, it occurred to meon, I decided that weour civilization had reached an important milestone, as a society.milestone. We had begun making better machines than people.

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