Darren kicked the General Magic under his desk. It was on the blink again, making gurgling noises and becoming uncomfortably hot. Now would be a bad time for it to crap out on him, when he had so much to do. The commands from Asteron were coming thick and fast, an army preparing for battle. He tapped on the computer keyboard, scrolling through the messages they had sent him. Ever since the first broadcast intrusion, where they had interrupted his viewing of Doctor Who to let him know of his recruitment, the messages had been consistently brief, pragmatic and obtuse.
But this was how Asteron worked, and he knew better than to question them. He was fortunate, blessed even, to have been conscripted into the resistance. He didn’t know how many of them there were, but given the activity on the private message boards he was far from alone.
The latest instruction, in broken grammar as always, stated ‘BECOME IT WHEN FAST REGARD 76′. He drummed his fingers on his chipped teeth. The number 76 came up often, and was significant to Asteron, and the movement. He would occasionally see people with ’76’ on their hats or clothing, or the number on a higher than expected proportion of car license plates. This is how he knew he was protected.
The General Magic sighed and its LEDs flickered wanly. He kicked it and the computer monitor dimmed and was rejuvenated. BECOME IT WHEN FAST REGARD 76. The spider icon next to the message blinked, spun and disappeared. Darren took the needles out of his hands and switched off the machine.