|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- FRIEND IS TAR MONORAIL--CUP 3--"AS CLEAR AS YESTERDAY" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Friend is Tar Monorail  ||  -------> (Cup SRft003, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Alva's eyes focused on nothing as he tried to get his bearings. Soon, he heard an eerie noise from nearby. He turned to look, and he saw a big black bus turning the corner. He got up and stared at the approaching, menacing vehicle. He looked down the street toward where Mister King had departed, and wondered whether the dog, with its superior hearing, heard the terrible bus coming. If so, the dog was smart. I'm dumb though, he thought, cuz I'm not moving. The bus pulled up to where Alva stood, and stopped. Waiting for the doors to open, Alva was soon attracted to his reflection in the shiny, opaque black glass of the bus's door. He was young again. Hadn't the dog said something to that effect? Then the doors of the bus opened, and the driver stared down at him with glowing green eyes. "Look. Just get in." the bus driver said, in a voice that didn't seem all that evil. After a moment's reflection, Alva figured he didn't have anything left to lose, so he climbed on board. The driver looked away from Alva to face the road. As the interior of the bus came into view, Alva was shocked to see it was empty except for an ornate throne at the back of the bus. Above it, a sign with big silver and blue letters read "FOR ALVA MEOW". Alva turned to the driver, who immediately closed the doors and started driving forward. "Um--what is that back there?" Alva asked. "A place to sit." the driver said without turning. "Why is it all..." "Like a throne?" "Yeah." "I have no consciousness. I can't answer questions like that." "Oh?" "I'm less than a machine." Alva regarded the glowing-eyed driver with annoyance and slowly walked to the throne. It was a nice throne, and it looked very comfortable. He was about to climb up into it, but he turned and asked the driver "Where are we going, anyway?" "The Sahatter Elevated Walkway." "What's that?" The driver didn't answer. So Alva climbed up to the throne and sat down. Man, was it comfortable. He felt like he could sleep for another ten years on a throne like this. Some cool music started playing and Alva started nodding his head to the beat, his eyes closed. The singer on the song sang "Do you remember it as clear as yesterday? I think you remember it as clear as destiny. Inside you, there is filth. Don't even pretend to be fun. I'd rather ride in a bus than fuck sex with you." Alva opened his eyes and the music was gone. And the bus... it was stopped. And the driver was gone. Sun streamed in. It was comfortably warm. Alva was half-asleep. But he was trying to wake up. Suddenly, a fountain of water shot up from the middle of the empty space in the bus. "It's all about summer." came a wispy voice from within the waters. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----