| Volume 2, Issue 3, September 30, 2007 | |
| The Ambiguity Broker by Fredrick Obermeyer |
If Dan Casterson didn't sell his last Ambiguity patch soon, then he would lose his job. He checked the client list on his computer and found a single lead. Sandra Sukorvo had sent a package showing interest in Possibilities Inc. Seeing his career flash before his eyes, Casterson hopped in his car and sped down there. He stopped outside her house and checked everything. His hair was slick and his suit was well-pressed. But his breath still tasted like the pepperoni pizza he had for lunch. He gulped down two breath mints, cleared his throat, grabbed his briefcase and got out of the car. Outside the sun beat down on him and he started to sweat. Casterson sighed and tried not to think about what would happen if he failed. He'd lose everything. His house, the car, his health club membership, his Certainty tech, his silk bathrobes. And his wife, Denise. If he lost this gig, she'd divorce him. Casterson walked up to the front door. A dog emerged from the backyard. His Certainty contacts activated. Dog, German Shepherd, female, five years old. Name: Daisy. The dog growled. Casterson froze and tried to smile. That dog didn't look like no Daisy to him. "Good girl," he said. The dog wasn't buying it, though. She growled and started towards Casterson. Shaking, Casterson backed up, fearing the dog would rip him to shreds. But at the last second, a fat man in a bathrobe emerged from the house and said, "Get the fuck back in here, Daisy." He smacked the dog on the hindquarters. She yelped and ran back in the house. Casterson sighed with relief. His contacts blinked out information. Alexander Sukorvo, thirty-five, husband of Sandra Sukorvo (maiden name: Pechard). Casterson frowned. He preferred to deal with the woman of the house. They usually had control of the money and were susceptible to his charms. But in this case, he was desperate. He activated his Ambiguity patch with a mental command and it deactivated all of the Certainty tech in his body, including the contacts. Read the rest of the story:
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