Tertius Shaw pondered the latest news as he squeezed his morning orange juice. Naturally, in the absence of the actual perpetrator it was necessary to produce a scapegoat—and it seemed one had already been found. Mr. Wakeman should be flattered to be named the author of so dramatic an event.
Tertius finished squeezing the juice and carried the glass to his breakfast nook. The sunlight streaming in backlit the juice; he relished its intense orange color. The toaster oven pinged as he set down the glass. Tertius extracted the bagel, slathered on a liberal portion of truffle-infused cream cheese, and settled in to enjoy himself.
Was it too soon to plan his next project? He may as well begin. He could stretch out the early phases as much as he liked, let the populace relax somewhat before jerking the chain once again.
Tertius took a judiciously sized bite of his bagel and washed it down with the tart, tangy juice.
What a very lovely morning it was!
YOU ARE READING
excerpt from near-future novel The Playback Effect
Science FictionThis excerpt from my near-future SF thriller The Playback Effect introduces a sociopath.
