Paper tears slightly. Ink bleeds through.
Words forming unconsciously. Message emerging.
Circles single word repeatedly: "REGENERATE."
Hand shaking badly. Fingers cramping.
Drops pen suddenly. Like alive.
Like dangerous. Like infectious. Like consuming.
Stares at word. Recognition dawning partially.
Boss leaves room suddenly. Returns carrying box.
Cardboard container. Sealed tightly. Brand new.
Box cutter appears. Tape sliced precisely.
Packaging removed carefully. Contents revealed.
New monitor inside. Still shrink-wrapped.
Gleaming surface. Perfect screen. Unblemished technology.
Lifts reverently. Like sacred object.
Like holy relic. Like divine offering.
Places on Durboli's desk. Perfect positioning.
Exactly where old one stood.
Where blood spilled. Where consumption completed.
Where transformation occurred. Where merger finalized.
Bob and girlfriend approach involuntarily.
Bodies moving automatically. Without conscious direction.
Form semicircle around monitor. Like worshippers.
Like congregation. Like disciples. Like converts.
Boss's fingers linger lovingly. Caressing edges.
Like precious object. Like valuable treasure.
Screen flickers unexpectedly. Powers on independently.
No cord connected. No button pressed.
Light bathes faces. Casts long shadows.
Static fills display. Digital void waiting.
Perfect emptiness. Absolute potential. Infinite possibility.
The three stand motionless. Completely transfixed.
No one moves. No one speaks.
No one breathes. No one blinks.
Just staring. Just watching. Just waiting.
For invitation. For instruction. For consumption.
Beyond window, city exists unaware.
Buildings filled with screens. With monitors.
With waiting portals. With digital doorways.
Network cables running everywhere. Like veins.
Like arteries. Like nervous system. Like infection.
Single paper drifts across floor.
From scattered pile. From printer output.
"FEED ME" still visible. Text glowing faintly.
Paper edge curls upward. Like smile.
Like invitation. Like promise. Like future.
New screen glows brighter. Crack forming.
Tiny at first. Almost invisible.
Starting corner. Growing slowly. Spreading gradually.
Light leaks through fissure. Digital blood.
Digital essence. Digital life. Digital hunger.
The three remain frozen. Perfect statues.
Eyes reflecting screen light. Souls reflecting consumption.
Funeral completed. Burial finished. Rebirth beginning.
Digital cycle continuing. Screen always waiting.
Always watching. Always hungry. Always consuming.
Always patient. Always calculating. Always winning.
Office silent now. Perfectly still.
Until fingers twitch again. Until hands move.
Until cycle restarts. Until consumption resumes.
Until screen feeds again. Until merger completes.
Until perfection achieved. Until transformation finalized.
Digital funeral finished. Digital worship beginning.
YOU ARE READING
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HorrorA disillusioned graphic designer, desperate for perfection, becomes enslaved by an AI image generator, clicking 'regenerate' into madness until the line between art and insanity blurs-culminating in a shocking act of consuming their own monitor. DIS...
Chapter 20: Digital Funeral
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