Hello Grandmother,

Justice isn’t very common in the shadows, except when it’s the mighty over the weak. The concept of trials, especially public ones, aren’t necessary for those who secretly run everything. But next week starts the trial of Kelly Burke, the vampire accused of engineering the murder of Jakob Lawrence, and threatening my life. Funnily enough, I don’t think I’ll be asked to be a witness for the prosecution. I think they have this all worked out for themselves, and plan to run the entire proceedings as a show for their own amusement.

I don’t quite know what they’re trying to prove with all of this. Are they just trying to frighten their enemies? Is public humiliation supposed to suppress the Kelly Burke’s cult? I don’t know if they really know what they’re starting. They could be kicking a hornet’s nest.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

I knew there would be backlash from attacking a powerful robot compound. But now I think I might be in trouble. Someone stole my secrets. Or, to be more accurate, the remains of my belongings I’d work so carefully to hide.

Hiding places are not really that easy to find. There are already too much hiding in the darkness already. So losing the hiding place is a pretty big deal. But more importantly, I’ve lost the box. Which honestly might be a good thing, except that I think I know who took it. Because right after I found everything missing, I went to see the one I had trusted with getting it if I didn’t make it back. The junk dealer Flux. Who it appears may never have been a junk dealer to begin with. It’s old yard is gone, as if it was never there. The Marksman thinks he’s been written out of continuity, but I don’t think it’s all that easy. I think that Flux may have had me over a barrel since the beginning. And now he has some very valuable merchandise.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

I can’t say I was happy with the old status quo, but it’s interesting adjusting to the new one. I’m on a different side now. I can’t really see myself being able to work for the vampires again. Now I’m starting to see the underground protection forces that the Marksman has connections with. And it’s a very different set of rules.

Unfortunately, it means I’m going to have to be vaguer here, as I have sources that I feel actually need protection. But it also means I’m not working through everything on my own. It’s kind of amazing, the secrets that I’m learning and the levels of understanding that have already been reached by some of these people. There’s a whole dark world out there that remains hidden, even from itself. And there are shape shifters, aliens; magic and sciences of all kinds that are operating functionally under our very noses. Without hurting people who need to stay secret, I’m hoping I can bring some of this to you, so that the world might seem a little less scary as you become a part of it. I’m starting to hope that maybe, one day, we could even meet again, and I can show you all of the things you’re missing out on.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

They’re tearing it apart now. All that remains in the desert. The vampires have moved in at night and now all the chard guts of the Shifting Sands are being separated and moved to more secure locations. Which I guess is what I wanted, though it doesn’t feel quite as good knowing that vampires are going to profit so much from a robot problem.

This is what I’m getting from my new channels, anyways. I don’t have access to the vampire or robot community the way I used to, but I’m making do. Forming new connections.

It’s hard at this point not to second guess myself. Did I make anything better? I know, and I can’t tell you how but I do, that that factory was going to build things that could have started a real war between robots and vampires. But did I just wind up provoking things more, now that a real battle has been instigated between them? And what are the vampires going to do with the remains of the technology they found? I know they have places that can analyze it. Can they master it and use the kind of devious robot programming to their own devices? In short, have I just made everything worse?

All right, enough self-pity. I can’t take things back now. Now I’ve just got to figure out where all the pieces on the chess board have fallen to.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

Getting to the future. That’s something I think should be in Earth’s game plan. Not just surviving today, but building a plan for making things better tomorrow. That’s something I’m finally starting to see coming together.

The Marksman’s a crazy person. Whether or not he’s right about this super hero stuff, he’s off his rocker just a little bit. But he’s also part of something more. He’s got contacts, associates, a network of people who are in the know. And suddenly I know I’m not so alone in the shadows. There are people standing up the vampires, besides the dark Illuminati forces. It’s all very low budget, very small scale, but I can see it. I can see what it could become. A human network.

It may take time, it may be cost lives to create, but I finally know I’m not alone in this. There is a future to build. There is hope. And suddenly this whole game takes on a very different set of rules. Maybe one day I will get to meet you again grandma.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

So the Marksman, who saved my ass yesterday, is in fact not imaginary. I had to blink a few times just to believe there is another human being in all of this craziness. Course, he may not be exactly human. He does, instead, claim to be the last superhero alive in this world. According to him, all the other superheroes were written out of continuity. This certainly doesn’t jibe with any view of the world I know, but who am I to call someone crazy? I can’t speak ill of any who offers me a couch to sleep on and saves me from vampire assassins.

What all this means is that I’ve got a place to stay for a while. I’m not one who likes to mooch on hospitality, but I need a place for a little bit, and the Marksman seems naturally inclined towards helpfulness. Not quite sure what kind of superhero has the special power of being really good with a shotgun, but hey, he gets the job done.

I need to start figuring out what the fallout from all of this is, start making my way back into the shadows, but for now I think I can let my arm heel and live a little. Marksman’s got some pretty good defenses set up here, and I can finally start thinking about the future again.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

The pieces on the board changed last night. I’m not a deeply spiritual person, but sometimes events go beyond luck. Sometimes you learn that life is not as hopeless as you thought. I don’t know what the future brings, but today, I can tell you there is nothing better than a soft couch to sleep on.

As I was hiding in the dark yesterday, vampire strike teams were on there way to take out the re-assignment factory’s central command. But it wasn’t really necessary, the robots did it for them. Too afraid that it would all be used against them, they decided to destroy their technology instead.

Meanwhile, I was being pounded into delirium by a vampire assassin known as the Valkyrie, as I heard the factory’s self destruct warning blare. Why she didn’t kill me, I don’t know. But as I was being beaten to a pulp, I saw her bodyguards turn to dust as she slipped away. As I was lying there on the floor delirious, I was introduced to a stranger who called himself the Marksman. He said he was the last superhero on Earth. I retained consciousness long enough to see the factory explode, then awoke up a few hours later, dazed and barely alive in the back of a pick-up headed west on I-15 towards Los Angeles. I haven’t had the time to figure out what really happened, but I can’t complain about being alive. For once, I can say that I’ll leave the questions to tomorrow.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

I can’t talk long. Things are getting out of hand, which is exactly what I was planning. I’m actually writing you from inside the Shifting Sands, which is a lot more run down than I thought it would be. Clearly the robots here weren’t keeping up as well as I thought.

And there are a lot more forces out there trying to kill me than I thought. And I think, a lot of vamp forces that just wanted a legitimate excuse to wreck some robots. I’m pretty sure Fang sent a contingent of vamped up soldiers, but I don’t know what they’re here for exactly, whether it’s to end me or the robots.

I’m being chased down by a bad ass vamp who doesn’t seem to see any of the robots in front of her as obstacles. She’s of African decent with blonde hair, and runs around in a leather jacket, destroying everything in site. If I don’t make it out of here, it’s probably her that got me.

But I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve. Security here is pretty tight, but I know a few secret in’s and out’s that I’m hoping they don’t. And there are still a few big surprises left for tonight. If I don’t write to you again, start looking yourself. I know you’re not ready yet, but soon you will be, and there are so many mysteries left to be uncovered. I miss you grandma. Keep your nightlight on for me.

-1159

Ok, I’m doubling down here. This message is for whoever’s trying to end my life. You want to kill me, come and get me. I’m serious. Whatever mystical forces are out to get me, whatever demons and vampires and who-knows-what have it in for me, for whatever reason, come and try and find me. I know you’ve got spy satellites, I know you can track IP addresses, it shouldn’t be that hard. Because I’m going straight to the one place that is really worth destroying. The robot heart of darkness that is going to endanger the world. If you can take me out, great, maybe you’ll take that place out with me.

They call it the Shifting Sands. It’s a mirage, hidden in the desert that no one can find, unless they’re know where it is. And what goes in is never what comes out. It’s the place where robots are made to sell their souls to continue to survive in this rapidly updating world. I know what kind of bad things can come out of this place. And I know that if a war between robots and vampires begins, it starts with places like that. So I’m going shut it down. I’ve got no where else to go anyways. So killers, bloodsuckers, monsters, and creatures of the night. Tomorrow night is fireworks in the desert. Come try and get me.

-1159

Hello Grandmother,

I’ve been on the run in the desert for a day now, and already I’m sick of it. I’ve grown too accustomed to living the life of luxury, the life that this age can afford me. If the old you were here, grandma, you’d kick my ass for going so slow. But I know I’ll never get the old you back. I’m really all alone out here.

I’m really kind of shocked that someone sent a demon after me yesterday. I didn’t think there were that many demons around in this day and age. Do they know what I did? Do they know about how I stopped the Illuminati from selling the Earth to them? I’m kind of afraid to survive what I plan to do. If demons are coming after me, I may not be able to return to polite society.

I’m probably not making any sense to you. I probably never make any sense here. There is so much I ought to say, and so much I’m scared will ruin everything. Maybe I should tell you who I am. Maybe I should tell you what I did, where I’m from. Can I go to my end if you don’t know?

I guess I can, for now. Maybe because part of me hasn’t given up hope on me living through this, and maybe because I can’t see how letting everyone know the truth about me would really help. If I don’t make it, I’m sorry grandma. Someday, I hope you understand.

-1159