The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1) Brian Terenna (best novels to read to improve english txt) 📖

Oops. “I’m sorry, Sunny. You’re everything to me.”

I drag myself off the bed, the stress sapping my energy, and hold out my hand to him. He accepts, then hops off the bed, his stuffed animal, Bean, still in his other arm.

I rummage through my messenger bag, moving my steel water bottle aside to find a letter. I stuff it into my pocket. “Come on.”

Sun streams in through the skylights, illuminating Barbra’s many oil paintings adorning the walls. My eye catches the large rendition of Samuel Adams in his colonial clothes. He holds the New American flag in one hand and the new constitution in the other.

Red, white, and blue streamers crisscross the kitchen, and a flag hangs from a pole. The smell of frying potatoes and vegetables fills my nose. The morning news chatters in the background as holograms project from Barbra’s old q-link that lies on the counter. The decorations are new, but the smell of delicious food and the morning news are mainstays.

Barbra is at the door checking the locks, something she started doing more often lately. She turns around, and her standard affectionate smile makes her chubby cheeks puff out. The bags under her eyes are even darker today, though. “Happy Freedom Day, Sweetheart. Can you believe it’s been eighty years since the 2040 revolution?” she asks, her voice muffled from the flu.

I shrug.

Barbra stumbles, looking like she’ll topple over. I dart to her side and stabilize her.

“I’m fine. I’ve just been a little dizzy.” She hugs me. Her lavender and citrus perfume stays behind as she releases me.

Her hugs used to feel suffocating, but over the months, that has changed. Now, I find myself breathing instead of holding my breath.

She studies me. “You’re so beautiful with those big brown eyes and that copper skin.”

I wave away the compliment.

“Your parents must have been quite the pair. What was their ancestry?”

“My mom was Dominican. I have no idea what my dad was.”

“Dominican. That’s what I see in you.” She brushes her long bangs from her eyes and stirs the sizzling potatoes. “I’m making extra breakfast since it’s a holiday…and to fatten you up.”

I look at my bony wrists, then grimace as my eyes land on the knotted burn scar. Barbra glances at it but says nothing since I’ve told her I don’t want to talk about it.

“What do you think about my decorations? If I didn’t have this darned flu, I would have done more.”

I look around the festive room again. How much more decorative could it get? “They look great.”

“According to the news, the flu is really spreading this year. I even got the flu shot. Can you believe it?”

Even though I never get sick, I tuck my hands into my pockets.

Barbra shrugs. “What are you going to do? Ooo, we should watch fireworks from the roof tonight.”

It would be the first time in years that I’ve celebrated anything. “Sure. You’re feeling well enough?”

“I’ll lie down for a while after we eat. I’ll be just fine,” she says, then adds egg substitute to the home fries.

Barbra’s q-link emits a familiar electronic jingle. “Do do do. Evo, the next stage of evolution.”

I roll my eyes at the holograms floating above it. Looks like they have a new commercial.

An older woman with crow’s feet glances at her wedding ring, then frowns at a balding man with a round stomach.

“Unhappy with your partner’s declining appearance?” asks a disembodied male voice.

The couple nods.

With the Evo’s augmented reality program, everyone is attractive.”

The woman’s wrinkles vanish, and the blonde in her hair chases away the gray. The man’s stomach flattens, and his hair fills in. They smile at each other. The image fades as he leans in to kiss his upgraded lady.

Another scene appears. A man in a crumpled business suit sits at a cubical and sighs.

“Does your job have you burned out?”

The businessman nods.

“With the Evo’s direct brain link, you can learn anything instantly, communicate telepathically, and finish your work in a quarter of the time.”

The scene fades to another with the businessman leaning back in his chair, his feet on his desk.

A hologram of a man opening a package appears. He pulls out a thin, half-centimeter device with a huge smile. Seconds later, he holds the device to his temple, and it disappears into his head.

“The Evo installs in seconds, and you can easily uninstall anytime you like,” the narrator says. “Upgrade your brain in the next stage of evolution with the Xyphotech Evo. It’s the only unhackable brain implant in existence. No credit, bad credit, no problem. And now, with the twenty percent discount, the Evo is affordable for your entire family.”

A hologram of a well-dressed mother and two young boys appears in the air. They’re sitting in what looks like a tech mogul’s mansion and smiling at each other as if they just won the lottery.

“Think smarter, faster, better. Evo: the next stage of evolution.”

I shake my head, my eyes narrowed. “You can watch the news directly inside your brain with your Evo, you know.”

“I know,” says Barbra. “I’m just used to this. Did you get to see my Navin painting? I did a lot last night.”

I don’t know why she likes the dead revolutionary so much. Are things even better now than they used to be? “I’ll check it out.”

“He was so handsome, and I’m doing him justice,” she says with a big grin. “I’m excited to finish it now that I have the time after leaving my job at Fort Stroudsburg.”

It’s weird that she left her job. She always talked about how much she loved contributing to our great country. “How come you quit? I thought you loved being an analyst.”

She