Excerpt From Silicon Sunset
Book One, Chapter Twelve

     Mike input the activation data to his equipment and raised his arm to offer Kale an entrance signal. Before he could give the cue, however, a warning impulse issued from his auxiliary security monitor.
     "Wasted bitdoo!" he exclaimed. "You’ve set me up! Who are you? A flitting Web Monitor?"
     "No," said Kale. "Of course not."
     "Then what type of wastebyte are you?"
     "I’m just a visiting scholar, for Ray’s sake. I’m not here to cause any trouble."
     "Right! That’s why your netgork code is creeping with overlay transfers!"
     "What?"
     "You’re pirated," explained Mike. "Somebody’s monitoring all your impulses."
     "That can’t be. This must be some kind of joke. Or else your organisms are infected."
     "Impossible. I know overlay transfers when I see them."
     "This is insane," she said, as fear slid into her abdomen. "Who’s doing this monitoring?"
     "I can’t get a trace. It reeks big-time. The pirater’s got heavy-duty protection."
     "I don’t understand. I really don’t."
     Mike took a deep breath. "Let me get this straight," he said slowly. "You’re trying to tell me that you didn’t know you were being pirated?"
     "Yes, that’s what I’m saying, Mike."
     "Think about it," interjected Chamy. "If Kale knew she was being pirated, would she be so stupid as to try this with you?"
     "Yeah, well..."
     "It’s true," said Kale. "If I’m being pirated, that’s all the more reason I need your help."
     "And why should I get caught up in the middle? I don’t even know anything about you."
     "I’d hardly say that," said Kale. "You did break into my private netgork."
     "So what? I didn’t search your system. It was just a test. How was I supposed to know you’d be creeping with transfers?"
     "Maybe if I explained to you what I’m really involved in..."
     "No, please!" he replied. "I don’t want to know."
     "Look," she said. "I’m not sure why you’re so interested in private information, but my guess is you’re not so different from me. The fact is, we live in a system of bitwaste on top of bitwaste. So are you going to help me or not?"
     Mike looked at Kale like he’d just been delivered a tray of rainbow-colored flying saucer burritos. "Well... I’m not even sure I can," he stuttered. "I’d have to rig up a way to bend around the overlays."
     "Try," Chamy encouraged. "At least try."
     "And what’s my reward?"
     "How about some motion bonding?" said Chamy, with mischievous eyes. "The kind you like, with transducer data."
     "All right, damn it. I’ll do it." He relinked to his equipment and began constructing a wave path around the overlays.