I dreamed this
The lone little USB storage drive was simply sitting by itself on the sidewalk, as though a pedestrian fumbling for his keys mistakenly caused it to fall from his pocket. It had no company markings, but the shape was unique. It had a beautiful lace like etching on the case, and two small red bumps near the USB connector. Simple yet classy, and on a lark I decided to pick up the abandoned device.
With an old computer I didn't much care about I plugged it in and found no files or folders on it. It had precious little memory space, but after running an anti-virus checker I found nothing malicious. Nothing at all.
For me this curiosity was at an end, and leaving the device plugged into the old computer I retired to my regular activities.
* * *
In the morning my curiosity re-established itself. The two small red bumps on the device had vanished. It seemed odd, and I considered that perhaps they were buttons which had been pressed inside when the drive was inserted into the computer.
Over the course of the day when I checked it again I saw the two small red bumps had slowly re-emerged from the USB drive, supporting my earlier theory, but provided little reason for the behavior. I gave it little thought until early the following morning.
* * *
I awoke earlier than usual, and found on my arm the two small red bumps from the USB drive, slowly bloating on blood. With force I removed them, causing the sudden detachment to cause a sharp burning pain not unlike a bee sting. The two small red bumps on tiny insect like feet skittered across my sheets before unfolding two sets of delicate wings and flying out of my room through a cracked window.
In checking the USB Drive I saw another set of red bumps slowly emerging from the holes where the others had been. Grabbing a heavy shoe I smashed the USB Drive until small parts of odd looking circuitry and greenish ooze were splattered across my floor.
The incident had shaken me from my normally calm and analytical nature, but as I disposed of the remains and applied a balm to my arm I began to think about what had occurred. Had it been alive? Were there more? Were the small red bumps offspring in a strange sort of life cycle? Had it really happened? I had heard of insect mimicry, but even the evidence before me was difficult to accept.
I wondered about the red bumps that had flown out the window, and where they would go, what they’d become, and who would find them
With an old computer I didn't much care about I plugged it in and found no files or folders on it. It had precious little memory space, but after running an anti-virus checker I found nothing malicious. Nothing at all.
For me this curiosity was at an end, and leaving the device plugged into the old computer I retired to my regular activities.
* * *
In the morning my curiosity re-established itself. The two small red bumps on the device had vanished. It seemed odd, and I considered that perhaps they were buttons which had been pressed inside when the drive was inserted into the computer.
Over the course of the day when I checked it again I saw the two small red bumps had slowly re-emerged from the USB drive, supporting my earlier theory, but provided little reason for the behavior. I gave it little thought until early the following morning.
* * *
I awoke earlier than usual, and found on my arm the two small red bumps from the USB drive, slowly bloating on blood. With force I removed them, causing the sudden detachment to cause a sharp burning pain not unlike a bee sting. The two small red bumps on tiny insect like feet skittered across my sheets before unfolding two sets of delicate wings and flying out of my room through a cracked window.
In checking the USB Drive I saw another set of red bumps slowly emerging from the holes where the others had been. Grabbing a heavy shoe I smashed the USB Drive until small parts of odd looking circuitry and greenish ooze were splattered across my floor.
The incident had shaken me from my normally calm and analytical nature, but as I disposed of the remains and applied a balm to my arm I began to think about what had occurred. Had it been alive? Were there more? Were the small red bumps offspring in a strange sort of life cycle? Had it really happened? I had heard of insect mimicry, but even the evidence before me was difficult to accept.
I wondered about the red bumps that had flown out the window, and where they would go, what they’d become, and who would find them