Abatt01r

Frequency Magazine, Volume 3
Cory Doctorow

Jeremy Bloom is a fellow Torontonian-cum-Californian, a starry-eyed sf writer who went to Hollywood to write screenplays. His latest venture is Frequency Magazine, this really cool audio anthology on CD, featuring really tasty theatrical productions of short stories. I'm an audiobook addict -- I can't clean the toilet, drive a mile, or fall asleep without an audiobook in the background -- and I've always dreamed of having one of my stories produced professionally. This kicks ass.

The freakin' "World's Dullest Hacker" spied me as soon as I walked in to the Abatt01r, and better believe me, in this bar the competition for the title is way-stiff.

He was old enough to have the Old Person Smell -- it's the stink of guys who grew up spending too much time sitting in front of their computers, drinking Jolt Cola, breaking into gov't systems and ratting on their buddies. It's the stench of nostalgia, and of all the new smellies that I got when I upgraded my nose with some hardware from the guys up in the Black Orbitals, it's my least fave.

It's what I hate about the Abatt01r: all the freakin' oldtimers who hang around, like, resting on their laurels, expecting working guys to buy them drinks. But I was there to meet The Man, and to Get Paid, and this is where The Man wanted to transact business -- said he was meeting with another guy, before, and he could squeeze me in after, and then catch his shuttle back up to his L7 satellite.