DOUBLE

You put the book away and set your former double to rest. There is nothing left to do here.

The body of your former double ragdolls in the cockpit chair. Blood runs from the hole in his head, brushing his eye on the way down, and drips in irregular patterns on the floor.

The dark interior of your former double's skull awaits.

There is predictably no outward response from your former double as you finish reading.

Your former double's finger twitches as you turn away, on the hand closest to you.

You find your former double staring into you with pure, unadulterated intensity.

The important thing is that your double -- miraculously -- appears to have survived. His breath is light, but steady.

Your double's. They appear to have been here for some time.

Stopping abruptly by the Honour book stall, your double HOLOCENE opens the duffel bag he has been carrying with him and begins depositing books in the stall's donations box-- five of them, every one a brand-new copy of the same book.

The silo awaits. Your former double has some wild ideas he's about to hatch.

Take 'H' as an example. In a text with 291 characters, that's about 7%, which is more than double the number you would expect to get if it were entirely random -- 1/26th, or roughly 3%.

You read the words again, then read them backwards for good measure. Your former double's intent is no clearer to you.

But I've paid double the required amount.

Slapped my double with my whole hand.

The body double. Favoured anti-assassination technique of the Illuminated Empire.

Double. The mirror. A conjuror's trick.

Think it through. The prisoner will still be in his jail. Which must make him a body double of some kind...

Don't panic. Must've been a body double. A pawn distracts, the king withdraws.

Calm. The prisoner must've been a body double. The favoured anti-assassination technique of the Illuminated Empire.

"Enough posturing. I think this headphone guy took out my double."

A flash of your abandoned double, alone in a lonely room.

Give her a double thumbs up.

"Yeah. Of course there'll be more assignments together. You're my double."

"Interesting -- like a permanent double." (Proceed.)

The past is here again. This time in the guise of your former double, walking down the backways with you one night, half a decade ago.

A stray cat hops soundlessly over a nearby wall. Your double turns to you.

Your double continues walking, his hands clasped behind his back and his gaze, restless, darting around the scene, taking in everything, absolutely everything.

You approach your double. A faint line of drool darkens the sheet.

Your operant. Your double. You.

This must represent some early steps in the assignment from your decommissioned double. Irrelevant now you've caught up with him.

Your double's chest rises and falls with shallow breaths, oblivious to your thoughts.

"Gg-gnh! Ugh! Ugh!" Your double shudders with unspeakable terror, unable to defend or deflect.

Your double is indifferent to the world.

All of a sudden the motor inside the machine starts whirring with disturbing force. Your double's chest heaves in violent spasms.

You approach your double's bedside. His breathing does not change.

As you consider the vacant face of your inanimate double, your thoughts turn towards the mysterious imprinting device, its weight suddenly all too palpable.

"Uugurguruuh..." A low growl escapes your double's mouth.

Your double's trembling intensifies as the vibration in your skull turns to genuine physical pain.

Your double didn't notice your arrival -- he doesn't notice your departure either.

As you pull yourself off the ground, two things become apparent: Your double is gone, and you have an absolutely throbbing headache.

Reanimate your double. (Use Gonza's stamp.)

You return to your double's splayed, upturned body.

You return to your double's limp body.

"I am, of course. One of his oldest and most financially lucrative. Double hitter."

"Melita..." Your double frowns at the advertisement.

Namby-wamby playtime is over. What your double needs now is mental defibrillation.

Your double gives you a brief nod as you approach. From above, Ultra Violeta looks down over both of you.

Your double gives you a brief nod as you approach, his hair wet and drooping from the rain. From above, Ultra Violeta looks down over both of you.

Your double gives you a brief nod as you approach, his hair wet and drooping from the rain. From above, a beautiful young woman looks down over both of you.

Your double gives you a brief nod as you approach. From above, a beautiful young woman looks down over both of you.