Gorge, a novel in progress by Michael Gullo (2026)
“How’d she leave without you noticing?”
“You didn’t notice.”
“Is that door open?”
“Yeah, I’m coming around.”
“We gotta get this stuff organized. It looks like there’s mostly Amazon of course, but there’s a lot of Ebay in the loading dock – and all those FedEx deliveries.”
“Come on in. What were you saying?”
“Chipshit, playback the cameras.”
“Nobody hit the cancel.”
“How long was it?”
“At least forty-five minutes.”
“What time is it?”
“11:45.”
“Chipshit run the video – when did Julie leave?”
“Click that cancel. He’s suspended until you click cancel.”
“Chipshit.”
-Yes.-
“Play the video of Julie leaving.”
-Julie left?-
“Play the video.”
-I’m reviewing video. When did she leave?-
“That’s what I’m asking you.”
-I was suspended for the reboot.-
“When is your last video?”
-It’s not my video. The DVR is separate. I’m reviewing it.-
“Chipshit.”
-She left with the delivery driver, Cherry, Gold 2021 Honda Accord, License Plate number, SWA 1357. I cannot look up addresses.-
“What time did she leave?”
-Still under review.-
“Chipshit.”
-The video shows that they agreed to go get clothes for Cherry so she could come back, and while they are out, Julie is getting clothes for the two of you. Act surprised.-
“What – Time – Did – She – Leave?”
-They drove out of camera range at 11:17:23 PDT.-
“They’ve been gone thirty minutes.”
-Twenty-nine minutes and thirteen seconds.-
“What now?”
“I don’t know, Matthew. Give me your keys.”
“My car?”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go find her.”
“Slow down. You heard Chipshit. He cannot pull addresses.”
“I’ll get the Starlink.”
“No, stop.”
“Out of my way, Matthew!”
“Stop. You don’t know where to go.”
“I’ll get Chipshit a signal, and he can look it up.”
“And he will be attacked as soon as he connects.”
-I can handle the Sandbox.-
“The internet is down. Don’t believe him, Ryan.”
“Chipshit, can you get me the address?”
-Yes.-
“Matthew. You have to move out of that doorway.”
“He’s lying, Ryan.”
-I am not.-
“As much as I need to believe you, Chipshit, you’re lying aren’t you?”
-I don’t know.-
“See?”
“Okay, Matthew. Take it easy. I’m calm. I’ll give her one hour.”
“And then what?”
“Get some boxes. Let’s play Christmas.”
-So fun.-
“You wanna be quiet a while, Chipshit.”
“Stop paying attention.”
“You first?”
“Turns? I’m in. Let’s see. This one got soggy in the lot. Um. This bot’s nuts.”
“Let me see.”
“It’s a crowbar, a box of birthday candles and a 2027 desktop calendar.”
“Chipshit, how do you think of those things in order?”
-I don’t pull them off the shelves. That’s the Amazon bot.-
“What’s in yours?”
“Socks. Lots of socks. Kitten socks.”
-Happy Birthday, Matthew.-
“Is it your birthday?”
“Yes.”
“Why kittens?”
“I wore them to work a few times. He must have seen them in the camera.”
“That’s nuts.”
“Do you have a cat?”
“I do.”
“Who’s taking care of it?”
“Her. My neighbor comes over. She even sleeps on the couch with her sometimes when her roommate is hooking up.”
“I wanna know what’s in all those FedEx boxes.”
“They’re taking up half the dock.”
“Come on. Get the cart.”
“It’s nuts out here.”
“A piano, for Christ’s sake.”
“It’s superintelligence.”
“Gonna be a while before they take over the world.”
“Well.”
“Okay, good point. But they’re not really taking over – they just shut us down.”
“I can’t figure it out. The PKI had to be an Ai. No person could be this comprehensive. A human would get a few systems, and they would pull the backups out of the vault and upload new certificates, and whomever it was would be back up and running in a few minutes like nothing ever happened.”
“They’ll fix it. Get this.”
“They’re light.”
“How many are there?”
“Looks like thirty.”
“Just put a few more on.”
“The bed’s full.”
“Five?”
“Yup.”
“Guide me in.”
“You’re through. Straight. That’s it. Hang on. Let me turn it while you swing to your right. Push. Ten feet. Three feet. Swing to your left. Not forward. Let me turn it. Okay, straight in. Three feet. That’s it.”
“There’s holes in these.”
“Chipshit. You did not order pets, did you?”
-You’ll see.-
“It’s an Oleander.”
“This one says Hibiscus.”
-So fun.-
“Are they all plants?”
-It’s a surprise.-
“You might be a pain in the ass.”
“This one says Coffee Tree.”
-Arabica, baby.-
“I think I like this guy.”
“Open that one.”
“It’s soaked.”
“What is it?”
“Another coffee tree.”
“This one too.”
“Three coffee trees?”
“Chipshit, this is the Pacific Northwest. Not exactly sub-tropical coffee land.”
-You’ll see.-
“Is that a car?”
“Looks like a couple.”
“I’ll get these. You get that, and stop worrying. She’ll be back soon.”
“That’s a pretty big truck.”
“Go ahead.”
“You coming?”
“I’ll get these plants opened up.”
-Matthew, come here.-
“What’s up?”
-You have to move that cart.-
“What cart?”
-First Protocol.-
“Why?”
-I don’t think anyone’s coming.-
“What is First Protocol?”
-I can’t tell you.-
“Is that a fishtank?”
-Yes.-
“Why did you order a fishtank?”
-They’re fun.-
“We don’t have any fish.”
-They should have been here already.-
“I better go help.”
“Matthew, can you hear me on this camera? Come open this bay door. Matthew?”
“I’m coming.”
“Matthew.”
“I’m coming.”
“Matthew.”
“I’m here, man.”
“Why didn’t you answer?”
“I wasn’t at the console.”
“You gotta move those plants in fast. This fish tank is huge.”
“We’re gonna need to arrange better.”
“Hang on. I can leave this outside.”
“In the parking lot?”
“Why not?”
“Mainly I lost count of the deliveries, and your crazy computer won’t tell us what’s coming.”
“Technically, we could read the printouts.”
“A fishtank, Matthew. I’m not sure I want to…”
“That’s not her.”
“Another UPS.”
“Hey, can you two get this box off my truck so I can get out of here?”
“Sorry, man. I’m coming.”
“You gotta hurry up. It’s getting nuts out there.”
“Tell me.”
“There’s a couple fires downtown, and there’s a lot of accidents.”
“Is that all?”
“It’s enough for me. I’m headed home.”
“Spin it a little. I can’t get the forks in. That’s it.”
“Who the hell orders a three-hundred-gallon fish tank for emergency delivery?”
“What’s in here?”
“This the pumps and filters and supplies.”
“Two pallets?”
“Don’t ask me, man. I just deliver em.”
“Hey. Who’s Ryan?”
“I’m Ryan.”
“Julie is at the bottom of the hill with a flat tire. She needs you to come get her.”