Dane heard the wind first, then felt dust whipping around him. His mouth was bone dry and every inch of his body ached. Dimy, he remembered the tiny room with the wide window and the ominous chair, briefly smelled the stench of burned meat and ozone - but then realized he smelled something else as well, a more organic smell; his mind wandered around trying to pce it; manure?

  He opened his eyes - the bright light was painful so he closed them again and reopened them very slowly this time. He was outside, partially buried in sand. A brilliant sun beat down on him and on the surrounding area.

  Confused, Dane struggled to his feet; it took him three tries but then he was standing and looked around. To one side, either East if it was before noon or West if after, he saw a rocky outcropping. To the other, he could make out what looked like a small town or settlement in the distance. In the other two directions, all he could see was sand and some cacti. There was some kind of a bird circling overhead; he assumed it was a vulture. In the distance he heard sounds of metal on metal and what was probably some kind of animal noises but he was not sure.

  Gncing down, he noticed that, instead of the prison issued blue-gray slip ons and orange jumpsuit he was st wearing he now sported some well-worn calf-high leather boots on his feet and equally worn heavy denim pants. A vest that he thought was made of soft leather, but he was not completely sure, partially covered a dirty white button down shirt. Around his neck he had some kind of cloth thing; after pulling it off and considering it briefly the word “bandanna” came to him. At his waist he wore what looked to be an old-school gun belt - it held a revolver that looked more like a prop from an old movie than a real gun to him, but no bullets. It smelled as if it had been fired fairly recently but was cool to the touch.

  Then he checked his pockets. A second bandanna and four coins. Two bore a design that looked roughly like Texas with the number “ten” in the center on one side and a crudely stamped face that purported to be Sam Austin on the other. The third coin bore an even more puzzling “Deseret 10” on one side and what looked to be a Bible verse on the other, but not one he was familiar with “The Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” on the other.

  The fourth coin was the strangest - it was silver in color but felt too light to be silver, and had no markings at all. He held it up, turned it over, then casually flipped it into the air. As he caught it, the “coin” shimmered slightly and then slid into his hand as if a knife into its sheath.

  Then Dane heard the Voice and saw matching green text scrolling past his right eye: <>

  “Um, hi VICC?” Dane offered, his confusion growing.

  VICC responded: <>

  “Dane. Dane Coleman”

  <> the voice asked for crification.

  “Uh, just Dane,” he answered while gncing around trying to see if this was some sort of a joke.

  <> the voice continued.

  “Current profile?” Dane asked.

  Taking the question as a command, VICC said: <>

  “Any expnations would be nice,” Dane answered.

  <>

  “Sure,” Dane replied, finally curious about the whole thing.

  <>

  VICC paused for a moment before continuing: <>

  “Why the heck not?” Dane replied.

  <
  All but “Endurance” and “Ear For Languages” seemed self expnatory so Dane shook his head, then realized VICC might not recognize that gesture and said “Not right now. Anything more?”

  <>

  “Go ahead.”

  <>

  After a short pause, VICC continued: <>

  None of this was making much sense to him, but Dane decided to py along: “Add one point to Endurance and convert the other to skills. Are there any skills that would help me out right now?”

  <>

  “Navigation and Survival - guess three points in Navigation and two in Survival.”

  Dane heard a series of three “dings” and the voice resumed: <>

  “Can you tell me where I am?”

  <>

  Then there was another ding: <>

  “Well, then, let's go see what Murray’s Fall is like. Wait - what does it look like to others when we talk?” Dane suddenly stopped walking and asked.

  VICC replied: <>

  “Good to know. How do I access you?”

  <>

  “Excellent. Time to go to town!”