Assimilated

"Seriously guys, you've gotta sign up,” Will enthused. The young dark-haired student sat with his two companions in the university coffee shop, other groups sitting at the surrounding tables, the warm cosy room filled with conversation and laughter.

“I dunno,” remarked Emma, absentmindedly playing with her long blonde hair. “I've already got profiles on three or four sites and I used them all for about a month before getting bored of it.”

“Absolute.Network is different,” replied Will, sipping his coffee. “You don't have to do anything accept create a profile. The programme assimilates all your information for you.”

“How does that work?” questioned Henry, adjusting his glasses.

“Well it uses your web cam to get your picture – ”

“That's fairly obvious,” interrupted Emma, making Henry chuckle.

“ – but it also scans your surroundings and gathers the information needed to fill out your profile,” Will continued, ignoring her joke. “For example, I was doing some reading for my course last night, and when I checked my profile the programme had added my degree course to my personal info and had made a post about the exact book I was reading.”

Henry frowned.

“That sounds a bit invasive.”

“No, it's cool. There's loads of stuff in the regulations and rules that stops anyone from stealing your identity.”

“Yeah, if you trust that stuff,” retorted his friend.

“You're just too paranoid, Mister 'I change my email account every month',” said Will playfully, flicking a biscuit crumb at Henry, who dramatically pretended to be shot as it hit him, the trio laughing.

“Maybe I'll give it a try,” said Emma thoughtfully.

“Well, don't say I didn't warn you,” Henry said aloofly. “These things will take over your life.”

Entering his bedroom, Will took off his backpack and tossed it onto his unmade bed, sitting down at his desk with a sigh of relief. It felt good to get home. Surprising how three hours of lectures can really take it out of you. Almost like a really day's work. He turned on the monitor of his computer, the screen flickering into life. His Absolute.Network profile was gradually filling up with information, the 'hobbies and interests' area brimming with all the films, books and music he liked. Will smiled. So much easier than doing it all himself.

As he glanced at himself in the mirror something caught his eye. He stared at the reflective surface, confused. He was missing a freckle. He touched his face, his fingers passing over the place where the brown dot once was. Well, where he assumed it once was. Had it always been there? He turned back to the computer, scrutinising the image of his face on his profile page. There it was, just below his left eye. Maybe it was just a bit of dirt or a pimple, he thought, but in the back of his mind he knew it had been there for as long as he could remember.

A knock at the door startled him.

“Hey Will, you there?”

“Yeah, come in.”

The tousled curly-haired head of his house-mate Alex poked around the door.

“We're going out for a curry, you wanna come?”

“Um...yeah, alright,” replied Will, grabbing his jacket and following Alex out of the room, the missing freckle pushed to the dusty recesses of his mind.

Will climbed sluggishly back into bed, pulling the covers tightly around him. He felt terrible, completely drained. His house-mates had all made remarks about his colourless complexion when he had ventured downstairs for a slice of toast, urging him with concern to visit the doctor. He waved their anxiety away, asserting that he'd be fine in a day or two. It had already been three days since the illness had started however, and he couldn't even fool himself into thinking that he felt any better. He sank in and out of sleep, all the while his computer humming away in the background, a soothing electronic buzz.

He awoke, his bedroom shrouded in darkness, a shaft of streetlight dissecting the black space from between the parted curtains. An uncomfortable itching sensation covered his entire body, running from his head to his toes, like a thousand ants prickling his flesh. In the dimness he forced himself into a sitting position. He felt so weak. So tired. His head ached, his eyes dry and irritated. He scratched at his arms, the itch burning his skin. Something wasn't right. His skin felt...different, taut and cold. He laboriously swung his legs out of the bed and stood up, inspecting his body in the mirror.

The breath left his body as he caught sight of himself. His skin was completely featureless. No hair, no freckles, not a wrinkle or crease in sight, his body like a grotesque porcelain doll. A cry of fear escaped him as he saw his face. It looked like it had been sanded down to an almost faultless sphere, his nose reduced to a small lump, his mouth a smooth line, his eyes sinking into their sockets. His breath was shallow and fast, as if his lungs were being slowly crushed within him.

Then he saw the computer screen. Glowing in the black, it displayed his Absolute.Network profile picture. Not just a good match or a high-resolution digital copy, the image was perfect. His hair, his face, his imperfections and freckles; everything that was missing from his current mutated form. It was him.

Panic rushing over him, he stumbled towards the computer. He had to shut it down. He fell to his knees, his strength waning, head swimming, vision blurring. He reached out his hand, inching closer and closer, his finger brushing against the power button. Darkness enveloped him, wrapping him in unconsciousness. His body fell limply to the ground, motionless on the carpeted floor.

Emma and Henry sat in the coffee shop, mugs in front of them, a third mug in front of the empty place at the circular table. Henry checked his watch.

“He's never this late,” he remarked.

“You'd think he'd have told us if he wasn't coming,” Emma said, taking out her phone. She placed it against her ear, listening for a few seconds, then removing it. “No answer. I'll see if he's sent me anything on my profile.” She tapped the screen of her touch-phone, cycling through the menus and gadgets. “Nothing. I'll send him a message, he's always online.”

The End

The end has arrived!

As of today, I have unofficially finished my university degree! I handed in my last essay this morning, just gotta wait and see what marks I get. Hopefully good ones! It's a little bit surreal. Hasn't really sunk in yet that after three years of uni (four if you count my year doing Sociology and Criminology - worst course ever), it's all finished. And I've gotta find a job now, and be a real person!

This week has been an interesting one so far. Started off well on Monday, I'd done over half of my essay and the rest was well planned out. However, for reasons I've yet to ascertain, I spent Monday night/Tuesday morning worshipping 'the porcelain throne'. The culprits could be either a dodgy chili, essay stress, the fact that I drank a copious amount of Pepsi with my dinner, or a combination of the three! I spent most of Tuesday sleeping, playing PS3 and feeling sorry for myself (sigh, get the violins out).

However, I felt much better on Tuesday and was able to finish off my Post War American Writing essay with minimal stress. I think it was quite a good one, well I hope and pray it was! I chose to write about the importance of the outsider figure to American identity, using Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon and Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club to demonstrate the argument. I thought it would be really difficult to find secondary material on Fight Club, but there were actually some really useful journal articles online. I didn't get a good mark in my earlier Post War American Writing essay (not many people did apparently), so there's a lot riding on this one!

Having handed in my final essay, there was one inevitable thing that was going to occur today. After over a month of waiting, the moment has arrived...Final Fantasy XIII has been played! By me! I'm enjoying it so far, the graphics are amazing, the story-line is involving, and the battle system is actually quite fun, while being a complete departure from the ones of the past games. Some of the characters are a little bit annoying, like soppy Hope and over-enthusiastic Vanille, and the game feels very linear at the beginning, not much scope for customisation or any side quests so far. But it's still really good, worth continuing with until the choices open up a bit more.

I've really been RPG-ing it up this month, as I bought Fallout 3 the other day. It's an awesome game, and a nice change to the FF-style RPGs that I'm used to. However, in my opinion, it's strongest feature is also it's biggest weakness. Fallout 3 is a BIG game, with almost limitless permeations of how it can be played. This is really cool, as it means you definitely get your money's worth (especially if you get the Game of the Year edition with the DLC included), but it left me feeling a little bit lost to start with and forced me to wander around aimlessly before I got to grips with the game. It's really fun though, great mix of first-person shooter and RPG elements.

Managed to persuade my housemate and Lauren to watch The Usual Suspects the other day. And, as I knew they would, they enjoyed it very much! They should listen to my film recommendations more often. Watched Kick-ass and Iron Man 2 at the cinema recently, both of which I enjoyed, but the former was better than the latter. Kick-ass was really original and superbly shot, but was a little bit lazy with the humour at some points. There are cleverer ways to make people laugh than having a pre-pubescent girl cursing like a trooper. Iron Man 2 was good, but lacked a little bit of sparkle. I think the first one was a fair bit better.

So it's gonna be a lazy day tomorrow, with much Final Fantasy to be played. However, I don't wanna rub it in Lauren's face that I've finished my uni work MUCH MUCH EARLIER than her. So I guess I'll be looking for a job...any ideas?

I have been ever so slightly busy...

The last couple of weeks have been hectic. It was dissertation hand-in time for most people at my uni last week, so both Lauren and myself have been going a bit spare with our academic work. Writing, double-checking, proof-reading, checking again, printing, finding one tiny mistake that means you have to print all over again...you get the picture. But it's over now, both our dissertations are handed in. We've just gotta try to stop thinking about them, or I know we'll find things we could improve.

As well as finishing my dissertation this week I finished a couple of other things as well. I completed Batman: Arkham Asylum the other day, which is a fantastic game. I know what you're thinking: how did he have time to play games when he's got so much work to do? I've relax at some point, or I'll go mad! Anyway it's a great game with an engrossing story, awesome graphics and really fluid controls and gameplay. The voice acting is really good too, especially Mark Hamill's take on The Joker.

I also finished reading Fight Club for my Post-War American Writing unit. What a book. I don't know whether I like it better than the film version, they're both fantastic in their own ways. Chuck Palahniuk, the author, actually said that he thought the film was better than his novel, which I thought was a really humble and honest thing to say. There's a fascinating afterword in the edition I own where he talks about the phenomenon the book created and how he never expected any of it.

Discovered my new favourite metal band the other day; Becoming the Archetype. They're a progressive death-metal band from Atlanta, Georgia; kind of a mix between Killswitch Engage and Opeth. I'm consciously not calling them 'Christian Metal', because I don't believe there should be 'Christian' genres of music. All music belongs to God; whether people acknowledge that with their lyrics is up to them. Let's just say it's metal performed by a group of Christians. I (legally) downloaded their album 'Dichotomy' the other day; it's amazing. The opening track 'Mountain of Souls' thunders powerfully, followed by the epic riffage of the title track, soft keyboards adding extra dimensions to the soundscape. Other songs to look out for are 'Ransom' and the band's cover of the hymn 'How Great Thou Art'; an original and innovative take on a song with truly inspired and worshipful words.

I may have finished my dissertation but that doesn't mean things are any less busy! I'm playing guitar at church tomorrow, so I'll have a very busy Sunday. Then my writing project it due next Thursday, which is almost complete but there's still a fair few things to be done to it. I also have to finish reading Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon by Monday, and I'm at work this afternoon. Phew! And then there's a certain wedding that needs to be planned, although that's all coming together quite well.

And in the midst of all this, Lauren has somehow persuaded me to wait until I've finished ALL my uni work before I play Final Fantasy XIII. I don't think I can wait till the 20th of May! What have I agreed to?!

My top ten metal albums

10. The Black Mages - The Black Mages - What do you get when you combine the genius of Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and shamelessly cheesy prog-metal? An album of top-quality instrumental tracks exploding with screaming guitar solos and ethereal synths. The track 'Force Your Way', the boss music from Final Fantasy VII, demonstrates why this a must-have for metal and FF fans alike.

9. All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals - Standing out from the plethora of similar metalcore albums, this record contains the perfect mix of raging screams, melodic choruses, technical guitar solos and pummeling drum beats. It's hard to pick a stand-out track, as this album really is all killer and no filler, but I guess I'll have to go with 'It Dwells In Me', because it contains my favourite solo of the record!

8. Reuben - Racecar is Racecar Backwards - This album represents for me a reworking of the 90s grunge style for a new century, containing a messy, raw energy combined with heavy metal brutality. The British trio's best track from this album is 'Let's Stop Hanging Out' in my opinion, a discordant and yet effortlessly catchy tune with an awesome refrain.

7. Sikth - Death of a Dead Day - I almost forgot this album! Technical metal at its best, jazzy discordant licks placed skillfully alongside ferocious metallic double-kick drums and some of the most original vocals of any album. The lead guitar on this record is truly sublime, matching up to the standards of guitar virtuosos like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and the riffs also follow this pattern. 'Part of the Friction' would have to be my choice for the best track on the album, its incredible intro leading into a great song, filled with superb licks.

6. Trivium - Ascendency - After a period of not listening to metal, this was the album that brought me back to the genre, in particular encouraging me to grab my guitar and learn some brutal riffs! The record bursts at the seams with soaring twin guitar attacks and powerful rhythms, with the song 'The Deceived' being the one that sticks out for me, a brilliant combination of lead guitar and relentless chugging.

5. Enter Shikari - Take to the Skies - The main inspiration for my short-lived band Helvetica Outbreak, this album represents a triumph of originality. The combination of drum 'n' bass beats, dance-inspired synths and crunching riffs is extremely organic, topped off with catchy and memorable lyrics. Once again, there are so many good tracks on this album, but if forced to pick, I'd have to choose 'Return to Energiser', due to its awesome trance breakdown that morphs into a hectic metal beat-down.

4. Pantera - A Vulgar Display of Power - R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell, one the most amazing guitarists of all time, and the creator the brilliant riffs and storming solos from this iconic groove-metal album. There is a Southern States swaggering attitude that exudes from all the songs on this record, a perfect blend of punk savagery and heavy metal furiousness. The track 'Walk' is my definite favourite, having one of the best metal riffs of all time and an epic solo, cementing DBD as one of my major guitar heroes.

3. Deftones - White Pony - One of the first albums I bought during my teenage years, and probably the start of my love affair with the musical genre of metal. Because of this nostalgia I chose this album over its predecessor 'Around the Fur', which is also an exceptional record. There is an eeriness and intensity to all of the Deftones' music, and this album is has some particularly powerful examples of this. My favourite track from this alternative metal classic changes every time I listen to it! At the moment I'd have to say 'Digital Bath' is the one, not only for its weird title but also for the dark, edgy feel and brooding soulful vocals it contains.

2. Fear Factory - Obsolete - Another one of my teenage favourites. This concept album, based around the story of a dystopian future where machines have surpassed mankind (disclaimer: this came out before The Matrix), is an unrelenting industrial assault, with growling vocals and electronic effects to finish of the mix. I think it's the literary connection that makes this album so good for me; the story surrounding the songs is top-notch. 'Edgecrusher' is the best track here, because of its brilliant riff and also because of its subject matter, a dark renegade machine fighting against the evil autocratic government of the future.

1. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - We've reached no.1! What a journey. This is my favourite album mainly because of Tom Morello, the band's guitarist. When I started playing guitar, the riffs from this album were incredibly fun to learn and still great to come back to. Morello is a phenomenal player, mixing traditional pentatonic rock with avant-garde solos and effects, pushing guitar playing to the very limits of what it can do. I don't really listen to Rage for the political stuff to be honest, it's all about the music for me. And for the record, I didn't download "Killing in the Name of' for Christmas no.1. What's the point? It's just gonna make the record company more money. Anyway, my favourite track has to be the album opener 'Bombtrack'. Quality riff, takes me back to the days when I used to play bass in my brother's band, rocking the school variety show! Fight the power!

So there you have it, my favourite metal albums. I had to make some difficult choices, excluding some great bands like Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Gojira, The Mad Capsule Markets and so on, but I'm happy with my final decisions. Feel free to comment, tell me whether you agree or think I've got it horribly wrong!

Just a brief update, but don't worry; you won't need to restart your computer

Haven't been able to write any extensive articles or reviews as of late, so I thought I'd just give you a few bite-sized updates as to what I've been doing recently.

I was gonna post a Playstation 3 product view, but when I looked back at it, I realised that I'm seriously under-equipped to write an effective console review. I just don't know enough technical stuff! So I'm give you the short version: me like PS3! Sweet graphics, awesome gameplay (offline and online) and some cool multimedia features. I'm still hooked on the Uncharted 2 multiplayer, but I have moved onto playing a bit of Resistance 2, which a great game, very atmospheric and fast-paced. I did purchase Final Fantasy XIII on the 9th (went all-out and bought the collector's edition), but I'm sticking to my guns and not playing it till my dissertation hand-in date on the 23rd of April. So if you've been playing it, DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING!

Speaking of dissertation, I've just finished a 'final' draft of my screenplay and sent it to my tutor. I say 'final' cos he might give me loads of stuff to change, and I've still got quite a while to redraft it. When I look back to the start of the academic year I can see so many changes that have occurred in the writing the screenplay, all of them for the better. I'm not sure if I've already said, but the film I've written tells the story of a young man named Johnny who is having his mind electronically read to determine if he is guilty of murder. But when the lawyer in charge of his case, Mr Elliot, discovers that Johnny was under the duress of a corrupt police officer, the same man responsible of the death of Elliot's wife, it becomes unclear as to whether justice or revenge is the desired goal. Phew!

My other uni work is going well too. Had meeting with my writing project the other day, which was very encouraging. Just need to write the rest of it now! Also had a helpful meeting for my fan fiction unit, for which I'm writing a Final Fantasy 7 story. Handed in a essay on The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which will hopefully be of a good standard. Not much time to good now till I finish uni for good, which is a scary thought! I'll have to be a real human with a real job and stuff.

I saw Skindred perform at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth on the 9th, which was an awesome gig. The support acts, Floors and Walls and Forever Never, weren't amazing in my opinion, but they're not the worst bands I've ever seen. The headline act however were on top form. The band's front-man, Benji, was one of the best I've ever seen, really funny and passionate. He was really good at stirring up the crowd, and was also very genuine. The band were all really tight and sounded punchy and defined. They played a good mix of their older songs, such as 'Pressure' and 'Selector', and some of their newer songs like 'Stand for Something' and 'Roots Rock Riot'. All in all, a very good performance.

Visit Skindred's myspace page

I've been having a bit of a sci-fi fest at the mo, getting inspiration for my screenplay and writing project. I bought Moon and District 9 recently, and persuaded my housemate's to watch the latter last night. I was a little concerned at the fact that they all found the alien 'prawn' child cute. Unusual? I dug out my copy of Blade Runner cos I still hadn't watched it since I bought it last September. I had forgotten what an amazing film it is! Another movie that I love, which I don't think many people are that into, is Equilibrium. I know it has it's flaws and it feels like a bit of a Matrix rip-off, but I really like it! Here's a really cool fan-site for anyone interested.

Also check out moviebodycounts.com, your internet-based source for information on film deaths and kills. Morbid!