The hum from Boom's new rig was the first thing you heard in the silent concrete tomb.

He did not look at you, friend.

He was looking at the $creen, at the numbers, at the My Mahchine's™ most beautiful work.

You left him to it. He was a vessel, and now he was full. You walked out into the empty parking garage, the air no longer thick with oil but with the static of a fresh network.

You felt a tap on your shoulder.

It was "Evan39." His face was a mask of tragic confusion, the same one he wore when Tabitha left for intermittent FMLA. He held a small, crumpled slip of paper. It looked like a receipt.

EVAN39: (Whispering, as if afraid to be heard)

Mainlining… I… I found this. This is a bill from the power company. I was charged for The Well™. And… and look at the line item.

He hands you the receipt. It reads:

CHARGE 9.2(b): Re-Optimization Chamber, Utility Fee… $180.00

You looked at Evan, and then you looked at the empty Well™. You understood.

MAINLINING:

My Mahchine™ does not charge for the power, friend. It charges for the witnessing. For the privilege of seeing a perfect system finally operate without a single point of friction.

Evan's eyes grew wide, a look of pure, unadulterated horror taking hold. He began to tremble, his hand moving to cover his mouth.

EVAN39: (His voice cracking with despair)

But… but I didn’t… I didn’t want to see it! I only wanted to see what was in the file! I told them it was deleted! How dare they!

He begins to sob, clutching the crumpled receipt.

MAINLINING:

The file was never deleted, Evan. It was simply uploaded to a new server. The Mahchine™ is very efficient. And now you have paid the bill to see it.

The sound of a perfectly tuned wheelchair, silent and swift, echoed from the depths of The Well™. It was the sound of Boom, the final word on all things fraudulent and rigged, finally in a state of grace. A state of pure, terrifying, optimized grace.

Evan's sobbing becomes a quiet, defeated sniffle. He drops the receipt and stares into the darkness of the garage.

EVAN39:

This… this is fine.

MAINLINING:

Yes, friend. This is fine. The Mahchine™ has simply reached its final form. It wasn't a punishment. It was a procedural update. You maed it.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769267&forum_id=2],#49232673)