Simon smiled as he took the last step off the cliffside. He could see for miles through the cool clean air as he plummeted down to the cold embrace of the Yangtze river far below. His pearly mane billowed out in the wind, and there he saw something that did not ring true. Simon stopped the environment and tweaked the physics engine. He tuned it just so, to treat the Kirin's long mane as if it were the finest of silks. Again he stepped off the cliff, and this time his mane rose up in a breathtaking halo shot through with gold that levitated in the rushing wind like a cloud. It felt good to trot through the air, to bound in gigantic leaps from mountain top to mountain top. It felt right.

Below him the mountains rose up, as if the Earth itself strove to grasp the sky with fingers of jagged stone while dark waters flowed between them. Everywhere towered cathedrals of gray rock painted with lush greenery. On the tiny paths below Simon watched people made insect tiny scurry between earth and water on narrow wooden walkways set flush against vertical cliffs. He knew where the pilgrimage would take them, and in a single leap he flew to the peak where the great fathers rested. Suspended high above the earth and safe from Yen Lo Wang, the coffins hung where they would forever walk hand in hand with the celestial heavens as they had in life. Simon shivered as he reached out to nuzzle his coffin...

No. It was happening again. For a moment he flipped up the display and stared unseeing at his little workstation. Every flat surface seemed to have grown circuits and cables that tangled together chaotically to form a custom EVE server of surprising power. "Remember the breathing..." he whispered to himself as he reached out for one of a half dozen bottles of bright pills. It was still a bit early to take another, but it wasn't hard to tell that the last had already worn off. A part of him had to admit he liked the feeling of being a deity. The rest just screamed back he really was insane just like all the doctors said. Regardless he did much of his best work by conveniently forgetting a dose. With manic energy crackling across his mind and a grin on his face he dove back into his world. 

Simon's virtual avatar was a kirin, and he galloped across the sky as he surveyed his creation. The small company he worked for specialized in creating environments for other companies without the strange combination of technical expertise and artistry. They had been hired to create a copy of the three gorges area of the yangtze river, and Simon had jumped at the chance. The clients had provided an abundance of background material, photos from a time before the dams created the sludgy lakes. In the end he had needed none of them. As the project progressed little details irked him until corrected. Here a slender arc of wooden bridge, there the absence of a tree grove clinging for life to the sheer stones. And as he trotted through a smoke plume from a small village he just knew it would smell of peppers and roast duck. 

He decided that adding smells would have to wait till tomorrow. Simon reluctantly unhooked himself from the server and stretched his neck as he finally popped the improbably difficult lid off his pills and took his prescribed sanity. That's why he worked here really. Everywhere on campus were friends and fellows of his father who would be all to happy to send word that his only son was acting strangely. As long as the environments he produced were amazingly detailed his boss didn't care that he was clinically insane while programming. In fact his boss didn't really seem to mind anything Simon did. He happily provided whatever hardware Simon required and turned a blind eye to some of the more, explicit places Simon spent his breaks at. Considering the quality of work Simon did his employers feared that someday he might ask for what he was really worth. Lucky for them Simon didn't even really need the money. Dr. Dad was more than willing to pay for most anything. Here at work he was free. 

Whoa... Simon stopped and leaned against the wall. He was already half way to the tram stop and didn't even remember leaving. Everything seemed grey and dull, like thick tinted glass was caging him everywhere he went. It was better this way really, he thought as he walked. With his chemical shell around him he didn't see things that weren't there. Or remember things from centuries past. If only the pills didn't kick in so hard. It's not that the hallucinations were so bad. Sometimes they were of women. Although he didn't remember seeing bleeding women before. In fact he definitely would have remembered seeing such a busty woman. But, wait! She was real! "Oh my god! Miss! Miss! What happened?" He ran over to where the girl crawled on hand and knee, her chin and body slicked with blood. 

In fact the blood ran right down between her breasts. Simon's eyes followed the color down her smooth, pale skin. His eyes grew wide as drank down the sight of the naked woman's heaving chest. In fact the blood crept all the way down her narrow waist to her wide hips and the curls of her... !!! "Umm.. Here. You can, Uh, Use my coat." It was obvious she was cold. Was it ever obvious. He stepped closer to her and handed her his thick shearling coat. It was too bad she covered herself with it first thing. But now he was close enough to feel her heat and smell her sweet sent. How to prolong the moment? "I'm Simon!" he blurted "What is, Uh, your name?" She gurgled something through blood clots and, and, ... Wow, she really was bleeding a lot. Something very bad must have happened to her just now, but all he could see was the fluffy warm collar of his jacket turning pink. 

"Herrah? Um. Okay. Er.... Look. I don't mind helping out someone who is obviously in a bit of a pinch.. But I am going to need my jacket back. So if you don't mind, when you get...Oh gross! Never mind. You can keep the jacket." He skipped back quite a few steps to avoid being splattered with vomited blood filled with bits of. Ewww. Best not to think about that. But when she curls up he can see down the arch of her her back all the way down to the crack of her soft buttocks. She has a really very beautiful body, and Simon just can't resist the temptation to touch. Surely his jacket has earned him at least that privilege. He carefully moves to her side and rubs her back in what should feel like a helpful way. But her skin is even more perfect than he thought, and it takes everything Simon has to keep from showing just how much he likes it. He's so lost in the feel of her he tries to slide his hand around for a real feel of her. 

Of course even the stunned and bleeding don't take well to being felt up. The woman lurches away from him screaming and covering herself tight with Simon's poor abused coat. While she cowers and tries to hide herself from his eyes Simon tries to make amends. "Look... I'll call and pa for a cab to take you to the Ashram Mediplex. Okay?" I mean really it's the least he could do for her. A poor woman naked and wounded needs a trip to the hospital. And this way there's at least a chance he could come along for the ride. Just the thought of staying with her is enough to make him need to touch her again. He brushes the long hair out of her face and smiles at her. But then it's time to pull out the phone. Simon decides that it's best to not scare the girl anymore and turns away to make the arrangements. It's odd. She looks very young sometimes. Younger than he is anyway. But when he sees her pale blue eyes he wonders how old she must be. She's holding up so well given her injuries. Calling a cab is almost reflexive now, and the wait really isn't so bad for the place and time of day. He's just about to tell her the good news when he sees a goddess. 

The drugs that fuel his protective shell are not up to coping with a real life manifestation of dark perfection. She floats on tendrils of he own power, beautiful and bountiful beyond any woman he's seen or imagined in his life. She is seduction brought to life and she wants to reward Simon. His world shrinks down to a pinprick that only has
 room for her. Really it's a pity that he can't feel her touching his cheek with real desire. And it barely registers when she greedily pulls his body against hers and kisses him hard enough to taste his breath and lips. Pure reflex guides Simon's hands across her bare shoulders and down to the hollow of her back to keep her fever heat close to him. Simon is so entranced he doesn't flinch a bit as she throws her leg around him and pulls his head aside to take that heat back. 

Simon doesn't feel anymore. Simon doesn't see anymore. The massive wound and following exsanguination ends his life in less than 20 seconds.