Hey! I apologize for not paying attention for a while. I've been buried under pounds of reading to the point where I decided to put off of my GRE's till the spring (and grad school a semester in turn). I should have my stuff up very soon for the magazine (I'll email it all to you Mike). I have some new writings, also! Here is a very rough draft of a very short story I wrote in class part for fun and part for an in class prompt concerning utopias:

Jon had never plugged in before. Growing up on an archic farm, his life had consisted of milking cows, feeding pigs, tending to the crops. His folks told him it was for his own protection. The world had changed much since they were youths lost in the middle of a country. Now was the time of progress, change, evolution. Now was the time for Jon to stop listening to his parents and decide for himself. From an early age Jon seemed to be suited for more intellectual persuits: his parents hadn't beat him at chess in over 5 years. His friends ideas of fun often seemed dull to Jon. He wanted something bigger than the isolation of a farmining town. He wanted to plug in.
Jon lay in the chair: a seat that reclined softly, humming the florescent photon of cables and glowing screens. His friend Albert had been waiting forever to show him what it was like, but Jon had always played the good child. Now his desire for the unknown had finally gotten the best of him, and he was ready to give it a whirl, or a flop. He figideted with the straps, adjusting and readjusting them in his nervousness. "She's almost warmed up, you ready to get your brain toasted?" Albert asked with manical smile. "Uhm, I guess..." Albert's fingers flew to the wall of buttoms and neon, flicking switchs and tapping screens. "All protocals are go, interfacing starts in..." The back of Jon's neck began to warm, as the device resting in the chairs headrest seemed to start humming deeply. Jon twitched, wondering if he had made the wrong choice. Will I be the same after? Will everything change? Will I be a different person? I like the person I am... Jon felt a warm breeze on his wet forhead as Albert finished with the console and cracked open a window. "Trust me, you'll be fine; mostly." Albert cheered. Jon wanted to leave very badly but couldn't, and he knew that. Suddenly his vision went white, his ears rang softly, and his skin tingled. Jon was plugged in.