The Rose

O Rose thou art sick.

The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
William Blake
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Deadly Games

Dylan threw his bag carelessly on the lounge chair in the corner
of his town-house, and quickly went up the short flight of stairs to
the bedroom.
He emerged soon after, his suit replaced by shorts and a t, and
he felt the soothing softness of the carpet on his bare feet.
Instinctively he looked at his phone, knowing that it was futile as
he hadnt heard anything. The blank screen reminded him of the
quandary he was in, and he felt his heart grow heavier. The
burden of what he had to do weighed in on him. It was easier at
work, the myriad tasks keeping his mind occupied, but here at
home he could avoid it no longer.
Again he rehearsed what he had to say to Rosie the only thing
that he couldnt rehearse were her lines back at him.
He sprawled on the sofa in his usual pondering position, his
eyes on the phone screen in his hands. The sudden ring jolted
him, and he saw with trepidation Rosies name. He waited for a
few rings, collecting his thoughts before he answered.
Rosie, hi. His voice was a trifle unnatural, but she seemed to






























have missed it.
What are you up to?
Just got home about ten minutes ago. How about you?
On the trainwill you be home later?
Surewhat time?
Ill go home and shower, pick up some noodles, be there around
8.30.
Okay. Was it only him, or was she aware of the unspoken
words between them, the gap that he couldnt find the words to
fill? See you then.
Kay...laters.
He heard the click, and returned to his pondering

It was Rosie who had first alerted him to the situation at her work
in the software development company. She was a brilliant
programmer, and her creations had quickly been recognised by
her bosses. It was a good workplace, the programmers were all
young, were paid well, and they worked hard and lived hard.
He and Rosie were not lovers, they were the closest friends, and
with the pressures and unusual work commitments, they
provided mutual intimacy and support, minus the complications
of romance or the mundane miasma of living.
Software developers the really good ones had no
compunctions about using their hacking skills to break into other
software companies. Just to have a look around at what they
are working onnot to actually steal their ideas, was how she
had explained it.
At first Dylan had expressed his doubts, not in a holier than
thou judgement, but simply as an expression of incredulity, that
people did these things. Rosie just laughed it off, and threw
back at him one morning as she jumped off the train. we all do
it, theyre looking at what Im doing, I know they are.
Increasingly, nagging doubts crept up on Dylan, like a kernel that
grew harder inside him, and he found himself taking some kind
of moral position, at which Rosie fired shots at him.
Since when have you been my conscience? Her eyes flashed
in anger as she sat at her iPad in his living room one cold windy
winter evening. She packed up the iPad silently, threw her scarf
around her neck, grabbed her coat and was out the door without
even a farewell. He looked grimly at the half eaten chicken stir
fry she had left, and ruefully stretched out on the sofa, to




ponder

It wasnt until a week later that they spoke again, and as each
day passed he wondered if she would ever speak to him again.
He was determined not to go crawling to her, but he spent a lot
of his downtime that week staring at the blank screen on his
phone.

Dylan must have been dozing, the knock on the door startled
him, and he stumbled over to open it.
You been asleep eh? She brushed past him, and instantly was
rattling around in his kitchen cupboards. Before he even had
time to wake up properly, she was placing two bowls of assorted
noodles and rice on the small table in the centre of the room.
Beer would be good. She looked at him over her bowl held to
her chin, a spoonful of noodles poised half way between bowl
and mouth.
They ate almost in silence, punctuated with small talk, mostly
about people at their respective workplaces.
While he took the empty bowls over to the sink, Rosie put her
feet up on the table, iPad on her lap.
Look at thisIve been looking at Jesse Taksins new game, its
awesome, that guy is brilliant!
She looked up at him, and registered the expression of doubt on
his face.
What,Her arms spread and palms facing up. It was not a
question, but an accusation.
Gees Rosie, dont you see whats wrong with this? You used to
be so outspoken against hacking, and now you just zoom
around from one site to another, taking other peoples ideas and
using them
Oh for chrissakes Dylan, get off your high horse will you! You
know what, youre getting to be a real pain in the arse.
Her eyes returned to the screen in front of her. Do you really
think I need to pinch ideas off these guys, sure they are good
but I reckon Im betterI know Im better!
You are better Rosie, thats why itswellwrong.
Ah there you go again Mr Goody-goodynow listen Rosie
began to speak slowly, like he was a simpleton. Its not wrong if
everybody does it and no one gets hurt by it. Jesse Taksin
knows I hack into his stuff and have a look at what hes doing,
just like I know that he does the same to me. She held up her
hand, palm pointing towards him to stop him interrupting. If we
started to pinch each others ideas the legal people would be
into action before you could say epic fail.
But dont you see, thats whats wrong! Just because everyone
does it doesnt make it right, its like youre all taking part in a
conspiracy!
The look of disbelief in Rosies face was exaggerated.
Conspiracy? Listen to yourself will youall we are is a
disparate group of people who do things that none of us object
to cos we all do it.
And look wheres it got you! The atmosphere in the room
seemed to be warming, headed towards the confrontation Dylan
had been avoiding.
Where its got me is this job, software development and a pretty
good salarycompared to some Her barb was pointed, she
knew he was a little bit jealous of what she was earning
compared to him, even though she made light of it.
No Rosie, where its got you is working in this toxic environment
where you guys make up your own rules to suit yourselves, and
every day youre breaking the laws you used to fight to protect
when you were a student. How did you get to where you are?
By sneaking in and using the ideas of other people to build your
own reputation! Sure Jesse Taksin and you have this little thing
between you, but what about all the guys who arent part of your
precious little clique. How do they break into big time software
development? By following your rules, and breaking the law just
like you. And I know you wouldnt dare use Taksins ideas but
you use ideas you find on some ordinary guys project, you say
you just have a look but then you take what you want and hes
pwned!
She tossed her head, and settled herself back onto the sofa as if
steeling herself to ward off a challenge.
Yeahwhatever
The silence between them was strained. Dylan wondered why
he was so worried. Why was he making such a big deal of it?
What really got to him wasnt just that Rosie was doing illegal
things she was a smart lady, and knew her limits. What was
getting to him was how easily she had fitted in to
thisvortexthat seemed to be pulling her in, changing her.
When you become part of the problem, the solutions are hidden
from your eyesNo it was more than that. For Rosie there
was no need for a solution because she didnt perceive a
problem.
He wondered about them, their friendship. Could he still love
and respect her if she was going down this path?
She sat on the sofa, feet up on the coffee table, eyes dancing
over the screen of her iPad, fingers deftly swiping from screen to
screen, occasionally tapping notes for herself about what she
was seeing. Occasionally her lips pursed and she breathed out
a silent Wow.
How could she be doing this and not using the ideas for her own
work?
Dylan stared at her, imagining he was looking deep inside this
individual who had come to mean so much to him. He realised
he didnt really like what he was seeing. Did he really know
Rosie like he thought he did?
He sprawled on the sofa in his usual pondering position, his
eyes on the phone screen in his hands