Edison Carter sat alone at the table in the cafeteria at the remains of what had once been Network 23. It had been seven years since he'd been able to face the loss of so many friends and colleagues when the ratings war had turned violent.
The casualties had been dire. Most of the board members had been blinded by a direct attack on the boardroom screen which had come from Breakthru TV. After that, it had been easy for Breughal and Mahler to prey upon them, luring them to their van under the guise of bringing them to the medical center.
The controllers had ended up in hand-to-hand combat with those from Network 66 when they were blamed for the attack. Theora was badly wounded in the skirmish and was taken off in a blue van along with Bryce who had slipped in unseen. Edison guessed that Bryce planned to transmit their location, but the signal never came. No doubt, Bryce had been spotted and killed. The idea that his young friend had died before the age of twenty weighed heavily on his heart. It was even worse than losing Paddy Ashton. At least Paddy had gotten to see something of the world.
As he pondered his lost friends, one of the static-filled screens flickered just behind him.
"P- p- penny for your thoughts." The figure now appearing on it offered.
Edison spun to face the construct.
"Max! I thought they destroyed you!"
Max Headroom grinned at his old friend. "Bryce hid me when the trouble started. He broad- broad- broadcast a copy during the war."
"Is Bryce alive?" Edison asked
"I don't know," Max admitted. "I was st- st- st- stuck here in this room since the wire on this set was cut. Thankfully they got distracted before they could smash the screen."