Gong.
And finally Sluggo realized he should have become aware of the sound long before, but the sound was so out of place in his little night-quiet apartment that his mind didn’t accept it. When the gong chimed again, Sluggo arose, putting sheet and blanket warmed feet to a chilled floor, and shivered.
The sound was so familiar because he heard it most every night. It was the sound alerting him that he had an instant message, as part of System Up’s online service.
“God, did I forget to turn off the computer?” Sluggo wondered, groggy, thinking with dread of how he would function at the bank the next day on so little sleep.
As he headed toward his den, he knew with a certainty beyond doubt that he had shut things down before retiring. Some sort of glitch maybe? But what sort of glitch wo
