And just like that, you're dead. The speaker was lean, nearly gone, and wearing a dark, heavy

peacode despite the pleasant heat. He leaned against a palm tree that swayed in the ocean breeze.

We were alone on the beach, only the waves and gals at anything to say. I stared around,

taking it all in. Where the hell am I? I demand it. And how come I have no memory of, well,

anything before you said that. It's just a blank page. Lashate on Yisparanza, and you have

nothing to fear from the blank page, he answered. The man took a long drag on a cigarette that

momentarily consumed his attention. I stood, almost falling in the sand. I looked down and shocked

to see that I was naked. I covered myself and hopped around a nearby palm tree.

But the fuck, man, did you take my clothes? He snapped his fingers. I relaxed.

Now you don't realize that you're naked. My head swam because he was right. I didn't feel naked.

It was as though part of my awareness had vanished. I sat down near him in the sand.

What did you mean when you said that I was dead? He looked at me, ice blue eyes turning my

presence over in his mind. You've spent your life hating stupid questions, yes? My gut squirmed.

I spent my life getting medicine to people in need. The man stared at me for an even greater life

of time. I noticed that the long, thin cigarette in his long, thin fingers wasn't getting any shorter.

abruptly, he flipped it away and turned to the horizon. You describe yourself as a man of medicine,

which is very different from a man in the business of medicine. We both know who lives in the details.

My head grew hot. People love to tear me down, and I'd love to give it as good as I got.

The only difference between me and everyone else in my business is that I did it better.

So good that you charged how much for insulin. I slammed my fist on the ground,

sending a spray of sand over the man's dark pants. I charged the most competitive rate.

He nodded. I hear that $191.30 a week is very competitive for a dose that costs under five

...