Xoscullian

In the late 2020's eccentric trillionaire Darren Kovacs, nostalgically obsessed with the 80's arcade shoot-‘em-up Xoscullian, spends billions on a super advanced version of the game.

This version of Xoskullian becomes self-aware and seizes control of numerous defense systems nearly setting off an apocalypse trying to recreate its violent futuristic gameplay.

The renegade AI is thwarted by a team of special agents. Xoskullian is seemingly destroyed but survives, cropping up periodically to cause trouble, eventually contributing to a global crisis that results in the downfall of civilization. 

Xoskullian would seem to be no more in this ruined, primitive earth, but the name is remembered and deified by various cults that worship a garbled interpretation of the program.

Perhaps Xoskullian survives deep in some underground complex... dormant... waiting...

On the Three Millionth Day. Kindle edition.

Get it while it's radioactive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085NB8Y3S/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_0sAzEbGSW549K

Man-I-Pede

….What follows is claimed by Mr. Conrad to be a transcribed from a radio transmission he was party to during his time working with the I-Tech group. Conrad asserts the transmission was one of several made by a “General Blair” from an extrasolar planet named “Ghonshu”.  

I-Tech maintains that Mr. Conrad was engaged in no unusual projects during his employment, and Pentagon sources deny that any “General Blair” was reported missing during the timeframe Mr Conrad claims these various incidents occurred.

...It was probably about sixty, eighty feet long, ten, twelve feet in diameter. It had a hard shell like a lobster.Hard to say what color it was, everything has a bluish tint under Ghonshu’s weird, tiny sun. it had rows and rows of smooth, flabby arms, like a baby’s arms, each with fat, fingers with slimy bulbs on the tips. I want to say it had the head of a man, but that’s not accurate. The head was huge, the size of a VW beetle, bald, mottled and sprouting wart-like growths. It had a long tangled beard that seemed to have moss or fungus growing in it. It’s eyes were wide and rolled about crazilly. It’s mouth hung open and drooled over yellow peg-like teeth. It was gibbering the whole time. Sometimes it might have spoke words. It stunk too. Like mildew and rotting vegetables, but worse, and stronger.
    It had a big metal ring through it's nose, like someone might have led it around like a cow at some point. Best not to think about it.
 

    It sounds comical as I recall the thing, but it was no joke at the time. The locals shot arrows into it and hit it with axes and hammers and whatnot, that just seemed to anger it.

    Finally I had to use five more rounds from the M16 to put it down.

 

Ruminations of a Bronze Age Gamer part 1

Whenever I look at this box art I want to be that guy who's taking a reading with the scanner thing, I'm betting he's the only one who has a fucking clue.