Fragments of a Hologram Rose Response

In this story, one of the biggest metaphors and actual story-driven objects is this hologram machine and this smaller hologram machine that depicts a white rose in the hologram. The protagonist, Parker, uses it to gaze into other people's lives. Mostly prostitutes' lives, but other lives nonetheless. What's weird is that the machine acts exactly like a projector. He inserts a cassette tape (or betamax tape probably) into the machine and it projects the image in front of or around him.

One of the first things we find out is Parker had a lover who dumps him and drives off. That's when Parker turns to porn. Parker finds another dead woman who he raids. He takes a cassette tape from her. And at the end of the story he recognizes that the woman was his lover because the memories its playing back where shared between them. This story is extremely short but it sets up this relationship well and it cleanly pays it off.

Besides the holograms, not much else about the world is changed from our own. There's wars and a secession in the States, but that's about it. It's vaguely post-apocalyptic as well. None of that really matters to the plot, however it's also a good world because it's not being focused on. I recommend this story to y'all!

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