Kimmie 66
By the 23rd century, life on Earth has changed drastically. Virtual reality is not just possible but ubiquitous. Most people live primarily online, in fantasy worlds called "lairs" that fit anybody's desires, from Space Opera to fantasy to "some kind of crazy happy Super-Deformed Anime style".
Telly is a 14-year-old girl of the Elysium lair, who has only two friends in the world: Nekokat, and the eponymous kimmie66, a genius of high caliber. The latter, however, has just sent Telly a note -- a suicide note. As she doesn't know anything about who kimmie is offline, she and Nekokat are left in the dark before kimmie begins mysteriously appearing all throughout the network.
A short 2007 graphic novel by Aaron Alexovich, the author of Serenity Rose. Part of DC Comics' Minx imprint aimed at teenaged girls, Kimmie66 is an an intriguing look at the future of society and its effects on regular people.
- Brain Uploading
- Department of Redundancy Department: As is pointed out, "Nekokat" means "cat cat".
- Digital Avatar
- Goodbye, Cruel World: kimmie66's note, the only indication that she may be dead.
- Goth: Telly's subculture.
- GIFT: Noticeably absent. Both Telly and her brother act about the same offline and online. Although, it is a bit hard to believe that Coil acts the same.
- Gratuitous Japanese: Nekokat's name. Thankfully this does not extend to her dialogue.
- Inside a Computer System
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Coil. Barely on the "gold" part.
- Nanomachines: None of those lame goggles in the future.
- Playful Hacker: Most of the "Drifters" seem to be halfway between this and The Cracker.
- Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: Averted. Characters interrupt each other and stumble over words.
- Shrinking Violet: Telly is not terribly social, and her narration is filled with nervous words.
- Subculture: A large part of the book is that everybody belongs to subcultures, but the distinctions are rather arbitrary. There are even subcultures within subcultures.