Hearts of Gold (short story)

 was the fourth short story in the original print of Down the Middle.

Plot
to be added

Characters

 * Chris Cwej
 * Aiden Torres
 * B
 * K
 * Q
 * Y

Worldbuilding

 * UniLove is a dating app.
 * A .gif appears on Cwej' screen while using the app.
 * Cwej's preferred mode of communication is brainwaves to text.
 * A Harondian from Harondax Five asks Cwej for a nude.
 * Some peddlers of xenopornography would find B's chair's tentacles quite arousing.
 * Cwej reflects that being on a semi-virtual environment saved him a lot of money on Neo-Photoshop™ licenses.
 * Aiden Torres' family left the Philippines centuries ago.
 * "Aiden" says the Tau Ceti accords outsourced so much to private contractors.
 * "Aiden" lists specieism as a "petty shit".
 * "Aiden" talks about teaching poetry to hippies on Gendar.
 * Cwej says apps like UniLove are essentially made for booty calls.
 * "Aiden" calls himself a mojito person.
 * In a message to himself, Cwej talks about catfishes (metaphorical ones, not catfished-shaped aliens).
 * Cwej recalls sleeping with a very drunk philosophy teacher back when he studied at the Guild.
 * One of "Aiden"'s ex-boyfriends dumped him for not wanting to go to a time-travelling cruise through the history of furry subcultures.
 * Cwej often has to make decisions in the middle of a panic attack.
 * The real Aiden Torres taught at Gendar University and died when a weapons testing facility in orbit of the planet went nuclear.
 * The artificial intelligence was created by the Cyberons.
 * Cwej talks about "Aiden" hiding his real IP adress.
 * The artificial intelligence's storage unit was owned by LvFrmMnds Limited.

Story notes

 * In May 2022, Arcbeatle Press announced that as they were ceasing association with BBV Productions (who held the copyright to the Cyberons, who were fairly central to the plot of Hearts of Gold), as well as having cut ties with Sam Maleski, Hearts of Gold would not be included in future reprints of Down the Middle.

Continuity

 * Y has purple hair, as does everyone else on their planet. (PROSE: In the Loop, et al.)
 * When talking of how there's always a system behind the system, Cwej gives the example of finding a planet of con artists and then discovering a pantheon of trickster gods behind it. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy)
 * Cwej recalls hearing stories about the Evil Renegade. (PROSE: Dead Romance)