The Word Cloud

Ryan is a computer thief; incognito and thirty. All he has to his name are a set of navy blue clothes and a cooler bag‐‐using these items he drifts between offices, stealing PCs to survive. His single motivator in life is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response: a condition not yet acknowledged by the medical world that causes Ryan to become entranced when attentive. He refers to this sensation as “goose looping” (prolonged goose bumps on the brain).

After treating himself to two haircuts‐‐his favourite goose‐loop trigger‐‐Ryan pulls a couple of office jobs and fences a stolen laptop, using the cash to buy food. He has taken over an empty flat whose tenants have gone traveling, and sets up a boobytrap should they unexpectedly return. Going for a walk, Ryan meets Scott and Robin: two youths on their way to a nearby gig. Ryan agrees to accompany them, and explains about goose looping to see if the boys also feel it (they don’t). When the gig begins, Ryan‐‐having never attended one before‐‐is terrified, fleeing under cover of a fire alarm and quickly retreating to the flat. No sooner has he arrived that the owners return, prompting Ryan to activate his booby‐trap and escape.

The final act joins Ryan three days later, alone again and homeless. He is all set to give up on finding someone else with his condition when he receives an unexpected text. We next see him stealing binoculars to trigger his condition from afar, only this time he has a sympathetic helper: Robin, one of the lads from the gig, who has admitted he is a fellow goose looper.