tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64798806123164955432024-02-07T03:42:02.799-08:002148 SingularityAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18333661283928579932noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6479880612316495543.post-33050984750858470142018-04-11T23:32:00.003-07:002018-05-20T02:09:46.660-07:00The First Part has been Published in E-BOOK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/2148-Singularity-part-Awakening-World-ebook/dp/B07CG2XXKP" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcu-XptjLTCBgs1sqwrzu_qBg97sakNwkfJ5seyMWrVW84T0s7hPPvi-RsHcAHAFaMOwssCtok1S2XsXFh7I09S4AYCvYIZyfcYkOzbhTkngDs6acYwxTncoua4gD7U2ow2HrKPshLC_b/s1600/cover.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator">
Due to the rules of amazon.com , the whole content of the novel cannot be published on the web for free, only 20% is allowed. </div>
<div class="separator">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator">
The two most popular chapters have been left here, but all others had to be removed. Sorry dudes.</div>
<div class="separator">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c76d575f-ca4a-2e3e-bf06-fbf6f97ee907"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">ISBN: 978-615-00-1689-4
Author, and the owner of publishing rights: András Kaptas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><i>publishing via publishdrive.com</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><i>book data page on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39885789-2148-singularity---part-one---awakening-at-the-edge-of-the-world" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a></i></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18333661283928579932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6479880612316495543.post-566666235768618112018-03-09T09:00:00.000-08:002018-04-20T07:20:33.174-07:00Part One - Chapter 7 - Hydroculture<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN">The moment we
stepped into the elevator, Charlotte started to take her clothes off… I don’t
think I’m prude, but this lack of prudency really shocks me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What is it? You expected a
changing room? I’ll give you a hint, I also don’t have my swimming suit with
me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">She slides her panties from
her legs to the ground and glides out of it with a graceful step. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“So, this is how it works
here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“This is Eden, Boston!” She
whispers. She pulls me to herself and she starts to unzip my overalls. “And
what did the first humans wear in the Garden of Eden?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN">Uhhh. This girl is eroticism embodied, I almost climax from the touch of
her naked skin.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Do all the male guests of
Eden receive a service like me?” I ask whispering. And then she gently bites my
ear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">A sensual thrill runs down my
spine. Then she whispers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“There’s no guy as handsome as
you on a hundred deserted planets!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Then she kisses me
passionately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">The lift stops, the door
opens. A slightly salty, swampy smell and warmth flow into the cabin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Come.” She pulls me out
holding my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“And the clothes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“The elevator won’t go
anywhere. I’ve blocked it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">After the first few steps I
feel warm sand under my feet. Headroom is barely 5 meters. It’s half-dark like
on a full moon night. We reach the water about 10 meters away from the
elevator. The shore slightly waves. The lighting is provided by the ceiling’s
pale, deep blue glow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Navi! I want a tropical
starry night, campfire on the shore, with enchanting music in the distance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">A mind-blowingly idyllic scene
appears around us. My heartbeat loses its rhythm and I feel my legs getting
weak. I let go of the girl’s hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Charlotte! This is too much!
I can’t...take this all in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Tssss. Close your eyes and
lay on the surface of the water! It’s relaxing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">I lean back. I feel the world
slowly turning around me. As soon as my ears are covered in the water, the
sounds change. The crackling of the campfire, the whirring of the waves, my
breathing, and the music, fuses into a deep, distant rumbling. I feel as if I am sinking and, in a moment,
I’m falling. My body twitches. I hear Charlotte trying to calm me in the
distance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Tsss. Boston. Breathe
slowly.” her beautiful body squats next to me in the water, barely two feet
deep. She keeps me afloat by holding me at my nape and waist while I sink fast
into the dark well of my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Ben! Something’s not right!”
A distant, familiar voice calls to me from nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“It’s okay! Show me!” I answer
her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“I think it’s bleeding
heavily.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Half of the girl’s face is
paralyzed while the other half is filled with fright. Blood drips from her left
nostril but even worse, her left eye is bloodshot. It’s a stroke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“We have to get to the shore
and call an ambulance right now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Her whole right side is
paralyzed. Panic and fear surround me. The shore is not far but I have never
been a good swimmer, and I have never had to rescue anybody… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Hang on Christine!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">I wake up in the wet, soft lap
of Charlotte. I see the fear on her face, a reflection of what I had been
feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Jesus Boston, you scared me
to death!” and she kisses me on the cheek multiple times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What happened?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“You had some kind of seizure,
but your nanoprobes didn’t send any warning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What does that mean?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“That it isn’t organic but a
neurotic problem. ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“I experienced something, a
flashback … An old memory, from my teens on Earth … I was swimming with a girl
in the ocean. She had a stroke, right there, in the water. She died in my hands
while I was trying to drag her to shore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“A close relative?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“She was my first love.
Christine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What else do you remember?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“She had some kind of a brain
aneurysm. She was born with it. She had nanoprobe treatment a few months before
her death. They said it was risk-free …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Oh Boston! I’m sorry.” She
kisses me again with tears in her eyes. I hug her from below and I rest my head
between her wet and soft breasts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“I lost my virginity to her.”
I say, sobbing. “Not the same day, of course. A week before, but on the same
beach. We were at a summer camp for Orphans of Boston. We snuck out every night
to make love and swim. It was a large love, but sadly short.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Oooh Boston. I don’t know
what to say. I just…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN">I don’t want to spoil the night with this. I’ve been waiting for her all
day. I get up, brush her face, look into my eyes and say,</span></i><span lang="EN"> “I love you Charlotte. You’re
smart, beautiful and intemperate.” and I kiss her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">She leans back and pulls me to
herself. I feel the fire in her shaking breath, as she spreads her beautiful
legs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">-o-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">As romantic as it is, I must
admit, it’s quite scratchy when you make love on the sand. Charlotte sweeps the
sand off her pussy while lying on her side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“That’s why I wanted you in
water, but it wasn’t bad this way either,” she says happily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">She’s a goddess in the light
of the campfire. Watching me, how I stare at her. She bites her lip again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“You could give me 5 minutes
to rest. Even if I haven’t been eased down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“If you keep staring at me
like this, you won’t.” She slightly rotates her waist. “I know the male body
well Boston. I know what it can take.” She grins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Did you learn about it?” She
nods a yes. “Did you study medicine?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“I’m still a medicoine.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Medicoine?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“A med student girl.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Awww … that explains your
naughty libido.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“‘Medicoines’ of Earth were
famous for their hot blood. They knew and loved the joys of the body.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Ohhhh … and how many
medicoines have you had a chance with?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“With one for sure.” I push my
forehead to hers. “One, who tempted me with the smile of her eyes while I was
bound to the bed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Oh yeah? And what was her
name?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Come into the water and I’ll
tell you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">The water reaches waist high
within 5 meters from the shore. Charlotte suddenly starts to splash me. The
water’s cold touch sends shivers through my heated body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Just you wait!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">I reciprocate the splashing
fast and with big force. It’s an interesting experience to play with water in
0.3 G. It’s easier. Goes farther in bigger drops. Like in slow-motion footage.
Charlotte’s body is astonishing in this surreal, slowed down shower. The chill
of the 24<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">°</span> Celsius
water makes her nipples perky. I catch her from the front and grab her tits.
She grabs my waist with her legs and my neck with her hands. Then she descends
on me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“North Carolinaaaaaah.” I
whisper in her ear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">-o-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Oh fuck! Oh fuck!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">She moaned this and similar
things before as she climaxed, but this was not the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Dad’s calling! Fuck!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Charlotte’s pussy clenches
around my cock. I cum in her from surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Ooooh daaaaaamn!” I mumble in
a stuttering tone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What?” she asks with a
stinging gaze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Nothing.” I look down to our
groins forged together in the water. I’m still twitching from the ejaculation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Ooooh!” She lifts her
eyebrow. “Did you cum in me?! ... Like now?” then she smiles “It’s okay! It
happens sometimes.” She says in a sweet tone and kisses me on my mouth. “But shut
up now! I’m making a call.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">She changes to her good girl
tone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Hello, Dad?” I can’t hear the
voice of the commander. I can only guess what he says on the other side of the
line. “At Hydroculture. We came to swim a bit.” … “Yeah, she’s here too.” …
“Swimming.” … “Me? At the shore.” … “No, I don’t know what happened to the
elevator.” … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Then she lifts her thumb to
her ears and mouth and articulated ‘Call Susan, now!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">She gets off me, then points
me towards the shore, out of her hearing range. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Navi! Call Susan.” I whisper,
and I hear the phone buzzing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN">Pick up, pick up!</span></i><span lang="EN"> - It connects after the sixth ring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Hello, Ben. I’m just getting
ready to sleep. Is everything alright?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Well, uhhh, how should I
say…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Get to point son, don’t beat
around the bush.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“The commander called
Charlotte while we were in the water having uhhh…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Sex?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Yeah, that.” I hear her laugh
softly and I blush.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Has Charlotte blocked the
elevator?” Susan asks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Yeah, I think so. It’s here
with open doors.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Smart. She’s learnt that from
me,” and she laughs again. “Hold the line, I’ll text her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">And then silence for half a
minute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Oooh yes. Told you she’s a
smart girl! … Now I got to get to you faster than Anton … What do you think, can you swim 300 meters in
4 minutes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Ummm?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Never mind. Start swimming in
the rotation direction. There’s a bulkhead halfway there, then colder
water. It won’t be bad but it will make
your tool shrink a bit,” she laughs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Where’s the direction of
rotation?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“The way the currents flow on
the surface. To the left of the elevator.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Thanks, Susan. I’m off to
swim!” And I hang up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Navi! Start a timer! Now.”
and the counter starts. 00:01<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">To the left of the elevator,
next to the wall, the sand end after 40 meters, rapidly deepening water taking
its place. There is no handrail on the wall. There’s no choice, I’ve got to
swim from here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">My legs can’t reach the
bottom, it bothers me, so does knowing that I’m swimming along the curvature of
the station in the dark. The mobAR outlines the edges of the structure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">I swim in on the left-hand
side of a huge spinning, ring-shaped pool. It is 200 meters in radius, 20
meters deep and 50 meters wide. I look back and see that the beach is about 100
x 20 meters big, half submerged bedside the platform. It would’ve been a
perfect space luxury resort. The fish farm’s technical equipment is indicated
10 meters deep. The ring pool is split into four sections along the elevator
axis. This is the tropical section. The next one, where I am swimming to, is
the freshwater one, about 14 degrees cold. The other two are the arctic ones 4
degrees and the fluvial 9 degrees cold. The timer is around 3 minutes when I
reach the watershed wall, a 30 centimeters tall bulkhead rising out from the
water. I pull myself up and reach into the water of the other side. Brrr, 14
degrees, this is a cold one! Susan’s calling. I answer the call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What’s up?” she asks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“I’m agonizing at the
watershed for the moment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Son if you’re this slow, wait
for me where you are. I’m at the shore. I will get in the water and swim to
you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">I wait for her on the
freshwater side. 14 degrees. If you’re swimming around you can get used to it.
The timer sits around 5:10 when I see Susan swimming toward me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Put this on Casanova!” she
says quietly when she arrives at the wall, handing me a pair of white
underpants. “Anton doesn’t value the Edenian dress code.” She giggles quietly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“So, we’re swimming then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Let’s swim!” I answer,
relieved after struggling to put on the underwear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">The 24 Celsius warm sea feels
like a thermal bath after the freshwater section. Susan takes lead farther from
the watershed. She’s a way better swimmer than I. Maybe she can drag me to the
shore if I run out of juice, I hope. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“What’s up champ? Are you out
of breath?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“This is not my sport.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">The way back against the
current was quite challenging for me. I struggled back to the shore by
backstroke for the last 100 meters. The commander and Charlotte were sitting
around the fire. Susan just exhaled when she gets to the shore, while I’m
panting like someone who ran a marathon. 10:22, timer stops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Ooooh damn!” I turn on to my
belly on the shore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Dad and his daughter have a
good laugh at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“I was afraid that I would end
up having to drag him back to shore.” Susan laughs too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Water is not a friendly
environment for an astronaut.” I mumble with my face in the sand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“You see? Told you to not swim
in that far with her. But you had to show off.” Charlotte says while laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">“Join us around the fire, astronaut!”
The commander invites. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">“Just a sec. I gotta catch my breath.”</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18333661283928579932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6479880612316495543.post-33194799529984603802018-01-26T01:32:00.001-08:002018-04-20T07:21:03.320-07:00Part One - Chapter 1 - Awakening<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">White, black, red, green,
blue, yellow, purple and black again. A horizontal white line shows up, shortly
followed by two more, then a lot more lines. The same thing happens again, but
vertically. It then repeats, diagonally in both directions, forming a rotating
grid. Suddenly, blackness. A white dot appears and starts moving to the right,
to the left, up and down, then in figure eights. It forms into a bright ball of
light, which flies forwards, backwards, up, down, left and right. It stops and
pulsates a bit, then pop, it bursts like a balloon, scattering sparkling
glitter into the darkness. The bang echoes multiple times, before dulling, as
the sparks go out.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">- Okay! What the hell was
that? What am I seeing? - I’m standing in the dark void - Or am I sitting or
lying? – I Can't see a thing. - Where's up? - Am I weightless?</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">A voice calls to me from
nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Calm down! It's all
right, but you shouldn't be woken up yet. You'll feel a little sting around
your neck, then you'll go back to sleep … You'll need to rest a lot."</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Not a sting, more like a
tingle, but at least I feel something. It is like I am floating in nothingness,
without a body. I can’t feel my hands or my feet, not even my tongue.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-<i> What the heck is this?
Sleep paralysis? Am I dreaming? … Ball, ball, ball, come back little shiny
ball! Concentrate! Want the ball! Want it hard!</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Oh, I can summon it. This is
Good. The ball starts to take shape in my right hand. It’s a lucid dream. I was
pretty good at this. I throw the ball, it shatters into millions of stars,
which covers the void around me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I'm floating in space. There
isn't a planet, nor a ship here. <i>- Have I drifted away? … But from where? …
How far? Oxygen levels? They drop quickly. Did I get a leak?! - Don't wheeze!
Stay calm. In space panicking kills fast … Inhale! Two, three … Hold! Six,
seven … Exhale! Eight, nine, ten … Inhale! Two, three … Hold! Six, seven …
Exhale! Eight, nine, ten …</i> and a familiar but an intangible thought
dissolves in unconsciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-o-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">- I'M DROWNING! -</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"> The sudden panic fills my
lungs. My heart almost bumps out from my chest. I'm covered in sweat. -<i>
Damn! It's just a dream, a bad dream!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">- Where am I? - </span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">It’s dark in here. I'm lying
on a bed; my hands and legs are tied. - <i>What the hell? Am I in sickbay?</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The ceiling bursts into
unified light. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Ouch", the light
hits my eyes painfully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">A head is above me. I can
barely see it, just a blurred blot, in front of a blinding background.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Sorry. I’ll turn down the
lights a bit.” a young woman speaks. Then the vivid white light softens into a
pale yellow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Better?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Better,” my voice sounding
like a hoarse growl to my ears. I’m trying to spit out the first question that
comes to me. Where am I? But all that comes out is<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Where?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“What is the last thing that
you can remember?”</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">After the moment of
disruption, the thin string of the dream has just drifted away and no matter
how much I strive to, I’m not able to recapture it.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Ahh … I don't know … I Can't
recall” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Let's start with a simple
one. Date and place of birth?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“01.11.2110. Boston,
Massachusetts”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Name?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Boston Massachusetts.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Boston, Massachusetts?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Yeah, I was born there.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Yes, but now I’m asking for
your name.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Boston Massach … my name …
Boston?” - <i>Damn it! </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">There are times when you can't
remember an old friend or a colleague's name, but to forget your own? … Damn! </span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It’s okay. Everything will
come together soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“What happened?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“You were drifting in space.
We saved you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Where?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“We are at the Edge of the
Oort cloud. A thousand Astronomical Units away from the Sun.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The bed started to fall and
sink faster than I could comprehend what she was saying to me. - <i>A Thousand
Astronomical Units?! … Oh God! I'm dizzy! Dizzy while I'm lying on a bed!</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Don't wheeze! Breathe in
slowly, the sedatives will start to work shortly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">My vision is still blurry, but
judging from the silhouette and her voice, she must be a pretty nurse or a
doctor. She sits on the right side of my bed. Her touch works better and faster
than the sedatives. I must be safe if I was able to be revived after floating
across thousand units of space. I could probably get into the Book of Records
for this.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“But how?” Don't have the
strength for longer sentences than this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“We saw you flying out of the
Solar System.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Luck?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Space is huge. You are
excessively lucky.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“No more lottery for me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“You don't have to. Just
rest!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-o-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Good morning Boston!” The
pleasant voice wakes me up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Morning,” my voice is tired
but not as hoarse as it was yesterday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The ceiling is lit up in pale
yellow. I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes, but my hands are still tied
down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“The cuffs … can you unbind
me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It's a bit early for that,
sorry. After a trauma like yours, your behavior isn’t reliable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“My eyes … they’re itching.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I'll help.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">She rubs my eyelids with a wet
cotton piece.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Thanks, much better.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">My vision is clearing. Almost
everything is white. White plastic walls, white cabin door, even my pajamas are
white. White tubes are hanging out from both of my arms. The only thing what
gives color to this ward is this woman on my right.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I was correct, she really is
beautiful. About 20-something, she bears beneficial features of all 3 races:
Mesmerizing, dark almond eyes, elongated head, curvy body, straight, dark hair,
dark-olive, whippy skin, a graceful posture, slender waist, shapely breasts,
which are highlighted by her skin-tight, white overalls. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">- Uhhh and those long legs … <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Beautiful!
Maybe too perfect … </span></i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“The name's Charlotte”. She
saw that I'm staring her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Charlotte, North Carolina.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“'Excuse me?” She looks at me
with a slightly confused smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“If I'm Boston, Massachusetts,
then you're Charlotte, North Carolina”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I'm sorry, I don't
understand." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Both of them are American
cities and states.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Ohhh.. Historical geography
isn't my specialization.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Historical?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“A lot of things happened
while you were sleeping.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">- How much? </span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">… A quick mental calculation …
<i>My speed on the parabolic orbit leaving the Solar System could be 4-5
Astronomical Units/year. A thousand units, then it's about …</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“In 200-250 years?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“How? Did you count that in
your head?” She looks at me with an awe on her face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Yes, but it's a wild guess.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It's an excellent guess.” She
smiles again. “Today's date is 31st of July 2384.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Saying that aloud is even much
more shocking than mentally calculating it … <i>Damn.</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I guess I should break from
this.” <i>- Two centuries have passed, about 250 years. I guess almost everyone
I had known is dead. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">“You don't look broken to me.”
</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">She smooths my hair with a
smile. This motion relaxes me. I don't feel panic, or even anxiety … I should
feel something about this but there's nothing. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I can't remember anyone from
before.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“We can help you to remember.
The cell-level regeneration of the nerve cells is the most complicated part of
the healing process.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“How come those American
history facts stayed in my memory but nothing of my friends or family?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Your personal memories are
stored in a different way than those of the things you have learned.” - <i>Oh
God, such a cliché. Yet another amnesia story … But this time, it's mine.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Therapy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“The cell regenerating
nanobots are repairing your nerve cells along your stimulus. It could be enough
to bring back your past.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I can hardly imagine a
pleasant therapy like this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“This … like what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Like, talking with you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">She smiles again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“All right. What can you tell
me about North Carolina?” She raises the perfect topic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It is a member state of the
USA. Its prettiest town is Charlotte, whose eyes are beautiful when she's
smiling.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Because Charlotte's eyes are
smiling.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-o-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Hi Boston! I brought you
something.” Charlotte says as she flies through my cabin door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“What? A rebirthday present?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Something like that … I guess
you must be bored of these white walls.” She points around. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Yep, bored enough … Are we
going out?” nodding my head the door's way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“We're not quite there yet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“We're not? But I'll gladly …”
after a short pause, I finish my sentence: “… go out with you” Charlotte got my
point, a wide smile appearing on her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Your body is not ready yet,
but your brain needs stimuli, so these could be perfect for that.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">She takes out two EKG-like pad
things from a white box in her hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“What are they?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“MobAR pads. Not the latest
model but certainly not 250 years old.” An evil-like grin in her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Ohhhh! Back then mobARs
didn't look like this at all. Is it only a visor or a complete machine?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“More like a transceiver. I’ll
put them on you if that’s ok?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“After 250 years of being
brain dead, I guess this shouldn’t hurt too much. Bring it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I close my eyes and I wait for
the magic. New modern technology meets with a caveman. Charlotte sticks the
pads on both sides of my forehead. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Ready?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Let's do it!” I feel like a
child in the toy store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“There we go. Open your eyes!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Instead of the sterile cabin,
a whole other view appeared in front of my eyes. White walls replaced by
light-colored rusty fabric, the wall on the right has a large open window with
a semi-transparent white curtain. Outside the window, there's bright sunshine
and the shiny blue sky. Even those white overalls that Charlotte wore, aren't
the same. Now she wears a light dress, with floral patterns on it. The textile
is beautifully conformed to the shape of her body and the edge of her skirt is
blown by a gentle breeze. - <i>Wind? The heat of the sun? And this salty scent
in the air? … Do I really feel them or am I just imaging it all?</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Can I take a look outside?” I
nod my head towards the window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Of course. Just a moment.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">She taps twice on her palm and
my bed headboard rises up 45 degrees while the bottom end is descending. My bed
transformed into an armchair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It's more comfortable this
way” She presses another button on her palm. After a loud click, my cuffs are
open up and my hands become free. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">- Uhhh. You don't realize how
uncomfortable shackles are until you're free from them.</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Ahhh, so far, so good!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">She smiles at me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I’ll push you to the window.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Such a beautiful view awaits
me from the window. Almost tear worthy. White sandy beach and palm trees that
lean out over the water. I try to pull the curtain out, to see more … <i>OH
WAIT</i> … Real-life graphics aren't new to me but this feeling of the
curtain’s textile in my hands is like I am touching real fabric and it is
slightly resisting my pulling …?!</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“How can this be?!” I look at
Charlotte, confused, with the curtain in my hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Today's virtual realities are
more advanced than the 22nd century ones. Gadgets can directly communicate with
our senses through the nanobots that stick to the nerve cells.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Wooah! We were just dreaming
of VR's like this! Colorful, touchable, has smells.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“And it could be a deadly trap
too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Deadly?” I ask, in shock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Senses can be pleased by the
virtual world, but the body cannot. Lots of limitations had to be packed into
these gadgets, to help stop people from getting lost in them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Limitations?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It is forbidden to suppress
stimuli that can warn of real dangers. Sounds, extreme temperature, smell of
smoke and the view of anything that can hurt if you walk into it. It is also
forbidden to modify any in-body stimuli. Virtual water cannot quench your
thirst, virtual food be it very tasty or not, cannot quench hunger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“So this thing can simulate
tastes? … Hmm … Guess a lot of people are getting into it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Sure they have, but they
cannot survive this way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Ohhh … tastes … it comes to
my mind. Can I get normal food? Because what comes from these, is not tasty.” I
show the tubes hanging from my arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I’ll make a call to the
kitchen, they'll bring you something tasty”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Thank you, Charlotte. You're
an angel … for real!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I know, Boston.” She giggles
and smiles back at me before she leaves through my cabin door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">This girl is a miracle.
Lively, exciting. I feel it in my bones that I want her!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-o-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I try to pry open the leg
cuffs when someone knocks on my door and a robotic voice is calling me from
outside: </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Excuse me, Sir. I'm DAN, the
station's robot servant. I have brought you your lunch.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I quickly throw a blanket over
my legs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Come in!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">A plastic, blue & gray
covered android steps through the door. By the looks, the robot trend hasn't
changed a lot since the last centuries.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">In my time, we were already
able to make lifelike humanoid droids but there wasn't a big market for them.
Only a few idiots lived out their sick, perverted fantasies and desires on
lifelike models, the others preferred the models look like this servant, DAN.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">He propped my lunch on a
plastic table that folded out from the side of my bed. The moment it lifted the
plate cover, a really delicious smell hit me in the face … My mouth fills with
saliva.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Even if the robot design
hasn't, the deep space kitchen culture had advanced a lot while I was drifting
in space. Roasted chicken breast, mashed potatoes with onion and frilly salad.
It looked delicious. The meat wasn't dry at all but juicy and spicy. The
puree's consistency and the taste are great, and they didn't take away the
vinegar from the salad.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“This is outstanding, I could
eat this all day.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“That's all you can have for
now. I cannot bring a second dish. Medical orders.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Awh come on, I haven’t
eaten something this good in 250 years … or never!" - <i>or never</i> - I
repeat the end of my sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">A picture swims into my
thoughts. A sunny garden. I am a child. I eat grilled chicken with my parents
at a white plastic table … The picture fades away fast and I sit here,
completely frozen. I cannot decide if this was just a fantasy or a real memory
of mine?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Is everything all right,
Sir?” DAN pulls me out of my trance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It’s nothing … just daydreaming."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I realize that I have my
elbows on the table, holding my forehead and scratching the edge of the mobAR
pads - ‘Just a transceiver, not a standalone machine.’ - repeating it to myself
in my head. - <i>How could I determine what's real and what's not while these
can broadcast anything into my head?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Both pads came off easily … To
my relief, nothing in the room changed. The potato and the chicken still taste
great. For a moment, I was afraid of seeing a pile of snot on my plate without
the mobAR … But it's okay. The food and the taste are real, not a simulation.
I'm glad that I don't need to thank a programmer for this masterpiece.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“DAN, forward my gratulation
to the chef!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Thank you Sir, I am the
chef.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Um … whoops”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Sir?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Nothing, I just ran into a
contradiction with myself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The robots stylized eyebrows
got wrinkly and looks at me questioningly. I smile at myself. - <i>I have to
thank a programmer for this after all.</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“How did you learn to cook
this good?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I wasn’t taught. I’ve had
this gastronomical knowledge since my activation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Do you have a recipe book
programmed in you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“A chef does not only know the
recipes but the methods, the dishes, the commodities, and the taste of the
guest. A knowledge this deep cannot be programmed, only taught, Sir.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“But you said you haven’t
taught.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Elder robots used to learn
from real gourmet chefs. Their knowledge was copied and uploaded into my
model.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“You have memories of their
learning too or just the knowledge?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I can't remember if I've ever
met with a real gourmet chef.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Neither can I, DAN … I can't
remember anyone from my previous life.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">And something's nesting into
my cold emptiness. A Deep sadness. The dam is ruptured, and tears are flooding
from my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18333661283928579932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6479880612316495543.post-82015426215945768062018-01-26T01:21:00.003-08:002018-01-26T01:21:39.226-08:00Part One - Awakening at the Edge of the World<span id="docs-internal-guid-bf7b685a-31c0-6d8c-5efa-6c13b777f631"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c802ebfd-31c4-20fb-7fda-7e2442d58396" style="font-weight: normal;"><img alt="singular.png" height="393" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/nJJd5LxpRlnXv6h52YCNfJtLcn0-Hjti2nlQwR84deSsZvwnecvJsegqcBn8W1QqW06U4GLrfki9fesGrj5cAeCFVs3RY8jtEZuNu7cckWKSjfi9UR8zRFXlesYdfOzXK_l6cig7" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="640" /></span></h2>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18333661283928579932noreply@blogger.com0