Dr Elune curiously settled down in the chair, the helmet lowering over their head. Alex smiled as they dissapeared from view, presumably going to somewhere comfortable so they could disconnect the unit.

Humming as they went through the regular recalibration tests, the doctor found themself in a simply adorned room, waiting for everything else to be set up. Pulling up a chair, they sat down patiently.

Hearing a thud, Dr Elune jumped up into the air, hovering as they looked around. A large, muscular lumberjack was found sitting on the bed, smiling abashedly.

"... Uh. Hello?"

"Hello, doctor! I see you didn't change much."

The doctor glanced down, nodding, "Didn't see the need. Is this all you have to show, Alex?"

"... I'm not Alex."

Dr Elune paused. Tilted their head in confusion.... And then burst into an uncontrolable fit of laughter, keeling over as they incessantly giggled.

"Don't judge me! You are jealous of my fine ass."

Dr Elune tried feebly to respond, wiping away their tears, when they looked up at Jolana... And went straight back to another uncontrolable fit of mirth. Sighing, Jolana simply resigned herself to waiting it out.

Before the doctor could get any actual words out, Alex popped into existance in the middle of the room, strtedled by the noise of laughter. Glancing around, they smiled, "Ah. I see you are using your custom avatar, from your earlier tour."

Jolana blushed, scratching her bristly beard to hide it, "I forgot this was what I last set it to... And the doctor apparently found this quite amusing."

Dr Elune held a finger, taking in wheezing gasps as they caught their breath, "I... I'm sorry... But, to make it worse... I appear to have... made a small flood inside my helmet... Be right back." Freezing as they suspended their avatar, Dr Elune hung in the air, leavint the other two to fidget awkwardly.

"So... The doctor floats?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. So do I... Especially when I sure the holograms around the house, or station... Or shuttle. It is far more convenient."

"Huh." Thinking for a moment, Jolana lifted into the air, wafting side to side, "Well, what do you know... This could be rather convenient."

Alex nodded, "Escpecially where we are going. I, uh... Well, there won't be any floors."

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Joalan jumped, tensing up as Dr Elune spasmed back to life, resettlign to the input, "That's better... Now, I-" The doctor saw Jolana floating there, hands held up defenseively in reflex, and the doctor simply froze.

Taking a deep breath to calm themself, the doctor turned to Alex, very deliberately not looking at Jolana, "So. What grand adventure are we off to see today?"

Glancing back and forth between the two guests, Alex smiled, "I, uh may have set up a little somthing, which you will find quite interesting... You will have to change to a more, well, accurate avatar though, Jolana."

Nodding, Jolana jumped as they transformed to a fair representation of herself, dressed similarly to the lab clothes she works in, "Oh, that was quick. Now, I am curious as to what you are so eager to show us."

Alex smirked, and clesed their eyes, "This will take a moment to calibrate... You will not be able to pass through walls, and there will be a faint lag... Perhaps as much as a few seconds. But, it will be worth it."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Glancing at each other in confusion, Dr Elune and Jolana shivered as everything fell away into darkness, with a... Flickering in the air around them. Alex mumbled something under their breath, before nodding, "Okay... Ready. Prepare to be amazed."

Suddenly, they found themself in a laboratory, neatly tidied, with nobody around. Dr Elune looked around, and chuckled, "Oh, I see. Nice work on this, Alex."

Jolana looked around, confused, "So, what? A simulated lab? Some of the design choices are a little odd though..." Reaching for a nearby bookshelf, Jolana squeaked as her hand fell right through it, before being repeled back.

"Oh, my appologies... You can't really touch anything, either. I can interact with some computer terminals on your behalf, but it will be difficult." Alex grinned, and waved around the room, "Welcome to Dr Elune's lab, straight from the station itself."

Jolana applauded, with the doctor rolling their eyes, "Considering we went through the Haven simulation, this just required good mem-"

Before the doctor could finish their thought, the door whooshed open, with Akasha walking in nervously, "Oh, hello! I see it worked. Nice to see you again."

Dr Elune scratched their head, "You made a... Sim of Akasha?" As she blinked in confusion, looking back and forth, Alex held up a finger with a grin, shusshing her.

"See, doctor... We have shown that a few things are readily possible already. I can take data, and reproduce objects fairly well... I can locally process data, with only a little input. I can safely encrypt a data line, strong anough for an AHOR... And, lastly... I can maintain a secure connection between the station and here, as when Ren organised all this."

The dcotr nodded, listening... Then widened their eyes, "... This is a live feed."

Akasha giggled, nodding, "I was surprised when Alex contacted me yesterday, saying there was an idea they wanted to try. This could be rather useful, so I agreed to help out. Quyet is monitoring the feed, just in case."

The doctor gaped as they looked back and forth, smiling wide, "This is great! Not only will we be able to catch up like this, but this is a good testing ground for virtual conferences, which will save me a whole ton of hassle."

Alex nodded with a smile, "I will need to be careful, though... And we should watch what we say. As these connections are used more often, they may start to be monitored... I do most of the work at either end, so I am safe. But, well... Assume we can be overheard, in future."

The doctor nodded in understanding, gazing up at their lab with wonder. Akasha sighed, smiling up at Jolana shyly, "Miss Jolana, right? If you would like, I can give you a tour of the station?"

"... I would like that. Is there, uh, anywhere we can't reach, Alex?"

"Hmm? Oh, I have sensors everywhere... Except bathrooms, and my old data center on the station. You have a good idea of what those look like though."

As Jolana nodded in understanding, Akasha looked at the doctor, "Well? You coming?"

"Hmm? Oh, right! Yes!" Floating over, the doctor smiled, govering slightly with an eager wiggle.

"... You know, it was only slightly creepy when Alex did that. You... Not so slightly." Giggling, Akasha led the way, with the doctor huffing with an exagerrated pout.