Disinterested eyes watched the city go by as the automated vehicle approached the crime scene. Theo was thinking about his wife. He often was. He nervously flipped a weighty chrome stylus[i] through his fingers until he made the decision to send her a message. He swiped his thumb across the stylus’ surface, the motion controlling a cursor in his vision. Moving the cursor to the bottom left corner of his vision brought up a list of apps. He selected messaging, and at the very top of the list of contacts was Kara Mitchell, embellished by a star. When he clicked into the text field, a digital keyboard extended out from his stylus, floating in the air like a hologram that only he could see. He flicked the keys with the fingers of his off hand to type out a short message in the air.
TM: Hope you’re having fun! Love you! 😘
KM: ...
Theo stared at the dots, always waiting patiently for her response before closing the app or doing anything else. He usually didn’t have to wait long, unless she was in the middle of a raid or whatever the hell she did in that game.
KM: love you
It wasn’t quite the wall of emojis and flowery language that they used to exchange in their youth, but the words still filled Theo with a comfortable warmth. She was one of the few things he cherished, if not the only thing anymore.
A short tone coming from a hidden speaker somewhere in the vehicles cabin indicated that he had arrived at his destination. He stepped out of his car into the street primarily lit by flashing blue and red LED’s. As soon as he moved away from his vehicle, the door closed, and it whirred off to find somewhere to park.
The journey up to the victim’s apartment was littered with beat cops, few of whom displayed the distinct red dot indicating that they were recording their vision. Theo didn’t really care to correct them, he just rolled his eyes and shook his head, then started recording his own vision as he approached. Not only was it required by law, but it was an invaluable tool for any investigator. Theo entered the lobby but insisted on going up to the 5th floor by stairs, just to make sure he got in his exercise for the week.
The destination floor was a sty with officers doing nothing but holding up the walls and crowding his path. The victim’s door was open. Theo stepped inside, passing through the digital police tape. The inside of the apartment was empty of officers, which would have been a breath of fresh air were it not for the young woman’s corpse sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. Theo moved around behind her, observing the large hole in the base of her skull. Through the thick, bloodied hair, within the shredded of bone and flesh, Theo could barely see the shine of metal shrapnel and wires.
“You’ve got good eyes.”
Theo lifted his head to see Jacque, the Crime Scene Videographer and the closest thing to a friend that he had, leaving the victim’s bedroom.
“They’d better be, as expensive as they were. I’m not a fan of how much they itch either...” Theo said, bringing a finger up to rub his eyelids. “She had a Brainstem Interface[ii].”
“Yep. ‘Had’ is the operative word. She blew most of it away in her final act. I don’t envy forensics having to piece that shit back together, if they can even find all the pieces.” Jacque was moving along all of the walls and the furniture, looking at it intently, scanning everything to be videogrammetrically[iii] recreated later in a digital environment. After slipping into a pair of latex gloves, Theo pointed at the girl and made eye contact with Jacque.
“May I?” Theo asked.
“Have at it, I already got her and the main room, the kitchen and the bedroom, gonna finish up with the bathroom, and I’m all done.”
Having been given the go-ahead, Theo pushed her from her hunched position back into the chair, and let her head fall back. The once beautiful young woman was now a battered, lifeless corpse staring at the ceiling with dead eyes. Theo looked directly into it, giving the police facial recognition software a chance to identify her. To Theo’s surprise, the software was able to quickly come back with a profile despite the significant bruising and swelling. The girl’s profile matched that of the one in the case file.
Christina Auburg was 19, a sophomore student at MIT, and had recently received a cybernetic interface implanted in her brainstem. Theo immediately checked to see if she had made her interface activity public, but as he expected, he only had access to her mobile and computer data, all of which stopped right when she had the operation a few months prior.
“Student at MIT... I don’t imagine your daughter knows her?” Theo asked.
“I don’t think so. I’d ask but she hasn’t really been talkative lately.”
“School, or a boyfriend, or what?”
“No, it’s that fucking game...” Jacque said, shaking his head. He then looked at Theo.
“Wanderlust[iv]?”
“Yeah. That one. I suppose you know a thing or two about it.” Jacque realized he may have said something distasteful, he hoped that Theo didn’t take it that way.
“I do, in fact.” Theo said. There wasn’t a response. There didn’t need to be. The two quietly continued their work.
The gun, tightly gripped in the girl’s hand, was a .38 Special. In prying her hand from the gun, Theo heard the click of the trigger resetting. The sound made the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Instead of trying to get the gun from her grip, he decided to release the cylinder and eject the four live rounds still in the weapon.
“Remind me why there’s a circus outside for a suicide?” Jacque asked. His confusion wasn’t unfounded, Theo thought, but didn’t say.
“The suicide rate has spiked recently. The city doesn’t think it is strictly suicide. There’s pressure on the captain from outside to find out what’s causing it.” As he spoke, Theo bagged the ammunition, then continued trying to pry the weapon from her fingers.
“Why are they so convinced there’s a criminal reason?”
“I dunno, man.” Theo said with a shrug. “Probably one of the conspiracy theories that came out after the police misconduct report last year.”
“Oh... well, a couple of those conspiracies turned out to be true, so, I can’t blame ‘em.”
Theo agreed, silently. Some people he had worked with for years, even people who were involved in his daughter’s case, were fingered in the report. It was a dark day for law enforcement across the country, but one that needed to happen.
“Whether or not this is a genuine suicide or something else, I feel pretty certain that these bruises and lacerations didn’t come from a general clumsiness.” Theo said. He took a moment to make a note for the medical examiner, ordering a rape kit to be completed. He also added cause of death determination to the requests, just out of an abundance of caution.
After bagging the gun, Theo stood up look into Christina’s mouth. A ring of LEDs flipped on in the iris of his left eye, and his visual interface[v] software adjusted the image for optimal true-color viewing. He saw the burn scars on her tongue, her broken teeth, and an ultra-high-definition view of the hole passing through the back of her throat. He was unable to see any pieces of the implant, and so moved to look directly into her eyes.
Theo hoped he would find an info band around the edges of her iris, indicating that her eyes were manufactured, like his. It would have included product information and given Theo access to recorded visual data stored within the eye, but he found no such ring in either eye. When he looked into the pupil, however, he could see a faint reflective golden ring. It was the telltale sign that while her eyes were her originals, she had sensors installed around her optic nerves as part of the Brainstem Interface implant surgeries. Any footage she would have had would have been stored within the implant that was blown to bits along with the rest of her brainstem.
“Dammit.” Theo remarked as he moved on. He moved the girls head back into its original position, and took another, deeper look into the hole in the back. With a pair of tweezers, he pulled the few pieces of the implant he could see out and placed them into another bag. He didn’t bother with the fine filaments. That would be another job for the Medical Examiner.
There were more pieces spread out across the ceiling and the rest of the room. Theo spent some time closely inspecting the blood spatter. With the help of his optical software, he was able to find a few more fragments, but eventually, there was nothing else he could do but send a polite note to the crime scene cleanup crew to keep a look out.
He moved into the adjoining kitchen and began taking a look in drawers, fridge and freezer, and when he looked in the cupboards above the fridge, he reached behind a small nook in the back and pulled out an opened bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. His eyes went wide at the find. He pulled off the cork and inhaled deep.
The scent of the fine whiskey activated certain neural pathways in his brain. Pathways that were impossible for Theo to ignore. Theo closed his eyes and basked in the smell of honey and vanilla, enhanced by the subtle sting of spice and alcohol. The urge to taste it was overwhelming. The part of him saying that he shouldn’t was little more than a whisper. Just as he was about to place it to his lips, Theo noticed Jacque leaving the bathroom, just watching him, seeing what he would do. Theo corked the bottle and placed it back in its place in the back of the cupboard.
“How you doing, T?” Jacque asked with concern in his voice.
“Doing okay, J.” Theo didn’t intent to sound so dismissive, but the lack of comfort in the topic came through anyway. Jacque could hear it. He knew Theo was sensitive about it, but as a good friend should, he continued pressing.
“And... how’s Kara doing?”
“She’s...” Theo wanted to snap at him. For a moment, he felt like Jacque was insinuating something, accusing him of drinking and neglecting his wife. Again. But he took a breath and shook off the negative assumptions. “She’s doing okay... I’ve been getting her to eat and stay hydrated, and I keep an eye on her vitals, but...” Theo crossed his arms. He didn’t have anything else to add.
“Well, just know that I’m available if you ever need someone to talk to. Chris, too, if you want someone a little more professional.” Jacque said. Theo gave a silent and subtle nod. Jacque picked up his kit and started moving toward the door. “I’m done here. The VR Sim should be ready by end of day, if you need to take a look.” He gave Theo a two fingered wave and continued.
“Wait...” Theo said, stopping Jacque in his tracks. Theo approached him and took his hand in a firm grip. “Thank you, truly. I appreciate your concern.”
“It’s no problem, Theo. You remind me that maybe not all cops are bastards.”
“I wouldn’t go that far...” Theo chuckled, as did Jacque. They parted ways and Theo continued looking around the apartment for anything that may indicate that Christina’s suicide may have been genuine. He also started a search on her socials and messaging history. He used an API from National Suicide Prevention that was able to find hints of suicidal ideation and deep depression with a high degree of accuracy. The only things that came back were a few off-color jokes from years ago.
In general, Christina seemed like a joyful, life-loving, optimist for her entire life. She never even had a morbid goth or emo phase, which Theo thought was a little strange in itself, but still not something notable. The only thing that was out of place was that her outgoing messages stopped, and her socials seemed suspiciously like bots over the past few days before her death.
Theo tried to multitask, skimming through Christina’s online presence as he did the same to her medicine cabinet. She wasn’t taking anything except for antibiotics and some light painkillers, the expected regimen after her interface surgeries. Nothing was out of place in her bedroom either, from the toys and condoms in her dresser, to the lone stuffed animal that just about every late-teenage girl had.
Theo may have been skeptical at first, but it was starting to seem like suicide wasn’t in the cards for Christina. After searching the apartment, it was time to take statements. Theo set up an interview with Christina’s boyfriend as he walked out the apartment to meet her neighbor, who was standing in the hallway with the other useless badges. Theo approached her.
“Ms. Beckhart, is it?” Theo said, reading off the profile information that came to him when he looked at her. He offered an open hand. She almost seemed relieved to see him. She took his hand.
“That’s right.” She said, giving him a nervous smile.
“Mind if we talk inside?” Theo didn’t have to ask, as she was already guiding him into her open door. She closed the door once they were inside and offered Theo a water, which he refused. He did accept the offer of a seat in her living room.
“I much prefer you guys in plain clothes.” Ms. Beckhart said as she sat down in the chair next to his. “I get a bit of the fascist vibe from the uniforms. Though, I think you’re leaning a little too far into the brooding hardboiled detective thing what with the trench coat. Just missing the hat.”
“I’ll have you know that I kill it in this trench coat.” Theo said. It wasn’t the first time he heard it. “And I left my hat at home.” For a moment, Theo’s candor confused her. She wasn’t sure if he was joking until he cracked a smile.
Emmaline Beckhart was a victim of identity fraud that left her a penniless divorcee and estranged from her own daughter. With this public knowledge already at his fingertips, Theo could have guessed the answer to his first question.
“How well did you know her?” He asked.
“Is she dead?” Emma replied. It wasn’t quite what he expected, especially with the number of cops in the hallway, not one of them took a statement or informed her of the situation. Theo paused.
“I think you know the answer to that question.” He said.
“Fuck!” She said in a half whisper, shaking her head, and holding back tears. Theo gave her a moment. “I really liked her... she was smart, and funny, and ambitious... I mean, she was going to fuckin MIT for Christ’s sake! and she... She kindof reminded me of my own daughter.” She said. Theo nodded his head, silently congratulating himself for knowing she was going to say it. When the appropriate amount of time had passed, Theo continued with his next question.
“Do you know if she has a history with drugs or alcohol?”
“Well, I’ll admit that I’ve smoked a joint or two with her, a couple of shots.”
“Shots?” Theo said.
“Y-yeah... I mean, I know she’s not 21 yet, but her father had just died, so...”
“Was it a common occurrence?”
“What, her father dying?”
“No...” Theo said with a subtle chuckle which turned to him clearing his throat. “It may not have been with you, but do you know if she drank much socially, with her friends, or alone in her apartment?”
“Never!” Emma said, but immediately recanted. “Well, almost never... I mean, I had never seen her drunk before, even when we drank together, she had one shot and didn’t seem phased by it, but... a couple days ago, I caught her leaving her apartment, and she seemed like she had more than a few.”
“How could you tell? Her movement or speech, or could you smell it on her?”
“Definitely movement. She hit herself with the door on the way out and nearly planted her face in the wall. But... when I passed her, I didn’t smell alcohol at all.”
“Hmm... anything else strange about her?”
“Well... her makeup was... different... not great, in my opinion. But I also gave her our mutual greeting, and she seemed pretty confused by it.”
“What’s the greeting?”
“I’d, uh...” Emma crossed her arms, and shook her head with an embarrassed chuckle. “I’d say stuff like... uh... ‘Go fuck yourself, slut!’ and she’d respond by saying, like, ‘At least I still can, you desiccated, oversized catcher’s mitt!’”
“Wow...” Theo said. “That’s quite the greeting.”
“It’s, you know... we didn’t like each other when we first met.”
“So you insulted the hell out of each other, and then... bonded over it?”
“No!” Emma said, momentarily offended, then continued. “Well... yeah, actually, the point is, she seemed totally taken off guard by that.”
“You said everything seemed normal up until that point?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“When did you next see her?”
“Uh... well, a few hours ago, I saw her in the hall coming out of the elevator. She looked... absolutely terrible! She was covered in bruises, and limping, and maybe drunk again too. I flipped her off and then-”
“You... gave her the bird?”
“Yeah... You know, like waiving hello?”
“Okay.” Theo said. “What happened next?”
“Well, she seemed confused again at my gesture, but she was also kind of hiding her bruises and cuts, and went in her apartment and locked the door. I went to grab some tea to bring it over and talk to her, but before I could get there, I just heard her suddenly screaming bloody murder. I dropped the tea and ran for her door, but before I could get there, I heard the gunshot...” Emma shook from the chills running down her spine, remembering those things that happened just hours before.
“Do you know if she came home at any point between when you saw her leave and when she came back?”
“I don’t think so... I mean, it’s possible that she could have returned and left when I was sleeping, but these walls are kind of thin, so I hear just about everything.”
“Everything?” Theo raised his eyebrows.
“You heard what I said.”
“I guess that brings me to my next question... How well do you know her boyfriend, Michael Tenning?”
“Not too well... I mean, I could tell you what he sounds like when they’re doing it, but I’m not sure that’ll be helpful.”
“Did it ever sound nonconsensual or otherwise violent?”
“Not at all. I have heard them argue, but never full-on shouting matches or throwing shit or anything like that. All in all, they were kind of a generic, cute couple of kids in puppy love.”
“Do you know what they argued about?”
“Mostly about stupid videogame or internet shit. Though, about a week ago, they had a bigger fight. I asked her what it was about, but she wouldn’t say. I think it was about sex stuff, but I’m not sure. I haven’t seen, nor heard him around since then.”
“Okay.” Theo said. “Is there anything else that you think might be useful?”
“No... I don’t think so...” Emma racked her brain. Theo stood up from his seat.
“In that case, I’ll get out of your hair. Thank you for your time, and if you think of anything else, you can contact BPD and ask for Detective Mitchell.”
“Thank you...” Emma said as she rose to walk him to the door. Just as he was going to grab the door knob, she interrupted him. “Umm... do you think...”
“Hm?” Theo turned around to look at her. She didn’t seem confident in her question. “Do I think what?”
“Do you think this has anything to do with her new Interface? I begged her not to get the damn thing.”
“What do you mean... like it was a botched surgery?”
“No... like... I mean, you have cybernetic eyes, right? Aren’t you worried about hackers, and viruses and stuff?”
“Yeah, I am, but that’s why I’m always on the latest security update. That, and Bell-Westbrook[vi] pride themselves on their cybernetic security.”
“Sure... My bank said their security was top notch too, then one day I’m in the red a half-million dollars, and there was nothing they could do.”
Theo wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t wrong. He knew that hacks and viruses were possible, but there hadn’t been any notable ones since the early days of optical implants over a decade ago. Truly, Bell-Westbrook was the leader in cyber security. No other corporation came close to their amount of funding. Their tech was top of the line and widely available, and their operating system was the standard, free to anyone.
He thanked Emmaline again before leaving. On his way out of the building. This time, he used the elevator, following Christina’s last known itinerary. As soon as he stepped into the elevator car, he noticed a camera in one of the corners. Through his police access, he was able to view live and recorded footage from the city CCTV system. Not every building and camera was on the system, so he was relieved when he was able to connect and saw himself standing in the elevator. It also, thankfully, had the previous 72 hours of footage. He began to wind back the footage, watching the hoards of cops pour in and out of the car.
When the flood of blue turned to a trickle and finally ended, he watched a few more cycles, each with one or two residents, but then he watched a cycle that didn’t appear to have any passengers. Theo checked to see if there was any weight data for the elevator, but he had no such luck. He was still fairly confident of what he was looking at.
The CCTV has had hacker intrusions ever since the day it was integrated into the internet. The most popular script the hackers end up using was also one of the first. It is designed to hide their image from connected cameras, using the police’s own facial recognition system to do it. It became so commonly used that the police gained a reputation for having such an insecure system. While it was true that the police didn’t have the funding or expertise to stay ahead of this hack, they did end up understanding how it works, and ways to get around it.
For example, the stealth script could dynamically edit out a full persons shape almost perfectly, but the facial recognition software had difficulty with warped images and reflections. In the shiny panels of the supposedly empty elevator, Theo could see subtle shadows moving, giving away its hidden occupant. Of course, searching through every available camera for subtle shadows, while effective, was very time consuming. Instead, Theo used another tactic that took advantage of a flaw in the facial recognition system.
He first gathered several pictures of Christina from her socials and from his own recorded footage, then modifies the images, flipping them, then feeding them into the search algorithm. It would take a short while for the search, and it was by no means perfectly effective, but he still expected to see a few results pop up across the city. In the meantime, he had another important statement to take. He left the apartment and by the time he reached the curb, his vehicle had pulled up with open doors.
It was only a few minutes before Theo arrived at the requested meeting place, Cherry Estate Greek Cookery, a budget-gourmet restaurant. He arrived before the dinner crowd and met Michael Tenning sitting at a table. The kid stood up awkwardly when he saw Theo approaching. Theo shook his metal hand, detailed in chrome. The kid clasped his second hand onto Theo’s with a nervously over-cordial gesture. Theo smiled.
“Mr. Tenning.” Theo said.
“Yes, sir.” The boy replied. Theo gestured, and they sat down at the table. Michael Tenning was 20, already a veteran and an amputee. After being honorably discharged, he met Christina through a dating app, and had been dating her for almost a year. Along with this information, Theo also observed his location data, given to him in response to his police request. Michael hadn’t been anywhere near Christina’s apartment during her missing time.
“I’ve called you here because I had a few questions about Christina Auburg.” Theo said. Michael’s eyes darted down at the table, and his meat hand reached up to hold his face.
“Is she... is she okay?” He said.
“I’m afraid not, Michael. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Christina is dead.” Theo saw a couple of teardrops land on the table. Theo was silent, waiving away an approaching waiter, letting Michael take in the news. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head.
“How... how did she...?”
“That’s what I’m here to try to determine. It appears as if she shot herself with a .38 special.”
“What?!” Michael looked up, confused, and baring an offended look. More evidence affirming Christina’s general aversion to suicide.
“It appeared that way, but I don’t have the complete picture. That’s why I’m talking with you now. If there is some kind of foul play involved, I need your help to find it.” Theo said. The anger in Michaels eyes was effectively deflected away from him.
“That gun... I think it was her father’s gun...” Michael continued shaking his head. “I helped teach her how to shoot it... You think somebody might have killed her?”
“That is the assumption that I’m working under currently, yes.” Theo saw Michael’s mood settle on determination. He was ready to answer questions. “You’ve been with her for some time, correct?”
“Yeah. Met her almost a year ago now... I was planning on doing a special date night, to surprise her.”
“When did you last see her?”
“It was... a week ago, I think...”
“Tell me about that.”
“We met after class in the library to study, and she invited me over to her place for a night cap, and... uh... I went home around midnight or so...”
“You didn’t stay the night?”
“Well... I uhh, needed to get up early...” Michael was clearly not saying something, but Theo had an idea of what it was.
“Am I wrong in assuming your relationship included sex?”
“No, uhh... No, sir.”
“Did either of you participate in any particularly rough sexual activity, like BDSM or anything like that?”
“No, nothing like that.” Michael said, his embarrassment was rising. “I mean... she was kind of into spanking, I guess.”
“Okay. Excepting that, did either of you ever hit each other, whether accidental, or during an argument?”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Not at all, never!”
“I spoke with Christina’s neighbor. She mentioned hearing an argument about a week ago...” Theo said and watched Michael squirm in his seat.
“Yeah... uh... yeah we did argue...”
“Was that the same night you said you last saw her?”
“Y... yes...” Michael knew what was coming.
“What was the argument about?” Theo made sure he didn’t convey that he had caught Michael omitting some details. Michael shrunk down in his chair, a sign of embarrassment and nothing else.
“She wanted to... uhh... try something called ‘Pegging’... on me...” He said. Theo remained perfectly professional.
“I assume you weren’t amenable?”
“Well.... I mean... not necessarily... she just kinda sprung it on me, and I wasn’t really ready for it. I might not have been so against it if we had more of a discussion first.”
“Okay. So, you left, and that’s the last time you were with her. Did you have any communications after that point?”
“Yeah... We messaged a few times after that, and I thought we had resolved the matter, but a few days ago, I tried messaging her without response, and chatting her socials, but the responses I got there were weird. Like bots had taken over her accounts. I dunno... I thought she was just taking a little break from the world and school and stuff. Sinking into her Interface.”
“She got her interface a few months ago, is that right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have one?”
“I’ve got some display meshes and aural implants, but not a Brainstem Interface. Not yet. I was going to get one soon though... she made it seem pretty incredible.”
“She liked the implants?”
“Hell yeah. She was way into them. She kept saying that it was a whole new level of immersion. She spent a lot of time on a website like ‘Chat Rooms’ or something, and she was starting to get really into Wanderlust. A little too much if you ask me.”
“What do you mean?”
“She didn’t spend as much time on her schoolwork, I was worried that her grades were going to start slipping. But, also, there was some mod on Wanderlust that she talked up, saying she read it was really scary. I was there when she tried it, and just seeing her reaction after, I could believe it. It really shook her. She could barely talk about it afterwards.”
“It affected her that much?”
“Yeah, well, like right after, sure. But then we watched a couple eps of some sitcom, and she was back to normal.”
“About how long ago was that?”
“Probably... the week before our argument, I guess.”
“Do you know if she had any stalkers, online or off, or any angry exes, enemies, etcetera...?”
“Not really, not as far as I know. I expect she probably had some weirdos following her online from just being a woman on the internet. That, and the whole Middle Eastern thing she had.”
“Middle eastern... thing?” Theo asked, raising an eyebrow, not really quite sure of Michaels tone. “Does she have some Jewish or Israeli heritage or something?”
“No, not as far as I know. Auburg might be Jewish, I guess, but no, she was just really into middle eastern cultures and history ever since she took a trip when she was little. She had a tendency to use words and phrases from the region in her usernames and would sometimes get carried away talking about Jewish and Muslim history and stuff. And, I mean, I’m sure you’ve been on the internet in America, ever. So, yeah, I’ve heard her explode about racist assholes before, but there hasn’t been anything recent along those lines, as far as I know.”
“Did she ever mention anyone who stood out to you?”
“Nope. She always seemed pretty secure about her identity online and whatnot.”
“Is there anything else that you think I should know?”
“I... I don’t think so... but...” Michael bowed his head. His human hand began to shake nervously in time with his leg. “You don’t think... she did that... because of me, do you? Because of our argument?”
“If I’m being frank, I didn’t know her at all, and I wasn’t there to hear what happened, so I can’t say for certain at this point, and it’s possible I may never be able to... but from what I have seen. I don’t think she was the type of person to react in such an extreme way toward an argument like that. If there were some foul play involved, I don’t believe it has anything to do with you.” Theo reached across the table and held steady Michaels shaking hand. “I’m sorry this happened. All I can do is promise you that I’ll do everything I can to figure out what happened and make sure anyone involved meets justice.” Theo said. It was a cheesy, standard spiel, but Michael accepted it nonetheless.
“Thank you, detective.”
“If you remember anything, you have my contact information, and if you feel like you need some support or just someone to talk to, you can contact BPD and we can refer you to some resources.” Theo pat Michael’s hand and stood up from the table. “I may have further questions in the future. For the time being, please remain available.”
Michael nodded and shook Theo’s hand again, noticeably less nervous now that he didn’t feel he was suspect. Theo left the restaurant, now with an itinerary of locations where Christina had been found by his facial recognition search done earlier. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of locations found. According to the timestamps, two of the locations were shortly after Christina stopped responding to messages, and another three in the hours before her death, showed reflections of her sporting the injuries she had been found with. There was about 27 hours between that he couldn’t account for. He needed more points of data. Theo began viewing the footage.
The first recording recognized her for less than a second, in the reflection of a buildings glass façade. From here, Theo was able to follow the subtle shadows and artifacting down the street. Knowing her moving direction, Theo switched to cameras further down the same street and looked for signs of the stealth hack. It wasn’t a quick job. Theo had to inspect hundreds of different cameras, but gradually, he was able to further narrow down her general path between each point. Still, there was a period of nearly 25 hours in which she was hidden completely, but it all seemed to be in a somewhat small area of the south waterfront. He selected it for his vehicle’s destination.
It didn’t take long, driving around the waterfront. There were only two streets that intersected the unknown area, and an alley between them. It seemed the obvious place to start looking. The vehicle pulled up, just to the point that he could see down the alley. He left his vehicle and walked down the alleyway, taking a few turns along the way. It was quite dark, in more ways than one. There were no lights, and no cameras whatsoever, at least, none connected to the citywide CCTV, nor any that were immediately visible to him. Most of the alleyway was solid brick, but with a few, conspicuous doors with physical keypads.
Theo circumnavigated the building complex, finding several vacant lots, a laundromat, and a place called Shadow Recording. A quick search online found the website. Theo looked at the about page. Shadow Recording was a videogrammetric recording studio that had booths of varying sizes lined with hundreds of ultra-high-definition video cameras. After recording, the system uses the footage to create 3D models, complete with materials and animations, ready to be used for AR and VR. If there was any doubt in his mind about what these booths were used to record, it was gone when he saw the banners reading ‘Anonymity Guaranteed’.
Theo stepped into the business, a small, featureless room with a couple of chairs and a desk. He was greeted by a young woman with her feet up on the desk, if it could be called a greeting.
“Appointments are online only. Use the code you received at the door described in your confirmation...” The woman’s eyes were lit up, and she was flipping a stylus similar to his own. Theo was sure that she couldn’t even see him, though he was quite sure she already knew who he was, as she continued, “Detective.”
“Can I ask about the business?”
“You can direct all questions to our FAQ and support on our website.” She fiddled with the Stylus, swiping her thumb across it, and Theo received a link to the Shadow Recording website.
“I’d like to ask about a former possible client.” Theo said. The woman’s eyes looked toward him through the full-vision app she was using. Her expression said he was an idiot.
“Any and all clients are completely confidential. If you are seen surveilling any former, current, or potential client, you can expect legal action.”
“I have reason to believe that the client may have been victim to crimes committed in or around your business.”
“There are a lot of vague descriptors in that claim. If there were any crimes committed within the business premises, it would be a violation of the user agreement, and the perpetrators would be subject to legal action.” The woman said. Theo rolled his acrylic eyes. “Even if you had a warrant, I can’t provide that information.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Pick one.”
“What even is the point of this office?”
“Security.”
“Not very secure if your clients are using your business to commit crimes, is it?”
“If you have a warrant, you can provide it to the admins on our website. If there’s nothing else, you can leave the premises or you may be considered trespassing or loitering, and would be subj-”
“-Subject to legal action, yeah, I got it.” Theo said, throwing his hands up with annoyed frustration. “Thank you for your time.”
“Come back soon!” The woman said as Theo stepped out the door.
Theo returned to his vehicle and moved to the next location where a CCTV camera had caught a reflection of Christina. She was spotted outside of a fast-food restaurant. The location was quite busy, and now that he knew what to look for, following Christina’s movements wasn’t too difficult as he saw all the passersby seemed to give an invisible spot a wide berth. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to continue following her once she was out of frame, as there weren’t any other CCTV cameras nearby. The last capture, where she had been spotted by the camera a few different times, was in a derelict residential neighborhood in Mattapan, and again, there were no other cctv camera’s nearby, nor was he able to tell her direction or where specifically she went.
He decided to try his luck with the fast-food restaurant and began asking people if they remembered seeing her. It didn’t work out so well, as that location was a favorite among the destitute and drug-addicted. Some people did remember seeing her, but did not watch her every move, and could not provide information about where she was going, besides “west.” He felt like there wasn’t much more he could do. To narrow down her movements.
Shortly after returning to his vehicle, Theo received a message from the Medical Examiner. He was able to pull more fragments of Christina’s Interface out of her brainstem to be given over to the forensics team, but he didn’t feel confident that they had enough fragments to rebuild the implant, and the likelihood of pulling data from it was virtually zero. He did, however, confirm that the young woman was violently raped. He was already in the process of gathering fluid and hair for DNA typing.
Theo felt that there wasn’t much more he could do at the moment. The sun was getting low above the horizon when Theo decided to call it quits for the day, but he wasn’t quite ready to go home just yet. It was times like these when he would have enjoyed going to the bar, but he opted instead to set his destination as MCI-Concord. His vehicle whirred to life, was on an autoway within a minute, and had arrived not 10 minutes later.
The vehicle delivered him to the visitor entrance. Even though he didn’t necessarily need to, he made sure to display his police badge and gun. Once inside the door, he went straight to the armory. He always enjoyed watching the security officers’ eyes light up when he pushed across his Taurus .44 to be locked up. Without fail, every time that the officers checked the weapon, they would look at Theo for approval, which he would give, and they would spin the cylinder and flip it closed like an action hero. He didn’t blame them. Theo often did it himself whenever he was at the range.
Theo made sure to give the camera a direct smile and wave, and waited until the security officer let him leave. He returned to visitor check in and went through all the standard procedures, going through weapons detectors and receiving a pat down, then being escorted to the visiting room. He waited alone in the spacious room for a few minutes. The faint sounds of door buzzers growing louder, until a final, loud buzz accompanying a young man wearing a grey scrub shirt and black pants. Theo stood up to greet him.
“Hey, Theo.” The prisoner said.
“Hey, Ellis!” Theo responded, shaking his hand.
Ellis Royalkin was 22 and was 2 years into a 12-year sentence for driving under the influence of THC, and vehicular manslaughter. The victim was Theo’s own daughter, Alice Mitchell, age 4 at the time. The two sat down on opposite sides of the table.
“How are you doing?” Ellis asked. Theo shrugged.
“Okay, I guess. Not too different. Started a new case that seems a little different from usual.”
“Oh yeah? I don’t imagine you can tell me much about it?”
“No... afraid not. Though, I dunno, I might need the insight of a young person. Be on the lookout for questions with little to no context.”
“I’m not sure how much help I will be, but... I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks.” Said Theo. “Well, anyway... what’s up with you? How are things?”
“I would tell you that I’m exactly the same as last week because, you know, I’m in prison, but I actually did get a new cell mate.”
“Really? I thought you were given your own cell. Did you piss off a guard or something?”
“No!” Ellis laughed. “It’s nothing like that. I got approved to participate in a pet adoption program. I’ve got a kitten now!”
“Shit! Really?”
“Yeah! A little Bombay named Chad! Or Chode sometimes, when he insists on pissing on my bed. That’s actually what the main idea is, it’s not really ‘adoption’ per-se, more toilet training and helping get them ready for adoption.”
“That sounds great!” Theo and Ellis both gave genuine smiles. “I love cats! We’re gonna have to figure out a way to let me see the little bastard.”
“I had no idea you liked cats. I always took you for a dog person.”
“Yeah, dogs are all right. I do like dogs too, but I think I’d be a crazy cat lad if I weren’t a cop, and if I weren’t married...”
“What, she doesn’t like cats? She allergic or something?”
“No, I don’t think she... uhh... She just... I work a lot, and it seems like it could be a commitment, and I’d feel like I was pushing it on her.”
“Oh, I see. Well, you could get a digital one. It’s a lot less commitment. Though, I guess you can change settings to make is to it can eat and piss and shit, if you’re into that. It’s all just cosmetic, of course.” Ellis said.
“Yeah...” Theo said with a half-hearted chuckle. Ellis saw that his mind was now on something else. He may not have even heard what Ellis was saying.
“Is it that game?” Ellis said. Theo was slightly caught off guard. He had forgotten talking about it.
“Yeah... yeah.”
“What’s it called? Wonderlands?”
“No, that’s the old one for eyes like ours and HMD’s[vii]. This one is the successor. It’s called Wanderlust, designed for Brainstem Interfaces only, and instead of the battle royale thing, it’s more of a huge, open world MMO thing. It looks cool, I guess.”
“You don’t seem very excited about it.”
“I dunno. I’m no stranger to videogames, we actually used to play together a lot back in high school and college. Even after we got our eyes done. But then it started looking pretty damn real... and so fuckin violent. I felt like.... I see enough of that shit at my job, I’d rather not see it in my off time too.”
“Makes sense.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally against the Brainstem Interface, or Wanderlust, but... I just want my wife back, back to the way she was when Alice...” Theo stopped speaking and avoided eye contact in the silence. Ellis couldn’t say anything, he just let the silence linger. “I’m sorry.” Theo said. Ellis was taken aback, almost offended.
“No, man! You don’t have to be sorry for anything! It wasn’t your fault... it was mine.” Ellis said, pointedly. It caught Theo’s attention. “I killed your daughter. You didn’t put me in here, I did that myself.”
“You were just a fuckin kid learning how to drive stick, I should’ve-”
“You should still have a loving daughter and wife!” Ellis yelled.
A flash of anger filled Theo. He jumped up from his seat, and for a brief moment, considered leaping over the table and strangling the kid.
“Hey!” The officer waiting at the door yelled. “We having a problem here?” He said, reaching for his baton. Theo took a breath and placated the guard with open palms. The guard stepped back. “Time’s almost up.” He said. Theo sat back down.
“Why have you been visiting me so often? It’s been at least once a week for months now, I think.” Ellis said.
“I don’t know, kid. There was a time when I wanted to twist your fuckin head off. But then I guess I realized that... well, you’re not going anywhere anytime soon, and talking to you is much cheaper than therapy.”
“The BPD doesn’t provide therapy?”
“Alright, that’s not what I mean. Besides, you can’t refuse visitation.”
“I most certainly can.”
“But will you?” Theo looked at Ellis as if he’d caught him in a clever logic trap. Ellis just rolled his eyes and laughed. Theo continued taking on a more serious tone. “In truth, after it happened, I started drinking. Again. A lot. And my wife was hurt because of it. Or... because of me. So then I stopped drinking... and I noticed that when I wasn’t drunk, I wasn’t angry. I certainly wasn’t happy either, but I found that the hate seemed to disappear. At least, I found that it wasn’t you that I hated.”
“How long has it been?”
“89 days. This time.”
“Oh... what’s your high score?” Ellis asked. There was a short pause before Theo answered.
“Four years...” He said. “But I gotta tell ya, I was real tempted today. I was looking over a crime scene and found some Blue Label.” Theo expected surprise from Ellis. He didn’t get it. Theo then remembered that Ellis was incarcerated before he could even legally drink, and the prison wasn’t really known for the quality of it’s bootleg alcohol. He decided to explain. “It’s like, really expensive, high quality whiskey, the kind of shit I’ve never had the chance to try before. You know?”
“Not really...”
“Well, you smoked weed, right?”
“Yeah, but not that much. I can count the number of joints I’ve shared on one hand. I guess I’d smoke one if I knew it wouldn’t add to my sentence, but I can take it or leave it.”
“Come on, I’m trying to make a point... what’s something that you miss? I don’t imagine the foods all that great?”
“God, I’d fucking kill for a Tasty Burger.”
“Yeah. Imagine the most juicy, 80 dollar feast hand crafted by the fine cuisine artisans behind the Tasty Burger.” Theo said. Ellis understood where this was going. “And imagine turning away from it.”
“I uh... I don’t know if I’d be able to do that.” Ellis said. “Good job, Theo!”
“Thanks...” Theo suddenly felt like he was pressing for validation, he just felt like Ellis was the only one he could tell this to.
Sure, Jacque was a closer friend that he had known for much longer than Ellis, and Jacque’s husband, Chris, was a psychiatric therapist himself. And neither of them had killed his daughter. Despite all that, for some reason, Theo wanted to tell these things to Ellis. Maybe he felt safe in telling him, as his judgement would be locked inside this prison with him.
“Can I be honest with you, kid?” Theo asked. Ellis nodded. “There’s some stuff I miss about drinking that has nothing to do with the actual drinking part. I used to go to a bar called The Endless Wit. Obviously, it was a bar, so I drank there, but a lot of the time, for me, it was more about the ambiance. I enjoyed the darkly lit interior, how there were never crowds, and everyone kind of knew each other, even though we rarely spoke. There was live music sometimes, usually someone playing solo, moody jazz or a song on the guitar.”
“Sounds straight out of an old Detective movie...” Ellis said with a laugh.
“Am I really that stereotypical?” Theo said, pulling at the lapels of his trench coat. “I like the classic noir style, so sue me! At least I don’t do the fuckin hat!”
“Hey, that’s fine, man, I’m not judging!” Ellis said with his hands in the air. “That bar does sound pretty cool, though. Maybe I’m not the best one to say, but I don’t think it would be so bad if you still went there, just for the vibes. Maybe get Dr. Pepper and snacks or something, so you’re still patronizing the place.”
“I dunno. That seems sad.”
“Forgive me if I’m out of line, but isn’t sad, like, your whole schtick?” Ellis said. Theo felt attacked but didn’t say anything. “But also... I don’t know, didn’t Sun Tzu say something about keeping your enemies closer?”
“I’m pretty sure he was talking about literal human enemies. I don’t think it was intended to be applied to alcoholism.”
“Alright, gentlemen, time’s up.” The guard stepped toward the table. Both Ellis and Theo stood up.
“Well, if you do end up going. Have a Dr. Pepper for me.”
“Will do, kid.” Theo said.
The two shook hands again. Ellis was escorted back through the prisoner’s entrance and Theo was led back to have his gun returned, then to check out. When he stepped into his car, he settled into his seat, then sat, silently, staring out the window. The door closed and the vehicle began moving, but without a destination selected, the car created an idol pattern, driving down nearby streets with quick access to the autoway.
Theo simply watched as the sky grew dark, and the city became light. Much lighter in some places than others. He still didn’t quite want to go home, so he typed The Endless Wit into the destination field, then toiled some more before confirming it.
It was going to take another 10 minutes to get back to the city. Shortly into the drive, the vehicle suddenly lurched to a stop, nearly throwing Theo from his seat. A short, repeating tone indicated that there was an obstacle in the road. Theo looked over the forward seats to watch a cat cross the road. Clearly a stray, but not nearly as mangy as some that he’s seen before. The cat looked as if it didn’t have a care in the world.
It was at that time, as the vehicle began moving again and the majestic creature was out of sight, that Theo remembered Ellis say something about a digital cat. As he sat back in his seat, he pulled out his stylus and began browsing for AR apps. Theo wasn’t surprised to see pet apps at the top, only surprised that he had never looked for them before. He downloaded the first one and began thumbing through the initial setup.
The number of settings presented to him was amazing. First came the cosmetics. He chose a Tabby, and after checking out some of the crazy unnatural colors, he went with a natural orange and white striped color. After entering an age of 2 months, Theo watched as the thing materialized on the vehicle’s floor right before his eyes. It spawned in a sitting position with its eyes closed. When it opened them and looked at Theo with big blue eyes and a high-pitched meow, he felt like his heart was going to melt. It moved toward him and started climbing up his pantleg.
“Ow!” Theo said, instinctively, expecting the stabbing of the creatures’ sharp little hooks digging into his leg. For a moment, he thought he could, but when the pain didn’t linger, and was much more subtle than he expected, he was reminded that he couldn’t actually feel anything physically. It was only visual and audio data that his cybernetics were capable of providing. Even still, when Theo outstretched his hand and the kitten began nuzzling against his palm, he could swear he was feeling the incredibly soft, warm little animal.
The rest of the ride was him fiddling with other settings. There were modes where he could increase the realism simulation, where he would have to feed the cat, keep it entertained, and clean up after it. None of that seemed very fun to him. He also opted against letting other people see and interact with it. Lastly, Theo chose a pale blue collar to match its eyes, and gave it a name.
“Chess.” He said after seeing the name appear on a tag on the collar. He gave her a scritch on the top of the head. He started spawning toys and a laser pointer, and before he knew it, the vehicle came to a stop in front of The Endless Wit. The cabin was a mess with random cat toys, but they were all easily cleaned up with the single press of a button. Chess also already came pre-trained, and when Theo offered a hand to her and tapped on his shoulder, she ran up his sleeve and perched like a parrot.
Theo stepped out of his car, but just before entering the door to the bar, he paused and took a deep breath. He pushed through into the darkly lit interior. Theo was expecting everybody to turn around and look at him, recognizing him and shaming him for giving up on sobriety or something, but that never happened. The few patrons in the bar didn’t seem to notice his entrance at all, or if they did, they didn’t care. Even the bartender barely seemed to clock him.
There was an empty booth on the far side of the room in the corner. It was his table. Just seeing it gave him a small sense of comfort. He walked to it and slid into the bench against the wall. A digital menu appeared on the surface of the table in front of Theo. Muscle memory drew his hand to the panel for a glass of whiskey, but he stopped before touching it, and instead selected a glass of Dr. Pepper and waved the menu away. He then brought up a menu in his own interface and selected a Phantom brand cigarette.
An ash tray appeared in the middle of the table gripping a single cigarette and a flip lighter standing next to it. He put the cigarette to his lips, lit the end and inhaled deeply. Of course, it was a non-smoking bar, and Theo had never smoked a cigarette before in his life. He still hadn’t, but he had seen it done on film countless times and was simply mimicking the motions. Even though it was just a simulation, it was a damned good one.
The flame produced its own reality-accurate ray-traced lighting, and the burning cherry produced volumetric smoke with fluid dynamics. The simulation even included thermal dynamics. The heat from the flame able to affect the smoke. The simulation fell short, however, whenever he took a drag. Theo had nothing to detect how long he was holding his breath, or how forcefully he expelled the smoke, or the shape of his lips as he did it. It just happened in time with the cigarette’s vicinity of his mouth.
Theo also could feel nothing, but his mind was able to fill in some of the blanks, however inaccurately. If he really wanted to experience the feeling, he’d have to try the real thing, or get a Brainstem Interface. Gradually, the smoke gathered creating a cloud around Theo’s booth. When the bartender approached with Theo’s drink, he placed the cigarette on the ash tray, and clasped his hands, so as not to appear like some psychotic smoking mime. When the bartender placed the drink on the table, he spoke briefly to Theo.
“Welcome back, sir.” He said with a soft tone, then returned to the bar.
Theo didn’t exactly feel great about the greeting. It was a nice gesture, but he didn’t love being recognized by a bartender. He began to wonder what the bartender thought about him, whether he judged him. Theo got lost in his head as he picked the cigarette back up and continued smoking it.
On the other side of the bartender, sitting at the corner of the bar was a woman, slouched against the counter. With black hair and a short red dress, reflecting whatever little light it could find, she appeared to fit right in with the style of the establishment, but she was also very hard to ignore. He was surprised he hadn’t seen her already, or saw her come in. Theo wasn’t one to stare. He only glanced at her, but he saw her eyes flick toward him just as he looked away.
Theo tried to ignore it, but even after only seeing her for less than a second, her image was burned into his brain. Gradually, it became something of an anti-staring contest, and Theo was losing. When he inevitably looked back at her, he saw that she was, in fact, staring at him. She had a subtle smile on her face. Theo looked away again, as if to say, ‘not interested’.
Looking away didn’t seem to be doing anything. He could still feel her gaze burning a hole in him. Again, Theo tried to ignore her, but again, Theo relented and looked back over to her. She was gone from her seat, and for a moment, Theo couldn’t find her. From his vantage point, he could see the entire bar, but the soft lighting left something to be desired. It was as if the woman had disappeared. Just as Theo was about to increase the light sensitivity in his eyes, he watched as a shadow approached from the darkness. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and shivers ran down his spine as the dark form entered the light.
“Can I sit with you?” The woman asked.
Every intuition wanted Theo to tell her to kick rocks, especially after looking at her, and seeing that she had no visible public profile. It certainly wasn’t a crime, and Theo felt it was honestly a smart move for an attractive young woman. Theo considered for a brief moment to run her through his police facial recognition system, but then thought about the nightmare fallout that could happen for misusing his resources in such a petty way.
He felt like this woman was trouble, but not in the same way as the femme fatales from the classic film and television Theo enjoyed. There was something different about her. Something off, but Theo couldn’t put his finger on it. Contradicting his better judgement, Theo gestured toward the seat opposite to him. The woman slid into the booth. She looked at Theo with a smile.
“Can I buy you a drink?” She asked.
“A soft one, if you insist.”
“Cutting off early?”
“Cutting off, period.”
“Kind of hard to do at a bar, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried to quit at a bar.”
“Is that what AA’s been missing all these years?” The woman laughed. “I’m Lily.” She said, reaching a hand toward Theo. He raised an eyebrow, then moved to grasp it.
“I’m married.” Theo said. Lily pulled her hand away, making Theo grasp thin air.
“I’m sorry... I wasn’t trying to flirt or anything.” The woman blushed and sat back in her chair, just as the bartender returned, placing two more glasses of Dr. Pepper on the table before leaving again.
“So, why did you come over?” Theo asked.
“You seem... interesting.” Lily said, taking the glass furthest from Theo.
“In what way?”
“In that human way... You are human, aren’t you?”
“Mostly.”
“Metal Eyes?”
“Acrylic. The metal ones are much less comfortable in my opinion.”
“I suppose you’ve got the aural implants to go with them?” Lily asked. Theo nodded.
“What about you?”
“Nope. I’m 100 percent good old-fashioned home-grown human.” She said with a wide smile before continuing. “... I think...”
“... You think?”
“Well... I’m pretty sure. But I’ve been on a journey of late. A journey of definition, or without it. How do I know that I am human, if I don’t really know what a human is in the first place?”
“You could look at it through the biological lens. How much of your DNA matches that of a human’s. Pretty definitive if you ask me.”
“I guess... but, what if I’m the first of a new species that evolved from a human?”
“I suppose that’s possible, but generally, to be considered a new species, I think there’s gotta be something significantly different about you.” Theo finishes his first drink, then sets the empty glass aside and moves the fresh one into place. “So, tell me what’s so special about you, Lily.”
“Hmmm...” She swirled her drink as she thought. “I’m pretty good at math.”
“What’s the square root of pi?”
“1.77245.”
“I’d say that was impressive if I cared at all to check it.”
“Ehh, that’s a pretty common question.”
“Even if you are really good at math, the best in the world, I’m not sure that would really qualify you for being a new species. What else?”
“Uhh... I could be immortal?”
“Immortal, huh? I suppose that’d do it.” Theo took in her features and the texture of her skin, observing any flaws. “You can’t be more than, what, 22?” Theo wasn’t concerned about the politeness of the question, but neither was Lily.
“Yeah, that’s right...”
“22 is hardly immortal. You don’t look to me like you walked away from any lethal injuries. Maybe I’ll believe you if you come back in 200 years and still look 22.”
“That’s fair.” Lily said. There was a brief moment of silence. “Well, I appreciate you indulging in my short, strange conversation, Mr. Nameless.”
“Theo.” He said.
“Thank you, Theo. It was nice to meet you!” Lily clanked her glass into Theo’s as it sat on the table, then took a drink and stood up from the table.
“Likewise.” Theo said. In the blink of an eye, the woman was gone. Theo returned to smoking his Phantom cigarette while he finished his drink, then left.
The ride home wasn’t too long. His vehicle arrived in front of a somewhat upscale apartment complex. The car dropped him near the elevator which took him up to the 18th floor. He walked down the hallway and to his door, then stopped and took a deep breath before continuing inside.
The inside of his home had minimal decoration in contrast to the outside hallway and the rest of the complex. Theo didn’t mind much. When he did feel it was a little bland, he would place some digital art around the walls to make it a little more cozy. After placing his coat and keys on the wall, he started moving down the hallway. It was the moment he had been avoiding, a new fear that had taken hold a few months before.
Theo pushed open the door to his bedroom. On the other side of the room, on their bed lay Kara in white underwear and a tank top. Her skin was pale, and her hips and shoulders were protruding. She looked cold, and she was laying very still. Theo couldn’t breathe until he walked across the room and placed a hand against her shoulder. When she grabbed his hand with hers, he finally took a breath.
“Hey, sweetheart!” Theo said with a soft voice, but with genuine warmth.
“Hey.” Kara said. She turned toward him and gave him a smile, but the lights in her pupil revealed that she was still in her game. Theo wasn’t ecstatic about it, but he was glad to see her respond to him.
He feared what had already happened. He feared coming home to find her laying there, unresponsive, thinking she was dead, again. But this time, if it did happen again, he wouldn’t be able to blame the alcohol. After leaning down and giving her a kiss above the ear, he rose to disrobe and put his holstered gun away, then moved to the kitchen. He opened the fridge to find it nearly full of bottles of Meals Ready to Slurp, a meal replacement that was popular among those with brainstem interfaces. Theo didn’t mind it much either. He noticed that there were the same number of bottles as when he had left in the morning, so he grabbed two and went back to the bedroom.
“Hey,” he said, softly grasping one of her hands. Her thumb brushing his skin was the sign that she was paying attention. He placed the cold bottle of MRS in her palm. “You haven’t had anything to eat today.”
“Maybe not in meatspace...” Kara pushed herself up against the wall with Theo’s help. Theo unscrewed the cap for her. “... But you should have seen the steak I ate at the hero’s feast before our raid!” She started drinking.
“What happened to the whole vegetarian thing?” Theo asked. Kara took a couple more gulps.
“Well, yeah, in reality, sure. But the steak I had didn’t come from a real animal...” Kara finished the bottle in one more go before continuing. “And, in here, I can literally eat whatever I want, and my body will always stay perfectly slim and sexy.”
“I think your real body is slim and sexy.” Theo said. Of course, he always thought that Kara was the sexiest woman he had ever seen or wanted, but he was worried that she was too slim. He could tell that she was gradually getting up to a healthier weight, so he just had to keep on her.
The couple continued chatting about Kara’s quest as Theo disrobed and completed his bathroom rituals, but gradually, Kara sank back into her game, and the room became quiet again. Theo slid into bed and wrapped his arms around Kara and nestled his face against the back of her head, just above her Interface plugs. He could feel her pulse, and her breathing, and while he was transferring most of his warmth into her, he could still feel the warmth that was in her core. All of these things told him that she was still there. She was alive. She was safe, and he wasn’t alone. It was the only thing that got him to sleep.
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[i] Stylus: Users who have a Visual-Audio Interface or a Head Mounted Display can use a touch-sensitive stylus to control the movement of the cursor in their vision, and as a point of reference for interactive items, like a keyboard or a floating digital display. Brainstem Interface users don’t need a stylus for long, as they can train the interface to move the cursor with brain activity alone, or even eliminate the need for a cursor altogether.
[ii] Brainstem Interface (BSI): A device that is implanted around the brainstem that can detect, interpret, interrupt, and send bio-electrical signals. Allows for full immersion and control of a digitally simulated body.
[iii] Videogrammetry: Process that uses high detail binocular video footage of a location and/or objects to recreate them in a digital environment. Often used by the police to preserve a crime scene accurately and quickly for further analysis.
[iv] Wanderlust: Massively multiplayer online simulated reality. Incredibly highly detailed world where players inhabit photo-realistic bodies, called avatars. The game is primarily for those with Brainstem Interfaces, due to the full body control and sensory data that is made possible by them. Is also available for Vis/Aud users and those with HMD’s, but is much less immersive in those cases, and is not nearly as popular on those platforms. Also, a leading cause of cyberaddiction.
[v] Interface: The point of intersection between man and machine. Refers to the physical object(s) implanted but can also refer to the overlay that users see and use to interact with the digital world.
[vi] Bell-Westbrook Cybernetics (BW): Monolithic leader in cybernetic technology, interfacial software, and cybersecurity. Owns more than 90% of market shares in cybernetics as a whole, and completely owns the market for brainstem interfaces.
[vii] Head Mounted Display (HMD): Allows users without cybernetic implants the ability to see and interact with Augmented and Virtual Realities, albeit with much less fidelity than Visual-Audio and Brainstem Interface users.