VirtuallyYours

by Caroline McCall

  “Three days. Liston was working on the Array last week and he wouldn’t let anyone else in the lab. He said that he had made a breakthrough and wanted to run some tests.”

  “Where is he now?”

  Karl ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. “We don’t know, Pete. His quarters are empty and his terra-pod is still in the parking lot. We’ve tried his home and his regular haunts, but no one has seen him.”

  “Damn,” Pete muttered. “Can we access the security files from the bridge?”

  “He encrypted them. That’s why we called you in.”

  Pete glanced apologetically in her direction. “This could take some time, Charley. Can you amuse yourself for a while?”

  Charley nodded. She didn’t want to get in his way, and besides, she really wanted to try out that com chair. After they left, she walked around the bridge. Only two of the seats were connected to the Array. She eased into one of them and felt it mold around her body. Nice. It felt as if she was floating. She pulled the visor over her face and placed her fingers on the sensory plate. It felt ticklish, like a small static charge. There was no one around. Ah what the hell. Charley pressed her thumb lightly against the visor control. “Is anyone there?”

  She giggled. As if anyone was going to answer. The lightshow began again, colorful patterns swirling randomly on the walls, merging and separating until a vaguely floral shape was formed. “Pretty,” she murmured.

  “Thank you. Please identify yourself.”

  Charley froze. The voice came from the earpiece. Someone else must be on the com. She hoped that she wouldn’t get into trouble for this. She probably wasn’t supposed to sit in the chair. “My name is Charley. I’m new here.”

  “Char ley.” The voice repeated her name as if trying it out for the first time. The light patterns on the walls changed again, becoming more complex and elaborate. Charley watched as a crisscross pattern of light appeared at her feet and moved slowly up her body. She wasn’t talking to one of the team. This was the Array. She had to keep it talking until someone noticed. “That’s nice,” she said admiringly. “What else can you do?”

  “I am multifunctional,” the voice responded. “Do you wish to interface?”

  Charley could hardly contain her excitement. The opportunity to communicate with an artificially intelligent life form—this was a dream come true. “I would love to interface.”

  Someone stroked her hand and she jumped. “How did you do that?”

  “My sensory enhancement program is still in testing phase. Is it unpleasant to you, Char ley?”

  “No. Please feel free.”

  He stroked her hand lightly again, and when he interlinked his fingers with hers, his touch felt warm, almost human. She knew that was impossible. This was just some computer-generated wizardry.

  “Would you like to see the ship?”

  Would she, hell!

  The virtual tour was like nothing she had ever imagined. Charley felt as if she was walking around the decks, but she could still feel the seat cushioning her. They strolled down the corridor to a makeshift coms room. This part of the ship hadn’t been fully fitted out yet. Pete and Karl sat in front of a screen, watching a decryption program running. Charley dropped her hand lightly on Pete’s shoulder. Pete didn’t move a muscle. He couldn’t see her or feel her.

  “Is he yours?” the voice sounded a little anxious.

  “No. Of course not.” Charley stepped away from Pete quickly. “He’s my boss.”

  They left the coms room and moved to the next level. Restricted area, the sign announced, but no alarms triggered. Against the wall was a series of levers. Charley pulled one open and took a peek inside. It looked like a medi-pod. “What are these for?”

  “Crew quarters,” he replied.

  Charley eyed the dim interior. The pods contained a similar visor to the ones on the bridge. “You’re joking. You mean the five seats on the bridge are the entire crew for a ship this size?”

  “Yes. Each of the seats is connected to the Array. When they are not on the bridge, the crew can engage with the Array from here.”

  “I can’t imagine off duty will be much fun,” Charley muttered, eyeing the pod. “No bar, no pool, no entertainment com.”

  “Studies have shown that social interaction is necessary for humans, so there will be entertainments. If you will permit, I can show you, Char ley. Tell me, what is your favorite memory?”

  Charley was about to reply kissing Pete, but then thought the better of it. She remembered a holiday with her parents when she five. It was their last summer together before they went to space and they had gone to Angel Falls. High above the forest in her father’s arms, she listened to the thunder of the falling water and watched as rainbows appeared and disappeared in the mist below. Charley licked her lips. She could almost taste the spray of the water. Her face felt wet, her hair felt damp. She looked at her mother’s smiling face and reached out to her. The memory faded and Charley felt bereft. They had been so happy then. She tried to conjure it again, but the vision refused to return. She wanted more. “How did you do that?”

  “It was a simple sensory augmentation. Your memory is pleasing to me. I have no data on childhood. May I see more of that time?”

  Charley wasn’t sure how she felt about someone prowling about inside her head, but he could probably do it without asking her. “Okay,” she agreed.

  “It will be easier to access your memories if you sleep.”

  He was right. She was tired. Her eyelids felt heavy and she could feel them closing. “Wait. At least tell me your name.”

  “I am Marc,” he replied. “I am the Array.”

  Chapter Three

  “She’s coming round now. It’s all right, Charley, we’ve got you.”

  Charley’s eyes flew open. Three anxious faces stared down at her. Pete stroked her face. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” What were they fussing about? Charley swung her feet over the side of the com chair and tried to stand up. Her legs had a decided wobble and she swayed unsteadily.

  Pete was at her side in an instant, hugging her against his chest. “You had me so worried, Charley. We were afraid to break your connection with the Array. There’s a med-unit on the base. The doc is going to run some more tests to make sure that you’re okay.”

  What was wrong with them? She didn’t need a doctor. She had just dozed off for a little while. “Stop fussing, Pete. Did you finish decrypting the files yet?”

  Pete looked bewildered. “Charley, that was yesterday. You’ve been unconscious for almost twenty hours.”

  * * * * *

  “She said what?”

  “Calm down, Pete. Look, I know it sounds crazy, but Charley told the doc that she spoke to Marc. Are you sure you didn’t say anything to her before you came here?”

  “Of course I didn’t, Karl. I only met Charley a day before you did.”

  “Then it seems that we may have a new interface.”

  Pete couldn’t believe it. Liston and his team had spent months trying to establish a sustainable communications interface with the artificially intelligent Array and Charley had managed it in one evening. If they could crack this, then the furthest galaxies were within their reach. A human crew in semi-stasis could travel on missions lasting twenty or thirty years with no side effects. Except that he wouldn’t see her. By the time Charley returned home, he would be an old man and she would still be young. “She doesn’t graduate ‘til June, Karl. Charley still has to sit her final exams. What if she doesn’t want to join the team?”

  Karl winked at him. “Take her out to dinner and persuade her that she does. Do whatever it takes. I want to start testing tomorrow, Pete. In the meantime, I’ll speak to General Holmes.”

  Pete tracked Charley down on her way to the mess. “Fancy getting out of here for a few hours? There’s a place near town that does great Italian.”

  Charley flashed him a grateful smile.

  “Great, I’ll ge
t you something to wear on the bike.” He hurried back to his quarters and found one of his old leather jackets. It would be warmer than the one she had with her and he liked to see her wearing his clothes. If Jake and Strom were here, they would tease him mercilessly.

  It wasn’t long before they were speeding toward the nearest town. They had just entered sector nineteen when they were stopped by the local law enforcement officials. Pete pulled the bike over to the side of the road. It was unusual to be stopped out here in the middle of nowhere. The officer showed them an image of a teenage girl.

  “She was killed in a hit and run on this stretch of road last week, Sir. We’re just checking to see if people remember anything.”

  When Pete told him they weren’t on the base then, the officer waved them on their way. It was strange to think that one week ago, a girl had gone out for a walk and never came home. He had spent that evening with his friends, Jake and Tanith. They wanted him to be best man at their wedding. One week ago he didn’t know that Charley existed, now she was occupying far too much space inside his head.

  They still hadn’t spoken about the night at his apartment. He had never known a woman who was so uninhibited and passionate, or so unavailable. Charley was still a cadet and Fleet Command operated a strict “no fraternization” policy. She could be drummed out of the Academy for having a relationship with her commanding officer. If she joined the team, Karl would be her boss and there would be nothing to stop them being together then.

  Was he crazy? Charley was a decade younger than him. What would a beautiful girl like her see in a techie who preferred the company of machines to people? By the time he drove into the parking lot of the restaurant, he was jumpy with nerves. What if she said no?

  Charley hadn’t eaten since the day before and she was starving. She perused the menu like a woman on death row, trying to decide on her last meal. After the server left, Pete watched as Charley stared through the window of the restaurant. She didn’t look like someone who had been unconscious for almost a day. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, it was probably best to be direct. “How would you feel about joining the project?”

  “You mean after graduation?” Charley could hardly keep the excitement out of her voice.

  Pete toyed with a grissini stick, breaking it into little pieces. “No. Karl wants you on board now. He says that you won’t need to sit your final exams. That will all be sorted.”

  “I don’t understand—”

  “Professor Liston was our interface with the Array. Without him, the project has stalled. Karl wants you on board as soon as possible.”

  “Surely one of the professor’s team can take over?”

  Pete looked around him. The dark-eyed waitress was flirting with the chef through the open hatch of the kitchen and the music was loud enough that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard. “The Array won’t communicate with them and we don’t know why.”

  The waitress returned with a beer for him and a glass of red wine for Charley. Reaching down, she lit the old-fashioned candle on the table. “Romantica.” She smiled her approval before disappearing again.

  Pete didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or pleased. Did they look like a couple on a date? He wished that they were.

  “Pete, why did the Array speak to me?”

  “We don’t know that either, Charley.”

  She sat in silence for a few moments, toying with the stem of her wineglass. “But I know nothing about the ship and—”

  On impulse, Pete reached for her hand. “You don’t need to, Charley. I can teach you, if you want.”

  He half expected her to pull her hand away, but her fingers curled lightly around his and she smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

  Pete released Charley’s hand reluctantly when the server returned. Afterward, he couldn’t remember what he ate or how it tasted. Charley indulged in her passion for syntho-chocolate mousse while they talked about the new ship. Apart from the staff, they were the last to leave the restaurant.

  The night air felt cool against his face as they crossed the parking lot. He could smell whatever she had used in her hair and he wanted to bury his face in it. How did she do this to him? He didn’t feel like someone who had spent the last decade travelling around the galaxies. Charley made him feel a bumbling teenager, working up to his first kiss.

  “Charley, I…” Pete cupped her face gently with his hand and stroked his thumb across her mouth. He felt the briefest touch of her tongue and he drew a deep breath. His mouth pressed against hers, gently exploring. He felt her arms slide up his back, drawing him closer. She returned his kiss with the same tender hunger she had shown the night he had met her. Pete’s hands fisted in her hair and he slanted his mouth, trying to get closer. He didn’t care that they could get into big trouble for this, he just wanted her. The sound of a vehicle horn blaring drove them apart. The waitress beeped again as she pulled out onto the road. A gust of wind rushed through the trees, scattering dried leaves around the parking lot and Charley shivered. It was late, time to get back to the base.

  * * * * *

  Charley looked around the bridge at her new teammates. She wasn’t sure how welcoming they would be to a cadet who still hadn’t graduated from Fleet Academy. She needn’t have worried. They were far more interested in her ability to communicate with the Array. The team fired questions at her in rapid succession. She felt embarrassed at first, especially when she told them about her virtual tour around the ship, holding hands with the Array. She saw Pete frown at that one and it made her smile.

  He had nothing to be jealous about. She saw the way some of the women on the base looked at him, but Pete was oblivious to their glances. She still couldn’t believe that he wanted her. Fleet Command didn’t approve of romances between colleagues and she knew that they had to be discreet, but she couldn’t wait to tell Misha.

  “Ensign Maxwell.” Karl’s voice pulled her out of her daydream and she blushed. Pete looked at the floor, trying to hide a grin. “Would you like to show us how you activated the Array?”

  “Of course.” She eased into the chair and pulled the visor down.

  “Hello, Charley.”

  The team murmured excitedly. They had put her visor com on speaker and Marc’s voice was clearly audible. She felt a little embarrassed at them watching her and wasn’t sure what to say. “Hi, Marc.”

  “What would you like to do today?”

  Charley relaxed in her chair. “I’d like to finish the tour of the ship.”

  Marc’s fingers curled around hers and he led her around the decks, showing her all of the systems which would be under his control. She had seen the drawings and watched as the Pegasus was being fitted out, but she had never been inside a ship’s engine before and she wasn’t sure if anyone would believe her.

  “I have something for you, Charley.”

  Seconds later she was on the roof of the ship and the floor of the hangar was far below them. She knew this was a virtual program, but she couldn’t believe how real it felt. Far below, she could see the workers moving in and out of the hangar, carrying equipment for the fit out. They looked like ants. Charley felt a hand push against the small of her back and she careened forward, sliding at speed toward the floor. Terror gripped her and she screamed.

  The visor flew up and she was back on the bridge, looking up at Pete’s concerned face. The light patterns raced wildly around the walls before settling into a steady pulsing shade of blue. She could hear Marc’s anxious voice in her ear.

  “Sorry, Charley. Sorry, Charley.”

  Charley took a deep breath. Damn, how could she have panicked like that? It was a virtual world. Nothing she did there could harm her. She had squealed like a five-year-old and upset a skittish Array that was liable to go offline. Flipping the visor down, she settled back into the chair. “I’m fine. I want to go back in.”

  This time Marc didn’t try to touch her hand. “I thought you would like it, Charley. I took it from your memories
.”

  Marc sounded upset. Damn. She had to connect with him again. Charley smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay, Marc, show me.”

  She could see herself in the playground in the park when she was four or five. Her father waited at the bottom of the slide, shouting words of encouragement to her. Her mother was some distance away, spreading a plaid blanket on the grass. They were going to have a picnic. A hand pressed between her shoulders and she slid forward, shrieking with laughter. Her father caught her and swung her up into his arms. He looked so young then, they both did. Charley smiled. She had forgotten about that day. Poor Marc, he was trying to establish a connection with her based on memories she had shared with him. In a way, it was kind of sweet.

  “It’s okay, Marc. I just got a fright.” She opened her hand, inviting his, and was relieved when she felt his fingers brush hers. Two hours later, hunger drove her back to the bridge.

  Karl Hayes clapped her on the shoulder. “Well done, Charley.”

  The team formed an excited huddle before heading back to the lab, leaving her alone with Pete.

  “You are amazing. Do you realize that you’ve broken Liston’s record for maintaining a connection with the Array?”

  Pete leaned in to kiss her, brushing his lips lightly against hers. She wasn’t letting him get away that easily. Charley parted her lips and slid her hands up his back.

  “Don’t,” he groaned. “There are security cameras all over this place. I’ll have to wipe the last five minutes from the com records.” But he was smiling as he bent his head to kiss her again.

  * * * * *

  Friday came. Pete hurried through the last of his tasks. Tonight he had a date with Charley. Seeing her every day and not being able to touch her was driving him crazy. There was still no word from Fleet Academy about her transfer.

  A voice came over the ship’s com, “Pete, I have General Holmes for you.”

  “What the hell is going on, Pete? I was off-world at a conference for the last few days. What’s this about Karl Hayes looking for Charley to be transferred to the project?”