The Harmony Paradox (Virtual Immortality Book 2)

by Matthew S. Cox

  Elizaveta nodded. “If I wear it, it will get dirty and my new mother will have to wash it. I do not wish to make more work for her. It is not cold here. She is busy, and I am going to bed soon, so I would take it off again anyway.”

  Joey waved her over and flicked his hand to unfold the small dress. “It’s okay. I’ll wash it.”

  She offered a timid stare, seeming unsure if she’d get in trouble. After a second or two of consideration, she stood and walked around the bed from the narrow space she’d been hiding in… probably for the past few hours. She stopped with her toes inches from his boot and raised her arms straight up, causing her ribs to press outward, glaringly obvious.

  Damn, this kid needs to eat more. He pulled the hot pink over her and fidgeted it into place. “My sister hated this color. Our grandparents always bought her pink things and she’d scream and throw fits.”

  “It is nice.” Elizaveta brushed her hands down her front. “They made the girls wear pink and carry dolls all the time, but I like it.”

  “Made?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes. The men say we are cuter, so the police will not shoot us.”

  He stared at her, mouth open for a few seconds. No wonder this kid weathered the Osiris lab without batting an eyelash. How much worse had she seen living with the Russian Resistance? Before his thoughts spiraled down into a black pit, he scooped her up into a hug and carried her to the living room. “Come on, kiddo. You are in serious need of some fun.”

  She bit her lip, fixing him with a curious stare, but said nothing.

  He set her on the couch, fired up the Yume-Koujou system, and plucked a pair of wireless Senshelmets from the stand on the cabinet. He ran down a mental list of his game library: mostly titles no six-year-old girl should even know about, much less play. A Gee-Ball simulation represented the tamest option available, but even that had some blood. Nothing worse than she’s probably seen.

  Joey took a seat next to her and set the thin silver plastic helmet over her head before flipping down the opaque visor over her eyes. She sat for a few seconds before reaching up to lift it so she could see him.

  “Pochemy mi v shlemah? Mi chto, voyevat’ idyem?”

  “Uhh.” He grabbed the NetMini, which had gone to sleep. As soon as it lit back up, he set it on the cushion between them. “What?”

  She repeated the phrase and the NetMini said, “Why are we wearing helmets? Are we going to fight?”

  Joey whistled. “Oh… you’ve never seen these before. Right. It’s a game. The helmet lets you see and hear what’s happening inside the game. It’s not real, but it can look real.”

  Elizaveta narrowed her eyes with suspicion, but offered a hesitant nod. She reached up and pulled the visor down, covering most of her face except for her mouth and chin. “I can’t see anything. How do I work it?”

  “When the game starts, it knows what you’re thinking so you just need to want to do things.”

  “Okay.”

  He scratched his head. The title screen for the Ultimate Gee-Ball 14 came up on a holo-panel projected by the Yume-Koujou base unit. An enormous square-jawed man with black lines painted under his eyes appeared, wearing the uniform of the Manglers pro Gee-Ball team.

  The animated player punched his metal-armored fist into his other hand, pointed at the screen, and yelled, “Time to mothafuckin’ do this. Manglers gon’ own this bitch!”

  Shit. Joey killed the NetMini before it could translate that, and shot a cheesy smile at Elizaveta. She swished her feet back and forth and turned her head about, showing little reaction to the coarse language. If she repeats that, Nina’s going to kill me. He turned the translator back on. “Since you’ve never used one of these before, you should run the calibration first…” While I download something we can play that won’t result in me being hospitalized.

  “Khorosho.” Elizaveta smiled as the NetMini repeated “Okay” in her voice.

  Joey set her helmet ID up with the calibration routine, which consisted of some simple maze-walking, climbing, object manipulation, and options to set levels for volume, smells, touch, and control sensitivity. Elizaveta’s cheeks lit up from the mini-screen embedded in the visor, and soon her legs twitched as if she dreamed about walking.

  While she explored a virtual environment to get used to the Senshelmet sending and receiving information directly to her brain, Joey skimmed the download catalog and picked a ‘kid-friendly’ game based on the Monwyn franchise. He’d never been big on fantasy, preferring games like Colony Commando, or the over-the-top scary survival horror ones like Nocturnus Calling. He grinned and shivered in equal parts remembering the first time he’d played that one… at eleven. As soon as he’d gone through a doorway and found a demon peeling the skin from a dead, naked woman, he’d simultaneously wet himself and become a permanent fan of the series.

  Of course, his parents wouldn’t yell at him for playing a 21+ rated game ten years too early anymore.

  Beep. The NetMini wobbled.

  “Incoming call from…” said an electronic female voice, followed by a recording of Joey. “The censorious bloviating cum dumpster.”

  He slapped his hand over the small black rectangle, hoping to death that Elizaveta hadn’t heard that. Ignoring his sister as he usually did would only make her call a few more times, and risk permanently embedding that phrase in Elizaveta’s mind. Dammit. I need to change that announce. Having a kid around is such a pain in the ass. A mental command linked the NetMini to his headware, and a virtual holo-panel scrolled open in front of him bearing his sister Katherine’s head and shoulders. The sight of her dark navy ‘lawyer-suit’ always got him into an antagonistic mood, but seeing her hair out of its usual severe bun made him hesitate. She wore her hair loose, scraggles of jet-black around her lily-white face.

  His sister looked… weary. The last time he’d seen her had been before fleeing Mars with half the UCF government coming after him for trying to steal a file he hadn’t even gotten close to. At the time, she’d been Queen of the World, and he hadn’t wanted to bother hearing her rattle on and on yet again at how he wasted his life and why couldn’t he be more like her.

  This version of Katherine fit the way he imagined if he’d ever unloaded on her the way he often fantasized about, an unrestrained network assault that would’ve crushed her sanctimonious life into ashes. Of course, he’d never quite gotten around to doing it. As much of a holier-than-thou prig as she’d been, she was still family.

  Elizaveta grabbed empty air in a gesture reminiscent of climbing a ladder. “Odin, dva, tri…”

  “Well,” said Joey, cracking a wry smile. “How have I ruined the world today?”

  “Joe.” Katherine looked away and a little down. “This isn’t easy for me to say.”

  He smiled. “Hang on. Let me record this for later use.”

  She frowned at him, but her expression went to one of surprise. “You look… a lot better than I’d expected.”

  “What do you want?” Joey folded his arms. “You’re being civil.”

  Katherine leaned side to side, peering around his head at the apartment behind him. “Nice place… are you―”

  “Squatting? No.”

  She looked down. “Finally pulled off that big data nab? Got rich?”

  “Not exactly.” He glanced to his right at Elizaveta who made small hand motions while picking up objects and rearranging them. He pictured the calibration game with the geometric shapes on a table. At least she’s smiling. “Things haven’t exactly gone the way I’d been dreaming about, but I guess I can’t complain. So really, what’s going on? We’ve been talking for thirty-four seconds and you haven’t said anything that makes me want to put hot sauce in your eye drops.”

  Katherine winced. “You do know you could’ve blinded me with that?”

  “Oh, sure. What was I, seven? Totally what I wanted to do.”

  “Look, Joe. I need your help.” She pulled a few fingers through her hair and made eye contact again. S
he’d opted for sapphire blue this week.

  He squinted, trying to remember her natural color. “Hold on. Did you just ask moi”―he touched the fingertips of both hands to his chest―”for help?”

  Katherine’s lip quivered. She fought her usual habit of scowling at his wiseassery. “Yes.”

  “Oh.” He clapped. “Give me a sec to savor this.” He kissed his fingertips and waved his hand as if praising some gourmet chef’s latest creation. “Katherine is asking me for help.”

  “7 Chto?” asked Elizaveta.

  “Nothing to worry about.” He patted her on the head.

  “Who’s that voice?” asked Katherine. “Is that a little girl? What are you doing with a little girl? Did you break into someone’s apartment?”

  Joey laughed. A flick of his eyes threw the call out of his headware to the NetMini, which projected Katherine’s bust in hologram. She peered at Elizaveta grasping phantom objects. “That’s Elizaveta.”

  At the sound of her name, the girl swiveled her helmet-covered head toward him and flipped the opaque visor away from her face. She squinted, struggling to perceive the real world with her eyes at the same time the helmet injected the virtual one into her brain. “8 Kto ona? Ona vyglyadit ustavshey.”

  “Katherine, Elizaveta. Elizaveta, Katherine.”

  “What did she say?” asked Katherine.

  “This”―Joey put an arm around the girl, flashed a big grin, and spoke with a tone like someone might use with a dog after they did a trick―”is my sanctimonious older sister. She thinks everything I do is worthless and I’ve wasted my education and entire life, unlike her. She’s got a big, fancy job with a big, fancy corporation. And now, apparently, the queen of smug wants moi to do something for her.” He grinned at the holographic head. “What do you think, kiddo? Should I make her beg?”

  Elizaveta looked up at him and blinked. “9 Vy pridurivayetes’. Vy zhe znayete, ya ne ponymayu.”

  “Good point.” Joey patted her on the shoulder. “See? She agrees with me.”

  Katherine’s face tinged red around the nose and eyes. That usually meant the screaming would start in seconds. “I’m not sure I want to know why you’ve got a… what language is that… kid.” She paled again. “You’re not part of some kidnapping plot are you?”

  Joey laughed like a kicked chicken. “Of course, I have to be doing something nefarious.”

  Elizaveta peered a few seconds more at Katherine before flipping the visor down. “10 Ona ne vyglyadit schastlivym.”

  “You have to admit, Joe, you and the law haven’t exactly… you and society haven’t exactly been on the best of terms.” She sighed. “And that’s why I’m calling you.”

  He brought his palms together at his chin like a Buddhist monk. “Oh… this I have to hear. Miss Perfection wants me to do something possibly illegal?” At a mental impulse, the hologram dissipated and Katherine reappeared in a virtual window courtesy of his headware. “Okay, I gotta hear this.”

  “I’m serious, Joe.” She hung her head. “Look. I know you and I haven’t exactly gotten along for a few years, but I really do need your help.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Wow. That almost sounded sincere.”

  “Please…” Katherine added a hint of desperate whine, something she hadn’t done since twelve or so. She hated not being the one with all the power and advantage. Showing even that smidgen of weakness picked at the dried-up, withered little black nugget of familial loyalty he still had. “I’m in trouble.”

  “Oh… Mrs. Squeaky Clean finally got caught with her hand in the cookie jar?”

  Elizaveta made little grunting noises. The way she twitched suggested running down a virtual hallway. Joey couldn’t help but grin at the overload of cute, and became somewhat aware of a female voice nagging at his senses.

  “… are you even listening to me?” Katherine sighed.

  “Not really. Sorry. Kid was being adorable.” He looked at her. “What?”

  “Where did you get a child anyway?”

  “Oh, she’s not mine. I’m babysitting. Well. Okay maybe she’s mine partly at least in some weird twisty legal way. The woman I’m seeing is fostering her. This is her place.”

  “You’re seeing a woman?” Katherine blinked. “What did his name used to be?”

  Joey picked at his eye with his middle finger. “A masters in law and that’s the best shot you can come up with?”

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind and I… can’t imagine what a woman would see in you to stick around for any length of time.”

  “I’m wounded.” He put a hand over his heart. “At least, I would’ve been if I gave a flying rat fuck what you thought of me.” Joey’s eyebrows crept together. “But you do have me intrigued. This is the longest we’ve spoken without you going banshee. We work together… well, sort of.”

  “Another net head?”

  Elizaveta held her arms up a little for balance and her toes flexed.

  “She’s not bad, but cyberspace isn’t her focus.” He grinned to himself and poked Elizaveta in the ribs.

  The child squirmed and grabbed his finger. “11 Prekrati eto. Most takoi uzkiy! Ya ne khochu upast’.”

  “So you’ve got a job now? You a job?” Katherine blinked.

  “Yes.” He forced the words past his teeth in a tone like he admitted to something horrible. “I, Joey Dillon, have a goddamned day job.”

  “What?” Katherine leaned closer to the holo cam. “Is it at least something you went to school for?”

  “I’m impressed.” He scratched above his right eye. “No insult. Yeah. I’m doing white hat work now.”

  “That’s good.” The venom seemed to fade from her expression. It seemed so wrong. She almost looked like a human being. “Hope the company’s at least reputable.”

  Joey chuckled. “Ehh… they can get pretty dark sometimes, but at least my crew’s got their heads in the right place.”

  “Any place I’ve heard of?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, so I’ll just skip over that part.”

  Katherine grumbled. “Look. Grant’s gone full asshole.”

  Joey laughed. “Gone? He’s been a prick since day one. Come on, K… ‘Grant Williams?’ He sounds like the rich dickhead bad guy from every single university sex-romp-comedy holo ever made.”

  She put a hand over her mouth and nibbled on her finger. “You were right. You had this thing with him ever since the two of you met.”

  “Of course.” Joey rolled his eyes. “People who take themselves that seriously get under my skin.”

  Katherine managed a wistful smile. “You never take yourself seriously. Guess it’s like a matter-antimatter reaction.”

  Elizaveta raised her hands as if holding a gun, aiming at a moving target. “Eta veselo!”

  Joey glanced at the NetMini screen, which read: “[Russian] This is fun.”

  He patted her on the helmet. If I knew she’d spend all night playing in the calibration room, I wouldn’t have bothered buying a game. “Yeah.” He stared at Katherine, wondering how long it had been since he could do so without wanting to hit her. Not that he’d ever do it, but their old apartment on Mars had a few dents in the walls. Probably around the time I started slacking and she started working her ass off… Grade 9? “Yeah. So what’s asshat doing?”

  “Grant’s seeing another woman. He’s afraid to face me in court, so he’s sabotaging everything about my life. Bills for things I’ve never ordered, fake Vidphone calls to my boss… he’s even putting naked pictures of me out on the GlobeNet and editing in underage boys.” She shivered and ran both hands up and through her hair. “I’m… so stressed out, I’m about to lose my job. The MDF has interviewed me twice about those pictures. I can’t concentrate on anything and I think Mr. Forrest is beginning to wonder if some of the bullshit is real. I… Please, Joe. This is me eating crow. Help.”

  Joey tapped a finger on his chin, thinking of Katya and that creepy not-a-little-girl she took in. Tha
t one might be willing to pose―no. Fuck that. I don’t want those images in my head even if she is supposed to be like, twenty. He scratched his chin. Setting someone up with fake child porn was a noob’s deal anyway. Even though the request for attack had come from Katherine, that didn’t give him an excuse to play amateur hour.

  Katherine or not, he had pride to worry about.

  “Download complete. Alduin’s Adventure is now ready for play,” said a digitized female voice.

  “Wow. You actually said you need my help.” Joey tapped his chin. “Okay. I never did like that asshole anyway. Suppose I can’t let him fuck with my sister.”

  Elizaveta squealed. She flipped the visor up, grabbed both of her feet, and blinked at them.

  His sister gave him a suspicious stare. “I can’t tell if you’re messing with me.”

  “Probably because I can’t either.” He chuckled and looked at the girl. “What’s wrong?”

  “Eto voda.” She looked at her feet again, and back to him with the most thoroughly bewildered expression he’d ever seen. “Ya chuvstvoval chto ya stupil v vodu.”

  “It’s water,” said Elizaveta’s voice from the NetMini. “I felt like I stepped in cold water.”

  Joey’s mental avatar held a ‘wait a sec’ finger up to Katherine. “That’s what the helmet does, sweetie. It sends feelings and stuff into your head. It’s not real. Just a game.”

  Elizaveta stared at the NetMini while it translated. Confusion and fear melted away to wide-eyed eagerness. “Khorosho!”

  “Okay!” chirped the NetMini.

  Joey turned his attention back to his sister. “Okay. Kid’s never used a sens before. She’s in the woods part of the calibration and got a little freaked out when she stepped in virtual water, her feet got cold.”

  “Don’t do anything to get in trouble at work.” Katherine looked down. “I wouldn’t even ask, but… it’s my job on the line now, and sanity.”

  “Sanity? When did you ever have that?” He grinned. “Don’t worry about my job. They won’t mind.”