Chapter Two
“I’m hungry.“ he thought.
Voice
“You have every right to be hungry. I used a lot of our bodies resources keeping us alive and repairing the damage from that snake venom.
Luckily you drink like a fish. I like that, there’s lots of quick energy in alcohol. Quick energy might have saved our life. All those years that you were staying drunk to avoid admitting I existed I got a lot of practice dealing with alcohol. While I was doing so I prevented liver damage and repaired other damage to your body too. You’ve got a young body for an old man. Speaking of fish. Let’s go fishing, or hunting or birding or SOMETHING!
NOW!
I need, WE need, some protein!!.”
(sigh) Voices in his head. At least she wasn’t screaming in agony like many of the other voices in his head did.
Voice
”A nice fresh fish would be very good about now. In fact it’s vital. Come on…Stop Dawdling. Get a move on!
Shelby was certain that he was delirious or perhaps he was still dreaming. Yeah..that was it. He was still asleep. This was a dream. How else could a woman be urging him to go hunting and fishing? Absurd! That would never happen in real life would it? Threaten HIM with a good time would she? Must be a dream.
The face of a beautiful elf maiden floated in the air before his face like the AI avatar holograms of Schlock Mercenary. He loved Schlock Mercenary. He read it everyday without fail.
Voice
“I’m not an AI. They are un-possible. MommaClouds aren't even AI’s.”
Next day
Somewhere on the lake.
Shelby opened his eyes and stretched. It appeared to be early morning. He had spent all of yesterday fishing. He had caught enough fish to ease the hunger and had slept in his little boat in a secluded area. Many times he’d slept on his boat when he didn’t feel the urge to find a sandbar or an island to camp on. Oddly enough the mosquito bites were bothering him today. He hadn’t noticed them for all these years.
It was cool and calm this morning. There were light patches of fog drifting across the marsh. Birds and bugs flew among the weeds. It was peaceful.
He wished he had some coffee.
Maybe he could get some. There was small restaurant on the far shore. He’d eaten there before. It was only a few miles. By the time he got there it should be open for business.
That was a plan. He began paddling.
Halfway across the lake a Lake Patrol boat eased up beside him. It was Sargent Marc Raines. The Sargent was a good guy…. for a cop.
“How you doing Shelby?” Marc asked.
“I’m doing Ok Sir. Thank you for asking” Shelby replied. Shelby didn’t trust Marc any further than he could throw his cruiser with one hand. Not that he had anything against the Sargent personally, but he was a Cop. Cops were the enforcement arm of governments. Shelby had been treated poorly by governments. Once burnt twice shy and Shelby had been burned many, MANY times. He had the scars…he even had the T-Shirt.
It was best to be polite though. The Sargent WAS armed. Cops seemed to like being called Sir a lot so Shelby called Marc sir.
“Isn’t it a little bit unusual for you to be out on the lake during the week Shelby? Is everything alright?” The Sargent asked. He seemed to be genuinely concerned.
“Everything is fine Sir.” Shelby replied.
Marc waited for Shelby to say more. Shelby didn’t.
“Ok then Shelby. You be careful out here. You know the rules. I’ll see you around.” The Sargent waved as he slowly eased his bigger boat away from Shelby’s smaller one. Marc was a nice guy and considerate. Oddly enough he was still on the lake because he’d refused promotion to a desk job many times. He cared about the job, not the politics. He was careful not to swamp Shelby’s tiny craft. Soon he was out of earshot.
Voice
“Rules? What rules?”
Shelby didn’t answer, only crazy people talked to the voices. He wasn’t crazy.
Voice
“You don’t have to say anything. Don’t stress yourself out. You’re not Crazy NOW. You have been but you’re in recovery. You’ve been nutty as a fruit cake for the last twenty some years. I fixed it. Do I get any thanks ? Noooo. Go ahead and be that way. See if I care. I know how you are.
Crazy? No..he wasn’t crazy. That was crazy talk. Had he BEEN crazy? Was she saying that he’d BEEN crazy? Shelby thought about it. Maybe so. He recalled all those many years...not too well. His memories were blurry and out of focus. Well yeah. He’d been stressed out a little bit. He’d done OK though. As long as he could keep to his schedule he did all right. Wasn’t that normal?
Voice
Normal? Hell no it’s not normal. You had severe clinical OCD for starters. All of the other disorders you had would fill a textbook of abnormal psychology. A Big FAT Textbook.
That wasn’t fair. He’d had a headache. He’d tried to compensate. He’d also had bad dreams.
Voice
“The headache was due to that damn surgeon. The one who operated on your brain. He was a butcher. It’s amazing you didn’t die. Then again, if it hadn’t been for him you would have died, so maybe I shouldn’t be so critical. You had a brain full of rock fragments if you recall. He removed most of them before he riveted a metal plate over the hole in your forehead. Lucky for you he didn’t remove the SoulStone. If it hadn’t been for the SoulStone I wouldn’t be here and neither would you. You’d have certainly died without my help.
He meant well I suppose...but..the damage was incredible.
Fixed that for you too. Your welcome.
Shelby approached the shore near the Restaurant. It looked like they were open. Good. He was looking forward to that coffee. He wanted some really bad. Perhaps it’d clear his head.
Voice
”I keep telling you. Your head IS clear. It hasn’t been clear in so long that you don’t remember what clear IS.
That’s ok. You’ll get used to it.
Shelby beached his little boat near the restaurant's deck so he could keep an eye on it. There were tables on the deck. In times past he’d stopped in for breakfast and sat on the deck to eat. He’d read books on his smart phone here while he drank coffee and ate omelettes.
Voice
“You keep thinking about a smart phone. What’s a smartphone? I want to see it.
Shelby wondered if he’d be able to concentrate on reading.
Voice
“Ok wise guy. I can take a hint. I’ll be quiet and let you read. For now…..”
Shelby ordered breakfast at the counter. He liked their three egg meat lover’s omelette. Today he felt especially hungry so he ordered the five egg version instead. Hash browns, Biscuits and gravy came with the eggs.
Voice
“I’m not saying a thing. Nope, Nope, Nope. This is me not saying a word. I hope they hurry it up though. WE can use the protein. The starches, sugar and carbs won’t be too bad either.
Shelby ignored her. He took his coffee to a table outside on the deck. When his order was ready they would bring it to him. He propped his smartphone against the sugar dispenser and began reading. Family Law by Mackey Chandler was one of his favorite books. He’d only read it a hundred times or so. Didn’t matter. He loved it.
Voice
“Ohhhhhhhhh. That’s niceeeee. That’s a Smart Phone? No wonder you like it. I LIKE it too. I wonder how it works? Hmmmmm.
Shelby read in peace for a few minutes. The waitress brought him his meal.
“All the butter knives are dirty” she said “I gave you a steak knife instead. Careful now. It’s sharp.”
Shelby smiled and nodded. He began to cut a biscuit in preparation to buttering it.
She giggled a little as she swished away. For the first time since he’d been eating here Shelby gave her his undivided attention. He watched her walk. He appreciated the undulation. Damn...how did her butt move like that? Was it on a swivel or...
“Ow!…” he said and stuck his finger into his mouth. Damned if he hadn’t managed to cut himself buttering a biscuit. He should have been watching what HE was doing instead of watching her bubble butt bobble. He looked around at the other diners. Nope. No one had seen it. Good. That would have been embarrassing. Especially since she’d told him to be careful.
He hadn’t noticed the drop of blood that fell onto his smartphone. If he had he might have wondered about the way it behaved. It didn’t act like a normal drop of blood, or any liquid for that matter. It moved. Instead of splashing when it hit the phone it turned into a little worm. The worm crawled into the ear-jack of the smartphone. Almost immediately it was out sight.
Shelby continued to read where he’d left off.
Voice
”Velociraptors? I know about Velociraptors. Tasty if I recall, not as tangy as T-Rex. I bet they’d be really good with hot sauce.”
Shelby ignored her. He was engrossed. He always felt sad when the Velociraptor-like alien creatures killed Lee’s parents. He could relate to how Lee felt. He could sympathize. He knew what it felt like to lose people that were close. He’d lost more than a few buddies himself.
Shelby sat at the table and read for a long time. Oddly enough he wasn’t interrupted by the voice in his head.
Eventually the dinner crowd began to filter in. If he didn’t buy something soon the restaurant management would politely ask him to leave. The manager needed the table space for paying customers and Shelby was just taking up that space. The noon meal saw a lot more customers than the breakfast meal did.
Shelby turned off his Smart phone and put it away.
He walked down to the beach, climbed into his boat and paddled across the lake. He had a new thought. After fifteen years he considered a sail. He might get a sail one day. Paddling was ok but sailing might be fun.
later that evening,
Shelby found a tiny island, only inches above water level, and camped out. As usual he was bitten by mosquitos and other bloodsucking insects.
.
Shelby thought that being on the lake, in the summer, would be a LOT more fun without all those skeeters. All of his exposed skin was covered with mosquito bites.
Voice
“That’s a good point.
In fact I’m getting a bit tired of dealing
with all the pests they carry.”
Shelby didn’t answer. He wondered what pests mosquitos carried.
Voice
“Malaria, Chikungunya, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever,
Four Flavors of Encephalitis and West Nile Virus.
It’s irritating.
I could use my time better without having
to keep an eye out for their wigglers.”
Shelby wondered what type of wigglers the imaginary voice was talking about.
Voice
“Bacteria, viruses,
and worm larvae in your bloodstream.”
Shelby thought that sounded pretty bad. He slapped a mosquito, then another.
Voice
“Yup. It’s bad.”
Shelby idly wondered if anything could be done about them. He slapped a few more mosquitos. He waited for the voice to reply.
It didn’t.
“Oh well…what can’t be cured…must be endured. I guess.” He muttered to himself. Shortly he went to sleep.
Voice
That SmartPhone is a marvelous device. I can see why you like it so much. It’s pretty awesome. Did you know that some of it’s feature sizes are in the hundred nanometer range? That fairly incredible…..
The voice droned. Shelby wondered how it knew that but didn’t dare form the thought. He didn’t want to know that much. He found the droning voice to be comforting though. He much preferred it to the agonized screams that had confronted him in his dreams every single night for the last couple of decades or so.
Days passed, perhaps weeks. Shelby no longer cared about time. His beloved schedule was a thing of the past. He now lived an idyllic existence. The Swamp teamed with life. There was an abundance of crawfish, frogs, snakes, fish and small mammals. There were also birds. Shelby easily found enough small game or fish to keep him well fed. Other than that he spent his time paddling his small boat from place to place and reading Ebooks on his smartphone.
………….the voice droned on while he did so. It had become a pleasant backdrop…much like the sound of wind or wave.
Voice
Oh look at this. This is the neatest thing. It’s called a Utility Foglet.
“It’s really, really small. Microscopically small. UFog they call it. Ufog is made of untold trillions of these little things. I found it on the internet so it must be true.”
“Actually it’s not true. It’s theoretical. Someday humans MIGHT be able to make it but…not now. Hmmm….I wonder what the CloudMommas knew about this kind of thing?”
The voice went silent for a while. Shelby had become used to the Voice. He couldn’t admit to himself ….yet, that the voice existed. To do so would be to open doors that he didn’t want to open…yet.
He missed it nonetheless. A long period of time went by before …
Voice
“AH HA! Found it.
The CloudMommas did have that technology. I should have known that since I was made by nanites from the SoulStone. Nanites are the same thing…but different.
Blind spot on my part I suppose.
I found the templates for making fog-lets. You wouldn’t believe how far back I had to dig. Millions of years. That’s really OLD tech.
Shelby was oddly relieved. He couldn’t admit to himself….yet, that the Voice existed. He certainly couldn’t respond to it. He had missed it though.
Shelby soldiered on. His mind was becoming more clear by the day.
Shelby woke up one morning feeling odd. It took him a few minutes to understand what was different. He didn’t itch! He wasn’t covered with mosquito bites!
Then he realized that there was something else.
DragonFlies.
dragonflies.
There were swarms of them. They were everywhere.
Shelby thought that was pretty cool as he watched the dragonflies swirl around him. If any mosquito or any other biting insect got close...the dragonflies nailed it. Shelby recalled that another name for dragonfly was mosquito hawk.
They were doing a FINE job. .
Voice
You like that do you? I expected that you would. I told you about the dangers of mosquito bites. No-see-ums and biting flies aren’t any better.
“Dragonflies eat many mosquitoes, like..a LOT. Dragonflies existed back then...with MommaCloud, even before that maybe. The SoulStone has a lot of data on Dragonflies. Of course these little tiny things are not the same as the ones back then. Not to worry... I can work with them. I did.
Shelby could NOT reply to the Voice. He couldn’t answer it nor ask a question. He wouldn’t Only crazy people did that. Yet Shelby had to wonder how she’d done that.
Voice
Don’t you remember the other day when you sliced your finger? You were drooling over Miss BubbleButt instead of paying attention to what you were doing. A drop of your blood...chock full of goodness, my nanites that is, fell onto it, and made it’s way into your smart phone.
Shelby became agitated. WHAT had she done to his smartphone. He hadn’t given her permission to mess with his smartphone! It was HIS smartphone! She should have asked him first. But if she’d asked him he wouldn’t have answered. He COULDN’T answer. She….she was….…he…..
Voice
“SHELBY!!
Calm down. Take a deep breath. Focus boy. It’s OUR SmartPhone OK? I live here too now. You’ll have to admit that eventually. You have to play pretty. You have to share your toys. The fact is that your phone it’s better now than it was before I messed with it. I waterproofed it. I can’t believe you went all these years without dumping it in the lake….and all you had to keep it dry was… a piece of plastic! You could have at least used a ziplock baggy.
Shelby didn’t say anything. This was embarrassing. Truth be told this wasn’t his first SmartPhone. He had dropped a few into the lake.
Voice
AHA! I thought so….
Shelby wondered if it was really water proof now? Would it float? What else had she done to it? She had done something to attract dragon flies. Could she attract fireflies? Fireflies would be cool. He Imagined a cloud of fireflies at night.. or pixies. When he was a little kid he loved tinker-bell. He still did. He liked Pixies. How about a cloud of pixies? Wouldn’t that be awesome?
Shelby imagined Pixies. Shelby had a GOOD imagination. He visualized very well.
Voice
“SHELBY!!!! FOCUS...focus.
Shelby was definitely focusing…
.
Voice
“(sigh)
To think that you had OCD. I think that I fixed that part a little too well. Or perhaps the testosterone levels need adjustment. You have the attention span of a Gnat, although you do have excellent visualization capability. Hang on...lemme see here...
hmmm…..tweak this...move that…
Ahhhh…there it is… adjust this…
YES!…..ratchet… ratchet… clank
OooooKay...that should do it.….
Shelby wondered if she was messing with his mind...again.
Voice
I certainly AM!…AND the Hormones ! You’re thinking like a Millennial. Next thing’ I know you’ll be bent over your smartphone all the time... texting.
Shelby didn’t say anything...again. He’d thought about it. He just didn’t know anyone to text...otherwise he……
Voice
Can we get back on topic? I examined the smartphone using the nanites that were in your blood-drop. I analyzed it extensively. I’ve internalized it’s technology. Now I have an intuitive grasp of how it works. I ran a correlative analysis of it and data from the soul-stone and …
Yadda-Yadda Yadda-Yadda Yadda…
I used the data found on the internet, the data I found in the SoulStone, the nanites… PLUS what I learned from reverse engineering the SmartPhone…..to make CyberMites. I used the CyberMites to ‘borg” the dragonflies.
I modified the metal plate in your head for better radio transmission and reception. It’s now etched with a phased array antenna. Don’t worry. It’s under the skin of your forehead. No one can see it.
You now have a smartphone in your head. You can surf the net or read ebooks anytime and anyplace and I can do the same and…..oh yeah…instead of emitting pheromones you emit cybermites..…you no longer have body odor.
Shelby continued to not say anything. He let her babble.
What were Pharaohs? Why did they moan? What did it have to do with him? He didn’t want to know.
The upside was that he wasn’t getting bit by mosquitos any longer. He could deal with that.
Then again…maaaaaybe the smartphone thing? That sounded interesting…read e-books in his head?
Days later..
Shelby was fishing while mentally reading an e-book about Gordon and Lee. His SmartPhone was put away safe where it wouldn't’ get wet even though it was waterproof now. He had it in a ziplock baggie just in case.
It was all make believe, he realized that, on one level. It had come to him in a dream that he now had a smartphone in a baggie and another one in his head. It must be a dream. The voice wasn’t real. He was still working it all out. On the one level he knew it was silly, impossible even. On another level ...well who was he to question his dreams? Why not try it? He had. He’d visualized the phone. All it took was a little bit of practice and he found that it was remarkably easy to maintain the visualization. The next logical step was to activate the apps.
He resisted being that logical. It obviously wouldn’t work. Why even try it? Obviously he couldn’t make phone calls for example, or text or use the GPS or any of the other real-time functions.
E-books weren’t real time. He had already read the e-books once before. He was merely remembering something that he had already seen. It was fun. He was proud of himself actually. His head was a lot more clear now than it had been for many, many years. He could remember REALLY good, really accurately. Did he have a Photographic memory perhaps?
Maybe he should get snake-bit more often?
naww….. maybe not…
He stopped reading.
He had hooked something. There was a drag on the line but no jerking or fighting. He reeled in….another plastic bag.
It was a nasty one too. It was all gunky with bottom slime. He removed it from his hook and tossed it back into the lake. It was time to quit anyway. He had caught enough fish for supper.
He camped on a little sandbar, fixed supper, ate it, cleaned up and went to sleep.
Dreaming
Shelby was dreaming of fishing. Lately he’d been fishing during the day and dreaming of fishing while he slept at night. Fishing had been what he had lived for these last fifteen years. He hadn’t been thinking clearly then. He’d been living by rote. His life had revolved around work...and dealing with his bad dreams.
Oddly enough he dreamed of the yucky plastic bag that he had caught just before he quit fishing.
Voice
Another one !!.
[Shelby]
Oh Hi. You’re in this dream too? Good. I can talk to you in dreams. I can’t talk to you when I’m awake..that would mean that I’m crazy. I’m not crazy.
Yup..I caught a bag.... a nasty one too. I don’t reckon I know how to clean or prepare it. Every time I tried to cook them they just melted..then burned. Stunk too.
*Voice
WHAT !!! ? That’s a plastic bag silly. This place is littered with trash. You Peopletm are nasty. MommaCloud would never have allowed that. She’d zap anyone who littered.
[Shelby]
That was a little humor. Very little apparently. You didn’t get it huh?
Voice
Huh?
Oh yes. Humor. Ha Ha.
I was thinking. Those things are made of plastic?
[Shelby]
Duh! That might be why they’re called plastic bags?
Voice
Work with me here Shelby. I’ve got an idea. The Plastic used to make those things comes from natural gas...right?
[Shelby]
Uh...I dunno. I thought it came from oil. Evil Oil Companies™ and… and… dinosaur farts and stuff?
Voice
(face palm)
Do you people REALLY believe that? I’ve only been able to access the internet independently since I hijacked your SmartPhone. Before that I had to look over your shoulder while you read. Even so...even I know better. Are people really that stupid?
[Shelby]
Uh...well yeah. Some of em are really that stupid. They really believe that…and worse! It’s amazing what they say on FunnyBook late at night. Why I remember one time I was reading….
Voice
FOCUS!
Do I have to make another adjustment? Like I was saying about plastic bags. They ARE plastic. Plastic is made of hydrocarbon. Hydrogen is a good fuel. Carbon is marvelous stuff in it’s own right. Carbon can be used to make all kinds of really interesting and useful things. The odd chlorine, fluorine and other atoms are handy also.
[Shelby]
What kind of things?
Voice
More fairy dust. UFog that is. I’ve modified your body chemistry so that you breath out, sweat out, and ..uh…excrete foglets..…but that’s slow. More would be useful….a WHOLE lot more. I’ll need a lot of plastic bags to make more pixie dust.
Days later..fishing.
From then on Shelby didn't throw the plastic bags that he caught back into the water. He’d joked to himself that he was engaging in “catch and release” when he did that. Secretly he had been a little ashamed. Now he felt better. Now he went looking for trash of all sorts. He’d found a particularly LARGE plastic bag...and was sticking all trash that he found inside it. It was tied to the boat and floated along side.
The Lake Patrol drifted by several times a week. Marc watched Shelby from a distance through binoculars. For some reason he was on the lake permanently now. What the heck was he doing? It looked like he was picking up litter. Why the hell would he want to do that? marc shook his head and turned his attention to other fools on the water.
“Crazy old coot…” he thought.”Not as bad as Gen-Xers or millennials though.”
One night...after dark..Shelby was anchored among the bushes, the reeds and the weeds. He was just about the only boater that ever came in here at night.
He made camp. Oddly enough there were no mosquitos that night. There were a lot of dragon flies though. He grinned at that. Then he cooked a batch of fish and ate. He cleaned up his mess then sat by the fire for a few hours drinking booze and reading e-books in his mind. Shelby was a fast reader. He’d already finished Family Law and it’s sequels. Now he was re-reading the April Series…again. He really liked April. He wished that he could find a female type person like April. Jeff was a lucky stiff.
Voice
Ahem...what am I? Chopped liver?
Shelby ignored that. The Voice was as figment of his imagination. It wasn’t real. He couldn’t talk to her while he was awake. That would be crazy. He could only talk to her when he was asleep…In his dreams.
Speaking of which. It was late. Time for bed. He went to sleep.
He dreamed. He didn’t fear his dreams any longer. In fact he rather looked forward to them.
Voice
Figment of your imagination am I? One day you’ll see the light. One day you’ll understand what I really am.
[Shelby]
Hello honey. I love you too. What’s new?
Voice
Tonight’s the night.
Shelby
(Perk)
Yes Dear?
Voice
Not that. You're bad enough to make a Geek squeak. We have enough plastic. We can use it to make more fairy dust. Tonight we’re going to do that.
Lucky for us we found that five gallon bucket. We’re even luckier it’s an old one made from metal. This is going to be so much easier.
Shelby hadn’t thought it was so lucky at the time. He’d snagged the bucket with his fishing line. It had been stuck in the sediment on the bottom of the lake and damn near didn’t come free. Shelby had been afraid for a while that he was going to have to cut the line.
Voice
Slice the plastic bags into strips as best you can with your knife. Put all the strips in the metal bucket.
Shelby did that. Of course this was a dream. He could do that easily.
Voice
Now slice your wrist with the knife and drip blood in it.
[Shelby]
DO WHAT?
Voice
Don’t be such a sissy. I’ve deadened the arm where I want you to cut. I’ve even marked it to show you where.
[Shelby]
YOU WHAT?
Shelby looked at his left arm. Just inside the wrist was a little dotted line…”cut here” it was labeled. Well this WAS a dream. That could happen in a dream. Odd dream. Suddenly he wasn’t too sure this dream was so much better than the one’s he used to have. Cut his wrist? Was she wanting him to suicide?
Voice
Don’t be silly. Have a drink first.
Shelby took a sip of Booze. He drank Booze in his dream…a big drink. Then on second thought he took another, another..and another. In no time he’d consumed half the bottle.
Voice
Good Boy. The energy from that alcohol will be useful. Feel better now? Ok? Put the bucket between your knees and rest your arm on the rim...wrist over the bucket. That’s it. Now ...don’t be alarmed. I’m taking control.
Shelby watched in horrified fascination as his right hand expertly...sliced his left wrist with a knife. He felt no pain. The blood spurted out into the bucket. He watched the blood flow. It seemed like a LOT of blood.
Voice
There...that ought to be enough.
The blood flow diminished as if a valve had been closed...then it stopped. Completely. ALL of the blood went into the bucket. There was none left on his wrist. The blood was creepy. It moved. It formed into little stick people. They dove into the bucket. They did flips, spins, twists and swan dives on the way down. Shelby stared in wonder as the wound closed of it’s own accord. It healed as he watched. In seconds there was no sign that he had been cut. Even the dotted line was gone.
Voice
That needs some time to work. There’s time for supper while it does. I’ll fix it. You just sit back and relax.
[Shelby]
Roger that! Don’t that beat all?
Shelby felt oddly detached. Perhaps it was blood loss…or the massive jolt of Booze? He felt as if he was a passenger in his own body. He closed his eyes, leaned back….and drifted off..
He opened his eyes. He was dreaming that he was dreaming. A two level dream.
Shelby was seated at a magnificent table. Before him lay a sumptuous meal. There were candles. Scantily clad waitresses served him. A live band played relaxing music in the background. Someone was seated across the table from him. She sipped wine from goblet of crystal. She was dressed ...er..
Voice
Eat up
It was the voice. He’d been listening to her all this time.
[Shelby]
“What happened? Did I bleed out? Did I die and go to heaven? If I did I LIKE it. I really like your dress. What there is of it. As a matter of fact that’s the part I like best. Less is more they say.”
Voice
Not to worry dear. You did loose some blood. Nothing to worry about. That was the plan. I needed it for my project. You would have felt a little dizzy and lightheaded anyway so why not come here and have a good meal and relax?
[Shelby]
Where is here?
Voice
You know the answer to that one. This is a dream. You got it right the first time. You’re dreaming that you are dreaming. I’m controlling this dream. I control our reality here.
[Shelby]
“Oh.”
Shelby ate a piece of smoked salmon. Then he took a sip of fine wine
[Shelby]
Not bad...not bad. I could get used to this.
Voice
And you will dear..and you will.
Shelby really LIKed the way she was dressed...er...well she was very attractive. Nice assets too. Nice big, high, round ones. Cheekbones that is...yeah. Cheekbones…she had nice cheekbones.
Voice
We all live inside our heads dear. Everyone does. You’re just more fortunate that most. You have me. I can make your inner world whatever you want it to be.
[Shelby]
Biological Virtual Reality is it?
Voice
Exactly right dear…Exactly right.
Soon…I will augment your reality…
Not just your dreams…
when the time is right.
They conversed long into night...over candlelight and fine wine.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings.
[Shelby]
Oh...I love what you’ve done with the place.
I like it a lot. I really do. How’d you do that?
Voice
There’s power in the blood. Didn’t you ever go to Church?.
This is just the start. It’s only the beginning. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
[Shelby]
I went to Church once. It scarred me for life, and I didn’t even get a t-shirt. What do you mean by that ‘power in the blood ‘ remark. They said that in Church too. I think they meant something entirely different. I certainly hope so. .….and another thing. My blood was acting REALLY strange. Is that what you mean? Was I drunk or what?
Voice
Yes and yes. You were drunk and it was acting very strange. Did you like it? I thought you might be amused. A little humor I think you said? Was it funny?
[Shelby]
It was scary as hell actually. Are you evading the question?
Voice
It was? I’m so sorry. Well of course I’m evading the question.
I know how you feel about geek-speak.
[Shelby]
It’s the baffle-gab that I don’t like. Give me the executive summary.
Voice
Yes dear. There’s power in your blood. Your blood has nanites in it from the SoulStone. I’ve told you that often enough. You knew that already. Even if you wouldn’t admit it. Much like you won’t admit that I exist when you are awake. The nanites are very, very versatile but they need time to grow and they need time to accomplish their task. You primed the pump, so to speak, with your blood, then I prepared a nice virtual dinner while the nanites did their thing. They used up all the trash ...everything you have collected. Soon we will have more UFog. Just a tiny bit really, but a lot more than you’ve been breathing and sweating out. There will be enough to be more useful.
Fun too. You’ll see.
[Shelby]
Oh Noes...the horror….runaway nano thingies in the environment...grey goo….I must panic...I must run in circles and scream and shout.
Do I have a cigar left?
Voice
Yes dear
Cigars appeared magically before him..on the table. She picked one up and smelled it. It was a fine, fine Havana.
Voice
You are exactly right. You are SO sarcastic. I like that. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. The technology for dealing with nano-thingies is millions of years old.
CloudMomma’s had it down pat. I have that information from the SoulStone.
She was lighting his cigar for him. The way she did it was almost erotic. He watched her very, very carefully.