―John J geddes
I got back from Front Guard Studios about four p.m. and was still in a mild state of shock. I knew in my head Dolores was essentially an AI construct, but it didn't diminish my visceral reaction to her as a woman.
I had no idea what hard light technology entailed and could care less―what mattered was Dolores seemed as vital and real as if she had been reincarnated, but even saying that seemed mystical and spooky and it was not at all what I was experiencing being with her.
But what the hell was I experiencing being with her? And what the hell was I doing going on a date with her?
Suddenly my motives seemed murky and incomprehensible.
This business could get very complicated, trying to relate to her as a real woman while not treating her like a mechanical doll.
The ring of the land phone snapped me out of my musings. It was Dan Porter.
"Hey Pal, you up to another night at The Wheat Sheaf? Let me make up for last time―my treat tonight."
"Thanks for the invite Dan, but can't tonight. I'm having dinner at Sassafraz."
"Really? Must be a special lady."
"Ha ha, nice try, Guy. I'm not at liberty to say who she is."
Dan's reporter instincts were aroused. "Well, at least I know it's not Tara―and we know she's beautiful, so this girl must be really special."
"She is that, but that's all you're getting, Pal, so stop fishing," I laughed.
"Kiss her for me, Guy―I'll get back to you later in the week."
"Yeah, get your own girl. Talk to you then, Dan"
Hearing Dan's voice brought me back to reality...with a thud. How would I ever be able to explain this to him? For that matter, how can I explain it to myself?
I know I've become obsessed with Dolores but what worries me is that my feelings are romantic and fact is, she's not a real woman and allowing myself to go in that direction seems a bit warped and unwholesome.
Yeah, It's one thing to be a soul gazer and peer into her psyche, but quite another thing to become infatuated with a robot with a preprogrammed personality.
Okay, I know she's more than just an automaton, but I really do have to sort out my feelings, preferably before I arrive at Sassafraz and make a complete idiot of myself.
I thought back over everything Owen told me about Virtual Ghosts and realized he hadn’t set any boundaries or put up any guardrails to keep me out of trouble.
Maybe he was hoping I’d become entranced with Dolores and fall under the sway of her personality. In fact, that may have been his whole plan—to make me lose myself in her and thereby get behind her defences.
But how that would work with a computer programme is beyond me. Maybe this will just amount to a wild goose chase—a kind of Coney Island of the mind that leads nowhere.