The shuttle pulled up just as the sun started to break the horizon. The top sliver of the orange orb brought a promise of unbearable heat and skin blistering light. My heart sped up a few beats when my eyes took in the reds and yellows coming over to our side of the world.
I was thankful that traffic had kept a steady pace, and the high-end droid driver had taken back roads that I hadn't even known existed.
I made my way into my building, already feeling the heat of the day beating down on the nape of my neck.
But the sun was only one part of the reason that I was moving with the speed of a panic.
My hands were slick with sweat, my shirt soaked through, my head was pounding, and my eyes were having trouble focusing.
I needed a hit of purple.
I took the
After thirty minutes of waiting, Hernan finally showed up. I'd tried to save a seat for him at the bar, but, fifteen minutes into the wait, the small Asian owner began yelling at me."You're bad for business!" He screamed. "You can't save seat! You go away!"With a little work and a little cash, I convinced him to let me stay, but had to give up the chair.When Hernan walked in, his presence was immediately known throughout the small diner. The sheer size of the man was enough to intimidate even the hardest of gutter rats.He had some of the broadest shoulders that a man could possess and stood at an impressive six foot ten. He was a thick man, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he was fat. There was a beer gut that had started to develop, but he was still shy of being overweight. The best way to describe him was 'solid'.
I woke up from the beautiful world, the gorgeous companion, and the marvelous peace of my Dream Sync Room to find a filthy apartment that baked my skin like an oven.My eyes focused in on the rather large crack on the yellow stained ceiling as I tried to get my head to stop swimming.Memories of the day before were a little hazy, to say the least. I'd remembered leaving Hernan at the bar and walking home, but then it got fuzzy.I could have asked Paige to give me a replay of what had happened, but her day was just as long as mine, so I let her sleep.My feet hit the floor and I walked over to my desk. There, sitting on top, was an empty baggie with little purple particulates that wouldn't do anything but arouse my appetite.I'd done the whole damned bag.
My feet carried me five miles from my apartment to a street market that was packed to the rim. If I'd been there for shopping, I'd have likely turned around and gone home. I usually didn't wait to stand in line for a roll of toilet paper, no matter how cheap it was at the market compared to the conventional grocery. I'd push the limits until the sun was going to rise within the hour, speed shop, and then jog home.Looking at the huge mass of men and women that went about their business, buying the little knick knacks of life, I felt overwhelmed and had no idea where to begin.I proceeded in trying to find my way through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, hoping that something would catch my eye. After a few ugly looks from the people that I was pushing passed and likely couple of bruises, I came across a street peddler that was pushing some AI devices. I had to assume that they were hot from the extremely low
Stephen Nguyen was my height, but he must have been at least twenty pounds lighter. He looked frail, to the point that if you touched him he might fall apart into a dust and blow away in the wind.When he spoke, his English had no hints of his Vietnamese background. His name, I assumed, was the only thing that he possessed from the Asian country."Have you been here before?" He queried."No actually. This place was referred to me, and I was just a little curious about what it was that you have going on here." I responded.His eyes searched me up and down, almost to point that I felt over scrutinized. He was sizing me up the way that the Authority would. The smile that he wore while doing his inspection of me was as fake as they come. It was a forced show of emotion to make the inspected feel at ease."And your name is?""Calvin. Calvin Spencer." I said. Calvin had long been my go-to
Fly?" I said out loud.My eyes turned upward, towards the sky above the mountain.I looked back to Paige, and met her worrisome eyes. The look on her face was true emotion, and it was fear.Sometimes it was easy for me to forget that simulated realities were the only worlds that she knew, and the task of flight would probably feel the same to her in a dream room as it would to me in the real world.His psyche was built around mine, and she more than likely felt my fears as well. In the real world, I was terrified of wide open heights. In here, I was fine. I was not scared because I knew that it was fake, but this was as real as any world that Paige had ever felt.I took a baby step towards her, afraid that I would walk right passed her if I didn't control my stride. I reached out and took both of her hands into mine, and really feeling what her touch was like, leaned in to rest my forehead on hers.
The directions that Zero gave me to the underground club ended up being extremely detailed. Facing threats of the Authority's interrogation room, I couldn't blame him. I'd only ever heard rumors of the tactics that they'd use to get the information that they wanted, and they were enough to make a mute sing like a canary.After leaving the dream house, I went home and had Paige replay me everything that Zero had mentioned during our little conversation.In my dream sync room, Paige and I discussed possible ways to handle the situation. I'd never seen her seem so lifelike. I had to guess that the realistic nature of the Social Circle had somehow energized her in a new way and left her feeling more human.We discussed the cult that was inspired by Thinker's supposed resurrection and what that could mean to the case.This religious following would undoubtedly make my investigation more d
I made it home in record speed, hoping to see Paige and put any jealousy to rest. Once I'd made it back to my block, I realized how peaceful the industrial neighborhood truly was. I longed to have that tranquility in my part of the world.It wasn't until I was inside my apartment that I realized the sun wouldn't be up for another five hours. I hated to waste the night in dream sync, but I had a bad feeling that my lusting over Eve might have rubbed Paige the wrong way. Considering how lifelike and emotional she'd been since the Social Circle, I would have put money on her being upset; like a real woman would have been.My eyes only glanced at the little bag of boost for a moment before I reached over and threw it in the bottom drawer of my desk. I wasn't ready to throw it away, knowing that the urge would surly best me sooner or later, but I wasn't ready to do a line either.Truth be told, I was rath
Unable to connect. Paige said.I knew that would be the answer, even before she said it. It was obvious that Thinker had done something with Hernan, but the severity of the damage wouldn't be known until I could get to his apartment.The sun would be up in an hour, and Herman's place was an hour's walk. I could make it there in forty-five if I jogged the whole way, but I'd be pushing it.As dangerous as it was to risk being caught out in the sunlight, I had to try. For all I knew, one day could have meant the difference between life and death for my friend.Thankful that I'd slept in my clothes, I took off for the street and was off my block within a few minutes.I blasted through the wall of bodies that blocked my way, surely knocking several of them over in the process. The added energy and stamina that I'd gotten from the boost would surely help me, but I felt like I was inches from becoming a be