Chapter 7
Benjamin's first day
The sun shone through my window blindingly, right in my eyes. I had forgotten to pull the curtains again. Oh well. Rolling out of bed, my feet carried me to the window. It had snowed again. Some snow was fun as a kid, but there came a point when even I had had enough.
Hmm, what was Poppa doing in the back by the pool? He seemed to be clearing a path to the pool house. Normally, I was the only one to hang out in the backyard once the snow started for winter. What was he doing back there? Maybe he had Christmas decorations stashed back in the pool house.
The only thing that concerned me was that I’d get to see Benjamin again. He might be here to work, but I was sure there would be a few moments when I might be able to at least talk to him some more. It seemed like someone to talk to might help him. Throwing my robe on, I bounced down the stairs in my rainbow bunny slippers, touching maybe every third step.
When I skated into the kitchen, smells of breakfast momentarily distracted me as I careened across the floor, crashing into the table. Carefully and deliberately, I sat down in one of the chairs at the table with the dignity of a cat who had just gotten caught doing something silly.
“Good morning, Momma. What time is Poppa going to pick up Benjamin?” I stretched toward the ceiling while yawning. “Hopefully the sun will stay out today so it’s a little warmer outside. That would be nice for Benjamin and Poppa.”
“I do believe late morning.” Momma brought over a plate of rainbow-sprinkle-covered pancakes and set them on the table in front of me. “Your Poppa told me to have lunch ready for four, so I do believe he wants to make sure Benjamin has two good meals, since we had already discussed dinner plans.”
“That would be awesome!” He was going to get to be here most of the day then. Cool. “Benjamin deserves a nice day and a couple good meals; life has not been easy on him.”
“Bethany, you have no clue about Benjamin; we know virtually nothing about him.” Momma was trying to be logical. “Although today we will learn a lot by his work ethic and how he acts when not working. We will just have to wait and see.”
“I have faith he will do wonderfully.” No way he would let me down. It was not even an option. “Being outside in the snow shouldn’t bother him that much. I’m sure he will listen to Poppa, and then he can come inside on breaks.”
Poppa appeared from the direction of the back door. He shivered while stomping his feet, looking very cold. “Princess, it almost sounded like you were talking about taking care of a puppy when I came inside. Following my directions and behaving to come inside.”
“Yes, Bethany, your father is correct.” Wait, when did they both start picking on me? Momma poked some more. “Benjamin is a human being whom we have chosen to help, and we should treat him as such.” The look on her face immediately told me I was not in a lot of trouble but needed to pay attention.
“Sorry. I’m just excited and hope it all works out.” Benjamin was not an animal! How could they think I even thought such a thing? “Can I come along when we go to get him?”
“Sure, I guess that would not be a problem.” Poppa was beginning to work on his breakfast. “Just make sure to dress extra warm, it is a bit colder than they forecasted, and it is pretty brutal out there.”
Bouncing up out of my seat, I skidded out of the kitchen all smiles. “Okey-dokey, Poppa. You just let me know when it’s about time to go, and I will be ready.” This was going to be the best day! New friends and new beginnings . . .
***
Boy, clocks should be set in little kid time. The clocks in the house must be using adult time. Every minute seemed to drag on and on. But eventually, after what felt like days, we were on our way to the big mall. Poppa was not kidding. It was really cold outside; poor Benjamin must be freezing.
“Poppa? Are you really going to work outside today with Benjamin?” After some thought, it did not seem like the brightest idea. The icicles were shivering it was so cold today. “It is really cold. I would not want you to get sick.”
“Your Momma and I were discussing that earlier.” Poppa was ready for this question. “You may have noticed I was shoveling a path out to the pool house? If the wind does not slow down, we will organize the pool house. It is a mess and needs some attention.”
The pool house? He almost never went in there. But it was a mess, and it could have used some attention, so I guessed that was a good plan. It was a plan that got Benjamin out of the cold for a bit. “OK, that sounds at least a little warmer or at least . . . less cold.”
Traffic was moving relatively slow today. The fresh snow had everyone driving a little more cautiously on the highway. The mall finally came into view, the inviting glowing arches of the arcade glowing in the distance.
Looking up and down the sidewalk, I did not see Benjamin! Where was he? After a short search for a parking spot, Poppa parked and hurried around to my door before I could get out. “I do not see him. We might have to take a walk. Hopefully he did not forget.”
Forget? Nope, he would not forget. Not with a chance to make a little money. Or maybe get some warm food. He had to be here. “Are we early, Poppa?” Holding his hand, we slipped and slid our way across the parking lot to the sidewalk. “Maybe his watch stopped, or he doesn’t have a watch.” He was here somewhere. We would find him.
“We will look a bit, princess.” Poppa did not sound 100% optimistic. “We do not really know Benjamin at all. I hope we find him, but there are no guarantees.”
This was not how this day was supposed to work out . . . no. It was not. Trudging through the snow and slush, my feet were beginning to freeze, but as long as Poppa wanted to look, I was not going to say anything. So, we walked . . . and walked . . . and then walked some more.
***
Unhappy little kid feelings were beginning to get the best of me when Poppa paused. He was looking down a delivery access alcove between two stores toward some old dumpsters. Beside one of the dumpsters was what looked like a human-sized pile of rags. The coat and hat were the right color . . . Was it him?
Tugging on Poppa’s hand, I moved in the direction of the dumpsters. Poppa’s firm hand held me back, but he moved also . . . albeit slower and more cautiously. “Princess, we do not know him . . . remember that. Hopefully he at least remembers us from yesterday.”
How could he not remember us? Remember me! Really? He had to remember. The pile of rags shifted slightly as we approached. The voice sounded sad and maybe a little lost. “Go away! You said as long as I stayed away from the front, I could be back here. I listened . . . now leave me alone.”
“Benjamin?” Poppa’s voice held a whole lot of uncertainty. “Benjamin? It is Mr. Hamilton. We talked yesterday, and you were going to help me with some work today.” Poppa tried to gently steer me behind him protectively.
“Don’t mock me and tease me like the others do . . .” Benjamin’s voice sounded rough. “No one cares that we have been discarded . . . People just say stuff to make themselves feel better.” Looking up at us, his eyes were not focused on anything in particular. “No one ever wants to help. I’m too far gone . . . The last time . . . I’m sorry, you don’t want me. You can’t . . . I won’t fall for that again . . .”
Not being able to restrain the inner kid, I pulled away from Poppa, bouncing over to Benjamin. “Hey now . . . you, sir, are in need of some positive and happy people. I happen to know some. Hamiltons are not fakes. We only say what we mean.”
His gaze met mine. “I enjoyed yesterday. I almost felt human for a little while . . . I don’t deserve that feeling anymore.” Reaching into his pocket, he produced the shiny token. “I’m just a homeless man. You can have this back.” His hand extended with the token in his palm. “Maybe give it to someone who deserves it.”
What? Oh, what was wrong with him? My mind drifted back to the article Poppa had read me the other day about . . . oh, yeah . . . that was probably what was wrong . . . poor Benjamin. “A hero like you deserves a bunch more than my little token. You saved a lot of people; you deserve to be treated like more than a homeless man.”
“Bethany?” Poppa’s voice warned me to be careful; his hand squeezed my shoulder. “Benjamin . . . I’m sorry. I dug a little when Bethany showed me the Purple Heart. We will not mention it again if you don’t want us to, but I would like you to come home with us for the day.”
“Saved people? How many didn’t I save . . .” His eyes began to defocus again, like he was looking off into oblivion. “So many more I could have saved. So many more I wanted to save.” He closed his eyes, scrunching his eyebrows together in thought. His right hand began to shake slightly.
Pulling away from Poppa, I took his hand and closed it over the token, squeezing it. “You are a hero, even if most of these people don’t know it. It does not matter. You are a hero. You gave so much; let me give a little back to you . . . please? Just come with us today.”
His eyes opened, focusing on me, then moving to Poppa. “I have been gone so long. I’m afraid . . .”
Poppa reached down, offering him a hand up, which he accepted.
“Afraid of what the world has become . . . of what I have become. How do I find my way back?”
“You, sir, let us help you with that.” Once on his feet, Poppa patted Benjamin on the shoulder. “At times, the Hamiltons might not be considered the smartest people on earth, but we follow our hearts, and it has gotten us this far. I trust Bethany’s heart . . . that this is the right thing to do . . . for you . . . and us.”
Nodding, Benjamin began to shuffle toward the parking lot. “I don’t deserve another chance. But I will try and do my best, since you seem to want to give it to me . . . thank you.”
Bouncing up, I grabbed his hand just as I slipped on some ice. He reflexively pulled me to my feet. “Hey, I hope you don’t think this is going to be easy, Benjamin. Hamiltons might not always be the smartest, but we do work hard, and I think Poppa has a lot of work lined up for you.”
“You think my work is going to be the hard part?” Poppa chuckled as he walked on the other side of Benjamin. “The physical work is the easy part. In between tasks, you are going to have to deal with Bethany. You may wish I left you here after an afternoon of dealing with an energetic little girl.”
Benjamin chuckled . . . actually chuckled! There might be hope! “Sir, I have dealt with a lot of things, and that may top the list of most daunting. I will do my best to not let you down.”
Hand in hand, I swung his arm slightly as we walked toward the car. Now the day was going in the right direction. I thought it was going to turn out just fine. Yes, just fine indeed.
Chapter 59
Does love still exist?
Six months had passed since my chance encounter with Tommy. Almost every day since then we had just happened to bump into each other. I suspected I was being stalked, but his friendly carefree smile always lit up my day, even when it was miserable and rainy.
“Excuse me, miss. You come to this lake often?” Tommy’s voice sounded mischievous. “’Cause I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a girl as beautiful as you around these parts.”
Kneeling by the water, I was rinsing off my hands and splashing some water on my face before settling down for a meager dinner. It was as close as I could get to cleaning up. Looking over my shoulder, I shot back, “Watch out, mister, I have heard some of the wildlife around these parts is rabid.”
Chuckling, he didn’t skip a beat. “Well, in a previous life I was a lion tamer. So I think I can handle a little wild and crazy.”
Tommy stood by my small campfire smiling from ear to ear, but he had his backpack. It looked like all of his stuff too. “What’s up? Are you a turtle now?” Trying to keep my tone steady, I continued. “Or you just looking to move on to better pastures. Leave the high life behind you?”
“Well, it kinda goes like this.” He paused, trying to think of the best words. “My landlord showed up and threw me out. I’m kinda out of options short term. Could I maybe crash by your campfire? Until I can find another place?”
“Major bummer.” Trying to not dwell on it too long, I prattled along. “But at least you got here in time for dinner. There is plenty to share.”
“You don’t have enough for yourself.” Tommy sounded like he was scolding me. “You are skin and bones. I’ll be fine. Just need a place to crash.”
“Don’t you lecture me.” Whoops, maybe that was a bit snippy. I tried to tone it down. “Trust me. I would not share with just anyone. You’re kind of one of my only buddies nowadays.”
“Thanks. Hey, how can you hang out here?” His voice got a little shaky. “This park gives me the creeps. You know it’s haunted? People disappear in here all the time.” He was glancing around like he was looking for ghosts in the shadows. “The only reason I came in here is because I knew it was where you were hiding.”
“Central Park? There is nothing to be afraid of here.” I smiled, trying to put him at ease. “There are no ghosts, and the park is not haunted. It’s nice and peaceful here. You are right though, the gangs and gutter trash never come in here for some reason.”
“It’s not the first time I have been called a ghost.” The deep voice rumbled from the nearby bushes. “Nor will it be the last, I suspect.” A towering man emerged from the shadows. He was wrapped in furs and had a carved wooden staff in his right hand. “Who is this person, Bethany? Do you wish him to be here?”
“Ahhhh!” Tommy yelped and was across to the other side of my camp behind my tent before I could react. “See, ghosts! No way does that big guy sneak up on me! No way!” Peeking from behind my tent, Tommy looked quite silly.
“Ursula is not a ghost.” Chuckling, I tried to calm him down. “He is just a big teddy bear.” Turning toward him, I added, “But you do move, like, crazy quiet. I never hear you until you say something.” Blinking, I looked around . . . Ursula was gone.
“Boy, you have nothing to fear from me.” He had materialized behind Tommy somehow, gently grasping his shoulder with his left hand. “As long as Bethany wishes you to be here, you are under my protection.”
“Ahhhhhh!” Tommy jumped about three feet in the air at the sound of the voice. Then he shot back across the camp toward me when Ursula touched him. “Ghoooosstttt!” was all I heard as he flew past me. Tripping, he fell flailing into the lake.
“Hey, watch it, Shaggy, you’re getting me wet too.” I laughed, trying to protect myself from the water flying everywhere. “Some protector you are, scared of an old man with a walking stick.”
“What?” Standing up behind me, he had that indignant look of a cat caught doing something silly. “Who ya callin’ scaredy cat? That dude is creepy quiet. And like eight feet tall. Anyone in their right mind should be scared when he just pops out of thin air!”
“Come here, young man.” Ursula’s voice was gentle but commanding. He motioned to his side. “I’m truly no ghost. And I’m not eight feet tall. In my advancing age, I do believe I’m a bit over seven feet tall on a good day.”
“Wait a sec? Ursula? That’s you?” Even as Tommy walked toward the big man, his eyes got big. “That’s what they call the ghost of Central Park. You have killed lots of innocent people, haven’t you! So many you can’t count that high?” Poor Tommy looked terrified now, even as he continued slowly walking forward.
A heavy sigh escaped Ursula as he kneeled down. “Yes, I have killed many, many people. But none of them were innocent.” Multiple joints let out audible pops on the way down. “The past I cannot change. Only those who enter my domain with ill intent have to fear me and imminent death. You, boy, came here only seeking your friend.”
Tommy stood in front of Ursula. Since Ursula was kneeling, Tommy could look him in the eyes. “Ummm . . . Mr. Ghost, sir, I mean Ursula.” He didn’t sound like he had two brain cells working right now. “Sorry, all the stories kinda make you sound like a psychotic mass murder, not a friendly hermit. It’s going to take me a bit to work that through my head.”
“Give me your hand, young one.” Ursula reached forward his left hand open, palm up. “Once again, you have nothing to fear since you entered my land with good intentions.”
I was not sure who was slower, a turtle, a snail, or Tommy. Slowly, he placed his hand on top of Ursula’s. The size difference was comical! Tommy’s looked so tiny. The big man slowly curled his fingers, covering the smaller hand in his.
A big sigh escaped Ursula as he closed his eyes and exhaled. Tommy seemed to be rooted into the ground as he quietly waited. “As I surmised, there is no ill intent in this boy.” Opening his eyes, he stared at Tommy, then looked over to me. “He came here searching for you with only love in his heart.”
“What? Love?” Tommy found his voice now. “Hold on a second, old man, that’s pretty strong language you’re using there.”
Giggling, I stared at Tommy. He would not make eye contact. “Oh really?” I giggled some more. “Love? Now I know I have nothing to worry about and I know you are crazy, old man. There is no such thing as love anymore. Lust maybe, but not love.”
Standing up, he took a few steps toward me . . . towering over me. “Because of your past, I will let those comments pass this time. But do not mock me, little one. Do not let this one get away. He truly cares for you.” Removing a small package from his pack, he tossed it to me.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” Lowering my gaze, I stared at the ground. Sometimes stuff popped out of my mouth before I thought about it. “Love has been very hard to come by for a while; I didn’t mean to doubt you.”
“It’s all right.” Ursula began moving, and Tommy jumped out of the way. “You do your best, child, considering the hand life has dealt you.” Touching the tip of his walking stick to the fire, it blazed to twice its size. “Make sure your friend dries off. Then give him some of the fish.” Without looking back, he began shuffling toward the edge of my camping area.
“Fish?” I opened the package, which contained dried fish. “Thanks. Will do!” Fish wasn’t my favorite, but it did fill the hollow spot in my stomach and was free. “Hey, how did you know to bring extra fish?” But I was talking to the bushes; my oversized friend was gone.
“So, love, is it?” Walking over to Tommy, I just smiled mischievously. “I didn’t think ya had it in ya, friend.” Taking his wet shirt, I slung it over a makeshift clothesline. “That there is an awful big word for a fella.” Before long, we had the wet clothes off and he was wrapped in one of my blankets, sitting by the fire.
“Well, for the record, I didn’t say it.” Tommy was still a bit defensive. “The big mind-reading ghost did. I learned a long time ago not to get attached to anyone out here. Just leads to ya getting hurt.”
“Yeah, but it is a nice thought.” I dropped my guard totally just for a moment. “Like maybe knights still protect little princesses. Slaying evil dragons and making everything right. Maybe just one does still exist to save a little princess.”
“But I guess for the record . . .” Tommy sounded a little funny. “I do kinda really like to hang out with you. You’re pretty cool for a homeless girl.” He scooted a little closer to me.
“Cool is not something I ever considered myself.” My stomach suddenly was doing backflips. “And boys . . . well, they’re a definite no-go . . . all jerks.”
“All of us?” Leaning over, his nose almost touched mine. “We’re all jerks? Not a good one amongst any of us?”
Run! My insides screamed, but my body refused to listen. It wanted to stay. Transfixed by his eyes, I could not pull away. “Nope, not a one. Every one I have ever met was a booty turd.” Lowering my gaze, hair covered my face.
His right hand touched the left side of my face. Fire exploded through my body. He brushed the hair back from my face to look into my eyes again. His fingers touched the metal data jack on the side of my head.
Jerking his hand back, his eyes got wide. “What is that?” As he leaned back, whatever evil spell was being woven unraveled and the two kids were back. “You have a metal plate in your head?
chapter 75
a dream forgotten
Life had definitely taken a series of weird turns recently. After meeting Karen and surviving Benjamin’s funeral, we were beginning to settle into new routines. Karen was very curious about my past and what happened to me. A subject I totally didn’t want to talk about, but it did distract both of us from the most depressing events of late.
She had been serious about staying with her. The trip to pick up my camping/living gear had definitely been more than she had bargained for. Even after that interesting afternoon, she still wanted to move forward to make me a permanent roommate. After cleaning everything, it was carefully stored in the garage, but hopefully I would never need it again. I’d done enough camping to last a lifetime.
Now here I sat at a kitchen table in suburbia, totally feeling like a fish out of water, but I couldn’t turn down the generosity this total stranger had shown me. One who was quickly becoming a good friend.
Sitting down across from me at the kitchen table, she placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of me. “So, I have been wondering . . .” Uh-oh, seldom was that a good place to start a conversation. “When we first met, that first day, I noticed you had a data jack. That’s not standard issue for most homeless people.”
I smiled while brushing my hair aside, exposing the platinum jack ports. “Yeah. I figure it’s not. They’re just the remnants of a little girl’s dream, one which I gave up on a long time ago.”
“Oh really? What was that dream?” Whoops, I grabbed her curiosity a little too well. “Most little girls I know don’t dream about having metal implanted into their skulls.”
“If you want to grow up to be a famous grid runner you do.” I should not be telling her this, but she was the closest thing to a friend I had right now, and it couldn’t hurt anything . . . most likely. “When I was little, I lived for the weekly issues of Cyber Force. They were the awesomest. Closest thing you can get to being a superhero and not be one.”
“You read Cyber Force?” Karen perked up a bit more than I expected at their mention. “I figured those comics had gone out of style way before you would have been reading them, considering I read them growing up.”
“Guess not. They were the bestest.” In between bites, I tried to figure out where this conversation was going. Something wasn’t quite right. “But as I said, the dream was stillborn. My parents died right after I got the implants, and then I became a little kid lost in the system.” I shivered as memories of what the system had done to me crept forward in my mind.
“Well, I doubt the hardware went bad.” Smiling, Karen was warming up to the subject more than I expected. “A few internal diagnostics and possibly software updates and I bet you would be good to go.”
“Umm. This conversation took an interesting turn.” Thrusting the painful images popping into my head back into their corners, I suspiciously moved forward. “You seem to know a bit about the grid, or at least know someone who does.” The thought of doing anything major with them had honestly not crossed my mind . . . like ever.
“Yeah. You might say that.” Brushing the hair on her left temple to the side, a pair of shiny data jacks became evident. “Mind you, the skill set of a corporate wage slave is a bit different than Cyber Force, but I know my way around the grid.”
“Really? What kind of work do you do?” My voice jumped an octave or two in my surprise and sudden excitement. “Cybersecurity for a big corporation?”
Karen’s laugh was a bit contagious. “Oh, how I wish. No, I was just an office clerk. Oh, occasionally they let me snoop around, but only if they thought something was going wrong. So, sadly, it’s a very dull existence. Are your jacks platinum? That was not cheap.”
“I think so.” Reaching up absently, I touched the jacks. “You have to remember I was like nine or ten when I had it installed. Too many years have passed since then . . . probably almost eight I think . . . Time gets kind of wishy washy out on the streets.”
“You were out there that long?” All happiness fled my friend. “It’s hard to believe I knew Benjamin that long; I must have met him not long after he lost track of you.” Her eyebrows scrunched together in thought, then she smiled again. “If you want, I have a small private server and some hookup jacks if you wanted to see if your gear still works.”
What? Whoa. Wait a second. “Ummm. That would be cool, but I haven’t done anything beyond ultra-basic stuff when it was originally installed. So I’m not sure how that would go.” And some of that stuff had been a little weird if I remembered correctly. But the thought of actually getting onto the grid was unthinkably cool.
“Honestly, if your jack really is platinum, I want to see what kind of gear you have installed up in that pretty little head of yours.” All of a sudden I wasn’t sure about how she was staring at me. “My jacks about broke my bank account, and I went low end. Yours are anything but low end.”
“Well Poppa had money.” I had never figured out how much exactly, but it was a lot. “And he would do anything for me. So eventually he figured if I wanted to do this grid stuff, then he was going to give me the tools to do it. Start early and be the best.”
“I still have time off for a few more days, so we have plenty of time to investigate.” Breakfast was disappearing fast. I wondered how soon she wanted to start. “Don’t worry, most of it will be fun stuff, nothing too hardcore since you have had no formal training.”
“Yeah. Try to take it easy on me.” I stabbed the last of the eggs on my plate, smiling ear to ear. “It’s been a very long time since I even got to play any video games.” Giggling to myself, I was beginning to get excited about the future’s prospects. “I was pretty good at them when I was a little kid.”
“You were a video game junky?” She seemed surprised yet again, kinda funny. “Yeah. But only old-school stuff. I was more of a retro fun kinda kid. But don’t get me wrong. I’m sure I could handle the newer stuff if given a chance.” My smile grew bigger as I nibbled on the final piece of toast.
“Do you have big plans for the rest of the morning? Or would you like to go investigate that hardware in your head?” Taking my empty plate, she wandered off toward the sink with a huge smile on her face. “I’m thinking you like the idea from your initial reaction.”
“Well, yeah.” Truth be known, I was terrified. What if the hardware didn’t work right? I had gotten knocked around a bit over the years. “It might be kinda cool.”
“I figured you might be up for a little excitement.” She patted me on the back as she walked by. “Follow me. Let me show you to my little fun cave. It’s for nerds and geeks only.” Heading out of the kitchen, she rounded the corner and opened a door I assumed led to the basement.
“Hmmm, a secret cool cave in the basement? Sounds like you might know Batman.” Following along after her, I could not shake the feeling something was not quite right. “We deserve a little fun. It’s been rough recently.”
“I could not agree more.” Strolling across the basement casually, she walked right past an awesome-looking computer and gaming setup, ignoring it totally. “That’s good and all, but I think I need to break out my good stuff for you, my friend, just intuition I guess.”
Pausing in front of a door at the back corner of the basement, she pressed her thumb to a little panel. “Pretty low tech, but on a budget, a fingerprint scanner was all I could afford, sadly.” The door clicked loudly three times and then slowly swung open.
Walking up beside her, I peeked in just as the lights kicked on. Glancing around, my eyes got huge. I looked back at Karen in disbelief. “You’re a little more than an office wage slave, aren’t you?” Multiple computer banks lined the walls. I couldn’t even begin to guess how much digital horsepower was sitting in the little room.
“Umm . . . maybe. I like to enjoy myself when I’m not working.” She smiled as she walked past me into the room. “And to have the level of fun I require takes some money and equipment. That seat over there should be comfy to chill a bit.” She pointed to a chair beside one of the banks of computers.
Moving slowly toward the chair, I suddenly felt like a lab rat unsure what might happen. “Uh, this is all kinda overwhelming actually. It’s all fun and games until you have to do it. What if my gear is dead? Or not functional? Will it hurt me?”
“That would be very depressing if your gear had expired along the way somewhere, very sad indeed.” Opening and closing drawers, she finally pulled out a bag containing a cable. “Here we are. I figure I should break this out. Your jacks deserve the best to make sure you have maximum input and output.”
“You’re making this sound really weird.” I eyed the cable suspiciously when she handed it to me. “I will admit to being a little nervous. This suddenly is becoming very real.”
“Oh, it will be fine. It’s not going to hurt or anything.” Continuing to smile, she plugged the other end of the cable into her mainframe. “If your gear isn’t good anymore, nothing happens. If it does still work, you should end up in a computer-simulated room. And I will join you shortly once I make sure everything is running fine.”
“OK. If you say so.” Karen had no reason to hurt me, so why not trust her? This was an awesome opportunity! Thoughts of my last experience in a simulation filled my mind, causing my heart to speed up. “So just lean back and plug in?” I tried to cover my nervousness with a big smile.
“Different grid runners handle it differently. You can actually still sense the outside world. Most of us just like to ignore it while we’re in having fun.” While she chatted, she was booting up a computer. Typing and clicking. “Plug in and tell me what you feel.”
I slowly raised the cable to my temple, suddenly unsure. I looked over at Karen hesitantly. “This isn’t going to hurt? You promise.” It had not before, but that was a long time ago.
“Nope, no pain. Well, at least not with what we are going to do.” She smiled, motioning for me to plug in. “Really, it will be fine. I promise.”
Swallowing hard, I slipped the plug into my socket and . . . Nothing happened! What? Bummer . . . Rats . . . double booty apple rats. Karen’s eyes suddenly got big, looking at a monitor in front of her. She did a double take between me and the monitor. “Are you OK, Bethany?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, but nothing is . . .” My thought trailed off as my entire body started tingling, literally all over. Every hair bristled. Euphoria as I had never experienced settled over me. Numbers started scrolling before my eyes. Internal memory checks . . . processor checks . . . Total diagnostics . . . It all flew by my eyes faster than I could comprehend.
In the far distance, Karen’s voice echoed around my head. “Bethany? Bethany? Are you sure you’re OK?” Unable to respond, I just watched numbers and computer code scroll by in front of me on the insides of my eyeballs. I didn’t care . . . I was in heaven.
The green words blinked in front of me: Diagnostic complete . . . System 100% functional. Again, Karen’s voice was in the back of my mind. “Bethany? Say something . . .” The blinking words went dark, and I tumbled into the darkness of my mind. I didn’t care . . . . I had entered nirvana.