“You’re still here?”
Selene steps out of the shower into view.
My eyes take her in completely. Last night flashes across my brain, every inch of her smooth skin, how she tastes, every detail I ever needed to know about her finds its way back into my memory with one glance.
She steps out from the shower and drops to her knees before me. Pulling down my briefs, she looks up at me with the most innocent, yet devious smile I’ve ever seen. “I made myself at home. Hope you don’t mind, E,” she says right before taking me entirely into her mouth. No hands.
If there was ever any thought of caution or hesitance left within me it’s now vanquished, replaced by nothing more than raw lust and an undying desire for release.
My eyes fall on the tablet. The screen is lit with Lethe literature entitled, The Psychology of the Human Machine. Itrests on the washroom’s floor where it was dropped. The condensation on the mirror slowly trickles down to the metallic frame, pausing only to gain enough courage to descend into its destiny. The violet curls cascading down her back bounce shamelessly beneath my torso. Their cool, wet touch on my inner thigh sends electricity down to my toes.
Her pace quickens as I feel the inner me take control. The real me. My hand clutches her dampened head, as it guides her back and forth with no regard to mannerisms or chivalry. In this moment, nothing else exists.
After she finishes what should be considered nothing less than art, my beautiful intruder gathers her things, dresses herself, and leaves without saying a word. Can there be a more perfect woman?
In my best attempt to keep a routine, I light a cigarette, push the coffee icon on the bioprinter, and ask the Oracle to turn on the morning news.
The empty wall in front of the loveseat springs to life illuminating an augmented three-dimensional display. A billion color pixels arrange themselves to form an image of a respectable-looking man in a suit, informing me of the latest current events in Olympia. Behind him, a picture of a deceased protestor, another death by Lethe. I wonder if Oriyen had any part of this one.
They’re claiming the protestor was a threat to public safety. Of course, they are. They always do. Dead people suck at defending themselves against slander.
That strange feeling comes creeping back. The one that forces me to put my entire life into perspective. Even with all the technology and tools we have at our disposal, death is always near. I’m honestly surprised I’ve made it this long.
In my peripheral, the computer screen on the other side of the room animates. Stepping closer I recognize the Delta Project sequencer on the screen. There’s an experience already downloaded. I don’t recall loading that. It’s waiting for me to plug in.
What the fuck? Who’s doing this?
Is this Kronos?
I should call Oriyen. This must be what he was talking about.
No… I want to see this. I need to see this.
Forcing my anxious hands to the silver cord attached to my computer, I guide it into the network port in my arm. There’s no way to predict what I’m about to see on the other side.
I take a deep breath…
and release.
Chapter 11
We reach the entrance of the cave not long after dusk. Sweat stings my eyes, my lungs are on fire and I don’t even remember how I got here. I’m not sure if it’s the pain or the mindwipes.
Cyrus is talking with the guards.
I collapse in the sand trying to catch my breath and process this all.
After a few minutes, I hear Xander’s voice, “What’s going on out here. What’s happened?” His words seem anxious. This is the first time I’ve seen him scared.
My eyes are met with his look of confusion.
“They’re all dead. It’s just me and Cyrus left.” I whimper violently still trying to catch my breath.
Xander turns to the guards and orders them to gather the newcomers. They hastily comply and disappear into the cave.
“It’s okay, just breathe. Tell me exactly what happened out there,” says Xander.
“I-I don’t know what happened… One second everything was fine and the next.. the next I wake up tied to a pole, and they were dead. They’re fucking cannibals! They were eating our men right in front of me.” I burst into tears all over again.
He absorbs every one of my words before helping me inside the cover of the cave entrance.
“You’re safe now.”
Leon emerges already geared up and armed with his spear as he makes his way outside to Xander. The look on his face would haunt any man’s dreams. He was right.
I rise and step out from the sanctity of the gates to join them. “You’re a good man, Palin,” says Xander turning towards me.
“How do you know?” He’s only known me for a few weeks. He blindly takes me into his home, allows me to eat from his
table, sleep under his protection. How the fuck does he know what kind of man I am? I don’t even know what type of man I am.
He puts a warm hand on my shoulder and pauses. In the most forgiving voice I’ve ever heard, he says to me, “I know a man by the type of world he wants to leave behind.” He looks at me in the eyes, pauses a moment, and asks, “What type of world do you want to leave behind?”
His words linger in my mind for a few minutes before I answer him. I want it to be true.
Lifting my head, I stare back into his fearless eyes and reply, “I want to live in a world without liars. I don’t want to hide in a cave for the rest of my life like some coward either. I want to fight for what is right, even if that means I don’t
