by Rose St. Andrews
The open ocean near an empty sandy beach on a bright summer's day. Kelly Delaney, attractive in a book-wormish sort of way, relaxed in a small dinghy. Barefoot, she was in her favorite cut-off jeans and a T-shirt, and a Gilligan hat cocked at an angle. She basked in the warm sun; head back, she watched the clouds drift lazily by. She opened a can of soda and took a drink. A tug at the line of her fishing pole made her sit up. Setting the hook with a jerk, she reeled in the line. The pole bent as she fought the fish, and the boat rocked.
Finally, she peered over the side and saw an exhausted minnow - the size of a tuna! "Hmm, this needs adjusting." She released the fish and resumed fishing. A seagull flew by - upside down. "Oh rats, another glitch."
She stood, tried to grab a nearby cloud as it drifted by and a shark rammed the boat, which rocked wildly. Kelly lost her balance and plunged into the water. She splashed about. The shark circled and the Jaws theme suddenly played all around her. She treaded water, wiped her face and opened her eyes. The shark broke the surface, opened its mouth and came at her.
"Would you go away?" The shark stopped dead, closed its mouth, turned and swam away. It actually had a hurt look on its face! "Jack and his stupid Jaws subroutine," she said with a sigh. "And stop that music!" The music abruptly stopped. "Kappa rewind," she called out.
Everything went in reverse, Kelly un-fell out of the water back into the boat, and she was completely dry. She reached up, grabbed a cloud and twisted it into the shape of a hook. Hanging her hat on it, she stuck her fishing pole in the water. It didn't sink; it stood upright as she stepped onto a wave, held onto the pole, and rode the wave toward the beach.
Upon reaching the beach, Kelly stepped off the wave and looked around. "Where is that shell? Ah, here it is." She picked up a shell and walked to a tree. Placing the shell against the trunk, she turned it. A door appeared out of thin air next to the tree. It opened, but inside was nothing but blackness. Kelly stepped through.
A moment later, she found herself back in the lab. It took her a moment to get oriented as to where she was and what was going on, which was normal. Leaving her wonderful VR world and returning to (ugh) the so-called real world was always a downer. There were the usual items in the room - several tables with equipment, the VR bed that was tied into the computer system, and piles of files and computer disks. She was back in her real body, which was pretty much the same as her avatar, but now she was in her boring business suit. How she hated having to be so stuffy. Then she saw something that made her frown: Jack Quisling, a thin weasel of a man with bad acne was sitting next to her. He had one hand close to her left knee.
"Subject is off-line," the computer said in its flat monotone voice.
Quisling yanked his hand away and stood. Kelly sat and removed her VR gear.
"So, Kel, how's the upgrade to the Sim looking?"
"Jack, what are you doing here? Did you have your hand on my knee?" she snapped.
"Me? No! You've been spending too much time online. That VR world is a little too real for you."
"Ah-huh. What are you doing in this early? Don't you have to spend a few hours in your coffin before slinking in at noon?"
"Oh, that's cold, Kel."
"Stop calling me that! You know I hate it."
"Excuse me, Ms Delaney, but the Prof' wants to see us ASAP, said it's megabyte important."
"Why didn't you say so? Let's go."
Kelly detached herself from the system, picked up a pad from a table and headed for the door. Quisling followed. They walked down the hall. Quisling smiled as he tilted his head back to check Kelly out. Kelly watched him out of the corner of her eye, but remained stoic.
"Jack! If you could keep your mind on business for more than ten seconds, any idea what the Professor wants?"
"No, Kelley, not a clue."
"So, being his usual secretive self."
They passed a door and a large Plexiglas window that gave a view into the Holding Room. It was a huge, antiseptic place with many rows of VR beds. Each bed held a person dressed in a body suit, their faces covered by a VR mask. IV food and water was being fed into their arms. Kelly walked back to the door, unlocked it, reached in and flipped a switch. Blinds lowered to cover the window. She locked the door and they walked toward a large security door.
"You idiot! You really are determined to get us arrested for kidnapping."
"Take a major chill pill, Kelly; no one's ever going to find them."
She sighed and rolled her eyes as they step up to a voiceprint analyzer. "Login: Kelly Delaney. Password: Fred Flintstone."
"Password correct," the computer replied.
The door buzzed. Kelly and Quisling walked through. The door closed and locked behind them. A sign on the door read: 'Quantum Computer Research Center'.
Continuing on down the hall, Kelly and Quisling reached Ray's office. It was a large place, a very big portrait of Ray and his numerous awards and certificates dominated the walls. Ray, (Dr. Ray Brinkley) was a tall, imposing figure, sitting at his massive oak desk as he spoke to reporter Anne Williams. Kelly recognized her; she'd been nosing around the lab for weeks trying to get an interview with Ray. She was attractive and dressed to show it off. Ray took several pills and washed them down as Anne made notes in her pad.
"Is it true, Professor Brinkley, that the computer you've created here at Quantum is the most powerful in the world? It's said to surpass the Cray-4."
"I wouldn't go that far, and please, call me Ray."
"Thank you, but you didn't answer my question."
"The Quantum 2000 is a powerful system, but what this company has going for it is the best virtual reality software there is. And me, the world's foremost VR creator."
"Modesty is not a problem for you."
"Modesty won't get you ahead. If you don't blow your own horn no one else is going to."
"I've heard you've got a dozen T-3 lines coming into your lab. Those are some serious Internet connections. Why do you need them? I've got reports on the materials coming into this place, but nothing goes out. What are you building here?"
Ray grinned. "All I can say is when we unveil our VR system it will be the greatest ever seen. No one will be able to tell the difference from the real world."
"Could I talk to your super genius software prodigy - Kelly Delaney?"
He frowned. "How do you know about her?"
"Before I came here I did some research, and she was quite the child prodigy. I was curious as to whether she's lived up to her potential."
Kelly smiled, positively glowing with delight.
Ray saw her. "Here are my aides. Sorry to cut you off, but it's time for our staff meeting."
"Not at all, Prof... Ray, I understand. I've got more than enough material for my story. Thank you for your time."
Anne got to her feet and exited as Kelly and Jack entered. They exchanged a brief greeting, and then Anne headed down the hall as Kelly, Jack and Ray sat. Jack watched Anne walk away, grinning from ear to ear.
"Okay, people; let's get to it."
Jack turned to face him. "Sir, I would never question your judgment, but do you think it's wise to grant interviews now? We're almost-"
"Jack, I'll do the thinking. Interviews like that are exactly what we want. We need the public to know a little about us - just enough to make them curious. That way when someone gets an invitation to come here they won't hesitate, but race to our door. Now, Kelly, give me a status report."
"Overall the simulation is good, I don't think any of the people in it suspect where they really are. But we've got glitches. Some birds are flying upside down, the fish are too big and some sound levels are off. The pitch is too high; I need to bring it down, make it more bass - I think that'll fix it."
Ray smiled and nodded. "Good, good. You think some additional brainpower would help?"
Jack and Ray laughed, even as Kelly felt concern ripple through her body. "Ah, well... I suppose so, but do you think it's wise to put more online? The more we do that the greater our risk of-"
"Your concern is understandable, but unnecessary. That's what Jack is for. Jack?"
"Yes, sir, certainly, sir, I'm very careful to select people who won't be missed. I've got half a dozen excellent subjects lined up. One is due here tomorrow, a local engineer. He's a perfect candidate."
"Splendid! Another three or four should be all we need. With the RAM their minds provide we can perfect the Sim and complete my research."
"I certainly hope so," Kelly said glumly.
"Don't sound so down, Kelly, try and remember the big picture. Just get to work on those glitches. I've got an appointment with my doctor and then I'll be in the lab all day."
Jack snickered. "Yes, sir! It'll be a pleasure."
"Yes, sir," she said, still depressed.
With that, the meeting broke up, and Kelly headed back to her office. This was the place she loved. It was where she could be alone, and where she could work in peace without interference from... well, people. She was so much more at home with coding and graphics creation, and computers and simulations. Her office reflected that. It was a small, antiseptic place with a few personal touches, everything in perfect order. On the walls were Sci-fi memorabilia, a full-length mirror, four framed diplomas and three framed newspaper clippings.
Kelly worked on her computer. On the desk were her two favorite pictures: one of her and her parents at her high school graduation, which was when she was twelve, and the other was her and her mother at her college graduation. She'd done that at fourteen. Kelly stopped typing, stared at the screen for a moment and chewed her lip. I don't know about adding more people to the Sim. I hate to question the Professor's judgment, but every time we do that we run the risk of discovery.
Getting to her feet, she began to nervously straighten up. It wasn't needed. She adjusted and re-adjusted her diplomas: two bachelor's degrees, computer science and mechanical engineering, and a master's degree in computer science. Based on the dates on each, it was clear that she'd gotten them within a matter of months of each other. Then there were the newspaper clippings. Kelly was the youngest high school graduate in her town's history, and the second gave details of her being the youngest person to get a master's in her college's history. The third was the tough one, yet she kept it around. It was her father's obituary. He'd been a decorated veteran, but he couldn't fight the cancer that ate him from the inside out.
She looked at the mirror. "I don't know if I can do this much longer."
Her reflection smiled back at her. "What's the matter, kid, stress getting to you?"
"Oh yeah! Maybe I'm not cut out for the private sector. Maybe I should go back to school and-"
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