Phoenix Starship Andromeda—Near the Dyson Sphere
Thorpe looked at the holoimage of his longtime friend, eDaphne. He couldn’t help but recall that when they first met, he was the upload, and she was the gorgeous flesh-and-blood female who teased him mercilessly about his inability to accept what she was offering.
“It’s good to see your beautiful face! How are you holding up?”
“Considering that I just went through the scariest event of my uploaded life, pretty good, I guess.” She sighed. “I was thinking my way through how I could extend my internal power—just to remain alive. I felt nothing except a sense of motion during the fall. Once I hit the surface, nothing at all. Knowing you, I figured you were setting up for my rescue.
“It surprised me to discover you had used the same Arcan kid
