CHAPTER 11-2
1093 Words
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Canfield returned to the room, carrying what appeared to be an oversize Frisbee under her arm. She placed it on the floor in front of the Plexiglas wall and walked over to the table, looked at Mara and said, “Cam said he wanted to speak with you. Since his repairs are nearly complete—except for his missing cranium—I told him it would be all right. Keep the conversation short and don’t be surprised if his demeanor seems a little detached. His core is fully functional, but some of his personality routines have degraded after being severed from the engrams in his head. That issue should resolve itself once the cranium is reattached, assuming it’s not irreparably damaged.”
Mara stood and said, “Okay, how do I communicate with him?”
“Just like you are communicating with me,” Dr. Canfield said. Turning around, she spoke toward the wall. “Initiate holographic interface with Cameron Lee.”
A three-dimensional image of Cam projected above the Frisbee on the floor.
“Cam! You look great!” Mara said. “You seem taller than I imagined.”
“I do appear taller when my head is attached to my torso,” the image said, deadpan.
Dr. Canfield walked to the door and said, “I’ve still got business to attend to. I’ll be back in about ten minutes, which is about as long as your visit should be. Understand?”
“Of course,” Mara said.
The doctor left the room, and Mara looked to Cam. “So, how much of what happened do you remember?” she asked.
“The last signal received from my cranium was from your house. I have not received any additional data since you returned my torso to this reality,” he said.
“So you don’t remember anything after your head was taken from my house?”
“That is correct.”
“Dr. Canfield says your head is located here in downtown Portland. We are planning on retrieving it and bringing it here to the repository,” Mara said.
Cam shook his head stiffly. “My understanding is that you have exposed yourselves to the dissoluendo virus. It would be best for you to receive treatment and return to your realm immediately. You have done enough by bringing me home. No need to put yourselves at further risk.”
“We’re just talking about a delay of a couple hours. No big deal, right?”
“You do not understand. The virus is not the only threat you face if you stay. The disruptions in the Sig-net are growing more serious, affecting more people. Soon it will not be safe for anyone to move around the city.”
“If you remember what happened when we were carrying your head around, you know that I’m not completely without the ability to defend myself,” Mara said.
“I recall the encounter with the dragon and the other remarkable things you did.”
“Then let us worry about the risks and the danger.”
He shook his head again. “You are not familiar with this realm. You have no access to the Sig-net, which is like being blind and deaf. Even the simplest of tasks will be impossible for you.”
“We’ll just have to make do somehow. You’d be surprised how resourceful the three of us can be.”
“I would encourage you to reconsider,” Cam said.
“You’re spitting in the wind, man,” Sam said. “Once she sets her mind to something, there’s no changing it.”
Cam’s gaze shifted from Mara to Sam like a man in a daze. After a moment, a look of recognition crossed Cam’s transparent face. “Hello, Sam. Nice to see you again. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Hey, Cam. You do sound a little not like yourself. We really must get your head back,” Sam said.
“That is what I am trying to discourage, Sam.”
“Stubbornness is a family trait,” Ping said. Nodding toward Cam, he added, “Hello, my name is Aristotle Ping. I don’t believe we’ve actually met, but I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mara said. “I totally forgot.”
Cam narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as if figuring something out. “Ping. You are the dragon, or it is you.”
“Not any longer. That particular problem has been addressed,” Mara said. “Anyway, we need to figure out how to get out of here and how to locate your head. You arranged our ride to this repository. Is there a way for you to arrange a way to downtown?”
“Are you sure I can’t talk you out of this?” Cam asked.
“Pretty sure.”
“Then, at the very least, you should let me come with you.”
“Wow, can you actually step off that Frisbee and walk out of here?” Sam asked.
“No, I can only appear as a hologram in locations where there are imagers, and they are still very uncommon. Some people believe that one day we will be able to forgo our synthetic bodies and exist as living holograms, but that technology is still many years in the future. I meant that I could maintain contact through Mara’s phone, talk you through any issues you have and act as a conduit to the Sig-net, if needed.”
Mara slipped her phone from her pocket and said, “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll have a charge.” She frowned at the screen. “That’s weird. It’s fully charged.”
“I thought it might be compatible with our power grid,” Cam said.
“Wireless recharging, that’s cool.” Looking up, she said, “Will the doctor have an issue with you helping us? She seemed keen on making sure we didn’t tire you out too much.”
“Communicating through your phone isn’t taxing at all, and it would be highly inappropriate for her to screen my signals, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Okay, so how do we get out of this subterranean repository place?” Mara asked.
“Actually the safest way to get downtown would be to stay underground. You see, a network of railcars connects the repositories, so that staff and equipment can move back and forth without going aboveground. It’s almost like a city under the city,” Cam said.
“That sounds like a massive infrastructure investment to make,” Ping said. “What’s the rationale of that?”
“There are two reasons for the repository network being underground. One is that the purpose of having a synthetic body is to live a normal human existence. That would not be attainable if we spent our entire lives looking at and being reminded of our biological selves. The second reason is space. We have twice as many bodies to accommodate. If we stored our biological bodies on the surface, we would have no room to live our lives. It just makes sense to manage it this way.”
“All fascinating, but how do we get to these railcars?” Mara asked.
“I’ll signal for a car and show you where to find it.”
“Just like that? Anyone can use these underground railcars when they want?”
“Yes, just like that. All transportation in this realm is automated public transportation. Of course you need to have access to Sig-net to integrate with it, but that’s why I’m coming with you, so to speak.”
“What about Dr. Canfield? What will we tell her?”
“I’ll send her a message that you are running some personal errands and will return in several hours to discuss options for treatment for the virus.”
“And she won’t have an issue with three people running around with a contagious disease?”
“Mara, the virus is everywhere. You are breathing it right now.”
“Don’t remind me.”
- Writer
