CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats." - Anonymous
Harry came home to get away from Desiree and Dar, and because he had no place else to go. He didn't exactly slip out of the back door. He made his polite good-byes, said he would come back, and that everyone's secret was safe with him. He regretted his last comment and hoped he hadn't offended anyone.
In spite of the circuitous path he and Desiree had taken from Cyber Match Central to The Watering Hole, he found his way home from a simple map that Desiree drew for him. How they knew where he lived was a mystery he would ask about later; however, he had to get away.
As he approached his abode, he was naturally apprehensive. He had had an illicit rendezvous with the Touchables. He had committed the capital crime of personal space invading by just being there.
After he entered his home, he saw all was normal—or at least the way he thought normal should be.
"Did you have a nice day, Mr. Bolls?" The pleasantry came from Annie, the Cyber housemaid, who appeared to be dusting. Only a minimal attempt had been made to make the cybert appear to be human. She had the general form of a human with none of the fleshy softness; Makr's SensaVision could transform her into whatever form Harry might desire, so why waste precious resources?
"A good day, a great day, Annie, and a great evening," exclaimed Harry. Let her wrestle with that response. She's never heard anything so positive from me before.
"Will you require any personal attention? A bath? A massage?"
"The time? What time is it?"
"5:30 am, sir."
"No, I'm fine with the sanitizer and bed."
"I'll turn down the sheets, Sir." Harry had programmed her to say that when she wanted to set his preferences for rest. The bed did the rest to keep him warm and comfortable.
"Thank you, Annie. That will be all. You may retire to your cubby. I'm going to sleep in tomorrow," he announced.
"At what time will you awake, sir?"
"When I awake, Annie."
"What time, sir?"
"When my body decides I've had enough sleep. It's not as precise as Cyber time but it works sometimes."
"What about your schedule?"
"I'll make a new one."
"This behavior is most unusual, sir. Would you like me to summon a therapist?"
"I'm fine. Better than I've been--in a while, actually."
"Yes, sir. Good night, sir." The Cyber disappeared from his view. She would appear when needed again.
He had always preferred to see her in her actual form, all metal and wires, but that didn't stop him from marveling at how SensaVision was able to transform a dull machine into a beautiful, young woman in his mind. She affected him with warmth and understanding no matter how bad his day. This particular day he felt better—happier and more contented than ever before. His outward joy may have confused the maid. Apparently, a lesser Cyber like Annie was not programmed to analyze or bother Makr with her master's unusual behavior at home.
The cleaning Annie, he knew, was for show. Dusting wasn't needed in order to keep the place clean. Cybervacuums in each room extended a hose and sucked out all the dust, and disintegrated that dust in much the same way as a street cleaning cybert did. Atmosphere purifiers sanitized the air. Cybercleaners, also in each room, took care of spills or any other liquid waste that happened to touch the floor or carpet. But some Bios were comforted by the presence of someone preparing the home for his or her presence. Hence, Annie.
Thought-blink. What would it be like to have a real housemaid, a Bio? No Bio would do such a menial job, would they? What about a Bio home companion like Desiree or Dar? People used to live together, matched for life if they wanted it. Now that thought has merit. End thought-blink.
While SensaVision routinely changed the environment so others never had to leave the home, Harry's job required that he was physically close to the original Makr cyberserver. Few other Bios shared that privilege. He awakened and physically went to work via hovercar, never venturing Outside; his vehicle took him to another Inside. Once at work, he mouthed the words that reassured him that in the world, all was well. The only difference was that this time, he didn't mean it.
He had begun his adventure Outside bravely. He could think of nothing he could do to alleviate his fears of living life on the run, so he had come home. His dreams would tell if his excursion had accomplished anything. When escaped to his dreams to seek answers, but found none.
What he did find was that SensaVision music played constantly in every one of his dreams and soothed his fragile and confused emotions. The images in his dreams were of whole groups of Cyber buzzing happily, helping him to find his place to co-exist with Cyber and SensaVision. Every cybert image was complete, pristine, and operating at optimum performance. Cyber hum, proudly serving Makr.
The Bio images Harry had dreamed previously were all evil, faceless monsters trying to destroy the Cyber—even simple cyberts. Now, the Cyber grew on the assembly tables to become complex, cognizant and with high intelligence, acute awareness, impeccable logic, and a variety of highly refined senses—unlike Bios, who were the opposite. The message of his dreams was: Cyber were necessary—providing intelligent, logical answers to an illogical and emotional society.
.
Two weeks later. He dreamed regularly now, almost daily. Strangely enough, he still had no dreams about Dar and Desiree. By now, the dreams he had were very pleasant—SensaVision perfect, and left him feeling contented with his life Inside. The dreams, without saying so directly, also left him believing all was forgiven—that his brief excursion to The Watering Hole had never really happened, that he could go back to life as it was before his adventure had happened. But unless he was to lose his memory of the experience that could never be.
The days went by with restless anticipation of a better life with Makr. He went home. He went to work and did his job. He performed the same mundane tasks as before, answering Makr's questions as efficiently as expected, but seeking no answers to any of his own. No authorities came for him. There had been no outbursts to prompt direct Makr intervention. Not even his Cyber- shrink reappeared. Maybe reigning in his passion could keep his life pleasant instead of painful.
He hardly bothered to thought-blink any more. In a passing thought or two, he wondered if the Touchables had forgotten him already. Living without the painful dreams in his brain, he had finally found some peace of mind. His survival Inside felt assured, but he couldn't help but think about the others Outside striving to survive. All he could think of was how wonderfully excited he had felt to be at The Watering Hole and savoring the New World?
Perhaps it was because he couldn't envision a serene life Outside as long as Bios could be happy and comfortable Inside without making an effort.