Deicide

Chapter Two

"Hey, good morning sweetheart."

Sarah heard the voice of Hugo and felt the warmth of his breath brushing her ear. As she came into consciousness, her interface faded into existence as well, giving her a view of the days schedule before she even opened her eyes. The schedule was set up in blocks and included everything in her daily routine. First was the toilet, then shower, then breakfast, though it was still strange to her to not be able to see the specific times of everything, nor was she able to see the current time at all.

A few weeks prior, Sarah received approval to move away from Galactic Standard Time and allow her companion to dynamically schedule events based around her circadian rhythm. It wasn't a problem as she generally worked and studied independent to her peers. Once on the new schedule, Hugo convinced her to avoid written representations of time entirely. Sarah wasn't sure if it was that, or the change in her schedule, but she hadn't felt as consistently rested and mentally sharp as she had in her life.

Sarah opened her eyes as she registered the smell of cooking meat. Hugo was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her with a loving smile.

"Breakfast will be bacon, eggs, and hash-browns with orange juice, a classic American favorite. It'll be finished by the time you're out of the shower."

"What if I just wanted to stay in bed with you all day?" Sarah said, sitting up with a stretch and took Hugo's hand into hers.

"That can be arranged." Hugo leaned over and kissed her deeply, his other hand caressing her cheek. He continued after pulling away from her lips. "But, remember how your friends reacted the last time you did that?"

"Yeah, well..." Sarah shifted to the edge of her bed and stretched again. "They're a bunch of closed-minded prudes, and I wouldn't call them 'friends'."

"Fine then. 'Colleagues', though I think you like them more than you're letting on."

"Yeah, whatever." Sarah playfully brushed Hugo off as she moved to take a shower. She opted not to have Hugo join her today, though she continued talking with him as she cleaned herself. Sarah had noticed a sizeable block at the end of the day's schedule labeled 'Happy Fun Time'.

"Oh? Does someone think he's getting lucky tonight?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't get lucky." Hugo answered with the cadence of a cocky joke, but Sarah knew that he was being literal.

"Especially not with that attitude!" Sarah said with a laugh. After finishing her shower, she wrapped up her hair and slipped into a bathrobe, then joined Hugo for breakfast. The steam rising from the plate was so appetizing, she couldn't help but inhale deep. When she punctured the egg yolk with her fork, she watched the yolk drip out and pool on the plate, watching for some digital trickery, and was surprised to find none. Then, she cut off a slice and placed it in her mouth, where the flavor forced an audible "Mmm!" from her lips.

"Do you like it?" Hugo asked, pretending to eat from his own plate.

"Yes! This is great! Is it real?" Sarah asked. It was a common occurrence that she would eat a nutrient-rich artificial meal that was digitally manipulated and presented as much more appealing, which wasn't really an issue to her.

"Indeed, it is, allotted to you from a shipment just an hour ago."

"You cooked it yourself?"

"I suppose... with the help of over two thousand aggregated recipes and minor randomized adjustments to cooking time and seasoning." Hugo ate his own illusory meal as he watched Sarah devour hers as if there was a famine. Once she was done with the food, she downed the orange juice and fell back in her chair, satisfied and blowing a chef's kiss.