Charlie's

7

It was a decent book. A murder mystery set in historical Sweden. I knew nothing about Swedish history, so for all I knew it was educational.

But I was a good ways into it when Sarah finally came out of the elevator, wearing the same leather and jeans that she'd had made by the fabber. She looked around, noticed me, and kept looking around as she wandered over and sat on the lobby couch next to me. "Okay, that was freaky."

"What, sim beds? Yeah, they take getting used to."

"What? No. Well, okay, yeah, but...I think the language whatsit's broken. There was a woman in the elevator babbling at me. Couldn't understand anything she said."

"Probably a non-English-speaking foreigner. New York got a lot of tourists."

"Why wouldn't everyone in the sim speak English? Why would I want to talk to someone I don't understand?"

"Realism. And keeping it interesting. I set it up for New York City, and New York City's what it's giving me. There's taxis in the streets, trash in the alleys, drug dealers in Central Park..."

Sarah's gaze wandered around the lobby, seeing the bustling people, the bellhops with bags and clothes racks, the morning light coming through the windows and reflecting off the walls..."Yeah, it's real. It's just...I haven't seen a sim like this. It isn't..."

"Fun? Shiny?"

She turned a glare at me. "You know what I mean. This is just...normal. Why would you want this when you could have anything?"

"This is a city. I can have anything. I can go to clubs, movies, parks, the beach...Here, let me show you around."

I led her outside, hailed a cab and took her uptown. The road was bumpy, the cab smelled of old cigar, and the air conditioning had to work a bit against the heat. The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians. Yes, it was all real and normal. And while it wasn't shiny, it was enough to have her glued to the window looking at everything going by.

"Are those stores real?"

"Yeah, everything is. You can go in and buy things. The stuff in the stores gets updated from the media packs, so you've got current fashion if you want."

"So it's old New York with modern stuff?"

"Here and there. The sim incorporates it. Literature goes into books in the stores. Vids are in the movie theatres. Live performances are on Broadway. New art exhibitions at the Met and down in Soho. That game I was watching in the station I could have seen on a TV at the Brat'n'Brew."

"So I can still see stuff in my room? I don't have to come in here?"

"Totally your choice. You can see a vid on a console screen, or you can see it in a huge dark room on a big wall while eating popcorn. I know which one I prefer."

We wound up at Macy's. I gave her a credit card (no limit) and turned her loose while I found a place to sit and read. Most of my book later she was back with shopping bags, wearing a black sleeveless dress and low dress boots. "Okay, so, maybe this is fun."

I found myself smiling. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who could appreciate this place. "The nightclubs play modern music. I think they even try the trendy dance moves. You going to wear that to one?"

Sarah was about to reply when a woman pushing a baby stroller reached out and touched her shoulder. "Excuse me...You know you're in a simulation, right?"

Sarah gaped at her, her mouth hanging open. I cleared my throat and said, "Yes, she does. Thank you." The woman smiled and walked away.

Sarah looked at me, at the woman's back, back at me. "What the fuck was that?"

"Reality anchoring. Built-in safeguard."

"Does that happen all the time?"

"Not that often. It's adjustable. It's just supposed to remind you you're in a sim."

"Why would I need to remember that? I thought this was supposed to be fun!"

"Don't worry about it. What else would you like to do?"

She stared at me a moment before shaking her head. "How do I log out?"