The Last Corvus (completed)

Ch. 12 Isadora

Chapter 12

Isadora

She starts gushing, not dissimilarly to Dr. Jones; telling me how wonderful it is to meet me and how excited she is, me occasionally nodding when it seems appropriate.

Wait, Mrs. Jones? Is she married to Dr. Jones? That's a little weird; she only seems to be in her early twenties, possibly even late teens, whereas he seems to be in perhaps his early to mid forties. Then again, they're vampires, there's no telling how old they are, she could be three hundred years older than him for all I know.

She squeals something about '...your room... you'll love it... latest design.' Caught off guard when she hugs me I just stand there motionless for a few seconds and then pat her on the back gently. Once the initial awkwardness passes, I can almost feel her oozing love and comfort; making me remember mom's old hugs and almost making me cry.

Linden breaks the residual weirdness by clearing his throat and saying, "well, enough chitchat. Kitty, do you want to see your room?"

Overwhelmed by all the warm-fuzzies, I'd completely forgotten why we were all standing in the middle of the hallway. I nod briskly, he smiles somewhat mischievously, and Mrs. Jones squeals. Again.

Pulling a small key from his pocket he unlocks the door and hands me the key. Feeling the weight of it in my hand, I remember I'm not wearing anything with pockets; maybe wearing sweats wasn't such a good idea.

He turns the knob and everyone crowds in anxiously, pulling me along with them. The room looks normal; white walls, white carpet, shelves on the far wall, a white desk, ceiling lights, a queen-sized mattress with a white sheet and pillow set, a dresser next to the bed (white), and a minibar fridge (also white). Man, talk about a blank slate.

Lin reaches toward the light switch but his hand is swatted away by Mrs. Jones. "Let me show her. I only created it," she asks him, lower lip slightly jutting.

Wow, act your age much? Then again, if she did that she might walk with crutches and make quilts.

He nods and steps aside. She turns and smiles at me, "let me explain. I am a fiber optic engineer. When I have a new idea I tend to experiment with it within the Complex. What I'm about to show you is my latest work and, in my opinion, my crowning achievement."

I have to admit, I'm getting excited despite my confusion.

She turns the dial next to the light switch and the carpet turns black below us. Another notch and it transforms into a tranquil meadow complete with grass blowing in an imaginary breeze and a spattering of small wildflowers. I can almost smell it.

My jaw drops. Looking around at everyone, my gaze drifts to Lin, who smiles knowingly and looks back at the floor. Following his gaze, the floor is now a giant fish tank. Or, more precisely, the Caribbean's shallow sea floor. Looking down I can see the tops of schools of vibrantly colored fish, a leatherback sea turtle swimming lazily, a plethora of different corals, a moray eel that peaks it's head out of it's burrow as a group of lobster walk by a few feet away from my feet. I nearly jump out of my skin as a leopard shark swims beneath my feet.

The others laugh at my reaction and I smile sheepishly in return, staring pointedly at the ocean floor, it's sandy surface constantly changing from the sunlight filtering through the water.

The scene morphs, even as I watch, into a golden field of hay. Harvest-ready stalks create swirling patterns in the wind; the sun reflects off of them, making them resemble molten gold.

Another notch: the view as if you were looking up (and not down) at the rain forest canopy. Thousands of different shades of green leaves, most catching the sun as it filters through. The occasional monkey or parrot flying from tree to tree.

Now a quick succession of clicks, each click turning the carpet a different color: burgundy, forest green, pale green, robin's egg blue, dark brown, cobalt, black, and then back to its original white.

It can't be real. I've never seen fiber optics that could be that detailed, or that could feel like a carpet. Reaching down, I run my hand over it and discover that, indeed, it is an actual carpet.

"How is this possible?" I think to Mrs. Jones and give an internal smile when Linden doesn't answer. Yes; I'm getting better at directing my thoughts.

She startles, still next to the light switch, and gazes at me in abject wonder and confusion. You aren't the only one that has a trick or two up your sleeves. She gets over her shock quickly and tentatively responds, "did you say something, Isadora?"

"Yup. Long story."

She once again looks surprised, this time that I heard her.

"Um, well. First I split the fibers to about an eighth of their original thickness, and then I wove them into the carpet fibers and programmed them to display the pictures."

"Doesn't that get boring?"

She chuckles. "Well, there isn't much to do around here. That is, of course, unless you like guinea pigs. I myself have never been much of an animal lover."

Guinea pigs? Why are there guinea pigs? Oh yeah, something about experiments. Returning back to my original train of thought, "doesn't it waste a ton of electricity?"

"No. That's one of the most ingenious things about the design, it only uses energy to change designs and it stores all of the residual charge from switching designs. The only noticeable snag in the design is that you have to change the screen at least once every 24 hours or it will return to white, the original color of the carpet."

"Wow. That's spectacu..." I accidentally yawn, cutting off the end of my thought.

Linden, realizing how much sleep I've gotten over the past day, ushers everyone out and helps Phillipe stack the boxes next to the bed, handing me the bag of groceries. He then thanks Phil and bids me goodnight, telling me that he's right next door if I need anything.

I lock the door and jump onto the bed, it giving comfortably under me.

At last. I'm alone.