Devil's Paradise

9: Wizard's Workshop: VR, Inc.

The concept of time travel fascinated me, but the first project Delilah wanted us to work on was the virtual reality helmet. It had been highest on the list of future projects for me to pursue with the AI before D-day, but that was because it stood the best chance of earning lots of money for the company. There was no currency, so I didn't understand why it was important. Tony had worked with local farmers to set up a bartering and monetary system based on the value of a fresh hen's egg, but it wasn't ready to use as a marketing system, and this would have to go far beyond our local area if it were to have any significant impact. We couldn't sell it if no one could pay us for it.

Her explanation of why I should do it was not what I was expecting. I was looking for some profit-based explanation, but that wasn't what she gave at all. She said we could make all kinds of improvements to the quality of life, things that would even help people survive in years to come. But what people needed most was hope. They needed to remember the possibilities the future holds, and the best way to show them that was with virtual reality.

It seemed like an odd argument for a corporate exec. I didn't trust her, but I was still unsure of how safe I'd be if Delilah didn't think she had any more influence over me. She was as charming and friendly as ever with me, but I had heard her question to Merlin. She kept getting into my personal space in a seductive way, too, and that bothered me almost as much, but in a very different way. Despite the age difference and the potential threat she represented, I could not help but find her attractive. My stomach churned whenever I thought of her.

So we built the VR helmet as the first project with Merlin. We designed the helmet to be a seamless virtual reality simulator, with a spherical helmet that would portray a believable fantasy picture, inside and out. Anyone looking at the helmet from the outside would see whatever the person had set the helmet to show. Anyone inside the helmet would see the virtual world in near-perfect clarity. Both sound and video changed, incoming and outgoing.

I thought there wouldn't be any interest in that kind of thing in these days of survival, but I was wrong. People were clamoring for it, long before we finished it.

Despite her busy schedule, Delilah was there with me in the lab almost every day for a couple of hours at least. She wasn't an engineer, but she got to be pretty good with handling tools and following instructions. I never quite got comfortable with her, and I missed Alicia terribly, but Delilah surprised me with her good company. I saw no more hint of the threatening attitude I had seen before.

She continued to wear her sharp business clothes when she wasn't in the lab. When she joined me in the lab, she brought food for both of us. She would set it down on the counter when she came in, and chatted with Merlin and me while we ate, in her nice clothes and high heels. Then she went into another room, and came back dressed for work, in loose cotton. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty, either.

My feelings about Alicia kept bothering me, but I knew I should move on with life. Delilah had a way of making that even more confusing, by getting close in ways that seemed innocent, but happened too often to be random. I remembered her question to Merlin about whether she could get control of him if I disappeared, and I did my best to keep my distance.

Delilah was much more prickly than Alicia had ever been with me, but she was a good work partner. She surprised me again by understanding me in some things better than Alicia ever had. We communicated well.

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