Enhanced Read online

  That’s a stupid idea. He’s an alien—an alien with no emotions. You’re just projecting your own feelings onto the situation. And even if you’re not imagining things, he’s probably showing things he doesn’t feel. You need to stop mooning over him or you’re going to get all weepy when you have to leave here. Find something to do and stop moping.

  Deciding to take her own advice, Mei-Li went out into the living area with its huge screen that dominated an entire wall. This wasn’t a television or movie screen although Six had told her it could be used to view informational documentaries and reports—pretty much the only kind of program they had on Z4. Its primary use, however, was as part of the nature emulator which was, in fact, sort of a video game.

  The hulking black metal cube in the corner was another part. It was mounted on the ceiling on a rolling track so it could be easily pushed into place in front of the screen, despite the fact that it literally weighed a ton.

  Once positioned in front of the screen, the cube unfolded itself into a cross between a harness and a suit. The operator climbed inside the suit, which fit itself to his (or her) body automatically, and then chose a program from the list that popped up on the huge screen.

  Six had explained all this quickly when he was outlining things she could do during his absence but Mei-Li hadn’t really taken the idea seriously. The nature emulator, as he called it, just sounded like another video game and she had never been terribly interested in those. Probably because her college boyfriend had been completely addicted to them.

  Now, however, she decided to give the nature emulator a try. It was better than moping around the house, anyway.

  Putting her shoulder to the cube, she shoved it and watched as it glided smoothly and silently into place. It unfolded and she climbed up into it, feeling like Ripley in the second Aliens movie wearing her metal fork-lift/loader machine to fight the queen Alien. As soon as she was in, the metal suit adjusted to fit her, despite the fact that she was tiny compared to Six, its usual user. Then she stared at the screen and waited.

  Nothing happened.

  “On,” Mei-Li said. Still nothing. “Up. Power. Programs,” she tried in succession but with no results. She was about to give up in frustration when a cool, robotic voice came over the living room speaker.

  “If you wish to access the nature emulator’s programming, you will need to speak the password.”

  It was Ter, the artificial intelligence she was beginning to think of as Six’s snooty robotic butler.

  “All right—so what’s the password?” Mei-Li asked.

  “I am not authorized to tell you that.” Was there a hint of smugness in the mechanical voice? Mei-Li thought there was.

  “Yes, you are,” she argued. “Six told you to give me access to everything. Everything. And he told me I could use this machine—he must have just forgotten to give me the password. So you can tell me now.”

  “I do not think that would be advisable,” Ter said frostily.

  “I don’t care what you think.” Mei-Li was beginning to lose her temper. “The fact is, Six told you to give me access to the house and everything in it. Now either you tell me the password, or I’ll tell him once he gets home. I don’t think he’ll be very pleased with you if he finds out you were being a jerk while he was gone.”

  “I do not understand your colloquialism,” Ter said loftily. “And being without emotions, I am immune to threats.”

  “Here’s a threat for you—back on Earth when he was first claiming me, Six broke a man’s arms and legs when he attacked me. Today at the marketplace he looked ready to beat up this other guy just for kissing my fingers.” Mei-Li glared at the speaker. “How long do you think it’ll take him to reprogram you or rip out your wiring or circuitry or whatever makes you run if I tell him you’ve been annoying me?”

  “Six would never do such a thing. I have served him faithfully and well for many years.” But was there a slight hint of uncertainty in Ter’s robotic voice? Mei-Li thought so and she pressed her advantage.

  “You sure about that? Want to take a chance?”

  “Fine.” Ter sounded positively sulky now. “The password is “Kaylee”.”

  “What? That sounds like a girl’s name.” Mei-Li frowned. “I thought there weren’t any girls or females of any kind on Z4.”

  “I am authorized to give you the password, not the meaning behind it,” Ter said snippily. “I suggest that you use it if you wish to access the nature emulator and amuse yourself while Six is gone.”

  “Fine, I will,” Mei-Li snapped back. God, she knew it was silly since Ter was just a mechanical voice but the snooty artificial intelligence really got on her nerves. “Kaylee,” she said, looking directly at the screen.

  At once it lit up in a brilliant aquamarine, brighter than anything she had yet seen on Z4. A dozen or so options popped up on a list that scrolled across the vast screen, almost too fast for her to read.

  Thanks to the translation bacteria Yipper had given her, Mei-Li found she could understand the words she was seeing even though they were clearly in an alien language.

  “Let’s see,” she murmured. “Let’s try…Depths of the Argoth Sea.”

  Her choice was illuminated in gold and then the screen went blank for a moment. When it came back on again, it showed an eerie underwater scene, filled with tall black plants swaying in an unseen current and oddly shaped, brightly colored creatures with long, thin spines like sea anemones with legs climbing among their leaves. The water was pale purple and very clear. Staring straight at the screen, Mei-Li almost felt like she was really there.

  But after a few minutes of staring at the alien oceanscape, the novelty wore off. What was the point of getting strapped into a huge metal suit just to watch what was essentially a really cool screen saver? Was something else supposed to happen or was she just supposed to marvel at the alien wonders?

  She was about to say the password and switch to another program when Ter spoke up.

  “If you wish to move around in the nature emulator, you have to actually move,” he said, sounding decidedly snarky. “Are all your species lacking in intelligence or are you an anomaly among them?”

  “Hey, you’re this close to being dismantled,” Mei-Li was getting really fed up with the nasty voice. “Or maybe replaced. I could tell Six to get someone a lot nicer to assist him. Maybe a nice female artificial intelligence—this place could use a feminine touch.”

  Ter, wisely, didn’t respond and after a moment, she decided to move as he had said. She took a step and found that the scene in front of her moved forward, but not very much. Another step had a similarly disappointing effect. Then it occurred to her that since she was supposed to be in the ocean, maybe she ought to act like it. Taking a deep breath, she brought out her arms and mimed a swimming motion.

  There was a soft wooshing sound in her ears and suddenly she found herself being propelled forward at a much faster rate. She got into it further, leaning forward and using her legs to kick which was possible since the cube’s metal frame supported her free of the ground. Soon she was swimming along, exploring the underwater depths of the alien sea, and feeling truly immersed in the experience.

  This is awesome! And I bet it’s great exercise, she thought as she cruised along. Too bad they don’t have something like this at my gym! I’d go all the time if I could—

  Her thoughts were cut off by a huge shape, looming in the stygian shadows. Mei-Li watched it uneasily, wondering what in the world it could be. As it drew closer, the creature turned to one side and she saw a cluster of flashing yellow eyes on its forehead. Then it opened its mouth, revealing three rows of razor sharp teeth, all of them as long as her forearm.

  “Oh my God! End Program,” Mei-Li babbled. “Um, stop. Cease. Desist. Off!”

  None of it did any good. The huge creature with the flashing eyes and huge teeth was getting closer and closer…

  “Kaylee!” she gasped at last, remembering the password.