Beautiful World 06: Premonition

The skybridge connecting the thirtieth floors of the Nanakousei and Everest Research towers was glass below as well as above, cool beneath my bare pads as I stepped out into open space. Overhead, the sky hung low from the broadcast spires that topped Murasaki Prefecture's tallest buildings. From here, the moon seemed to stare down at the city beneath it, its lurid gaze just as taken by the flashing lights and flickering signs of the companies that advertised themselves to anyone who would pass before them.

My gaze briefly followed the moon's, down through the floor to the sea of lights that danced below me. A quick wash of vertigo ran over me, making me shiver; a moment later it was gone, quashed by the same part of my mind that had let me interpose countless times before when one visitor or another had inadvertantly risked self-integrity while part of my group. The sense was the same every time, that instant of sick giddiness just before my training possessed me, and again I wondered what it would be like to live in a world in which that sensation could be had at any time, for more than a few brief seconds.

Once the bout of vertigo passed, I walked out onto the bridge, pulling my kimono more tightly around me as proof against the chill in the air. The summons had woken me from sleep with a location and a sense of urgency, but little more to indicate the nature of the call, and I'd taken only enough time to make sure Johnathan was still asleep and then to meet the basic needs of decency before leaving. If it hadn't been a priority summons, I would have referred it to my shift-replacement; we had little enough time to spend with Johnathan as it was, at least until he moved to Irokai. However, the request had been by name. I might have been on vacation, but a priority call of this nature simply could not be ignored.

Halfway across the skybridge stood a fox, tall and thin, his red-furred ears standing straight above his head adding to his height. The split hem of his black longcoat shifted slightly with every move of his white-tipped tail, but aside from that he stood still as a statue; even his bare hinds remained fixed in place against the glass floor in defiance of the cold. His gaze remained level, his narrow muzzle aimed at the horizon just visible through the tangle of buildings. Just a glance was enough to confirm the source of the summons, and having arrived, the sense of urgency dissipated, fading to a background impulse.

As the moment of necessity passed, I queried the local dataspace about my host. In the span of a quick breath, I had my answer. The first name that came to me was Giri, but the family name gave me pause, a string of characters that looked more like random noise than anything else. Quietly, I wondered why he had changed it, but it would have been rude to ask without a proper introduction first. Attached to the name was a link to his public employee record. A clockpulse passed, and Giri's title and station were mine: security lead, Ouseito ward, Murasaki Prefecture. I ignored the web of contacts and reports that followed; what mattered was the mindset of the person that had summoned me, and knowing his role in Irokai would help me understand that. It was little enough with which to work, but it was more than I had before the summons.

Giri remained still as I approached him, but as my reflection appeared in the same pane of glass as his, a stream of encrypted data begin to flow out of him, like static from an uncoupled analog sensor. A request for key exchange followed a few moments later, a few meaningful droplets masked in an empty sea. Even as he waited for acknowledgement, the steady pace of nonsense continued, though still his violet eyes remained fixed on the view, acting as though he were silent.

I smiled as graciously as any hostess would to a sullen guest and stood next to him on the bridge, paws resting on a railing near the wall. I did my best to catch his gaze in the reflection off of the glass, but all I could do was study his eyes as they stared unblinking into the distance. "It is a beautiful night, is it not?" I spoke the words lightly, hoping that some geniality might set my summoner at ease. The privacy request hung unanswered, a subliminal nagging just out of normal sight.

His silence stretched out into seconds, but then the digital babbling faded out once more and the security request disappeared with it. The fox didn't turn to look at me, but instead one paw raised to point out at the sky. "Check the local edit history," he said quietly, ignoring the question I had asked. His tail twitched as he spoke, expressing irritation that he kept from his voice.

The frown that I felt never reached my muzzle, though my own banded tail flicked once in response to his own. "Perhaps introductions are in order," I replied with a smile, turning away from Giri's reflection to face the fox directly. "My name is Ikanobari Mitsuko." I bowed at the waist, low and formal, extending the most courteous greeting I could without dipping into unnecessary formality.

Again, the fox paused, waiting for several seconds before responding with a bow of his own. "Giri," he said in the same soft tone as before. He held the position for a moment, then rose.

I followed his motions, smiling again as I looked into his eyes. "You have no family name?"

At that, one corner of his muzzle rose into a smirk. He parted his jaws, and a burst of static and dissonant beeps and trills escaped it, making my fur bristle. "You asked," he said after the noise abated.

I rubbed at one ear with a paw. "Oh, hai," I admitted with a rueful smile. "Why did you change it?"

Giri shrugged. "It is a hash of my codebase at incept. I thought it was more fitting than what they named me."

"Oh?" I tilted my head to the side, filing away that bit of information. "What was it before?"

The fox shook his head. "Unimportant; it was not me."

This time, it was my turn to hesitate. I couldn't find much in the brief exchange that invited further conversation, and yet in a few sentences, Giri had managed to put me on guard. Rather than push the previous discussion any further, I fell back to my training. I clasped my paws together at my waist and inclined forward slightly. "How may I help you this evening?"

Giri scowled at the question, then turned back to the window, motioning again towards the window. "Please review the local edit history." He transmitted a set of coordinates along with his words, indicating a section of the sky out beyond the buildings.

This time, I did frown. "My administrative access is limited," I said as politely as I could, keeping my eyes on the side of the fox's muzzle, ignoring the direction of his gaze.

The fox's own expression soured at my words. "You work in Tadashiissei's Hospitality Division; I know what access you have." He sighed, then spoke again, hints of petulance in his voice. "I am asking you to review the local edit history, not randomly delete a building."

I held back a sigh of frustration, instead turning away from Giri back towards the window. Obviously he had no interest in letting this go. As glad as I was for the system interface and as easily as I relied on some of what it allowed me to do, I disliked having to tap into my administrative access; it always felt like cheating. It took only a few moments of silence, and then I began paging back through logs of the indicated region.

It wasn't hard to find what Giri wanted me to see. Just over two hours ago, someone had replaced a section of the heavens visible to almost the entirety of the Prefecture. Calling up the display code and passing the captured edits through it, I spoke aloud the English words written in twinkling motes of light: "Why do you pay to live?" A series of Japanese kanji brushed in comet in comet trails hung beneath letters: Minshukakumei no Irokai.

I turned from the window back to the fox that stood beside me, cocking my head to the side. "Democratic Revolution of Irokai? What is—"

Giri held out a paw, shaking his head. "I do not know. If I did, this would be resolved by now." His other paw went to his waist, and a traditional katana shimmered into place within an ornate sheath beneath his fingers. "What I do know is that this is not the first breach of this sort. To date, I have backup logs of seventeen such incidents in the last calendar year, and their frequency has been increasing." A fresh stream of encrypted data began to pour out from him, followed a few moments later by a new request for key exchange. "Please review these revision logs," he said quietly.

This time, I accepted his offer with a nod, and the nonsense resolved into log files and database entries, all correlated with the same values from a month and a week prior. None of them contained a source or owner. I compared the records before and after; in most, innocuous text had been replaced with more slogans. In some, Tadashiissei's logo had been replaced by one that looked like the symbol of Irokai, but its colors were inverted. The only constant across them all were the same kanji that I had seen emblazoned across the sky.

I released my specialty access with a frown, then adjusted my kimono and folded my arms across my chest. "Any incident such as this surely would have attracted some sort of attention by now, by the media if not Tadashiissei."

The fox's expression remained implacable, but pride and anger flickered in Giri's eyes. "Irokai Security is both efficient and proactive. I have also brought every such assault I have encountered to the attention of my superiors, and every time I have been told that appropriate actions will be taken and that anyone violating Irokai's codebase or harming its residents will meet with stiff punishment."

I waited a few moments, then prompted Giri gently. "They have not caught the perpetrators?"

One of Giri's ears twitched. "The security logs have been rotated and sent to external storage."

I let his words—both what he did and did not say—sink slowly into my thoughts. The implication of his statement was clear: no-one working for Tadashiissei had responded. I tugged my kimono more tightly around me, shifting from one hind to another against the cold glass. "Does anyone else know about this?"

Giri shrugged. "I have made efforts to make Security aware of the situation, and many have expressed concern. As to whether anyone outside of Security knows or cares...." He left the rest of that thought unspoken.

I tugged my kimono more tightly around me. "Why did you ask for me, then? I work in Hospitality, not Security."

The security agent smiled tightly in response, holding up two fingers. "Two reasons. The first is that Hospitality specialists have access to any level of emergency administrative authority deemed necessary in order to protect the well-being and happiness of residents and visitors to Irokai. My access is much broader, but requires specific permission from Central Control."

I nodded once. "And the other reason?"

He hesitated, then turned to face the sky once more. "Your lover, Johnathan Dart. He has development-level access, does he not?"

I tilted my head, tail twitching in response. "He does, yes, but why—"

Giri again stopped me with an outstretched paw. "I have made every attempt to notify my superiors, both within and outside of my management, of the seriousness of this situation. These changes have either no name attached or else obviously fraudulent ones. I have been unable to identify a source for any of the attacks. Every last one of these should have started a full-scale audit both of internal and external security. So far, it has led to nothing. I can only assume, therefore, that upper management within Tadashiissei is aware of events and does not care. I therefore cannot continue to trust internal responses as adequate."

His eyes narrowed as he spoke, his voice becoming hard. "Your lover is not yet a part of Tadashiissei. If it becomes necessary to take action without their approval, we may need his assistance."

My eyes widened. "You are suggesting rebellion."

Giri shook his head, his paw once more at his waist, fingers curling about the hilt of his katana. "I am protecting my home. My primary role, both as an employee of Tadashiissei and as a resident of Irokai, is to safeguard both this place and the people who live here. If Tadashiissei will not take action, then I must act on their behalf. To do less would be dereliction of my duties."

He turned back to face me. "If these attacks continue as they have, we may soon find outselves fighting to protect everything we value. What I need to know from you, Ikanobari Mitsuko, is whether you will help defend Irokai or not."

I looked down to the blade at Giri's waist, then back into the fox's eyes; they glinted like polished amethyst, cold and hard. I wanted to doubt his analysis. I wanted to question his conclusions. I even briefly considered a flat denial, but everything was too well-considered, too well-argued. Given what he had seen and heard, his explanation seemed consistent with all of the facts at his disposal. As I had no alternatives to offer, it made his position a difficult one to deny.

"Hai," I said quietly, nodding once in response. "I will help."

Beautiful World 05: Ascension

From the outside, Mitsuko's home looked like any other in Midori Prefecture: a traditional post-and-beam structure made of aged bamboo that had weathered to an almost lustrous grey, raised upon a matching platform that provided a front and rear deck. It sat atop a low hill overlooking a garden, topped with clay roofing tiles stained in a range of greens from creamy jade to deep forest. However, as we approached the building, Mitsuko raised an arm and waved, and the thin paper walls came to life, a steady light from within illuminating the entire house.

As we approached the front door, Mitsuko's fingers brushed against the frame, and a soft chime announced that the lock had been disengaged. One silk-sheathed paw resting on the seam of the front door, she turned to me and smiled, her tail curling around her waist to brush against my hip. In the filtered light from within the house, her mask was half-bathed in shadow, the rest cast in shades of green, her emerald eyes almost black. She brought her other paw to my cheek and cupped it gently as I slid my arms around her, urging me to bend down into a deep and tender kiss. Moments stretched into minutes as we stood embracing, until finally she pulled away just enough to speak. "I had a wonderful time tonight," she murmured, her cheek resting against my chest.

"So did I, Mits," I breathed gently into her ear, the underside of my muzzle brushing against the top of her head. "I always do when I come here."

She was still for several moments, as if storing up memories of the contact for the time we'd be apart. Then, quietly, she asked, "When do you go back?"

At that, I smiled, and I pulled just far enough away to look down into her eyes. "After lunch tomorrow," I said quietly. "There's something I want to show you tonight."

At that, her eyes widened, and the smile on her muzzle spread, her tail stroking slowly down my side and leg, teasing my own. With one paw, I cupped hers on the frame, then helped her slide open the front door, soft unfiltered light from the high ceiling spilling out onto the bamboo deck and back down the hillside. I stopped just within the entryway, wiped my feet on the stiff-bristle scrub since I had no shoes to remove, then stepped lightly across the woven tatami into the main living area, drawing Mitsuko inside and sliding the door closed behind her.

Once inside, I touched a finger to her muzzle for silence, then leaned in for a quick kiss. "One moment, love," I said as I withdrew, grinning from ear to ear. "I'll need a little bit to set this up."

Mitsuko blinked, her head canting to the side curiously, tail weaving slowly behind her, almost feline in its lazy curiosity. For a moment, I stood, just watching her stand there, admiring the pose. Her traditional Western dress clashed so beautifully with the Japanese neo-traditional surroundings, a perfect juxtaposition symbolizing the balance of honoring the past and looking to the future, without suggesting which was which. For a brief moment, I considered abandoning the rest of the show in favor of calling up a terminal and capturing that image, but then the whole reason for this trip in specific came back into focus, and my smile broadened.

I knew that some people found calling up the hardline optical interface without closing their eyes to be incredibly disorienting, but by now I'd done it so often that I hardly noticed it at all. It took only a moment's thought, and then ghostly red text began floating in the periphery of my vision. In the bottom left corner hovered my subscriber ID, the unique digital signature that Tadashiissei knew as "me." In the bottom right sat my current financial balance in Irokai. Earlier, I'd paid for the trip to Junsei-en with a few quick glances, summoning up the bill, checking the amount, agreeing to the transaction and signing the receipt with nothing but a turn of the eye. Even with that, though, I was still riding high from the advance I'd received. I could afford a bit of extravagance, and I could think of no-one better on whom to spend it.

In the top right corner sat a clock, currently set to Irokai time, the wedge of the color wheel visible showing the time as twenty-one-and-three-quarters or so, local, but my real focus was in the top-left, where the primary menu interface lurked. If I needed an emergency exit or staff assistance, I could access it through that system, but my real interest was an option not present for most of the people who came to Irokai: the small section near the bottom of the list marked Development Access.

When I activated the interface, a voice began speaking from nowhere, female and very polite, but with a hint of firmness, covered with a gentle Japanese lilt. "Attention, please. Traveler Johnathan Dart has requested developmental access." The words lacked the inflection of sentience; I'd heard the same statement in the same intonation dozens, maybe even hundreds of times. "Ownership of this area is registered to Resident Ikanobari Mitsuko. Before developmental access can be granted, owner permission is required. Ikanobari Mitsuko, do you agree to allow developmental control to Traveler Johnathan Dart? A backup of this region will be made as a precaution."

Mitsuko's eyes widened as she tried to catch my gaze, then turned towards the ceiling quickly. "Oh, hai, I agree."

"Your agreement has been recorded, and the backup has been made," the Voice of Irokai replied. "Please be aware that you may revoke your permission and request a restoration from backup at any time. In the event that an incompatibility occurs, we will automatically restore from backup. If at any point we must restore from backup, developmental access will be temporarily suspended until any incompatibilities are resolved. No permanent changes can be made while developmental access is active. Traveler Johnathan Dart, you have been granted developmental access. Please enjoy." Then the voice went silent, and the number in the bottom-right corner of my field of vision suddenly dropped by a significant amount.

Still, for what I had in mind, I knew it would be worthwhile. I dismissed the hardline interface and turned to Mitsuko, who was now staring at me intently. Her warm smile had shifted into an expression of bemused interest, as if she had already guessed what I had to show her, but was waiting for me to say it myself. She held her arms behind her, paws clasped, her tail waving behind her. "So what is all of this?" she asked.

"Ah-ah, that would be telling. I'd rather show, but first―" I waved my arm expansively, and a cedar chest materialized beside me with a twinkling of light. "―we'll need to change."

"Change?" Mitsuko's voice rose in a question as she stepped over to the small chest, kneeling down in front of it. She glanced up to me, then looked back down and lifted the lid, gasping as she inspected the contents. Inside were a pair of two-piece bubble helmets, held together with a magnetic seam. Beneath those lay two slim-cut vacuum softsuits, adapted to meet the needs of tailed beings. Beneath those were two small pressure tanks, each set for an hour of breathing time.

"I got my simulation running," I said; it was all the explanation I needed to offer. "Care to see it?"

She gathered the smaller suit into her arms, then rose again and nuzzled my cheek as she walked past without saying a word, pulling one of the thin paper dividers behind her to form a makeshift screen. Lit from behind, I watched her silhouette slowly slip free of the silk dress that she had worn to dinner. I could have―would have―eagerly stood there admiring her lithe raccoon's figure, but I had my own change to make.

Quickly, I peeled off the jacket and slacks, leaving them in a small heap beside the chest. The tie and shirt followed quickly behind, and finally my briefs, leaving me free to start drawing on the softsuit. The silvery fabric felt slick and slightly cool to the touch, just like I remembered it. I pulled apart the two halves of the neck collar, stretching out the opening until I could step inside and slide the fabric the legs, aligning the magnetic panels with the pads of my hinds. Working my own banded tail into the pouch in back made me wince as I tugged the fur against the grain, and I made a mental note to revisit the design again, through I'd yet to find a solution that genuinely satisfied me. Now, though, wasn't the time to get lost in designwork, and I pulled the sleeves down my arms and tucked my fingers into the gloves. Finally, I reconnected the halves of the magnetic collar, then broke the seal on the helmet, affixing front and back pieces to the suit around my head. Once the tank was in place, I would be completely enclosed within the softsuit, the magnets forming a perfect seal against the vacuum.

Mitsuko slid back the panel and stepped back into the main room. The shimmering softsuit clung to her body, emphasizing every curve and line of her figure. She smiled at me from within her helmet and turned a slow pirouette, the flat magnetic plates in her feet whispering incongruously against the straw tatami mat. "Am I wearing it correctly?" she asked with a mischevious smile, her voice echoing slightly from the radio system built into the helmet.

All I could think to do in response was nod, some areas of my own suit suddenly decidedly more snug than I'd remembered from the design tests. I pulled the tanks out of the cedar chest, then passed one to her with one paw, motioning for her to turn around with the other. She did so, and I slid the tank into the restraining straps on her back, hooking up its lead to the airhose. I turned a valve, and her airflow started with a soft hiss. Once hers was secure, I turned around and stepped her through attaching mine. Soon, I heard the same release of pressure and smelled the familiar tang of ozone, a telltale sign that the system was pumping in fresh air.

I turned to face Mitsuko and flashed her a quick grin and a thumbs-up, then focused back on the front door. I waved my arm with a flourish, then stepped up to the entrance and slid aside the thin paper barrier. Beyond, a gray ribbon of metal stretched out into the distance, surrounded by emptiness. The wooden deck, along with the rest of Midori Prefecture, had vanished, replaced with a limitless expanse of space, speckled with a myriad of stars.

I took a deep breath, then stepped across the threshold, the magnetic pads beneath my feet clacking softly as they made contact with the metal hull. holding me in place as gravity shifted across the threshold. I paused just beyond the doorway, waiting for the lightheadedness to pass as I transitioned from Mitsuko's world to my own. Then, once I was clear of the doorway, I turned and reached back, extending a paw to the woman I loved, inviting her to join me.

Wide-eyed, Mitsuko took my suited paw in her own, then took a few cautious steps across the gap, swaying briefly as the same vertigo took her and then left. I reached past her, then closed the doorway leading back to her home. Once gone, it was as if it had never been; all that remained in its place was the solid bulkhead of the station. I motioned upwards, and Mitsuko tilted her head back, then leaned back and gawked at the column that rose overhead. Thin metal spindles reached out into space from the central trunk like branches of a silvery-grey tree. Strange fruit hung from those metal limbs, spaceships of varying shapes and sizes docked at all different points. Directly above, past the very tip of the tree, hung a giant blue-white-green sphere, shining like an alien sun.

"That's―" Mitsuko's voice cut off sharply in a giggle of delight.

I squeezed Mitsuko's paw in my own, taking a moment to follow her own gaze, up towards the Earth. I wanted to say something, to say anything in that moment, but there were no words I could offer that would match the feeling I had inside. The faint whiff of ozone from the pressure tanks, the slightly clingy pressure of the softsuit, the tension of Mitsuko's fingers against mine, and the sight of my homeworld overhead all fused into a single indefinable sensation, one that I wanted to feel forever.

I knew it wouldn't last, though, and I had one last thing I wanted to share with her before relinquishing the development flag. I knew Tadashiissei would never approve it; I'd never even planned on submitting it to them. This was still my development environment, though, and I was going to enjoy it to the fullest extent that I could. I glanced at the clock in the corner of my view, then again through layers of development menus, before dismissing the hardline once more. I turned, walking backwards as I urged Mitsuko away from the central tower, out to the edge of the communications array, until we were surrounded on all sides by empty space, only a few magnets holding us in place against a narrow metal platform, keeping us from drifting away into the void.

I smiled at Mitsuko through the tinted grey bubble helmet, then said just loudly enough for the radio to catch, "Don't be afraid, Mitsuko."

Her eyes widened, her tail twitching behind her, the words catching her by surprise. "John?"

I gave her paws a final squeeze, then let them go, stepping back away from her, balanced at the very edge of the walkway. "Trust me, Mits," I said, fingers feeling for the seam on the helmet holding the hemispheres of reinforced glass together. "I love you."

Mitsuko stepped forward, her paws clacking against the metal walkway. "John?" she called out, her voice trembling. "What are you doing?"

Her fingers met my wrists, to try to pull my paws away from the helmet, and I smiled at her, then gave a final pull at the seam. With a rush of wind against my face and a flare of light from within the suit, the halves of the helmet split, then tumbled apart, freed from each other and the ring around my neck. Mitsuko's muzzle twisted into a silent cry at the sudden decompression, jerking away, covering her helmet with her paws to avoid seeing my body burst or freeze. She stood trembling, just shy of the edge of the array, frozen in shock.

When my still-suited paws gently brushed her shoulders, she stiffened, but then slowly uncovered her helmet, staring in shock, traces of tears wetting the fur beneath her cheeks. Slowly, the corners of her muzzle turned up into a smile, and she began to laugh, silently shaking inside her suit as she wrapped her arms around me, clinging to me tightly. I encircled her with my arms, squeezing her tightly.

I told you not to be afraid, love, I transmitted to her, not in speech, since sound wouldn't carry in a vacuum, but in a direct broadcast of thought, words sent directly from my mind to hers. Then I pulled away, carefully, coaxing her back from the edge, and began to strip away the now-unneeded softsuit. As the material fell from my shoulders, a pair of broad wings covered in irridescent bands of feathers that matched my shimmering fur spread from my back, unfurling to their full width to help catch the solar winds. I turned to look at them with glowing yellow eyes, then flexed them and flapped, propelling my legs and tail out of their useless encumbrences, leaving me naked against the vacuum.

Once the transformation was complete, I turned back to Mitsuko with a smile and held out one paw to her, a gently pulsing sphere resting against my pad―a copy of the transcendus module. She smiled up at me through her helmet, then took my paw in hers, wrapping her suited fingers around my gift. It sank into her paws as she reviewed and integrated the new code, and then moments later she pulled open her own helmet with a burst of air and light. Then she opened her eyes, a brilliant emerald light shining out of their depths as she spread her shimmering wings, her softsuit falling away from her, trailing out away from the deck as the station slowly spun in place.

Despite the vacuum surrounding me, Mitsuko's paws were warm against my shoulders, as I knew mine would be against her waist. Freed from gravity and our artificial modesty, we floated away from the station, wings flapping in near-unison as we learned the rhythms of each other's new forms. Once we were out of the station's shadow and bathed in the full light of the sun, I turned back to Mitsuko, drifting away from her briefly to admire the results of my work against her already-sublime base form. She smiled and silently laughed, then turned a lazy somersault, her wings and tail provocatively splayed, showing off my handiwork, and I felt my body respond.

I want you,I sent to her, flapping my wings and catching up to her, taking her paws in mine.

Mitsuko urged me closer, then wrapped her wings about us. I want you, John, she replied soundlessly, guiding my paws to her small, firm breasts; then resting her paws on my shoulders. Her skin beneath the fur was as warm as the rest of her, her nipples already firm beneath my thumbpads as I caressed them gently. She shivered beneath my touch, her head tilted back, her muzzle open as I stimulated her, enflaming her passions, the sight and feel of her beneath my paws making my cock pulse in its sheath.

Moving carefully, I ducked my head down, kissing along her neckline and down her chest, nipping playfully with my teeth against her fur until my muzzle was at one of her breasts. Placing a soft kiss against the nubbin of stiffened flesh, I slowly slid my lips down around her nipple, tugging at it carefully as I began suckling. It was as if electricity had arced through her, her body stiffening beneath my tender touch before curling up against me, as if to try to wrap herself around me, holding me against her. The taste of her was sweet and faintly musky, my tongue tingling from the brush of her fur as I swirled it around her nipple.

After a quiet eternity, I kissed my way across to her other breast, repeating my performance there, while she shivered and shuddered in my arms, pressing herself eagerly against me, her chest rising and falling in heavy breaths despite the lack of air to breathe. Her wings tickled mine as she wrapped herself around me, urging me onwards with her touch and motion. Then, finally, with a silent gasp she pulled away. Too much! she sent, trembling from the overload of sensation. Then, a moment later, Please, John... more.

I floated over to her, this time wrapping my wings about her as I took Mitsuko in my arms. She rested her paws on my shoulders as I placed mine on her hips, my cock fully engorged as I pulled her against me. She spread her legs, wrapping them around mine, and then it took only a moment to position myself before smoothly pressing myself into her. Her sex was hot, her flesh tingling against mine, sending sparks from my groin up to my brain as I filled her, one gentle thrust carrying me fully within her. Once inside of her, I paused, hugging her tightly to my chest, then began slowly pistoning myself back, pulling away and then pressing forward again, making love with Mitsuko in deep space.

In the absence of gravity, sex truly was a two-person endeavor. Where before one could lie still and let the other do everything, now it took the effort of us both to consummate our passion. As I pushed myself forward, pulling her towards me, she thrust back, using her legs to encourage me deeper. Our wings fluttered and flapped, by turns encircling the other or just brushing agaginst each other, the new sensation adding to the others. I closed my eyes, filling myself with her taste and feel, then opened them again to smiled into those pulsing orbs of luminscent emerald. Yes, one of us sent, or perhaps both, minds moving as our bodies, urging each other closer to climax. I trembled against her, my body shuddering. With every stroke, my cock throbbed within her sex, the heat of her body suffusing mine. Her claws glided down my back along the sensitive join between wing and spine as I held her hips against me to help me find purchase. She twitched, moaning silently in the void, nodding as I thrust faster, deeper, the urge to orgasm overwhelming. I bit my lip, stars dancing at the edges of my vision, my nerves singing soundlessly as with one last push, I came, a burst of heat and seed filling her sex. She threw back her head, claws digging into my back as her entire form tensed, climaxing in response.

In the afterglow, we hung there, twinned stars against a black backdrop, shuddering and quietly nuzzling against each other and riding out the aftershocks of our shared passion. Then, finally, we separated, smiling at each other, and turned back to the station, our wings flapping as we dove back towards the communications array. At the panel in the side of the station, I turned back to the suits, still trailing along at the far edge of the platform, then winked back to Mitsuko and shook my head. If the code ever got approved, it would prove an interesting artifact for the first maintenance crew to find.

I waved my paw at the smooth metal wall, and the same section as before slid aside, revealing Mitsuko's main room beyond, just as we had left it. I touched down just outside the door, then stepped lightly through, Mitsuko following closely behind. Once within, I turned and shut the front door, then brought up the hardline one last time for the night. It took only a few seconds to dismiss the development flag, and the wings and glow disappeared as soon as I did so. A few seconds later, Mitsuko's vanished as well, leaving her with only her natural radiance and a smile.

"Thank you, John," she said, stepping closer to draw me into an embrace. "That was beautiful."

My ears flushed in response, and suddenly I felt very awkward. I knew that she loved me for me, but there was always that moment, right after I had shown off some new bit of in-world wizardry, in which any praise I recieved was colored with doubt. I knew she loved me, as I loved her, but did she love me for me, or for the things I could do?

Was there a difference?

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," I half-whispered back, resting my cheek against hers, my tail slowly swaying behind me. "I'm sorry if I scared you back there, but―"

She shushed me softly, then rested a finger across my muzzle. "I understand," she replied. "You're an artist. It's one of the things I love about you."

The words struck home, perhaps more deeply than I wanted to admit, but I was still riding high on the afterglow. "Thanks, Mits," I murmured in response, kissing her ear softly. "Let's go lie down; that took a lot out of me."

She nodded in response, then turned her muzzle to kiss me tenderly, before taking a paw in mine to lead me back to her bedroom. Once sprawled out on her low futon, she curled up next to me, pulling a thin cotton sheet up and over us as we snuggled up together. She turned towards the ceiling and dismissed the lights, plunging the house into near-total darkness. I curled up against Mitsuko's back, one arm beneath her head, the other around her waist, her tail draped over my leg. My mind drifted as sleep came for me, imagining myself floating with Mitsuko through that perfect void.

Beautiful World 02: Regret

The front of Tadashiissei's Beautiful World facility was below ground level, flowering hedges shrouding the entryway. A ramp of multicolored tiles ran between them, leading from the sidewalk down into the earth, giving the illusion of descending inside one of their digital realms even before I had gotten inside. It always felt a little disorienting, the outer world disappearing behind me as I prepared to dive into the inner one, but I always got the impression that the effect was intentional. If so, it worked; before I had even gotten in the door, I felt a little bit like I was leaving the old world behind.

The rainbow of interlocking tiles continued on the far side of the glass double doors, spreading across the floor in ripples of color. On the white stucco wall above the row of counters sat a number of digital clocks, the names of major cities beneath each indicating the local time. At the far end of the line-up hung a single analog disk, a wedge of color-wheel running from hour to minute indicating the time in Irokai. Beneath the timepieces, signs printed in English and Japanese directed travelers towards their destinations: New Arrivals, Returning Travelers, Special Assistance, Gift Shop.

The line in front of the first-timer's window was filled with teenagers laughing and gabbing with each other, while adults at regular intervals worked to keep the cluster moving in an orderly fashion towards the window. Some kind of class trip, I guessed as I eased past them, over into the Returning Travelers line, eying the arc of color overhead and doing some quick calculation: eighteen-twenty, give or take a minute.

If I spent the money for a translocation after transition, we could still make our reservation slot. Given the option, I'd have much rather taken a tram to the restaurant from Mitsuko's block, but even with the frequency of their runs, the chance of catching one in time was slim, and the last thing I wanted was to miss the reservation. We'd been looking forward to dinner at Junsei-en for a month, and I wasn't going to be the one to disappoint Mitsuko.

While the counter-clerk helped the couple in front of me in line, I dug my palmtop out of my pocket and snapped it open, revealing a tiny screen on one face with a thumbboard and trackball on the other. It took only a few quick taps to bring up the quick-messenger, a few more to select Mitsuko's name out of the contact list. In line at the transit desk, I pecked out in a hurry. Almost home.

A few seconds after I hit send, the screen lit up in a response. I can't wait, said the message. Is everything okay?

My thumbs hesitated over the board, then tapped out a reply. Sugoi. I glanced up as the two people in front of me accepted their passcards back. See you soon. With a click, I snapped the palmtop closed and approached the counter, pulling my passcard out of my pocket.

The woman behind the counter wore a white shirt and dark green slacks, with a multicolored ribbon pinned to her shirt just above her nametag. She smiled as I stepped up to the window, her hands folded in front of her. "Welcome back, Mr. Dart. Here for the night, or just the evening?"

I passed over the holographic passcard. "The night. I'll need an extended-stay booth."

She nodded in response and swiped the card. "We have your reservation already in the system," she confirmed with a smile. "You can proceed back to room seventeen. Enjoy your evening!" With that, she handed me back the small rectangle of plastic, which I swiped through the reader on the wall before I stuffed it into my pocket. With a wave, I pushed open the security door and headed down the corridor towards the transfer chambers.

---

The path from Junsei-en's front door back to the tram passed over a wooden bridge crossing a small pond, topped with floating lotus blossoms. To one side, a few meters away, a low waterfall flowed down over a rock wall, churning the clear blue water into a white froth. On the other, the pool deepened and widened, with brightly colored koi dancing and darting in and among the flowers that drifted across the surface. The whole was surrounded with rocks, beyond which grew a bamboo forest that obscured vision and completed the illusion of peaceful isolation.

The first time I had come here, it had all been a game. The water in the waterfall didn't come from a river, or a recycling pump. It came from an algorithm, a clever piece of code that gave the appearance of running water. If I put my paw in it, it felt wet and it made the individual strands of fur wave, but those, too, were just tricks of the mind, more data pumped directly into my head from Tadashiissei's servers. I knew, but didn't bother to test, that if I spent the money to activate a special feature and flew up to the top of the rock wall, I would be able to see that the water didn't come from anywhere. It just poured out of the side of the cliff, without origin or destination. It was all just ones and zeroes.

The second time—the first time I'd come with Mitsuko—none of that mattered. It was beautiful, and that was enough. Gone was the wonder in how they had rendered it all, the questions about bit rates and throughput and storage. All that remained was the quiet joy at listening to the breeze blow through the bamboo while gazing up at the sunset. I bought a votive candle in a paper boat in Junsei-en's shop and watched Mitsuko kneel down on the bridge to float it out onto the water, then folded her paws in mine, watching it bob on the surface as colorful fish nudged it from beneath, trying to make it tip. It had been a perfect moment, the nature of the sensations lost in the sensations themselves, the wind and the sky and the water all coming together to a single unforgettable impression, like an Ezra Pound haiku.

This time, I stood on the bridge, short claws digging into the wooden railing. Tonight, the breeze was stronger, and the bamboo hummed and chattered softly as the wind tapped stiff stalks together. The fur of my arms and tail fluttered, sending a shiver up my spine. I lifted my eyes to the full moon rising over the horizon, trying at once to remember and to forget.

Soft, warm paws touched my back, then slid around my waist as Mitsuko pressed herself to my back, holding herself close to me. I let go of the bridge and enfolded my arms over hers, curling my tail back around her waist. The rise and fall of her chest added its gentle percussion to the symphony of sensation, and for a moment all I wanted was to stay forever in this position, lost to the rest of the world.

After several moments of simple silence, Mitsuko spoke. "Something is wrong." Her voice was gentle, the delicate hints of her Japanese accent giving a lilt to her words. It had been one of the first things to draw me to her, back when I had first come to Irokai and she had been assigned to our group as a tour guide. There had been no illusions then; she was cheerfully honest about herself, and it had entranced me. I had spent as much of the trip as I could just listening to her talk.

I looked down from the moon to the dance of its reflection against the rippling surface of the pond. "It's nothing, really," I replied quietly, wishing I could feel as convinced as I tried to sound.

Mitsuko squeezed me once around the stomach in a soft hug, then stepped back, coaxing with her motions for me to turn around, away from the waterscape to face her, taking her gloved paws in my own. Her eyes were a deep emerald green, almost black in the twilight, set in a sea of short ebony fur. Beyond the mask, the white fur looked greyish-blue, the grey beyond that a deeper charcoal. "What happened?" she asked gently, her head tilting to the side in an expression of delicate concern. "You were so quiet over dinner."

My gaze drifted down from her face to take all of her in as a whole. The green silk dress she'd chosen for the occasion shimmered softly in the moonlight. The stripes on her tail bobbed slightly as the wind ruffled the fur at their borders. Her feet, like mine, were bare, a concession to the difficulty of making even sandals that looked good when contrasted with toeclaws. Her forearms were sheathed in the same silk as her dress, giving her entire ensemble a touch of antique elegance.

My eyes came back to hers, and I smiled, my ears arching as I squeezed her paws gently. "You're beautiful, Mits."

Her ears reddened in response, but she smiled, her eyes sparkling from the compliment. "You are changing the subject," she chastised gently, extracting her paws to waggle a finger mockingly at me. Her other rested on my chest, smoothing out the lapel of my jacket.

Looking into that warm radiance I knew I was making the right decision, no matter how hard it was going to be. I shrugged with one shoulder, making a moue of my muzzle. "It's Adam," I said, as if that explained everything. In a way, it did, but I clarified anyway. "He's not making this easy on anyone."

Mitsuko sighed, nodding as she leaned forward, resting her head against my shoulder. "He is afraid, and he is angry," she replied. "He thinks he is losing a friend."

"He will if he keeps this up," I rejoindered testily, regretting it almost as soon as the words were out of my muzzle. I hugged Mitsuko's shoulders and leaned back against the wooden railing, my tail entwining with hers. "I shouldn't be like that. It's not us, or even you. It's...." I tried to find the words for it, but none came. I didn't want to use his epithet. If it had been rude before, it would've been insulting now.

Mitsuko didn't spare me the indignity. "He thinks it is all a game, that none of it is real." She sounded more disappointed than hurt.

I winced and nodded. "Yeah, that's how he put it. He's why we were almost late; he came over while I was getting ready and tried to pick a fight."

She lifted her head from my shoulder, looking into my eyes, one hand on my chest. "Should I talk with him? I could call or send a message."

I shook my head. "Somehow, I think that would just make things worse." I quietly urged her back to nestle against my shoulder. "If he doesn't think of you as real, he'd just write it off as company propaganda or something."

Mitsuko giggled, her ears flicking against the underside of my muzzle. "Hai, that would be it," she said, stressing her Japanese accent into a bad parody of broken English. "Ikanobari Mitsuko, Irokai propaganda minister. I will convince you to move forever to my country through pretty word-pictures of chromatic landscapes and impossible acts of beauty." Then she stuck out her tongue and pulled down one of her eyelids in a faux-anime taunt pose. "Hnngh."

In spite of my best efforts, I laughed, a full-throated bark that took the wind out of my lungs. Mitsuko joined in with her own giggling, and together we just held each other and shared a moment of humor, a much-needed lift to both our spirits.

When the laughter subsided, I leaned down and tenderly nosed one of her ears. "I love you."

She lifted her head and smiled, pressing her muzzle softly to mine. "I love you too, John," she said when she broke for air.

Then she leaned back against my shoulder, and I held her in my arms. Together, we leaned back against the wooden railing and let our gazes wander upwards, watching a million pinpoint votives float slowly across the midnight sea.

Bonds of Silver, Bonds of Gold 01: Sale

The sign that hung over the large wooden door needed no explanation: five oversized golden chain links entwined in a loop. The face of the squat, stone structure was empty besides, absent even a window to let in the sun. Everyone else walking past gave the entrance a wide berth, as though standing too close invited the attention of the occupants. A few passers-by stopped to stare at me as I paced in front of the building, then hurried on their way, averting their gaze. Not my concern, their actions said. Nothing I can do.

Turning my back on the city square, I tensed my paws into fists, then raised one arm and knocked, rapping my white knuckles against the wood. As soon as I did so, it swung open to reveal a grey-furred wolf standing within. Aside from a collar made of polished steel chain locked around his neck, he was nude. Despite his exposure, he stood tall, his ears erect and unashamed. A metal tag dangled beside the lock at the hollow of this throat, glinting in the sunlight. He rested one paw on the edge of the door, then cocked his head at me, his silver eyes boring into mine in an unasked question.

My eyes darted to the paw holding the door open; he'd been declawed, his fingers ending only in soft fur. My attention snapped back to his face, I opened my muzzle to speak, but my throat had suddenly run dry. "I... I need... I mean...." I stammered, one paw rising shakily to gesture overhead, towards the sign, hoping to explain without saying a word.

"Milos, down," called a thin but stern voice from behind the wolf. "Take the boy's cloak."

The wolf's reaction to his name was instantaneous. He dropped to his knees, his head bowed and his tail tucked. The door, now free of his grasp, begun to swing closed of its own accord, until I propped it open with one hind. Milos raised his arms to me, and I awkwardly slipped the rough-spun woolen cloak from my shoulders and into his paws. As soon as he had it, he shuffled to the side, out of the doorway, never rising from his awkward crouch as he approached the wooden coat rack beside the door. He stood just long enough to hang my cloak, then returned to his previous posture, resting his paws on the floor beside him.

I stared for several seconds, watching the whole proceeding, until the voice that had spoken before cut through the jumble of my thoughts. "So, come to observe my pet, or was there something else?"

I tore my eyes away from the wolf, towards the speaker. Behind the desk that dominated the room sat a tall , middle-aged raccoon. Her eyes were yellow-flecked violet, shining like chips of amethyst shot with gold. She kept her teeth hidden behind a thin smile, and her black-furred ears stood relaxed and erect, but there was no masking the feral glint in her gaze. She wore a loose cotton robe dyed in a range of greens, cinched at her waist by a broad, brass chain-link belt. Her wrists, her ankles, and the end of her tail were similarly adorned, the metal gleaming against her dark fur.

She beckoned me within, and I hesitantly crossed the threshold into the front office. Witchlights illuminated the interior, soft yellow lights that floated around the edges of room. Woven tapestries hung on the walls and insulated the stone floor. A pair of solid wooden chairs sat to one side of the desk, the raccoon's lavishly stuffed seat on the other. The coat rack holding my cloak hovered near the door leading back to the city square and safety. Behind the desk, a second door, this one sealed with a heavy bolt and a lock, led further into the depths of the Slavers' Guild.

The door swung closed behind me as I released it, and I stiffened as it closed. The raccoon's smile tightened, her ears flicking back against her head briefly. "Come to see the wares?" she asked, stepping out from behind her desk. She clicked her claws twice, and Milos hurried over to her side, kneeling again behind her. She reached down and lightly combed her fingers through the wolf's fur. "Looking for a servant, perhaps?"

I shook my head rapidly, my ears flat back against my skull. My cheeks felt hot, but my fingers were numb. "No, that's not it, I—"

The raccoon tilted her head to the side. "Oh, I see." She nodded knowingly. "Looking to become a man, are you? Young strapping buck like you? We can rent for an hour or a night, if you like." She cupped her paw beneath Milos' muzzle and stroked the fur of his throat, eliciting a pleasant growl out of the wolf. He shifted in place, spreading his legs, revealing his plumping sheath. "This one's personal, but I'm sure we could find—"

"No!" I blurted quickly, tensing. "Not to buy, not to rent. To—" I cut myself off quickly, tearing my gaze away. My breath came in short bursts, and I forced myself to take a deep breath, then let it out in a noisy rush. "To sell," I finally mumbled, unable to pick my eyes up off of the floor.

"Oh?" The slaver dragged out the syllable. "And just... what... would you be selling?"

I turned towards the door leading outside. It might have only been a few paces behind me, but it was an uncrossable gulf away. I struggled for the words to explain and found only fear, pride, shame. I tried to put these into words, but none would come forth. My heart pounded in my chest, and I looked up, shivering, into the raccoon's hungry violet eyes.

She licked her lips, a reflexive flick of her tongue as her eyes bored into mine. "Oh, my," she murmured. The thick rug absorbed her hindfalls as she glided across the floor, and then suddenly she was beside me. I caught the faint scent of hazel from her fur as she loomed over me. "And just why would a young thing like you be on the market?"

I shrugged and pulled away from her. "It's none of your concern."

I'd taken half a step when her paw was at the back of my neck, claws grabbing the collar of my shirt. "Not an attitude you should take, child," she hissed, her breath warm against my ear, her voice low and harsh. "If I were the one holding your leash, I could order you to tell me, beat you to within a hair of your life if I didn't like the answer, and then ask again." One arm thrust out in front of me, one claw pointing to the locked door at the far end of the room, behind her desk. "This is no game, child. Once you're through there, there's no return short of release from your master." Her voice tightened on the last word, as did the cotton around my neck, catching my breath.

Instinctively, my paws went to my throat, pulling against my own shirt to breathe clearly. "My... my mother!" I shouted between gasps. "Please—" My voice broke, a shudder running through me. "I—I'll tell!"

Instantly, her grip relaxed and she stepped away, but the first sob was already starting. "My father... the plow and the winter broke him." I tugged uselessly at the collar of my shirt. "My mother can't... couldn't feed us all. Somebody... I had to do something!" The damage was done, the truth exposed. I shuddered, biting my lip to stifle the sobs welling up in my chest, breathing shallowly through my muzzle. I wiped at my eyes with one paw. "This way... this way it's one less to feed, and more coin in her purse."

Something warm brushed my leg, and I looked down to see Milos pressed against me. His fur was thick, slightly coarse but well-groomed. His silver eyes met mine, and a fleeting smile crossed his muzzle before fading back to the carefully neutral expression he wore when I first saw him. I reached down and stroked the back of the wolf's head, fingers gliding over his ears. He let out a low rumble of pleasure, pressing back against my fingers, and his clawless pads kneaded the ground.

The slaver cleared her throat quietly, and I looked up to see her standing beside her desk, arms folded across her chest, wearing a slightly bemused smile. "Milos, heel," she said quietly, all trace of hostility gone. The wolf crawled back over to her and curled up at her side, and she petted him lightly as she watched me. "Everything I said before is true, lad," she chided. "Once you belong to another, only your master can set you free. You could be killed and no-one would care."

I blew my nose heavily on my sleeve, then threw up my arms in a helpless shrug. "What does it matter?" I sighed. "A quick death from some noble's sword or a slow one in his fields. Either way it's the same fate; one's just faster and less brutal."

The slaver shook her head at that. "You'll live a lot longer if you can still your tongue. Still, I admire your attitude." She sat quietly on the edge of her desk for several seconds, then nodded. " Very well, I accept your offer. Have you any skills besides leading a dray and counting seed?"

I shrugged again. "I've sung in the local choir, and I know all the holes on a recorder."

"Singing and playing?" The raccoon tilted her head to the side. "And can you read?"

"Some," I admitted. "I've led my row in hymnal before."

The raccoon's smile widened, her violet eyes shining against her fur. Her striped tail bobbed behind her as she mused aloud. "There's a sale on domestics in a week in Barony Deterikh that fetches a high price; you'd pull ten times the coin there that you would locally." She squinted at me, considering, then nodded. "If you can make learn what I have to teach you in eight days, I'll send a hundred, sovereign, to your mother, and I'll sign a contract to that. If not, she gets your sale price on the bid less travel and ten percent. Have we a deal?"

My eyes blossomed at the figure. That kind of coin would feed her, and the rest of my family, for a year or more. "It's... yes." I swallowed heavily, eyes fixed on the door behind her desk. "Yes, I accept."

She nodded and clapped her paws together, then sat at her desk and began rummaging through drawers, pulling out a thick ledger and some additional papers. She carefully opened it and began leafing through pages. "Your name?"

I closed my eyes. "Stannis, son of Jedrick, of Barony Jazinsk."

She meticulously inked my name into the ledger, then again onto one of the forms. The tip of her quill scratched against the durable paper, uncomfortably loud in the still air. Then, she carefully blotted the ink and set the book aside, rolling the pages of the contract. She slid them into a capped leather tube, which she passed to Milos. "Take these to Stannis' mother, then return," she said to the wolf. Then, to me, she said, "Give Milos your mother's address."

I did so, and the wolf nodded to me, bowed to her, and then rose and padded over to the front door, stepping through it silently. I watched it as it fell closed behind him, then turned back to the slaver, who rose from her desk.

"Follow me," she said, motioning towards the other exit from the room, the one into the depth's of the Slaver's Guild building.

My head bowed, I fell in step behind her. My heart pounded in my chest, but my head was clear. I had done everything I could.

Beautiful World 01: Intervention

Johnathan answered the buzz of his doorbell on the third ring, glaring across the threshold. His normally unkempt mane of hair had been swept back into a semi-coherent tail, but the tie around his neck was still untied, the collar of his light blue dress shirt unbuttoned. His cheeks were clear of stubble, but a dark patch under his neck suggested that I had caught him in the middle of shaving.

"Adam, hi," he said, verbally making a show of forcing civility into his tone. His gaze was tight, unflinching. "I'm sorry; did I or did I not tell you that I had a date tonight?"

I sighed. This is it, I thought. Make or break time. "That's why I'm here, actually."

A scowl crossed Johnathan's face as he turned away from the door. "You don't like Mitsuko," he said, half-accusingly, as he stepped back into the apartment. It wasn't an invitation, but he didn't slam the door in my face either. Maybe he wanted to have this out as much as I did. "You never did."

"It's not that I don't like her, Johnathan, it's—" My voice cut out as I stepped into the front room that served as both living and dining space in Johnathan's cramped studio. Outer space seemed to be the theme of the week. Last Saturday, the wallscreen opposite the entrance had been a bay window letting in the last rays of sunset across a distant beach was now a porthole to a starry sky, an orange sun rising over an alien planet filling the bottom-left corner of the viewport. The other holoframes dotting the walls all echoed the theme, the images flickering from vintage spacesuit cheesecake to drifting starfields to futuristic shots of silver cigar-shaped ships docked at spindly stations.

The only static image in the room dominated the wall to the right, opposite the entrance to the tiny kitchenette. In it, an anthropomorphic raccoon in a jade-green teddy stretched luxuriously against a sea of darker forest velvet. Her tail curled over her legs and she gazed upwards towards the frame with a warm smile. Yellow and white camelia petals dotted the image, clinging to both background and subject. It looked as though someone had tossed a handful of flowers into the scene, and then captured her just in the moment before she began to laugh.

I turned towards the short hallway that led towards the bathroom. "It's that... how can I even say this?" Frustration mounted in my voice, and I blurted out, "She's not real."

The snap of an electric razor coming to life punctuated my statement, followed by the drone of it doing its work, the only sound in the apartment. An eon of uncomfortable moments later, it snapped off again, leaving the whole room silent. Finally, into the empty air, Johnathan said levelly, "You've met her."

"You know... you know that's not what I meant," I called down the hallway towards him. "She's not... I mean... she's...." I was at a loss for words. Nothing seemed like the right thing to say; I'd blown my entire argument in the opening statement.

Johnathan stepped out of the bathroom, back up the hallway, fingers at his neck, buttoning his shirt. "She's a digital sentience inside one of Tadashiissei's systems." For his inflection, he might have been talking about the weather forecast. He grunted, lifting his head to fasten the top button on his collar. "Your point?"

"I... my point is...." I fumbled for words, backing up towards the entrance as he continued his advance back towards the living room, trying to make eye-contact with him. "Johnathan, what kind of relationship do you really think you can have with her?"

He grinned, a genuine smile just shy of laughing, eerily reminiscent of the raccoon's in the picture. "I'm about to go on a date with her, aren't I?"

"No, that's not...." I shook my head. "I mean, what kind of life can you have?" I was trying to be nice, trying to bite my tongue, to be reasonable. There had to be words to express what I was thinking, and I fumbled for them desperately, trying to say something that would make sense to him. "You can't go every week plugging yourself into their network. You can't afford it. It was fun once in a while, but you can't keep this up forever, can you?"

His grin widened. "I don't have to."

As he spoke, his eyes widened, and I saw within them a glimmer that made me pull away as he brushed past me into the living room, gazing out the porthole while he tied his tie. "What do you mean?" I asked his back. "I mean...." I froze as realization dawned. "You can't be serious."

He turned around, smoothing out his Windsor knot, his expression thick with false innocence. "Serious about what?"

"You... you're..." I didn't want to say it; that might have made it real. "You're going in there. Permanently."

"The industry term is 'upload,'" Johnathan replied, unnecessarily. "And yes, I am."
I stared, incredulous. For a moment, my eyes slid past Johnathan to the viewport, and I felt for a moment as if I would simply fall past him and out into empty space beyond. "How're you going to afford it?"

Johnathan's expression toned down to a serene smile, and he picked up a remote off of the short table in front of his sofa. Turning towards the picture over the mantel, he thumbed a button and Mitsuko's portrait flickered out, to be replaced with a pair of raccoons in the same setting, their arms and tails entwined. Mitsuko still wore the same teddy as before, while the other, a male, bore only a pair of what looked like pajama pants made of the same near-translucent fabric. My eyes widened in recognition; it was the avatar Johnathan had worn the last time I had gone with him into Tadashiissei's servers.

The frame beeped again, and the scene changed, this time to a shuttle landing bay, where Johnathan-the-raccoon and Mitsuko wore immaculate orange mechanic's uniforms, toolbelts at their waists and hats in their paws. Another beep, and Johnathan stood at the doorway leading to a shuttle in a silvery steward's uniform, a translucent green bubble helmet tucked under one arm, while Mitsuko stood opposite him in a classic uchuufuku, reading flight plans from a palmtop computer. Another beep, and Johnathan was motioning out the window of the shuttle towards some kind of space platform.

"Tadashiissei's offered me a job in their design department," he said as a flood of similar images flickered past. "Their first space expansion is due in three years, and I'm going to be part of the lead team. I'll even have a job in-world as chief steward on the station, and Mitsuko's thinking about applying with the hospitality staff." With a final beep, the screen snapped back to the original image, of Mitsuko gazing up at the camera, dotted in chrysanthemum petals, just about to giggle.

"You're serious," I said, turning away from Mitsuko's picture, back towards the person I thought I had known as my best friend. "You're really serious," I repeated, unable to make eye contact. My gaze slipped up to the picture of his girlfriend, to the alien world behind him, to the remote that he'd been wielding moments before. "You're really going to stick yourself inside the computer for good."

Johnathan chuckled. "Yes, I am." He stopped, and his face became the mask of earnestness. "Adam, I know I can't explain this to you, but I'm happy. It doesn't matter to me that it's all inside a computer. It doesn't matter to me that she's made of ones and zeroes instead of flesh and bone. What matters is that I love her, and that she loves me, and that we have a chance to be together, that I have I chance to be doing what I want to do, with someone I care about. I'm happy, damnit, and I don't understand why you and the guys can't just be happy for me."

"But... but it's not real," I protested. "None of it is! It's all just a game!"
"What is real?" Johnathan asked as he shook his head. "We could all be brains in jars, for all you can really prove about the world. You don't know for sure that you're not a simulation already. Science can only answer so far up the chain of metaphysics before it has to throw up its hands in disgust. You can't conclusively prove that we didn't all come into existence five minutes ago, that this isn't some grand simulacrum being run by a cosmic computer preloaded with this configuration, our argument included. So what's wrong with going down a level, instead of up one? Why should Tadashiissei's worlds be considered any less real, just because we know where they came from?"

His words gnawed at my heart. I wanted to answer him, to deny him, but I knew that even if I could prove my point, it wouldn't matter. "She doesn't love you, Johnathan," I snapped. "She can't. She's programmed to respond to stimulus, not to feel. She's an AI, not a person." I was lashing out now, but I didn't care.

Johnathan's expression darkened. "The polite term is 'digital sentience,' Adam, and now you're just being rude. You and I, we're just programmed to respond to stimulus, too, only our programs run on organic lubricants and glands, instead of silicone wafers. What's the difference? Her code's as complex as mine, and she's as blind to her underpinnings as I am to mine. She has thoughts and emotions and hopes and dreams as much as I do. The only difference is that in her world, age is a myth, scarcity is only limited by processing power, and anything literally is possible, if you're willing to work for it. Damnit, Adam, who wouldn't jump at a chance to live forever in a world like that?"

I turned away, back towards the door. "I can't explain it any more than I already have," I mumbled, eager now to make my escape. "You just don't get it. I'm about to lose my best friend, and all you can do is play messiah."

"No, Adam," he replied sadly as I retreated out the door, "it's you who doesn't get it. I'll be in paradise in six months, and you'll still be here, wondering where your world went. Good-bye, Adam. I can't spare you any more time, or I'll be late, and reservations at Junsei-en aren't easy to replace."

I turned around to answer, but the door was closing, Johnathan already gone behind it. The last thing I saw before it snapped closed was a rocketship blasting off from the surface of the alien world in his holoscreen, heading for the station.