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- Chapter 13
- Cheryl and Jeffrey took Jeffrey's car to Pizza Hut. It wasn't a
- long walk to the restaurant or to Cheryl's apartment, but Jeffrey
- didn't want to leave his car at IDT overnight. The drive seemed
- short, because they both had so much to talk about.
- Cheryl was speaking. "Darn! There's some stuff I forgot to try
- back there. I'm thinking of all these things to do NOW! Why couldn't
- I imagine it BEFORE?"
- "Forget it," suggested Jeffrey. "EVERY TIME I've used that thing
- I've thought of stuff to do after I left. I just try to remember it
- for next time. Even then, there's just so much to do when you can do
- ANYTHING."
- "Yea... Can we try it again tommorrow?"
- "I suppose so. Don't tell anyone this, but I have another
- version of the Device nearly completed at home. I just couldn't stand
- to have my own invention taken away so I can't use it. We didn't have
- any security agreements anyway."
- Cheryl sounded like a little girl. "Want to go to your place,
- then?"
- Just at that moment they pulled into the Pizza Hut. The
- conversation continued over a 14" Sausage pizza.
- "It's fine with me. But, really, I can't recommend using the
- Device again for a while. It's just not healthy to be using it very
- often."
- Cheryl didn't know if she understood, but decided not to ask
- further questions. "Oh. Let's go to my place then. Besides..."
- (she gave Jeffrey a very interesting glance) "...I'm sure we'll be
- able to enjoy ourselves, no?"
- "I think we can manage it. Besides, I'll get to see if your room
- is really like you pictured it with the Device."
- For a while, the conversation turned to more conventional topics.
- They talked about their parents, what they thought about their job,
- the fact that neither had plans for the future, really, and so on.
- Just after getting into the car, Jeffrey remembered something.
- "Oh, Cheryl, this is always so awkward... But, I promised you I
- wouldn't forget, and since... well, are you... protected? I'm not."
- Cheryl answered flatly. "No. I have a Card, though, if you do."
- She reached into her purse and pulled out a red plastic card.
- "Looks like you have a card WHETHER OR NOT I have one. I DO have
- one. Where's a machine?"
- "The drug store on the corner. Turn right here. My building's
- on this block."
- They pulled into the drugstore's parking lot and went inside.
- The machine was near the door. It was a very innovative form of birth
- control, just starting to gain some acceptance. To use it, you had to
- apply for a Card, which cost several hundred dollars because of the
- complex tests and encodings which were done when you got your Card.
- Basically, your Card was encoded with an image of your gene me pattern
- (that's the expensive part), as well as your fingerprints and some
- other data.
- Cheryl walked over to the side marked "Female", and slid her red
- card into a slot. Jeffrey pulled a similar, but blue, card from his
- wallet, and put it in the blue slot, which was marked "Male". He
- grabbed a $10 bill and put it into the slot marked for such. There
- were two openings at the far ends of this machine. Cheryl put her
- left hand in one, and Jeffrey put his right hand in the other. Foam
- pads gripped both wrists, and some light and noise came from the
- machine.
- What it did was still somewhat of a marvel. It checked your
- fingerprint against the one on your card (to make sure it was YOU),
- and took a very small blood sample. The sample was used to check for
- every known sexually transmitted disease as well as for other
- abnormalities, a feature well worth the $10. Finally, using the
- information on both cards, it prepared a two compounds which were air-
- injected through the thumb of each person. The effect was that THAT
- man's sperm could not fertilize THAT woman's egg. It was called
- Specific Binary Contraception: Specific because it only worked
- between the two people that had it, and Binary because both partners
- needed the treatment. It lasted (supposedly) for about two months (56
- days, officially), but was guaranteed only for 31.
- Jeffrey and Cheryl both felt the "twinge" of the injection. The
- foam pads released their grip. The screen on the device now read
- "Process completed, Tests negative. REMOVE CARDS." After Cheryl and
- Jeffrey pulled their cards out, two reciepts appeared at yet another
- slot. As was the custom, each took one and put it away.
-
- ------------------------------------
- SPECTRATECH INC.
- Specific Binary Contraception
-
- Female: CHERYL STILLMAN
- 35166369910501
-
- Male: JEFFREY LANDERS
- 10610047100622
-
- Ref. No. 91626S
- Treatment Date: 06-22-01
- RENEW BEFORE: 07-23-01
-
- Keep this reciept. The information
- on it is contained nowhere else. It
- is your only proof of treatment.
-
- Periodic Medical Examinations are
- recommended. Treatment may lead to
- temporary specific sterility lasting up
- to six months.
-
- Dieters! Try SPECTRATECH Nutra-Solv
- now available at health food stores!
- ------------------------------------
-
- Although Jeffrey rarely had occasion to use them, he didn't like
- the Spectratech machines, merely for the fact that the reciepts had an
- advertisement which wrecked the otherwise serious, important nature of
- the document. The IBM machines were much classier, even if they cost
- twice as much and were rumored to have an imperfect success rate.
- Having a SBC certificate in your pocket was almost erotic by
- itself. It meant that out there somewhere is someone who wants to
- make love with you. Of course, Jeffrey thought, there's no telling
- how many receipts Cheryl has with her right now, but he was most
- pleased just to have one. It meant she was SERIOUS about him. It
- meant that there was no going back now. He didn't know that Cheryl
- felt the same way.
-
- Chapter 14
- The short trip to Cheryl's happened in silence, though there was
- a lot of smiling. Jeffrey was still wondering what he was doing--
- having spent the evening having all sorts of sex somewhere in an
- environment that came from Cheryl's mind-- and now, on his way to her
- apartment with a certificate in his pocket. The most amazing part was
- that this morning, he couldn't have even dreamed of what would be
- happening tonight. It was confusing, overwhelming, and he didn't want
- to change it. He felt a little light-headed, even. As Cheryl was
- trying to break through this mental fog, with the directions to her
- parking lot, Jeffrey finally decided that he was becoming lovesick.
- That discovery only made the other feelings worse.
- The only thing he was allowed to notice on the way to her bedroom
- was that there was another bedroom in this apartment. "A roommate?"
- he asked.
-
- "Uh huh, but she probably won't be here tonight. It's Friday."
- The apartment was simple; a large common area with a kitchen,
- some closets, and two bedrooms, the door of Cheryl's looking exactly
- like the one that appeared near the lagoon this afternoon. She didn't
- say a word, but led him straight to her bedroom, holding his hand.
- She closed the door. She turned to him, and he took her in his arms,
- kissing her. Jeffrey couldn't believe it; the mechanism of love had
- started and wouldn't be stopped. Cheryl's tongue probed Jeffrey's
- lips, and then poked its way inside. She ran her tongue all around
- his mouth, blissfully around and underneath his tongue, then back into
- her own mouth. Jeffrey welcomed the invitation, and slipped his
- tongue inside her. He could hear them both breathing, and could feel
- her tits pressing against his chest. His hands on her back, he could
- tell that she was wearing a bra, which she didn't reveal before.
- Cheryl pressed her waist against Jeffrey. She could feel him
- growing, through the fabric of his underwear, his pants, her jeans,
- and her panties. The bulge was growing and pressing gently into the
- soft area just above her pubic hair.
- She leaned back and unbuttoned his shirt, slipping it off him,
- and then ran her hands through the hair on his chest. She pulled her
- shirt up out of her jeans, and lifted it over her head. Jeffrey took
- it from her and removed it. He looked for a place to put it, and
- finally threw it on a chair. The panties that were in the corner
- earlier weren't there, so either she had put them there in her mind,
- or the image was from some other time than this morning. Her shades
- were drawn, and it was dark out.
- Jeffrey ran his hands over the outside of her bra. Her breasts
- were quite warm, and that warmth was coming through the fabric. He
- unclipped her bra and it fell away by itself. He touched her breasts
- gently, and then, as her nipples awakened, poking out at him, she
- unbuckled his pants.
- Her tits kept him busy while she undressed him. She was
- impatient. He had to tear himself away from her to remove his shoes
- and slide out of his pants. It was cold without any clothes, unlike
- before. He unfastened her jeans, and slid them off while on his
- needs. Her scent was already there, through her panties. It was
- similar to before, but now seemed more powerful. He clawed at the top
- of them, pulled them down to her ankles, and gave her a light kiss
- right in the middle of her pubic hair.
- Cheryl giggled, and ran her fingers through Jeffrey's hair. She
- grabbed his earlobes and pulled him to his feet. "I'm getting weak in
- the knees. Come on, let's get in bed." She let go of him and jumped
- onto the bed, then bounced back to her feet. "I'll be back," she
- said. "I better do this now." She patted the covers. "Warm up my
- bed for me." She opened the door and went into the bathroom, where
- she was for at least five very long minutes. He got into her bed,
- which seemed like a very unfamiliar place even though, in Cheryl's
- mental adventure, he had been there before. The sheets were cold.
- His erection subsided.
- Cheryl returned. Jeffrey told her that he had to take care of
- the same business. "Be my guest," she said, grabbing his hand as he
- got up.
- "I'll only be a minute", he said.
- Cheryl clawed her fingers through his hair. "I'm in no hurry.
- We have all night!"
- Jeffrey liked the way that sounded. He stood in front of the
- toilet and then realized that Cheryl had followed him, standing behind
- him. She put her arms around him, knocking him off balance and
- preventing him from doing what he came for.
- "Go ahead", she whispered. "Don't mind me."
- "Well, I guess. But..."
- Cheryl was a bit insistent. "You should feel comfortable. After
- what happened today, I can't say we have anything to keep from each
- other. Right? I sucked your body into mine. You belong to me. And
- I'm all yours. Share everything."
- Jeffrey's eyes were suddenly brighter than the hundred-watt bulb
- in Cheryl's bathroom. "You really did that, didn't you?" He turned
- around, facing her. "I mean, I wasn't sure if I was only imagining it
- myself."
- "Well, I kind of lost you somewhere. I couldn't concentrate.
- You were making me come. But, yes, that was the idea. I wanted you
- so much, I had my pussy swallow you alive. I could feel you slipping
- into me as I sucked you in. I could tell where you were inside me.
- Then I started coming, and lost track of you."
- Jeffrey grew hard again. The images of the afternoon came back.
- Cheryl continued. "I want us to be ONE, Jeffrey. Not two separate
- people. I want to be part of you, and want you to be part of me."
- She turned him around, and held his penis from behind. "Now let's go.
- You DO want to go to bed, right?"
- Jeffrey thought a second. "More than you could ever imagine."
- Cheryl pressed her other hand above his penis, against his
- bladder. She had excited him, and it took half a minute for him to
- manage to overcome that feeling so the right valves would open. She
- held him while he emptied himself. Cheryl took some delight in the
- fact that her body would soon coax a different fluid from that
- opening.
-
- Chapter 15
- They both got into bed and spent a while in foreplay. Cheryl
- enjoyed the closeness, the feeling of satisfaction in having a
- bedmate, someone that would be with her during the time she was
- normally alone. She realized that she was giving herself up to
- Jeffrey, and that he would probably never again be content without
- her. Each moment they spent together drew them irreversably closer.
- Finally, Jeffrey stopped playing with her breasts long enough for his
- fingers to play with her anxious pussy. His touch made her grow hot
- inside. The heat drew his fingers in. Other fingers found her anus,
- which magically opened as he touched it. One finger played around the
- edge, and then carefully probed inside. It was warm like her pussy,
- pushing against him, loosening to let him further in. He could feel
- the fingers that were in her cunt, rubbing the flexible walls between
- his fingers. Just as happened with the Device, she was so excited she
- started coming right away. She held his hand, fingers inside,
- pressing hard against the soft space between her legs. She spread
- them apart, lifting one over Jeffrey, so he could reach deeper. Her
- come leaked out around his fingers. She was shuddering. Jeffrey was
- very close to his own orgasm, stimulated by the pure energy that
- Cheryl was releasing.
- She was ready. She took Jeffrey by the shoulders, and lowered
- her knees so he could climb between them. Once he was between her
- legs, she lifted them and wrapped her legs around him. He aimed
- carefully, and as she squeezed him, the tip of his cock rubbed against
- her rough pubic hair. Her pussy's lips slowly separated, and
- Jeffrey's cock was now welcomed into the wet area just outside her
- cunt, her pussy's lips sliding up around him. He slid very slowly
- into her, pushing deeper, and in seconds began a slow, rhythmic
- motion. She pulled on his cock, then squeezed it inside with her
- powerful muscles. He was very hard, but she could still feel his cock
- yield to the force her pussy exerted. It made it tight, and sealed
- the plumbing that now existed between them. She anticipated his
- orgasm, pulling him in with her legs. The tip of his cock seated
- against her cervix, the walls of her pussy were now involuntarily
- contracted, the tight feeling letting Jeffrey know that Cheryl was
- having her orgasm. Jeffrey's come pumped out of his body into
- Cheryl's, travelling into her pussy, through his penis, and directly
- into her womb. From the point where Jeffrey's penis entered Cheryl,
- they could both feel it happening. He kept pumping it into her for
- several seconds, the hot semen disappearing into her so efficiently,
- that her newly ovulated egg would have certainly been fertilized if it
- wasn't for the SBC that only minutes ago started effectively
- protecting them.
- It was over. Cheryl tightened her (rather tired) pussy so she
- could roll over, on top of Jeffrey, without losing him. She put her
- legs between Jeffrey's, closing them tight around his penis, which was
- still entirely inside her. She put her head on the pillow right at
- Jeffrey's shoulder, and both went quickly to sleep.
- As they slept, Cheryl's pussy went to it's resting state faster
- than Jeffrey's penis. Her opening shrank almost to its normal,
- unexcited state, squeezing Jeffrey's cock tight enough to prevent the
- blood from leaving it. He couldn't shrink this way, so her sleeping
- pussy held his still-enlarged cock quite firmly. It was a technique
- she liked to use, for it meant more excitement when either of them
- awakened. Unlike the earlier events, Jeffrey could escape her grip if
- he wanted to, but it made it difficult, and it certainly wouldn't
- happen by itself. A few times when either of them tried to roll over
- in their sleep, the gentle tug between their legs would remind them
- that they were, for the moment, one, and that neither wanted to move
- from this position.
-
- Chapter 16
- Jeffrey woke up first. It took a moment for him to wake up
- enough to realize that yes, Cheryl was asleep on top of him, and yes,
- his cock was still buried in her pussy. He liked the feeling of the
- way her breasts pressed against him, moving as she breathed. He was
- getting excited again. He started to stretch inside her, from almost-
- completely-erect to completely so. But she was asleep, and her pussy
- was too. It wouldn't grow along with him like it would if she was
- awake. It started to get painful. Even her legs were squeezing him
- too tight, it seemed. But he didn't want to awaken her. He lied
- there that way for almost an hour, watching the ceiling through
- Cheryl's hair, which was draped over him. The sun was up and there
- was some traffic noise outside. Then he realized that some of the
- noise was coming from inside the apartment. Cheryl's roommate,
- entering the apartment, had awakened him. She was clanking around in
- the kitchen.
- Jeffrey was quite happy when Cheryl finally opened her eyes, for
- a second. She closed them. He decided not to let her go back to
- sleep, and whispered "Good morning" to her. Cheryl didn't seem to
- hear, but seconds later, she spoke out loud, though in a sleepy voice.
- "Morning, lover. Guess we really wore each other out last night. How
- many times did we?"
- "Only once," said Jeffrey. "In real life, at least. So far."
- He didn't mention the pain he still felt in his cock, or that he
- wanted her again, right now. Maybe, like previous partners he'd had,
- she'd just want to get up and have breakfast. How depressing.
- Cheryl was a little bit more awake. "Oh, right. Gee, we're a
- little tight, aren't we? I hope I wasn't..."
- Jeffrey finished. "Painful."
- Cheryl started to prop herself up on her elbows, her breasts now
- dangling down in front of Jeffrey's eyes, still touching him. "Well,
- I can fix that right now." She slid the covers off (they were
- uncomfortably warm), and looked down at the point where she and
- Jeffrey were joined.
- Her pussy started pulsating. Blood was flowing to Cheryl's cunt
- as she exercised it. It grew warm, then hot. It started to get wet
- inside. And, finally, it loosened it's grip. What a relief.
- Jeffrey's cock, having slid out just a bit during the night, slid in
- by itself. The pulsations continued for a while, stimulating
- Jeffrey to the point where he put his hands on her hips, and started
- to lift up and down, beneath her. It was very slow and gentle.
- Cheryl didn't seem to mind, but wasn't helping. She was letting him
- do the work this time. Her pussy stopped pulsating.
- There was a knock at the door, which then opened even though
- nobody said anything. The woman at the door was about Cheryl's size,
- and age, and build. She looked totally different, though, and had
- dark, short, curly hair, as opposed to Cheryl's long, straight hair.
- She was wearing a T-shirt, which covered her just enough so Jeffrey
- couldn't tell if there was really anything else on.
-
- "Oh, sorry. Good morning. Found a friend?" the girl asked.
- Cheryl looked back at her door. Jeffrey was a little nervous. A
- long, tight squeeze of her pussy silently told him to relax and not
- worry about it. He got the message.
- Cheryl put her head back on Jeffrey's shoulder. "Deirdre, I'd
- like you to meet Jeffrey. Jeffrey, this is Deirdre, my apartment-
- mate." She didn't seem to mind the fact that Deirdre was still
- standing there, unembarassed even though she must have known that she
- and Jeffrey were at this moment locked together, and weren't even
- under any covers.
- Cheryl continued. She obviously wasn't trying to get rid of
- Deirdre, either because Deirdre was of the sort that didn't get the
- hint, or because they shared this sort of thing. That idea intrigued
- Jeffrey a bit. "So how was your night?"
- Deirdre answered. "Terrible. That guy your friend introduced me
- to was no fun at all. We played Trivial Pursuit for almost two hours
- and he's no good at it. Then all I did was sleep. I should have just
- come back here after dinner. What was he, too tired to do anything
- else?"
- "Ask Sue, not me. I don't know him." Cheryl seemed oblivious to
- Jeffrey, until another squeeze let him know that he was still on her
- mind.
- "OK. Tell me when you're ready for breakfast. You too, Jeff."
- Jeffrey spoke to Deirdre from underneath Cheryl's hair, which had
- fallen across him again. "Ok, thanks." He got a mouthful of hair.
- Deirdre left, but didn't close the door the whole way. Cheryl
- didn't even look. She made Jeffrey come rather quickly, in less than
- ninety seconds, and her own orgasm went by just as fast. She spread
- her legs far apart, letting the cool air finish off the last of
- Jeffrey's erection. His penis slipped out of her. She got up on her
- knees, her pussy dripping combined love juices onto Jeffrey's abdomen,
- then got off the bed, as if there was a hurry to go somewhere. They
- went into the bathroom, and this time Jeffrey stayed there, talking
- with Cheryl as she relieved herself. He kind of admired the way that
- she felt comfortable performing an animal function with him right
- there. She seemed kind of elegant while doing so, too.
- They showered together, which was fun though neither of them were
- really ready to excite themselves over it. Jeffrey watched Cheryl
- pick out some clothes, and dress herself. She picked out some black
- panties, showing Jeffrey that the choice was made with him, and later
- activities, in mind. Jeffrey wore the same jeans, but with the
- underwear and shirt he brought in from his car last night.
- Breakfast was uneventful. Jeffrey managed to have what seemed
- like a good rapport with Deirdre. She was a little crazier than
- Cheryl, but had a good sense of humor. Even though Cheryl had taken
- him to bed the same day that they met, it was Deirdre whose lifestyle
- was more liberal. Apparently, it was a running joke between both of
- them...
- "Always thought I was the slut around here", said Deirdre in a
- tone that couldn't have been mistaken for an insult. "For someone
- I've never seen before, you two were humping away like I've hardly
- ever done."
- Jeffrey was a little annoyed. "We weren't..."
- Cheryl bailed him out. "Deirdre, what we did in my room..."
- (Jeffrey was thinking "...wasn't any of your business"?) "...was...
- was... Well, you should have seen what we did before! I just did
- more in four hours than you've ever done in your whole life."
- Deirdre was shocked. Jeffrey was too, shocked that Cheryl was
- telling Deirdre all this. Deirdre grew indignant. "That's
- impossible!"
-
- Chapter 17
- Cheryl was smiling. Could she, after all this time, have finally
- outdone her roommate? Of course she did. As Jeffrey learned about
- this friendly rivalry, he looked a little smug, too. After all, it
- was not only his mind that made it all happen, but it was his Device,
- too. Cheryl explained the Device, and most of the achievements that
- she and Jeffrey made during those four hours.
- "But... Really?" Deidre asked. "You sucked him inside? Into
- your pussy? Changed him to a female? Made love with him... or her...
- using a man's body? Now THAT'S REALLY impossible. Isn't it?"
- Jeffrey realized that if Deirdre continued to doubt the Device,
- those doubts would block the ability of the Device to work on her.
- Just like the government people. Somehow, skepticism, carried near
- the extreme, blocked the communication to and from the Device. It was
- a problem he was trying to fix on his personal version of the machine.
- "Deirdre, listen." He had to explain it the right way the first
- time. "It's a real device. It monitors the flow of information from
- your brain to the ree Deviyour body. It intercepts that information,
- but returns a false neurotransmission that's consistent with your
- environment. It also monitors your thoughts. Iviyou have a good
- imagination,iyou can not only LIVE in this environment, but you can
- actually CHANGE it.
- She understood. "What happens when two people disagree about
- what's going on? Like if I wanted us to have a box of cheerios here,
- and you imagined a box of raisin bran?"
- "It depends on who's holding the box in real life. Whoever holds
- the box gets the final say."
- "Then," Deirdre asked, "what if neither of the two people having
- this argument are holding the box in real life?"
- "Then those two people would keep changing it back and forth,
- until the one with the box decided to make a change that was
- permanent. The one with the box can decide, mentally, whether or not
- the others can change his creations."
- That seemed logical enough. Deirdre stood up and tossed her bowl
- into the sink. "Sounds fun. Ok, let's go!"
- Cheryl didn't expect this. Jeffrey had only been here a short
- time and she didn't want to share his time with Deirdre. She said,
- quietly, "Right now?" She realized that this was a bit selfish after
- all Deirdre had done for her.
- Jeffrey and Deidre answered together. "Why not!"
- Cheryl, outvoted anyway, agreed. "Ok. I think Jeffrey and I
- have a lot of things to show you! Wait a minute, IDT's locked. We
- can't!"
- Jeffrey had an idea. They all piled into Jeffrey's car, and
- headed for his place. It was neat, thank goodness. They were there
- in a few minutes. Jeffrey's version of the Device was on a workbench
- in one corner. The two females watched Jeffrey's not-really-legal
- cable TV, talked, and made lunch, for the two hours it took Jeffrey to
- put the Device together. He unplugged it from the umbelical
- connecting it to the recharger, computer, and tee D equipment, and
- brought it out to the center of the room. It was smaller than the one
- at IDT, and looked a little neater, even though the case had a number
- of holes sealed with rubber plugs. The controls were different. But
- it was the same blue color as before. Cheryl and Deirdre came over to
- him when he brought the box over to his coffee table.
- At Cheryl's recommendation,ithey each used Jeffrey's bathroom.
- Jeffrey, last to go, poured three glasses of water while Cheryl was in
- the bathroom. When Cheryl returned and Deirdre left, she wanted to
- talk to him.
- "I don't know what we're going to do. Iviyou haven't noticed,
- Deirdre likes some pretty kinky things and I have a feeling that's
- what she's going to want to do. She won't be happy flying around
- downtown."
- Jeffrey didn't know how he was supposed to react. "So?"
- "We can have fun with her if YOU DON'T MIND it. But I hope you
- understand. You're the only one I have. I want to keep you. I love
- you. She might like your body, but she can't love you like I do."
- Jeffrey answered quietly. "I love you too. I haven't told you
- yet. You must have known it."
- Cheryl was relieved a bit. "I saw it in your eyes. The Device
- couldn't have reproduced that."
-
- "Guess not. Don't worry, I belong to you know matter what
- happens with Deirdre. I want YOU to be my girlfriend."
- "I already am." They kissed, and Deirdre returned, breaking them
- up. Jeffrey headed for the bathroom, noticing that the two girls had
- warmed up the seat.
- Deirdre was excited. "I want to try what you did. I want to go
- skydiving. Walk on the moon. There's so much I don't know where to
- start!"
- Cheryl tried to calm her down. "You won't be able to do it all.
- Just relax! Enjoy what you DO do. That's all that's important. And
- remember, Jeffrey's MINE."
- "You mean... We can't..."
- "No, we CAN share him. You'd do that for me. And there's so
- much for you to experience. But I want him back."
- "Fair enough."
- "I think we'll even have a little fun with him. It doesn't look
- like he's ever had to deal with two girls at once. I'm sure he won't
- mind."
- Jeffrey returned. They sat down around the table. He touched
- the metallic circle on the top, had Deirdre do the same, and then he
- gave the box to Cheryl. "I think you should do it this time. You
- know what you're doing, and know Deirdre better than I do. Four hours
- again?"
- She puzzled over the controls. They weren't simple anymore. The
- display was blank. Jeffrey talked her through it. "Press TIME, and
- when it says 'TIME?', press 4, and then four zeroes."
- Cheryl entered the time. The display then said "START?", and
- Cheryl pressed the button marked START.
-
- Chapter 18
- The box beeped. The display read "START -10", and the number
- stared counting down. Cheryl sat the box on her lap, and all three of
- them sat back and closed their eyes. There were five more beeps the
- last five seconds, and then a loud one, which Jeffrey knew was being
- generated by the Device only in their minds. When Cheryl and Jeffrey
- opened their eyes, the box was yellow. Deirdre's eyes were still
- closed.
- Cheryl looked at the box. "Why is it yellow and not red?"
- Jeffrey had forgotten to mention that. "Security device. It
- won't run until I personally enter a code to make it start. Deirdre?"
- Deirdre's eyes were still closed, and she didn't answer. Jeffrey
- tapped her on the shoulder. Still nothing happened. "Darn, she
- didn't lock on it."
- Cheryl was concerned. She got up, setting the box on the table,
- and slapped Deirdre on the side. Still no reeponse. Jeffrey reached
- for the box and pressed the largest button on it, a red one labelled
- "Stop".
- They returned instantly to their sitting position,ithe blue box
- back in Cheryl's lap. Deirdre's eyes were open, and she was sitting
- up. Jeffrey looked at the box; the display read "CODE STOP 0:00:22".
- This box was much more informative: It was explaining that the
- adventure was cancelled from within, while the box was waiting for the
- authorization code, as well as the total elapsed time.
- Deirdre said, "What happened? All you did was sit there. I
- didn't see anything."
- Jeffrey had had this problem with the people who tested the
- Device before. Deirdre wasn't being receptive to the signals from the
- thought amplifier. She might get past one failure, but if it happened
- again, she'd lose so much confidence in her ability to enter the other
- world, that she'd probably never be able to do it. Jeffrey picked up
- the box, removed one of the rubber plugs, and adjusted a knob inside
- using a plastic tool of some sort, watching the display on the top as
- he did so. He put the tool and the rubber plug back where they came
- from.
- "Deirdre, it worked, it just didn't take you along for the ride.
- It's partially my fault. The final amplifier was set too weak for
- where you were sitting. I turned it up."
- Deirdre looked happy again. "So we can try again now?"
- Jeffrey gave the box back to Cheryl, asking her not to start yet.
- "First, I want you to stare at the center of this table. Just look at
- the table. Ok?" When Deirdre did as asked, he continued. "I want
- you to imagine a soda can right in the middle of the table. Get a
- picture of it in your mind. See it?"
- "Yes."
- "Tell me about it. What kind of soda is it? Which side of the
- can do you see? Don't make it up now, tell me what you see in your
- picture."
- "It's a Coca-Cola can. The side that says "Coke" is facing me,
- and the tab's... TAB's? Hahaha. The pull-thing is facing over toward
- Cheryl. It's open, but not empty, because I hear it fizzing."
- "That's very good. Cheryl,iyou have the picture?"
- Cheryl nodded.
- "Ok, Cheryl,i four hours again. Deirdre, close your eyes.
- Remember that can. Don't open your eyes until we tell you to. Just
- sit back, relax, and remember the soda can on the table just the way
- you saw it. Whenever you're ready, Cheryl."
- Five seconds later, there were five beeps and a louder one.
- Jeffrey and Cheryl both opened their eyes. The box was yellow.
- Jeffrey leaped over to where Cheryl was sitting, and punched a few
- numbers on the keypad on top of the Device. It beeped once again and
- turned red. "Okay, Cheryl, let's see that can now..."
- A few seconds later, the can that Deirdre described appeared on
- the table. Jeffrey looked to make sure that the side facing Deirdre
- was as it was supposed to be. "Okay, Deirdre. Open your eyes."
- This time, her eyes opened. "You guys are kidding me. That's a
- real can. I knew I was being set up." Her skepticism was showing,
- but the Device was working on her. She picked the can up. It was
- cold, and half-full. She had a taste. "This is real Coke. Where did
- you get this from?"
- Jeffrey pointed to the box. "It's not red in real life. You
- made it here!"
- Cheryl, while Deirdre was looking at the box, changed the Coke
- can to a Sprite can. When Deirdre looked again, she was startled.
- "Cheryl-- you just imagined this? Very impressive! So realistic!"
- Ivia soda can was impressive, Deirdre had some pleasant surprises
- coming.
- --
-