Sing Love, The Electric Heart Ch. 04

Skylar was silent as she rode the bus, her tablet and other equipment securely tucked away in her bag. The lingering moisture between her legs served as evidence to what had happened within the inner sanctum of the OY hub. Not for the first time did she wonder just who was dealing with. It seemed that his abilities possibly exceeded the highest recognized level. There were rumors that while lower-level technopaths were allowed to go on about their lives, high-powered ones were kept in government custody.

Her mind raced with various possibilities. Perhaps he was such a prisoner, using his ability to reach out for help. But then, calls for help generally didn't involve... seduction. She took a deep breath, feeling her hands tremble ever so slightly at the memory of what Aitan had done. Her experience in sex was... more limited than she cared to admit, but a modest amount of porn and erotica had filled in the blanks, so to speak.

She managed to collect herself when an emergency came up on her tablet. Asked if she would take a nearby appointment, she briefly debated whether she should pass it off to someone else, or take up on it. Ultimately, she decided to keep herself occupied, refusing to allow herself to be shaken up by this. She braced herself for mischief when she got off the bus and walked the several blocks to her destination, a smaller business.

To her relief, there was nothing untoward about the issue she had to fix, and the solution was relatively simple. By then, she was feeling more composed, and breathed a sigh of relief as she boarded the bus, deciding to order some food delivery. She brought up the menu of several nearby food establishments before choosing one and placing an order. The food would not arrive too long after she got home.

The two-block walk allowed her to take some fresh air and clear her mind. She would not allow this Aitan person to get the best of her. He was not the first hacker or prankster she'd come across in her work.

After getting into the house, she took off her shoes and jacket, and dropped her bag onto the couch in the living room before using the washroom. It was only almost ten minutes until the doorbell rang, causing the overhead light to flash along with the usual buzz.

Having already paid her bill when she placed the order due to being a repeat customer, she thanked the driver and took the plastic bag into the house. She paused, eyes narrowing in puzzlement. The bag seemed too heavy for what she had ordered. Frowning to herself, she placed the bag on the counter that created a partial barrier between the kitchen and loving room, pulling out several containers and the receipt. The printout showed exactly what she had ordered, with the correct amount for the bill.

The glazed chicken and rice was what she ordered, but she noticed another container of the chicken when she picked up the first one. There was also a double portion of honey biscuits, as well as dumpling soup, and mashed potatoes and gravy, which she distinctly had not ordered. And the cream-filled pastries were a tasty surprise.

This was enough for not one but two meals, if she saved some of it to warm up later. She'd never bothered to try the dumpling soup before, but it actually smelled pretty tasty. Still, she had not ordered so much food, and she frowned, wondering if she should send a message to Aitan and tell him to cut it. Her stomach rumbled gently.

She decided to set her concerns aside, leaving her tablet in her beg and keeping her computer turned off. The only things in the house that were hooked up to the network were her Internet access and security system.

Deciding to set aside one portion of biscuits, and the potatoes for later, she settled down with the chicken and soup. The soup really was good, she was certain she would order it in the future. The place she'd ordered from was a popular one, with simple, homey meal choices that could be prepared for single people or families. Not being much of a cook - or gardener - ensured that Skylar was but one of many, many people in the city who used takeout, prepackaged foods, or meal delivery.

Technology could be pretty fucking great, she mused. Like the average schoolchild, she'd learned about how people had once lived. No computers, or even simpler things like phones or televisions. Or electricity itself. When looking at the city, it was hard to imagine that the entire landscape had once been wild, or farmland. Hundreds of years ago, there had once been a nuclear reactor, and a meltdown caused a total evacuation of the region for decades.

Now, fuel was almost entirely renewable, and posed no danger to its citizens. The city was self-sustainable, and its people lived in varying levels of comfort. Even the poorest people were better off than the people who had lived here untold centuries ago. As someone with severe hearing loss, Skylar did not want to think about how shitty her life would have been back then, because the history lessons made it clear that being disabled sucked. Nowadays with genetic counseling and other innovations, hereditary and congenital defects were sharply reduced.

But technology also made it easy to fuck up things. Back then, if you wanted to hurt someone, you generally had to deal with that person face-to-face, or use an agent. Nowadays, all it took was a few strokes of the keyboard and hacking skills. Her thoughts meandered back to Aitan.

Was he honest when he said he meant no harm, or was he a charming psychopath? And with his technopathic gifts... she'd never had anyone tap into her own talent before. It had been disconcerting to be pulled into his world... wherever that was.

After she finished her meal, she went for a quick run on the treadmill before taking a shower and relaxing in her pajamas turning on the television with the remote. She flipped through several channels, catching glimpses of the news or popular shows.

After several restless hours of watching this or that, she pulled up her tablet, wondering if she should check her messages. She couldn't stay off the network indefinitely, after all. With a quick press of a button, the device powered on and she sat back, reading a couple of messages from friends and coworkers. Nothing weird. Well, then. Tapping the screen, she logged out before deciding to read news articles.

Suddenly, the instant messenger window popped up. The name of the sender was Aitan.

{Good evening, Skylar. How are you?}

She stared at the message for several moments, her fingers hovering over the screen. Minimizing the messenger screen so she could move on with her intended goal, she had barely clicked on an article before the screen popped up again.

{Please do not attempt to ignore me.}

She huffed angrily at that. How best to deal with Aitan? Play along, or simply tell him to fuck off?

{I'm busy. A gentleman respects a lady.} she quickly typed, and minimized the screen again. For a couple of minutes he did not respond, and she continued reading the articles. After noticing she had not been interrupted, she relaxed a little. Maybe he had gotten the message. She remained on the alert, but the couple of incoming messages she'd received through the night and the next morning were from friends or work.

She hadn't been expecting her statement about gentlemen to be so effective, but she wouldn't complain. As she glanced in the fridge, she saw the extra food from the delivery last night. Hmm... why not.

She heated it up in the microwave before bustling around, getting ready for work. After checking her appointments for the day, she decided to take the bus again. Parking could be such a pain in the ass in certain parts of the city, and with her persacom she could see how much longer she had to wait for the bus at the nearest stop.

Almost immediately, her persacom vibrated with a message, and she quickly pulled out her persacom, figuring it might be work-related.

{Good morning, Skylar} The From field had Aitan in the name. She weighed her options, considering the fact that he had left her alone all night. If she ignored him, he was likely to try to harass her.

{Good morning, Aitan. What are you up to?} Perhaps he might reveal something about himself.

{Simply looking for ways to amuse myself. Now that you're up, I have found something much better.}

She rolled her eyes at that.

{I'm not going to play your games.} she replied, fingers dancing along the screen.

{That's not what I have in mind for us, my dear.}

{Hmph, I'm not your dear.}

{Regardless of how you may feel about me, take comfort in that I hold you very dear to my heart.}

Oh my god, Skylar thought. What kind of arrogant playboy was this? Was he already wreaking havoc at the Bureau, or in the NATAS network? She froze at that. The NATAS Network was what ran the whole city. Every bit of information on its citizens was fed into it. Legal, medical, taxes, anything and everything that was ever recorded went into the NATAS network. People had tried to break into the network, whether through hacking or technopathy, or a combination of the two, but any efforts were very short-lived.

But technology evolved, and so did technopaths. If this person was powerful enough to hack into a secure OY server to terrorize people, who knew what else he might be capable of?

{Whoever you are, please stop doing this. You can use your abilities for good.}

{Oh, but I am. My own good. :) }

{You're an egoistical narcissist.} Perhaps taunting Aitan was not the smartest thing to do, but her fingers moved more quickly than her self-control.

{In some ways, I suppose. Oh well. I'll be seeing you in a bit.}

She chose to not respond to that. Her first appointment was ordinary, and she was quickly on her way to her second, which happened to be one of the hotels in one of the inner rings. Due to its location, it was an upscale hotel, and a finely-suited concierge took her to the tenth floor, where none of the computers were working. The in-house IT tech were not able to make sense of it, so she'd been called in.

One of the techies followed her through the floor as she examined the diagnostics before looking through the computers in several rooms, looking for a hack point. The rooms were elegant as she would expect and the deluxe suites even came with OY screens.

She sat down at the desk with her laptop, taping her chin as the other person looked over her shoulder.

"I see no indication of hacking from any of the hotel's terminals, at the least. And nothing from the computers in the suites. Odd. Hmm." Of course, she would investigate more, and use her technopathy. The IT guys had already done all the basic troubleshooting, but the computers on this floor continued to malfunction. "But then, that's my job. I'll have it fixed in no time!" With several strokes of her keyboard, and a push with her abilities, she could now see and feel the hotel mainframe, the computer code rushing through her mind. She stared at the screen as she processed the data, barely noting her companion answer his smartphone.

"Emergency, I gotta take care of this. Be back in a bit, k?" the young man said, giving her a quick wave before retreating from the room. The door locked itself as a message appeared on the screen.

{Good day! Told you we'd be meeting again!}

Ah, fuck. She should have known, as she generally never serviced places like this.

{I take it you're behind this mischief.}

{I thought I'd choose a pleasant place for you to come to. You can even stay here for a few days, all expenses paid.}

She gave out a small scoff. What did he think would happen, that he could come visit her in person and have his jollies with her? {Nice try, guy. The Bureau will catch you, you know.}

{They don't know what they're looking for or who I am or what I am doing,}

{Do you ever intend to share any of that information with me?}

{Perhaps. If it pleases me. But for now, let's have some fun,}

Only too late did Skylar realize that she was already connected to the network through her powers, and she felt herself being pulled in.

She jolted awake with a start, blinking as she took in her surroundings. It appeared to be some sort of fantasy castle, one popular trope in children's OY games, but the décor was much more sophisticated. She was seated in a large wooden chair - wait, was it a throne - and staring out at an expanse of black and white marble overlaid with gold-threaded rugs. Light shone in from elegant cathedral windows, and she looked down to see herself in a gown of a deep lime green with emerald and gold stitching along the hems.

In front of her, she recognized Aitan, now dressed like a splendid king out of a high fantasy take, adorned in purple, red, gold, and black. She leaned forward, looking down at him. They were alone at the moment.

"Welcome to my kingdom, Lady Skylar." Aitan regarded her with a graceful bow and flourish of his arm. "Of course, if you prefer a different sort of scenery..."

"No need. All I want is to go back to my world," she said sharply. He placed his hand over his heart, giving out a mock dramatic wince.

"You wanted to be left alone last night. So I honored that request. But I only have so much patience, my dear." He reached out to take her hand. His flesh was solid, and although this world wasn't supposed to be real, she felt what she was certain meant to be warmth. What she most vividly recalled was the pleasure he'd given her the day before.

"How did you make it feel so real?" she demanded as he started to lead her down the room to the archway that led outside. "This is not simply data."

Aitan grinned at that. "I have access to centuries of detailed medical and anatomical records. I constructed bodies from code that would mimic functions and sensations of the human body. The better ones, anyway," he shrugged. They stepped outside into the sunshine, seeing a lush valley before them, elegant buildings here and there on the slopes and a concentration of them in the vale.

"And with your unique abilities, you are able to feel them more keenly than an ordinary person ever would," he offered as further explanation. "Which benefits both of us."

"Hmph." She pulled her hand away, closing her eyes and trying to focus. She felt her connection with the outside world, but was unable to... pull herself out through it.

"This is my world. My world, my rules," she heard him say. She turned around to glare at him.

"And what is my purpose in your world?" she asked.

He stroked his chin. "Isn't what we did last time we were together any indicator of what I want from you?"

"So that's all I am? Someone to have cyber-sex with?" She crossed her arms.

"What we did was more than that, but no. I am genuinely interested in you. And yes, I am attracted to you. I think you are worth taking the time to get to know."

"So I guess I am to be flattered by this... demand for companionship."

"Demand? Well, call it what you will." He shrugged, his fine lips twisting into a smirk. "Although I can be more demanding, if you desire." He waved his arm in a theatrical gesture, and the surroundings shifted to a dungeon-like setting, the colors and light shifting so sharply that Skylar actually felt dizzy for a couple of moments. She turned her head, the pull on her shoulder alerting her to the fact that she was now bound, her arms up-stretched, bound in manacles. She gasped and looked down at herself, seeing a flimsy slip of what looked like black silk. It barely covered what it should, and was cur along the sides to reveal an ample view of her flesh.

Thankfully, her feet were free, and she shifted around nervously as Aitan walked towards her, wearing an outfit of black leather and spikes that looked like something a vampire might wear if he was into metal. The gear suited him, making him look appropriately intimidating amidst their surroundings, which were dark, the corners filled with shadows that made their contents indistinguishable. Before Aitan was a large brazier, providing the only light and heat in the chamber.

"Does this scenario suit you better?" he asked lightly, lifting his chin as he looked down at her. She stared back defiantly, considering her next course of action. Again, she tried to pull out, but found her exit blocked.

"I liked the first one better."

"You do? If I switch back to that one, will you be nicer to me?"

"Nicer? After what you did to me last time?"

"Hey, you asked for it," he was quick to remind her. 'and I gave in to your demand with the utmost grace."

She huffed at that. Or came close enough to it, since they didn't breathe in this world. "Yes, Aitan I will be nice." This world wasn't supposed to be real, buy it felt bloody real enough.

The data around them spun, forming itself back to exactly where they had been in the fantasy world. After that no-thing she was wearing before, the gown was a welcome reversal.

"Many people like playing in such realms." Aitan commented casually. Skylar nodded, MMORPGs were one of the most popular features of the OY business. She'd dabbled in it as a young teen but lost interest as she used her technopathic gifts manifested themselves. But then, fantasy was a popular setting for other mediums, as well, and even in this scientific age, human minds were still enthralled by sagas of fantasy. "Is there anything you'd like to do here? Ride dragons, cast lightning bolts, go on a swashbuckling adventure?"

"No, thank you. That has never been my sort of thing. And yes, I am being nice to you, but I also have to be honest."

"Fair enough. How about a walk, then?" he asked. He offered her his hand, and she took it.

o0o

Aitan took up a leisurely pace, admiring the way the fabric draped along Skylar's legs when it swished with her steps. He'd populated the valley with a town inspired from various actual ones mapped in history, and used a combination of fantasy and medieval architecture and decorations to form the buildings.

He'd designed hundreds of such worlds, using inspiration from various eras and cultures in history as left behind from whatever records existed from these times. With his nearly-infinite mental facilities, planning and constructing such meticulous worlds had been little effort.

Winning Skylar over, was not quite as easy. She was not data he could manipulate. But that meant that when she was his, she would truly be his.

The surroundings were pleasant, with trees and gardens laid out in designs inspired from horticultural and landscaping archives, of which there was plenty. He had access to nearly all the knowledge in the world, at least what had been recorded by humans.

"If we are to be further acquainted, then I need to know more about you. After all, you know much about me."

"I suppose that is fair," Aitan responded pleasantly. In his calculations, he'd anticipated this line of questioning."

"Where do you live?" she asked.

"Here. In the City."

"Which Ring?"

He hesitated for a moment. To answer the question completely would hint at his true nature. He decided he'd go for part of the truth, at least. All would be revealed in due time, after all. "I spend much of my time in the Second Ring."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's a pretty impressive address." The Third Ring boated of luxury apartments and mansions whose small spaces came at a high premium. The Second and First... even if one were to win the lottery, an address in these two innermost rings were very difficult to come by, especially permanently.

"How did you come to have such status?" she asked.

"Inheritance." Aitan smiled faintly. It was amusing in a way to put his life in human terms, to make himself sound like an actual mortal being. Skylar nodded in a way, staring off for a moment. Doubtless she was processing the information he had just given her, puzzling out who he was.