“You going to leave me standing out here, or can I come in and take a load off?”
Sophia’s mouth snaps shut as she regains her composure. “I thought you were supposed to be released tomorrow.”
“Today is the shadow of tomorrow. Don’t know where I heard that. Point is, I wanted to surprise everyone, especially the Big Euphoria, so don’t go firing off messages to her. I should probably say something to Rocket as well, but he’s been so busy planning his wedding. Apparently, an auspicious day is coming next month or something in India. Beats me.”
“Why did you pick my place as the first place to visit?” Sophia asks, an arm crossing over her chest so she can cover the opening of her kimono.
“Why are you giving me that look?”
“Is this about our relationship?”
I glance at the clean-cut humandroid, whose eyes dilate almost immediately as I stare him down. Since I’ve got them both on the edges of their seats, I figure I may as well run with it. “Wait, you’re having a relationship with him?” I ask, a growl to my voice. “With this tin can of a man?”
“Don’t you dare call him that!” Sophia’s thin eyebrows go from a V to a teepee.
“Yep, I’m busting your lady balls. Do what you want with Evan. He’s a great guy, and I hate to say this, but everyone knew something was up between you two.” I extend my hand to the humandroid, who is still in the process of assessing if I’m a threat or not. “Really, that’s not what I’m here for. Like I said, he’s a good guy, and it’s no secret that I’d prefer Aiden take his body, but Evan is a high-quality guy too. I mean, as long as you leave my iNet feed alone.”
Evan nods. “I believe that can be arranged.”
“And can it with the religious jokes, ‘cause you’re going to offend someone someday.”
“From my recollection, I only made one religious joke to you. Would you care to hear it again?”
“No,” I tell him. “Also, if you do need to contact me and I’m taking the Browns to the Super Bowl, howzabout contacting me after I’ve finished?”
“Are you referring to defecation?”
“Quantum.” Sophia steps in front of Evan. “Why are you here?”
“What? A guy can’t come say hello to Chuntao every now and then? Ni hao! Are you going to invite me in or not? This isn’t exactly a safe neighborhood.”
“Yes, it is, and sure, you can come in. But hurry. Evan and I have plans.”
Sophia and Evan step aside as I stroll in, and I do mean stroll, as about eighty percent of my gimp limp has exited stage left, and I don’t quite feel like a million bucks, but I do feel like a thousand bucks, which reminds me of a hat I saw in a convenience store once that read Thousandaire.
I should have bought that hat.
“Looks like you’ve cleaned up the place,” I say, recalling that Sophia’s flat was a pig shy of a pigsty. Not anymore. Just seeing the place spick and span spawns images of Evan in an apron cleaning up after Sophia.
“Why are you looking at us like that?” Sophia asks. “And what is it exactly that you want?”
“First, I want you to swear on Chuntao’s black little heart…”
Her AI barks in Chinese.
“That’s the one. I want you to swear on Chuntao’s black little heart that you’ll keep what I’m about to ask of you a secret. Do you swear?”
“Okay?”
I consider her answer for a moment. It doesn’t sound confident, so I press again.
“You have to swear, Sophia.”
“Fine, I swear, Evan swears too. What is it?”
“I never swear,” the droid reminds her. “I thought you’d like that joke, Mr. Hughes.”
“Quantum, and don’t call me Mr. Quantum. And sure, the joke was fine. So you both promise?”
The two nod.
“Good, disable all feeds, and turn Chuntao off.”
Sophia looks up at the ceiling and tells Chuntao to shut down, much to the AI’s chagrin. “My feed is disabled. Evan?”
“Mine too.”
“Good,” I tell them as I sit down on the couch and gingerly place my boots on the table. “I’ve got to tell you, Sophia, this place is a lot roomier when it’s clean. If Frances ever puts me in the doghouse and I need a place to crash, I’m not saying I’ll be knocking down the door, but expect a call. Comfy couch too.”
“You are always a welcome guest here,” says Evan.
“Thanks, pal.”
“No, he’s not. And take your feet off my coffee table. What is with Americans and wearing shoes in houses?”
“I thought you liked my Boba Fetts,” I say as I pull a toothpick out of my pocket. The hospital had these mint toothpicks and I’ve kind of become addicted to them over the last week. Sucking on one makes me look like a bad boy too.
“Quantum, please hurry. We have somewhere to be.”
“What could you possibly be doing on a Wednesday? It’s Wednesday, right?” I ask, my tongue shifting the toothpick over to the other side of my mouth.
“Yes, it’s Wednesday. And to answer your question, we’re going to see the Baltimore Philharmonic Orchestra.”
“Really? What are they playing?”
“Why do I feel like you’re beating around the bush?” Sophia asks.
“They are doing a tribute to the twentieth-century film music by John Williams. It’ll be wonderful!” says Evan.
“Actually, that doesn’t sound too shabby. I’ve always been a fan of the Harry Potter theme. Got a third ticket?”
“I can check to see if one is available,” Evan starts to say.
“No, we don’t,” says Sophia, narrowing her eyes at me.
“Let the man check, Sophia, it’s only proper.”
“Even more wonderful, there is a ticket available! Two, actually, right next to our seat.” Evan smiles, giving me an idea.
“Okay, and when does it start?”
“In three hours.”
“Yet you’re rushing to get out of here?” I ask Sophia. “Seems like you got plenty of time.”
“We’re having dinner somewhere. What’s your point, Quantum?”
“Evan can’t even eat. No offense, Evan.”
“None taken. It’s true.”
I suck my toothpick for a moment, taking my sweet time. “Okay, here’s what I’m thinking: you, me, Evan, and Frances, front row seats, listening to the theme music from Jurassic Park and Jaws. What do you say?”
“Quantum…”
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’ Evan, order those tickets, bill them to the Dream Team.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Then bill them to Sophia, and Frances will pay her back. Look, I don’t get a salary, don’t know why neither, but thems the ropes. Point is: we’ve got a couples’ date tonight. We’ll hit a restaurant too, somewhere nice, somewhere uptown, classy. I’ve still got time to pick up flowers and surprise Frances. I’ll need a tux though. Damn. Maybe we can all surprise Frances. Hit the thrift store on the way.”
Sophia’s face goes from one of utter discomfort to one of reluctant acceptance. “Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad. Evan needs a dinner jacket.”
“He needs an entirely new wardrobe, but I’m not here to judge.”
“Why are you here again?”
“I’ll get to that,” I tell the good doctor. “Evan, we good? Did you order the tickets?”
He gives me two thumbs up.
“It’s creepy if you do that without saying something.”
“I thought the gesture itself conveyed positive acceptance.”
“Sure, anyway, as to why I’m here…”
Enough stalling, I have to mentally tell myself. With a deep breath in, I muster up the courage to tell Sophia and Evan why I’ve paid them a surprise visit. “I’m here to talk about RPCs.”
“Reborn Player Characters?” Sophia sits on the sofa chair to the left of me. Evan stands next to her, a hand on her shoulder. “Is this about Doc? He seems to be okay as
an RPC, although I think he spends a little too much time at that Barbie world.”
“Never knew Doc was such a big fan of harems, but who can blame him? But to be honest with you, this isn’t about Doc. It’s about Yours Truly.”
“You mean you,” Evan says.
“That’s right, I want to talk about my RPC. Starting with: how do I get one of those things going?”
Sophia tries not to roll her eyes but ends up doing so anyway. “You have GoogleFace at your fingertips, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, but I’m a people person, and I figured I’d get an explanation from the best of them.”
“It isn’t that difficult.”
“Look, I’m good at a lot of things, from talking trash to kicking ass.”
“Barf. You can check the machismo at the door.”
“Oops, forgot to do that,” I tell her. “Point I’m making is this: I need help getting it filed, and I want you to help me. I also want it to be a secret.”
“Secret?” Sophia glances between Evan and me. “Why’s that?”
I gulp, giving Sophia just about the most serious look I’ve ever given her. “Because I want my RPC to respawn in the Loop.”
Realization dawns on her face. “And you don’t want Frances to know.”
“Not until after I’ve died. At some point, I’m going to ask Frances to marry me. I don’t have the ring yet, and without a salary, I don’t know how I’m going to get the ring, but Frances is the bee’s knees, and you know that.”
“I… don’t quite understand that phrase.”
“She’s the best for me here in this world. But there’s also someone in a different world, locked away in her own prison because of what I did. So that’s why I’ve come to you. And don’t get me wrong, I look forward to spending a lifetime with Frances. I’ll love her and be there for her always. But I plan to spend eternity with someone else.”
“Dolly,” she says, a sober look on her face.
“You hit the nail on the head. So that’s why I’ve come to you about this. There isn’t a part of my soul that doesn’t love Frances Euphoria, but I’ve also got a place in my little ticker for Dolly, and I’m willing to wait to fill that place.”
“Do you love Dolly more?” Evan asks.
“Love isn’t quantifiable, and in my opinion, you can love two people equally with all your heart.”
“I don’t have a heart.”
I grin at the humandroid. “I stand corrected, Evan. Your sense of humor has improved. Anyway, what do you say, Sophia? Can you help me, and by doing so, can you keep this under wraps?”
“I’ll have to admit, love is strange,” she says, smiling over at Evan.
“And that’s not even the hard part of what I’m trying to do here. Even after everything is said and done, and Frances and I have had a few ankle biters of our own, weathered a few storms, and retired to a state with no income tax, I’ve still got an uphill battle awaiting me.”
“What’s that?” Evan asks.
“Winning Dolly back.”
“You think it’ll be a battle?” Sophia asks.
I sigh deeply, and in that sigh, I accept what is to come. “I think it’ll be much harder than that.”
The End.
Back of the Book Content
Dearest and Most Handsomest Reader,
Whew, it’s over.
What started as an inspiration after reading Ready Player One and watching Sword Art Online in 2015 is now finished. The first book in this series was released before LitRPG became such a hot writing commodity, before serious usage of stats (something I wished I had known about before starting this book), and before LitRPG split into GameLit and split after that into [insert whatever version of LitRPG/GameLit you are reading here].
All this to say: a lot has changed since I published the first book.
So to all those who made this series possible, from George C. Hopkins to Kay Smillie’s keen eye, I thank you.
To you, the brave reader who has made it this far, I admire your courage! It was long-winded run with a snarktacular MC but you made it, I made it (?), and we are both better because of it.
I think.
Can’t prove that last part, actually, but at least we aren’t dumber.
Can’t prove that either.
If you need more Quantum in your life (and who doesn’t?), you can find him in the third Fantasy Online book. Since that series is heavily related to this one and features many of the same characters, you will also get to see what has happened to people like Aiden and Sophia long after the Feedback Loop series finishes.
As always, please review.
I’ll wait.
And scroll to the next page to see some of the other books/series I’ve written.
Finally, you can join my reader’s group on Facebook to learn of upcoming releases and dig deeper into the connections between my series.
Proxima Galaxy FTW.
Much love if you made it this far.
Yours in sanity,
Harmon Cooper Nov 2018
Other Books by Harmon Cooper
I have written over thirty books. Here are some of the highlights!
My best-selling Superhero Harem Adventure about a sci-fi writer and the superpowered women who are trying to kill him. Fun content, adult read!
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BGZHXV7
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DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07BGZHXV7
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07BGZHXV7
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07BGZHXV7
Tokyo, Japan meets online fantasy gaming and South Park-styled humor. Yakuza, goblins, action, intrigue - add this book to your inventory list!
(This one is related to The Feedback Loop)
US - http://amzn.to/2pKN8zM
Audible - https://adbl.co/2vqSzY3
UK - http://amzn.to/2lDlfMa
Canada - http://amzn.to/2iRellt
Australia - http://amzn.to/2A7KhGA
Germany - http://amzn.to/2xIUc3u
Hate your job. Win the lottery. Get a superpower. House of Dolls.
US -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGSFCF6
UK -- https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GGSFCF6
CA -- https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07GGSFCF6
AU -- https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07GGSFCF6
DE -- https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07GGSFCF6
If you love dark fantasy, RPGs, Witcher, Punisher, or Mad Max, you'll love this powerful gamer trilogy about a man and his wolf companion.
(This one is related to The Feedback Loop)
US - http://amzn.to/2wdmC5j
Audible- http://adbl.co/2uwtjm2
UK - http://amzn.to/2A7j6vA
Canada - http://amzn.to/2gUlhKw
Australia - http://amzn.to/2h33aFU
Germany - http://amzn.to/2z9kCz8
A drunk Texan. A day-tripping yogi. A world on fire. Post-apocalyptic political satire with urban fantasy elements. Only after 2016 would this make any sense.
US - https://amzn.to/2vdF3uk
UK - https://amzn.to/2HBdSw6
Australia - https://amzn.to/2ISMEAs
Germany - https://amzn.to/2qvAK84
Canada - https://amzn.to/2Hn3Jp6
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Apotheosis Boom (The Feedback Loop Book 8) Page 18