by R. E. Weber
He was looking out onto the back garden of the cottage. It was early January and a thick layer of snow had settled on the ground and the branches of the tree at the end of the garden. As he looked down at the snow-covered lawn, he could see Fudge, Jules’s cat, making his way across the lawn with the snow right up to the top of his legs. Only he wasn’t walking in his usual strutting fashion, with his tail in the air. Instead, he was bounding through the snow as if he had springs on his feet. First he would take a single leap, stop, and then shake the flakes of snow from his fur. Then he would take another leap, followed by another, making his way slowly towards the small hole in the hedge between their two gardens. The memory had stuck in his mind because it looked so comical. Fudge hadn’t been at all impressed with his predicament and was scowling, and Theo remembered thinking how expressive cat’s faces could be, especially when they weren’t happy. Moments later, fudge had bound his way to the hedge and then quickly vanished through it, appearing moments later on the other side at the Kingsley’s French doors. Then he had begun to meow at the top of his voice to be let back inside, so he could curl up in his warm basket and fall asleep. Smiling to himself, Theo remembered looking up and seeing the sun shining through the hazy clouds. It was a comforting image, and as he focused on it, his breathing and heartbeat began to slow. He was beginning to relax.
As Theo lay on the table smiling to himself, he felt a tiny prick in his arm, followed by a vague sensation of some warm liquid flowing into him, and he began to feel mellow and sleepy. His eyes, which were already closed, were suddenly really heavy and he felt overwhelmingly drowsy. Seconds later, he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Almost immediately, from the sides of the table, several straps sprung out and wrapped themselves around Theo’s legs, arms and chest, securing him to the table. From the panel on the wall, a dozen or so small tubes appeared and curled their way down towards him. Four of the larger tubes attached themselves to his head and held it totally rigid. Then, working with a speed and precision far beyond that of any human surgeon, the remainder got to work with their microscopic tools, installing the companion.
And while the tiny tubes slid silently around inside him, Theo dreamed of distant Earth and a cat in the snow. Only this time, for some reason, the cat had two tails and no fur.
*
Theo awoke suddenly and opened his eyes. He’d expected to feel groggy after the operation, but strangely it felt more like he’d woken naturally from a deep sleep. For a minute or so he lay still on the table. Then, reasonably confident that he felt OK, he hoisted himself up on his arms and sat upright. But as soon as his head was vertical, a wave of dizziness swept over him, and so, feeling sick, he quickly lay back down. Then, almost as if a switch had been thrown, he began to hurt. First, his brain started to throb as if somebody had been punching him in the head while he’d been asleep. Then, his fingertips began itching as if they’d been rubbed with stinging nettles. Next, he felt several tiny pinpricks of stinging pain around his head: one just above each eye near his temples, one at the back of his head and one inside each ear. Then there was his stomach: churning over and over with each wave of dizziness, almost as if he’d just leapt off a fast moving roundabout. Realising that he didn’t feel any better lying down, he sat upright again. That was when his stomach decided it was going to try and force his breakfast back up. Quickly, he put his hand over his mouth to stop himself throwing up. It worked. Just about.
‘Don’t worry, Theo, it’ll pass,’ said a familiar voice.
He looked across to the table next to him to see Ruby looking back, forcing a smile.
‘Oh my head,’ said Theo, feeling around to where the pinpricks of pain were coming from.
‘You might feel sick for a few minutes,’ said Ruby. ‘It’s something to do with all the tubes that have been inside your inner ear. Upset your balance and all that.’
‘No kidding,’ said Theo, angry that he hadn’t listened to his own advice and refused the surgery.
‘Theo, look at me. I’m fine. I only woke up a few minutes ago, but I’m OK, really. Just sit still and relax.’
Theo sat upright, as still as he could. Then he closed his eyes and – remembering how he had calmed himself before the operation – forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply.
‘That’s it,’ said Ruby. ‘Slowly.’
After a few minutes, the desire to throw up began to fade and Theo opened his eyes again. The room was more or less standing still now, and although he still felt a bit wobbly, he got down from the table and made his way slowly over towards Ruby, which he just about managed without falling over.
‘Do you feel a bit better now?’ said Ruby.
‘Well my head feels a bit sore,’ said Theo, ‘and I’m not about to do any tightrope walking. But yeh, I think I’m OK.’
‘The disorientation will pass,’ said First Mentor, ‘and the surgical holes will heal quickly. They’ve been filled with a bio resin, which will encourage the bone to heal quicker than it would normally.’
‘Surgical holes?’ said Theo, alarmed.
‘Yeh,’ said Ruby, grinning, ‘I meant to tell you. No swimming for a few days. We don’t want water on the brain, do we?’
But Theo wasn’t laughing. Suddenly, the dizziness came back in waves, and before he even knew it, he was leaning over the side of the bed, throwing up everywhere.
*
It took about half an hour for the dizziness to pass completely, but once it had, Theo felt much better. Then, as he looked around the room, he noticed something else. Right at the bottom left corner of his vision, he could make out a tiny red flashing dot. He wasn’t sure at first if he was seeing things and blinked a few times just to clear his watery eyes. But the dot was still there, even when he closed his eyes. He spun round to look at Ruby. Again the dot followed his gaze.
‘What is this thing?’ said Theo.
‘The red dot you mean?’ said Ruby.
‘Yeh, have you got one?’ said Theo.
‘You both have them,’ said First Mentor. ‘This indicates that the companion is in standby.’
‘It reminds me of something,’ said Theo. ‘It’s a bit like, erm, well…’
‘Tell me Theo, what does it remind you of?’ said First Mentor.
‘Well, it’s a bit like a cursor, you know, from a computer or something.’
‘Well done Theo, that’s good analogy.’
‘OK, so what do I do then? Do I just start typing or something?’
‘In a manner of speaking, yes, you…’
But Theo had already stopped listening to First Mentor and was instead determined to work out for himself how to operate the companion. And within a split second, an instinctive chain of logic had formed in his mind.
If the companion was in standby, then somehow he had to get it out of standby and power it up, like the way you took a TV out of standby by pressing the ‘On’ button on the remote control. And as it was inside his head, there must be some way of controlling it from inside his head. The only part of the companion that was visible was the flashing dot, so that had to be the place to start. So first he had to somehow select the dot and then activate it. Then he had to try and communicate with his companion. First Mentor had suggested that the method of input was typing ‘in a manner of speaking’. But the idea of typing seemed a little primitive by Affinity standards, so it had to be easier than that. How had First Mentor described the Companions? Intuitive. And what was intuitive to humans? How did they normally communicate? Speech!
Carefully, he stared at the flashing dot and, focussing hard, he shut everything else out. Now the dot was glowing a little brighter. It seemed to be selected. Still focussing on the dot, he tried to say the word Start; after all, clicking on the Start button worked on his computer back home. But as he spoke, the strangest thing happened. He heard the word Start just as if he’d spoken it, and he could even see the word as glowing text next to the flashing dot. But his lips hadn’t moved. Then, befo
re he’d even had time to think about what was happening, a huge, glowing rectangular information screen, dotted with words and symbols, appeared across his entire field of vision.
‘Whoooaah,’ said Theo surprised, almost falling off his table.
‘What’s going on?’ said Ruby.
But Theo wasn’t listening. Instead, he was staring around the amazing computer screen inside his head. At the top, there were several words he recognised such as Uplink, Search, Mode, Communicate and Config. In the bottom right hand corner, was a small empty, rectangular box.
‘What’s happening, Theo?’ said Ruby. ‘You look, well…. sort of weird. Your eyes…’
‘Is yours working, Jules?’ said Theo excitedly.
‘Who’s Jules?’ said Ruby sternly.
‘Oh, err... sorry, Rubes. I mean, your computer…screen… interface… whatever it is.’
‘Your companion interface,’ corrected First Mentor.
‘What’s going on, Theo? Has the red dot gone?’ said Ruby.
‘Yeh, you could say that,’ said Theo.
‘I’ve still got the red dot. What’s happening? What do I have to do next?’
‘Stare at the red dot as hard as you can without blinking. Focus on it and then say Start.’
He watched Ruby. She was standing up with her eyes looking down towards her left foot, trying not to blink. For a moment it looked like she was going to speak, but no words came out. Then she blinked, stumbled backwards and said a word Theo didn’t understand.
‘You’ve got the screen up, haven’t you?’ said Theo smiling.
‘Theo, I can see it. It’s everywhere I look. It’s following me when I look around, even when I close my eyes.’
‘Impressive, Theo,’ said First Mentor. ‘You have activated your Companion. That was…quicker than expected.’
‘Computers,’ said Theo. ‘A doddle.’
‘If you wish to deactivate the Companion,’ said First Mentor ‘you need to….’
But Theo was already way ahead and had focussed on the red dot, said Stop in his head and was already back at the red flashing cursor by the time First Mentor had finished speaking.
‘That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,’ said Theo.
‘I would advise against overuse of the companion at present,’ said First Mentor. ‘It may cause you to suffer from eyestrain and dizziness at this early stage. Your brain will need time to adjust. I would suggest that you leave it deactivated until tomorrow.’
But again, Theo wasn’t listening. He had already turned the Companion off and on several times and was busy changing various configuration settings.
‘There will be no further activities for today,’ said First Mentor. ‘You both need to rest and recover from the surgery. Tomorrow, I will send for you again to continue your Companion training.’
‘But what if I feel sick again?’ said Theo.
‘Your vital signs will be monitored. If there are any problems, the companion will automatically alert me and medical assistance will be available immediately.’
‘Right,’ said Theo, not entirely convinced.
‘I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ said Ruby.
‘Are you always this optimistic, Rubes?’ said Theo.
‘Are you always such an old grump?’ said Ruby.
‘Do you always converse in such a manner?’ said First Mentor.
Theo turned to Ruby and they both laughed.
*
The next day, after having had a great night’s sleep, Theo arrived with Ruby at the Sensorium, eager to carry on with his companion training. When they walked in, two seats had already appeared and First Mentor was awaiting their arrival.
‘Before we continue today,’ said First Mentor, ‘I thought you would like to know that the third representative from your world has arrived to commence with his orientation. I thought that you would like to meet him before you continue with your training.’
Immediately, a doorway appeared and in walked an oriental looking boy of about thirteen or fourteen years of age.
‘Hello,’ he said with a big confident smile and outstretched hand. ‘I’m Weng Lim.’
‘Rubina Chaudhry,’ said Ruby, beaming and shaking his hand.
‘Hey, nice grip Rubina,’ said Weng, looking down at his squashed hand.
‘Call me Ruby,’ she said, shaking it even more vigorously.
‘Ruby it is,’ said Weng. Then he pulled his hand free and turned to Theo.
‘You are The-op-olis, yeh?’
‘Last time I looked,’ said Theo, grinning.
‘Yeh, right. What is that name, is that Greek or something?’ said Weng.
‘Yeh, I think so. But please, call me Theo.’
‘Theo it is. How you doin buddy?’
‘I’m doing good,’ said Theo, shaking his hand quickly.
‘Is that a bit of an American accent, Weng?’ said Ruby.
‘Yeh, it is,’ said Weng. ‘I’m from a city called Harbin in North Eastern China. But I’ve spent the last few years in America, with my Dad. New York City, actually.’
‘I’m from Lower Pinton, England,’ said Theo, trying to sound impressive but failing miserably.
‘Never heard of it,’ said Weng. ‘Is it near London?’
‘About half an hour by train,’ said Theo.
‘Oh, just on the outskirts then,’ said Weng.
‘Erm, yeh, I guess,’ said Theo. ‘It’s…’
‘If I may interrupt,’ said First Mentor, ‘Weng, may I now ask you to accompany Orientator. It is time to have your companion installed.’
‘Good luck with that,’ said Theo.
‘Thanks,’ said Weng. ‘I don’t know what they are, but I’m just following orders.’
‘Better take a bucket then,’ said Theo.
‘Theo,’ whispered Ruby, nudging him hard in the arm. ‘Don’t put him off.’
‘Why do I need a bucket?’ said Weng, suddenly looking a little anxious.
‘Well one of us couldn’t take it,’ said Ruby sarcastically. ‘Made him sick.’
‘Oh,’ said Weng, his smile rapidly disappearing from his face. ‘Well erm, hey it’s good to meet you guys. Maybe we’ll catch up later.’
‘Sure thing, Weng,’ said Ruby.
‘Later mate,’ said Theo.
Weng turned and left the room following Orientator, who, as usual, was already striding off down the corridor.
‘Well done, Theo,’ said Ruby. ‘Good thinking. Put the guy off before he even gets started.’
‘I was only warning him,’ said Theo. ‘No harm in that.’
‘Would you have gone in if somebody had told you that beforehand? I seem to remember you were complaining quite a bit. Wouldn’t have gone through with it if good old Rubes hadn’t been around.’
‘Oh my hero,’ said Theo smirking.
‘Better believe it,’ said Ruby.
‘If I may continue,’ said First Mentor, ‘I need to give you an overview of the companion so you are aware of the facilities available.’
‘I reckon I’ve learnt most of em already,’ said Theo, looking somewhat self-satisfied.
‘I have no doubt that you have an aptitude for learning such things quickly. However an overview is essential, as there will no doubt be options that you have not yet discovered. Additionally, not all the facilities were available immediately after installation. The Companion needs a period of several hours after installation to adjust itself to your physiology. Now, may I ask you to activate your Companions.’
‘Already done,’ said Theo confidently.
‘I’m ready,’ said Ruby a few seconds later.
‘You should now note several new options.’
Theo looked around the display and was immediately able to spot four that he hadn’t noticed the day before.
‘Identify, Translate, Verbal and Remember,’ said Theo.
‘How did you…’ stuttered Ruby.
‘Correct,’ said First Mentor. ‘Now, please activ
ate Identify.’
Immediately, Theo activated the option. In the bottom right hand corner of his vision, he could now see a small flashing letter I in a circle. It took Ruby a few seconds to catch up.
‘By now, you may well have noticed that there are several ways of selecting companion options.’
‘Yeh,’ said Theo. ‘You can just stare at them without blinking, or if you look at them and say Go or Select or Start in your head, that works too.’
‘You may also activate Verbal and then just speak the name of the option,’ said First Mentor. ‘You won’t hear the word out loud. This is the quickest way to select options. However there are drawbacks, which we will discuss later.’
‘I bet you mean, if you are stuck in verbal mode on the Companion and you want to talk to somebody, but forget to disable it. You’d be talking to yourself. Nobody would hear you.’
‘Amongst other reasons, yes. By default however, Verbal is automatically enabled for certain options. For instance, when you wish to stop and start the companion, so long as you are focussed on the standby prompt, you can just say Start and Stop as you have already discovered, Theo.’
Theo looked across at Ruby and grinned, feeling rather pleased with himself.
‘OK, is the Identify option now activated for you both?’
‘Seems to be,’ said Theo. ‘I can see a letter I in the corner.’
‘Ruby, is Identify active?’
‘Letter I, got it,’ said Ruby.
‘Could you now look at each other’s faces please?’
Theo turned and stared straight into Ruby’s face and she stared back at him impassively, almost as if she was looking through him. Then a glowing outline appeared around Ruby. At the upper right hand edge of the outline, he could see a brief description of Ruby:
Chaudhry, Rubina: Human
Threat: None
And at the bottom right: