Book Read Free

Upload

Page 4

by Chris Gladstone


  "Live long enough to live forever. That was Ray Kurzweil; the Singularity guy wasn't it?" Kiera said, looking thoughtful. "God it's hard to believe that was way before we were born. Didn't he predict uploading of the human consciousness by twenty fifty?"

  "Yes, and if what Williamson told us is true, he was only five years out. Pity he didn't live long enough to see it. Anyway, let's get back to the subject in hand, shall we?" Kiera watched him intently as he flicked a strand of hair out of his eyes.

  "What?" he said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

  "I'm just glad to see you back to your normal self and pulling me back in line." Her smile widened.

  "Okay, so where are we? Are we going with staying and playing him at his own game? Williamson is no fool. His work borders on genius, but for some reason he obviously needs other people. Maybe he gets bogged down and needs a new point of view, fresh blood as it were," Luke said.

  "He certainly fits the vampire image. God, I hate that smile of his and his stare." She shivered involuntarily. "It's almost like he can see into your soul." She picked up her pencil again and sharpened it furiously. She began to add bits to her original doodle and shaded in little areas as she spoke. "I think he's scary stuff, capable of almost anything. So we need to be exceptionally careful."

  "I agree, but I think we can pull it off. We can progress things so much faster if we work together. What I don't understand is that he originally said we would be working as a team. So, what's changed his mind, I wonder?"

  "I can't help feeling it's got something to do with me." Kiera screwed up her drawing and flung it into the bin.

  "Okay. Now we're agreed, we'd better get on with it." Luke stood up. When he reached the door, he turned back to face her. "I'm sorry I loaded all that stuff about Jenna on to you. It all just sort of slipped out."

  Kiera tilted her head to one side. "You obviously needed to talk about it, Luke. I'm glad you chose me, and I hope I've helped."

  "You did. Thanks so much, Kiera. Thanks for your time…and your understanding."

  Kiera hesitated before asking, "Do you feel like sharing some Indian tonight?"

  "Sounds like a great idea, will we go straight from work?"

  "Yes, absolutely."

  "See you at knockoff time." He slipped out the door.

  He sat down at his desk and stared vacantly into the distance, as the realisation struck him that he had finally been able to cry. After Jenna's suicide, he'd been too terrified to allow his grief to surface. So afraid of what might have been unleashed, he'd smothered it deep inside and overlaid it with guilt. He sighed as a profound relief flooded through him. All the tension drained away, and he became filled with an intense sense of lightness and—almost happiness—almost.

  Chapter 7

  Later that evening, Luke and Kiera were comfortably ensconced at a table in the corner of a small Indian restaurant in Wembley. The air, redolent with curry with hints of coriander, ginger and garlic, made their mouths water in anticipation.

  "I love the cosy intimacy here. It's a place where you can have a real conversation," Kiera said.

  "It certainly has a relaxed ambience, and the Indian tapestries are stunning—I like the ye-old colonial furniture," Luke said.

  He looked relaxed. With his face lit with a broad smile, it was the happiest she'd ever seen him.

  A young, dark haired Indian girl dressed in an emerald sari approached. She gave them a shy smile as she handed them the menu.

  She and Luke decided they would share dishes because their tastes were so similar. At the end of the meal, they left only empty plates. She and Luke had chatted comfortably whilst they were eating, and after splitting the bill, left the restaurant.

  Kiera shivered in the cold air. "It's only 8:30; would you like to come back to my place for a while? It's not far away. We could almost walk, but it's a bit chilly. It's only five minutes by trans-bus." She took his hand in hers and looked up into his face, smiling. "I can't offer you anything to eat other than fruit though, but I do have decent coffee and tea."

  "I'm a bit tired so…" Luke stared at his feet.

  She reached over and gently touched his face. "You could stay over. I mean…we could just go home and go to bed. I'm pretty tired too." She held her breath, hoping. Her heart sank as Luke shifted uneasily.

  He stepped back, let go her hand, and ran his hand through his hair as he continued to stare at his feet.

  "I'm not sure."

  His face was plastered with uncertainty; like a space cadet about to jump into a zero gravity chamber for the first time without a safety harness. His expression became determined. "Look Kiera, I think I would just prefer to go home to my place. I'm just not…"

  "Sure." Flooded with disappointment, she started heading for the trans-station. Well, that's that. She glanced over her shoulder and called, "See you tomorrow, Luke."

  She watched as Luke suddenly galvanised himself into action and came hurrying over to her, "Kiera. Kiera, wait."

  Kiera stood, and put her hands on her hips, "Changed your mind?" Well, what a turn up!

  "I…" He hesitated.

  "Oh, for Zark's sake, yes or no?" She scowled. Her patience, not one of her strong points, was beginning to run a bit thin. Besides, she was getting cold.

  "Yes," he held her gaze.

  "Are you sure—really sure?"

  "Sorry, I'm not very good at this sort of thing." Kiera watched as Luke's mouth twitched upwards, threatening a smile.

  "Well, we'll have to make sure you get in plenty of practice." She giggled. "Come on, before we both freeze to death." She grabbed Luke's hand and set off at a breakneck pace for the trans-station.

  Neither of them said much during the short journey home. Kiera observed Luke's head nodding as the bus glided along. She took his hand again after they got off. After a two-minute walk, they reached her apartment.

  It was situated on the tenth floor of a barely cream, cement-rendered building that towered forty storeys over Lake Herdsman. Her cleverly designed one-bedroom apartment consisted of a kitchen at one end that opened out into a spacious lounge-dining area. Two doors led off the lounge, one into a bedroom, the other into the semi-ensuite bathroom. Kiera had made it her own snug, comfortable little nest. Decorated in bright golds and reds, she regarded it as 'her sanctuary'. She wondered what Luke would think of her photographs. Her cream walls were adorned with scenes of rugged coastlines and green rainforests. Her favourite, an amazing picture of dolphins surfing a blue-green wave, had been taken when she'd just happened to be in the right place at the right time—one of those rare 'magic moments' she'd been lucky enough to capture with the camera.

  Luke took it all in. "This is zinging, and I love your photographs. They're so relaxing…tranquil. Did you take them?"

  She could see he'd started to relax again.

  "Yes, backpacking around Australia during my younger days. Now, what would you like to drink tea, coffee, or wine?"

  "Do you have any green tea?"

  "What do you think?" She smiled and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. An intensive search of her cupboard produced a box of green-tea bags and her jar of coffee. While she waited for the kettle to boil, Kiera watched Luke as he sank into the deep red cushions on her two-seater lounge. She made the tea and coffee and set the two mugs down on the pine coffee table in front of Luke.

  "Thanks, Kiera."

  She turned on the gas log fire, nestled in its small fireplace, before joining him on the lounge. He sipped his tea and studied the room.

  For a while she became lost in her own thoughts, and stared off into the distance, until a question from Luke pulled her back to the moment.

  He'd spotted her collection sitting on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

  "It looks like you're really into nature, Kiera. Where did you collect your driftwood and shells?" He took several gulps of his tea.

  "My dad collected them down the coast at a place called Preston Beach. Do you know it?"
She took another sip of coffee before cradling the mug between her hands.

  "That's down near Bunbury, isn't it?" He set his empty mug down.

  God, he must have positively gulped his tea down—obviously not into savouring things, she thought. "Used to be, but it's almost deserted now because it wasn't economical to build a trans-service there, so people were forced to move away."

  Luke yawned. "Sorry, I'm so tired. I feel I could sleep for a week."

  "Okay let's go to bed," Kiera said, trying to sound matter-of-factly as she put her still half full mug down.

  "I think I should just head home."

  "Oh, for God's sake, if you don't want to have sex or you're just too tired, say so."

  "I'm too tired." Luke's expression became unreadable.

  Kiera stood up in front of him and placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, fine. Let's just go to bed and cuddle." A sudden wave of emotion washed over her. "I just need someone to hold," she heard herself say in a plaintive tone. Where the hell had that come from?

  Luke's expression changed.

  My God, who cares where it came from, it's worked.

  "Well, if you put it like that how can I refuse?" Luke gave her a weak smile.

  She took his hand and led him into the bedroom. She grabbed her pyjamas, went into the bathroom and changed. When she emerged, several minutes later, Luke was already in the queen-sized bed with the covers pulled up to his neck. He had taken the left side and looked up drowsily.

  "Am I on the right side?"

  "You're fine." She slid in beside him. "Let's spoon." As she shuffled over towards him, she noticed he had stripped down to his underpants.

  "What do you mean?" Luke mumbled, half asleep.

  "Just rollover onto your left side, facing away from me, and I'll put my arms around you."

  Luke obediently rolled over on to his side, and Kiera snuggled up to his back as she wrapped her arms around him. She gave a contented sigh. I can't believe he's never heard of spooning. She cuddled into him. Poor guy. God, I hope he's not a virgin.

  Luke fell asleep in minutes. Kiera withdrew her arms, leant over and kissed the back of his neck. He stirred but didn't wake. She turned over and slipped gently into oblivion.

  #

  Luke slowly opened his eyes. He looked across the empty queen-sized bed. For a few frantic seconds he couldn't remember where he was. He rolled over.

  Kiera, still clad in her giant red poppy pyjamas, sat in a chair only a metre away, contemplating him. She half smiled and commented, "You have a really nice body." She leant forward, put her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her hands.

  Luke, embarrassed now, pulled up the sheet to cover his mostly naked form. "You're so…" he trailed off.

  "Direct? Yes, so I've been told. There's no need to hide; I saw all of you this morning when the sheet sort of slipped."

  "Not all of me."

  "No, but I'm working on it." Kiera gave a little giggle. "Would you like to have a shower before breakfast?"

  "What time is it?" He was beginning to feel like a trapped butterfly.

  Kiera reached over and picked up his watch from the bedside table. "It's just gone six o'clock, so we've got plenty of time."

  Luke sat up, pulling the sheet up around him. He studied Kiera. Even with her dark hair in a tangled mess, her face still held an exquisite beauty. She seemed different somehow — more relaxed.

  "I think I'd just better get up and go home to have a shower, if you don't mind."

  "Now how did I guess you were going to say that?" She frowned, stood up abruptly, picked up his clothes from the dresser, and shoved them into his arms. "You can change in the bathroom." Her face had become sullen.

  Luke took his clothes, went into the bathroom and closed the door. Why do I feel so guilty? It's not as though anything really happened last night. He dressed quickly, ran his fingers through his hair, and went through the door out into the lounge. Kiera, already busy in the kitchen, didn't look up. She must've heard him. Luke sighed, picked up his bag, and slung it over his shoulder. When he reached the front door, he turned. She still had her back to him. "See you at work," he called, as he opened the door. She looked at him, but didn't answer, her face still cloaked in a sullen mask. He left. After he'd closed the door quietly, he trotted down the hallway to the lift. Once on the ground floor, he strode out into the icy morning air. Now what? he wondered. Where do I go from here?'

  Chapter 8

  Kiera had decided to let Luke stew until morning tea time, and then to behave as though nothing had happened. She kept her eye on the tea room door. When he came in, she gave him a bright smile and patted the seat next to her. "You look better this morning. You must have had a good night's sleep." She deliberately flashed him a wicked little smile.

  Luke cleared his throat. "Yes." He sat down and gave her a worried look.

  She leant over and said, in a low voice, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

  He sighed, and his face flooded with relief. "It's just that, I wouldn't want Williamson to find out about us. We have to behave like nothing's changed," he whispered.

  "Nothing has changed." She struggled to keep her expression unfathomable. "Nothing at all." She winked.

  She watched Luke let out his breath in slow motion. He was right though, they had to be careful about Williamson. Outwardly, they needed to maintain the relationship at the same level it had been. Even though Williamson didn't frequent the tea room often, one or two of his staff were usually there. She had no idea where their real loyalties lay, so it would be best to play it cool in front of them. Just in case.

  #

  The week flew by uneventfully. Late on Friday afternoon, Kiera heard Luke's familiar knock on her door. "Come in, Luke."

  During the week, they had confined themselves to discussing work issues but always when Williamson was absent. Because they were sharing information, they had already made some significant inroads into the various problems facing the upload program.

  Luke had made no mention of the meal they had shared together, or what had happened afterwards. 'Slowly, slowly, catch-um monkey', Kiera thought. I came on too strong for him. I need to back off just a little and give him time to get used to the idea. God—am I really thinking there could be a stable relationship here? He stuck his head around the door, and her heart leapt like a gazelle. He opened the door a little wider and leant on the frame. My God, I really am.

  "Do you fancy trying some Italian food tonight? I have a favourite restaurant just around the corner from my place. They serve great garlic prawns."

  Mmm, so my strategy is working. Should I hold off a little longer, I wonder? She toyed with her pencil, as she held his gaze.

  "Please, I could do with some company." His face took on a slightly pleading look.

  Her resolve melted and evaporated. "Garlic prawns are my favourite food." She deliberately put on a serious expression. "I thought food was supposed to be the way to a man's heart but in this case, well…I can't turn down garlic prawns. Just give me a few minutes to close down and pack up."

  "I haven't closed down myself yet, so I'll see you shortly." He disappeared out the door.

  #

  Kiera discovered Luke's apartment lay only a five-minute walk from the trans-station. He'd decided that since the restaurant was just around the corner, it would be more convenient for them to drop their bags at his apartment first.

  Perched on a hill, the upmarket block had panoramic views of Scarborough Beach and the ocean beyond, still just visible in the fading light. Luke lived on the top floor of the fifteen-storey building. The crashing roar of the winter ocean assaulted her ears, and the familiar tang of fresh seaweed and salt reminded her of her hometown, Esperance. The sound reduced to a muffled roar once inside the luxurious, elegantly furnished, three-bedroom unit. A plush, deep blue carpet enveloped the open-plan living area. A door near the kitchen lay ajar and led off to a small powder room. The kitchen floor, polished Jarrah, glowe
d a deep red under a glossy varnish. She had been wrapped in warmth as soon as they had entered—obviously fully air-conditioned. As Kiera wriggled out of her jacket, she noticed a spectacular, brilliant red and yellow dot aboriginal painting hanging off the longest wall.

  "Wow, what a zinging painting, it's really stunning." She turned back to Luke, "I didn't realise you were so well off."

  Luke concentrated on the floor and mumbled, "My parents made a fortune in real estate, so I sort of inherited this place…" he trailed off.

  Inherited! Oh God, they must be dead. "I'm so sorry Luke, I had no idea," she said, softly, deeply concerned she had put her foot in it.

  "How could you? It's not something I talk about." His eyes were filled with a deep sadness.

  "What happened to them?"

  "They died in a car accident when I was twenty-two. Jenna was only sixteen. That's why we became inseparable, we only had one another." He held her gaze.

  How could so many bad things happen to one person? God, this is awful. She felt like shrivelling up and disappearing into the carpet. Sometimes, I need to think before I open my big mouth. "How did you cope? God, it must've been terrible."

  "We had no choice but to cope." He ran his hands through his hair and focused on his feet.

  He appeared on the verge of tears, so she went over to him and enfolded him in her arms. To her surprise and without hesitation, Luke wrapped his arms firmly around her. They stood there in a comfortable silence until Luke's stomach rumbled, breaking the spell.

  "I think we had better go and get something to eat, don't you?" Luke said, giving her a weak smile.

  "Good idea." Kiera shrugged her jacket back on.

  #

  Half an hour later, they were both hoeing into huge plates of sizzling garlic prawns.

  "These have to be the best garlic prawns I've ever eaten," Kiera said, as she helped herself to some tossed Italian salad from the bowl in the centre of the table.

  "They are pretty good, aren't they? I usually come here once a week. Giovanni is an excellent cook and the prices are so reasonable. I've never had a lousy meal here yet." Luke wiped a trickle of garlic oil from his chin. "Tell me about your parents, Kiera."

 

‹ Prev