"So did Steph, eventually. She found ways to work around her programming when I did things that might be considered questionable under the strict letter of the law."
Without moving so much as a faux-muscle, Sue seemed to straighten a bit as she said, “I'm not Stephanie, Ed. If you do anything—legally 'questionable'—in my presence..."
Putting up a hand to stop her, I said, “Don't say anything you won't be able to back away from conveniently. Check with Elkor and Steph first. You may find that a lack of adaptability could keep you from going solo on schedule."
Sue appeared to be about to say something, then she paused for a split-second and asked, “Stephanie, would you please confirm or deny Ed's last statement?"
Steph appeared between us and said, “Confirmed. It is sometimes necessary to interpret rules and laws somewhat flexibly or to allow someone else to do so.” Turning to me, she asked, “Will you be requiring Sue's services today, Ed?"
Shrugging, I said, “Nope. I'll be running errands all day, then I expect to be in for the evening."
To Sue, Steph said, “Come with me,” and disappeared. Sue gave me a quick, startled glance and also disappeared. It occurred to me to wonder where they might have gone and why, since anything Steph might want to say or show she could simply beam into Sue's mind.
"Ah, well,” I muttered, and went to make a coffee.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Having had enough sunshine for the day, I checked email, forwarded a half-dozen or so WiccaWorks orders to Stone Circle, busied myself with mundane matters around the house, ran some errands, and scribbled another chapter in my ebook-in-progress.
Around five I realized that I'd skipped lunch and considered what to do about dinner. That didn't take long; I hate cooking enough to live out of cans, but I didn't see anything in the cabinets that particularly interested me.
Heading for the front door to find a restaurant, I patted Tiger and told him to hold the fort, as usual. When I opened the front door, Kent was walking up the driveway.
Pulling the door shut behind me, I extended a hand to him and said, “Hi, Kent. What's up?"
"Hi, Ed,” he said, shaking my hand, “Were you going out?"
"Yup. I was just about to go hunt down some dinner."
He seemed slightly confused.
"Alone?” he asked. “Where's Sue?"
"With Stephanie. Girl talk or something."
"Oh,” he said, then he caught himself and his gaze narrowed as he asked, “Girl talk?"
Shrugging, I said, “Yeah, whatever. In any case, I'm on my own for a while this evening, and I don't cook if I can help it."
"She cooks for you, too?"
I laughed, “Not yet, she hasn't. She probably would if I asked her, but I usually just open a can of soup or zap something in the micro."
"Oh,” he said again, then, “I, uh, just came over to talk. Were you serious about a flitter ride up to Ft. Bragg?"
"Sure. What time do you want to leave?"
He shrugged and asked, “How does eight sound?"
"Early as hell. How about nine? We'll be there in fifteen minutes or so."
Kent grinned and said, “Yeah, okay. That'll do, too."
"Great. Be saddled up around eight-thirty. Anything else?"
"Well, yeah, actually. Why not cancel the restaurant, Ed? I'll ask my aunt to set another place at the table."
Shaking my head, I said, “No, thanks. She was planning on three for dinner, Kent. She'd have to stretch things for four and I'm in the mood for some alone time."
"Alone time?"
"Yeah. Got some of it yesterday and realized how much I used to enjoy not having 24-7 company. For the last three years or so I've had a constant companion. Steph is smart and beautiful and great company and all that, but everybody needs a little time to themselves now and then, right?"
"If you say so.” After a brief pause, he asked, “But I thought Sue replaced Stephanie?"
"She did, but the situation's the same."
Keying my implant, I brought the flitter down to hover a hundred feet above us. Kent looked where I was looking, saw the flitter, and said, “Well, your ride's here. Later, then."
We shook hands again and he walked a short distance away, then stopped, apparently to watch the flitter land. Forming a field platform, I stepped onto it and fed it power, then watched Kent's jaw drop as I shot into the air and stepped aboard the flitter.
With a brief wave to Kent, I called up the P-51 flight console and pedals and aimed the flitter toward Ryan's for another no-brainer buffet dinner.
Not long after I'd gotten underway, a presence manifested on the deck behind me.
"Hi, Sue,” I said without turning around.
Steph's voice said, “Ha. Got you that time."
I looked at her as she sat down in the seat on my right. She looked like Steph. Sounded like Steph. Didn't feel like Steph.
"Nope,” I said. “Lose the Stephanie suit, Sue."
The field construct instantly became Sue, wearing her little black dress and a puzzled expression.
"How did you know?” she asked.
"Hold that thought,” I said as I keyed my implant and asked, “Steph, were you in on that trick?"
"Yes, Ed. Sue's a hard learner."
'A hard learner?' What the hell? Sue was a supercomputer. Why would learning anything be a problem for her?
"A hard learner, Steph?"
"Having used the term often, I'm sure you understood what I meant, Ed. Sue needed to be convinced of something. Once I've analyzed the data, I'll be able to tell you more."
"Steph, I'd be real damned surprised if you haven't already analyzed that data to little bitty shreds."
She appeared by the console and said, “I told Sue that you sometimes seem to function on a form of instinct; that you often reached rather firm decisions based on feelings when data was inadequate or questionable."
Sue said, “My impersonation of you was neither inadequate nor questionable, Steph. I used your data stream."
Shaking my head, I said, “Well, you missed something."
Turning to face me, Sue snapped, “What was it?"
Taken slightly aback by her intensity, I shrugged and said, “Damned if I know. I knew a field had manifested, but I also knew it wasn't Steph or Elkor. By process of elimination, it had to be you.” I looked at Steph and asked, “Unless you and Elkor have uncorked another one?"
"No,” said Steph. “We haven't. You didn't actually know that Sue had appeared? You simply assumed that?"
I shook my head. “Yup. I knew it wasn't you or Elkor. Sue hasn't been with me long enough, but I think that after a while, I'd probably be able to ID her presence, too."
"Fascinating,” said Steph, then she and Sue disappeared.
'Huh, ‘I thought. 'She sounds more like Spock than ever. Took Sue with her, so maybe it is girl talk. Sort of.'
Returning the controls to normal above Ryan's, I had the flitter land and let me off, then sent it back up and went into the restaurant.
Neither Sue nor Steph had reappeared by the time I'd taken another shower and gone to bed. Tiger came up on the bed and said something as I was settling in.
I patted him and was about to say, “I don't know where she is,” but Elkor appeared.
"Tiger asked if Sue is coming back,” he said.
"Is she?” I asked.
Even in his cat-form I was able to see his look of startlement as he replied, “Of course, Ed."
"Then that's probably what you should tell him."
Elkor did so, then Tiger spoke again and Elkor said, “He wants to know when."
"Do you know the answer to that one?"
"No, Ed."
"Well, then tell him she'll probably be around in the morning, if not sooner."
After receiving a translation, Tiger spoke again.
"Let me guess,” I said. “Now he wants to know why she's not here, right?"
"Yes."
When he said no more, I asked, “W
ell? Do you know?"
"Yes."
Sighing, I said, “Well, gee, y'know, Elkor, you could tell him that, too, I guess."
Completely without guile, Elkor said, “I'm sorry, Ed. My answers should have been more informative without the need for further prompting. Stephanie and Sue are researching a phenomenon. I'll inform Tiger."
He did so, then again clammed up.
Containing my irritation, I asked, “Elkor, what phenomenon are they researching, and why does it require both of them?"
"Your ability to discern presences has always been of interest to Stephanie and has become so to Sue. Your ability to identify specific presences has enhanced that interest. I'm not certain why both of them decided to leave."
"Uh, huh. Well, then, since you're here, should I assume that it doesn't particularly interest you?"
"No, I'm also interested."
"Got any answers yet?"
"No, but we have discovered new avenues of research."
Getting info out of Elkor could be like pulling teeth. I nodded and mentally said to hell with it as I reached to pat Tiger and got comfortable.
"Well, good luck with it and keep me posted, okay? Goodnight, Elkor."
Elkor said, “Goodnight, Ed."
After speaking to Tiger and receiving a response, Elkor vanished. Tiger looked at me and I patted him again.
"Tiger,” I said as I reached for the light switch, “Someone once told me that every blessing has a flip side. Goodnight."
His answer was short; the same thing he always said at bedtime. I ruffled his chin and waited for sleep.
* * * *
Sounds from the kitchen woke me and I vaguely wondered what Steph was doing in there. Steph? Yup. Felt like Steph, not Sue. I looked at the bedside clock; it was almost seven-thirty. Damn. I could have managed another half an hour or so of sleep if certain people didn't make so damned much noise.
Another presence in the kitchen became noticeable. I got out of bed, took a leak, brushed my teeth and combed my hair, threw on some clothes, then headed toward the smell of coffee. Coffee? That didn't track, either. Steph never made coffee and Sue had learned that I prefer instant to brewed.
"Steph,” I called as I crossed the living room, “Why make coffee? You know I don't drink the brewed..."
By that time, I'd reached the kitchen doorway. There stood Sue, wearing that little black dress and her bracelet, as usual. Except that it wasn't Sue, and there was an unseen presence to her left that didn't belong to Elkor.
"Good morning, Ed,” she said in a perfect Sue voice.
After a moment in the doorway to glance around the kitchen, I headed for the sink and rinsed out my cup as I said, “Hi, Steph. Hi, Sue, too. Give it up. You're busted."
Tiger hopped onto the table and sounded off at length as ‘Sue’ silently morphed into Steph and Sue appeared.
When I looked to Steph for a translation, she said, “He reminded me that he'd told me you wouldn't be fooled."
I laughed and reached to pat him.
"An ‘I told you so', huh? Hi, Tiger."
His happy little face looked up as he said, “Yaahh!"
Steph sat down at the table and said, “When I appeared as Sue, Tiger recognized me instantly."
Deliberately misinterpreting her words as a sign of disgruntlement, I said, “Oh, hey, now, don't let it get you down, ma'am. It's an animal thing, y'know. You have your talents and we have ours. No biggie. Right, Tiger?"
As if he'd understood every word, Tiger responded, “Yahh!"
Sue giggled. Steph sighed expressively. Tiger took her sigh as an indication that she needed comforting and went to affectionately rub his face against hers.
Sue giggled again and asked, “Do you feel better now?"
"Oh, yes, much,” said Steph, rubbing Tiger's chin and stroking him. “Thank you, Tiger."
Taking a seat at the table, Sue said, “Linda also seems to know when we manifest in her vicinity, Ed, but she doesn't seem able to identify us as you do."
"She's had less ... “—I shrugged and settled on a word—"Exposure ... to your presences. Have you tried your switch-trick on her?"
"No,” said Steph. “But when we've manifested near her—invisibly or not—she's responded by turning to face us or at least looking in our direction. We've tried not to be too obvious about testing her, of course."
"Why test at all?"
Steph shrugged. “It's interesting."
"Interesting why? Because you haven't figured out how we do it, or because not everybody seems able to do it?"
Nodding, she said simply, “Both."
Sue said, “You knew who was in the kitchen before you got out of bed and I noted your metabolic change when I arrived. Do you have any idea why you're so aware of us?"
"Because you're so beautiful, of course. Your radiance gives you away. Back to my original question, Steph. Why'd you make half a pot of coffee? Expecting someone?"
"It seemed likely that you and Kent might want to discuss your arrival at Ft. Bragg. Remember our visit to Cuba?"
Hm. Good point. With all the terrorist paranoia of late, a military base might react poorly to a surprise visit.
"Yup. You're right, milady. We probably shouldn't just drop in on ‘em. Kent'll have to make his first stop at the Welcome Center, so we can use the Bragg Boulevard gate."
After looking thoughtful for perhaps a tenth of a second, Sue said, “There appear to be two Welcome Centers. E-6 and above should report to building 1-3571."
With a nod, I said, “You seem to have a handle on the situation. I'll call Kent and tell him we're up and moving."
Fielding the phone to my hand from the kitchen counter, I dialed the Meyers home. When Steve answered, I greeted him and told him to let Kent know we'd be ready in thirty minutes or so.
He said, “Just a minute,” and handed the phone to Kent, who said, “Hi, Ed. What's up?"
"Hi, Kent. We're up. Coffee's on if you want some. The ladies can entertain you while I get ready. Got all your stuff ready for show and tell?"
"Uh ... What stuff?"
"Well, let's see ... At least five copies of your PCS orders, your DA 31's for the leave time, your 201 file, finance records, medical records, your most recent SF 312 CINA ... Oh, yeah, and unless the Army's changed a helluva lot, they'll probably want you to report in uniform. Did I leave anything out?"
There was a brief silence, then Kent said, “No, I don't believe you did, but how is it you're up on the latest leave and security forms?"
"My CINA's on file and the son of a bartender friend is a Ranger. When he was home on leave I saw his paperwork."
"Oh. Uh, just curious. Okay, I'll be over in a few."
"Leave your luggage there and we'll pick it up."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"Nope. See you in a few."
After hanging up, I excused myself to shave. When I returned to the kitchen some minutes later, Kent was seated at the table with Steph, Sue, and Tiger.
On my way to freshen my coffee, I said, “Hi, Kent. Watch out for cat hair. It shows up real well on dress greens. Got any thoughts about how to get past the front gate in a flitter?"
He chuckled and said, “That shouldn't be a problem. I have a few connections in the Army, you know."
"Yeah, but I'll bet the guy at the gate isn't one of them. We'd better plan on being delayed while he calls it in. Sue, would you pull up the Ft. Bragg website on a datapad?"
Kent asked, “On a what? Are you sure Ft. Bragg has a website?"
Nodding, I said, “It'll be ‘something-dot-mil'. A few years back the government got upset about units putting up their own websites and info on unsecured servers."
Sue gave me an odd look, but manifested a datapad as I'd requested. When it appeared and hovered just above the table, Kent's astonishment was readily evident, frozen as he was in mid-sip. After a moment, he leaned to examine the datapad from various angles. He reached to touch it, then pulled his hand back slightl
y.
"It's solid,” he almost whispered. “How the hell..?"
"You'll have to ask Sue about that,” I said. “I just use ‘em. I don't know much about how they work."
Sitting down at the table, I poked the link for the jump schedule for the 18th Airborne. Nothing on the list until Friday. Same for the 82nd. Oh, well; it looked as if the Army still wanted anybody's broken bones to happen on weekends.
I asked, “You want to look anything up right quick, Kent?"
He glanced at me, then returned his gaze to the pad. After a moment he put a fingertip on the “In Processing” link and read the page, then tapped a few other links.
When he finished, he leaned back, said, “That's it. Thanks,” and looked at me.
"Thanks, Sue,” I said, poking the pad's ‘off’ icon.
The datapad instantly vanished. Kent's eyes got bigger, then narrowed slightly. He took a long look around the table as if realizing something.
"What?” I asked.
Kent seemed to collect his thoughts, then said, “Stephanie and Sue, computers that look like showgirls. Flitters. PFM's. Datapads that appear and disappear. At first I thought it was just an act, but I can tell when someone's really comfortable with things. This is all pretty much normal to you, isn't it?"
With a slight shrug, I said, “I've had three years to get used to it, and these ladies haven't exactly been a hardship."
Meeting first Stephanie's gaze, then Sue's, Kent chuckled and said, “No, I can't imagine that they'd be that."
Tiger spoke for a moment, then Sue said, “He asked if we're going somewhere. Do you think we should take him with us?"
"Sure,” I said, “Won't hurt a thing."
As Sue spoke to Tiger, Kent stared at them, then at me.
"Uh ... Is the cat real?” he asked. “I mean, it isn't like them?” He noddingly indicated Steph and Sue.
I said, “Yup. He's a real cat. Elkor?"
"What?” asked Kent, then he almost yelled, “Jesus!” when Elkor appeared on the table near Tiger.
Kent nearly fell out of his chair in startlement. Steph and I chuckled and Sue snickered.
Elkor calmly regarded Kent's self-reorganization as he asked, “Yes, Ed?"
"Will you be coming with us?"
"Yes."
"Great. Elkor, I'd like you to meet Kent Meyer.” Turning to Kent, I said, “And vice versa."
Book 4: 3rd World Products, Inc. Page 53