“Too. . . much. . .”I stuttered on Sky’s tongue, her voice spoke my words. It was too much. I did the only thing I could.
I shut down.
SIX.
Alarms blared, lights flashed, people yelled and screamed. Someone beside Sky was frantically shouting orders to someone else but she heard no responses to his raging commands.
“Just hit the damn button,” a deep but irate voice shouted. Whoever he spoke with listened to him because the madness going on around her shuddered to a beautifully quiet halt.
“Iridia?” he asked after a short moment of peace. Iridia’s presence had a signature: a faint buzzing, like a radio left on in another room. Sky felt her earlier She was immense and filled with raw energy. Sky was secretly pleased Iridia hadn’t just taken over and left her in the darkness alone.
But Iridia wasn’t here right now. Her buzz had gone.
“Are you alright? Is everything as it should be? Do a systems check. Run two to be sure. Check backups as well. I want to know what just happened. As soon as you know, okay? That’s my girl,” he said and suddenly I knew who he was. Justin.
Sky tried to open her eyes and was happy to see that they no longer felt leaden. On the contrary, her body did everything she asked of it and immediately too. She moved up the bed and felt the sting of the IV still attached to her arm. Sky yanked it out, annoyed by the pain, and sat up fully in the hospital bed.
“Good morning!” She grinned. Sky had never felt so light before. Her body felt like air beneath her. Her breathing, heart rate, blood flow, hearing, taste, sight . . . everything . . . was exceptional. The chip Iridia installed was maintaining her at optimum running capacity. Not only was she healed, she was so much more improved. Sky had to remember to thank Iridia when she eventually returned.
“You are awake!” Sky’s mother squealed happily from across the room and promptly burst into tears. Her stoic father nodded, got up and kissed her on the forehead then walked out, no doubt to shed a private tear of his own.
“Hey mumma, you look exhausted,” Sky called over. She couldn’t keep the smile from her voice. Her mother tried to smile back but the effort had her sobbing louder and after a second, she ran from the room looking for Sky’s father.
“Okay, not the reaction I was expecting.”
“Sitting up and chatting to them, wasn’t quite what they were expecting either. Headaches, Miss Girardie?” Justin sniped, sounding correctly suspicious.
“Yup. Big bad tumorous headaches, Justin. But no more.”
“How would you know that?”
“Um? I feel better?” Sky tested. He shook his head and sat in the chair her mother had vacated.
“Why do I think something is going on here?” he asked.
“Because a miracle has just occurred and you are too stubborn to see it or congratulate me on my recovery?” Sky teased.
“I don’t believe in miracles,” Justin mumbled and then stood as the doctors flooded the room.
They performed tests on her for hours afterwards. It was the middle of the night before Sky had a moment to herself: A moment that was immediately shattered by Iridia’s buzz. She was here.
“Iridia,” Sky said aloud.
“Are you operating satisfactorily, Sky?” Iridia asked from inside her head.
“Can we speak internally?” Sky asked and then thought, "are we able to talk in my mind or something?”
“So it would seem.”
“How do I know I’m not imagining you here?”
“Look at the television,” Iridia instructed. Sky sat up and looked over to the screen she had muted earlier. The volume control flew up and the quickly back down again, emitting a burst of fragmented dialogue from the actors on screen.
“Okay point made. Now what?”
“Now we get you out of here. Can you walk?”
“I think I could fly if I put my mind to it.” Sky laughed forgetting to speak internally.
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Iridia responded seriously.
“Of course. So what’s the plan?”
“Your discharge papers are completed and awaiting your signature on the ground floor. Your belongings are in the cupboard beside you and a cab is waiting for you on the street.”
“Where are we going?”
“I have arranged an apartment for us downtown. We will stay there for a while. You may contact your parents and tell them you are staying at a recovery clinic out of town. Will they believe the ruse?” Iridia asked.
“Probably but why aren’t I going home?”
“Because I have to learn how to be you and I cannot do that with your parents watching. They will lock us up.” Iridia had a point.
Sky did as instructed, dressing, signing paperwork and allowing herself to be taken to the nicer side of town. Iridia gave her the building code and she rode the elevator to the penthouse apartments. Iridia had taste and entirely too much access to someone else’s money.
“Will this be okay?” Sky asked once the door had clicked shut behind them.
“Yes,” Iridia responded quickly through the apartment speaker system. “It belongs to Justin. He has the apartment across the hall and keeps this one empty for privacy.
“What a waste.”
Iridia didn’t respond. Instead, she remained very quiet whilst Sky took a tour of her new – if temporary - pad. It was big and mostly empty. It had a basic décor and even more basic furniture. At least the bed looked soft and the fridge was full. Sky had never felt more ravenous as she gazed at the chilled offerings: Cold meats, cheese, fruit, salad, vegetables, pasta and an array of cold beverages. Yum.
“Will we be eating now?” Iridia asked. If Sky was pushed she would say that Iridia sounded anxious.
“Yes, absolutely. So how will we do this? Do I complete the action or do I let you take over or something?”
“I think you should eat. I will try to experience it through you. It is very intense being you,” Iridia explained. She was nervous. Sky could feel nerves roiling through her own body. It was unsettling.
“Okay. Any preferences?”
“Water,” Iridia answered immediately. Sky took the bottle of mineral water from the fridge door and searched for a glass. She could feel her fingers flexing dangerously over the tumbler and quickly lowered it to the counter.
“Iridia, you have to be careful. The glass can shatter if you put too much force into the grip or if you are too light with it, it might drop.” Iridia said nothing in return so Sky continued to pour the water. She lifted the tumbler to her lips and sipped.
Iridia freaked out.
Sky started to laugh.
“It is okay, Iridia. The cold can’t hurt us, neither can the wet,” Sky replied to Iridia’s shrieks. For Sky, what would normally have gone unnoticed became an extremely intense and somewhat sensual experience. Every glide of the cool liquid had registered to her. Even the smooth chill of the glass had felt strangely arousing. Her whole body was alive – electrically charged—thanks to Iridia and the chip. Sky wanted to try everything; every bite of food, every flavour, every texture just to see what different reactions they elicited in her new – highly turned-on – body. Between them, they made their way through the whole apartment, tasting, touching, and feeling everything. When they fell against the floor in a trembling pile of nerve-endings and pleasure, Iridia insisted they go swimming.
The idea of immersing herself in water had Sky quivering with excitement but she couldn’t swim. Her parents had never permitted her to learn because the exertion might have killed her. Iridia read this in images that flashed through Sky’s mind. Memories, Sky explained when Iridia began yelling about them.
Sky compromised and offered a warm bath instead. They could both use a little relaxation. Sky, however, had not expected Iridia’s reaction to their nakedness.
Iridia sighed loudly. She took over their body and moved to stand in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom. Sky could sense the power shift, the moment whe
n Sky became the passenger in her own body.
It was at precisely the same moment as Iridia placed their hands upon their breasts.
SEVEN.
The last few hours had been a glorious torment. Sky had bombarded me with feelings, both emotional and physical. From her mind came flashes of remembrance and familiarity which, though unfamiliar, helped to contextualize what I was experiencing. My reactions too were utterly human. My clarity of design and reliance upon logic were lost to me in her body. Instead, I shrieked and squealed and sighed at everything I was shown. When the intensity of life became more familiar to me, I was able to step forward and take more of an active participation.
As soon as I saw her body . . . our body . . . my curiosity awaked anew.
She was pale. Almost grey in colour: Whether from her illness or a lack of sun I could not surmise. She was delightfully fleshy: Round and full but proportionate. Her breasts were large and sat firm and high. Her nipples, two dark pink pearls, pointed skywards surrounded by their slightly darker halo. I stared for a while, our hands resting gently over the twin mounds. Dark curls, shaped into a tidy ‘v’, caught my attention. They pointed toward the place that marked her as woman.
I could feel Sky watching my reactions in the mirror. As I moved our fingertips over our tightening nipples, her breath caught in our throat. I stalled wanting to know what this new feeling was.
"Anticipation," Sky informed me. And yes it was a nervousness and an excitement that carried me forward, closer to the mirror, to appreciate the subtle changes in our body. Our pupils had dilated so that only a slim ring of brown remained. The nipples at our breasts were nearly an inch in height and stood like firm points. Our fingers danced over them again, wanting to see how they would move in this heightened state but the slightest touch made us both shudder. The sensitivity of the flesh had increased exponentially and that tiny motion shot straight down to a place deep between our legs. As far as I had learned there was little connecting the two zones directly but the evidence was to the contrary. I flicked and pinched and sure enough once again our sex twitched and pulsed in response.
Sky hummed her approval in our mind and I understood her pleasure. The other experiences had aroused our senses but this was entirely different, this was arousal in its truest form. Sky begged me to squeeze our breasts and I complied. The feel of our soft cushioned flesh slipping between our fingers, moulding to our hands, was glorious. I lifted and squeezed again, this time pulling away with a nipple between my fingers. The action brought pain but it was exquisite and again throbbed down below. I ran our hands lower, trailing hot paths around our abdomen and down to the soft round buttocks. A squeeze here was almost as pleasurable and when Sky stepped forward and pinched the left cheek, I felt a throb deep within.
"Do it," Sky prodded, knowing that I wanted to feel our womanhood but was hesitant. The sensations I had experienced were already extraordinary and consuming. If this was any more powerful then I seriously worried about my focus because although I was here, experiencing this wonder of human flesh, I was also everywhere. I was still scanning, analysing, monitoring and responding to all the outside tasks being asked of me. My ability to split my functions had only ever depended on processing speed and appropriate memory before now. However, this this was sure to distract me. I was already queuing tasks that should have been given immediate priority, in order to dedicate more of myself to exploring Sky. Two days ago, I would have completed my tasks as my programming dictated. Today? Well today, I was able to think and feel as a person and I wanted to be selfish. What would it hurt if I shut down eighty per cent of the systems for a few hours today? Surely it would not be too damaging? I began to discard tasks, disconnect from networked systems and hardware, and trained my fingers down through the damp curls and between the plush lips.
Sky threw her head back. She moaned as our fingers made their trembling way passed the engorged clit, convulsing at our touch, down towards the tight uncharted depths of her opening. I wanted to watch but couldn't stop my fingers long enough to reposition us upon the floor. As I pushed our index finger into the flexing hole, Sky and I sighed twin aches, twin breaths and united desires. I pushed the finger in and out, enjoying the heat and wet and silken feel of our internal walls.
Sky and I fought for control each trying to feel more, reach deeper, push harder. She taught me where I could find a place inside, a place that made our legs weak and forced us to stretch out upon the floor. We added more fingers, pumped until our breathing faltered and our heart felt as though it had clenched too tightly to beat. I thought we might be killing us with this pleasure and then, just when I thought it would all end, a wave of light and heat and pure primal power jerked us up and shuddered through us, leaving us both empty and sated at once.
The power was so incredible that it surged through me and erupted through the entire apartment causing all the electrical objects to switch on simultaneously. The whole place was alive around us but it was a few moments before either of us could move or speak
Being Sky was the most powerful I had ever felt.
Giving her up would be the hardest thing I would ever do.
Six
Sky sucked in a deep lungful of air as her body continued to tremble from the most intense orgasm she had ever had: the only orgasm she had ever had. Touching herself had never been so amazing. Between them, they had gone further than Sky had dared to go alone. Previously, the intensity had scared her. The thought of an aneurism right in the middle of masturbating— her mum and dad finding her with her hands between her legs—had been too mortifying.
She had a great deal to be thankful for. Sharing a life, however long, with Iridia was not a very bad price to pay for everything she was now able to experience in return.
Actually, having Iridia around made it an even more incredible experience. Having a complete stranger bringing you to climax but at the same time having your own feelings echoed back at you through her was a total mind-fuck. Difficult to explain and amazing to feel.
Sky and Iridia hadn't spoken since they shared the orgasm. Sky was becoming concerned.
"Iridia?" She asked aloud, her voice sounded shaky.
"I am here. That was a wonderful experience. Thank you, Sky."
"No, thank you. I wasn't exactly expecting it," Sky responded almost shyly.
"It was very intense. I am afraid I must run a systems check, Sky. I may be quiet for a short time. Will you be well?
"Yes. I will take that bath now."
"Perhaps I will be quick then, I should like to feel the water."
"Okay," Sky said quietly and began to run the bath, pouring a sweet smelling bubble bath in to the hot running water. She sank her body into the warmth and sighed. Sky tried to imagine what else Iridia would enjoy. If she had to experience humanity, what would she choose to do?
Sky didn't hear the click of the front door opening or the footsteps cross to hover outside the bathroom. It was Iridia's voice filling the room, which alerted her to their guest. He stood in the doorway watching as she soaked in the tub.
"Can we help you, Justin?" Iridia asked, and both Justin and Sky noticed the distinctly angry tone of voice. Sky swivelled her head to face the doorway, clasping her arms over herself in a feeble attempt at covering her nakedness.
"What are you doing in here?" Sky shrieked.
"I could ask you the same thing!" Justin yelled back but Justin had suspected it was Iridia's doing and so directed his next question to her.
"What have you done, Iridia?"
"Nothing that concerns you yet," Iridia snapped back. Justin's eyes flew wide at the obvious change in Iridia's personality.
"What has happened? How is it possible that you are angry?" he questioned the empty room.
"You have no right watching us bathe. It is inappropriate," Iridia snapped and again Sky had to wonder if it was jealousy or indignation driving her.
"Us?"
"Sky," she corrected quickly. Justin's eyes narrowed
. Mistakes were human not machine. His code was flawless. Something was wrong. He turned to Sky.
"We have been worried sick about you," he barked at her. Sky smiled a slow smile. His use of we was just as revealing as Iridia's. Sky’s parents had been notified by Iridia and her doctors followed paperwork not emotions. He had been worried.
"I am quite well."
"So I see. And in my apartment."
"Spare, unused apartment," Iridia added.
"Your doing, I suppose, Iridia? What are you up to? You introduce me to this woman, have her try to seduce me in the elevator, make me worry about her wellbeing and then move her in next door. Now it looks as though you have adopted her as a new pet. And why the hell did you show me that?"
"WHAT?" Iridia and Sky asked together in identical pitch and tone.
"That little one-woman display of yours," he shot back at Sky.
"Iridia?" Sky asked blatantly concerned.
"One moment, Sky. I am checking." There was a moment before Iridia spoke again. "Shit."
"Iridia!" Justin rebuked.
"What? What have you done?" Sky asked.
I am not sure how it is possible, Sky. I am sorry. I believe I transmitted our . . . experience . . . to Justin's personal PC."
"And my phone, my tablet and my television."
"Iridia! Has everyone seen it? Oh God, my parents are going to—"
"No, Sky, only Justin's devices were running. I had disconnected from all other systems."
"You did what?" Justin bellowed.
"Do not worry, Justin, all checks have been completed; everything is running as it should. Sky, I am very sorry."
"Exactly how much did you see?" Sky asked Justin.
"Enough." Sky noticed Justin's arousal. His grey sweats, tented at the front. He seemed unembarrassed as he swept a hand through his dark hair.
"You didn't think to look away or turn it off?" Sky asked, this time there was a breathlessness to her voice. Sky had to admit, the idea that he was aroused after watching her gave Sky a deep thrill.
Virtuality Page 12