Boralene

by Nathan Jones

  Tycho nodded, suddenly desperately reluctant to see her go. “My estate next time,” he said, his voice just as breathless. He backed away up the ramp, nearly stumbling but not caring, wanting to keep her lovely silhouette in view for as long as possible.

  Chapter Eight

  Socializing

  Tycho had kissed Eva countless times. They'd tried kissing in pretty much all the ways you could kiss someone. Passionate kisses, tender kisses, affectionate pecks, their shy but eager first kiss that he still remembered as if it was yesterday.

  Every sort imaginable.

  He'd kissed women in full immersion, the experience touted as good as real. And like his first kiss with Eva there had been something special about those first kisses as well. Something new and mysterious and exciting and full of promise.

  None of them compared to what he'd just shared with Callista.

  Tycho wasn't sure why. The closest answer he could think of was that in spite of the fact that even though adult companions and full immersion lovers felt perfectly real to all the senses, his mind wasn't so easily fooled and didn't see them that way.

  Was that a problem only he experienced? Or did all humans feel it as well, but never noticed because they didn't have interactions with humans in person and so had no basis for comparison with the real thing? Or maybe they did notice, but none had ever felt the lack enough to complain about it.

  That last seemed unlikely; Tycho had seen people on the allnet complain about some absurdly petty and inconsequential things.

  He was in his stateroom settled in bed for the flight back, trying to squeeze in a nap after his early morning to avoid the jarring experience of rift jumps. Eva had given him some warm milk and left him alone to rest, dimming the lights so the brightest things he saw were the magnified stars and spacial phenomena through the windows, moving around as the ship maneuvered.

  Although Tycho was tired and sleep would probably come easily if he tried, the lingering memory of those last moments with Callista occupied his thoughts. So finally he sighed, still staring up at the ceiling, and spoke. “Call Callista Ensom's household.”

  Moments later Bruce appeared on his display. “Mr. Boralene!” the companion said warmly. “Good of you to call. Did you forget something on your visit, or do you wish to relay a message to Miss Ensom?”

  “An invitation, actually,” Tycho replied. “Callista mentioned coming to my estate for our next visit. When would be convenient?”

  Bruce gave him an apologetic look. “She's very much looking forward to it, of course. Unfortunately she's going to be busy over the next ten days with a debate tour on the allnet, and prefers to save scheduling the visit until after that has concluded.”

  He felt his heart sink. “The entire time?” He knew that was her chosen vocation, but he couldn't imagine anyone spending more than a few hours a day on work. Plenty of time for her to hop over to Helios 4 between debates.

  “Not exclusively. But during a tour Miss Ensom prefers to have no distractions so she can focus on her debates. I'm afraid she would consider it an imposition to even request a face-to-face, unless it happens to be an important matter.” The adult companion smiled in sympathy. “I'm sure she'd appreciate the support if you wished to spectate her debates, however.”

  “Of course. Please tell her I look forward to speaking to her again, and my schedule should be open any time she wishes to visit.”

  “Certainly. It was a pleasure to have you spend the evening, Mr. Boralene.”

  As Bruce's image disappeared from the display Tycho rolled over despondently. He'd wondered what he was going to do to pass the time when it was just a few days, and now he was facing at least a week and a half before he could see Callista again.

  He'd spent his entire life never knowing she existed, and now he was counting the hours they were apart. It was an odd sensation, since for anything else he'd ever wanted his companions or the AI caretakers could indulge it almost immediately.

  But if that was a downside to interacting with humans it was one he was happy to endure.

  “Could you give me a massage, Eva?” he asked. Maybe that would relax him enough to sleep.

  The door immediately opened and his companion slipped inside, rolling him onto his stomach so her graceful fingers could begin kneading the tension from his back.

  * * * * *

  Binary system G285MS18351, anomaly due to close passage of wandering brown dwarf. Conclusion: unremarkable, no new research data to be gained from further study.

  Tycho submitted the conclusion, scrubbed the pertinent files from his work log, and moved on to the next one. He'd been working a lot since his last visit with Callista to help him pass the time quicker, which was somewhat ironic since he was working in slowtime. But in any case it helped distract him from counting the hours until her tour was up.

  To keep from missing her as well as to show his support he'd spectated some of her debates, and found her to be even more sharp and persuasive there than she was while talking with him. Frighteningly so, in some ways; he would've expected debaters at her level to be prepared for arguments that took the debate away from rational points and towards emotion, but most of her opponents seemed utterly unprepared for the tactics the silvery-haired woman used against them.

  Somehow she seemed to effortlessly counter their attempts to turn the debate back to arguing facts, or their criticism of her poor argumentation and lack of convincing evidence. In fact even though she was the one using emotional arguments she was cool and composed even when the debate got most heated. Meanwhile her opponents were the ones who often lost their cool and began shouting, looking like petulant children, or became so flustered they struggled to put forth a coherent thought.

  After a lifetime of priding himself as a reasonable, rational person, in some ways Tycho found the woman's performances horrifying. If he hadn't known her in person, seen the warmer side that lay beneath the professional exterior of her debating persona, he would've probably assumed she was either vindictively unreasonable or insane.

  As it was he found himself surprisingly entertained by the debates, and even cheered along when her opponents fled the realm of rational discourse and resorted to name calling, which she immediately lambasted them for.

  And he wasn't the only one; Callista's bombastic style was probably as much the source of her popularity as the fact that she kept winning debates with barely a solid argument to be seen. Some were perplexed by her inexplicable success, while many praised her genius when it came to understanding and exploiting the weaknesses of the human mind.

  It had gotten to the point where Tycho had begun spectating all of her debates, not just for the entertainment value and certainly not for the topics; more and more he just enjoyed watching her, listening to her voice and seeing her carefully nuanced changes of expression.

  Although it was hasty and probably ridiculous, considering Eva was his only other basis for comparison, he had a feeling he was falling in love with Callista.

  Which was why he brightened eagerly when he was interrupted from his work to be alerted to an incoming face-to-face call. He hoped it would be her even though it had only been four days and she was in the middle of her debate tour, and Bruce had been pretty clear that she suffered no distractions while on tour.

  But to his disappointment the name wasn't one he recognized, someone named Hollan Patrice.

  Frowning, he looked up Hollan's profile, confirming that the two had never had even the slightest contact on the allnet. Which was no surprise considering how many humans were out there; odds were statistically zero that two random people would've met before, even with slowtime giving the option to live lifetimes longer than normal.

  Young as Tycho was, the odds were even less that he would've met the man. And this Hollan's interests had almost no intersects with his own, aside from those that would be shared by most humans like swimming, sunbathing, fine dining, and things like that.

  With a sudden surge of excitem
ent he wondered if this face-to-face had to do with his invitation on the allnet, to meet with people in person for activities besides sex or making arrangements to produce a child.

  That search query had been wholly ignored ever since he'd posted it after his first visit to Callista, which seemed astonishing considering it was the only one of its kind and there were over a trillion humans out there, any one of whom might be interested. But given enough time and certainly enough people he'd maintained the hope that someone might eventually give him a chance.

  And it looked as if he'd finally found that someone. Tycho changed his background to his living area and settled onto his usual couch. “Put him on.”

  His display was filled with the image of an unusually squat man; not short, exactly, but far wider and thicker through the chest than most humans he'd seen. There was something about Hollan's solid physique and the way he held himself that reminded Tycho of Laird and Lady, an impression that was only strengthened by the fact that the man's hair had been trimmed very short.

  “Tycho Boralene, the man who wants to visit people to do stuff besides screw or spread your genes?” Hollan asked, looking him over. “I was kind of hoping you'd be bigger.”

  It was hard not to be amused by that, since the man's profile put him at nearly half a foot shorter than Tycho, about the same as Callista. Although again he was much bulkier, especially across the arms and chest.

  “Why?” he asked cautiously.

  The other man waved that off, motions animated. “I suppose it doesn't really matter. The thing is, I have an activity I want to do that involves physical exercise and honing muscle memory, so it's pretty pointless to do on the allnet, and it's something that companions are completely useless for. I was starting to despair that I'd ever be able to do it the way it deserves to be done, but then your search hub appears out of nowhere offering exactly what I'm looking for.”

  Tycho couldn't help but smile at Hollan's enthusiasm. The man certainly seemed passionate about this hobby of his, and that reminded him of Callista's talk about how profiles were useless for really getting to know someone.

  Perhaps this man would be a kindred spirit, someone looking to fill the same void in his life that Tycho was. “What activity did you have in mind?”

  “Boxing,” Hollan said, returning his smile.

  He felt his own smile fade. “Um, what?”

  The man didn't seem put off by his sudden unease. “Boxing. Pugilism. Fisticuffs.”

  Tycho glanced over to the side, where his display put up definitions for the terms. They confirmed what he'd suspected the man was talking about, although that was hardly comforting. “You want to meet in person so you can punch me in the face?” he asked dubiously.

  The shorter man threw back his head and laughed. “It's a sport, Mister Boralene. Like your profile's mention of your interest in tumbling. Or if you prefer to consider it that way it's similar to dancing. Martial arts. Looking back to humanity's most primitive roots, when we were first learning to use tools and our fists and feet were all we had.”

  Tycho had no idea why anyone would want to revisit mankind's most primitive roots. “Won't we get terribly injured?”

  “I won't,” Hollan said, smile widening. At Tycho's lack of amusement he shrugged impatiently. “No no, of course we won't. We'll have safety gear, wrist wraps and gloves and mouth guards. Mats for the floor. And of course our companions will be there to supervise.”

  This all sounded like just about the last thing he wanted to get involved with. But on the other hand Hollan was the only person who'd accepted his offer to meet in person. Aside from Callista, that is, but Tycho was feeling more and more like she might be one in a trillion.

  Literally.

  “Give me a second to think it over?” he asked.

  “Hey take your time, man,” Hollan replied. “If you decide you're interested just call . . . my sex companion Lexi will arrange a time.”

  Tycho frowned as the man disappeared from his display. It was considered gauche to refer to adult companions as sex companions, although of course that was the main reason only adults were allowed them. But even so it spit in the face of all the ways in which adult companions bonded with a human to ensure their physical and mental health, fulfilling the various necessary roles of lover, friend, confidant, guardian, teacher, and so many others.

  It inaccurately reduced their value to a simple tool for sexual release.

  “Eva,” he called. His companion's full immersion simile appeared beside him. “You heard all that, right?”

  “Of course, my love,” she said.

  “What do you think?”

  Eva frowned. “I somehow get the feeling that with how you've been acting lately, if I tell you it seems like an unwise decision that'll just make you more likely to go.”

  “You're probably right,” he agreed with a rueful laugh. “Getting gnawed on by a wolf was bad enough. I really don't want to get punched.”

  “Then don't.”

  “On the other hand he's been my only chance to visit a human besides Callista.”

  “I would think she's a pleasant enough friend to be sufficient on her own, my love,” his companion suggested. “Maybe you don't need to seek out others, especially more . . . rough hewn ones like Mister Patrice.”

  Tycho sighed. “I won't know unless I see for myself.” He ignored her disapproving frown. “Where's Hollan located?”

  “Thersan 1. Roughly seven hours by rift travel.”

  He winced; that was about as far as it got in the explored universe from his location. “The slowest route?”

  “The fastest, which we both know you hate.” Eva smiled in amusement at his grimace and continued. “I've been tentatively coordinating with Lexi, with the sincere hope you'd decide not to accept this invitation in the end, you understand. It appears Mister Patrice is eager to meet and his schedule is open. We could leave as early as now.”

  “Then let's get the trip over with. Have Pilot get the ship ready while you make the necessary preparations.”

  “Of course, my love.” Eva leaned into him to press her lips to his, then she vanished.

  With a sigh Tycho tidied up his open work projects and began the process of leaving full immersion. He wasn't sure which thrilled him less: the prospect of spending over half a day slamming through one mind-bending rift after another, the thought of Pilot's snark throughout such a long trip, or the knowledge that at the end of it he'd be meeting with a man who looked as if he crushed rocks in his bare hands and wanted to punch him in the face.

  But it meant the opportunity to meet another human so he'd take a chance on it. He just hoped it was worth it.

  * * * * *

  Hollan Patrice's estate grounds turned out to be a series of obstacle courses, training yards for various disciplines, many of them suspiciously martial in nature, swimming pools, and other physical activities, with very little attention given to decorations or greenery.

  His manor was essentially the unembellished default the AI caretakers gave those who offered no preferences for their new dwelling, and looked as if no changes had been made to it since construction. It said something of the man's priorities.

  Unlike Callista, Hollan didn't come to greet him in person. Instead Tycho was met at the bottom of his ship's ramp by the man's adult companion Lexi, a disproportionately well endowed redheaded woman.

  “Welcome to Mister Patrice's estate,” she greeted him warmly. “He's already at the boxing ring, if you want to follow me.”

  Tycho wasn't sure he did; he'd mostly come hoping that the visit wouldn't all just be indulging the man's barbaric sport, and they might have a chance to socialize. The fact that Hollan wanted to get right to it wasn't promising.

  But he simply nodded and motioned for Eva to accompany him as he followed Lexi, discovering that his host's companion was just as disproportionately well endowed from behind. He gave Eva a bemused glance as she walked beside him, and she returned an understanding smirk.


  Part of him wondered why he'd chosen to bring his companion on this visit when he'd insisted on leaving her behind with Callista. But to be honest he was grateful for her presence as they walked the short distance to a well padded elevated square enclosed by rope barriers, not far from a side entrance to Hollan's manor.

  Such a convenient location suggested it was used often; the man really loved his boxing.

  As Lexi had said, Hollan was already in the ring throwing punches at a well padded dummy. Even though the dummy had only a vaguely human shape Tycho still found himself wincing as the heavy blows landed on it; violence in real life felt a lot more intense than the fighting he'd done in full immersion.

  When his host saw them approaching he grinned broadly and picked up the dummy, tossing it bodily out of the ring to clear it for their “sparring”. Then he ducked under the lowest rope and trotted over, extending his hand.

  “Mister Boralene!” he boomed. “Glad you decided to come!”

  It took a second for Tycho to realize that the man was holding to the archaic custom of shaking hands. He hesitantly returned the gesture, wincing in pain at the man's crushing grip. “Yes, thank you for . . .”

  He trailed off as Hollan dropped his hand and briskly turned away without waiting for him to finish, trotting towards a nearby table. With another bemused glance at Eva, who shrugged sympathetically at the man's brusque manner, he followed.

  “Here,” his host said, gathering up various safety materials and handing him some of them.

  “This seems pretty uncivilized,” Tycho said, staring doubtfully at the gloves and hand wraps the man had shoved into his arms.

  Hollan grinned as he demonstrated how to wind the first wrap around his own hand and wrist. “Some might say the same about your tumbling.” His tone became taunting. “Besides, this is coming from the man who hunted elk in the Southern Preserve of his world with nothing but a living dog as a companion?”

  It was hard to argue that point. “It involves punching each other in the face, though.”