[Bluejay]

[Disclaimer: This contains adult themes, including sexual ones. Please avoid if you're feeling particularly offendable.]

"I had a strange dream last night." Shona's mouth moved, her eyes far away. "I dreamed I was alive when the Plague was released. It was horrible! People around me were either dying or mutating..." Her rep wore a sad expression.

"That happened to me, too," said Carlo. "You're taking History 331 now, right?"

Shona nodded.

"Yeah, that happens all the time when people take that class. I guess it makes sense that we should know what happened, but it's really traumatic the way they teach it."

Carlo's rep was below Shona's. He was one of five friends that Shona had invited for a little get together for Kimo's Conception Day. The six of them occupied screens in Kimo's array. A thin red border surrounded them, indicating they were tied together, sharing the same conversation.

"I can't believe people used to be so careless with themselves," Shona continued.

Kimo was thoughtfully silent, still ruminating on the day's events. Fortunately, his friends had more than enough to say, allowing him space to explore his thoughts. Their conversation faded as, once again, he saw the woman walking away from him, hoodless, free. The thought of such a thing had never occurred to him before. Now he was wondering what a person would have to be thinking to take off their hood, to expose themselves like that in public.

The mention of his name brought him back to the conversation. They looked at him in silent expectation, waiting.

"Uh... what?" he said.

Shona sighed, annoyed. "I said what do you think, Kimo... about the way it used to be, when people were so open with one another."

"Yeah," he said slowly, forcing out the expected response. "It would be bad to be that way. So dangerous." Then his thoughts turned. "I mean," he said, "you would never want to... say... meet me in person, right?"

"What?" Shona said. "Why would I want to do that?" The others looked at him, puzzled.

"Well... maybe... we could get to know each other better?" The words sounded flat coming out of his mouth. "Oh, never mind."

"How could we know each other better just by being in the same room?" she asked. "I mean, you would still have to talk to me. We'd still have to interact. What difference would it make if you're talking to me through my rep or face-to-face?" She shuddered. "Ugh, my face. I wouldn't want someone to see that. So primitive. I'm glad we have these laws requiring Safe Hoods; I'd wear one even if I didn't have to. I wouldn't want people to see that."

Kimo remained silent, wishing the conversation would start up again.

"Is something wrong, Kimo?" Lisa asked, her rep frowning in concern.

"I'm fine," he said. He clicked the smiley button in his control palette.

"That's the fakest smile I've ever seen," Shona said. "If there's something bothering you, you can tell us."

"No, really," he said. "I'm fine. Turning twenty-five makes you a little thoughtful, I guess."

"I'll be there soon," Shona said. "We're all getting older."

"Not me!" Shinto exclaimed, his eyes large in a comical way. "I'm going to stay young forever! I'm going to be just as young in fifty years as I am now. You'll see!"

"Yeah, like all those actors," Lisa said, disgusted. "Some of them have the same reps now they did twenty years ago. I mean, come on. People change as they grow older. Get over it. You're not fooling anyone."

The group all nodded in agreement. There was a mutually thoughtful pause.

"So," Shona said at last, with affected authority. "It's a party for Kimo. What do you guys want to do?"

"How about a movie?" Tina said.

"We could play a game," Carlo said. "You know, blast each other for a while."

"Pfft, no," Shona said. "What is it with you guys and violence? If you want to blast somebody, why don't you go join one of those roving bands trying to take over the world in the war games?"

Carlo stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, what do you want to do, then?"

"Hold on," she said. She was silent for a little bit, her rep's eyes making a side-to-side scanning motion. "Hey! How about this?" She activated one of her screens and added it to the group. She brought up a listing. "They're having a concert tonight."

They studied it.

"That looks pretty good," said Tina.

"It's starting in a few minutes," said Carlo. "I'm fine with it. Are we in?"

Everyone nodded and murmured their agreement.

"You'll need up to six screens," Shona said. "Oh, wait." Everyone stopped, their reps hanging silently. "Is that ok with you, Kimo?"

"Oh... yeah," Kimo said. "It's fine."

"Ok, good," she said, smiling. "It's your day, after all."

Kimo highlighted some of his friends and dragged them to more peripheral screens, opening up the center. Then he highlighted a block of six screens in the middle and activated the listed program. The screens were occupied at once. The top center one had drums. Left of that was the bass. Right of top was a keyboard, awaiting its player. The bottom row had two other instrumental performers on the sides, with an empty screen in the middle.

As they watched, a rep appeared.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to our show tonight. I'm pleased to introduce you to our special guests..." He paused for dramatic effect. "The Sundown Reps!" The screen borders flashed as people registered their approval.

"Good," said Shinto. "It's starting. I hear these guys are excellent."

One by one, with choreographed precision, the performers appeared on their screens, each making a special effect entrance. The flashing of the screens intensified as the visual applause increased. Only the singular empty screen remained unoccupied.

The drummer began a steady beat, his screen pulsating with the rhythm. The bass and keyboard joined in, followed by the other more exotic instruments. Kimo had heard this song before; Shona sent it to him once after she discovered it. The screen borders flashed as the audience began keeping time with the music.

When they reached the end of the intro, the singer's rep appeared in the empty screen, and she began singing as the song continued.

Shona's rep looked ecstatic. "I just love live music!"

As the music progressed, Kimo found himself immersed in the songs. It was a relief to escape from the thoughts that were plaguing him. There would be time tomorrow to worry about such things. Would the thoughts fade? Would the memory?

Halfway through the performance, Shona's screen flashed gently. A text message appeared on the bottom. "Can you mute?"

He dragged a copy of her screen out of the conversation group. Then he muted the group and performance and activated her new screen.

"What's up?"

"I don't know how long this performance is going to take," she said, "and I was hoping we could have some time alone together this evening."

"For what?" Kimo said.

"Well," she said, "it is your Conception Day, and I was thinking... well... I was wondering if you'd like to... you know..." Her head dipped demurely. "... have sex."

Kimo perked up at once. "Really?"

"Sure," she said, blushing slightly. "Why not?"

"Oh, no reason at all," he said happily. "What about these guys?"

"Well, we could do it with them on screen, but I think I'd prefer things a little less... busy."

"Ok," Kimo said. "Let's go." He reactivated the group. "Hey guys," he said. His friends' reps looked at him. "I think I'm going to call it a night. I'm a little tired. Thanks for everything."

There were general murmurs and nods of their heads.

"Have a good one, Kimo," Tina said. "Happy Conception Day."

The others expressed their good wishes and then resumed watching the performance. He selected the group and the performance screens and deactivated them. All went black except for Shona's screen, which moved back to its place at the top.

Shortly, she broke the silence. "Ok, I dropped out, too."

Kimo felt a little awkward. "Do you think they know?" he said.

"Well, it's not exactly a secret about us," she said.

Kimo sighed. The illusion of privacy was so superficial.

"Pick a screen," she said. He selected four in the middle, joining their displays into a single larger area. Shona was obviously way ahead of him. As soon as he activated the screens, her rep appeared in them, now sporting a naked body. She danced about and twirled slightly, showing off all her curves and other well-designed assets.

He felt immediate arousal.

"Are you ready?" she said.

"Hang on," he said. He slid his chair closer to the desk, then bent over and rummaged near where his lap was, searching. His hand found the tube and drew it out. He extended the Seed Catcher and slipped it over the tip of his growing erection. At once, it clamped down and began a gentle suction. He eased back in his chair.

A few flicks of his wand, and his own naked form appeared with Shona's. He had been making changes to his body, too.

"Oooh!" she squealed. "You've been working out!"

"A little." He dragged out a different control palette. "I have a few new tricks." He activated a button, and a slider appeared. As he moved the slider, a phallus grew from the front of his body; he continued dragging, and it grew larger and larger, bridging the gap between them.

The eyes on Shona's rep were wide. "Whoa, boy!" she said. "That's a bit much, don't you think?"

He backed the slider off, and it shrank slightly.

"Come on," she said. "You're going to impale me."

"I think that's the idea," he said, but he reduced it to a more normal size.

"That's better. You know," she said with a small smile, "size isn't important."

They moved together and embraced. He clicked another button on the control palette, and his face moved close to hers. When she reciprocated, the figures kissed.

"So," she said, somewhat breathlessly. "What do you want to do?" A list appeared on the side. "I was thinking about..." She scrolled through the list, the thumbnails showing figures in various positions. "...this one." She selected it, and their figures assumed a coupled position, her legs wrapped around him.

"Hmm..." Kimo said. Mischievously, he scrolled through the list. "How about..." He selected one. His figure was now standing. Shona was on her knees, facing him with her head right about the level of his waist.

"Ugh! No, no!" she said. "I hate that one. I want something where we're holding each other." She flipped through the list some more, and selected another one. Kimo was now flat on his back, Shona's naked form straddling him.

"That'll work," he said and accepted the choice.

The figures began gentle motion. Kimo reached down and grabbed himself just below the Catcher and began a similar up-and-down movement.

He didn't know what Shona was doing exactly, but she began moaning quietly. "Oh, Kimo," she said, gasping for breath. "I love you."

He clicked on the figures, and they picked up the pace.

"Not too fast," she whispered. "Not yet."

The gyrating image before him was having an effect. He felt the Catcher increase its suction as their lovemaking progressed.

Suddenly, Shona began crying out. "Oh... Kimo.. Are you..." Her words came in great waves.

He was at the point that allowed no words. Pleasure rippled through him. He groaned and arched his back, expelling his seed into the Catcher, which increased its suction even further. On screen, their figures bucked and trembled together. Then they came to a stop and lay there, holding each other.

Shona was out of breath. "Wow," she said. "That was nice. Was it good for you?"

Leaning back in the chair, exhausted, Kimo could only nod.

They lay in silence for a while. Then Shona said quietly with a smile, "So, I guess no collection needles for my Kimo this week."

"Yeah," he said. He always found a way to avoid the painful collection needles on his own, but he wasn't sure he wanted to share that with Shona.

"You're lucky," she said. "I can't push my sex cells out of my body like you can."

A picture of Shona being pierced by needles entered his mind, and he shoved it quickly away.

Shona was silent for a while more. "Hey," she said. "I heard a rumor the other day."

"What?"

"I heard that Rika and Mila are having sex."

Kimo shrugged. "Ok. So?"

"Well," she said, "don't you think it's a little... I don't know. Wrong?"

"What's wrong about it?" Kimo said. "What difference does it make?"

"I don't know," she said. "I wouldn't want to do it with another woman."

Kimo was feeling slightly irritated. "You're kidding, right? How would it be any different?"

"It would be completely different."

"What if I was a woman?" he said. "But I looked exactly the same as I do know. In all ways..."

"What," Shona said. "You mean you're spoofing? Your name is really 'Kima'?" She was beginning to sound annoyed.

"I'm just saying," Kimo said. "What would be the difference? Wouldn't you still love me?"

"It just seems wrong to me," she said. "Two female bodies on screen..."

"Oh," Kimo said. "You mean like this?" He opened up a control panel that he had only used privately before. A flick of the wand, and his figure was replaced with a female one, standing now beside Shona.

Shona gasped. "Kimo, that's disgusting!"

"Really?" he said. He grabbed the slider and began moving it. His female figure now sported a steadily growing phallus.

"Kimo, stop!" she cried.

"What would be the difference?" Kimo persisted.

"Kimo, I hate you!"

"No you don't," he said. "You love me."

Her figure vanished from the shared screen, her rep reappearing in its usual spot. It swelled and rocked, seething with anger.

"Kimo," she yelled. "LOG OFF!!!" Fire shot from her eyes, and without another word, she disconnected, her rep disappearing.

The Catcher ceased its suction; it fell away from him and retracted under the desk. He was completely clean, all his seed on its way to a lab somewhere.

Kimo smiled a little to himself, but he wasn't feeling happy. It was more of the same discontent he had been feeling lately. Why did everything have to be so restrictive?

Part 3

[Peppy]

LOL, I hadn't had this much fun reading since...ever. This is good, the quality of your writing is excellent and the dialogue doesn't feel forced. Man, what to say? Awesome. Can't wait for the third part

[Bluejay]

Thanks, Pep. The rest is in my head. I've actually written the very last bit already. Now I just need to get there.

[RENA HANDS]

I didn’t mention it earlier, but I really, really love the way you are using ‘rep’ to illustrate the emotions/actions of your characters. It is positively and most creatively different…

Having sex while on the computer screen, what a surprise. Ha ha ha( I had many laughs on that one.

Maybe missing ‘a?’…

The figures began ‘a’ gentle motion.?

This is truly a new ‘look’ on love making. Many, many applauses. And laughs too. Your story reminds me so much of the ‘restrictive’ as well as the ‘regulated’ state in 1984. It is very eerie, yet very, very informative about a view into ‘human nature.’

The distance illustrated within your characters(emotional as well as the physical) it’s an eerie insight into the ‘nature’ of your characters.

The two chapters/parts that I have read so far, I would definitely rate as 5!(Excellent! Exceptional! Extremely extraordinary!)

[Alex]

I liked how you sent the seed to a lab, further axpanding the human race. That must be referring to the fact that he human race was nearly wiped out from the "plague." (I'm guessing.)

[Ambrose]

Virtual sex, sweet. I like the addition of the seed catcher to enhance the experience. Also the way Shona and Kimo could scroll through sex positions was humorous. I think the best line was:

"Well," she said, "it is your Conception Day, and I was thinking... well... I was wondering if you'd like to... you know..." Her head dipped demurely. "... have sex."


Even not knowing what Shona looks like, I could still visualize her tipping her head and saying that. Great image!

We're beginning to see what kind of a personality Kimo has: playful, restless, curious. I like the foreshadowing you've created with having Kimo wonder what meeting in person would be like, his openness about same sex couples, and his wonderment of the girl without the hood. He's definitely destined for trouble. Can't wait to see it.

[Bluejay]

Again, thanks for reading on and commenting. Yes, he is definitely heading toward something...

[Vorcla]

Damn, you're good. Makes me jealous...

[Bluejay]

Well, at least finish the story. lol Ok, I'm kidding. Thanks much, Rick.