Howard
October 2220
HIP 14101
I reached out, for the umpteenth ti, to flip the switch. And pulled my hand back, yet again. Oh, my freakin’ God, what was wrong with ? I had Bridget’s scan—finally, after months of court battles. I had a matrix and a ship built for her. Her VR was set up, her firewall was set up, I had accounts set up for her on BobNet…
What the hell?
In desperation, I sent a text off to Bill. Am I doing the right thing?
The answer ca back almost imdiately. Oh, hell, no.
Well, nothing like a little bit of support from your friends. Chuckling, I flipped the switch.
Bridget appeared in the middle of my VR—twenty-eight years old, thick red hair, dimples, lab coat—just like the first day I’d t her.
I stared, slack-jawed. I couldn’t help it. I was completely, utterly, frozen.
Bridget turned a full circle, then smiled uncertainly at . “Howard?”
I wordlessly got up, rushed to her, and wrapped her in my arms. She hugged , put her head on my shoulder, and we simply existed, for what could have been forever.
Finally, she stepped back and looked at searchingly. “I guess this ans I’m dead?”
“Original Bridget is dead. You are very much alive.”
“Okay, Howard, I’ll toe the official line. I know you’ve always been sensitive about the difference.”
“It’s important to get an image of yourself as a unique person, Bridge. You aren’t just a copy. You’re you, and you’ll beco more you as ti goes on.”
I took her hand and led her to the couch. I had copied the couch from her apartnt, in the hope that it would reassure her. She looked at it and chuckled, no doubt fully aware of my intent.
“We’ve got hundreds of Bobs now. Every one of us is different. So are a little different, so are a lot. There’s no feeling of us just being ‘Bob clones’. And you aren’t just a ‘Bridget clone’.”
Bridget’s lips pressed together for a mont. Then she looked in the eyes. “Got it. If I believe my Catholic upbringing, Original Bridget is now in either Heaven or Hell. You know the Catholic Church was never able to co up with a coherent policy on replicants, right?”
I chuckled. “They didn’t have a whole lot of ti, before Armageddon distracted everyone.”
Bridget blew out a deep breath and looked around. “What happened to the beach?”
“I can bring that back if you want. But this is my normal indoor VR. I’ve kind of settled on the default Bob library slash living room.”
“Could we, please? I never actually experienced the ocean shore in real life on Earth.”
I nodded, and the VR changed to my tropical paradise. A warm breeze ruffled our clothing, gulls squawked in the distance, and Jeeves stood at attention with a couple of drinks with little umbrellas.
Bridget giggled. She looked around, sighed, then patted the couch. “This could probably go.”
“Your wish is my command.”
The couch was replaced with a couple of comfortable lawn chairs—not the plasticky ones with cross-ways straps, but the good ones, with a fitted cushion. No geese here to worry about.
Bridget lay back in the chair and took a deep breath. “Okay, this is not bad. I might still have a panic attack at so point, but then maybe not. So, let’s bring up to date. I died?” ȓＡΝo͍ΒË𝙎
“Yes.” I hesitated, looking at her. “Heart failure. You hadn’t told that you’d changed your will. Apparently it was a surprise to a lot of people.”
She looked at intently. “How did it go over with the children?”
I rolled my eyes. “Good thing you set aside that defense fund. I’ve got all the court docunts and such, still. You can look them over whenever you want. Suffice it to say, though, that we are no longer on speaking terms.”
Bridget looked down with an expression of deep sadness. “I guess I’m probably not going to be their favorite person, either. Nevertheless, I should make the attempt.”
“Start with Howie.”
She nodded, thoughtfully, then looked around. “Um, so what do I do?”
“Oh, boy. I guess we should start with lessons. Replicant VR 101.”
* * *
I received a text from Bridget, indicating that she was finished with her phone calls. I popped into her VR right away, to find her sitting on her couch and quietly crying. I sat down beside her and without saying a word, took her hand.
She took a few more milliseconds, then smiled at through the tears. “I have to admit, I love that you didn’t include runny noses in the VR world.”
“Look, there’s a limit to even our obsessive realism.” I grinned at her. “We also don’t have mosquitoes. That by itself is worth the price of admission.” I lost the grin and looked into her eyes. “So, want to talk about it?”
Bridget sighed and sat back into the couch. I noted in passing that it was the sa couch as she’d had in her real apartnt, the one I’d used when I brought her back. The VR was, in fact, a mostly faithful copy of her forr ho, except for the addition of a bigger sitting room area, and a bay window with a sun-filled view of the Vulcan landscape.
“I talked to Howie,” she said. Her lip quivered for a mont. “He was distant, but seed embarrassed about it. I think he’s caught between a rock and a hard place, wanting to accept , but knowing that Rosie would never forgive him.”
“Um.” I said. I figured that would be safe.
Bridget smiled sadly. “Rosie was always difficult. She knows what she wants, and isn’t interested in differing opinions. Or concerned about damage from trying to get her way.”
“Be patient, Bridge. Howie will co around. Out of curiosity, if nothing else. I can put him onto my relatives as well. Give him a more positive viewpoint on replicants as family.”
Bridget nodded and wiped her eyes. Then she looked at her hands with a quizzical expression. “I suppose I could really just alter the VR to clean myself up, couldn’t I?”
“Yes, but don’t. If you start getting in the habit of shortcutting things, you end up just floating around the room like Dracula. The VR helps us remain grounded.” I stopped and thought for a second. “Although now, with the androids and all, it might not be as important.”
Bridget stood up. She wandered slowly around her VR, occasionally picking up objects and examining them. She ended up at the bay window, looking out at the Vulcan forest in the distance. The sun was setting, and long shadows stretched across the foreground.
She gazed out at the landscape for a few monts, then raised a hand and made a small gesture. The Vulcan landscape changed into an aerial view of the Odin cloudscape. Blimps floated in the distance, moving in small groups.
“That’s from the videos I took,” I said, pleased. I walked over to stand beside her.
Bridget turned to and returned my smile. “Please don’t be insulted, Howard, but it was the chance to study the Odin lifeforms that turned around on the replication question.”
“Hah-HAH!” I replied. “My evil plan is working like a ch—Ow!”
“Just rember you can still feel my wrath, wise guy.” She grinned as I rubbed my shoulder. “Now, can we see about a field trip?”
“Yesss, precious, just don’t hurts us again.”
“Oh, Howard!”
Well, I’d wanted a family.
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