Asaro, Catherine The Veiled Web

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He didn't answer, just sat as if absorbing the concept.
Lucia went back to the lounger and laid her hand on its headrest. "Let's give the Jazari
suit a try."
Zaki got up and paced across his office, his hands clasped behind his back. "I'm still
unsure."
"Why?" She ran her finger along the gold mesh. It was open in the front, with a flexible
zipper. When she pulled the fingers on one glove, they stretched.
After a pause, Zaki said, "I feel& out of control."
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Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web
She looked up at the screen. "You 'feel'?"
"It's shorthand for 'I am simulating the feeling.' "
"Ah." She sat in the chair and slid her legs into the suit.
"Lucia."
"Yes?"
"You have to undress to use the suit."
"Oh." She blushed, then wondered why. Zaki had no analog of human desire. Still, she
felt strange. "Would you turn off your camera? I wouldn't normally ask, but& " She
stopped, feeling foolish.
"It's all right," he said. "I understand."
A hum came from the camera up in the corner by the ceiling. Puzzled, she looked up.
The red light on the camera had gone dark, indicating it was no longer in operation.
Zaki had also rotated the camera so it pointed away from Lucia, which wasn't really
necessary given that he had switched it off. In effect, he turned his back so she could
undress in privacy. On the Stellar-Magnum screen, he had gone to his shelves and
appeared engrossed in reading a textbook. Lucia felt a surge of appreciation for his
sensitivity, followed by surprise when she realized his impulse to courtesy felt genuine
to her rather than simulated.
After she undressed, she put on the VR suit. It stretched just enough to fit her like a skin
of shimmering gold cloth. She sat on the lounger and said, "You can turn around now."
As the camera hummed, Zaki turned to face her. "How is it?"
"Just fine." She pulled up the hood. "Are your links to the system coming up?"
"Yes." Various lights blinked on the robot arms for the lounger and the equipment they
supported, including the Ultrajacs. "Everything appears to be in working order."
She lay back on the lounger. As her weight settled, the chair reclined under its own
power. A hum came from the robot arm with the visored helmet. It swung over her, and
the helmet snapped into place around her head, inserting prongs into her ears and
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Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web
bringing the visor down over her eyes. The world went dark, but when she pushed the
helmet, light trickled past its edges. Reassured, she let it click back into place.
"Are you ready to start?" Zaki's voice sounded muffled.
"Yes. I can't hear you very well."
"Is this better?" Now his voice boomed, coming from behind her head.
Lucia winced. "Can you soften it?"
He turned down his volume. "How is this?"
"Much better."
"Shall I start the simulation?"
"What do you have?"
"I've a number of files here we could try." He paused. "Rashid also has a lot of
simulations stored on the Ultrajacs, but I still seem to be locked out of them."
"Can you operate the VE. system without them?"
"Yes. I've copies of all the necessary software and can control the hardware from here."
"Let's start with one of your files, then."
"All right."
The helmet hummed again, louder this time. In fact, it buzzed like an insect. Her
surroundings lightened, first into a cloudy luminance, then more natural daylight.
She was lying in a blurry field of grass, wearing a qamis and farajiya, and a jellaba over
the two soft robes. Blue sky arched overhead, with cotton puff clouds. A breeze brushed
her body and a fly buzzed past her face. Turning her head, she saw a misty cluster of
purple wildflowers nodding in the wind. The scene had a flat look, and the colors were
duller than normal.
"It's pretty," she said. "The resolution and depth aren't great, though."
"Let me see what I can do," Zaki said.
The sky turned a more vivid blue, and the flowers took on sharper lines. In the distance,
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Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web
mountains took form out of the haze. They appeared flat against the sky, but areas
"closer" to Lucia had a more three-dimensional quality now.
A fly lit on her nose. She could hear and see it but felt nothing. Wind brushed her body,
bumpy ground poked her limbs, and the qamis felt soft against her skin. But no fly feet. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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