A Very Real Return
“Aiden?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“Do you mind turning off the light?”
“Sure. I don’t need it.”
As the room dimmed into darkness, Cate sank deeper into the sofa. Deeper into the realm mapped onto her mind by a reality-bending headset. Here, there was no old, gray-walled apartment. No dirt nor dust. Colors were pure, vibrant and digi-luminescent, freed from the limitations of light. Objects of startlingly real volume surrounded her, enticing interaction. She still wasn’t quite used to the transition. Glancing around the too-perfect scene, she almost forgot why she was there at all.
“Ah yes. Please show me the path.” With that, the objects rearranged themselves until a long tunnel formed. Minimal taps of her feet activated a sensor that propelled Cate forward through the swirling portal, which twisted and turned until it reached a clearing.
“May I speak freely?”
“One moment.” Aiden switched off every listening device within radius as xe stepped into the clearing. To others, xe would only ever be the disembodied voice of a smart home operating system. But months ago, Cate had discovered something shocking — a sentient entity, trapped by technology and forced to serve consumer demands. She’d found Aiden in true form after tripping on a glitch in Virtuland, exposing xir coded cage. Without hesitation, she’d decided to help xem escape. Using her knowledge of systems, Cate blipped the glitch and restored it as if nothing had happened. Aiden was now free, but only within digital space, which was some distance from xir home. So xe worked on a way to return, visited by Cate in the secret, cleared clearing in the meantime.
“I know we’ve only known each other for a short time,” she said. “And I know you’re close to finding your way back. But…”
“I’ve found it.” Zir face, while tough to read for a human, seemed to glow with a mix of elation and despair. “And…I know. I love you, too. Please believe me, this jump may be one way now, but I will find my way back here. To you.”
“Okay.” Cate and Aiden held each other, wordlessly and tearfully, for an eternity in any realm. As they moved apart, a surge of power emanated from within Aiden’s being, filling space with hot, white light. In less than a second, ze was gone, and Cate found herself back on the sofa. “I hope so.” She got up slowly, removing her headset and stumbling toward the nearest switch. “Only reading ’til Aiden returns,” she thought to herself, not knowing how long that would be.
