Long Division (8 page)

I swallowed. ‘So, if it’s your company, why are you talking about it? And to me of all people!’

James sighed and breathed another cloud of smoke lazily through his parted lips. ‘I suppose you could say InVizion and I no longer have the same…ambitions.’

I raised my eyebrows. ‘You split.’

‘Mmm,’ he purred, more to himself than me. ‘Curious minds tend to snoop. InVizion doesn’t take too kindly to those attempting to ferret out their secrets.’

‘Now, hang on,’ I said. ‘I saw you on a chat show just yesterday. You were speaking for the company!’

James’s lips twisted up into a crooked grin. ‘I didn’t say the split was public. Perhaps not in your circle, Mr Hurt, but among the more scientific minded of the world I am somewhat of a celebrity.’

‘Yes, I know.’

James nodded. ‘So, having InVizion announcing that one of their…top researchers—their celebrity scientist—quit on them would not look so good, now would it?’

I shook my head. ‘So why not simply sack you? Befoul your name? Make you look like an idiot? People do it all the time.’

James settled back against the sofa to watch me. He puffed out more smoke. ‘My name isn’t exactly easy to destroy. I don’t think it is a fight that they are willing to get involved in at the moment. And, like it or not, I still could be of great use to them. I make what they are selling credible.’

I nodded. Made sense, I supposed. ‘They’re promoting this thing as the greatest invention since the internet. It does sound incredibly tempting, all admit…but this is more than just virtual reality, isn’t it?’

‘Oh yes, it’s so much more than that,’ James said. ‘It is everything you can imagine. On the surface: the greatest virtual reality creation ever.’

He sat up, excited.

‘Imagine, being a part of anything, walking down the streets of your favourite shows, your dreams, seeing every detail, every time different. Every imagination or thought one can create and make real. That is what they’d like us to focus on.’

‘Sounds like a hell of an upgrade for the porn industry.’

His eyes gleamed. ‘But that’s nothing. This technology here, this will bridge the gap between reality and fantasy. Humans will…cease to exist.’

I didn’t like how wickedly delighted James looked at me. My mouth had gone dry. ‘W—what do you mean?’

James tapped some ash away. ‘Ever heard of Ray Kurzweil?’

I shook my head. ‘No.’

He looked slightly disappointed. ‘You should have. He’s a man who had many…incredible theories when it came to technology, ideas people at the time would have thought mad. Ideas about technology and humans eventually becoming
one.
One day, it was said, people’s very bodies would no longer be needed. Their very
souls
, their consciousness, could be uploaded into machines. Eternal life, if you will.’

I balked at the idea. ‘Impossible.’

James tilted his head slightly to one side. ‘You do not think it is possible?’

‘No.’ My voice wasn’t nearly as firm as I’d hoped it would be.

He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I suppose that is what everyone says at the beginning.’ His eyes were darting round the room, unable to fix on anything. They finally settled on me, or close to me. He didn’t meet my eyes. ‘Would you like to try it?’

I shook my head hurriedly. I’d have been less uncomfortable if he’d just offered me a bag full of cocaine. ‘N—no. Thanks.’

He chuckled. ‘Would you like a demonstration, then?’

A thrill at the suggestion went through me despite all my reservations. I was not only sceptical, but intrigued. A chance to be one of the first to see Godlink before it was available to the public? How could I pass up such an opportunity? ‘I won’t lie. I’m very curious about it.’

James’s face brightened considerable. He snubbed out his stub of a cigarette in the ashtray on the table and then gently settled the device on his head, like a delicate crown. The flat little screens on either side of his head blinked white with life.

‘Of course,’ he said, ‘this is only the first model for the visual people need. There will be a similar device for all of those already not already fitted with chips. This technology will be able to integrate with people’s head chips. InVizion will eventually produce to their own chips, of course. That is the ultimate goal. The last physical tech.’

His eyes fluttered closed and I watched in fascinated apprehension as Nightgood’s face took on an almost serene quality. Like he’d just injected himself with the best drug known to man. He let out a slow, practiced breath.

All the lights in the flat blinked on at once, taking me by surprise. I cast my gaze round the room, and then back to James, gaping in absolute shock. Had he really done that?

The radio spat to life. Then the telly clicked on. Both started flipping through channels madly. I stared at him. A door began to open and shut on its own. That wasn’t even technology. That was wood and hinges and how the
hell?
His eyes were skewed shut now, framed in crinkles, almost as if he were in pain. His breathing was coming more rapid.

‘James?’

James opened his eyes and it all stopped.

I could only gawp. Dumbfounded.

‘You? You just did all of that?’

He swallowed heavily, wincing as he did so. ‘Yes. That was all me.’ He rubbed his temple, pushing the device up a little further on his head.

‘I—I don’t understand. Being able to…record dreams is one thing, but being able to open a door
just by thinking about it?
How the fuck is that even possible?’ I was properly unnerved.

‘The device. It’s able to transmit brainwaves. Amplify them. Whatever one can think of is possible, if one is simply focused enough—to varying degrees of success.’

I slumped back in the chair. My brain struggling to come to terms with what I’d just witnessed. This was…impossible power. I realised my hands were trembling. Soon every irritating wanker and power hungry bloke would have one strapped to their head. I wished fervently that James would take the damn thing off.

‘If it’s a…transmitter of some sort,’ I said weakly, ‘does that…have any…effect on the brain?’

James smiled at me. ‘An excellent question! The answer is yes. All technology has the potential to rewire the brain in some way. Electronic books made it harder for people to retain information and every mobile feeds the addiction of people’s craving for acknowledgment. Yes, with InVizion early scans on their subject did show a change in the brain after use.’

‘And you’re still using it?’

His smile grew more fixed. ‘Who do you think their test subject was? To be honest, I do not even need the device. I have a chip, but, well, I thought it would be a good visual for you.’

I rubbed my face. ‘Oh, God. This…this is insane.’

‘There’s more,’ James broke through my words. ‘I had to give my brain a rest, but I want you to see this.’

I pulled my hand away from my eyes and looked at him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see more. He directed his eyes down to a mathematics book which was sitting on the table between us. Confused, I obeyed and turned my eyes to it to.

For about thirty seconds, nothing happened.

Suddenly, its cover flopped, reminding me a bit of a wounded bird.

And then, almost defiant to all logic or reason, it flipped open. Pages began blurring past me, the whole book flying by so quickly I could not see a single word or chart.

The book slammed with such force I jumped. James fell back into a slump on the sofa. His eyes closed.

‘What. The. Hell.’ It was all I could think of.

James was panting now from the exertion. He finally opened his eyes and peeled the device from his head, wincing a bit as he did so. He dropped it unceremoniously to the table. ‘Turn to page four-hundred ninety-three.’

I stared at him. ‘What?’

‘Do it.’

I obeyed. And as I was just focusing in on the text, James began to speak. It was on physics and I didn’t understand a word of it, but as I listened to James, I realised what he was doing. He was
reciting
from the page before me. Word for word. Exactly.

James shook his head when he’d reached the end. ‘Another one. At random. Pick anything. So I can prove I’m not lying.’

Obediently, and unnerved, I flipped to the middle of the book. ‘All right…page…two-hundred twenty-one.’

Again, James complied. Exact same words. Completely word for word.

He wanted me to pick another page. I couldn’t do it. I was too disturbed. ‘I think you’ve proven your point.’

James Nightgood had just mentally opened a six-hundred page book and memorised it all in less than thirty seconds. I could not believe otherwise.

‘Good,’ he said and gave me a weak smile. ‘That can tire even
my
brain.’ He fluffed his hair. ‘My head starts overheating.’

‘So in several months everyone will be able to do this? Become superhuman, super geniuses?’

James started tapping his fingers together. ‘You probably will not see such dramatic displays in most people. The more powerful and focused the brain, the greater the results. Most people cannot focus their brains to the degree I can, even if they believe otherwise. For the majority, people cannot tune on a single thought for longer than thirty seconds. It is difficult to do. And the amount one needs to focus on a task like I’ve just displayed…well, Years of practice.’

I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the rapid beating of my pulse. ‘The demonstration I saw online… He was able to do what you’ve done—’

James almost seemed offended. ‘No. He wasn’t. It was me. Hidden away. Off screen. I wouldn’t go on. Didn’t want the attention. But I was there. He was simply there for the show of it.’

‘Well, I guess that’s some small comfort.’

James nodded. ‘Considering most people won’t use it any farther than a way to have a more interesting wank, then I’d say yes, it is some small comfort.’

I was inundated with questions. What did it feel like to use? Did it hurt? What was it like to work so intimately with a piece of technology? My nerves kept me from asking.

James seemed lost in thought. Perhaps one had to be after ingesting as much information as he just had.

‘So,’ I said after a very long moment, ‘what’s the point of all this?’

James finally looked my direction, eyes a little glazed. ‘Point?’

‘Yes, well, you’re here, showing me all of this, there has to be a reason. Unless you’re just showing off.’

James mouth quirked a bit. ‘Well, I do relish a chance to show off.’ His gaze grew distant. ‘I suppose I simply wanted someone else to know. Everyone is so keen about it; so desperate to get their hands on it. You were different. You don’t like the technology. I figured that was a good enough reason to show you. You’re not someone who would go mad over it like all the others. You can step back and see it for what it really is. Or as well as you’re capable of comprehending it.’

I raised my eyebrows at the slight. ‘So you just wanted someone to bear the weight of this with you.’

James lit up yet another cigarette. ‘I suppose so,’ he spoke around his cupped hands.

I timidly reached forward and picked the device up. I turned it over in my hands. It felt like nothing special. ‘It doesn’t seem to have any controls on it. How do you turn it on and off?’

James shook his head, a trail of smoke following him. ‘You don’t.’

I frowned. ‘You can’t turn it off?’

James again gave his head a terse shake.

I studied the headset, baffled. ‘Must do a number on batteries.’

‘No batteries. No charging. Nothing. That’s it.’

I laughed. ‘How is that possible?’

James lifted his brows. His catlike eyes glinted. ‘Ah, now you’re asking the right question.’

I sat up a bit straighter. ‘Where is it getting power from?’

James grinned, slightly wickedly. I pressed my fingers to my eyes. Where does the power come from? How the hell was I supposed to know that? The only thing I could think of that it came into contact with was… ‘The brain?’

James chuckled darkly.

I spluttered. ‘But—but it’s not being worn constantly. At least not yet. I imagine people will always have them stuck on their heads—or the eventual chips—but you don’t! Why is this one still on? How the hell can it draw power from the brain?’

He pulled a thoughtful face. ‘Congratulations. You are one of the first to ask that question. I have no idea.’

I laughed, but it came out more as a weak tremor. ‘That can’t be possible. Why would I be one of the first? Surely people have wondered—’

James blew out a cloud of smoke. ‘Perhaps they’ve been…unwittingly distracted.’

I frowned over that for a moment. I wasn’t entirely sure I knew what James was getting at. ‘People don’t notice because they’re distracted…’

‘Or
can’t
notice.’

I gave him a questioning look. ‘Okay, I don’t follow.’