The Fair & Foul (Project Gene Assist Book 1) (15 page)

"This may have been your best idea yet," gloated Louis.

Louis's phone rang, shattering their concentration, and the sensation dissipated, leaving Juliane aching for satisfaction.

"It's time, sir," the voice on the other end of the line announced.

"I'll be right there," advised Louis. Hanging up the phone, he said to Juliane, "I have to go, but don't worry. We'll finish this later."

After taking a few minutes to regain her equilibrium, Juliane joined the rest of the team in Alan's lab. She was deep into programming when her vision of the room was replaced with an image of herself in a compromising position. Along with the image, she received a sense of Louis's hunger and his arousal. She blinked, clearing the image, and looked about the room. None of her colleagues noticed anything unusual.

Once again, she felt the sensation of his body on hers. Her breath became shallow.

Betty looked up from her workspace. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine." Juliane gritted through her teeth, biting off the moan that threatened to escape from her lips.

"Are you sure? You look flushed."

Alan turned around and scanned her face. "Your eyes are glazed," he announced. "You aren't coming down with something?" he asked.

"Coming down?" Juliane advised. Spiraling out of control maybe, dancing the fine line between torture and ecstasy definitely, but sick? "No. I feel wonderful."

Alan frowned. "Good. We can't afford to lose our momentum now."

Juliane visualized smacking Louis on the buttocks and received back a sense of unapologetic mirth. She must have gotten her point across because the rest of the sensations faded away immediately, allowing her to continue work uninterrupted.

Back in the privacy of her own apartment, Juliane tried to find Louis. For some reason, she still was not able to pinpoint his exact location even with her advanced abilities. When asked about it, Louis had only shrugged and told her that he had equipped his phone with some additional security since his father had made some enemies. Why Louis would need the same level of security as his father was a little unclear to Juliane. It was more than a little paranoid in her opinion. She guessed Louis must have his reasons, but he could be so frustrating at times.

She searched until she believed she had identified his whereabouts to within an approximate ten-mile radius. He was on the West Coast and likely in a meeting with some very influential business leaders. Juliane's lips turned up in a coy smile. Perfect. She projected her desire across their network and waited for a response. When none immediately followed, she imagined the feel of his chest beneath her hands and pushed. Still nothing.

Disappointed, she sent a message through their private network. No response. She sent another message through the public network. This time, Louis sent a message back. He was sorry to report he hadn't felt a thing but was looking forward to chatting with her soon.

Juliane contemplated sending Louis an invitation to meet her in the virtual world she and the team were using, but thought better of it. She didn't trust that Alan wouldn't be using it, and the last thing she wanted would be for him to find them there for any reason outside of pure research.

More days passed, and Juliane hadn't found the source of the issue. It was as if Louis was blocking her transmissions for some reason. He, on the other hand, did not seem to have the same problem. He had remained uncharacteristically in one place for all of this time, and the time difference had placed her at a distinct disadvantage. There had been a few occasions when she had been forced to excuse herself from the lab before she embarrassed herself due to his preferred manner of wishing her a good morning. The team had begun to take notice.

As enjoyable as those moments were, the private network overall was rapidly losing its appeal. At least in Juliane's opinion. For Louis, well, Juliane didn’t quite know what Louis thought about it. His recent calendar allowed for little time to talk. And even less time for the kind of talk that didn't first involve play.

After facing yet another morning of her team's glares and wrinkled foreheads, Juliane decided it was time to disable the network.
So much for being spontaneous.
Louis will understand
, she told herself.
He probably won’t even notice it is gone.
She really had to put her full attention into the task at hand; otherwise, when he eventually did have time for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, she wouldn’t be able to join him.
He is bound to be back soon. I’ll explain it to him later.

Juliane isolated the network link in her mind and severed the connection. Immediately, her body felt cold as if she were physically bleeding out. It was as if, without the link, she was suddenly less whole, less alive. Even her vision was affected. The world looked grayer.
How would someone go about cauterizing a virtual wound?
she wondered.

Juliane slogged toward the lab. She felt a desperate need to be surrounded by other people, yet she wanted to lock herself away in her office until the end of time. Her body felt foreign. Wrong and alien. Something had gone very, very wrong.

Juliane glanced at a clock only to realize that several minutes had passed of which she had no memory and minimal accomplishment. Most of the last several weeks had passed in a similar state of fog. The fact that Juliane was able to focus long enough to complete anything at all had become her daily victory.

“Have you completed the next simulation profile? Juliane? Juliane? Earth to Dr. Faris?” Betty’s voice cut through Juliane’s thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Betty. Yes, the simulation profile is ready. Would you care to go online with me to view it?”

“Excellent, Alan should already be there waiting for us.”

Juliane attempted to glance around the room without Betty noticing. Until Betty had spoken, Juliane hadn’t realized that Alan wasn’t still in the room.
How long have I been out this time?

“Is the meeting in the same place as before?”

“It seemed appropriate enough.”

Juliane closed her eyes and imagined entering the virtual reality universe they had selected. It was a process that had grown routine. Not that she was complaining. Even if she was only going through the motions, she was at least going forward. Her avatar appeared outside of the CERN reactor laboratory. As Betty had advised, Alan was already there, rendered in full lab coat complete with safety goggles and clipboard. The corner of Juliane's lip twitched as if she wanted to smirk but just couldn't remember exactly how. “You certainly seem to enjoy looking the part in here.”

He smiled as he answered, “As they say, 'When in Rome.' I’d hate to see the dry cleaning bill on the outfit you are wearing in real life.”

Juliane looked down. She hadn't given a thought to how her avatar should dress when she entered the virtual world. As a result, her subconscious had chosen for her. Her outfit was a version of the same iceberg white suit from the symposium; only here it was made with a fabric that could be described as being a modern take on samite. Her loose hair swayed in a breeze that she alone could feel.
I must look like an ice princess
, she thought.

The virtual Betty, on the other hand, appeared exactly as she did in real life. Juliane couldn't be sure if that was by choice. Betty did not seem to be able to perform more than a handful of actions at a time in the virtual world. Alan had speculated that the safer procedure would have such an effect,
and Betty's performance would suggest he was right.

“Have you uploaded the latest equations?” Alan asked.

“Chad should be processing Juliane's portion now,” answered Betty.

Betty disappeared and then re-appeared by Alan’s side. Chad once mentioned hearing a rumor that the two were dating outside of work. At the time, Juliane wasn't able to muster the energy to scold Chad for spreading gossip. She told herself it wasn't any of her business. So what if Betty and Alan chose to have a romantic relationship in addition to a professional one? But today, seeing them so close together, she couldn't help wondering if there was any truth to the story. It was like trying to ignore a scab that refused to heal.

Alan had mellowed since she severed her connection with Louis as if he could sense something different about her. He'd even stopped calling her 'Jules.' The corner of Betty's lips turned up as Alan's virtual hand hovered near hers for a moment. Juliane realized how badly she wanted what they appeared to share, and she cursed the shadow of her former self she had allowed herself to become. The next time Louis was in town, she would re-establish the link if only to feel whole once again. Then, they would find some way to make it work properly.

She wondered for the thousandth time how he must be coping with the connection's loss. She hoped for his sake that whatever had been limiting its effectiveness on his side had in some way shielded him from its loss. She was afraid it hadn't. Her calls and messages had thus far gone unanswered.

“Ah, Juliane? You were fading out just then. There isn’t anything wrong with the simulation?” Betty asked.

"No, nothing is wrong. I was momentarily distracted, but I am back now.”

Juliane forced herself to forget about everything but the simulation. A series of components began to appear before her and gradually assembled themselves into shape. Juliane reached over and pressed a small switch. “Now this is based on available components found today. I would suspect that once we have a workable tool, much smaller, more commercially-available substitutes will be on the market, and we will be able to offer a version greatly refined in size and shape."

The device began to hum. Juliane waved her hand, and the floor around Betty and Alan became a pool of water, which remained even after Juliane switched the device off.

“And you are one hundred percent sure that you did not create that pool purely by thought?” Alan asked. "Accidents can happen here if you aren't careful."

As if she didn't know that. “I am positive. I had keyed in a program restriction just to be sure.” Juliane nodded, emphasizing her point. It was one of the few things she was sure about.

“Well then, I will begin the requisition process for the materials in real life.”

“Do we have a budget for that? Isn’t the board going to need more proof of concept?” Betty asked.

Alan laughed. The sound seemed eerie and wrong in Juliane's ears. "You let me worry about that."

“Alan has had the board eating out of his hand for years," elaborated Juliane. "I don’t know exactly what he has over them, but he’s always been able to get them to sign off on whatever he needs to be successful.” Juliane's jaw ached. She may have spoken more today than she had in days.

Alan did not offer any additional comment other than a smirk.

With childlike glee, Betty clasped her hands, beaming with pride at their accomplishment. “I guess that’s all we can do for now. Alan, will you be coming by later? Er . . . you too, Juliane? I feel like celebrating.”

Alan turned to her. “Not right away. Juliane makes it sound like all I have to do is snap my fingers. I’m good, it’s true, but there is a certain amount of paperwork required first.”

“Oh yes, of course there is. How about you, Juliane? You’ve been working so hard over the last few weeks. Would you like to go out for a celebratory toast?”

Juliane sighed. “Thank you for the offer, Betty, but I’d prefer not to celebrate, at least not yet. Chad? Would you work up the remaining task list? I’ll start work on the costing proposal. Alan can explain it later. If that’s all, I am going to sign off.”

Before either could respond, Juliane opened her eyes back in the real world. Betty's blank expression was evidence that she lingered in the virtual space. Chad too was still tethered to the machines. Alan was nowhere to be seen in the lab. Juliane found herself wondering where Alan might have disappeared to, but was grateful for his absence. Had he been there, Betty might have returned promptly as well and then she would have been forced to listen to more of Betty's bubbly happiness. It was more than she could take.

She took a step and was momentarily blinded by a splitting headache. Juliane reached out to stabilize herself as the room spun and her legs buckled. The entire episode lasted less than a minute while Betty continued to sit like a doll in her chair. While the vertigo may have left, Juliane still felt weak. The lab walls felt oppressive. She had to get out of the room.

Juliane made it as far as her office before she had to rest once again. Reaching into her desk drawer, she frantically tried to find her phone before remembering that she had stopped carrying it some time ago. While her head no longer felt as if it was being puréed in a blender, she was unable to focus, leaving her with no access to the network and no other means of locating Louis. She didn't have his private line programmed into the desk phone. She had never needed it.

“Dr. Faris! Are you all right?” Chad stood in the office doorway, but she had trouble focusing on him. “When was the last time you slept?”

Juliane wasn’t able to form the words of a witty retort, so she settled on a futile attempt of waving Chad away. Chad ignored the gesture. He came to Juliane’s side and reached out as if to hold her hand, but froze in mid-movement as if afraid of her reaction.

“Migraine. I need to talk to Louis,” Juliane whispered. The sound of her voice created aftershocks of stabbing pain. Blinking rapidly did not help her vision, but she still noted Chad blanch, and he took a step back.

“Er . . . hmm . . . well . . .”

“Chad, I can barely stand my own voice. If you’ve nothing to say, then don’t.” Each word was like a miniature ice pick in her brain. “I don’t have my phone. Find his number and call him. Now.”

“Um . . .”

“Now, Chad.”

“Well, I’m not sure that is such a good idea . . .”

“I don’t remember asking you for your opinion.” Inundated by another wave of pain and nausea, Juliane was forced to rest her head back down on the desk.

The staccato melody of Chad’s phone ringing played across her ears like a jackhammer. As she was taken over by blissful darkness, the last sound she heard was something that sounded much like Chad saying, “I don’t know if she’s heard yet or not.”