Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 Everyone one of us has a world we love more than any other, and a world we don\u2019t want anything to do with.\u00a0 A lot of relationships start because we play around in a world we both enjoy.\u00a0 A lot of relationships end because we go back to our own worlds and just don\u2019t care about the one the other lives in.\u00a0 And sometimes worlds that cannot coexist collide.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jack looked out on the well-dressed college students filling the Pav with their expectant looks.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t friends, he doubted they ever would<\/em> be, but they were friendly.\u00a0 That had surprised him.\u00a0 He\u2019d expected them to dislike him after what he did to their fellow student.\u00a0 He\u2019d underestimated the decency of the student body in general though, as they\u2019d left their fellow student a pariah for his attempted drugging and welcomed Jack to their parties ever since.<\/p>\n He really hadn\u2019t expected to play in public again, and yet here he sat on a chair on stage, at their request.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a secret that the fleet was leaving soon, and Samantha had bragged about his singing far more than he really liked.\u00a0 But that left him no real choice.\u00a0 He strummed the acoustic guitar, hearing the sound echoing off the bar\u2019s far walls.\u00a0 The sound of fingers on strings monopolized their attention, and the whispered murmurs faded away into near silence as he began to play a familiar tune.\u00a0 On New Earth, it was a popular drinking song.\u00a0 Back home in Minnesota, it had different words.<\/p>\n The words he knew tumbled out, the song one of joy and celebration and fun.\u00a0 He sang of a beach on a lake, moonlight glinting off the waves.\u00a0 He sang of a bonfire, friends singing and dancing and drinking around it.\u00a0 He sang about dancing with girls, and fighting with jealous boyfriends.\u00a0 He sang about karaoke girls, and drinking way too much.\u00a0 He sang about fistfights, and howling at the moon.<\/p>\n Through it all, he strummed the guitar, holding onto it like an old friend, and used its familiar sound to pull him through the song.\u00a0 The song had been popular many years back home, sung in celebration of life.\u00a0 Jack sung it as a memorial to his friends who weren\u2019t around anymore, closing his eyes part way through the song, and the melancholy in his voice took it over.\u00a0 His mourning filled the room through to the final strum of the guitar.<\/p>\n Silence ruled the room and Jack opened his eyes to see young men and women staring at him.\u00a0 New Earth had seen nothing like Yosemite, but in that moment he saw they understood the loss.\u00a0 A silence filled the Pav, and he\u2019d seen enough of them to know that this was one of the good ones.\u00a0 It stretched on, the audience reliving the emotions of the song, and Jack came to his feet in the thunderous silence.\u00a0 He hung the guitar in the place reserved for it and stepped away, each fall of his boots echoing across the room.<\/p>\n Jack stepped off the stage with a tip of his cowboy hat and ambled into the well-dressed crowd as they began to murmur.\u00a0 He chose not to focus on their words, granting them the privacy their hushed voices craved, and cut through the crowd to sit down at the table he shared with Samantha.<\/p>\n Samantha smiled and patted the arm he laid on the table in a proud manner.\u00a0 \u201cI said<\/em> you could do it,\u201d she whispered low enough that it barely carried to his ears over the growing murmurs.<\/p>\n Jack shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNever said I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 Just that I don\u2019t like singing for strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha held his hand.\u00a0 \u201cAnd who are all of these<\/em> people?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack sighed.\u00a0 \u201cNot strangers anymore, suppose.\u00a0 Your<\/em> friends.\u00a0 So I suppose they\u2019re somewhere in between for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha cocked her head to the side and chewed her lip.\u00a0 \u201cIs it really that simple?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNothing simple about it really.\u00a0 But New Churchill College is the world you live in.\u00a0 If I can\u2019t be comfortable in it, I don\u2019t have any place in it,\u201d he finished with a reassuring smile.<\/p>\n Samantha stretched a hand out and grasped his with an approving smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou always say the right thing,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n Jack patted her hand with his free one.\u00a0 \u201cI try.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha pulled in a long breath, gave him an examining look, and one side of her mouth curled upward.\u00a0 \u201cWould you like to continue trying on the way home?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s eyes widened in interest.\u00a0 \u201cWhy, Ma\u2019am, I thought you\u2019d never ask,\u201d he said as he rose to his feet with all the grace he could muster in New Earth\u2019s heavy gravity, and offered to help her to her feet.<\/p>\n She accepted his help, not he was certain because she needed it, but because it gave him an excuse to rest his hand on the waist of her simple black dress.\u00a0 A shock ran through both of them as his hand touched her and her smile turned flirtatious.\u00a0 \u201cWell, lead on, Sir,\u201d she returned and leaned into him.<\/p>\n They made their way towards the door like that, the crowd filling the Pav making way for them without protest.\u00a0 They stepped into the night and Jack looked up to see that even the second sun was beginning to fall towards the horizon.\u00a0 They\u2019d been in the Pav for many hours this evening.\u00a0 Considering how long it took Samantha to talk him into finally performing, he supposed that wasn\u2019t a big surprise.<\/p>\n Jack bestowed his best charming smile on her.\u00a0 \u201cWould my Lady prefer a ride in a car or a walk through the city?\u201d<\/p>\n She raised her eyebrows and looked up through her red bangs at him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019m thinking it would take longer to walk home, right?\u201d she asked with a pat on his arm.<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s every hair stood on end with anticipation and he realized that getting her home was foremost on his mind.\u00a0 He bent down to whisper in her ear.\u00a0 \u201cExcruciatingly longer.\u201d\u00a0 He felt a shiver run through her body and suppressed a smile of victory.\u00a0 He still had the touch.<\/p>\n She patted his arm again and his heart jumped into his throat.\u00a0 \u201cI vote for a walk then,\u201d she said with a sly smile.\u00a0 And she still had the ability to throw him for a loop whenever she wanted to.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he answered with all the air of a gentleman, pulled in a deep breath, and turned to escort her towards home.\u00a0 They walked down the sidewalk, his arm wrapped around her body, hand resting on her waist in a very familiar way that was decidedly un<\/em>gentlemanly.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t protest.<\/p>\n They made some small talk on their way, about the trees lining the streets, the architecture of the buildings on either side, and even the cars that swooped down out of the sky to park in front of the stores outside the college campus.\u00a0 They talked about people and dogs too, pointing out the old dogs from the new dogs.\u00a0 Sometimes it was easy to see the intelligence behind their eyes, sometimes they did a perfect job of acting like an old dog, even fooling the other dogs.\u00a0 Watching them, he understood why they did that.\u00a0 It was their way of keeping in touch with their world, so they wouldn\u2019t forget where they came from.<\/p>\n And that was it.\u00a0 He blinked at the realization that he really didn\u2019t have any choice anymore.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost his anchor to his world when Yosemite fell, when his home died.\u00a0 He had<\/em> to put down new roots or he would forget\u2026everything that mattered.\u00a0 For the first time, he truly understood why cybers did what they did, and that understanding filled him with determination.\u00a0 He let out a long breath and examined Samantha again.<\/p>\n She recognized the shift in his feel and her emerald eyes lifted to return his gaze.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled at her.\u00a0 \u201cWell, there\u2019s been something I\u2019ve been thinking about for a while,\u201d he finally said.<\/p>\n She smiled back, mischievous glint in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI know,\u201d was her only answer.<\/p>\n Jack sighed.\u00a0 She could be difficult when she knew she had the upper hand.\u00a0 Which as it happened was most of the time.\u00a0 \u201cFirst, I need to ask you\u2026if you could be in two places at once\u2026if you could follow both your duty and your\u2026well\u2026the rest of you\u2026would you?\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha blinked before resting her head against his chest again.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Could you be clearer about the situation?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack glared at her.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not going to make this easy, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha chuckled and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIf easy\u2019s what you want, you\u2019re taking the wrong walk.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack sighed and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cTrue\u201d he whispered and pulled in a long breath.\u00a0 He let it out again, set his jaw, and met her gaze.\u00a0 \u201cLook, I\u2019m leaving and there\u2019s nothing I can do to stop that.\u201d\u00a0 Then he smiled as words came to mind.\u00a0 \u201cIf there was no War, I would stay right here though.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIf there was no War, you never would have come<\/em> here.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded and squeezed her in a comforting manner. \u00a0\u201cTrue.\u201d\u00a0 She was completely correct.\u00a0 He would still be at home without Yosemite, still just enjoying life on the lake.\u00a0 He\u2019d never felt an urge to leave Earth before.\u00a0 Not even Minnesota.\u00a0 After all, what reason was<\/em> there to leave paradise?<\/p>\n After nearly a minute of silence, Samantha sighed again, pushing herself against his body.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s your real<\/em> question, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled and let out a long breath.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want me to stay, Sam?\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha sighed and he felt the helplessness in her posture.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 And no.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack squeezed her again.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha shrugged and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026I don\u2019t want you to go, Jack.\u00a0 But\u2026I don\u2019t want you\u2026abandoning your brothers either.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack let out another long breath and patted her waist.\u00a0 It was the answer he\u2019d been hoping for.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if I could stay here\u2026and<\/em> go too?\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha stiffened in his arm for a moment before her eyes lifted to meet his again, confusing on her face.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u201d was the only word that slipped from her lips.<\/p>\n Jack just smiled.\u00a0 \u201cBetty?\u201d<\/p>\n A hologram of Jack appeared, walking on the other side of her.<\/p>\n Samantha looked at the hologram, then turned to Jack with a raised eyebrow and an unamused expression.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re going to fly off to war and leave me with a hologram<\/em>?\u201d she asked in a very pointed manner that demanded<\/em> an explanation quickly.<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cUm\u2026no.\u00a0 Though I see where that came from.\u201d\u00a0 He let out a long breath and bit the bullet.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s this Peloran technology that\u2026well\u2026you know how good they are at analyzing brain waves?\u00a0 Finding parts of the brain that don\u2019t work right and fixing them?\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOne of my classmates was born\u2026brain damaged.\u00a0 He gets straight As now.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded.\u00a0 \u201cExactly.\u00a0 Well, reading and fixing isn\u2019t all they can do.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled in a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cThey can also save<\/em> them.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha blinked and cocked her head to the side again.\u00a0 \u201cSave<\/em> them?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled.\u00a0 \u201cEvery memory, every emotion, everything that makes us human, they can save it all.\u00a0 Just like a cyber.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha\u2019s eyes flicked back and forth as she considered that idea.\u00a0 \u201cWhy haven\u2019t I heard of this before?\u201d she finally asked.<\/p>\n Jack shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cThey don\u2019t use it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d Samantha asked with a frown.<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cWell, they had problems with the \u2018new\u2019 cybers deciding they didn\u2019t need a genetic partner.\u00a0 There were some\u2026difficulties<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha stopped walking and looked up at Jack with wide emerald eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWhy are you telling me this, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack swallowed and cleared his throat again.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I suppose I\u2019m saying that I wouldn\u2019t think it was stupid to be with a genie,\u201d he finally said, finishing with a wink.\u00a0 \u201cAssuming I could find one that wanted a cyber of course,\u201d he added and through a supreme effort of will suppressed the urge to lick his lips.\u00a0 \u201cI always did<\/em> joke that I wanted to be in two places at once.\u201d<\/p>\n She studied him carefully and placed her free hand on his chest.\u00a0 It felt like electricity running over his skin and his heart raced.\u00a0 All of his attention was focused on her, she was the only point of existence in all the worlds that meant anything in that moment, and she was all he saw.<\/p>\n She smiled and opened her mouth.<\/p>\n A cry of shock escaped it as somebody ripped her away from him.\u00a0 Jack felt his focus shift back to normal, then far beyond<\/em> normal, and everything snapped into existence.\u00a0 In a moment, he scanned the shadows on the edge of the sidewalk and determined them empty of any other souls.\u00a0 He ran the last few seconds through his mind, sight and smells and sound, and only the ragged hearts of three individuals existed.\u00a0 He could differentiate the smells of three bodies and assorted nearby animals.\u00a0 And rain.\u00a0 It was going to rain soon.\u00a0 The important part was that the mugger had no backup.\u00a0 His mistake.<\/p>\n Jack focused on the mugger, still moving back with a hand wrapped around Samantha\u2019s neck and the other bringing a gun around towards her.\u00a0 A pistol.\u00a0 Jack reached down to grab the man\u2019s rising wrist with one hand, taking control of the gun, and lashed up with the palm of his other hand, shattering the mugger\u2019s nose.\u00a0 The mugger uttered a muffled cry of pain, cut off when Jack struck his throat.\u00a0 The mugger began to choke, gasping in pain and for breath, blinking his eyes against the stars in them.\u00a0 Jack brought his knee up into the man\u2019s groin, forcing a silent cry of pain from the man\u2019s tortured throat.\u00a0 Jack stepped back, kicked him in the knee, and watched the man fall to the ground in a gurgling, bleeding mess.<\/p>\n Jack pulled the man\u2019s fingers away from the gun, being careful not to touch it with his fingers.\u00a0 He really didn\u2019t want to leave fingerprints after all.\u00a0 A swift kick of his boot sent the pistol skittering away in a safe direction, away from everybody involved.<\/p>\n He stepped over to where Samantha had fallen on the sidewalk and went down on one knee.\u00a0 \u201cAre you alright?\u201d he asked, moving a hand to touch her.<\/p>\n She shivered away and he noticed the horrified look on her face.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2026broke\u2026him,\u201d she whispered in shock.<\/p>\n Jack let out a long breath, pulled one in, and let it out again, controlling the adrenalin running through his system.\u00a0 \u201cHe would have shot<\/em> you,\u201d he finally whispered.<\/p>\n She looked past him to where the man lay on the sidewalk, three of his limbs bent in ways no arm or leg should bend.\u00a0 \u201cYou could have stopped<\/em> him,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t need to do\u2026\u201d she trailed off, unable to come up with any words.<\/p>\n \u201cYes I did,\u201d Jack said in a calming voice.\u00a0 \u201cHe was a threat.\u00a0 An enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n She waved a hand at the shivering body, trying to breath.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s just a kid!\u201d<\/p>\n Jack let out another long breath.\u00a0 \u201cHe had a gun.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t afford to see the kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha pulled up her knees, wrapped her arms around them, and shivered.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you could be a nice man,\u201d she whispered in a broken tone.<\/p>\n Jack felt the verbal knife sink in deep and shivered.\u00a0 He shook his head quickly and stood up straight.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry you had to see that,\u201d he said, feeling something he\u2019d rarely felt in his life.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what else to say.<\/p>\n Jack could feel the distance between them, could see the romance of a marine colliding with the truth of just how ugly fighting could be in her mind.\u00a0 At least he\u2019d spared her from seeing a dead man, but she probably wouldn\u2019t forget the way the mugger gasped for breath for a long time.<\/p>\n Jack sucked in a long breath and let it out again.\u00a0 He nodded in understanding, slipping a hand in his pants pocket and the other thumb into his belt.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want to be touched by his world, and he took pride in never touching a girl against her wishes.<\/p>\n He turned away from her and stepped back, giving her the space she wanted, to scan the surroundings with pursed lips.\u00a0 They were safe, with no one else near enough to even see that anything had happened.\u00a0 He kept watching anyways, scanning around with all of his senses.\u00a0 He would not be caught unawares again.<\/p>\n \u201cBetty?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d she asked from the speaker in his ear in a tone of support.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease call 911.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlready done.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled.\u00a0 It was good to have a partner he could count on.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Betty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlways.\u201d\u00a0 Her tone said she truly would always be with him.<\/p>\n He smiled in thanks at her acceptance of him.\u00a0 \u201cYou should probably leave privacy mode, too.\u00a0 They\u2019ll want to ask you what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n The holoemitters on his uniform hummed to life and Betty flickered into being next to him.\u00a0 She scanned the surroundings, saw Samantha and the mugger on the sidewalk, and turned her head to meet his gaze.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you\u2019ve had an interesting night I see.\u00a0 What should I remember?\u201d\u00a0 She of course had no access at all to what happened while she was in privacy mode.<\/p>\n Jack pulled in a long breath.\u00a0 \u201cEverything that happened tonight,\u201d he whispered, \u201cbut nothing I and Samantha said.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty nodded in understanding and he saw her eyes flicker as she accessed the information.\u00a0 Then she smiled and looked down at the mugger in approval.\u00a0 \u201cGood moves,\u201d she said in admiration as sirens began to wail in the background.\u00a0 \u201cHe won\u2019t be doing that<\/em> again,\u201d she added with a smirk.<\/p>\n \u201cI sincerely hope not<\/em>,\u201d Jack answered and stepped over to lean against a wall.\u00a0 Betty echoed his move and they waited for the police to arrive.\u00a0 The police always<\/em> had questions when would-be muggers tripped over their own feet this badly.\u00a0 He blinked as another thought came to mind.\u00a0 \u201cCould you call her father too?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think she\u2019ll want me taking her home tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty aimed a sad smile at him.\u00a0 \u201cAlready done,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n Jack closed his eyes in relief.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Betty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 Everyone one of us has a world we love more than any other, and a world we don\u2019t want anything to do with.\u00a0 A lot of relationships start because we play around in a world[…]↓ Read the rest of this 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