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Maliek signed off, waking in the sims rig at Space City Sims. He unstrapped the harness holding him suspended inside a near floor-to-ceiling rotating ring.
What was Melathia like? The Bazij had transitioned to living in the sims decades ago. Would nature have reclaimed most of it?
He’d likely never find out. With Melathia on the banned travel list, he had little chance of receiving an exception to visit. Would Igata hold that against him? She couldn’t. Unless she was unreasonable like Kiera, who had broken up with him last year because he wouldn’t skip Games practices to spend more time with her.
Sighing, he exited the private, soundproof sims rig room and returned to the studio entrance. Velos, the Kali proprietor, hovered over a series of monitors behind a counter. The two dozen monitors showed each of the individual sims rig rooms in the studio. He also received health and stress data on each user. If something went wrong, he could deactivate any sims rig.
“How’s Igata doing?” Velos asked, his voice raspy. Like all Kali, Velos possessed a form that resembled black smoke. He could mold it to whatever shape he desired. For the comfort of his customers, he maintained a human male form in the studio.
Did he keep that when he wasn’t at work?
“We visited Miran-silya today,” Maliek replied. “Raced the bullet trains again.”
“Ah, yes,” Velos said. “Speed and danger. The preferred pastimes of youth. At least for those with physical bodies. Did you win?”
Maliek gave him a sheepish grin. “She rammed my hover car right before the finish line. I recovered, but not fast enough.”
“Don’t underestimate the value of the girl you like winning the games you play together,” Velos said. A portion of the smoke on Velos’s face darkened and curved upward into something resembling a pseudo smile.
Maeliek stared out the studio front window. The foot traffic wasn’t bad. He shouldn’t have much trouble making it home in time for dinner. “A lot of good it does when I can’t visit her.”
“A minor obstacle.”
“Minor?” Maliek glanced back at the Kali, wondering if he was joking. “Melathia is on Space City’s banned travel list.”
Velos’s smile widened into a large ‘O’ that reminded Maliek of a snake trying to inhale prey too large for it. “I visit Melathia twice a month.”
Maliek blinked. “You do? How?”
The Kali gestured toward the rear of the shop. “I’ve got a private thorneway.”
Maliek glanced down the hallway, despite knowing all he’d see were closed doors. He’d been down it enough times. “You can visit Melathia?”
He knew rich people, or those in certain positions, had their own private thorneways. Wouldn’t Space City travel bans apply to them as well?
“I conduct business with the Bazij,” Velos explained. “Most of it I do through the sims, but I sometimes need to visit in person.”
“Why? I thought all Bazij lived in sims?”
Velos nodded. “Deliveries. When I visit, I speak to them through their AI droids.”
Would it really be possible for him to visit Igata? “Why is Melathia on the banned travel list?”
“Because the Bazij are hyper-concerned about contamination from a virus or bacteria that is alien to their planet. Not only do they hide their bodies and live in sims, but they don’t want visitors that might harm their planet, and by extension, them. Space City respects the Bazij’s wishes. The ban prevents accidents.”
“So how can you go?”
“I have a special exemption due to my business; Bazij-approved,” Velos said.
“How does that help me?” Maliek asked.
“The Bazij have quarantine facilities on their planet for visitors. Rarely used, but they do exist.”
“Wouldn’t I need approval?” Maliek asked, his hopes rising.
“I could hire you. Send you on a business trip in my stead.”
“Really?”
Velos’s off-putting smile returned. “Sure, if you wouldn’t mind working part time for me, at least for the rest of the summer.”
“Doing what?”
Velos patted the monitors. “Keep an eye on the customers while they’re in the sims. Clean the rigs at the end of the day. The occasional delivery.”
“Sure,” Maliek blurted. He didn’t love the idea of cleaning the rigs, but he’d do it if it meant more time using the sims. “Would I still have to pay to use the sims?”
“No, but you can’t do it while on the clock, and only when there’s at least three open rigs.”
That would limit him to evenings or early mornings, but he could deal with that. “When can I start?”
“Tomorrow if you want. I’ve already got a business trip scheduled. You can make the delivery in my stead, assuming I can get approvals ready in time.”
“Wow, okay. Count me in.”
“Of course, if Igata left the sims to visit you, she’d have to quarantine in the facility for two weeks after your visit. Perhaps even a month to ensure she didn’t catch anything from you that would harm the rest of the Bazij.”
“Oh.” Maliek’s excitement plummeted. “Could she enter the sims from within the quarantine facility?”
Velos seemed to cough. “They won’t take any risks with the population, which includes through their sims.”
Maliek’s stomach roiled.
“It’s a big sacrifice she’d be making,” Velos said, seeming to read the guilt on his face. “For young love, perhaps it’s one worth making. That is her choice?”
“I don’t know,” Maliek said, unsure he wanted to admit to Igata that he could visit her. Not when she’d pay such an enormous price for it.
He checked his wrist-comp. Ten till seven. He’d have to rush home or be late for dinner.
“I’ll think about it,” he told Velos as he hurried from the studio.
As he rode the moving walkway through the city, he thought out a message to Igata. Thanks to a neural modification to the tradutor, the language-translation device, he could dictate messages to his wrist-comp by thought.
Not sure if visiting Melathia’s a good idea. How can I ask you to risk your safety by leaving the sims for a month to see me? What if I unknowingly carried something that got you sick?
He waited for a response as he hurried along the moving walkway through the city. He wished he could jog, but he still lacked endurance.
I want to see you, Igata wrote back. Nothing bad will happen. I want to see for myself what the old world is like, and I don’t want to do it alone.
Should he argue further or agree? He wanted to go. Wanted to see her.
Velos had suggested that he let her decide if she wanted to risk seeing him. But the potential danger and sacrifice for her was great.
Another message came through from Igata.
Don’t you want to see me?