PASsport, Happening Encounters, Day 30 free porn video

8PHE0030 word count 5958 ******** Day 30, Wednesday At two in the morning, Kinny rolled out the chair onto the floor. He didn't have words to describe the feelings, nor the pain, and couldn't have spoken if he did have words. He pulled himself to his knees, ignored the other views from his knees that Mem2 provided, and closed the console. Some time later, he was able to collect his thoughts. "Fuck me. I gotta stop doing this." He pulled himself to his feet. He swished gracefully down the hall to the shower. Kinny could feel the trainers moving him this way. He was grateful for it. He didn't think he could walk without help. At two forty-five he crawled into Anabelle's bed, holding Drake. He needed a real human touch, even if it was just from a baby. ******** At just before eight, Kinny woke to the smells of coffee. The baby was gone. This confused Kinny for a moment and then alarmed him. But then Kinny noticed that the car carrier and blanket was also missing. Kinny found the Hula Girl slippers. He wandered downstairs in panties and an oversized Army tee-shirt. His secretary notified him that he had a message from his mom. 'Working a full shift today. New client. Can you Debbie for me?' Kinny acknowledged the message and sent an autoreply 'Yes.' He now knew that it was rude to answer messages this way but his mom was accustomed to the way that Kinny texted. Joi and Jazz were at the kitchen table. The coffee was ready. Kinny smelled pancakes. He smiled. Joi was burping the baby. There was an empty baby bottle next to her coffee cup. "Good morning, beautiful," she said. Jazz had a different reaction. "Is that how you treat the hair I styled?" "Huh?" Kinny felt his head. "What's wrong with my hair?" Jazz snickered. "Go look in the mirror. Did you sleep with wet hair?" Kinny nodded. "No pancakes for you until you go back upstairs and fix your hair. Conditioner. Mousse." "Moose? I know conditioner but what is moooooose?" "Use my shower," Joi said. "Jazz, you're going to have to show Anabelle how to fix her hair. Here." She pressed a milker and two bottles into Kinny's hands. "Pump. We're out of milk again." "You just fed him." "He needs more. Aren't you late for work?" "I have a ten to two." "That gives you an hour. Hair care. Pancakes. Milk for the day. I'm recerted for home dairy. We're depending on you to feed the little monster again." Kinny nodded. He grabbed a third baby bottle from the dish drain. After a moment of thought, he grabbed a fourth bottle. ******** "I saw a milk parasite," Kinny said to Jazz while she fixed his hair. "You saw a leech." "No. I got a visit from Bureau 34 or something, from the FBI." "Not a Halloween prank?" "Pretty sure. I met the other agent in an official capacity a few days ago." "Really." "Ya. Some idiot in Swaziland created a monster. Let it out of the lab on purpose." Jazz sighed. "Thanks. I suppose I should apologize to Joi." "That's the rules." She smiled. Joi said, "Apology accepted." She presented a clear rain suit and a down vest. "Cancel the haircare tutorial. Anabelle needs the heated stay-ups. It's raining." ******** They dropped him off at work. Kinny got out of Joi's car and into a blast of cold, wet October. On the way in, Kinny noticed a construction spider installing bike boxes in place of the bike rack. Individual cages for bikes. They looked big enough to fit Joi's motorbike. Dbest. He clocked in. The receptionist was away from her desk. Kinny used the virtual screen there to call for a Debbie car. The Debbie car was busy. A taxicab arrived instead. Kinny recognized the driver. He'd served him coffee a few times. It was the same guy that Kinny had discussed the pros and cons of anime cab drivers with. What was the driver's name? Kinny queried his specs. His secretary program kept track of faces and biographical information. Kinny smiled. "Good morning, Gov'ner." The driver saluted with a coffee cup. "Respects," he said. Kinny looked around, startled. The driver winked. Kinny got into the passenger seat of the taxi. "Magpie Alley, please." "Working the financial district now." Gov'ner nodded. "Blue-collar workers tip better. Of course, you're cute. Could be you get tips that I miss out on." Gov'ner kept on with the chitchat as he drove. He didn't look or act like an anime. He was chatty, old, pudgy, and bald. Most people kept their medical clones in top fit. They rented them out only to defray costs. So.... Kinny wondered if he had misheard him, or maybe the 'Respects' greeting was more common than he thought. When the driver paused before driving away to get a good view of Kinny's arse, Kinny was sure of it. Gov'nor was a fully human taxicab driver. Just before he drove off, Gov'ner said, "And yet, she exists." ******** The growler bay here was a two-story affair. It also serviced businesses in Underground Fairview. There were only two working Debbie carts here, and one functional growler. That growler was busy restocking a cart when Kinny came up. "Is that one ready to go?" Kinny asked. The growler held up one finger in a 'wait a moment' gesture. Then it plugged in a coffee bean dispenser. "Ready one," it said in a machine voice, male. "I can take it?" The growler nodded. "Thank you." Kinny grabbed the coffee cart and pulled it. "Have a Debbie day." The growler held up one finger - the middle one. "Debbie day." ******** It rained in sets. Even when it wasn't raining, the wind blew water up Kinny's skirt and down into his cleavage. He was very happy for the heated stay-ups - when he wasn't worried that they might short out. Electricity plus water - bad? But they didn't short out and the temperature regulator seemed to know when Kinny needed a glow of warmth and when he did not. Kinny saw the Wild Coffee vendor across the alley. She was blowing into her hands to keep warm. Kinny made a bicerin. He paid for it and then walked across the alley. "Here. You look cold." She accepted the coffee. A look of bliss appeared on her face as her hands made contact with the cup. She smiled when she drank from it. "This is good," she said. "Probably shouldn't be seen drinking the competition's coffee, though." Kinny could see that she wasn't wearing a bra under her half-tee. Kinny smiled. He said, "Put it in one of your cups. If you blow into it, the steam rises. I'm told that attracts customers." "This is my second day on the job." She repackaged the bicerin into a paper cup. "How do you manage?" She rubbed her arms. Kinny watched her boobs jiggle as she did this. He smiled. "Heated boots. The leggings are electric, too." In a short conversation, he found out that her name was Noel, that she went to Girls College, was the granddaughter of Keisha, and that she recognized him from babysitting her cousins. "You filled out," Noel said. She made an hourglass motion with her hands. "Late bloomer?" Kinny smiled. "Always thought that you were a boy," she said. "Me, too. Imagine my surprise." He jutted his chest out. "Oops. Customers." Kinny scuttled back over to his own coffee cart. Kinny watched all three customers queue up in front of Noel's cart. Two male and one female. Probably drawn to the skimpier outfit. Or maybe they knew that she was Keisha's granddaughter. He set up a bicerin in its insulated clear cup. He cradled it in his hands and breathed into the cup. The woman noticed. She switched sides. "New product?" she asked. Kinny nodded. "Bicerin. It's Italian, I think. Or French. Can I get you one?" She dropped exact change onto the counter. Kinny nodded. He set her up. "This is quite good." Soon, Kinny had almost as many customers as Noel. The tip jar, however, was filling slowly. Tips here were slow. Gov'ner had called it. "Hi, I'm Debbie. Oh, hi Mom. Keisha." Linda was wearing the outfit from Abonne. Keisha was wearing something just as expensive, and just as rule-bending. Keisha did a double take, comparing Linda's hair with Kinny's. She elbowed Linda and gave her a searching look. "Mother-daughter day at Leaping Sally." Kinny noticed a piercing glare from across the alley. "Miz Keisha, I think you should - oh. I'm sorry. Don't bite me." He held up both hands and nodded over towards the Wild Coffee cart. "Keisha, I think Noel is going to chuck a plastic spork at you." Keisha glanced back. She smiled. "I've tried every menu item at her cart. What is this Blisterine I keep hearing about?" "Bicerin." Kinny made one for Keisha and one for his mom. He paid for them out of his tip jar. His mom dropped a couple of centurions into the tip jar. Keisha did the same. On that day, Kinny made about half of what he normally made in tips. Sales were down, too. Kinny didn't know if it was the location, or the rain. "You poached my grandmother." Noel waggled a finger at Kinny as they both slotted cash boxes into their respective bins. Kinny had to slot the thing in three times before the machine accepted it. He called it in. "Maintenance, please, for the growler bay at Magpie Alley." Noel said, "Little good it will do. They can't keep grumblers here. Something keeps eating them." "Really." "I've seen the bodies." "Ew. Maybe they need human techs?" "Maybe they need one of the combat models. You know, grumblers were originally developed for combat support." "Thought you only worked here two days?" "Four years in the Guarda. Crisis response. Something here eats biomechs. The small ones, at least." "Here, specifically, or here-in-general?" "This spot, and the alley under it. Gropecunt." "Did I hear that right?" "That's it's name. Gropecunt Alley. I hear a bit of history in that name." "None of it glorious." ******** Kinny walked back to the Two Debs building. Noel walked with him. At Main Street, they parted company. Noel walked towards 7th Way. Kinny walked towards 9th. After he clocked out, Kinny rented a Citi bike. He rode to the Swappery. He slotted the bike back into the CitiBike station there, and walked inside. Kinny tried every pawn broker and junk dealer he could find. Finally, he tried a booth called Book Town, Books by the Ton! "Hi, Debbie. I'm Lucy, what can I get for you?" The woman saying this had an easy smile and tattoos which covered both arms like an extra layer of clothing. Some of the tattoos were animated, interactive, or both. Kinny glanced at the name tag that he still wore. "Cute. I'm looking for a charger for old e-books." "Books by the ton. Chargers? Not so much. What model?" "Tareco? I think. Might be Balatronics. A 48 series, maybe earlier." "I have a Samsara. Supposed to be universal. What kind of e-book?" "Magazines." "What size?" "I dunno. Porn." "It was either that or Harlequins. They didn't publish anything else in e-zines then. Do you have a home fab?" "Sometimes. I've never tried it on electronics." "What model?" Kinny checked his Mem2. Grr. Full. He checked his specs. Tropic. The secretary had saved it. "PariCo 48." "This should work. I'll load a Muji fabblet to your specs. Forty-five dollars." "Do you have a player for old sensie chips?" "I'd have to see the chip." Kinny bumped a still that his secretary had saved over to Lucy's specs. It was of one of the chips he'd found in that box that was now on the laundry table. "What did you find?" "Somebody's old porn stash. I'm curious." "I don't have a reader for that. Check the nets." Kinny rented another Citi bike. He slotted the rental back into a CitiBike slot at the truck stop. Kinny jogged across the service plaza, unconcerned about high heels or bounce. He had to pee. He was pissing orange again. Not optimal. The color wasn't as vivid as before, though. Kinny looked at the music selection and generally just shopped. He could afford to buy things for the first time in his life. He wanted to see what was available. ******** (a short while later) Acting on impulse, Kinny slotted his bike in at one of the CitiBike stations. He'd just passed a building. Department of Health He signed in, A. Lee Parsian. Kinny dotted the i with a little heart without thinking about it. There was a glass window and one of those take-a-number machines. There weren't any other people in the waiting room but Kinny took a number anyway. The machine quizzed him about the purpose of his visit here. Kinny touched Other. A woman appeared at the window. "May I help you?" Kinny pulled the SWID card out of his purse. He placed it in the tray and transferred it over. "I found this card. Wanted to return it to its owner." The woman scanned the card. "Expired. You can drop these in any postbox. The post office will send it to us, no charge to you." She showed Kinny the message on the back of the card which said the same thing. She put the card back into the tray and passed it back to Kinny. "But if you have questions, a class just started." The woman buzzed Kinny in. "You can ask the social worker." "Um. I.... Okay. Ya. Sure. Thanks." Kinny found himself opening the door and walking through it. He followed the signs. Opened another door. There were four other women seated in this classroom, and a fifth woman standing by the whiteboard. Kinny took a seat in the back. "Hi. I'm Kleia. I'm a case worker with Department of Health. Some of you might have me as a case worker if you finish this process. I used to be one of you. So, the first thing I'd like to do, right off the top, is to discourage you from working in this field. It's not an easy job, physically, emotionally, or psychologically. It will wreck your social life. You will collect an STD, no matter how careful you think you are - or will be. Prostitution will put a stain on your job history forever after. Getting a security clearance? I needed six interviews. Most people get by with one interview. But." She gestured to herself. "There is life after prostitution. You can get a life and a real job. Even a family. But you can also get dead." Kleia launched into the education and training that the Western States required. She touched on Federal requirements. Then she put on a video. How to Test for, Prevent, and Recognize an STD. The whole presentation lasted about twenty minutes. Two of the women left immediately after the video, after signing paperwork. Two of them buttonholed Kleia, asking questions. Kinny waited his turn. "Sign out, please." "I'm not...." "If you want credit for this course sign out. If you're here by court order, sign out." Kinny signed. A. Lee Parsian obviously wouldn't do. He signed his own name. He presented the SWID to Kleia. "I found this card...." Kleia scanned it. "Expired. You'll need another physical before you can work legally." "No, hey, no. I found the card. I'm trying to return it to its owner." "Oh." Kleia scanned the card again. "I can't give out any personal information but I can refer you to the social worker who.... Oh. She retired. Or quit. Or something. Before my time. Inactive file. You can just drop this card in the post. Or the recycle. Miz Escholtz hasn't been in the system for eight years." "Thank you for your time." It annoyed Kinny to see this phrase on his specs, like a teleprompter. But he said it anyway, and, having said it, received a reward jolt. Kleia asked, "Why did you sit through the class?" "It was interesting." Kinny resisted the urge to adjust his shorts. He said, "Have a Debbie day." Another reward jolt. Annoying. Did he really need positive reinforcement to be polite? ******** Joi met Kinny at the door. She kissed him. "Your psych tech called. You have an appointment at the lab at Girls College on Tuesday." "Tuesday? Why did he call you?" "Clue nada. Did you give him my number?" "No." "Well, I wasn't going to give him your number without permission." "You can give Clyde my number. Especially for something like this." Kinny talked Joi into going to the gym. It didn't take much effort. Joi liked going to the gym. They brought the baby and worked on core. Kinny fed Drake in full view of the cameras there. ******** The baby fell asleep in the stroller on the way back. Kinny and Joi had sex in the shower. They also washed each other's hair, styled it, and pumped milk. Kinny found this all nicely erotic, especially now, with the special effects and feedback that the feelie suit added to every touch. It was raining again, so Joi took her car to work instead of riding the motorbike. Kinny ordered new maker stock for Joi's home fab. Then he fabbed an e- zine charger in it. He took the charger and the baby downstairs. He laid Drake on the bed. He paged through the magazines. Each featured a different woman, on her 'journey of discovery.' From virginal or shy college girl or housewife or high-powered attorney to reluctant and then fully inspired and energetic gang-bang queen. The details varied, but the story arc never did. Some of these women looked familiar. So did some of the men. Had he seen other porn featuring these actors? He tested each magazine. Eighteen out of twenty-two magazines accepted a charge. One of the e-zines that did not accept a charge blanked when he connected the power. At least he'd read the text and seen the stills. Kinny sorted them by date. He charged the first of the books. He popped a load of laundry in the machine. Then he did Joi's hand- wash. Laundry was a never-ending battle in this household. When the first magazine indicated full charge, Kinny charged up the next magazine. Drake woke up and got down from the bed. He made straight for the door under the stairwell. Kinny surprised Drake by producing the key for that door. He unlocked the door and showed the room to Drake. Drake hesitated for a moment. He looked up at Kinny. "In or out, child. I'm not holding this door all day." Drake crawled inside. He pulled himself up on the chair and walked around it. The chair had been moved. Kinny had left it by the other door. Now it was pushed against the stairs, at the other end of the cubby. Drake pointed to the other door. "Aba, umpa." "Open." "Umpa." "Say it in sign language." Drake signed, 'Open.' "Very good." Kinny made sure he had the key in his hand. He put that key in his bra. He let the door shut behind him. Kinny found the other key and opened the other door. He expected to see an empty room with concrete floors. Instead he saw a canopy bed, oval rugs, drapes, a dresser drawer and a vanity. Drake crawled to the bed. He pulled himself up on the lace coverlet. Kinny walked in absently. He heard the door click behind him. He checked his hand to make sure he still had the key, and put that key with the other in his bra. "Someone spent some coin," Kinny said. He looked around. He checked the wash room. The shower had a shower curtain now. There were towels hanging from the rings and there was toilet paper in the dispenser. Drake signed, 'Man-bed-push.' "Not understanding you, baby." 'Man-bed-push. Man-bed-car. Man-bed-house.' "A delivery man brought a bed in here?" Drake nodded. He signed, 'Spider.' "A delivery man and a cargo spider?" Drake nodded again. He opened the drawer on the nightstand. "No, baby, no. We don't open other people's drawers." Drake cast an annoyed look at Kinny. Kinny shut the drawer. "See? It's empty, anyway. Nothing to see. Let's go." He picked the baby up. They got out of the safe room with no troubles. Kinny put Drake down when the outer door had safely clicked shut. Drake made straight for the laundry basket on the floor. He pulled out a tee-shirt and a bra. Kinny started to object, but then he thought about it. Those were the things from the safe room. He didn't really know what to do with them. Kinny charged up another magazine. He let the baby play with the clothes. But when Drake pulled a floppy dildo out of the basket, Kinny rushed over. "Nope," he said. "Not for baby." He smiled. "Maybe to make babies, but not for baby." Drake signed, 'Make-baby.' He smiled. 'Make-baby, make-baby.' Kinny laughed. "Not today, kid." 'Make-coffee.' "Huh? I don't think that one is on your Baby Can Sign videos. Who taught you coffee?" 'Make-coffee, make-coffee.' "C'mon. I'm going to let Joi figure out what to do with this stuff." Kinny put the clothes on top of the toys. He put the baby on top of the clothes. He went upstairs. The doorbell rang. Kinny put the basket and the baby on the floor. He checked his specs. It was ... himself? Kinny saw the sim that the house used to represent him. Anabelle. "Eh?" He looked through the spy hole in the door. "Oh," Kinny said, laughing. He opened the door. It was his mom, still dressed for work. She opened her arms for a hug. She said, "Chastity!" "Star!" They hugged. He ushered her in. "Do you want coffee? Somehow the house knew to make two cups." "Hot and sweet." "Coming right up." "What is the baby playing with?" "Just some clothes we found down - aaugh, and some ... no, baby, no." Kinny picked up the basket. He dumped all the remaining clothes onto Drake. He took the dildo and put it in the basket. The basket went onto the kitchen counter. Linda looked at Kinny. She looked at the basket. "Not my toys. I found them and cleaned them. No judgment. I'm trying real hard not to ask who did what with whom." She laughed. They sat at the kitchen table. Linda cradled her coffee cup. "So," she said after a while. "You've been through a rejuve." "A little one, yes." "Did your breasts get sore? Did you pee colors?" "Orange? Kind of a glow-in-the-dark orange?" Linda nodded. "Calcium offload. You're getting shorter." "What?" "That's what it was with me. My hands are smaller, feet are smaller, jaw is smaller. All the long bones are smaller. The doc said to drink lots and lots of water. Kidney stones. Your boobs?" "Sore. Like period sore but more so." She took a sip of coffee. "This needs vodka." Kinny found the bottle of Dakila. He handed it to his mom. "Did your rejuve include a breast augmentation?" "I don't think so." "Read your contract again. Hey, hey. Ma?" He waited for her to look up. "If you don't want brittle bones, you have to start hitting the gym now. Serious. If you're shrinking, that's like osteoporosits come early." "Osteoporosis." "Right. A ten-cent word for bird bones. The best cure is prevention. Get a gym membership, a trainer, and work on increasing your bone mass. Instant. And a dentist. You're losing calcium everywhere. Even your teeth." "I see why you tune out, Kinny. This sucks." "It's not all bad. I can fit behind the water heater now. I haven't been back there since I was a pre-teen." He looked down. "Ruined a shirt. I didn't have these back then either." He hefted a boob. "Keisha's getting bigger boobs, too." "Keisha?" "She went up a bra size." "Check your contract." "She's not peeing psychodelic." "A wise bot once told me, truthiness varies. You look troubled." "Give me a moment. I'm reading my contract." Kinny watched Drake play with a bra. The baby was fascinated with the stretchiness of it. Linda grunted a few minutes later. She tapped her specs. "It's not there." "Side effects?" Linda checked. "Bingo. 'Other somatic effects may occur. These are benign and usually temporary. They may include soreness, swelling, discharge from the vagina or the nipples.' Okay. Thanks, son." She looked over. "Daughter." "At least you're not growing a dick." "Wouldn't that give Roy a thrill. I think that man's a closet packer. He seems inordinately fascinated with...." She stopped. Kinny cradled his coffee cup and leaned forward on both elbows. "Do tell." He grinned. "Porn. He really likes the in-and-out shots. Oral sex. Anything with a penis and a girl ... two penises and a girl. Three. Sometimes the girl doesn't seem all that necessary." "No lesbian porn? That surprises me." "He's fine with girl on girl as long as it involves a dildo." She rolled her eyes. "Speaking of dildos and gang bangs. I found Joi's porn stash." Linda looked alarmed. "No more. Nothing else. Say. No. More." She stoppered up her ears with fingers. "Some things, ya know? Should stay between consenting adults." They talked for a while. Eventually, Drake pulled on Kinny's leg. He wanted to be fed. Linda took that as a hint. She went to the living room and played PASsport. Kinny sat on the couch and fed Drake. From time to time, he watched his mom play. When she finally lost a combat round and the game switched over to combat-rape mode, Kinny left the room to give her privacy. Also to spare him from watching his mom have VR sex with a minotaur. He said, "I have to make bottles for tomorrow. I'll be downstairs." Linda nodded. Her eyes rolled. She glanced up to the screen. "Fuck," she said. "This hurts." Kinny shook his head. He grabbed the milkers from the kitchen, and also a few bottles. He unlocked the door to the basement and went downstairs. Kinny sat on the bed and finished feeding Drake. Then he took off his bra and handed it to Drake. Drake didn't know what to do with it. He looked up. "Ba." "Bra." "Ba." "Bra." "Baba-ra." "She's not here." Drake looked confused. Then he smiled. "Doi?" Kinny nodded. He wrapped Drake in a blanket and started milking himself. Drake watched and reached feebly for the milker but then fell asleep. Kinny filled two bottles. He checked the baby, then he went upstairs just long enough to put milk into the freezer. He checked on his mom. She was getting stuffed and folded in a different combat-rape scene. A werewolf, this time. She seemed to be enjoying herself. He went downstairs. Put the charger on yet another magazine. Then he started reading. These were interactive magazines - Choose Your Own Adventure. Depending on Kinny's responses, the actress ended up gang raped and sold off into slavery, she became a willing slut for all comers (pun intended), or she became a mama-san for several brothels, eventually running a porn syndicate. Every scene was acted out in live action with one or more actresses and one or several actors. Kinny had found three of twenty available endings. He knew some of these actors and actresses. He was certain of it. He even knew some of the 'stunt dicks.' Kinny hadn't seen that much porn. Had he? He didn't think he was widely exposed. Just the normal stuff, ya' know? Kinny searched his memory. And what little of his soul he believed in. Nah. These had to be, like, really famous porn stars. On all the common channels. Except that he didn't know their names until the credits came up. And he didn't recognize the names even then. They might be CGI? But, no. The hair. Animation engines were just now starting to be able to simulate hair realistically. He considered having his secretary look for the names on the nets to see what would come up. No. He didn't want the flood of penis-enlargement ads that would fill all his other searches. He'd learned that lesson. Be careful what you search for on your own machine. Besides, these were company specs. Monitored. The CSO was gleefully informative about that. They were happy to see his days as a coffee cart slut, to compare them with their algorithms. Which meant that, on some level, they were watching his choices now. Kinny took off his glasses. He shut them off. Then he opened the second magazine. All the magazines that would accept a charge were charged now. Kinny put the charger on one of the four balky e-zines. Maybe it would accept a charge over time. This magazine mentioned, 'Feelie chip available. Feel everything in AVS.' Kinny checked back. The other magazine had the same ad in the opening credits. "Ha." Kinny checked the box of sensie chips. Yes, there it was. Looked like about four sensie chips per magazine. Some of the e-zines had five chips. One had six. "I gotta get that reader." Kinny picked up his specs again. He searched ... and found the sensie player he needed. A Tareco Octapod. He could plug eight memory chips into it at once. Thirteen thousand dollars for a download. Fabblet not available. Oh. It used poison stock. It would poison a recycler and would probably poison Joi's maker if he loaded the special maker stock that was required. Plan B. Kinny checked the Dumpstores. He checked the mongers. He checked pawn shops and forums. Difficult to find, and way out of his price range when available. Shipping restrictions applied. Even the postal service refused to ship one of these beasts, unless the buyer or the seller purchased insurance - in case someone tossed it in a recycler someplace while en route. "Wait a mo." Kinny picked the baby up and went upstairs. He said hi to his mom, drinking coffee at the table again. Her hands were shaking. Must have been good VR sex. Kinny put Drake into the crib. He stood up and looked. "Okay," Kinny said, "I saw it someplace." "What are you looking for?" Linda asked. "A box. A few of them." Not on the promenade. Not in either of the cutout windows. Kinny had seen boxes when they were cleaning in this room. Someplace high. He looked up to the rafters, more than two stories up. There were attic spaces above both bedrooms, but he'd never been up there. Oh. Kinny turned around. There, on a ledge where the second floor would be, were a few boxes. Three that he could see from here. A small one that he could not see unless he was up on a ladder. Or on the promenade on the other side of the house. He got the step ladder. He climbed up to the top of it. "Kinny, get down from there. You're going to bust your coconuts." "I can almost reach it." "Down!" Ah. There it was. A cutout, an access panel. In the wall of his working bedroom. Kinny got down from the ladder and skipped up the steps. "What are you doing?" Linda asked. She followed. "In here. Someplace. In the closet. Watch where you step. Oh. Say hi to the camera. Wave. See? My secret's out. There's two of us." Linda shut the console. "Bye, bye." She leaned in and blew a kiss. "Good night." Kinny moved a few things in the closet. He pulled on the access panel. It wouldn't budge. He rotated fasteners and pulled again. "Ha! Victory points awarded. Achievement unlocked." Kinny felt Cookie step into his body. She said, in private mode, "Unnee, have you checked for curses?" Kinny smiled. "No cursed items in this world. No magic." "Are you sure?" Cookie asked. "No instant healing, either." He looked down to the living room. "If I get hurt, I'll be in the hospital for days; in a cast for months." "That sucks." Kinny nodded. "What are you doing here, Cooks? The console is off." He crawled out onto the ledge. Stood up. Cookie said, "Don't need a console. I'm in your Mem2 now." "You might want to go back," Kinny said. He held on to the handrail that ran along the wall at hip height. "I'm getting my Mem2 purged next Tuesday." "Tuesday. Tue is one of your gods?" She pronounced it Tu-eh. "Actually, yes, but we don't worship him anymore." He pulled each box over, stuffed them through the hole to his mom. He noticed an access panel on the other side, in Joi's working bedroom. "Think the spelling is different." "I back up to the game every time you log on. If you purge this copy of me on War-God Day, I'll still be other places." Kinny nodded. He said, "Anybody else in there with you? In my Mem2?" "Residents. Grandmother. She comes and goes. Ghosts. Why is Swish teaching you how to walk?" Kinny smiled. "Milestones." He crawled back into Anabelle's room. He brushed dust off of his blouse and skirt. Cookie said, "I could do that. Teach you how to fuck, too. And how to fight." Linda asked, "Who are you talking to?" "Cookie. She's in my Mem2." "Is she supposed to be in there?" Kinny shrugged. "Cookie says hi to Max's overmind." Linda nodded. "Hi, back." Kinny sighed. Another day, another wtf. He checked the boxes. They were covered in layers of dust. It looked like ashes. One box held photo albums, a wedding dress, yearbooks, and some jewelry. "Kinny, we shouldn't be looking through this stuff." The next box held cords, a charger, and a Tareco Octapod with eight chips loaded. Also a primitive set of VR goggles. Gloves. Booties. "Kinny!" "I won't go through the other boxes. I was looking for this." "Do you think Joi knows this is up here?" "We found a box in the pantry full of her father's tools. She sat and cried. It had been there for years. She'd stacked things on top of it but never looked. I cleaned under her working bed and found a few of Marion's things. Same thing. She lives here, but never investigates anything. No curiosity." "She's afraid of what she might find." Kinny dismissed that thought with a shake of his head. Linda said, "Not all the memories I have of this house are happy." Kinny considered that. "I'm not afraid to go in the basement because I might find Brennan's pistol. I know it might be down there but I'm not afraid to look - behind the water heater, for instance." "That gun is in the attic." "I'm not afraid to go in the attic, either." Linda pat Kinny on the shoulder. "We should put this stuff back." "No, I'll leave it out. I'll show it to her tomorrow." Reluctantly, he put the Octapod back into its box. "And I'll ask permission to rummage." "Good boy. Or ... girl. Good human." Kinny rubbed his boob. "A note from the cow." "A what?" "That's what Joi says when her tits are full. I got a note from the cow - I have to pump again. Or I'll soak the bedsheets."