The Summoning Stars

Chapter 4 - Mind Over Matter

Cal rubbed at his arm again. The nanobytes had disappeared into his skin instantly, leaving no trace of their existence or passage.

- Is everything okay Cal? The calm voice of the Mind sounded in his head, startling him for a moment.

- All the systems went dark for a few seconds there.

I'm fine, Mind. I think it's the testing equipment Dr T loaned me. Apparently it has an adverse effect on some of your monitoring functions. My apologies.

- Not a problem, Cal, systems all seem to be functioning within normal parameters once more. Good evening to you.

The Mind withdrew, leaving Cal to his thoughts. He rubbed at his arm again and felt suddenly dizzy. He moved to the bed and slumped against the wall, his heart racing and sweat beading on his brow. Pain slammed into his brain like a spike of metal driven into his skull. He groaned, rubbing at his temples with his knuckles. He glanced over at his desk, and the screen whited-out, fuzz and interference filling the view. As he watched, a shadow hove into view and a hand smacked against the screen from the other side. Time and time again the palm slammed into the image, each time the surface of the intelligent wall deforming more. Pain spiked in his head, and tears sprung to his eyes. The wall deformed, and the hand reached for him as he slipped into darkness...

... darkness...

... and green lines...

The Mindscape surrounded him once more, its stark simplicity subsuming him. The endless plains of his memory giving way to the surrounding contours of distant hills. Pain subsided as he calmed, the familiar scene of his mental haven relaxing him and bringing him contentment.

The ground beneath his feet was a series of interconnecting hexagons. Lines of memory and thought connected the vista—an endless plateau in dark green and black, bordered with contoured green hills, and a featureless sky. His heartbeat slowed, and he felt the familiar trance-like state of deep meditation fill his being.

A hexagon glowed nearby, and he floated over to it. But instead of looking into a memory as he had done in the past, a figure morphed up from the ground beneath his feet to meet him, green and black contours shaping into a familiar form as he staggered away in surprise.

"Hel?" he whispered.

"In a way, yes. But maybe not. This is the Mindscape after all. Everything is only as real as you imagine it to be."

Cal stumbled forward on virtual feet to give the shade of Helena a hug, but passed through her instead. Her contours reformed behind him, and he turned to face the memory of her, a bitter smile on his face.

"I miss you."

"But this isn't me. This is a memory of me transmitted to you via the nanobots you allowed into your body."

"So what's the point of me talking to you?" he responded bitterly. "You're a shade of the girl I used to know, a memory, a virtual you in the silence of my head. I need the real you, not some virtual half constructed memory of nothing!"

The last words rose to a crescendo of anger and pain, and he lashed out with his mind, the Mindscape devolving under the onslaught to leave him floating in a sea of darkness, alone.

Cal sank to his knees in the void, his senses bereft of input. "Oh damn. Helena. Please come back to me. I'm sorry, I'm such a fool. I love you."

A green and black contoured hand appeared from the nothingness and stroked his face, only the sight of it giving him any clue she was there with him. "You were never a fool. A numpty occasionally, but never a fool."