The Ring (Paranormal Romance set between Present and Future Times)

The Job

The Future, Year 3020   
New York Virtual Zone Cafe

Jason Brown. Shame, he was such a talent in his day. What a waste.

Larissa Callay had answered his ad in the ethernet for a runner, the one he'd posted two hours ago. The aging actor was looking for someone willing to do a time jump. To the year 2018 to be exact. She smiled knowingly to herself. If he was seeking her employment, his choice of applicants must be slim.

She looked appraisingly at her slightly inebriated, potential client. He should be good for about a 1,000 kronan deposit. Syncing with her Avatar, she aimed for a brazen, flirtatious demeanor to counter the idiot's obnoxious swagger.

"All right Brown. If you've got the money for this jump, then I've got the time." Her Avatar, a platinum blond elven model with diamond colored eyes, smiled at him luxuriously.

With his strong arresting features, she could see Brown had once been a handsome man, but drugs, alcohol, and too much promiscuous sex had devastated his youth. His haggard face was pruned with wrinkles. Only his eyes, washed out and faded like summer denim, still shined with intensity.

"I've got the money baby, 'n even more than that to satisfy you." He leered at her lasciviously, making her want to gag.

"Somehow, I sincerely doubt that Mr. Brown."

Ignoring his drunken demeanor, she frowned as she revisited the sketchy details in his holographic ad. "If you want my final price for this jump, I'll need more specifics.  What is it you're looking for in the year 2018?"

Brown leaned forward, sliding a digital picture over the virtual table top. His blond hair, styled in a blunt cut, fell forward in a shimmering curtain framing his forehead.

"This is what I'm looking for."  He tapped the picture, causing it to embed into the shared data stream.

In the year 3020, only a few hard up runners were willing to risk their lives to return to the previous era of sporadic violence, mayhem and political upheaval. Larissa was different than most of her associates. She sought these suicidal jobs with a vengeance. Like a primal throwback, she needed to escape the engineered, germ free confines of the future and delve into earth's raw, untamed past.

Noncommitally, she removed goggles and her gloves in the three dimensional virtual cafe. Picking up the picture, she carefully examined it before ordering a drink. Her actions were all for show since she was really still in her own cubicle apartment, suspended in an anti gravity building, drinking a mild herbal tea.

That was how all business was done these days, log in and upload your image into the digital world, then play a game of intrigue.  It was touted as safe, but Larissa knew it was a hundred times more dangerous than actually meeting a client in person. Not only could your bank account be hijacked by unscrupulous daemons, your brain waves could be fried if the connection went south.

She'd done her homework and read Brown's bio. He was still in early film negotiations with his studio.  He'd be flush with cash for a few more months before he pissed it all away.  Knowing this she wanted plenty of leeway before finalizing her time jump price.  Downloading the picture he had provided into her memory implant, she looked at it on her screen's monitor. The woman in the picture was a mocha skinned beauty with arresting violet eyes.

Larissa looked up, shaking head. "Sorry, she's very beautiful, but I can't bring her back with me. She would disintegrate during the hyper jump."