there, flooding in around her, unsure at first but quickly settling in.
She felt his thoughts turn her way. He was a warm wave of otherness seeking to merge with her, to join with her, to become part of her.
Kim felt herself react, heard herself say, "No," and sensed him back away. She heard him say, "Sorry about that," and knew that she was sorry too, sorry that she'd pulled away, afraid to invite him in. Kim tried to put it into words but found she didn't have to. She thought-heard his voice sweep in around her.
"It's all right, Kim, I understand. I had no right to come on so strong. No hard feelings?"
Kim radiated gratitude. "No hard feelings."
"Good," he responded gently. "But it might happen again."
Kim's smile sent little ripples of emotion through the interface. "Then I'll just have to take my chances, won't I?"
Corvan heard-felt her response and felt good inside. She liked him! "I guess you will. In the meantime, I promise to be good while we look at Frank's tape."
"I'm relieved to hear it," Kim replied dryly, the words drifting across the interface with just a touch of amusement. "Now be quiet while I set things up."
Corvan let himself go, floating in the darkness like a swimmer on his back, dimly aware of conversation between Kim and a computer named Val but too tired to care what they said. He was almost asleep when a thought from Kim jerked him back.
"You can sleep later. Take a look at this."
Blackness became light. Light became color. Color became Frank Neely. Corvan found himself nowhere and everywhere all at once. Frank looked him straight in the eye. He looked better now, healthier, his face full of color and his beard trimmed. But there was an aura of tension around him which showed in his eyes and the nervous movements of his hands. Neely cleared his throat.
"It feels silly talking this way, not knowing if someone will hear my words or believe what I'm going to say. But I do have something to say, something important, and I hope it's not too late. The truth is that Iâve created a monster, or more accurately we've created a monster, since I can hardly take credit for all the scientific discoveries which made it possible.
"Looking back, I see it was inevitable. First there was television, then there was computer-aided television, and then there was computer-generated television.
"It was no big deal at firstâsome computer-generated graphics and some rather clumsy attempts to simulate real video.
"But now, God help us, there's something more, computer-generated reality, for I know of no better way to describe this new development. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Best to take a moment and show you what I'm talking about."
Neely dissolved into a million points of colored light, and the picture reassembled itself into a television studio. Unlike most television studios, which tend to be empty when not in use, this one was full of metal scaffolding. It was painted blue, a color sometimes used in connection with special effects, and looked like a plumber's nightmare. Corvan saw that dozens Of cameras and lights had been attached to the scaffolding and were aimed downward toward a small section of studio floor.
"Not an especially attractive sight," Neely observed from off-camera, "but results are what counts. What you can't see is the super-computer which ties all the cameras together and makes this more than an elaborate jungle gym. For lack of a better name I call the whole thing a 'video matrix generator.'
"What does it do, you ask? Ah, you weren't listening when I told you earlier. It makes reality."
At this point Neely strolled into the shot and stood in the middle of the scaffolding. The camera flew in and around the metal pipes with such freedom that Corvan assumed it was a robo cam or something quite similar. The camera coasted to a stop and zoomed in tight as Neely began to speak.
"The video matrix generator, or VMG for short, can create reality in two different ways. The first
She felt his thoughts turn her way. He was a warm wave of otherness seeking to merge with her, to join with her, to become part of her.
Kim felt herself react, heard herself say, "No," and sensed him back away. She heard him say, "Sorry about that," and knew that she was sorry too, sorry that she'd pulled away, afraid to invite him in. Kim tried to put it into words but found she didn't have to. She thought-heard his voice sweep in around her.
"It's all right, Kim, I understand. I had no right to come on so strong. No hard feelings?"
Kim radiated gratitude. "No hard feelings."
"Good," he responded gently. "But it might happen again."
Kim's smile sent little ripples of emotion through the interface. "Then I'll just have to take my chances, won't I?"
Corvan heard-felt her response and felt good inside. She liked him! "I guess you will. In the meantime, I promise to be good while we look at Frank's tape."
"I'm relieved to hear it," Kim replied dryly, the words drifting across the interface with just a touch of amusement. "Now be quiet while I set things up."
Corvan let himself go, floating in the darkness like a swimmer on his back, dimly aware of conversation between Kim and a computer named Val but too tired to care what they said. He was almost asleep when a thought from Kim jerked him back.
"You can sleep later. Take a look at this."
Blackness became light. Light became color. Color became Frank Neely. Corvan found himself nowhere and everywhere all at once. Frank looked him straight in the eye. He looked better now, healthier, his face full of color and his beard trimmed. But there was an aura of tension around him which showed in his eyes and the nervous movements of his hands. Neely cleared his throat.
"It feels silly talking this way, not knowing if someone will hear my words or believe what I'm going to say. But I do have something to say, something important, and I hope it's not too late. The truth is that Iâve created a monster, or more accurately we've created a monster, since I can hardly take credit for all the scientific discoveries which made it possible.
"Looking back, I see it was inevitable. First there was television, then there was computer-aided television, and then there was computer-generated television.
"It was no big deal at firstâsome computer-generated graphics and some rather clumsy attempts to simulate real video.
"But now, God help us, there's something more, computer-generated reality, for I know of no better way to describe this new development. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Best to take a moment and show you what I'm talking about."
Neely dissolved into a million points of colored light, and the picture reassembled itself into a television studio. Unlike most television studios, which tend to be empty when not in use, this one was full of metal scaffolding. It was painted blue, a color sometimes used in connection with special effects, and looked like a plumber's nightmare. Corvan saw that dozens Of cameras and lights had been attached to the scaffolding and were aimed downward toward a small section of studio floor.
"Not an especially attractive sight," Neely observed from off-camera, "but results are what counts. What you can't see is the super-computer which ties all the cameras together and makes this more than an elaborate jungle gym. For lack of a better name I call the whole thing a 'video matrix generator.'
"What does it do, you ask? Ah, you weren't listening when I told you earlier. It makes reality."
At this point Neely strolled into the shot and stood in the middle of the scaffolding. The camera flew in and around the metal pipes with such freedom that Corvan assumed it was a robo cam or something quite similar. The camera coasted to a stop and zoomed in tight as Neely began to speak.
"The video matrix generator, or VMG for short, can create reality in two different ways. The first
Similar Books
