![New York Nights [Virex 01]](/res/aob/book1.jpg)
hockey? Skyball?’ He slipped a french fry into her mouth.
‘You hate sport,’ she said, chewing.
‘Have you been there before?’
‘Nope again.’ She looked at him. ‘I gave you a big clue before, when I said we could go naked if we liked.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought you were kidding.’
‘No kidding, Hal.’
He thought of the sex clubs that had opened recently around Battery Park. ‘Christ, not a sex club, Kim? If you think for one minute...’
She turned to him and gave a serene little smile. ‘Not a sex club, but we can make love where we’re going if we like.’
‘So it’s a private place? We’ll be alone?’
‘Not necessarily. There’ll be other people there.’
‘Kim, for Christ’s sake . . . Put me out of my misery!’
She turned off Broadway onto Fulton Street and approached the towering twin monoliths of the World Trade Centre. Two minutes later she pulled into the kerb before a row of holographically-enhanced buildings, their usually bright façades washed out in the winter sunlight. In places, where the sun caught the original windows of the building beneath, the holographic projection flickered like a ghostly double-exposure.
‘Here we are, Hal.’
He peered out. ‘Where? I don’t see anything.’
‘There.’ She pointed to a line of people on the sidewalk. He followed the queue to its origin.
‘Christ,’ he said, ‘a VR Bar.’
She was peering at him expectantly. ‘Well? What do you think?’
He tried to summon the requisite enthusiasm. ‘It’s . . . Well, we’ll be queuing for ages.’
She pulled a golden envelope from the pocket of her folded coat and waved it in front of his face. ‘I know the manager. He gave me complimentary tickets. We can walk straight in.’
He was tired, and the last thing he wanted was to immerse himself in a vat of jelly and experience the dubious delights of some spurious reality.
‘I’ve been working hard lately,’ Kim said. ‘All work, no play. I’ve been neglecting you, Hal. This is my little present.’
He leaned forward and kissed her. ‘Can’t wait,’ he said.
The foyer of the Bar was done out like the lobby of an expensive hotel, with thick pile carpet, potted ferns - artificial, Halliday noted - and bronze-framed mirrors. The scrolling legend above the reception desk said: Welcome to the Cyber-Tech VR Bar, TriBeCa.
Kim presented the tickets at the desk, and a minute later a smiling, blue-uniformed woman appeared through a pair of swing doors. She reminded Halliday of an air hostess.
‘If you’d care to follow me this way,’ she said, indicating the double doors. ‘Is this your first visit to a VR Bar?’
Kim nodded, as wide-eyed as a child at the fair. Halliday felt her fingers squeeze his in excitement. They were escorted into a long room furnished in the fashion of the foyer, with ersatz palms and a blue carpet patterned with the intertwined CT logo of the corporation. Customers sat around on sofas and loungers, reading company magazines and brochures.
The chamber was flanked with a series of mock-timber doors, giving access to the VR booths. Their hostess ushered them across the room and swung open a door. ‘Just follow the instruction on the programming screen. If you need any assistance, “don’t hesitate to press the call panel.’
They stepped inside and the door closed behind them. Halliday stared around him. ‘Good God, what now?’
They were in a room the size of a hotel bathroom, white-tiled and brightly illuminated. A shower unit stood in one corner, but in pride of place in the centre of the floor were what appeared to be two large aquaria filled with a liquid substance the same colour as honey.
Kim was already reading the instructions from a wallscreen. She tapped the screen, summoning menus. ‘Hal, come here. Look, these are all the options.’
He joined
‘You hate sport,’ she said, chewing.
‘Have you been there before?’
‘Nope again.’ She looked at him. ‘I gave you a big clue before, when I said we could go naked if we liked.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought you were kidding.’
‘No kidding, Hal.’
He thought of the sex clubs that had opened recently around Battery Park. ‘Christ, not a sex club, Kim? If you think for one minute...’
She turned to him and gave a serene little smile. ‘Not a sex club, but we can make love where we’re going if we like.’
‘So it’s a private place? We’ll be alone?’
‘Not necessarily. There’ll be other people there.’
‘Kim, for Christ’s sake . . . Put me out of my misery!’
She turned off Broadway onto Fulton Street and approached the towering twin monoliths of the World Trade Centre. Two minutes later she pulled into the kerb before a row of holographically-enhanced buildings, their usually bright façades washed out in the winter sunlight. In places, where the sun caught the original windows of the building beneath, the holographic projection flickered like a ghostly double-exposure.
‘Here we are, Hal.’
He peered out. ‘Where? I don’t see anything.’
‘There.’ She pointed to a line of people on the sidewalk. He followed the queue to its origin.
‘Christ,’ he said, ‘a VR Bar.’
She was peering at him expectantly. ‘Well? What do you think?’
He tried to summon the requisite enthusiasm. ‘It’s . . . Well, we’ll be queuing for ages.’
She pulled a golden envelope from the pocket of her folded coat and waved it in front of his face. ‘I know the manager. He gave me complimentary tickets. We can walk straight in.’
He was tired, and the last thing he wanted was to immerse himself in a vat of jelly and experience the dubious delights of some spurious reality.
‘I’ve been working hard lately,’ Kim said. ‘All work, no play. I’ve been neglecting you, Hal. This is my little present.’
He leaned forward and kissed her. ‘Can’t wait,’ he said.
The foyer of the Bar was done out like the lobby of an expensive hotel, with thick pile carpet, potted ferns - artificial, Halliday noted - and bronze-framed mirrors. The scrolling legend above the reception desk said: Welcome to the Cyber-Tech VR Bar, TriBeCa.
Kim presented the tickets at the desk, and a minute later a smiling, blue-uniformed woman appeared through a pair of swing doors. She reminded Halliday of an air hostess.
‘If you’d care to follow me this way,’ she said, indicating the double doors. ‘Is this your first visit to a VR Bar?’
Kim nodded, as wide-eyed as a child at the fair. Halliday felt her fingers squeeze his in excitement. They were escorted into a long room furnished in the fashion of the foyer, with ersatz palms and a blue carpet patterned with the intertwined CT logo of the corporation. Customers sat around on sofas and loungers, reading company magazines and brochures.
The chamber was flanked with a series of mock-timber doors, giving access to the VR booths. Their hostess ushered them across the room and swung open a door. ‘Just follow the instruction on the programming screen. If you need any assistance, “don’t hesitate to press the call panel.’
They stepped inside and the door closed behind them. Halliday stared around him. ‘Good God, what now?’
They were in a room the size of a hotel bathroom, white-tiled and brightly illuminated. A shower unit stood in one corner, but in pride of place in the centre of the floor were what appeared to be two large aquaria filled with a liquid substance the same colour as honey.
Kim was already reading the instructions from a wallscreen. She tapped the screen, summoning menus. ‘Hal, come here. Look, these are all the options.’
He joined
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