Page 274 of Light Leech

“No restrooms here, nor will you need one. No need to eat or drink. In fact, you can’t here. Does that clear things up? You don’t have organs, only your mind keeping you in link with the rest of you back home. Don’t worry, it’ll all be there when you go back.”

“Right.” My chest ran cold. Wait. No, it didn’t, yet my mind gave me that same sensation of unease. “But when we leave here, will it feel like this version of me is dying?”

She laughed. “No, or every part of the core would be as empty as this place. Like I said before, your mind will join the consciousness and it’ll all make sense. For you, this you right now, it’ll feel like traveling through a portal.”

“And that feels like?”

“You kind of did the same thing when you entered, right? Enough questions. Let’s go.” She pointed at the light constructs that danced in the surrounding ether. “I don’t like whatever those things are. The quicker we’re out of here, the quicker you get to Naoma.”

I nodded.

She gave the silence five seconds before speaking again.

“We’ve got a while till we reach that cube, so why don’t you talk?”

“About what?”

“Your girl. Problems? Good things? I’m a girl, so I can help.”

“Everything’s good.”

“Come on, Pet. You can do better than that. You don’t sound too sure of yourself. Was there some drama back before the therapist guk?”

I laughed, sounding like an embarrassed teenager. “What? No. My problem isn’t anything like that.”

“So there is a problem.”

“Well, not really? I dunno. I told you about how I rushed everything when we first met, right?”

“Then she screwed her head on and realized what it meant to be a person and not a Reef automaton?”

“Yeah.”

“She doesn’t look like she has a problem with you. You went on that date, right? Ah, zeg that was cute. I don’t see a problem with you. You look like you’ve slowed down a bit… oh zeg. That’s the problem, isn’t it? You’re not going fast enough now and you’re losing her to friendship.”

“No… at least I don’t think so. Take a step back. That week–well, less than a week–before we all rejoined was bliss. Nothing crazy. Nothing even really romantic–”

“You spent a week with this girl and didn’t sleep with her once?”

“No! Zeg, Ral. She’s still figuring the world out.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to treat her like a child.”

“I’m not! What I mean is, she’s stuck on figuring out who she is.”

“As she should. Back to the week together. At least a few kisses, right?”

“I nice hug, but–”

“Zeeeeeg, Pet. You’re killing me. You really are.”

“Like you know her enough?”

“Do you? That’s what I’m trying to figure out! That week was amazing. No forced intimacy, just… time with the most interesting girl I’ve ever met.“ My next steps turned violet, unlike the previous blue.

Ralia’s remained blue. “That’s sweet. Go on.”

“I know it sounds cliché, but it’s just how I felt. I love all of you, especially you and Boyband, but with Naoma, it’s different. You and Boyband are family. Naoma’s something else, and I like that. You replaced the family I had back home and you’re better friends than anyone can ask for, but… getting involved with politics before coming to the Republic and diving deeper into the neurospace communities zegged up my actual social life. With Naoma, I don’t feel the need to burn a socitab every hour. It’s a real human connection. That week was a taste of something I had only dreamed of.”