Alice in Virtuality by Norman Turrell Read Free Book Online Page A

off my system."
    "Sure. Sorry buddy."
    Indicators flashed on his devices and waves of numbers filled the screens.
    "Done," Uno said.
    He disconnected his additions and replaced the case. Starting up, the screens returned to normal, no Alice. Martin ushered Uno out unceremoniously. He had forgiven him, but wanted to make a show to belay any similar future behaviour. He shook his head as he closed the door and gave a little smile. He had to admit, it had been an interesting experience. He returned to his usual place at the computer. The night was drawing on and he had unfinished business.
    He hurriedly logged into the virtual world and landed at MeetCentral moments later. His avatars clothes had suffered from Alice's colour drain and were grey. Martin flew straight to the boards but there was no sign of the Glade. With nothing more to be gained here, he logged out. There were several search engines on the web which could be used to find people, but he had little information to work with. He tried some queries and began to scour the results.
    He had spent some time searching without success, when the 'ping' of his e-mail sounded. The subject said 'Green Eyes' and the message read 'Martin, meet me at 54.9444326, -1.6039252 11:00:00 090312.'
    Martin's realised what the numbers meant, although the format was a little odd, a very precise location, time and date. Maybe she was mathematically minded, he thought, and very resourceful to have found him. He pulled up an online map and typed in the latitude and longitude given in the text. It was in a park very near to his flat and the date and time were tomorrow. It was now very late. Martin took himself to his bed, excited and a little nervous about his meet.
    He had left his computer on, he often allowed it to shut itself down. As he slept, the screen started to flash. Several windows of hex data appeared, scrolled rapidly and disappeared.

Chapter 11 - Date In The Park
     
    Martin panted as he struggled to open the door, arms laden with bags and bags of purchases from an early morning shopping excursion which included a long overdue haircut. He rifled through his booty and laid out his new clothes on the couch neatly and carefully.
    One bag was whisked into the bathroom. Lifting each item out, he lined the various bottles and canisters on the shelf at its side. He saluted the cosmetic army standing to attention and began to run a bath. An hour and a half later his body had been exfoliated, powdered, creamed, and oiled. Dressed and looking in the mirror, he considered the results a fair success. He worried again about what to say, insistent nightmare scenarios invading his mind. As prepared as he could be, he left the flat.
    The temperature was brisk enough to leave Martin's breath hanging in the air as he walked around the lake. A flash of sunlight caught his attention from amongst the trees on a central island. The location indicated on his mobile GPS was a park bench only a short distance away. He looked back to the island. Another flash. It was definitely a mirror being used to signal but he couldn't see the source from within its cover. He looked around. There was no-one else near. He walked over to the meeting place and sat on the bench. As he rested his back against its support, the flashes returned making him blink. There was no doubt they were for his attention. This was too intrusive to be ignored and he had plenty of time. The only way to get to the island was by wooden row boat. There were a few moored near a hut where you were supposed to pay, but it was closed.
    It was very much against Martin's nature to do anything illegal and he struggled with his conscience. Eventually, he built up courage and launched himself over a small decorative iron fence. Looking all around, he slipped the securing hook and crept into the boat, cringing at the creaks and splashes. He wasn't cut out for this.
    The park was very quiet. The occasional passer-by took no notice of his daring exploit.