Near Future 1: Awakening (17 page)

By this time, Zeke could only shake his head, "Enough, enough, you've got my head hurting and the only cure I know for that is brain food. Pizza!" He grabbed Miranda's arm and pulled in the direction of the door. With a flick of her wrist, Miranda saved her work, commanded the computer "Sleep", and walked out the door with him. Proclaiming that he knew the perfect pizza spot, they headed out in his car to a small restaurant. The staff obviously knew Zeke, the hostess greeting him when they came in and seating them quickly. Miranda discovered that he was right about their pizza. It was absolutely amazing, the best pizza she had ever eaten. They spent a pleasant couple of hours in the restaurant. Later she would realize that this was their first "date" and she would remember it with some fondness.

#

Classes continued at a rapid pace and Miranda whizzed through all of them, completing extra credit topics, and sometimes reading whole books on a subject she found interesting. Because of her nanites, she didn't require much sleep any more, so she would sneak out her HUD and study or read after Emily had gone to bed at night. She would also be up at the crack of dawn. One of the few things she had splurged on was a personal coffee machine that she could use to make her own coffee in the room. She would often sit at their window sipping her coffee, looking out as the world woke up. That was when she was most at peace, even with her memory issues. Emily was not a morning person, so Miranda would do her morning stuff early so she could get out of her way. She had gotten Emily to drinking the coffee too, and the joke between them was to never, never speak to Emily until she had her first cup.

Miranda had even come to enjoy PT. At first she had really struggled with it but she had gradually caught up with everyone and begun to excel. After her experience in the simulator, Miranda had realized the importance of being physically fit, and she had worked extremely hard to build herself up. She was so focused on her goal that she didn't realize when she began to exceed the performance of many of her dorm group. She caught Caitlyn watching her a couple of times when their PT group went by running, but so far Caitlyn's dorm group had not gotten the lead slot. She was determined to be ready whenever Caitlyn did get that opportunity, and that drove her as much as anything else to push her limits.

Once a week, Andrea would come pick her up to go out for lunch at a local restaurant, letting her sample a new meal. For Miranda, this was very exciting as she got to learn the foods that she liked again, since she had no memory to go by. She would often choose a sampler platter and then try each item. Miranda also insisted on paying for those meals since she had no real need to spend from her trust fund for anything else. After the meal they would go visit a local attraction such as a museum or botanical garden, and talk about everything she saw. The only rule that Andrea insisted on was no talking about school unless it was about some guy that she met or some event. Zeke was the one she mentioned most in their conversation, and Andrea quickly caught on to that little fact.

Miranda was constantly working on the project, fine-tuning her theories and trying to come up with the math to describe the expected behaviors. She and Zeke met at the library a number of times. They had begun to gather the components needed for the project, but they hadn't started building it yet. Zeke had been working on the computer programs, and Miranda heard him mumble more than once, "Need an AI to do your crazy stuff!" She understood why he would say that. However, she wisely kept quiet. A true AI would cost more than the entire budget for all of the projects in the class.
 

Miranda also was really enjoying the time she spent with Zeke. He was smart, which she already knew, but he also was easy to talk to, and seemed to genuinely like to spend time with her. Although he was a self-proclaimed geek, she had watched him play sports a couple of times with the guys and he was pretty good. And he certainly didn't look like a geek.

A number of times when she went to the library alone, Miranda saw the "librarian" and he was always friendly but he refused to answer any questions about his identity. He would distract her by showing her something new or asking a question about something. By the time she looked back up, he would be gone. She had become more and more accomplished at working with the VR interface, and she didn't think about what she was able to do with a thought and a motion of the finger. One of these times she happened to glance up and see the "librarian" watching her with a huge smile on his face. She had been particularly deep in one of her thought quests. Again he left before she could speak to him. She didn't find it particularly upsetting because she didn't feel that it was an inappropriate look, but more of a fatherly pleasure when he was watching a child accomplish something.

The only real problem Miranda was having at school was with Caitlyn. She had run into Caitlyn several more times, and she was always causing her problems. She was usually with some of her soccer friends who followed along with whatever she wanted. Sometimes they "accidentally" bumped into her, but like the first time with the soccer ball, it was always something that was not obvious enough that she could complain about it.

Emily really did need help with math, so Miranda spent time tutoring her and a couple of her friends. After Miranda explained the problem, Emily would excitedly say, "Ok, that makes sense!" and she would easily be able to complete the work. One of those times, Emily exclaimed, "Why can't the book make it that simple?"

Miranda laughed, telling her, "That's because they're all too stuffy, and not in the real world, that's why." All the girls laughed, and they decided to stop for the night, the trio expressing their thanks for her help. It made Miranda feel good to be accepted by them, since she felt so alone a lot of the time.

Each tutoring session Emily would say something to the effect that she owed her, but Miranda didn't pay her much attention. After all, she was only helping a friend, and she really enjoyed her time with the girls.

#

Zeke was having the time of his life with his classes going well and working on the project with Miranda. He had quickly figured out that a standard computer solution would not work, so he had applied a number of the concepts from his AI class to their project. By leaving out almost all the VR fluff and keeping the response matrix extremely limited, he was making a lot of progress. Nothing compared to what Miranda was trying to do with their project, but he had discovered a couple of things while doing the core programming, and he really thought he could take it further than their project someday. This time he was a little glad that his sister's meddling had gotten him to this point, not that he was going to let her know. Of course, lately she had been a little more subtle since the Caitlyn deal had failed so spectacularly.

Even more than the computer stuff, Zeke was enjoying the time he spent with Miranda. Although she was the smartest person he had ever met, she was very down to earth, and she was so humble about everything she did. Her hair had also been growing, and he didn't think she realized how beautiful she looked. He knew that he wasn't the only guy to notice, but she was so shy that she didn't seem to realize just how much she was affecting those around her.
 

He tried to tell his group of friends that they weren't really dating, but they had all decided that they would be friendly and help any way they could, but nothing more. He was trying to be very careful to keep everything they did out in the open, because he wanted to be sure Miranda was not hurt by any kind of rumors.

His sister still managed to surprise him when she came up with a plan to invite Miranda to come visit their home during the midterm break. He was excited, but he also knew he would have to keep cool about it. Of course, Emily pretty well had it all planned, but he was hoping to show Miranda some of his ideas about computers and AI's in general. He really thought he was close to figuring some of it out, and if he could get her great brain involved, maybe she could help him. And, he admitted to himself, maybe he would get some time alone with Miranda too. So he told his sister it was ok with him, but he saw her look and knew she wasn't fooled in the least. Not that he was going to tell her she was right!

#

Totally involved in her day-to-day routine, Miranda was completely surprised when one day Emily announced, "Time for me to pay up. You are invited to my house over midterm break next week. I have already cleared it with my parents and we would love to have you. I bet you haven't even thought about what you were going to do. Only the real geeks and jocks stay here during the break. And I know I told you about the unofficial party we have, and you are going if I have to drag you there."

By this time Miranda had her hands up in surrender. "Ok, Em, you don't owe me anything, but I would love to come. I have been wanting to meet your family. I know they have to be great to have raised both you and Zeke. And you are right, I have no plans, of course." After all, Miranda had no family other than Doctor/Uncle Ted and Andrea. She didn't mention that she might get to spend quality time alone with Zeke, but Emily noticed the dreamy look on Miranda's face and smiled. She loved it when a plan came together.

Miranda took all of her midterm exams with ease, and was always the first one to finish. She was afraid she was blowing the curve for all of her classes, but she knew that most teachers excluded any extreme grades if they graded on a curve. In a couple of classes she saw some of the students flash her a look of envy when she completed the work that they were still struggling with. She did mouth, "Good luck" to one girl in her math class that had been somewhat friendly to her during the weeks of class. But mainly, all she could think about was the midterm break!

CHAPTER NINE

Midterm Break

Local schools are all off on their synchronized midterm breaks. A number of groups and charities are planning events and concerts, and a number of schools have unofficial parties planned by the students. The nearby Space Academy student body union has announced their Third Annual "Space" party will be held at a local club with a dance floor and recreational center. Alcohol will be served, but strong policies will be in place to prevent minors from being able to partake.

#

Miranda and Emily packed up after the last exam, excitedly preparing to leave. Zeke had already loaded most of their bags in the vehicle, but he helped them with the remaining ones. As they traveled to their family's home, Emily talked about her parents and the visit. She told Miranda that her family wanted her to feel at home. She went on to explain that she had everything planned for the week, ending with the big unofficial school party. "It's going to be such fun!" she declared.

Zeke just shook his head and said, "I may want a little of Miranda's time to show her a couple of things."

Emily mumbled, "I bet!" but not very loudly, and she refused to answer when both in the car asked, "What?"

When they arrived, they parked in front of a pleasant home that was at the end of a quiet shady street. It was exactly what Miranda would have expected to find for the home of her two friends.

Zeke explained, "When our father retired from the Air Force, he wanted to have a large enough piece of property that he could enjoy time there. We have a pond and a barn. Absolutely nothing in the barn, although Dad keeps talking about getting horses. All in all it gives us a place to call home and enjoy life a little slower when we want it. Not withstanding Emily and the party, of course!"
 

While the others were unloading bags, Emily rushed into the house, quickly coming back with her mom, who gave Miranda a big friendly hug. She had on an apron for baking, but Miranda was impressed with the intelligence in her eyes. "Welcome to our humble abode. Come in, come in," she said. "I have just put a batch of chocolate chip cookies in the oven, and they will be ready in a few minutes."

Emily exclaimed, "Yes! You'll love them!" She led the way back into the house, leaving Zeke to deal with the bags. Zeke, however, did his usual job of gathering them all up, although in this case it took a couple of trips. He was used to his sister, who he swore had no concept of what packing for only a few days meant. Plus he was happy that Miranda was already fitting in.

While Zeke was unloading, Mrs. Caldwell showed Miranda around the house, which while an older home, was very well decorated, and had a comfortable feeling about it. The house was actually larger than it looked from the street. The tour didn't take very long and smartly ended in the kitchen. "Eat up, girls, but leave some for the boys. Plus, you don't want to spoil your appetite, because Mister C is going to grill out tonight."

As the girls were eating the cookies, Emily's mom explained to Miranda that she was a teacher in the local school, and she was on break for the week just like their school. She had a very friendly attitude and Miranda could see where Emily got her personality.

After eating too many warm, soft cookies loaded with melted chocolate chips, Miranda was shown to the room where she would be staying. It was right across from Emily's room. She was also given access to the family network. She learned that Mr. Caldwell was a computer engineer, so she wasn't surprised that they had a high-end network and a small home based AI. Miranda began to get an idea of why Emily and Zeke were so smart and why Zeke was so good with computers. But they were practical people, and that's why she liked them so much. The girls wandered into the family room, relaxing with music and VR video generated by the house AI for some time.

When Mr. Caldwell came home, Miranda discovered that he was the same kind of person that she had expected him to be. She suspected as an Air Force colonel he probably had another side to him by necessity, but to his family and to her, he was a very kind, pragmatic and easygoing person. He drafted Zeke and they went out to cook the dinner. She could tell Zeke really enjoyed spending time with him.

When Miranda was invited out, she was handed a lemonade by Mrs. Caldwell, and they walked out into a large landscaped area in the back of the house. She could see across a large portion of the back of the property and down to the pond.