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Naomi
Naomi awoke to the sound of a knock on the door.
She opened her eyes and for a moment she was truly lost. Nothing was familiar, she didn’t even feel like herself.
She had been dreaming that someone was lost, and she was searching…
The knock repeated and she felt the bed creak.
Gage.
He must have joined her at some point, but she didn’t remember him coming into the room, and he obviously hadn’t tried to wake her.
“Hey,” he said, opening the door for Dr. Pan.
The Terran doctor bustled in, a worried look on her face.
“Sorry to disturb you,” she said.
“No worries,” Naomi replied, forcing herself to sit up and face the day. “I’m sorry I slept so late. I guess you want to get my vitals?”
“We should definitely do that today,” Dr. Pan said. “But I got a comm to bring you in to have your security protocols updated on your bracelets when I was on the way here.”
“Why?” Gage demanded.
His body language had solidified from relaxed and fluid to tense and ready. Athena, sensing his concern, was suddenly moving to his side, her beautiful ears pricked up.
“I’m not sure,” Dr. Pan admitted. “But Oberon can explain more when we get there.”
What Naomi took from the doctor’s reassuring words was chilling. Oberon can’t explain now.
She could not begin to fathom the potential bandwidth of the AI who had created and ran this place. Who knew how many simulations he was running at once, and how many potential clients he was planning for at the same time?
If his load was too great to add a single conversation, something was very wrong.
“We should get moving,” the doctor said.
Gage was already pulling jeans and a t-shirt over the boxers he had apparently slept in.
Naomi grabbed her clothing and dashed into the bathroom to ready herself.
As soon as she was out, they all moved for the hallway, taking the stairs quickly and jogging through the entryway to hop in the carriage that was parked outside.
Gage offered Dr. Pan a hand, and she practically dove in.
Naomi took Gage’s hand and let him swing her up too, waiting for him to board and then sitting directly on his lap, like the night before.
Even the horses seemed to be in a hurry. Their hooves danced and they tossed their inky manes as they waited for the drawbridge to lower.
Then they were off, clattering across the wooden bridge and flying for the path through the woods.
No one spoke.
After what felt like a lifetime, they arrived in a space that looked almost like a town square, with two large, modern-looking buildings. A small park nestled between them, its center was paved and equipped with a fountain and benches.
A line of people in lab coats stretched from one building around the corner of the next.
“Let’s go,” Dr. Pan said, leaping out of the carriage.
