This story is Copyright 1999, Krystoff Vagabond.
It may be freely redistributed as long as it remains completely intact and unmodified (including these headers). I welcome comments and criticism. Please send any thoughts you have on the story to [email protected]

Virtually Lovers

"Lights"

The lights dimmed and Jarod sat alone in the dark. He tapped a five digit access code onto the keypad under his hand.

"File: Sylvia - Sequence: One. Scenario: Alpha"

There was an electronic hum as the holo-projectors engaged and the memory drives spun up.

"What level, please?" The digitized voice was female. Soft, but cold at the same time. Reassuring and almost sexy, but clearly inhuman.

Jarod closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In a moment the world would be at his disposal. With a word, he could have almost anything. Almost. his realization of the harsh reality of technological limitations quashed his passing fancy of something more. "Aries" he whispered.

When his eyes opened, he was engulfed in the familiar blue glow. How many times had he run this sequence? Dozens? Hundred? It didn't matter. Each time was as anticipated as the first.

His study dissolved away. Projector casings and computer consoles were replaced with bookshelves and desks. Prof. Richards stood in the front of the room. His classmates surrounding him. Jason, Thomas, Erica, Charlie. Others. Some names long since forgotten. But not one. There she sat. Directly in front of him. Sylvia Austin. The most beautiful of all God's creatures. He sat behind her. Awestruck. Unable to tear his gaze away from the tiny fingers twirling that long golden hair.

"Access: Charlie Page"

The door slid open and Charlie entered the loft that she and Jarod shared. It had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to slip out of her office clothes and into a nice hot bath. Unfortunately, that was not to be. The Ultrachem report was still incomplete and she was forced to bring it home with her. She would probably be up all night working on it. Relaxation would have to wait until the weekend. Hopefully, at least Jarod would keep the trideo turned down low so she could work in peace. She kicked off her boots and threw her card key on the coffee table.

"Jarod? I'm home." There was no answer. It was already past 19:30. He couldn't still be at work. He must have gone out. Wonderful. She might have the place quiet and to herself after all. She reached in her purse and pulled out the memdisk with the Ultrachem files on it. She looked at it for a moment and discarded it on the table next to her card key. She might not have enough time to soak in the tub, but Ultrachem would at least have to wait until she had taken a steam shower.

"21-115: Introduction to the Fundamental Structures of Non-Euclidean Geometry."

Mr. Richard's recitation was the first place that Jarod had ever met Sylvia. Well, not met her really. He still vividly remembered seeing her that first time. He was talking to Charlie and Jason. They had gotten to class early and were discussing the classes they had earlier in the day. It was second semester, sophomore year. He and Jason were both in "Advanced Graphic Interface Design" and Charlie was just coming out of "Twentieth Century Law" Charlie was going over the lecture she had just heard on the Menendez defense when *she* walked through the door.

Her hair was like sunshine. Her eyes were large and inviting. A deep ocean of blue that even the most accomplished navigator would get lost in. Her smile was wide and inviting. That was just her face. His eyes followed her long neck down to her chest. She wore a tight, light blue shirt. Black suspenders beautifully framed and accented what were already perfect breasts, the suspenders were attached to a short pleated skirt that only barely covered the longest, most wonderfully toned legs that one could ever imagine.

She entered the room. And she sat in front of him.

That's how it was. Three times a week. The sweetest torture one could ask for. And it was torture. Radiant beauty. Luminescence. An arms reach away and it might as well be a galaxy. A full semester. She was right there in front of him. That long straight hair. That creamy neck. Those perfect shoulders. But he couldn't touch her. Four months of 21-115. Two more years of similar experiences and now. 5 years later. He was still running simulations of the same thing.

"Oh God, yes!"

This was exactly what Charlie needed. Every muscle in her body tensed as the hot jets hit her back, her hands tightly gripping the towel rack. Slowly she relaxed as she became accustomed to the steamy hot water. She loosened her hold on the bar. A slow deep sigh gently rolled off her tongue and escaped her lips. Ultrachem was but a distant memory now, the problem of another woman; a woman in some other place. Nothing mattered at that moment save the tingly sensation running down her spine. She shifted her face and eased around so that the jets could hit her chest, moving slowly to enjoy the pressure as it rolled across her side.

She reached for the shelf and picked up to the small green bottle. She squeezed a generous helping of the juniper scented gel into her palm and began applying it to her shoulders and neck then working the lather down across her small breasts. "Heaven" she thought to herself, forgetting, for the moment, the disappointment of not being able to soak in a bubble bath. After the strenuous day she had had, this felt like the most sensuous experience of her lifetime. She reached again for the green bottle and applied more of the shower gel to her pale skin.

Charlie's mind began to wander as she titled her head back and let the mist drench her face and soak her short auburn hair. Her skin tingled from the soothing gel and the hot water and her nipples began to harden from the gentle rubbing motion of her fingers. How long had it been since anyone had touched her like this. She couldn't remember the last time she had even masturbated and actual sex seemed more like a adolescent dream than an adult experience. "To hell with Ultrachem, this is something I need," she thought to herself as her hand reached for the warm spot between her legs.

"Pause Program."

Just like that, Sylvia's fingers ceased twirling her hair. She was frozen in time like a Greek statue. Jarod looked around the room. Professor Richards was at the HUD Board, laser pointer gripped in his hand. Petrified in the middle of his explanation of a hyperdimensional cube. Students around the room - Erica, Jason, Charlie, the others - all similarly paralyzed as they punched notes into their keypads or scribbled onto their tablets. He stood from his chair and walked right through the wraith that was Sylvia to face her from the other side. He savored the pose he had caught her in. She was between notes. Still twirling her hair with her left hand while she held her stylus to her ruby red lips with her right, sucking gently on the head of the small pen. As unattainable now as a ghost as she was an actual being.

There had to be something more.

He walked around her. Not through her this time, but around her, careful not to disrupt the projection of her beauty. He took his seat and began punching an access code on his keypad.

"What program?" The computers voice again echoed through the room. Just as impersonal as always.

"File: Sylvia - Sequence: One. Scenario: Gamma"

"What level, please?"

"Capricorn," he shouted in return.

And with that Prof. Richards and all of the students faded from the room. All save Sylvia, of course. She was alive again. She put down her stylus and ran both of her hands through the sunshine yellow locks on her head. Jarod sighed audibly. She heard and turned to face him. Both smiled. He half out of pride for what he had created and half out of the realization of a long time dream. He was acknowledged by this. . . goddess. She because she was programmed to.

He waved his hand upward, motioning for her to stand. She obediently rose from her chair like a puppet when her strings had been tugged. After all, that's all she really was. It didn't matter at this point though. Jarod twirled his finger in a circle and like a puppy who had just learned a new trick, Sylvia responded. The pleats of her skirt rose into the air as she spun. She lifted her arms so that he could get a glimpse of the perfect curvature of her tits. After the second twirl she stopped so that she was again facing him and her hair swung to the side. She giggled as she brushed it from in front of her face.

Jarod rubbed his chin with his fingers. He smirked as he gazed at her. Her smiled broaden. She had been programmed to live for his approval. She dropped her arms to her side and repositioned her skirt then slid her hands up and down her torso gently caressing her breasts and stomach. Jarod crossed his legs as he felt his pants tighten.

Sylvia tugged on her suspenders and pulled them off of shoulders letting them fall down around her waist. Again she rubbed her firm stomach. Jarod focused on her bare midriff and the ring through her navel. Focused for a moment until he noticed the ruby red fingernails tugging at the hem of the half shirt and pulling it up. Her breast were perfectly round and firm. Her nipples large and erect. The orbs bounced gently as they were freed from the baby blue spandex. She pulled the shirt over her head and her hair flowed out from under the fabric like a silken ocean wave and landed gingerly over her shoulders and neck. She slowly began to approach him.

As she neared him he uncrossed his legs and unzipped his pants. He breathed heavily in anticipation as she bent down before his erection. He gripped the sides of his chair waiting for the sweet warmth of her mouth. She bent ever closer. A shiver went through his body. "God, please," he whispered under his breath. Sylvia closed her painted lips over the head of his cock and he watched as her immaterial face passed right through him.

"Dammit."

Sylvia didn't notice, she continued mock sucking at him, just as she was programmed to do. But he felt nothing.

"Pause program. "

And she froze there. Just as before. But this time half naked. On her knees. He stood up and walked away from her. Her pose was suddenly so unnatural. Hungrily, ravenously gobbling at some unseen phallus. It was simply. . . ridiculous.

He couldn't be a part of this. He wasn't a part of this. He could watch but not touch. Imagine, but not feel. This was just. . . a fantasy.

"End Program."

The classroom faded and the study returned. He zipped up his pants and walked back over to his console and began feverishly tapping at the keys.

"Unnnnnggghhhhh!!"

Charlie bit into her bottom lip trying to suppress the urge to scream. Any harder and she might have drawn blood. Not that she realized that. Her stomach, her back, her entire body tightened as she ground three fingers into her crotch. Each touch from her fingers to her clit shot fire through her veins and each blast of hot steam to her skin sent electricity across her entire body. By this time she had fallen back and was only standing by propping her shoulders against the tiled wall. Her back was arched and the rear jets shot steamy water directly at her ass. The forceful mist rode up inside of her with her fingers and provided yet more stimulation. She was moaning audibly; gritting her teeth.

Her other hand was on her chest; tugging and tweaking her own small nipple. In her minds eye, she imagined a lover biting at it. Pulling with his teeth as he pushed himself deep inside of her. A perfect lover. Rubbing just the right spots. Pushing all the right buttons. Holding her. Loving her. Pleasing her. Knowing her like he was inside of her head. A part of her life. The best part. She felt the urge to scream and bit her lip. The anticipation. The moment. She wanted it to last longer. Forever. It was too late. She couldn't control herself any longer. Couldn't hold back her body. Couldn't slow the motions of her fingers. The jets kept pulsing. A million tiny fingers hitting her from every direction. Massaging her neck. Caressing her breasts. Rubbing her stomach. Seeking out and filling every curve, every orifice, every crease, every inch of her body. There was no holding back.

She came.

"Jarod!"

And she screamed.

"What Program?"

It felt wrong. It really did. Jarod had run simulations of his fantasies more times than he could count. He had stolen the likenesses of hundreds of people and programmed them to do his bidding. But never before had it bothered him. Not before now.

Why?

Programming a holo-suite for sexual scenarios certainly wasn't a crime. It was one of the systems major selling points. Live out your every fantasy. Your *every* fantasy. Every one did it. It was expected. Why shouldn't he? Why should he feel guilty? Why should he feel anything but pleasure? A pleasure long since denied. He'd run countless simulations with Sylvia. Why should this one be any different? Why should it feel like such a violation? It shouldn't. It couldn't.

"File: Sylvia - Sequence: One. Scenario: Epsilon."

There was an electronic hum as the holo-projectors re- engaged.

"What level, please?"

Jarod closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing was left but to say the word and the world would be at his disposal. His creations actualized. His fantasies realized. He opened his eyes and spoke the word. "Zulu."

The room was filled with the blue glow and his surroundings dissolved. He again found himself in Professor Richards' class room, but things were different this time. The lights were dim and there were only two other figures seated with him. Sylvia was in front of him just as always and to his right was Charlie. Charlie, his best friend throughout college. His roommate for the last two years since.

She was as real as he could make her. From the short bobbed hair cut to the wire rim glasses. From the white tank top and suede leather jacket to tight knee length blue skirt and go-go boots. He sighed as he realized what he was doing, but he couldn't stop himself. All he could do was sit back and watch.

Sylvia put down her stylus and ran both of her hands through the sunshine yellow locks on her head. A smirk started to form across Jarod's face. She turned to face him. Smiling as though she were pleased with his approval.

He waved his hand upward, motioning for her to stand. She obediently rose from her chair like a puppet when her strings had been tugged. He twirled his finger in a circle and like a puppy who had just learned a new trick, Sylvia responded. The pleats of her skirt rose into the air as she spun. She lifted her arms so that he could get a glimpse of the perfect curvature of her tits. After the second twirl she stopped so that she was again facing him and her hair swung to the side. She giggled as she brushed it from in front of her face.

Jarod nodded his head in approval. This was what he had wanted. This was the scenario that he had written. So far, everything had gone as it always had, but it was soon to diverge. He found himself becoming aroused, but not at the vision of the goddess but in anticipation of what he knew was to come. She dropped her arms to her side and repositioned her skirt then slid her hands up and down her torso gently caressing her breasts and tummy.

She took two steps away from her seat and stood facing the simulacrum of Charlie. Charlie looked up at her. Not speaking, somewhat in shock, her slow steady breathing the only sound in the room.

Sylvia tugged on her suspenders and pulled them off of shoulders letting them fall down around her waist. Again she rubbed her firm tummy. Charlie focused on Sylvia's bare midriff and the ring through her navel. Focused for a moment until she noticed the ruby red fingernails tugging at the hem of the half shirt and pulling it up. Her breast were perfectly round and firm like two ripe melons. Her nipples large and erect. The orbs bounced gently as they were freed from the baby blue spandex. She pulled the shirt over her head and her hair flowed out from under the fabric like a silken ocean wave and landed gingerly over her shoulders and neck. She took another step towards Charlie and leaned over her desk.

Jarod unzipped his pants. He held his breath in anticipation as Sylvia bent ever closer to Charlie. Charlie's breathing quickened and deepened. She sank back into her chair shying away from Sylvia's approach. Sylvia reached out. Jarod's eyes focused on the long red-painted fingernails and the delicate tips beneath them as they stroked the rims of Charlie's glasses. His erection hardened. Charlie closed her eyes as Sylvia slowly pulled the glasses from her face. Charlie's deep breaths became rapid pants. She knew what was coming. She made no move to stop it. Sylvia face came ever closer. Slowly. Fluidly. Deliberately. Closer and closer until their lips touched. Gently at first. Light kisses. Lips teasing like playful children, but it soon deepened beyond that. Charlie couldn't resist. Slowly her lips parted and allowed Sylvia's tongue to probe inside.

Jarod's lips parted slightly forming his mouth into a small "O" as he began to gently stroke himself.

"Jarod?"

Why had she said that? They were friends. Just friends and nothing more. That's what Charlie wanted to believe. How could she ever allow herself to think of him in that way. She couldn't. That was the answer. She simply couldn't.

She was sitting on the bench in the steam shower. The water was still showering down on her, rolling down her face like tears. The steam was still running and forming beads of sweat down her back. But the sensations. The wonderful tingles brought on by hydrofingers caressing her every spot. That was gone now. What was left was confusion.

All this time, Jarod had never shown any interest in her. She had none in him. How many nights had they sat up in college talking about their relationships? How many times had she cried on his shoulder about her problems with Jason? How many times had he lamented to her over his unrequited love for Sylvia Whateverhernamewas? They never wanted each other. They were just friends.

Charlie stood and turned off the steam shower, resting her head against the tiled wall for a moment. "Why? Why would I say that?" She whispered the words to herself, but had no answer. "Why?" She spoke more forcefully now, as though being curt wither herself my force an answer, but again there was none.

She was just lonely. That was it. It was a fleeting fantasy brought on by a moment of loneliness. Weakness. Jarod was her roommate. Her best friend since college. More like a brother than a lover. He was just someone that she could talk to. Someone she could trust.

She climbed out of the shower. She hadn't washed her hair yet, but she just couldn't be in there any longer. There was just something - not right about it. Something she wanted to get away from. She pulled her long white towel off of the rack and quickly began to dry herself, trying to rub the memory away with the water.

The memories. There were so many. Senior year. After fighting for months she had finally broken up with Jason. For good this time. She knew that. She couldn't take being with him anymore. The lies. The cheating. All it had taken was one phone call, and Jarod was right there in her dorm room. He was comforting. He said he understood. He gave her exactly what she needed. He held her and that made it a little better.

She cried herself to sleep in his arms that night. He spent the night in her bed. Nothing more happened. She was heart broken. Hurt. Vulnerable. And he was so compassionate. She would have easily surrender her body to him that night if he had simply tried. But he didn't. Because he cared for her. Because he loved her.

"Because I love him," she said to herself, slightly out loud.

It startled her. The shock of calling out his name in an orgasmic fury was nothing compared to this. She loved him. In all the time that they had known one another, that had never occurred to her before. She loved him. She stood there in the bathroom, naked and dripping, staring at her reflection in the slowly defogging mirror.

"Pause program!"

The world froze. Or, at the very least, every thing in the room did. Sylvia. Charlie. Even Jarod. For a moment. What was he doing? What the hell was he doing. He looked at himself. Sitting there in his chair, his pants and his boxers pulled down around his ankles. His hand covered in cum, holding his own cock. The electronic ghosts of two women he claimed to care about petrified in the throes of passion on the other side of the room. What was he doing.

Jarod released his grip on his softening dick and wiped his hand on his T-shirt. He pulled it off and used it to wipe up the rest of the mess he had made on his stomach and the arms of the chair. He looked at it for a moment and threw it aside by the desk, again turning his attention to the frozen holograms. He pulled up his pants and walked over to the other side of the room, where the girls had been paused in their lovemaking.

Sylvia was on her knees. She had earlier discarded her halter top and suspenders. Her hand was awkwardly rubbing her crotch through her pleated skirt while her tongue hungrily explored the folds between Charlie's legs. Charlie. "My God," Jarod thought. "What have I done to her?" Physically, it looked like Charlie, of course. The hair, the eyes, the skin. Even the small mole under her right eye. But It just wasn't her. It didn't feel like her. She was propped up on a table near the corner. She had pulled her tank top up and was pinching her nipple. her long skirt was hiked up around her waist as Sylvia buried her face into Charlie's pussy. Her head was tilted back, her eyes closed as she stood on the brink of orgasm. Frozen.

"Close Replicant: Sylvia."

There was a blink of light and Sylvia vanished. Erased as though she had never been. No evidence save for the fevered state she had brought Charlie to. He looked at Charlie. She was amazing. He had never noticed before. The long legs. The flat stomach. The small pert breasts. Her smile was wide and her lips full. Her beautiful round face perfectly framed by the short black hair. Her eyes. Her eyes were closed.

"Replicant: Charlie. Eye lids .795"

Sylvia's eyes blinked open. It was eerie. She was still standing perfectly motionless, exactly as she was when he froze the program. Except for the eyes. Those beautiful, green eyes. He had never seen them this closely before. She always wore her glasses. But her eyes were so warm. So innocent. How could he have violated her like this? How could he have perverted her? He felt ashamed. Guilty. How could he use her like this? Charlie was the one who brought him dinner at two in the morning when he was working on his integrated systems final project. Charlie was the one who was there for him when he needed to obsess over Sylvia. She was the one who tried to convince him to move on. She was his best friend.

He slowly reached out to the hologram. He touched her cheek. Gently, slowly, being very careful not to pass through the image. She didn't flinch.

"Play Program."

She came back to life exactly where she left off. Still moaning and squirming from the unseen tongue manipulations of Sylvia's tongue. Her breathing was sharp and shallow. She closed her eyes again. She arched her back and threw her head even further back. Her tiny voice chirping as she quickly gasped for air.

"Reset emotion track. Replicant: Charlie."

She stopped, opened her eyes and stared quietly at him. He could see something in those eyes. There was love there. Not the love that Sylvia had. The love that he had programmed in. There was something different. Something that seemed so real. He leaned in close to her, and wished that he could smell her hair.

"Jarod!"

Charlie stood there in the door way in utter shock. She had spent some time in the bathroom composing herself trying to decide what to do about the feelings that she couldn't stop herself from having. She resolved to tell him, then to keep it from him and then to tell him again. When she left the bathroom her head was racing in chaos with the possibilities. With the reactions she thought he might have - some good, some bad - to what she would say to him. She imagined the proper moment. Should she tell him as soon as she saw him? Should she do it over a romantic dinner? When she finally left the bathroom, she saw the blue light leaking out from under the door to the study. She leaned against the door and listened. She could hear Jarod occasionally speaking commands to the computer. She could hear the computer responding. She could hear movement and mumbles. She knew that he must be working on yet another simulation, but she couldn't make anything out. Her heart was racing. She couldn't keep this to herself any longer. She had to tell him. She opened the door slowly, both anticipating and fearing his possible reaction, but she never expected this.

She stood there in the doorway, wrapped in her towel, still somewhat damp, though she had ended her steam shower quite some time ago. Jarod spun around when he heard her call his name. Their eyes met. Jarod's heart dropped. Charlie stood there. Trembling. Shivering, not from cold, but from something else. He looked behind him, and she was there as well. Only not in a towel. Instead she was dressed in a blue skirt pulled up around her waist and still clutching her white tank top near her neck, exposing her breasts. The real Charlie's eyes began to well up with tears.

"Charlie!" Jarod called out to her while struggling to zip up his pants; not knowing what he would say next; not knowing how to explain, but knowing that he must.

It was too late. Tears were pouring down her face. She covered her mouth and ran from the room.

Jarod turned again to face the hologram. This Charlie stared at him. Confused. Her artificial intelligence not knowing how to deal with the situation but realizing something was wrong. Her mouth opened, but like Jarod a moment before, she found no words to speak. He found two.

"End Program."

©1999 - K.Vagabond
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