Quin

Quin

Lyla Jennings is on a six month assignment in space with no one but Quin for company.  Her life turns upside down when virtual reality becomes real.

Excerpt:

    Disquieted by what happened, as well as feeling as if she had somehow cheated on Max, over the next few days Lyla interacted with Quin as little as possible.  She did not invite him into simulations, nor did she have any communication that wasn’t necessary for the running of the station.  She was dismayed by now much she missed him, and inexplicably found herself annoyed that Quin did not seem upset by the change.  As usual, he cheerfully performed in whatever capacity she requested.

    Unfortunately, while she could control her interactions with him while awake, her traitorous pysche made no such restrictions.  The less contact she had with him, the more frequently he appeared in her sleep. Worse yet, the more Quin was in her dreams, the less Max was.  After a couple of weeks, she found it impossible to sleep.  Either she was too anxious to drift off, dreading what would come, or the distressing content of her dreams woke her if she managed to doze.

    By the end of her fourth month, she was exhausted and haggard.  Max was beyond concerned.  “Babe, what is going on?  You look like hell!”

Author’s Note:

Preparing for Quin prompted my first dive down the research rabbit hole.  I learned about the different areas of the brain to conceptualize how an implant could access the five senses to enhance virtual reality.

Also found in Nett’s Shorts:  A Collection of Short Stories.