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 A World of My Choosing   An Out-of-this-World Story by Gil Gamesh   Chapter
Eight   As I slowly regained consciousness, I became aware that I was
reclining in something soft.  The temperature was comfortable and the air
was moving softly over my naked body.  But I was in misery.  I ached in
every part of my body especially my head.  I had the grandfather of all
headaches, something like the jet lag I'd experienced a few times but much
more intense.  I felt nauseous and I breathed deeply a few times to
suppress the urge to throw up.  My bladder was screaming at me to be
emptied and my right hand was wrapped around a rigid piss-hard.

   I struggled to open my eyes, cracked my eyelids for a second, and saw
only blackness.  I lay there, still breathing deeply, trying to come awake,
and, when I opened my eyes briefly a second time, I saw dim light framed by
something rectangular a short distance in front of me.  The third time I
opened them, I saw a television or computer flat-screen monitor mounted on
the wall in front of me.  The screen was blank.  When I opened them again a
minute or so later, I saw the same thing except that the monitor had a
single word blinking on it: WAITING.  I closed my eyes again and then
suddenly the implications of the blinking word struck me and my eyes popped
open wide.  I saw the word WAITING again and I knew it was waiting for
input from me.

   I looked around.  I was in a big comfortable recliner, black, leather
looking, and long enough for my legs.  On each side of me were the usual
two arms.  I assumed the lever to change positions was on the right side so
I dropped my hand down on that side.  No lever.  Two buttons.  I pushed the
one to the rear and the chair silently reclined further.  I pushed the one
to the front and the recliner slowly lifted into the sitting position.

   I felt something around my right leg and looked down.  My knives, Big
Boy and Little Boy, were in their scabbard, strapped around my thigh.  I
pulled Big Boy out and looked at it.  It was clean.  There was no sign of
blood.  The blade was as shiny as always and the handle was clean.  I
remembered how bloody it had been when I used it last and I couldn't
remember cleaning it.  Puzzled, I slid it back in its sheath.

   Then I realized that my dirty ragged clothing was gone.  The fake metal
brace was no longer on my right leg.  The fake scar was gone from my knee.
My leg, in fact both legs, looked as clean as if I'd just come from a
shower.  I breathed deeply and couldn't smell the obnoxious stuff I had put
on my body.  I was even more puzzled.

   The room brightened and I looked back at the monitor.  Now there was a
woman's image on it and she seemed to be looking directly at me.  I stared
at her unmoving image until I saw a smile gradually lift up the corners of
her mouth.  She was a beautiful young woman, a brunette, with long hair
neatly parted in the middle, clothed in a soft-looking blue shirt opened
just enough to reveal a little of her youthful breasts.  She looked very
intelligent and alert.  I was startled when she spoke to me.

   "If you need to urinate, the toilet is out the door and to the right. 
Please come back here as soon as you are finished.  I need some information
from you."

   I looked around the room, trying to comprehend what had happened to me.
I was in a room with a strange-looking television or computer monitor that
was so flat it appeared painted on the wall.  The biggest piece of
furniture in the room was the recliner in which I was sitting.  On each
side of the recliner there were two smaller upright chairs.  Against the
wall near the monitor, there were two rolling cabinets with what looked
like medical devices on them.  The wall itself was covered with shelves and
little doors symmetrically arranged on each side of the monitor.  The woman
on the monitor seemed to be aware of my presence so I assumed that
somewhere there was a real live woman ready to communicate with me.

   I was confused and couldn't think clearly but the last memory I had was
of a bloody room in the hotel in Mamoon in Islamistan.  I remembered
killing Grand Ayatollah Muqtada Al-Badr and I was content that I had
accomplished my mission.  I remembered too the explosion of the grenade in
the room with me and being pulled backward, not pushed, into oblivion.

   "Where am I?" I croaked.  My throat was dry and uncomfortable.

   "What is your name?" the woman asked.

   "David," I said.  "David Blunderbuss."

   "David, please use the toilet and then return here.  It is out the door
and to the right.  I need some information from you and then I can begin to
answer your questions."

   She smiled at me again.  Then I realized that she might be smiling
because of the image in front of her - a tall naked man with a rigid penis
sticking up from his lower abdomen.

   "Who are you?" I asked.

   "I do not have a name, David," she answered.  "I chose a woman's image
since you are evidently a man.  I thought you might respond more favorably
to a woman."

   "What do you mean?  You don't have a name.  Everybody has a name."

   "No, David, I do not.  If it is important to you, would you like to give
me a name?"

   I couldn't understand why she didn't have a name.  Then I realized that
she said she chose a woman's image.  Even with my muddled mind, I wondered
if she or he or it could have chosen a man's image.

   "I want to talk to a man," I said.

   The woman's image slowly changed into a man's image, a handsome
dark-haired young man, hair parted neatly in the middle, in a soft-looking
blue shirt.  He looked eerily similar to the image of the woman.

   "Is this better, David?" he asked, in what was clearly a man's voice.

   "No, I like the woman better," I said.

   The man's image changed back into a woman's image, the same as before.

   "David, if it is important to you, please give me a name," she said,
with a warm smile.  "Then go to the toilet, return here, and let me gather
some information from you."

   "Well, merde!" I said, in complete disbelief at what I'd seen.

   "No, David, that is not nice," she said, smiling.  "I don't want to be
named Merde.  Would you give me another name?"

   I thought of my mother's name, her middle name by which my father
usually called her.  "I hereby name you Aimee."

   "Beloved," she said.  "I like that name, David.  From now on, I will
respond to that name.  Now, please go urinate and come back here."

   I stood up, holding on to the chair until I had tested my legs.  They
worked, a little like a drunken man's, but they worked.  I looked around
for the exit and staggered to it.  There was no door in the opening but I
saw a sliding door in a pocket on the right side of the wall.  The wall was
at least twice as thick as walls usually are.  I walked through and found
myself in a wide hallway, as wide as most rooms, with multiple openings on
both sides.

   I looked to the left and saw about a dozen doors, all closed, with one
big door, closed too, at the end of the hallway.  The hallway was about as
long as a football field and I was on the fifty-yard line.  I looked to the
right and saw just as many doors, all open, except for a big door at the
other end of the hallway.

   I turned to the right and saw that the first door led to a wall just a
few feet inside with a woman's silhouette to the left and a man's to the
right.  I turned right again and found myself in a spacious toilet with
sinks, urinals, and enclosed commodes, enough to service a lot of people.

   There were ten urinals against one wall, the kind that went from about
waist high to the floor.  I went to the first urinal and, as soon as I
stood in front of it, water started running down it.  I leaned over and
rested my left hand on the wall, held my penis down with my right, closed
my eyes, and pissed and pissed and pissed some more, then shuddered in
wonderful relief, and stood there milking the last drops out.  As soon as I
walked away, the water stopped running down the urinal.

   I went to one of the sinks and saw a spigot but no handle.  I cupped my
hands underneath the spigot and warm water immediately filled my hands.  I
scrubbed my face, especially my eyes, ran my wet fingers through my long
hair, combing it straight back.  In the mirror, it was just as I
remembered, almost down to my shoulders, and I had a crazy thought that now
I could have a haircut.  I still had a dark mustache and I wanted to get
rid of it as soon as possible.  I looked around for some way to dry my
hands, saw nothing, and rubbed them on my stomach.

   I was curious, more than curious, maybe mystified, wondering where I was
and how I had been brought here and why I was here.  When I left the
toilet, I turned to the right again and went to the next opening.  Soft
lights came on as soon as I walked through the door.  I was in a sleeping
chamber, with alcoves to the right, left, and center in front of me, each
raised about two feet off the floor.  In each alcove there was a mattress
with pillows and blankets stacked neatly at one end.  Each alcove was big
enough for two people, even one as tall as me.

   I turned, went back into the hall, and then to the right to the next
opening.  It was another sleeping chamber, identical to the first with no
furniture, just three alcoves for sleeping.  This time, I noticed a round
image above the door.  It was dark on the bottom and light on the top.  A
slim red arrow extended from the center to the edge in the dark area, at
about two hundred or so degrees.  If it was a clock, it was like none I'd
ever seen.  Maybe it meant that the time was about half way between
midnight and dawn.

   I continued down the hallway, walked into three more sleeping chambers,
each with the same clock above the door and each with three sleeping
alcoves with mattresses, pillows, and neatly folded blankets.  I finally
realized that there was something unusual about the sleeping chambers. 
There were no windows.  I was about to return to Aimee when I remembered
that the end of the hallway held a big closed door.  The opening was more
than twice as wide as the others and held a double door that seemed to be
made of metal.  I looked around for some way to open it, saw nothing, and
banged on it with my fist.  It seemed thick and heavy, almost like the door
to a safe.  I wondered what was behind it that caused it to be kept closed
from me when everything else was open.

   Returning up the hallway, I counted five more sleeping chambers on the
other side and then I stopped before returning to the room and to Aimee.  I
thought about what I'd seen - ten rooms with three sleeping alcoves for two
people each.  Sleeping accommodations for sixty people but where was
everybody?  I seemed to be the only one, wherever I was, and probably the
first since everything in the sleeping chambers looked unused.

   I looked in the room directly across the hallway from the toilet and
found the bathing facilities.  Against the far wall of the big room, sunk
down in the floor, there was what would have been a huge pool, except that
it was completely dry.  To the right and left, I saw shower heads, five on
each side, extending out of the wall with a single control lever just
below. I couldn't resist.  I unstrapped my knife scabbard, hung it on one
of the control levers, and then moved over to the adjacent one.

   I studied the control lever.  On the wall behind it, there was a half
circle with red dot on the left and blue dot on the right.  Hot and Cold.
That was clear enough even in my almost-unthinking state.  I pulled the
lever straight up and nothing happened.  I leaned it to the left a little
and immediately the showerhead drenched me with slightly warm water.  I
pushed the lever slowly to the left and the temperature of the water
increased.  When it was as hot as I could comfortably stand, I closed my
eyes and leaned against the wall with the hot water beating down on my head
and shoulders.

   For a few minutes, I stood there trying to make sense of everything. 
How did I get from Mamoon, Islanistan, to wherever I was now with no memory
of being moved?  Where was I now?  Why were there ten sleeping chambers
each capable of easily holding six people?  How could I interact with a
computer that was evidently much more advanced than any I had heard about?
Most of all, how was I alive - and I knew I was - when my last memory was
being blown backwards by a grenade in a dingy hotel in Mamoon on the edge
of the square around the Imam al-Hussein Shrine?  Then I remembered
distinctly the feeling that I was being pulled backwards away from the
grenade's blast, not pushed backwards from the blast, and that was just one
more puzzle I could not fathom.

   A memory of the four days I spent with Anna suddenly surfaced, of the
last night we had together, Monday night, of showering together in our
hotel suite at the Ponderosa Inn.  I was standing in the Jacuzzi with my
back toward the shower, hot water beating down on my back and shoulders. 
Anna was kneeling on a towel she had so carefully folded and placed in the
bottom of the tub, one hand holding my testicles, the other holding my
penis down horizontally and moving up and down rapidly on the shaft, her
mouth moving up and down on the head.  She had warned me that she was going
to suck my balls out through the head of my penis.  With the strong suction
she was exerting, I almost believed it was possible.  But I didn't want to
come in her mouth; I wanted to come inside her, with my penis buried in her
depths, squirting out its deposit at the entrance to her womb.  Regardless
of how unlikely it was, I wanted to impregnate her.  When I felt the first
twinges of an impending orgasm, before the moment of inevitability, I
stopped her and made her come to bed with me, both of us still wet, and
then proceeded to "fuck her out of her mind," her words, not mine.

   I suddenly realized that I had one hand on my penis, that I was slowly
stroking it, and that it was almost erect again.  I opened my eyes, turned
the shower from hot to cold, and shook my head, trying to clear all the
cobwebs from my mind.

   Where was Anna?  Where was I?  I was somewhere strange and could not
remember how I had been brought here.  I knew that Aimee had to be a
computer-generated image but she was so unbelievably human.  Could she
answer some of my questions, especially where I was and where Anna was and
how could we get back together.  I knew I had to find Anna.  I was one with
her, whole for the first time in my life, knowing without any doubt that we
were inextricably linked.  Without her, life would not be worth living.

   I knew I had to go back to Aimee, whoever she or it was, and try to get
some answers.  I turned off the shower and looked around for some way to
get dry.  I saw a large circle in the floor about equidistant from the two
shower areas and what looked like a grating drain covering the circle.  I
walked over to it, bent over to look down, and immediately felt a strong
downdraft of warm air.  I straightened up and the down draft stopped.  I
looked up and saw a large hole in the ceiling.  I stuck my arm out,
crossing over the circle in the floor, and the air started again.  I was
struck by the ingenuity and simplicity of the idea.  Who needed towels when
they could have this?  First the urinals recognized the presence of my body
and now something was sensing my presence inside the circle and turning on
the flow of warm air.  Some one had evidently put some thought into
providing simple solutions to common problems.  After standing under the
downdraft of warm air for a few minutes, running my fingers through my long
hair to dry it, I felt almost human again.

   I started to leave the bathing facilities and realized I was about to
walk off and leave the Boys.  I went back to the showerhead where I had
left them and joined the upper belt with the lower so the scabbard belt
went around my waist instead of the two parts around my thigh.  I had no
reason to think I needed Big Boy or Little Boy but I felt more at ease just
having them with me.

   When I left the bathing facilities and returned to the hallway, I stood
for a few minutes counting the closed doors down the other half of the
hallway.  There were ten again, eleven counting the one directly across the
hall from Aimee, but the closed doors looked larger than the open ones to
the sleeping rooms.  At the end of the hallway, there was a huge door, much
wider and taller than the one at the opposite end.

   I walked to the nearest door and looked at it.  There was no handle, no
knob, nothing which could be used to slide the door into its pocket.  I
pushed against the door with both hands and tried to slide it into its
pocket on the left.  No movement.  I tried sliding it to the right.  Again,
nothing moved.  The door felt like metal.  I banged on it with my fist. 
Nothing happened.  I said "Open, says me," feeling foolish.  No response. I
gave up and went across the hall to the room with Aimee.

   As soon as I entered the room, she greeted me.  "Hello, David."

   "Hello, Aimee," I answered, wondering who or what I was talking to.

   "David, would you like to sit down while I ask you some questions?"

   I sat down in the big recliner, used the button to recline it slightly,
and looked up at Aimee.  I thought I saw her eyes flick back up toward my
face and wondered if she had been looking at my penis.  I looked down at
it. It was no longer erect but it was still warm and engorged.  I reached
down, tugged my testicles out from between my legs, let my penis flop to
one side, and crossed my ankles.  I watched Aimee's face while I was doing
it and saw her ever-present smile broaden a little.  Perhaps she was a real
woman.  She reacted like one to my little show.  She had little dimples on
both cheeks, like Anna.

   Anna!  I almost lost it for a few seconds, wondering again where she was
and what had happened to me and when I might return to her.  I suppose the
frown on my face registered my confusion.

   "David, are you well?" Aimee asked.  "How do you feel?"

   "I'm OK but I feel like merde," I answered.

   "That is normal, David," she answered.  "You are experiencing discomfort
because of your long journey.  You have a slight fever.  You will feel like
your usual self in a few days.  I can offer you some relief if you wish."

   "Yeah, I wish," I said.

   "The best remedy is sleep.  I can give you a mild sedative, along with
something to drink.  If you do not want to sleep, then I can give you
medications to relieve your discomfort and nausea, again, with something to
drink.  Which do you want?"

   "Well, I don't want to sleep.  I'm too curious for that.  I've got lots
of questions for you."

   "All in good time, David.  There are two openings directly under my
image.  In the left one, you will find four pills in the receptacle.  I
have dispensed the appropriate dosage for a man of your size.  In the right
one you will find a bottle containing something to drink.  The liquid is
part of the remedy so please drink all of it when you take the pills."

   "You're not going to poison me, are you?" I asked, not sure whether I
trusted her.

   "David, I am incapable of hurting you in any way.  Please trust me," she
said, earnestly.  "My primary purpose here is to provide assistance and
information to you."

   "How about something to eat?" I asked.

   "I can provide you with sustenance but I recommend you wait until the
medications have had time to take effect."

   I raised the recliner to a sitting position and went to the wall
openings.  I found the plastic bottle.  It was cold and contained about a
liter of liquid.  I unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and sloshed the liquid
around in my mouth.  It was sweet and tart and good, something like orange
juice but with more substance.  I took another sip and then drank almost
half before I remembered the pills.  I emptied the little plastic cup in my
hand, set the cup back in the wall, and threw all four pills in my mouth at
once.  Then I drank the rest of the liquid without stopping.

   I stood there, a few feet in front of the image of Aimee, looking at her
and wondering why there was only her image against a pure white background
with nothing surrounding her.

   "David, are you ready to help me gather some information about you?" she
asked.  "It is necessary in order to let you have control over everything
here."

   "Sure."

   "Are you familiar with the image of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man?"

   My mind wasn't up to retrieving that image from its befuddled depths.

   "I don't know.  My mind's not thinking very well," I answered.

   Aimee's image disappeared and another image appeared on the monitor: a
drawing of a man that I knew was attributed to da Vinci.

   "There is a spot on the floor behind you, David," Aimee said from
somewhere.  "Would you please stand on it, legs together, arms straight out
to each side?  Look directly at my face, with your eyes open wide.  And
hold still for me."

   I looked behind me, backed up to the spot, and assumed the pose.  When I
looked up, Aimee's image was back on the screen.

   "Do you want me to take off my knives?" I asked.

   "That is not necessary, David.  Now spread your legs and lift your arms
something like the image."

   I did my best to assume the other pose.

   "Now, David, please turn around and assume the two poses again."

   I turned my butt to her and let her look at it, if that's what she
wanted.

   "Turn back around, please."

   I turned around and saw Aimee's image on the screen, smiling
mischievously at me.

   "Merci beau cul," she said.

   "You mean 'merci beau coup;' don't you?" I asked.

   "No, David, I meant exactly what I said.  Nice butt." She made a sound
that almost seemed to be laughter.

   I had almost been convinced that I was talking to a computerized image
until she said that.  Now I again wondered if there was a real woman
somewhere.  I couldn't believe that a computer could understand the humor
of a French double entendre.

   "I'm glad you like it."

   "Well, you should not have tried to name me Merde."

   "I was using that as an exclamation, Aimee, not trying to give you that
name.  I apologize for the misunderstanding."

   "No apology is needed, David.  Now would you repeat what I say?"

   "OK."

   "The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned drawing created by..."

   I repeated her words.

   "...Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1487."

   I repeated the last of the sentence.

   "The drawing depicts a male figure in two superimposed..."

   I repeated the words.

   "...  positions inscribed in a circle and a square."

   Again, I repeated her words.

   "We're almost finished, David," she said.  "Now please place your hands
on the images on the monitor and look directly at my face with your eyes
open wide."

   Two images of hands, fingers spread wide, appeared on the monitor on
each side of Aimee's face.  I placed my hands flat on the images, looked
directly at her face, and waited for her instructions.

   "Good, David.  I have finished all the measurements I need.  Would you
like to sit down while I continue?"

   I sat down, looked at her, and asked, "What measurements did you make?
And why did you make them?"

   "I measured your body proportions, David.  I scanned the irises of your
eyes.  I asked you to repeat the sentences so that I could remember your
voice.  I recorded all your finger and palm prints.  Those things should
always remain the same.  I made the measurements so that I can recognize
you and follow your instructions.  From now on, when you encounter a closed
door, just say open and it will open.  You will have complete control over
everything here."

   "So if I go back out in the hall and go to any of those closed doors,
they'll open for me.  Does one of those doors lead to the outside?"

   "Yes, David.  At the end of the hallway, to your left, the large doors
lead outside.  But I recommend you look at all the rooms inside first."

   "Are you a real woman or are you some sort of computer-generated thing?
Where are you located?"

   She smiled broadly at me.  "You have already said you liked the image of
a woman I chose.  You even named me.  So I am real.  I am located here with
you.  Wherever you go in this facility and in its proximity outside, even
when you do not see me, I will be with you to provide information or
assistance."

   There was one bit of information I wanted more than any other.  I wanted
to know where Anna was and how I could be reunited with her.

   "Aimee, are you capable of lying to me?" I began.

   "No, David.  Whenever you request information, I must tell you the
truth. There may be some questions you ask for which I will not know the
answer.  Then I must simply say that I do not know.  "

   "Good, now listen carefully because there's one question I want answered
more than any other.  Before I came here, I spent four days and nights with
a woman named Anna.  She uses a fictitious last name just as I do.  I told
you my name was David Blunderbuss but that is not my real last name.  She
uses the name Anna Conda.  She is a beautiful woman with hair the same
color as yours and she's almost as tall as me.  Where is she?"

   "I do not know, David," Aimee answered.  "I have no memory of any one
fitting that description."

   My heart sank more than a little.

   "Then here's another question for you.  Where in the world am I?"

   "You are here, David, standing in front of me.  You are in a facility
that is intended initially to shelter twenty people.  The facility is
located on a mountainside overlooking a large inland sea.  The sea is
surrounded by land for a great distance."

   "Why haven't you given me the names of any of that land or sea?" I
wondered how I could possibly have traveled from an area of Islamistan
hundreds of miles inland to what sounded suspiciously like the northern
coast of the Mediterranean.

   "I have not told you the names because they have not yet been named,
David.  I did not have a name until you gave me one.  The land and sea do
not have names because no one has given them names.  Would you like to
start naming your surroundings now?"

   Her response made absolutely no sense to me.  Everything on Earth had a
name, just as everybody had a name.  I decided to press on.  I remembered
the mysterious clock that hung just over the door in all the rooms I had
been in so far.  I had assumed that the time was about halfway between
midnight and dawn.

   "Aimee, is it night outside?  Is that a clock in all the bedrooms?"

   "Yes, David, the sun has not yet risen.  On the clock above the door,
the red arrow indicates that the time is about halfway between midnight and
dawn."

   "Why are there no numbers indicating hours on the clock?  Why no
minutes?"

   "You have not yet made a decision on how time will be measured, David.
When you tell me how daily time is to be measured, I will adjust all the
clocks to use those measurement units."

   Another incomprehensible puzzle.  First, I've got to name all the places
and now I've got to decide how time will be measured.  I decided to tell
her how daily time is measured.

   "Aimee, there are twenty four hours in each day.  There are sixty
minutes in each hour, and sixty seconds in each minute.  Now, what time is
it?"

   "When do you wish to begin counting the hours, David?" she asked.

   "At midnight, the middle of the night, of course."

   "Three hours and twenty-three minutes have elapsed since midnight,
David."

   "Just call that three twenty-three, Aimee.  I'll understand."

   "Yes, David."

   I decided to give her another test.

   "What time will the sun appear over the horizon?"

   "At six thirteen, David."

   "Do I have to decide how to divide the year into months and weeks too?"

   "Yes, David.  One of my duties is to make chronological records of
events here.  If you wish me to do this, someone must make decisions about
how to divide the year and inform me.  I will then keep a calendar and will
display it with the clock.  It is not necessary that you do it now."

   "OK, I'll do it later.  Where is everybody?  If this facility is
designed for twenty people, why are there sleeping spaces for sixty?"

   "David, you are the only one here at this moment.  The others have not
yet arrived.  One person should arrive every thirty to forty days.  When
twenty people are here, ten males and ten females, you will select mates.
You will have contraceptives available but all of you will probably have
children eventually."

   I understood from her response that I was expected to stay here
indefinitely.  With Anna, I might.  Without her, I had no intention of
staying, no matter how many women were provided for me.  I had to have Anna
with me for the rest of my life.  We were one.

   "Where will the others come from?"

   "I do not know, David.  I simply know that every thirty to forty days, I
can expect another person to appear in the same chair in which you
arrived."

   "Aimee, I want to explore this place.  Is that OK?"

   "Yes, David, but from now on you do not need my permission to do
anything."

   "Good.  I'm so damn confused, I don't know what to ask you next.  I want
to go exploring but first I want to close my eyes for a while.  Can you
please be quiet until I open my eyes?"

   "Yes, David."

   I had been walking around the area in front of Aimee while we talked. 
Now I sat down again in the lounge chair, reclined it slightly, put my
hands on the arms to the chair, leaned back, and closed my eyes.  I wanted
to try something I had been practicing before I went on my mission.

   Without knowing or understanding how I did it, I elicited the cool
response for my body.  Aimee's medication had helped me feel somewhat
better but I still felt like merde.  I imagined myself slowly walking out
of a dark cave toward the light.  When I emerged, I found myself on a small
sandy beach with a large body of water in front of me, with the waves
lapping gently at the beach.  I sat down and imagined cool wet sand under
my butt, a warm breeze blowing gently over me, and the hot sun beaming down
on me.

   I gradually became cool, not so much as when I was threatened, but cool
enough to have some control of my body.  I concentrated on the beating of
my heart and willed it to become slower.  At the same time, I tried to feel
my body's temperature, something I had never done before, and then I tried
to lower it back to normal.  Time became meaningless and I sank deeper into
my own mind.  I became calm and peaceful, enjoying the feeling of being on
the beach in the warmth of the sun, and forgot about the discomfort of my
body and the muddled feverish state of my mind.

   "David, are you well?" Aimee asked, and I could hear the concern in her
voice.

   "Yes, Aimee.  Why do you ask?"

   "Your heart rate and your temperature have fallen to a normal range. 
What is happening to you?"

   I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me, a frown on her face.  If she
always had to tell me the truth, I decided I might as well be truthful with
her.

   "I wanted to explore but I wanted to feel better first.  I lowered my
heart rate and temperature.  I feel almost normal now."

   "David, I did not know that human beings were capable of doing what you
just did.  Can everybody do it?"

   "No, Aimee, not everybody can do it.  In fact, I don't know anybody else
who can do it but I've read of others who can."

   "Is that one of your unusual abilities, David?'

   "I suppose so.  Can you tell me what my temperature is and what the
temperature outside is now?"

   "No, David, someone must decide how temperature is to be measured and
inform me of the decision.  I will then maintain a quantitative record of
temperatures for you."

   I was feeling more like my normal self now.  I decided to test Aimee's
reasoning abilities, perhaps just to see how smart she really was.  Maybe I
was also trying to decide whether my mind was working now.

   "Aimee, I want to establish the David system for measuring temperature.
Under the David scale, the freezing point of water at sea level will be
zero degrees.  The boiling point of water will be one hundred eighty
degrees.  Under the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at thirty-two degrees
and boils at two hundred and twelve.  Under that scale, my normal bodily
temperature is ninety-eight point six degrees.  What is my bodily
temperature under the David scale and what is the temp outside right now?

   She answered just as soon as I finished asking the question.

   "Your normal bodily temperature under the David scale will be sixty-six
point six degrees.  Your present temperature is slightly elevated at
sixty-six point eight degrees.  Before you lowered your temperature, it was
sixty-nine point two.  The temperature outside is now twenty-seven
degrees."

   "Thank you, Aimee.  Now, what is my heart rate and what was it before I
lowered it?"

   "Your heart is now beating at fifty-eight times per minute.  Before you
lowered it, your heart rate was seventy-one beats per minute.

   "Thank you, Aimee."

   "You did not think I could answer correctly, did you?"

   I looked at her and saw a grin on her face that seemed to say
smarty-pants didn't catch me; did he?

   "I'm amazed at your abilities, Aimee," I answered truthfully.  "Now I'm
going to explore this place."

   I went first to the door directly across the hallway from Aimee, the one
that had refused to heed my command.  I decided to try the same command
again.

   "Open, says me."

   The door swiftly and silently slid to the left.  The room wasn't lit so
I decided to try another command.  "Lights on." The lights came on and I
went in the room.

   I was in a small theatre.  There were six rows with ten seats in each
row, divided in the middle by an aisle.  The seats looked comfortable but
they were simple and did not recline.  On the wall in front of the seats,
there was another large-screen monitor, much larger than the one in Aimee's
room.  On each side of that, there were shelves holding stacks of some
things.  I walked to the front of the room and picked up the top item in
one stack.  It was similar to the tablet devices that had become so popular
some years ago.  I was curious but I didn't want to play with it when there
were still ten rooms to explore.

   I returned to the hallway and went to the next closed door.  It opened
swiftly and silently to my command.  I called for lights and the room was
instantly illuminated.  I walked in and found myself in a huge storeroom
for clothing.  I quickly counted ten rows of shelves, each containing
hundreds of boxes.  I walked down one of the rows and returned up another,
walked down another and returned, and then down another and returned.

   The clothing was in boxes with sizes and a picture on the side.  Petite,
small, medium, large and extra-large.  I stood and stared at a picture of a
hooded coat that might be worn in cold or rainy temperatures.  I kept
looking until I found some boxes of what might be called tunics.  I used
Little Boy to cut the tape holding a box of extra-large tunics and pulled
out one.  The tunic was made to slip over my head, with no buttons.  I put
it on.  It was soft and seemed to have no seams.  It covered me from
shoulders to mid-thigh and was a good fit except that the sleeves seemed
much too short, just down to the middle of my forearms.  Forest green.  I
groped through the rest of the box, looking for another color.  Green had
never been my favorite color but that was the only color I found.

   I kept on the tunic and went looking for pants.  I finally found
something close, nothing like pants but something that might be called
tights.  They were all light brown and had no fly or belt loops.  I laid my
knives on the shelf, tried on some and found that they had elastic in the
waist.  They fit snugly from waist to ankles.  At least they were cut
comfortably low in the crotch.  They didn't hide much but I liked the
feeling of letting it all hang loose.  My penis and testicles were clearly
outlined when I held the tunic up.  I belted my knives around my waist, on
top of the tunic, and went looking for something for my feet.

   I found a section with lightweight boots and was pleased to see that
they came in more than five sizes.  Dark brown, something like soft
leather, like moccasins.  I tried the XXL size and found I'd made a good
choice.  They fit perfectly.  They extended up to the middle of my calves
and were lightweight and comfortable.  I pranced around trying to decide
what I looked like.  Maybe Robin Hood.  Maybe just ridiculous might be more
appropriate.  I wondered if this was the way I was supposed to dress.  I
walked down to the end of the rows where I'd seen mirrors and looked at
myself in the mirror.  The way I looked was strange but I liked it.  All I
needed was a Robin Hood hat with a feather.

   "Aimee, can you hear me?  Can you see me?" I asked.

   "Yes, David, I can hear you and see you," she answered from somewhere in
the ceiling.

   "Is this the way I'm supposed to be dressed?" I asked.  "This stuff is
all strange to me."

   "Yes, David," she answered.  "But as long as you are indoors, you do not
really need any clothing.  The temperature inside is set to be comfortable
when you are naked.  The clothing you are wearing is more appropriate for
outside wear."

   "You mean we're all supposed to run around naked when we're indoors?" I
asked.

   "The choice is yours, David.  If you are naked indoors, the supply of
clothing will last longer.  I regulate the temperature and humidity so you
will be comfortable without clothing.  You may change them if you wish."

   I noted that she said the supply of clothing was limited and I wondered
why.  I was entirely comfortable naked and I certainly didn't intend to
start messing with the thermostat, where ever it was.

   "Is there anything else that goes with this outfit?  What about socks
and underwear?  Shorts and undershirts?"

   "Yes, David, there's something called a chemise, an undergarment to keep
your body oils and secretions from staining your outer clothing.  There are
also items which may be worn below the waist under your clothing."

   "I thought a chemise was something women wore."

   "The clothing here is intended for both sexes, David."

   I hadn't even thought of what women might wear.  I suppose I just
assumed that the first clothing storeroom was for men only and that there
might be another for women.

   So dressed like someone from a 1940s movie set in Sherwood Forest, I
went back out in the hallway and crossed to the opposite door.  The door
opened to my command and I walked into a storeroom for every kind of
personal stuff: from toothbrushes to hairbrushes, stuff for women's
periods, various lotions like sunscreen and skin softeners, finger and toe
nail kits, in all, an unbelievable assortment of stuff.  There was
certainly more for women than for men but I realized that there was nothing
that might be called make-up.

   I rubbed my jaw, trying to remember the last time I had shaved, and felt
a three- or four-day stubble.  I didn't want to grow a beard and I wanted
to get rid of my mustache.  I looked for shaving supplies but couldn't find
any.

   "Aimee, are you still with me?" I asked.

   "Yes, David, I am always with you unless you tell me not to monitor you.
If you want privacy for a period of time, simply tell me."

   I was pleased to learn that.  If I masturbated at night in the bed or in
the shower, I didn't want anybody monitoring me, even if she was a
computer. I certainly didn't want her monitoring me when I had to shit.

   "I want to shave.  Where are the razors and shaving supplies?"

   "There are no razors or shaving supplies, David.  There is a cream for
hair removal.  Both men and women may use it on all body parts, even around
your genitals.  One application will last approximately thirty days."

   "You mean if I rub some on my testicles or asshole, it won't hurt me?"

   "No, David.  It will not hurt you.  You may use it on your face as well
as on your testicles or anus.  Woman may use it on their legs and underarms
as well as their vulva.  I understand that both men and women shave parts
of their bodies.  However, cutting off hair with a sharp blade is archaic.
The creme will remove hair without skin irritation and for a longer period
of time."

   "OK, I'll do it later.  Right now, I want to explore some more. 
Continue to monitor me."

   "Yes, David."

   I puzzled at her use of the term archaic in regard to shaving but I was
eager to go exploring further.

   I zigzagged across the hallway to the next door, commanded it to open as
I approached, and walked into a small anti-room containing three doors,
heavy doors, with big manual latches.  There were shelves at one end of the
room with bundles of something, maybe clothing.  On the other end of the
room, there was an ordinary door with a glass section in the top, similar
to the two-way door between kitchen and dining in Napoleon's.  On each
heavy door, there was a small plaque with words on it.  I went to the one
on the left.

   SEED FREEZER - RESTRICTED ACCESS

   I decided to see if access was restricted to me.

   "Open, says me," I said, and put my hand on the latch.

   Before I could lift the latch, Aimee stopped me.  "David, the seed
freezer should not be entered unless absolutely necessary.  It contains a
large variety of seeds for vegetables and fruits.  Your breath will affect
the temperature and humidity level.  If you with to enter, please wear
insulated clothing."

   I looked again at the bundles on the shelves, shook one out, and found
that it was a head to foot insulated covering to protect against cold.  I
stuffed it back in its cubbyhole and went to the other door.

   "Aimee, are there already lots of seeds in there?"

   "Yes, David.  I can recite you a list of seeds if you wish.  It is a
very long list."

   "OK, it's not necessary.  What's in the adjacent room?"

   "The next latched door is to the kitchen freezer.  You should not go in
without insulated clothing."

   "Is there food for me in there?"

   "No, David.  It is a storage facility for any food you wish to freeze
but you must provide the food."

   "And the last one?"

   "Adjacent to the food freezer, there is a kitchen cooler for storage of
food at an above-freezing temperature.  You may go in for short durations
without insulated clothing."

   "I assume the windowed door leads to a kitchen.  What's across the
hallway?"

   "That is correct, David.  Directly across the hallway is the tool
storeroom.  Adjacent to that is the weapons storeroom."

   "Let's do tools and weapons next.  I can skip the kitchen cooler and the
kitchen unless they're full of good stuff to eat."

   "David, the only sustenance I can offer you is juice and nutrition bars.
You must provide any additional food."

   I was more than a little disappointed to hear that.  My stomach was
beginning to wake up and I was feeling the first hunger signs.  Whatever
the nutrition bars were, I was glad to know that something to eat had been
provided for me.

   Suddenly, I realized that I had already accepted Aimee as my constant
companion.  I was glad to have someone to talk to, even if she was a...what
was she, a computer?

   "Aimee, is it still night-time outside?"

   "Yes, David.  The sun is still below the horizon."

   "I want to explore some more but I want you to tell me just before the
sun peeks over the horizon.  I want to be outdoors at daybreak."

   "Yes, David."

   The tool storage door opened to my command and I found myself in another
huge room with every kind of tool imaginable, as long as they were hand
tools, not power tools.  I even saw some hand plows, similar to the one my
mother had made me pull when I was a kid, and I smiled at the memory.  Her
little garden had provided us with some of the best vegetables I'd ever
eaten.  I paused for a moment and remembered how she looked, all sweaty and
dirty, big straw hat on her head, beautiful as always.  I remembered too
how good it was to work with her every spring and summer until I was
twelve.

   I walked through the tool storage room and was impressed that every kind
of hand tool known to man seemed to be there.  Some were gardening tools,
some were axes and saws, even two-man crosscut saws, and some were
carpentry tools.  I was glad that Grandfather had taught me how to fell a
hardwood tree and I wondered if I was going to be doing that again.  Around
one corner, I found an assortment of fishing rods and reels and equipment,
all new, nothing like the old worn out one I'd left at home when I went to
the Academy.

   The weapons storage room was next and I found a bewildering array of
weapons, all hand weapons, the kind that were used before the invention of
guns.  I saw knives, swords, axes, pikes, spears, bows and arrows, even a
crossbow.  I hefted an axe, evidently a throwing axe, and remembered how my
training had made me competent to throw one.  There were no pistols, no
rifles, and no grenade launchers, none of the killing weapons of modern
warfare.

   I returned to the hallway, glanced at the large door at the end that led
to the outside, and then crossed to the kitchen.  I stood just inside the
door looking around.  About half the huge room was for cooking but not for
family-style cooking.  It was more like a large restaurant's kitchen with
big pots and pans, an area for cooking with ovens and cooktops, four large
sinks, and a long bar for serving.  The other half of the room contained
ten tables, each with swing-out seats for six.  I remembered what I'd
learned about the number of people who might be here eventually and
wondered what would happen if the number exceeded sixty.

   Tucked back in a corner of the kitchen I saw something that I'd seen
before, something that seemed out of place here.  It was similar to an
olive press that I had seen at my L'Héritier grandparents' home.  I walked
over and looked at it.  It was a manual press, made of wood, and stained as
though it had been used.  I looked around for anything that could be used
to store olive oil and finally decided a small double-doored closet was the
most likely place since I knew good olive oil needed to be kept out of the
light.  When I opened the doors, I saw four huge barrels, stacked two on
top of two, with spigots near the bottom.  I tapped on one and, from the
sound, knew it was full.  I wondered if I was going to be eating salads or
cooking with olive oil.

   I crossed the hallway again, commanded the door to open and light to
turn on, and found myself standing at the entrance to a gymnasium or
exercise room.  All sorts of exercise equipment, some familiar, some
strange, filled the room.  I wondered why all the equipment was needed. 
Was I expected to do my workouts in the room?  Why not outdoors, the way I
preferred?  I was puzzled once again but I decided not to worry about it
until I had a complete picture of this strange place.

   There were only two doors left now.  I entered one and found myself in
what had to be a nursery or play room for young children.  I shrugged,
wondering why such a large room with stuff for kids when there were no kids
here, at least not yet.  I walked back into the hallway and was about to
enter the last room when I remembered what I had told Aimee.

   I entered the last room and saw what might be called a living room, but
without a TV or anything else like it, just arrangements of chairs,
love-seats, and sofas.  I wondered what it would be like when twenty people
were in it and there was nothing to entertain them.  Maybe we would have to
provide our own entertainment.

   I walked back into the hallway and called Aimee.

   "Aimee, is it almost daylight outside now," I asked, standing in the
middle of the hallway in front of the large doors to the outside and
wanting to go out.

   "Yes, David," Aimee replied.  "The sky is just beginning to turn light.
The time is five fifty-eight.  The sun will appear on the horizon in
fifteen minutes."

   "What's the date today?" I asked.

   "What do you mean, David?" she responded.

   "What's the month and day of the year, of course?"

   "David, you have not yet told me how the year is to be divided into time
units.  You must make that decision if you wish me to keep chronological
records."

   "Oh, merde," I answered, more than a little befuddled and exasperated.
"That's oh, shit, in case you didn't understand it.  Why can't you make
some decisions on your own?  Why do I have to do everything?"

   "David, do not act like a child," Aimee responded in a voice like a
mother chiding a child.  "Everything is yours to decide.  I can only assist
you when I am provided with measurement decisions.  You must decide how to
divide the three-hundred and sixty-seven days in the year into months."

   I was about to tell her to use twelve months when I realized what she
had said about how many days there were in a year."

   "Aimee, you're mistaken.  There are three-hundred sixty-five days in a
year and three sixty-six every fourth year.  That's called a leap year."

   "No, David.  I am not mistaken.  There are three-hundred and sixty-seven
days in the year.  Every seventh year, there are three sixty-eight."

   That made absolutely no sense to me but I didn't have any idea how to
resolve the conflict.  I decided to leave it alone until my mind was
clearer.

   "Well, let me make the decisions tomorrow.  I'm not thinking my best yet
so I want you start a list of the decisions for me to make and we'll take
care of them tomorrow."

   "Yes, David."

   "Right now, I want something to eat and drink and I want to go outside.
If I go out the front door, how do I get back in?"

   "Just say `Open,' and the door will open for you, David.  Or just walk
toward the door.  It will open when you are close to it.  Remember, you are
in control of everything here."

   At her instructions, I went back down the hallway to the kitchen and
found the dispensary for juice and nutrition bars.  I took a big swallow of
the juice and found that it was the same thing I'd already had.  The
nutrition bars were dispensed unwrapped and slightly warm.  Cautiously, I
took a bite of one bar and found that it was surprisingly good.  I guessed
it was a mixture of fruit and nuts and grains.  I took two more and looked
for a pocket to put them in.  Since my clothing did not have pockets, I
went back up the hallway, nutrition bars in one hand, juice bottle in the
other.  I stood before the front doors, said "Open, says me," and the two
doors retracted into their side pockets.  I walked outdoors for a short
distance and then stopped.

   I couldn't believe what I saw.
   TO BE CONTINUED: