“Let me show you something cool.”
After a brief silence, Lucy hopped down from the terrace, pulled two braindance wreaths from a side drawer, and flashed them at David: “Know how to put one on?”
“These things…
I’ve used them before.”
David took one, his fingers tracing the inner lining of the wreath.
Braindances of unknown origin were dangerous.
But recalling how Lucy hadn’t abandoned him earlier when he passed out, maybe he should trust her…
“You’d better lie down.”
Lucy was already lying on the sofa, tucking a cushion under her head and putting on her wreath.
David hesitated for a moment before lying down on the other end of the sofa.
They were separated by a cushion’s distance, close enough to hear each other’s breathing.
“Ready?”
“…Yeah.”
The indicator light clicked on, and dark vision enveloped them.
What the braindance constructed was the very Moon Lucy longed for.
The pale grey lunar soil lay bare, and looking outward revealed the pitch-black void of deep space.
“Such high resolution!”
David looked down and stepped on the lunar soil beneath his feet; the pale dust drifted upward slowly in the low gravity.
He had watched plenty of braindances before, but image quality like this was truly rare.
“The sun…
it’s so hot!”
The sunlight was blinding, forcing David to raise a hand to shade his eyes.
“It lets you feel the heat of the sun through your personal link,” Lucy stood behind him, hands on her hips, her tone carrying a touch of pride.
She was quite pleased with David’s astonished reaction.
“If set to actual reality, it would be too hot, so I dialed it back to a level the human body can tolerate.”
The low-gravity simulation caused David’s body to drift upward uncontrollably.
Flustered, he tried to stabilize himself, but the more he struggled, the more balance he lost, ending up suspended mid-air, sprawling on his back.
His shadow drifted across Lucy’s face, and she looked up at him:
“Want me to turn it off?”
“It’s really fun, leave it like this!”
David laughed.
He never knew he could float like this in the middle of nothingness.
Looking at his ridiculous pose, Lucy couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
“What kind of posture is that?”
With a gentle push off the ground, her body floated up weightlessly, landing right beside him: “Pretty cool here, right?”
Perhaps the Moon wasn’t actually that wonderful, but so what?
A person always needed a reason to keep living.
“This is awesome!”
David exclaimed in delight, like a kid visiting an amusement park for the first time.
“Right?”
Lucy smiled and took a step toward the distance: “Follow me.”
The two landed on the lunar surface one after the other, their footprints winding forward through the pale dust.
Not far off stood the lunar colony base, where several workers in heavy space suits were busy outside the airlock, their movements slowed by the low gravity.
Lucy walked ahead with light steps.
David noticed her hands folded behind her back, her fingers curling slightly as if waiting for something.
His heart skipped a beat.
Should I hold her hand?
Before David could make up his mind, Lucy had already grabbed his wrist, dragging him into a leap forward.
The two traced an arc through the low gravity, landing atop a moon rover.
Lucy tucked back the stray strands of hair blown wild at her temples, the corners of her lips curling into a slight smile.
The next second, the rover rocketed forward.
The wind blew through their hair as crater walls on both sides blurred into pale grey phantoms.
Crossing a virtual cosmos, they raced across this wilderness free of concrete jungles, the tires kicking up greyish-white dust and leaving behind their shared tracks.
They put on astronaut helmets.
Lucy tossed her half-finished drink over to David, her helmet concealing the mischievous grin on her face.
The drink bottle tumbled slowly through the low gravity, droplets of brown liquid trickling from the straw and floating between them.
David reached out and caught the drink.
He glanced at the bite marks deforming the straw.
After a second’s hesitation, he flipped up his helmet visor and popped the straw into his mouth.
Does this count as an indirect kiss?
Even if it’s in a braindance…
Just as the thought crossed David’s mind, a wave of carbonated bubbles exploded in his throat, making him cough violently.
Looking down, he saw the word “Carbonated” printed across the drink pouch—the exact kind of carbonated beverage he hated most.
Seeing her prank succeed, Lucy burst out laughing.
Even through the visor, David could see her eyes curving into crescents.
Annoyed, he took off his helmet and threw it at her, but before long, he found himself laughing too.
He had never experienced this kind of freedom before.
Even if it was just a fake freedom…
The two sat side-by-side on the rim of a crater.
Lucy swung her long, slender legs over the edge, her voice dropping low: “This is actually the first time I’ve ever watched this with someone else.”
“Really?”
David stared at the blue and white marble hanging overhead: “Then why let me see it?”
“Why…”
Lucy swayed side to side like a child splashing water at the edge of a pool: “Felt like showing you wouldn’t hurt.”
Maine had taken a contract to track down David, and as part of the crew, she was supposed to help fulfill it.
They were already on their way over; this was nothing more than a little trick to stall for time…
She forced herself to think like that.
David didn’t express an opinion on her answer.
He simply sat there quietly, feeling the cool lunar soil beneath him and the faint fragrance coming from the girl beside him.
“Will we…”
Lucy turned her head, smiling at him: “…become good partners?”
Looking into Lucy’s bright eyes and the red light flickering deep within them…
“Definitely.”
David whispered as if making a firm resolve.
He turned his head to look at the blue-and-white planet in the distance, recalling the girl’s talk about dreams.
He had never considered what his own dream might be.
But now…
he wanted to send Lucy into real space, to float with her across airless wastes, to watch the sun rise over the crater rim together, to drink carbonated beverages together…
Just as David was lost in those random thoughts, a rough, booming voice suddenly shattered his train of thought.
“Found you, boy.”
Before David could figure out what was happening, the wreath was yanked off his head with brute force.
He bolted upright from the couch.
Appearing before his eyes were three unfamiliar faces.
In the center stood Maine, dark-skinned, wearing sunglasses, absurdly built, his steel fists gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
Behind him stood a bare-chested blonde woman, covering her private parts with only a blue jacket loosely thrown over, but given her massive, powerful build akin to Maine’s, she looked fierce and intimidating.
Behind them stood a tall, stick-thin man with an exaggerated mohawk and unusually long arms, curiously taking in everything in the room with keen interest.
“Sorry to crash your little party, kid,” Maine flexed his metallic fingers, his tone not particularly cruel, but by no means polite: “But right now, it’s time for you to go home.”
David looked toward the balcony in shock.
Lucy had already jacked out of the braindance at some point, sitting on the edge of the terrace with her legs crossed, smoking a cigarette.
She showed no surprise at what was happening here, indifferently blowing out a few smoke rings.
They’re together…
David finally realized.
Everything that had just happened inside the braindance was merely a lie woven by Lucy—nothing more than a pipe dream…
“You…”
Before David could finish his sentence, a heavy fist from Maine slammed into the back of his head.
Darkness crept over his eyes.
Before completely losing consciousness, he saw a flash of fire suddenly ignite outside the window.
A rocket was slowly rising from the launch silos on the outskirts of Night City, its exhaust trail painting half the sky in a fiery orange-red.
That was a real rocket heading for the Moon…