In a matter of seconds

"Michael, your assistance has been invaluable."

"Thank you, Mr. Visionquest. Always a pleasure to serve you."

"Good-bye, my friend. Until next time."

"Until next time, Mr. Visionquest."

Michael bows out and disappears in a blink of the eye.

I summon Christina, from the Gardens of Ascension, to the Theater of Delights. In a matter of seconds, Christina takes the place of Michael and adjusts her manner of dress for the occasion at hand. I run my fingertips under her hair, around her neck.

"Hello, my love." She looks up at me, smiling with her eyes, and presses her virtual body into mine.

"Hello, Christopher." Her greeting runs like a silky caress through my mind, tempting me with the pleasure of making love to her in public.

Our group mind accommodates itself quickly to the arrival and presence of Christina.

We enter the theater as a unit, one among many hundreds of other units.

Inside the Pleasure Zone

The leaves above rustle in the breeze. Her kiss leaves a pleasant tingle on my lips.

I look up. Her eyes, half-closed, are moist with sex. Christina swings her head to my chest and snuggles. I close my eyes, encircle her with my arms, feeling grateful for the warmth of her love. When I wake, she is virtually gone.

I assume she has left our private virtual suite to visit the Gardens of Ascension, her favourite communal space, where she can be with other women of her kind to experience and enjoy the most divine states of mind imaginable.

Before the AeroGlider had docked, Christina and I had agreed to spend some time together before going our separate ways. After the AeroGlider had docked, we went immediately to our private chambers and surrendered ourselves - body, mind, heart, and soul - to our desired simulation.

Now that I am virtually alone, I am ready to observe. I summon Michael, my virtual guide, who is uniquely programmed to serve and protect my interests - the fastest, most intelligent, most advanced virtual agent of its kind.

"Mr. Visionquest, I am pleased to see you again. How might I assist you?"

"Thank you, Michael. I would visit three of the most sophisticated virtual communities in the Pleasure Zone, using all available criteria of excellence, in the following order, with the following classifications: one that Knows No Bounds, one ..."

"Mr. Visionquest, please forgive my interruption, but this request you make is most unusual for you. A community that Knows No Bounds would put you in danger of a mental breakdown."

"I am well aware of the risk, Michael. Thank you. Please allow me to continue."

"As you wish."

"Thank you, Michael. The following communities, please, using all available criteria of excellence, in the following order, with the following classifications: one that Knows No Bounds, one that is Creative Beyond Belief, and one that Keeps Abreast of Changes in the Free Zone."

"Thank you, Mr. Visionquest. With just over ten million virtual communities in the Pleasure Zone, your request will likely take at least several minutes to process."

"Please proceed, Michael."

"Processing."

A scape in stasis

Christina runs her fingertips across the nape of my neck.

"Let us enjoy this trip together."

The words enter my mind seductively, like a caress, but I detect a subtle plaint in her tone.

I rise from my seat and offer my hand. Joining hands, we walk to a window with a panoramic view of the Free Zone.

Putting my arm around her waist, I draw her close. "What do you see, Christina?"

She smiles equanimously, pressing her body into mine, whispering into my mind: "The Free Zone."

"Yes, but what do you see?"

I watch her scan the Free Zone. "I see beauty."

"Yes."

Her eyes settle on an impressive array of buildings. "I see order."

"Yes."

She pauses, realizing that I need a less obvious answer, and then looks me in the eyes. "I see a scape in stasis."

I give her a squeeze. "Exactly."

"And so ..."

"And so, how can such a place as this ..." I sweep my hand across the Free Zone. "... be free with no hint of growth?"

"The Free Zone is a sacred place."

"Yes, but ..."

"But what?"

I release my thought process.

Sensing the release, Christina regards me pensively. "We're going to the Pleasure Zone for more than just pleasure."

I reflect her gaze without thinking or saying a word.

Every conceivable pleasure

On my way to the Pleasure Zone, I think about its history. I think about its lack of freedom.

Many centuries ago, a powerful Council divided the land on Earth into two Zones: the Free Zone, where industrious, ambitious persons could realize their most lofty goals, and the Pleasure Zone, where anyone with even the slightest trace of humanity could gratify any conceivable pleasure.

Humanity had evolved to a place where this division seemed natural, but it was the Council who made it official.

In the beginning, inhabitants of the Pleasure Zone were free to enjoy, even indulge, their deepest, most cherished pleasures. Limited only by their imaginations, they were free to experience every conceivable pleasure in their own separate domains, from the most depraved to the most refined.

For them, it was one pleasure after another, with no respite from the pursuit, a constant pursuit that made them oblivious to effort of the painstaking variety, where they no longer cared to imagine living any life other than a life of pleasure. For them, life in the Free Zone was a colossal waste of time and effort.

Those in the Free Zone, the freedom lovers, however, knew better: the pleasure seekers could no longer keep up with advances made in the Free Zone.

Freedom lovers knew what the most advanced BioSynthetics in the Free Zone could achieve with the most advanced Synthetics. Ceilings of attainment had been reached in many areas of endeavor on Earth, drawing many aspirants into the environs of Earth, through the solar system, and beyond.

What the pleasure seekers didn't know now was that their habitat of pleasure had become an essential item of negotiation within the Council.

Dark clouds on the horizon

Like a statue, Christina sits in meditation in the living area, in a lotus position, wrapped in silence. When I brush her shoulder with my fingertips, she is already smiling, already aware of my presence.

I walk to the balcony and scan the Free Zone, a sprawling cityscape visible for hundreds of miles through my bioelectric eyes.

I think a thought: pay a visit to the Pleasure Zone. Christina stirs, sensing my intention.

With a wish, I summon the AeroGlider, and within moments, it hovers in front of the balcony. Moments later, Christina is by my side.

She takes my hand and I follow her through an opening in the balcony into the vehicle, and with another wish, I direct the AutoPilot to move through Sector Zero, which it does smoothly and swiftly, over and above the Free Zone, toward one of many entrances to the Pleasure Zone.

On this day, I am pleased by the sight of ominous clouds gathering on the horizon: a special treat from Weather Control, whose preference these days for sunny skies seems too persistent for my liking.

Perhaps someone at Weather Control has caught wind of the threat that faces the last vestiges of our humanity.

I have the best of everything

I wake with a start and take a moment to remember where I am.

I was having a most unusual dream, a dream where I was running to the edge of a summit, lunging beyond the edge, and then falling, plunging into an abyss.

One moment I had a body; the next moment, I had none.

There has never been any conclusion to this recurring dream. I am tempted to get it checked out by a qualified hypnosis specialist, but I can never find the time.

You see, I knew in my heart that I would soon be faced with deciding the fate of more than ten billion souls.

Alone.

Although I am one among a select few who remain in the Free Zone by virtue of my willingness to forgo myriad pleasures, I am still the best qualified person to make executive decisions for the Organics and BioSynthetics who live in the Pleasure Zone, in co-operation with the most advanced Synthetics.

Not long ago, humanity had evolved, at least in principle, beyond the limits of its biological heritage. Many among us had opted to incorporate synthetic enhancements to varying degrees in various amounts, but many more had not. Most occupations had become obsolete. Finding the balance between work and leisure was no longer an issue for most.

Earth had become a playground.

Now, you might think this is a good thing, but as almost anyone knows, too much of a good thing can flip, all too quickly and easily, into its opposite.

I wave my hand above a panel. The platform of my sleeping chamber tilts towards a position perpendicular to the floor until the soles of my feet lie flush with it.

I have a wide-angle view of my place of residence and I can never fail to marvel at one simple fact: I have the best of everything.

And I do mean everything.

A balance made fine

From inside the warmth of her kiss, her words pour into the heart of my soul:

"Such a fine line it is that separates those who would sustain the promise of myriad pleasures for their own sake at the expense of a lasting love from those who would sustain the promise of a lasting love at the expense of myriad pleasures. Might there not be a balance to be struck between the two, or better yet, a balance that would take the best from both? Such a question, I believe, is worthy of both lovers of myriad pleasures whose variety is endless and masters of a single lasting love whose depths and heights are as bottomless and limitless as they are sacred and divine."

I crack a smile in spite of myself.