Art Prompt Writing Contest #6 - MoonBeach

Detective Cornelius Crane gazed down at the body stretched face down before him, long dark hair splayed and arms reaching out for something in her final moments.

She was a young student called Mary-Anne, who just happened to attend the same college as his daughter. Funny how shit works out that like that – 6 degrees of separation just got a whole lot closer.

Mary-Anne’s housemate had arrived back from class to find her lying dead. The story checked out. No sign of anyone else having been in the sparse apartment, and according to the housemate the dead girl had no boyfriend, no over-night visitors.

Crane’s partner clumped into the room with the paramedic’s report, slapped it into his chest.

“Dead on Arrival. Asphyxiation. No sign of obstruction in the windpipe, no strangulation marks. Cause of death looks natural, but weird, like she held her breath, or forgot to inhale. Ain’t that something – clever uni kid forgets to breathe.”

Crane snapped on white plastic gloves.

“Well sweet-heart”, he sighed, “let’s take a closer look.”

He knelt beside her and rolled her gently. Rigor mortis had not yet set in, and she smelt of cheap candied perfume. She was wearing iMagik goggles, one of the dark lenses had cracked when her head hit the floor.

“Interesting”, murmured Crane, “She was in another world when she died.”

He lifted the strap from behind her ears and took off the VR device.

“Its not everyday you get to see someone’s last images. I wonder what she was hooked into?”

He put on the goggles, and blinked twice to access the reverie interface.

Suddenly surrounded by a still and silent gloom, he thought perhaps the impact had damaged the simulation. He looked around, trying to get his bearings, then up. High above there was a shimmer of pale light, pinprick rays dancing down then washed away before they reached him. He could discern a whispering - indistinguishable and almost impossibly far off - then an undulating murmur of discordant electronica, the faint sound of waves. Crane rewound to the start.

---

He was gazing out over the sea, an immense blood moon hovering over the horizon, as many stars thrown across the ageless sky as grains of sand beneath his feet. A figure was walking through the surf towards him, long hair blown by a breeze he couldn’t feel. As she neared him, his heart skipped – her features were recognisable, even at a distance, and he was confused.

“Wait, this is Mary-Anne’s simulation, this cant be…”

She put a finger to his lips. “I’m here now. Cornelius, it’s been so long.”

Crane stepped back to drink her in. Here was the first girl he had loved – the sort of wild, powerful crazy love which carries you away completely, that when dimmed by time you attribute to the first flush of youth.

“Emma, I know you’re not real.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just stay a while. One step back in time. I know you want to. Please.”

Her green eyes were wet, and she tensed just like she had done whenever they fought. She was more radiant than his memory had allowed – the angles of her face more defined, her lips redder, flawless skin, bigger breasts.

Was he controlling this – is this what he wanted?

“Sit with me and let’s remember.”

She took his hand gently and pulled him down onto the sand, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He couldn’t smell her. The lack of a full immersion module was slightly aggravating, but he let it slide.

“I still think about the time we spent in the White Mountains that Fall, so long ago. When was it, 2017?”

“It was beautiful.” Crane admitted. “The first time I’ve ever felt so free. No college, no work, just a car and a dream, and you.”

She stroked his face. “You look funny with this moustache”, she giggled. “You’ve changed so much, gotten old.”

Crane didn’t know what to say, so he leaned to kiss her, and within that kiss a thousand memories surged through him like a vicious electric charge powering his very soul.

She broke his hold, slipped off her dress and stood before him in unabashed lithe perfection.

“Swim with me.”

Her teasing honeyed laugh was irresistible, and he shook off his clothes and was at the water’s edge. The waves crashed around them as they waded deeper, then he was swimming, following in her wake, out of his depth. She bobbed before him, smiling, and held him, kissed him hard. They sank under together, all the way to the bottom, where there was no moonlight…

---

Crane flooded back to consciousness choking and spitting, on his back, his partner above him, relieved and furious.

“Fuck me! What was that? Don’t ever make me give you the kiss of life again, you asshole.”

“Holy shit …“ groaned Crane. “That was unreal.”

---

Laura Mesanos, CEO of iMagik, was ushered from the meeting with visible irritation.

“This had better be good”, she snapped. “I need to finish the DreamScape deal today.”

The face of her Head of Security was ashen and his hand was visibly shaking as he rose to greet her.

“James, what’s up? You look horrible.”

He ran his hand roughly through wiry grey hair, his brow crumpled.

“This is about as bad it gets. We have a major issue with one of our more popular romance
simulations, MoonBeach. It seems to have gone … very wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“As of just now, 5 people have died while hooked in.” He exhaled deeply. “There’s been a malicious exploit that’s changed the scenario to something we’ve never seen before. Its more realistic than we ever thought possible.”

“Jesus Fuck. You’ve shut it down?”

“We can’t. The killswitch won’t work.”

“But that’s not possible. It hard-encoded …”

“I know.”

“Wait, this means, anyone who watches this …”

James nodded glumly. He glanced at his wrist display, then his stomach lurched, he was having trouble breathing.

---

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