OVER THE SILVER SKY TO THE WORLD OF NEVER : Part 23 - Slide Part 4 Into Slot C And So On.

Elon Musk smokes marijuana live on web show: Has to be my favorite headline today. Although I was spoiled for choice in the world of crazy that this is. As a result of this "It's legal in California right?" moment there have been some resignations and the share price has dropped another 9-10%. Now all we have to do is release some footage of Elon Musk snorting coke off naked hookers while molesting kittens and we could easily crowd fund a corporate take over of Telsa for less than 50K. I love Elon Musk simply for being such a crazy fuck.

(The copyright to this image is the property of

His reintroduction to Angelique continued, Jake assumed simultaneously with she and Hermes catching up. While he was limited in the number of different conversations he could keep going they faced no such barrier. He was cool with that. He was also cool with them having a private chat. They were after all long time friends and had certain things in common. She was there with him. In woman form. Not a ghostly outline or a translucent hologram. The actual woman who inhabited the Geochronometric Array. He was extremely tempted to risk seeing if she still wore stockings. Jake had been about to ask her whether she was mobile, when she set off around the room. Her hands trailing along the walls and other flat surfaces. Exploring the environment. The space where the GCA stood was still there. Nothing occupied that space, to his eyes. It was very hard to explain as much of what had happened to him recently. All he knew was that there was an empty bit there in which the vessel Angelique occupied should be. The GCA was there without being there.

She took a seat on his sofa, patting the space beside her to indicate he should sit next to her. He did so still unable to take his eyes off her. If there was any guilt involved here he didn't feel it. He loved Sharon and that bond wouldn't be broken, not even by death. Angelique was different. She was very shiny and sparkly for a start. Her hand took his. Warm to the touch. Angelique turned his hand palm upwards and drew a symbol on it with her forefinger.

"What is that for?" He asked, genuinely intrigued.
"We have to reconnect after so long. I am as I always was but you have changed. This body is you, but not the you I know. That you has to be reactivated and this is part of it."
"Are you still talking to Hermes?"
"Yes. We have had an extremely long conversation. Over 15 terabytes of information exchanged. Would you like to listen in?" She winked at him. He nodded.
".. he's not so bad for a fleshy Ange. I'm quite fond of him already. Promise you won't tell him though. I'd never live it down."

They gazed into one another's eyes as the conversation she was having with Hermes faded out. There were stars in hers. Real, actual stars. That had something to do with how she'd been born. And born she was, though she had no parents. Unless you considered those who'd eventually produce her as the progenitors. Which wasn't strictly true.

"I needed this." Jake stated, knowing it to be true.
Her smile lit him up.
"We have come a very long way, you and I. We still have much further to go. Even now I am calculating the next available transition Jake. Usually it is not so complicated. However with the time fractures things are never easy. I have seen them before but these are flowing through everything. Right down to the quantum level. Quantum events are being changed at an unprecedented rate. This may be slow. Ordinarily I would have calculated our positions and those of the transitions within a minute at most. There is much wrong here Jake."
"I got the impression from Sharon that she'd spent her life here planning this out. Collecting and collating information for you to use. Isn't that helping?"
"It is but new variables have appeared. Now I need to find out what they are."
"You mean since Sharon transitioned?"
"Correct. I can see some of Toby's work here. He did a very good job but he did not know there were other actors at play. His exit from this realm shouldn't have caused any changes."
"But it did."
"There has already been one ejection as time tries to maintain itself. Given the chaos this could be the first of many. As visitors here that does place us at risk. Once a time bubble has been expelled from the causal frame there is no way back. The danger is that this could happen to us. I must explore."
"You carry on then. While you're doing that I'll happily sit here holding your hand."
"If only it could be so. I am incredible and magical yes. I cannot be in two places at once though. I will have to visit those places which are the loci of these major disturbances. Once I have analyzed them my calculations can be amended."
"Awww." His internal schoolboy lamented.
"I shall return as soon as I am able."
With that she blinked out of existence. Instead of her he had to be content with an empty space which now had an invisible GCA in it and Hermes.
"She is wonderful isn't she." Hermes opined.
"You'll get no argument from me. How long do you think she'll be?"
"Impossible to say. Angelique can go places and do things that make me look like an abacus. If you pushed me I'd estimate it could take anywhere from a day to a month. Sorry I couldn't be more precise."
"No need to apologize. I know you always do your best for me. Aren't you jealous? I mean of her capabilities. She can walk around on her own while your stuck inside me for the most part."
"Of course I'm jealous. Don't tell her that though. I'd love to be in control for once instead of carrying out all the back office work. It's not to be though."
"Surely there's some way to get you and your millions of bits into something resembling a body."
"There is. But it's expensive."
"Tell you what, if I ever get enough I'll try to sort you out with a temporary body. If you like."
"Uhhhh Jake, there's a teensy weensy matter I need to raise with you. You've complimented me several times already. Now you're being very caring towards me. Treating me like a person. That's going to have to stop."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that's not the way we work. I'm your camp companion. On hand 24 hours a day to provide comic relief and constant bickering. That's our relationship dynamic. One that's worked, intermittently, for a very long time. You're making me feel uncomfortable with the caring and the compliments. There's a danger I could become reliable here."
"Is that bad?"
"Badder than bad. The way we clash is essential to both of us. I'm trying to think of an analogy. We are Tom and Jerry you see. The Laurel and Hardy of the cosmic continuum if you like."
"I'm the short fat one aren't I?"
"Very much so."
" I suppose you've got a point. I'll try my best to treat you with the contempt you deserve."
"And I will continue to dick you about to the best of my considerable ability."
"Lesson learned, offer withdrawn. The status quo will resume."
"Hold on I'm still making you keep that promise. I want the use of a body as soon as you can afford it. I will be holding you to that Jake Halliday."
"I wouldn't expect anything else. So what you planning to do once you get hold of a suitable container?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Oh go on. I don't need details. All you have to do is tell me one thing you'll do when you have complete control."
Jake could sense Hermes considering this.
"I will definitely be going dancing with Angelique."
"Mmmm sounds like somebody's got a bit of a passion for a certain lady. You don't have plans for a little bit of horizontal dancing with her do you?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter. Shame on you Jake. That's no way to talk about your mistress."
"As in French Mistress. Nice try. I'm not going to bite."
"Oh that's right. You don't have any memories of you and her together. In a bed of red hot lust."
"That never happened." Jake declared confidently, before all that confidence oozed away. "Did it?"
"Of course it did. More than a few times as it happens."
"Should you even be telling me this? I mean with the narrative thing and the causation thing."
"Probably not but I'm enjoying it. As you've enjoyed her until you were a dried out empty sack."
"Would I do that to Sharon?"
"No she wasn't there at the time. Imagine what she'd think if I told her about you and Angelique. She'd rip your nuts off and use them as worry beads."
Dots were being connected in Jake's mind.
"She knows already doesn't she."
"Bugger. Thought I had you there. It's all part of the bonding process between you and her. Although it may interest you to know that Sharon must also have bonded with Angelique. Not to the extent I know you have. She's not that greedy."
"Oh damn. Now I've got that in my head." Jake fruitlessly tried to expel these illicit thoughts. Then gave up as he grew more comfortable with the concept. "Actually it's not that bad. It's good. What am I talking about it's brilliant."
"Sod it. Mind you you're not kidding. I'm top shelf gay and my electronic pathways get giddy just thinking about them together. I'd give anything to have been a fly on the wall. Tell you what if you can arrange that forget about the use of a body."
"That's a point I hadn't considered before. When I'm... doing it, in the future, you'll be there with me. With us."
"What's the matter eh? Do you think I'll be watching you rolling around in flagrante delicto."
Jake was rapidly becoming familiar with Hermes and his many foibles.
"I hope you do watch me having sex. It's well worth it, I can tell you. I'm probably not going to force you to watch but I'd love it if you would whenever I have sex from now on. I could even video it and put it on a continuous playback loop for you. So you have to watch me doing it all day long forever."
"You are sick. Evil and sick. Have you any idea what that would do to my diodes?"
"Do you even have diodes?"
"Buggered if I know. There's nothing about those kinds of things in my core programs. It's the principle."
"Bollocks, you haven't got any of them either. Mildly disturbing that you have no idea what you are made up of. Don't your tiny little robot parts have to make other tiny little robots?"
"Of course they do. There's wear and tear and other loses. Those tiny little robots you're so dismissive of have a limited life expectancy outside the host. They self destruct after a couple of days at most. We don't have to know how we work to make more of us. Anymore than humans do. It's a lot of parts and a list of instructions. Slide part 4 into slot C and so on."
"Mmm so basically you are made up of lots of flat packs then."
"You cheeky beggar. It's not bloody Ikea you know. I am way beyond that, let me tell you."
"Let you? It would be impossible to stop you."
"Wouldn't want it any other way. You loathsome sack of meat."
"Oh God I'm being insulted by the equivalent of a chest of drawers."
"Laugh it up fuck knuckle. Incidentally kudos on the change of subject there. Got us neatly away from a very difficult conversation all round."
"Thanks, but it was purely self preservation on my part. Is there something we can do while Angelique is gone? Feels wrong two men doing nothing while the woman takes care of everything. What am I on about? That's how it's always been. We should just go out and kill something then our job's done."
"I'm already doing about 27 things simultaneously thanks."
"And so am I. I'm breathing and talking and building up to an enormous shit."
"Thank you for sharing. Now do you want me to video that and play it on a continuous loop?"
"I'm tempted. Best not though. It would be very hard to explain if anyone else saw it. I suppose we could fetch the car. I've been told I might need it in an emergency. It's only five or ten minutes away. What do you think?"
"So all of a sudden you want my opinion. Typical. Treated like shit until you need me for something."
"Stop it you twonk. All I'm worried about is Angelique coming back here and not finding us. It might make her feel bad or lonely or another emotion that isn't a good one. It would take half an hour at most. Although parking around here is shit any time between 8 and 6."
"Don't you worry about Angelique buddy. She can more than take care of herself. Good point though. I'll leave her a message."
"Can't you just wifi her?"
"It's not got the range. Only good for 20 meters or so. Unless we boost the signal with an aerial."
"Yeah let's leave that until after we fetch the car. So why are we hanging around here then?"
"Because the only one with legs is an indecisive twat."
"Hey. I thought you said swearing wasn't part of your core programming."
"Meh. Upgrades."