ANA II

Chapter 6

Few men had been thrust into the heart of history being made the way I have been over the past year. My life before Ana pulled me into this vortex of epic, and potentially catastrophic, events was simple and complacent. My biggest concern back then was trying to run successful dungeon raids in the online game called Crossed Swords. Of course, that game was where it all started. It's where I meet Ana. She and I were both members of a guild for older gamers. In internet gaming, you're considered old if you're over 25. At first, she was just another guild-mate helping me organize the bigger raids. She was great fun to work with while being excellent at keeping track of all the details. She seemed to respect me as much as I did her and our friendship grew fast. In no time, we were doing quests together almost every day. At the time, I considered her my best friend even though we had never met in person.

Soon, we will be meeting with the United Nations in preparation for bringing delegates from each member country to join us here on the moon. It's going to be an historic first step in upgrading the technology of the entire planet. Quite a change of agenda from our gaming days. One wonders how I manage to stay sane with such a vastly different perspective. I wasn't bred to rule like Alexander the Great, or trained for it like Eisenhower, yet here I am... on the cusp of leading the world into a new era.

Today, I've decided to take a vacation from the pressure of it all and relax for the first time in what seems like forever. So, here I sit watching a bobber floating on the surface of a calm pond in a computer game. The water is so clear that I can see fish swim lazily past me. The holographic game image is so real I almost forget it's only a game and have to resist the urge to reach down to touch the cool water. Of course, the level of detail I'm seeing is leagues better than anyone on Earth could get. These graphics aren't the result of human programmers, what I'm seeing is rendered by Ana and is indistinguishable from reality by human senses. I close my eyes and empty my thoughts, letting Ana form the game image in my mind, her input overriding the input from my eyes so I see it with my eyes still closed even better than when they were open.

This is one way I practice my mental connection to her. When the bobber moves, I gave the mental command to jerk the fishing pole and am satisfied to be able to reel in the struggling fish. It's almost like dreaming, only I can control this dream. After a few more fish are caught this way Ana interrupts.

"Sorry to bother you, but you've been progressing very well on our mental connection," she says. "And I think you're ready for the next step."

"Next step?"

"Let's take a virtual walk around the base," Ana says.

That sounds interesting. "A virtual walk... How do I do that?"

"First I'll project an exact image of this room into your mind the same way we do with the fishing game. Then you mentally leave the room and I'll project the imagery as appropriate to wherever you go. It will be just as if you're looking though my eyes. Are you ready?"

I take a deep breath with my eyes still closed and empty my mind. My ability to become completely immersed in computer games was why I was so good at them. I use that same technique now as an image of the room forms. Soon, I'm seeing the room from a completely different angle next to someone sitting in a chair. It takes a moment for me to realize I'm actually looking down at myself sitting next to the holographic projector. Then it comes to me that I'm in Ana's body, well... her image. I move my (her) arms in amazement.

"Wow, this is sooo cool." I turn to the left and see the bar area and pool that give the Command Center its unique Mexican resort appearance. In Ana's body, I walk over to the pool and watch the waterfall at the far end of the pool. Because of the low gravity here on the Moon, the sparkling water moves in slow motion down the rocky face of the waterfall. It's spellbinding to watch under normal circumstances, watching though Ana's eyes is unworldly as I realize her vision extends beyond the range of human eyes. I'm seeing the spray of water particles too small for human eyes, the flow of air around the room, and even the heat radiating from every object. It's fantastic.