Chapter 2
When Sam returned to the Imaging Chamber, he wasn’t entirely sure how to bring the hologram back. Being used to tactile buttons, the gesture-based round handlink was just that little bit too foreign for him to pick up immediately.
He stood awkwardly on the hexagonal floor, making feeble swipes at the device and scratching his chin.
Finally, he managed to open the connection, and found himself waist-deep in the floor beside Ben, who was sitting at a table in a restaurant—presumably, it was the one attached to the bathroom from before.
Ben was leaning away from a woman in a red dress who seemed to be attached to him like a leech. One of her legs was over his lap, and her lips were attached to his neck.
The frazzled leaper looked down at Sam, a bewildered expression crossing his face as he saw Sam there poking out of the floor.
“Uh, hey,” Sam said, unsure of how to orient his hologram to the correct position on the Z-Axis. “Don’t worry about me. Ziggy’s—well, on the fritz.”
“Hmph, what else is new…” Ben mumbled.
“What’d you say, James?” the woman, who Sam figured must be Becky, asked.
“I, uh, said this shirt is new, so be careful not to get lipstick on the collar,” Ben said, in a very familiar way to Sam. It was nostalgic, really. He hadn’t had a surreptitious conversation with a hologram in a long time. But now he was the hologram, and he could say as much as he pleased.
“Good save,” Sam commented with a quickly flashed grin, before continuing. “Listen, I don’t think you should go through with this if you don’t want to, Ben. We’ll find another way to work this leap, alright? Becky’s just gonna have to take a cold shower.”
Ben mouthed the words ‘thank you’, and pushed Becky off him.
“Listen, Becky,” he said as she furrowed her brow at him, “I’m really not feeling this. I’m sorry.”
“But James…” she said with a pout, “you said you thought I was beautiful.”
Ben lifted her leg off his lap and stood. “You are beautiful, I promise. It’s not you, it’s me.” Having realised he’d just said that cliché, he cringed at himself.
Sam snickered. “Well, at least you let her down easy, right?”
Becky, however, didn’t look like she was taking it so well. Her eyes welled up and her cheeks flushed.
“But… I really thought we were hitting it off…”
“I didn’t mean to lead you on,” Ben said sincerely. “And I’m sure the internet dating scene will yield better results for you in the years to come. It’s really about to take off, you know?”
“You think…?”
“Trust me,” he said, patting her gently on the shoulder in a calculated non-amorous fashion. “There’s a man out there for you, Becky. I’m just not it.” Under his breath, he added: “Not today.”
He pulled out a wallet and threw a couple of twenties onto the table, before walking away from her, leaving her with both their drinks and desserts.
Sam’s gaze lingered a moment on her. “At least she has ice cream to console her,” he chirped, before turning and following Ben out of the restaurant.
Once outside, and with Sam still stuck part way in the sidewalk, Ben looked down at him, shaking his head. He held a cell phone to his ear, feigning a phone call as he spoke.
“That was so awkward, Addison. I’ve never come that close to… you know…” he said. “You’re my fiancée. I know we’ve discussed this before, but to have it actually happen—with you watching, no less—is something different. Not to mention everyone thinks I’m someone else. Is it really consensual?”
Sam considered this.
“Well, you knew what happened to m—uh, Sam before you went in the Accelerator, didn’t you? He had to deal with this kind of thing all the time.”
“Well, yes,” Ben admitted. “I knew what I was getting myself into, I assume. I only remember it vaguely, but I’m sure I must have known all about Sam.” He sighed. “But there’s a difference between knowing about it and living it. I’ve had to learn that one the hard way.”
He let the phone drop to his side, and he sat against the wall, coming into eye line with Sam.
“The only person I want to wake up next to is you, Addison. But now I can’t even touch you.”
Sam’s heart broke for Ben. And he knew all too well the predicament he was in.
“Well, you have one advantage over Sam,” he said. “You actually remember the woman you love. He forgot his wife, and she even wanted it kept that way so he wouldn’t hesitate in positions just like you were in.”
“Really?” Ben’s eyes widened. “He just forgot she existed?”
Sam nodded. “Leaping’s tough if you’re a hopeless romantic. Knowing she existed would have made him close himself off to relationships that he needed to feed for the leap to be successful.”
Ben was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then, he pursed his lips, looking at the night sky. “You think he ever remembered her? He’s been out there a long time. And if he did, did that mess up the leaps?”
Sam hid a smile. “If he did, I’d like to think he would have found a way to contact her and talked it out.”
“Like we’re doing now?”
“Yeah.”
Ben looked at him, and chuckled. “This conversation would have been a lot more profound without you sticking out of the ground like a turnip.”
Sam joined the laughter, and then decided it was time to come clean.
“Listen Ben… I need to tell you—”
He was abruptly cut off by the handlink making a frantic beeping sound. He looked down at it, and there seemed to be a message from someone named Ian.
Need to see you—now!!
“Huh,” he murmured. “I’ve gotta step out. Maybe Ziggy-related.”
Ben nodded, grinning with amusement. “Good. Make sure they’ve got the terrain matching algorithms working when you come back.” He looked impressed with himself. “Hey, I didn’t know I remembered that.”
Sam gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll bet there’s a lot more you’ve got tucked away in that head of yours that just needs a little coaxing out.” He brought up the exit option in the handlink. “I’ll see you soon,” he said before activating it.
He hurried out of the Imaging Chamber, only to have the same androgynous colleague waiting for him.
“Hey,” they said, gripping his arm and pulling him back inside. They shut the door. “I saw the tail end of that conversation…”
They can see into the Imaging Chamber? Sam thought. That’s new. And I’m glad I found that out before I spilled the beans to Ben.
“I think it could be good for Ben to have a mentor figure,” they continued. “Someone who’s been in his position. A seasoned professional, if you will.” They smiled. “Someone like… one Doctor Sam Beckett, for example?”
Sam’s jaw dropped. “How did you…”
“Your wife told me,” they replied in a whispered voice.
“My w—Donna’s been in touch with you?” Sam said, his voice breaking.
They shushed him. “Keep it down, we’re not sure who we can trust just yet.” They took his hand, shaking it. “I’m Ian, by the way. Big fan. Consider me your twenty-first century Gooshie with better fashion sense.”
“Are you, um…” Sam tried to find the words to ask about Ian’s gender, gesturing with his hands.
“Oh, my pronouns are they/them,” Ian added hastily. “I am the nonnest of binaries, even though I’m a computer programmer and I deal in binaries on a daily basis. How much do you know about—actually, let’s table that, because I need to show you how to work the handlink so you don’t get stuck inside the floor again.”
Sam nodded, his cheeks beginning to burn. Ian really had seen the whole embarrassing display, hadn’t they?
“Okay, yes—that’s a good idea. I’m a little behind the times on technology, but I’m a quick study.”
“Oh, I know,” Ian nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s more-or-less a re-skin of your original designs, with a few extra bells and whistles. It’s just a matter of showing you how to use the gestures.”
Sam smiled, holding up the handlink for Ian to begin. “Thank you. If Donna trusts you, then so do I.”
“High praise coming from you.” Ian looked chuffed. “Listen, I’ve got a collection of some of your original Ziggy schematics in my desk. Would you consider signing it? It would make my… uh, decade.”
“Let’s… not get ahead of ourselves,” said Sam. “We need to focus on figuring out what brought me here before we start worrying about autographs.”
Ian checked theirself. “R-right. Man, you sure sounded like Addison just now. ‘Focus on the leap’ is like, her mantra.”
“Well, she’s in here somewhere with me,” Sam said. “Let me know if I start acting too much like her, because it’s not uncommon for me to—”
“Psycho-synergise?” Ian finished.
Sam nodded. Ian had done their homework. “Exactly. I can usually keep it under control, though.” He tapped the handlink. “Now, about this… hockey puck…”