Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1) by Mariana Morgan (essential reading txt) 📕

Eloise had discovered that there was a trick to surviving in the real world. Long-term, learning to live outside of VR seemed impossible. Short-term, Eloise could convince her mind that reality was VR and smash whatever challenge was thrown at her with the same composure and dedication she usually displayed in a VR enviro. The longer she practised the self-deceiving trick, the easier it became.

With barely any effort greater than a passing thought, she could genuinely believe that the raid on Olympus was just another VR she was about to play. That cleared her head enough to focus on running, pushing, pulling, jumping and whatever else Ingram demanded of her. Her legs and arms had turned to jelly the way they used to when she played her martial arts VRPs back at home, and that felt reassuringly familiar.

‘Nervous?’ Rivas asked, pointing at the schematics of Olympus Eloise was studying. ‘You’ve been looking at the map for over five minutes—that’s about five minutes longer than you need to learn it by heart.’

Eloise gave him a tired smile. ‘I’ve been imagining the schematics as VR code. It helps me understand it better. And… the longer I stay here, the longer I get to enjoy my break before your Major Toscano puts her hands on me again.’ She laughed. It still felt odd to laugh and joke with other human beings, but it was something she could grow accustomed to very quickly. It felt… nice. ‘Yes, I guess I am nervous.’

‘About the assault? Or about what the major has planned next?’

‘Both. But mainly about how pissed off she will be when I prove her low opinion of me incorrect.’

‘Yes, I can see how pissing Major Toscano off would be the biggest of your worries.’ Rivas barked a laugh. It wasn’t so long since she had put him through his paces that he had forgotten the challenging experience.

‘That’s because Major Toscano is a proper bitch when she’s pissed off,’ Ingram said, standing in the doorway with Gonzalez. Her expression was stern, but her eyes danced in obvious amusement. ‘Having said that, I am totally happy to have my opinion about you, Ms Moretti, proven wrong. Everyone here is a known quantity except you. We know what training they have been through and how they have performed since. We don’t know what obstacles we might face at Olympus when things go sour, and it would be negligence on our part to head out without understanding fully all the assets and handicaps we have.’

‘Understood.’ Eloise nodded. Rivas relaxed, letting go of the memories, and one of his arms went around Eloise for a reassuring squeeze.

‘Everything all right so far?’ Gonzalez asked.

‘Yes, sir.’ Eloise nodded again, making the schematics disappear with a swipe of her hand.

‘The psych evaluation VRP is ready and waiting then, Ms Moretti.’ Ingram pointed at the adjacent VR lab.

‘Yes, ma’am.’ Funny how quickly the words and phrases she had practised in VR last night had become natural forms of expression. ‘I’ll go in now.’

‘Eloise, please drink the recovery shake Lieutenant Rivas brought you,’ Tilly interjected. ‘It contains a solution of vitamins and minerals to replace the electrolytes you lost as well as an optimal carbohydrate blend for a quick recovery.’

Eloise sighed. ‘I should never have given her the mumsy subroutines back.’

Putting Tilly back together after shutting down most of the AI functions last night had gone as smoothly as she had expected. The progressive addition of processing subroutines did the trick. And a simple patch allowed the computer program to distance itself from the template, the original Tilly, postponing the cyber-grief problem indefinitely. Eloise hoped that one day she would be able to remake Tilly’s copy back into its original, full version, but for now, what they had was sufficiently fit for purpose. And it was just as patronising as the original version.

‘Eloise, I’m only trying to make sure—’

‘Yes, Tilly, I know. But I’m not exactly a helpless kid, and you treating me like one isn’t really helping my image right now.’

‘I will… rethink my advice,’ Tilly replied sheepishly.

‘What is not helping your image,’ Rivas said with a laugh, putting the glass back into Eloise’s hand, ‘is that you’re still not drinking it. Now, drink up.’

‘Yes, sir!’ Eloise rolled her eyes. She quickly emptied the glass and turned to leave.

‘One minute, please.’ Gonzalez stopped her. He had been half listening to the chirpy conversation, pleased with how the friendly and relaxed atmosphere was developing, while the other half of his attention pondered a more serious topic. ‘Before we all go back to work, there’s one thing from Givors that still bugs me. Ms Moretti, towards the end of the conversation with Wagner you said that you knew his family was Leech. It was my understanding that you didn’t even know who Wagner was before you met him at the 4th…’ He trailed off, clearly expecting Eloise to explain.

The Elite woman stared at him, puzzled, her head cocked to one side and her brows furrowing. And then she winced in pain and closed her eyes as the raw memories hit hard. Her body doubled over, hands coming up in a defensive gesture.

‘It’s all right,’ Rivas whispered. He tried to pull her in for a hug, but Eloise pushed him away. She shook her head violently and took a step back.

‘I’m sorry… The memories,’ she whimpered, surprised at the intensity. ‘I don’t know. I forgot I said that. But now, I… I don’t know why… I don’t know why I said it.’ She looked up at Gonzalez, confused. The almost pleasant haze of physical exhaustion was gone, replaced by a tightly wound-up bundle of nerves, and her stomach heaved. She didn’t miss that visceral sickness.

Next to Gonzalez, Ingram wished the earth would swallow her. She tried to will her heart to stop thumping, but it was nothing more than wishful thinking. Two days ago, it had seemed like a brilliant idea to program that question into Eloise’s subconscious