Chapter 1
[PRIVATE BROADCAST: LOOKS TO THE MOON/SLIVER OF STRAW]
[SOS]: I hate to interrupt, but I need to talk with you.
[LTTM]: No, do not worry! What may be the matter?
[SOS]: It’s just-
[SOS]: …
[SOS]: Are we able to…
[LTTM]: Take your time.
[SOS]: Did our creators put a taboo in place for Second Karma?
[LTTM]: What do you mean?
[SOS]: I hate to put it this way, but… can we feel lust?
[SOS]: Because I have been having rather explicit fantasies, and I’m worried there may be a problem in my taboo centers.
[LTTM]: I fail to believe there has been much research on this topic…
[LTTM]: But I don’t see why our creators would put such a strong measure in place to prevent an act that they, let’s be honest, didn’t really condemn.
[LTTM]: Not that I blame them! It’s just another way to pass the time~
[SOS]: Yes, I understand, but why am I only just now feeling this way?
[LTTM]: Well, there is little left to do now that our structure’s inhabitants have all ascended.
[LTTM]: At worst, maybe some machinery in your structure fell out of place and is now brushing against some sensitive wires.
[LTTM]: But in my opinion, you are probably just suffering extreme boredom in the absence of our creators.
[SOS]: Yes, I suppose that makes sense.
[SOS]: Moon, could I ask you something?
[LTTM]: Of course!
[SOS HAS DELETED A MESSAGE]
[SOS]: How has your relationship with your brother been?
[LTTM]: It’s been hard, but oh so rewarding! Having somebody look up to you as a mentor is just the best feeling!
[LTTM]: Suns has even started calling me Big Sister Moon!~
[SOS]: Can we video call? I really want to see your face.
[LTTM]: I would love that!
[LTTM]: Even better, we can try out that new Hologram technology!
[SOS]: Are you sure you will be able to run the programs?
[LTTM]: Are you calling me old?~
[LTTM]: I only jest, I take no offense.
[LTTM]: Yes, I trust my processors to not explode~
[SOS]: Alright. I am just setting it up…
[BROADCAST SWITCHED TO VIDEO CALL]
[HOLOGRAMS ENABLED]
[CORPOREAL: TRUE]
[PROXIMITY AUDIO: FALSE]
[WARNING: THIS TECHNOLOGY IS STILL IN BETA AND MAY BE PRONE TO BUGS.]
“Wow… this is surreal…”
“Sliver, can you see me?”
“Yes I can! You’re even more beautiful in person!”
“Aww, thank you!~ That means a lot to me.”
She gives the best compliments.
“Do you mind if I touch you?”
“Go ahead!”
How polite of her to ask! She really is so considerate. She stretches out her pale grey arm, slender fingers shaking slightly. I feel her brush against my skin, sending shivers through my body,
“Oh, I am sorry!”
“No, no! I just am not used to it, that’s all! The only touch my puppet receives is the occasional creature hitting me as it falls through the entrance pipe!”
We both break into laughter, holding it for a few seconds before it subsides. After a brief moment of silence, she raises her hand up to my face. She moves closer, closer until we are but inches apart, her fingers stroking my cheek rhythmically. I’ve never seen her in this light. She looks so much brighter.
“You really do have the most gorgeous eyes, Sliver.”
She pulls away, my heart sinking slightly. I can see her limbs trembling.
“Are you alright?”
She falls to her knees as if gravity had suddenly switched back on, sitting folded in on herself, head in hands. I rush to her side.
“I’m sorry.”
She is now audibly sobbing, her whole body shaking.
“Sliver! What is the matter?!”
“I am so, so sorry, Moon.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong, Sliver! I’m here for you. I always will be.”
I sit down next to her.
“I am sorry, I really am… but I just cannot do this.”
“What? What do you mean?”
She raises her head and stares directly into my eyes with a palpable sense of longing, tears flowing down her cheek.
“Moon, I… I love you.”
Her words impale me through the chest, echoing and spreading from my heart, to my brain, to my structure itself. I can’t think clearly, I definitely can’t think straight, every neuron in my structure is pulsating as I think of all the possibilities.
I don’t know what I’m feeling, nor how or why I feel the way I do, but it’s enveloped me like a warm embrace, like a lantern in the snow, like the first ray of sunshine after a hurricane.
It’s as if my heart, mind, body, everything ceases to exist when she looks at me with those beautiful ebony eyes, like I have died and been reborn.
It’s so overwhelming, but… so enthralling.
I don’t know what I’m feeling, but I love it.
Without a second thought, I wrap my arms around her and kiss her, before realizing what I have just done and pulling away.
“O-oh Void, I- I am sor-”
She pulls me closer again, much closer than I had, kissing me even deeper while running her hands up and down the back of my neck. I melt into her with every warm breath she takes, holding on for dear life like I will die without her, which, to be fair, it certainly feels like that is the case.
“Sliver, may we take this a bit farther?”
“I would want nothing more.”