Bisson, Terry - In The Upper Room

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IN THE UPPER ROOM

Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com

IN THE UPPER ROOM

By Terry Bisson

Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com

IN THE UPPER ROOM

Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com

"You will feel a slight chill," the attendant said. "Don't worry about it. Just go with it,

OK?"

"OK," I said. I had heard all this before.

"You will feel a slight disorientation. Don't worry about it. A part of you will be aware of

where you are, and another part will be aware of where you really are, if you know what I

mean. Just go with it, OK?"

"OK," I said. "Actually, I have heard all this before. I was on Amazon Adventure last

year."

"You were? Well, I am required to say it anyway," the attendant said. "Where was I? Oh

yes, go slow!" He wore squeaky shoes and a white coat and carried a little silver hammer

in a loop on his pants. "If you look at things too closely at first, nothing will be there. But

if you take your time, everything will appear, OK?"

"OK," I said. "What about--?"

"You won't know her name," he said. "Not in the demo. But if you sign up for a tour, you

will know it automatically. Ready? Lie down. Take a deep breath."

Ready or not, the drawer started sliding in and I felt a moment of panic, which I

remembered from last year. The panic makes you take another breath, and then there is

the sharp smell of the Vitazine(TM), and there you are. It is like waking from a dream. I

was in a sunlit room with a thick pile rug and high French windows. She stood at the

windows overlooking what appeared to be a busy street, as long as you were careful not

to look at it too closely.

I was careful not to look at it too closely. She was wearing a burgundy sandwashed silk

chemise with a sheer lace empire bodice, cross-laced on the low plunge back. No

stockings. I have never liked stockings. She was barefoot but I couldn't make out her feet.

I was careful not to look at them too closely.

I liked the way the bodice did on the sides. After a while I looked around the room. There

was wicker furniture and a few potted plants by a low door. I had to duck my head to step

through and I was in a kitchen with a tile floor and blue cabinets. She stood at the sink

under a little window that overlooked a green, glistening yard. She was wearing a long-

sleeved stretch panné velvet bodysuit with a low sweetheart neckline, high-cut sides, and

a full back. I liked the way the velvet did in the back. I stood beside her at the window

watching the robins arrive and depart on the grass. It was the same robin over and over.

A white wall phone rang. She picked it up and handed it to me, and as soon as I put the

receiver to my ear and heard the tone, I was looking up toward what seemed, at first, to

be clouds but was in fact the water-stained ceiling of the Departure Hall.

IN THE UPPER ROOM

Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com

I sat up. "That's it?" I asked.

"That's the demo," said the attendant, who was hurrying over to my opened drawer, shoes

squeaking. "The phone is what exits you out of the system. Like the doors elevate you

from level to level."

"I like it," I said. "My vacation starts tomorrow. Where do I sign up?"

"Slow down," he said, helping me out of the drawer. "The Veep is by invitation only.

You have to talk to Cisneros in Client Services first."

"The Veep?"

"That's what we call it sometimes."

"Last year I did the Amazon Adventure," I said to Dr. Cisneros. "This year I have a week,

starting tomorrow, and I came in to sign up for the Arctic Adventure. That's when I saw

the Victoria's Palace demo in the brochure."

"Victoria's is just opening," she said. "Actually we are still beta testing sectors of it. Only

the middle and upper middle rooms are open. But that should be plenty for a five day

tour."

"How many rooms is that?"

"Lots." She smiled. Her teeth looked new. The little thing on her desk said B. Cisneros,

PhD. "Technically speaking, the Veep is a hierarchical pyramid string, so the middle and

upper middle includes all the rooms but one. All but the Upper Room."

I blushed. I'm always blushing.

"You wouldn't be getting that high in just five days anyway." She showed me her new

teeth again. "And since we're still beta testing, we can make you a special offer. The same

price they charge for the Arctic and Amazon adventures. A five-day 'week,' nine to five,

for $899. The price will go up substantially when Victoria's Palace is fully open next

year, I can assure you."

"I like it," I said. I stood up. "Where do I go to pay?"

"Accounts. But sit back down." She opened a manila folder. "First I am required to ask a

clinical question. Which is: why do you want to spend your vacation in Victoria's

Palace?"

I shrugged to keep from blushing. "It's different and that appeals to me. You might say

I'm a sort of a VR freak."

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