... and every step I take takes me further from heaven...
A little experiment inspired by the classic Roxy Music song of the same name.
Day One
I didn't need to look into her eyes to know our time was almost over. It was instinctive after these last few months. We lay in each other's arms, gently caressing each other. No matter what we had done to each other over the time we were together, however brutal, loving, perverse, it always ended the same way.
She smiled, pulling away from me. Her incredible green eyes were starting to dim. I looked at her longingly. "Someday soon, I promise..."
Her silent look said it all.
'How long have you been saying that?'
The guilt washed over me as it always did.
She stood, removing her basque, her gloves, her boots. I ached to feel the leather slide across my back once more, to hear her command or implore me to do something utterly depraved to her. But there was no way that was going to happen.
She removed her elaborate red wig and placed it on a stand next to the thirty or so others that covered the cabinet-top in our bedroom. Her eyes were getting darker by the second.
She carefully placed all her garments into the wardrobe that was exclusively reserved for her, taking care to ensure that everything was in its rightful place. I looked upon the racks of outfits, ranging from predatory dominatrix through policewoman, nurse and air-stewardess to innocent schoolgirl. The boots, the high heeled shoes, the sneakers. The fetish gear, the prom dresses, the sports outfits. Sometimes we made love as if it was our first time. Sometimes she used me as a fuck-toy, violating and brutalising me. More often I did the same to her. She could be my girlfriend, a porn-star, a famous actress I meet on the street who allowed me to do unthinkably depraved things to her.
She turned to face me, wrenching me from my reverie. That smile. The one that said,
'See you again soon.'
The opaque door on the right-hand end of the wardrobe slid open and my heart sank.
She approached the alcove that was revealed and turned to face me. She held her left hand up in a farewell.
I gazed on her, tears coursing down my cheeks as they had done every night for the last three months.
"Goodnight, my angel."
I could barely see her through my tears as she stepped back into the alcove. Her body went rigid as she touched the floor-plate. Soft leather bands emerged from the wall, entwining around her ankles, wrists and forehead holding her gently in place.
And then the moment I dreaded the most.
That little metallic click as the recharging cable locked into the interface at the base of her skull. Her incredible green eyes stared at me as they flared brightly for an instant before going completely black. It was purgatory to watch, but I had to. It was the least I could do. Her eyelids closed over the lifeless black orbs and her head dropped gently forward a fraction, held by the band across her forehead. The opaque door closed and I heard the cleansing hoses begin their work, removing the filth that I had inflicted upon her once more.
Forgive me my love, for I have sinned.
Again.
Biting back my tears I showered, pulled on a dressing gown and poured myself a beer. I booted up the computer and settled back to wait. It took an eternity to get up to speed. That is not surprising as it was incredibly complex and powerful. I was on my second beer by the time it was live and my heart was pounding.
As ever.
Three months and no progress whatsoever. But I could hope. I could pray. I looked back down the short hallway to the opaque door in the bedroom. I couldn't promise her again, but I could hope.
I brought up the program interface. She smiled at me in 3-d from the holo-deck in front of me, still in her blonde pigtails from a previous scenario. I shuddered a little as I recalled all too vividly that little encounter. In that fantasy she had been anxiously awaiting the chimes of the town clock to announce a new day - the day of her eighteenth birthday. It was wild, wanton and she was the most lascivious, filthy virgin I could ever have hoped for.
One of the best programs I had ever written. There were seventeen versions of it out there, all subtly different. All mind-blowing. The sales of those seventeen outstripped virtually everything else I had sold put together.
With that in mind, I brought up tonight's program and made a few changes. It was incredible and it was going to run and run. Or so I thought. I added a few more scenarios for some of my more demanding clients. A cigarette holder. A cigar. Vape pens.
I saved the changes.
'Sexy_smoker_2'
'Sexy_smoker_3'
'Sexy_smoker_4'
Fucking hell, I loved this thing. Every fantasy I had ever had there at my fingertips.
I checked the code a few more times. Yes, it all looked good.
I published the code.