The sun shone too brightly when he loaded the program, glaring down
upon the picnic scene with an intensity that had been pleasant earlier, but
was now a bit too extreme. A small mental command from its master was all
that was needed to remedy the situation, and the sunlight quickly became
softer, washing the hillside in a gentle glow. Not even the sun could
disobey Ram here. He was, after all, God.
He sat comfortably on a blanket across from his wife Java, who looked even more pleasant than usual in a soft, cream colored gown of his own design. The long braids of her hair fell attractively around her exposed shoulders, framing her face and catching the sunlight, and Ram couldn't suppress his smile. She was a beautiful woman, his Java, and he loved her. The betrayals of Siva and Ebony had stung him deeply, but once he had regained his composure, they had instilled in him a deeper respect for his remaining wife and her unfaltering loyalty. This, Ram thought, as he smiled at his wife, was how love should be; marriage should be in all respects like this picnic. Here, he controlled everything; he was a God who could provide for Java's every whim, and he was duly rewarded with her unfailing love. His wife was nibbling on a sugar cookie, which he knew would taste exactly like her favorites had before the Virus, and her face seemed benevolent though her gaze was far away. It was she who had stayed by him, and he knew now that it was she whom he truly loved. His beautiful, wonderful, faithful wife, Java.
He stood and walked a few paces from the blanket, just because he could, and marveled as always at his freedom of mobility here in Reality Space. In the real world, his body sat dying in its chair, crippled, weak, and useless. When he was there, confined in that body, his fingers were always cold, his lower body was mere dead weight, and his head ached. He no longer had the strength even to maintain respectable posture in his motorized wheelchair; he was a young man trapped in an old and dying body. It pained him, sometimes, to think of his Java with a man like himself. Who was he, in the real world, that he could please her as she deserved? He longed to pick her up in his arms and carry her around with the ease of a great man carrying a doll; he wanted to be strong and protecting and attractive to her. And yet Ram knew that, in the real world, he could be none of these things. He had therefore chosen instead to perfect his already superior mind, and had then used it to refine this world, where things could be as they should be. He provided for his wife in the real world by ensuring that his kingdom was a strong one, which could provide her with all the material comforts that a queen deserved. Here, however, he could perhaps offer her what he could not there.
"Ram, why did you bring me here?" If her voice had a slight edge to it when it cut into his thoughts, he did not notice.
He turned to face her. She had finished her cookie, and was looking up at him with what might almost have been irritation, had he not known better. He walked easily back to her, his legs strong and sure beneath him as he came up behind her. "To thank you, my love."
Java's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he did not see them. Cautiously, she looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes falling on his awkward figure just in time to see him lean down and scoop her up with a strength that would have been laughable outside of this place. Java was not a large woman, but she had pleasant, full curves, and Ram's digital self appeared as thin and weak as his real body. There was no conceivable way that he could ever move her against her will, but in Reality Space, Ram's every thought was possible, and Java's expression of shock was quickly smothered beneath a smile. She draped her arms around her husband's shoulders, her glittery makeup sparkling as she gazed up at him. "What are you thanking me for? I know I've done nothing that you could not have done for yourself."
It was flattery, and he knew it, but somehow it didn't matter. Relishing the feel of her against him, the weight of her body warm and solid in his arms, and the cool sweetness of her breath on his face when she spoke, he clutched her tighter against him and smiled his strange smile. "For loving me, Java. For loving me when all others have abandoned me, for standing by me..."
She silenced him with a fingertip against his lips, her eyes darting somewhat guiltily away from his face for just a moment before returning to him with their former sparkle. "Shh..." He kissed her fingertip, delighting in the taste of her skin, which was always forbidden to him in the real world. This, he thought, was how his picnic with Ebony should have gone. Java understood the rules of their marriage; she understood what role she was to play. Ebony... had not. He quickly pushed away the hurt that immediately welled up in him when he thought of his third wife and her betrayal of him, leaving him for that fool of a general despite her marriage vows. Java still stood by him. Java still loved him. She had not forgotten where she had been when he found her and her sister, and she had not forgotten all that he and his people had done for the two of them. Java was faithful. Java was a good wife. Java loved him. She still loved him. She would always love him. And with a rush of affection, he looked down at her handsome face and knew the full extent of his own love for her. Moved by the moment, he lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her with a warm gentleness that seemed as improbable as the strength of the arms that still held her to him. Her surprise this time was tangible, and she instinctively pulled away from his kiss, wide-eyed and uncomfortable. It was unlike Ram to be so affectionate to her, he knew, but it still stung him that his own wife should pull away from his touch. She recovered quickly, however, and his anger was soon lost in another kiss. Her fingers slipped into his soft, dark hair, and the palms of her hands were warm against the sides of his face as she kissed him with hungry determination. He sank smoothly to the blanket, laying her down easily and without ending the kiss. The side of his thumb caressed her cheek, and then he was lying beside her, kissing her deeply with her face cradled in his warm hand. He kissed her with desperate abandon, as if he could somehow show her in this virtual place all that he held in his heart for her in the real world. "Java," he whispered, in between kisses, "do you love me?"
She had, he realized, suddenly begun to cry, in faint wet ribbons that ran down from her closed eyes. "Of course I do," she responded, her voice sounding slightly choked. If her thoughts were with another man, with whom she could never share such a kiss, Ram did not know it. "I will always love you."
"Look at me," he commanded, gently. Java drew a deep, shuddery breath, and opened eyes that, though red-rimmed and glistening from her tears, were still the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. "You'll never leave me, will you, Javey?"
There was something so earnest and pure about the love in his eyes as he looked at her that it tore into her, and Java pushed aside all that had been troubling her and, for one perfect moment, clung to Ram as if to her life. She buried her face in his neck and shook her head, trying to forget about Jay and Mega and what she was about to do to her husband. "I'll never leave you, Ram." Her grip tightened around him, and as she inhaled the pleasant, clean scent of his skin and the sweet smell of the grass beneath them, there was a moment in which Java could almost have loved him. "I'll never leave you."
He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head, and lost himself in the feel of her. If there was another God out there somewhere, in the real world, Ram prayed that it would help him to make things safe for his wife. He couldn't bear to lose his beloved Java. She was the only one he could trust.
He sat comfortably on a blanket across from his wife Java, who looked even more pleasant than usual in a soft, cream colored gown of his own design. The long braids of her hair fell attractively around her exposed shoulders, framing her face and catching the sunlight, and Ram couldn't suppress his smile. She was a beautiful woman, his Java, and he loved her. The betrayals of Siva and Ebony had stung him deeply, but once he had regained his composure, they had instilled in him a deeper respect for his remaining wife and her unfaltering loyalty. This, Ram thought, as he smiled at his wife, was how love should be; marriage should be in all respects like this picnic. Here, he controlled everything; he was a God who could provide for Java's every whim, and he was duly rewarded with her unfailing love. His wife was nibbling on a sugar cookie, which he knew would taste exactly like her favorites had before the Virus, and her face seemed benevolent though her gaze was far away. It was she who had stayed by him, and he knew now that it was she whom he truly loved. His beautiful, wonderful, faithful wife, Java.
He stood and walked a few paces from the blanket, just because he could, and marveled as always at his freedom of mobility here in Reality Space. In the real world, his body sat dying in its chair, crippled, weak, and useless. When he was there, confined in that body, his fingers were always cold, his lower body was mere dead weight, and his head ached. He no longer had the strength even to maintain respectable posture in his motorized wheelchair; he was a young man trapped in an old and dying body. It pained him, sometimes, to think of his Java with a man like himself. Who was he, in the real world, that he could please her as she deserved? He longed to pick her up in his arms and carry her around with the ease of a great man carrying a doll; he wanted to be strong and protecting and attractive to her. And yet Ram knew that, in the real world, he could be none of these things. He had therefore chosen instead to perfect his already superior mind, and had then used it to refine this world, where things could be as they should be. He provided for his wife in the real world by ensuring that his kingdom was a strong one, which could provide her with all the material comforts that a queen deserved. Here, however, he could perhaps offer her what he could not there.
"Ram, why did you bring me here?" If her voice had a slight edge to it when it cut into his thoughts, he did not notice.
He turned to face her. She had finished her cookie, and was looking up at him with what might almost have been irritation, had he not known better. He walked easily back to her, his legs strong and sure beneath him as he came up behind her. "To thank you, my love."
Java's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he did not see them. Cautiously, she looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes falling on his awkward figure just in time to see him lean down and scoop her up with a strength that would have been laughable outside of this place. Java was not a large woman, but she had pleasant, full curves, and Ram's digital self appeared as thin and weak as his real body. There was no conceivable way that he could ever move her against her will, but in Reality Space, Ram's every thought was possible, and Java's expression of shock was quickly smothered beneath a smile. She draped her arms around her husband's shoulders, her glittery makeup sparkling as she gazed up at him. "What are you thanking me for? I know I've done nothing that you could not have done for yourself."
It was flattery, and he knew it, but somehow it didn't matter. Relishing the feel of her against him, the weight of her body warm and solid in his arms, and the cool sweetness of her breath on his face when she spoke, he clutched her tighter against him and smiled his strange smile. "For loving me, Java. For loving me when all others have abandoned me, for standing by me..."
She silenced him with a fingertip against his lips, her eyes darting somewhat guiltily away from his face for just a moment before returning to him with their former sparkle. "Shh..." He kissed her fingertip, delighting in the taste of her skin, which was always forbidden to him in the real world. This, he thought, was how his picnic with Ebony should have gone. Java understood the rules of their marriage; she understood what role she was to play. Ebony... had not. He quickly pushed away the hurt that immediately welled up in him when he thought of his third wife and her betrayal of him, leaving him for that fool of a general despite her marriage vows. Java still stood by him. Java still loved him. She had not forgotten where she had been when he found her and her sister, and she had not forgotten all that he and his people had done for the two of them. Java was faithful. Java was a good wife. Java loved him. She still loved him. She would always love him. And with a rush of affection, he looked down at her handsome face and knew the full extent of his own love for her. Moved by the moment, he lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her with a warm gentleness that seemed as improbable as the strength of the arms that still held her to him. Her surprise this time was tangible, and she instinctively pulled away from his kiss, wide-eyed and uncomfortable. It was unlike Ram to be so affectionate to her, he knew, but it still stung him that his own wife should pull away from his touch. She recovered quickly, however, and his anger was soon lost in another kiss. Her fingers slipped into his soft, dark hair, and the palms of her hands were warm against the sides of his face as she kissed him with hungry determination. He sank smoothly to the blanket, laying her down easily and without ending the kiss. The side of his thumb caressed her cheek, and then he was lying beside her, kissing her deeply with her face cradled in his warm hand. He kissed her with desperate abandon, as if he could somehow show her in this virtual place all that he held in his heart for her in the real world. "Java," he whispered, in between kisses, "do you love me?"
She had, he realized, suddenly begun to cry, in faint wet ribbons that ran down from her closed eyes. "Of course I do," she responded, her voice sounding slightly choked. If her thoughts were with another man, with whom she could never share such a kiss, Ram did not know it. "I will always love you."
"Look at me," he commanded, gently. Java drew a deep, shuddery breath, and opened eyes that, though red-rimmed and glistening from her tears, were still the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. "You'll never leave me, will you, Javey?"
There was something so earnest and pure about the love in his eyes as he looked at her that it tore into her, and Java pushed aside all that had been troubling her and, for one perfect moment, clung to Ram as if to her life. She buried her face in his neck and shook her head, trying to forget about Jay and Mega and what she was about to do to her husband. "I'll never leave you, Ram." Her grip tightened around him, and as she inhaled the pleasant, clean scent of his skin and the sweet smell of the grass beneath them, there was a moment in which Java could almost have loved him. "I'll never leave you."
He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head, and lost himself in the feel of her. If there was another God out there somewhere, in the real world, Ram prayed that it would help him to make things safe for his wife. He couldn't bear to lose his beloved Java. She was the only one he could trust.