Chapter 42: In Santiago de Cuba

Lortan

I asked, “You’ll finish the whole house in just three days?”

Gigziks said, “Just three days. Say the word and we will get to work.”

I said, “Just a second. What will the inside look like?”

She said, “Vriczix, show the house inside view, please.”

The outside walls of the house faded so I could see the insides.

Two-thirds of the second floor had a hugely wide bed. Several dressers and a chest of drawers. There’s a big closet. One corner has a large desk and a leather chair.

On the other side of the closet is the bathroom. It had three closets with a private toilet in each of them. There are two tubs, one looks normal, the other is quite large and rectangular. It looked like it would fit a large family inside it.

The place where you stand under the water is delightful. It has many fitments to stand under different water streams.

I said, “Ed what is that place where you stand under the water fitments?”

Ed said, “It’s called a shower. There are many shower heads so everyone can shower at the same time.”

I said, “Let me get this straight, all my concubines will fit in the shower with me?”

Ed said, “Precisely, does that stimulate your imagination at all? All those naked, wet women and girls at one time, each washing a part of you.”

“Shit.”

To Gigziks I asked, “The first floor?”

The second floor went away and I could see the first floor. There is a new covered front porch with chairs and benches similar to the boarding house. It has windows, and I figured out by looking at the stuffed furniture that it’s closed off from the weather somehow.

The kitchen looks even smaller, and it has a small table on one side. The rest of the first floor is an ambling bunch of chairs and couches. They are arranged to provide a comforting place to be. There are tables and lamps.

I said, “I like it so far. What if I want to get away?”

Gigziks said, “We have created a man cave for you.”

“My Man Cave, whatever in the world is a man cave?”

She said, “Your own private getaway. Let me show you.”

She walked to a portal door and walked through. I followed behind her.

We were ... in a cave. It was furnished and had several overstuffed leather chairs and narrow couches. They are a rich reddish brown. It has a good-sized desk and books across a far wall.

Gigziks said, “Wall, please display Maui number seven.”

I heard a voice echo, “Maui seven.”

The rock walls faded away, and it was replaced somehow with a vision. It looked like a warm beach with strange trees and bushes. It was very real-looking. Semi-dressed people were swimming and lying out on towels. Some walked around. Kids ran and splashed in the shallow areas. I walked to the wall and touched it. It was like I was right there, but the wall still felt like a cold rock cave wall to me.

I uttered, “EEhhhhh!” I didn’t like the change. It was a startling change, and I did not like the place showing. It was crowded.

I said, “Where are we?”

She said, “We are actually in a cave in the mountains near my ship.”

I moved my hand, signifying the walls.

“What is all this?”

Gigziks said, “It is a presentation. A view of a beach in Hawaii taken a few years ago.”

I asked, “It’s not real?”

Gigziks said, “It was real a few years ago. We used a device to copy the image, somewhat like a painting.”

I said, “But people are moving. Paintings don’t move, and they don’t look this real. This looks remarkably real, like I am standing there.”

She said, “It is technology. We used small machines to capture the images and other machines to put them on the walls here. There are thousands of different presentations available.”

I said, “I need three cups of willow bark tea, no, you’re really trying to make my head ache.”

Gigziks giggled, “Let me show you something. You can play with this later.”

She walked to the desk and sat down.

She said, “PC, please,” and a rectangular thing appeared. I saw it had several small pictures on it. Under the pictures were words. I imagined that was because the pictures didn’t tell you what you were looking at. They were pictures I was unfamiliar with.

She pointed at one of the pictures on the left.

She said, “This is a tutorial on how to operate the PC. See the keyboard down here. She pointed to a white rectangle with letters scattered about on it in a pattern.

She said, “This is the same layout as your typewriters at work. Ask Ed to play the training tutorial tonight while you sleep. When you wake up, this will all have been explained, and you will be able to type as fast as your fingers can move. You will leave the ladies in your typing pool in your dust.”

‘In my dust?’

She said, “This is a tool that will make things easier to do. It is a powerful tool. We also put one on your desk at the Sheriff’s office.”

I said, “People will see it.”

She said, “No. Only you will be able to see it. You can be looking at it, and they won’t see it. One caution: if you’re using it, they might notice you doing something unusual with your hands and eyes.

I leaned in and saw the pictures had small words under each. One said, “The Vampire.”

I said, “What is ‘The Vampire?’

She said, “That’s your channel. It’s mostly background about you with cameos of your concubines.”

‘Cameos?’

I said, “So I go to the Man Cave and I end up here. How private is this?”