snatched the pillow from my hands lightning fast, and as I cried “no fair” as he pummeled me until I took shelter in the sleeping bag.
He was in right behind me. Sneaky alien.
“So this was your plan all along, huh?”
“Maybe.” He grinned.
“But the human girl had to make the first move. Don’t forget that.”
“I could never forget you,” he whispered. He brushed my cheek with his knuckles, laughing softly. “You’re so amazing, Milo.”
All I wanted to do was stare at his face forever because it was so open. If he was a human, he would have hidden his feelings, and I was so glad Nick wasn't human, because what I saw on his face was extraordinary. He regarded me with wonder, genuine marvel. Lowly, human me. “I’ve been everywhere. Seen everything. None of it filled me with wonder. None of it... I don’t know. I didn’t mean what I said, back there at the springs. About wishing I didn’t…you know. I’m so lucky I found you.”
His fingers curled into my shoulders, and I turned on my back so I could face him completely. My heart pounded as he lowered gently onto me, pressing his forehead against mine, so his mouth brushed my jaw as he whispered, “There’s nothing like this where I come from. No closeness. I’ve told you we don’t have bodies, really. We do have a physical form—billions of units of synthetic matter that can merge into a single form twice as long as your planet.”
“Wuhhhh” was probably the noise I made, because that was hard to imagine. My mind immediately jumped to what I considered the most important question. “So can you, like, fly away?”
He smiled sadly. “Think of each unit as a platform. Each platform hosts part of the network. I exist within the network, but I’m tied to a particular platform only in so much as it hosts the area of the network I’m in.”
I nodded, not sure what to say. He was dumbing it down for me, but he needed to go a lot dumber. “So you really don’t have a body?” It was impossible for me to imagine.
“Just data, baby.” He smiled. “It’s how I’m able to write myself into different environments.”
I remembered when he first told me he wasn’t human. I had freaked out. But he had been right to keep it simple. If he had tried to explain this then, my head probably would have exploded.
“Vera is the same way?”
“Yes. She and I...the simplest thing you could call us is ‘Scouts’, in that our primary objective is to scan celestial bodies for resources for The Rest. We’re able to set our own secondary objectives within the parameters of our primary objective—”
I think my eyes crossed, because he laughed. “What I mean is, we get more leeway than other Ones. Every part has its purpose, and by necessity Scouts are able to separate from The Rest when an objective calls for it.”
“Ah.” I pretended to get it, but I really didn’t.
Nick smiled again, and I decided that even if he couldn’t read my actual thoughts, clearly his powers of observation were such that I was probably embarrassing myself every second I was around him.
Still smiling, he shifted his weight onto an elbow so he could look right at me. “I prefer this form of material permanence.” Which I guessed meant skin and stuff, ‘cause he traced a finger down my cheek and said, “This moment will stay with me forever.” He brushed my hair. “And this.” He grinned mischievously. “And all the ones from before.”
I blushed and shoved him, but he caught my arm and brought me forward so his face was an inch from mine.
“I’m still sorry,” he said gently.
“You still don’t need to be,” I whispered.
He took a deep breath, sighed, and pressed his lips flat. “I…I don’t want you to think of me as a machine. A program. Soulless,” he whispered.
I grabbed his face. “I never could. There’s no way I ever could.”
He leaned forward and kissed me, fast and hard. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to.” I kissed him
He was in right behind me. Sneaky alien.
“So this was your plan all along, huh?”
“Maybe.” He grinned.
“But the human girl had to make the first move. Don’t forget that.”
“I could never forget you,” he whispered. He brushed my cheek with his knuckles, laughing softly. “You’re so amazing, Milo.”
All I wanted to do was stare at his face forever because it was so open. If he was a human, he would have hidden his feelings, and I was so glad Nick wasn't human, because what I saw on his face was extraordinary. He regarded me with wonder, genuine marvel. Lowly, human me. “I’ve been everywhere. Seen everything. None of it filled me with wonder. None of it... I don’t know. I didn’t mean what I said, back there at the springs. About wishing I didn’t…you know. I’m so lucky I found you.”
His fingers curled into my shoulders, and I turned on my back so I could face him completely. My heart pounded as he lowered gently onto me, pressing his forehead against mine, so his mouth brushed my jaw as he whispered, “There’s nothing like this where I come from. No closeness. I’ve told you we don’t have bodies, really. We do have a physical form—billions of units of synthetic matter that can merge into a single form twice as long as your planet.”
“Wuhhhh” was probably the noise I made, because that was hard to imagine. My mind immediately jumped to what I considered the most important question. “So can you, like, fly away?”
He smiled sadly. “Think of each unit as a platform. Each platform hosts part of the network. I exist within the network, but I’m tied to a particular platform only in so much as it hosts the area of the network I’m in.”
I nodded, not sure what to say. He was dumbing it down for me, but he needed to go a lot dumber. “So you really don’t have a body?” It was impossible for me to imagine.
“Just data, baby.” He smiled. “It’s how I’m able to write myself into different environments.”
I remembered when he first told me he wasn’t human. I had freaked out. But he had been right to keep it simple. If he had tried to explain this then, my head probably would have exploded.
“Vera is the same way?”
“Yes. She and I...the simplest thing you could call us is ‘Scouts’, in that our primary objective is to scan celestial bodies for resources for The Rest. We’re able to set our own secondary objectives within the parameters of our primary objective—”
I think my eyes crossed, because he laughed. “What I mean is, we get more leeway than other Ones. Every part has its purpose, and by necessity Scouts are able to separate from The Rest when an objective calls for it.”
“Ah.” I pretended to get it, but I really didn’t.
Nick smiled again, and I decided that even if he couldn’t read my actual thoughts, clearly his powers of observation were such that I was probably embarrassing myself every second I was around him.
Still smiling, he shifted his weight onto an elbow so he could look right at me. “I prefer this form of material permanence.” Which I guessed meant skin and stuff, ‘cause he traced a finger down my cheek and said, “This moment will stay with me forever.” He brushed my hair. “And this.” He grinned mischievously. “And all the ones from before.”
I blushed and shoved him, but he caught my arm and brought me forward so his face was an inch from mine.
“I’m still sorry,” he said gently.
“You still don’t need to be,” I whispered.
He took a deep breath, sighed, and pressed his lips flat. “I…I don’t want you to think of me as a machine. A program. Soulless,” he whispered.
I grabbed his face. “I never could. There’s no way I ever could.”
He leaned forward and kissed me, fast and hard. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to.” I kissed him
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