“I think I’m beginning to understand this ‘bonding’ as best I can,” he paused for another sip, “and if I remember correctly, you’d said that for the neural bonding there’d be a blending of minds in order to create a new one that had the best aspects of both. Is this essentially correct?”

Trish said nothing, but nodded from the monitor.

“Then,” he continued, “I gather that this probably won’t be the case for our bonding, will it?” Trish looked at Greg and nodded again.

“I had never received any information on the other candidates, just what continent each of my family was being sent to so that we could find each other after bonding, and of course my information about you,” Trish replied. “Before I was uplinked to the suit, I was given detailed files that had been collected about you. Did you know that Father had followed your life for over 23 years with great interest? I had assumed that it was because you have a very similar talent to his. I did some background checks and could trace no connections to you otherwise. I feel, perhaps, he wanted an heir and you were acceptable to him. I remember him saying just before I left,

“Tricia, the assignment I’m giving you is probably more difficult than any that your siblings have received. You are going to be our spy, our person who wasn’t there, if you will. You’ll be no one and everyone. In addition, you’ll be bonding with a man, not a woman like your sisters. You’ll discover the reasons in time. As such, your bonding process has been altered somewhat and the neural bonding will be different in that it will not cause a melding of personas. We need both of you to succeed in your mission. It will be like a marriage of minds but many times more intimate then any marriage has ever been.” This was the very night I was sent to you.” Trish smiled for a moment then continued,

“That’s all he told me and when I uploaded into the suit, the next place I expected to be was your head, not a home computer. You are unpredictable Sir.” She stuck out her tongue at Greg. He had to smile. It was all these little actions that increased his affection for this wondrous being.

“Well, I’ve was never that comfortable on blind dates,” Greg chuckled. “Seems your father wasn’t losing a daughter but gaining an enhanced son-in-law.”

Greg suddenly had an idea that might make the situation easier for both of them. He grinned wickedly and got down on one knee to face the startled avatar. Placing his hands on his heart in a comic opera pose, he smiled at the camera.

“Tricia Saber, would you do me the honour of bonding with me? Now, I realize that this is all very sudden, and the age difference between us may seem great… and I’m not the easiest person to live with, I’m grouchy in the morning, I think I snore and…”

Trish started to giggle and he started to smirk.

“Oh, so my suit for your hand is a joke to you, huh?” He grinned like an insane clown.

“Why yes, Dear Sir, yes it is, for I have no hands… look Pa! No hands…” she parried. She started laughing, picked up the joke and ran with it.

“You’re not so bad, I’m certainly no prize either, just look at me. I know several hundred thousand good recipes but I’m a lousy cook. I tend to be a know-it-all except that I barely know you, aside from pretty much everything that is in a data file on you anywhere… oh my…” she broke down laughing again.

Greg’s sides were beginning to hurt and he was nearly out of breath now. He collapsed in a giggling heap on the floor and tried to contain his mirth. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so hard and thought to himself,

Oh man, Spider Robinson was right, a shared belly laugh is so much better.

He looked at the delighted face in the monitor, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. It was amazing that the Professor had seemed to know him this well. Trish was exactly the kind of woman that appealed to him. She intrigued him on levels he hadn’t known existed previously. As he caught his breath, he examined this thought further.

She’s brilliant, she’s charming, vulnerable, sweet, strong and she’s pushing every single button I’ve got and a few I didn’t even know existed. I’ve known her less then a year and here I am, willing to share my mind with her. I wouldn’t have believed it was possible.

He sighed heartily, rolled into a sitting position on the floor and gazed at the monitor that held his, his… well the woman he was falling in love with, it seemed.

“Trish, I will be honest with you,” he began, “I really feel very strongly for you, and I can admit I’ve never felt this way for anyone in my life. It’s not normal for humans, carbon-based humans anyway, to fall this deeply, this completely for one another this quickly. I want to be able to use the word love correctly, as you and I are about to become closer then any two minds ever were, but I want to use it the way the Admiral used it. In less than six months, your well being, your welfare and your happiness have become essential to me,” he paused again.

“When we first met, I assumed you were just an incredibly advance piece of software, but I’ve come to know better. You are a very special person.” He smiled at her and shook his head ruefully.

“Trish, what you must try to understand is that I’ve lived my life in a society that judges a person on how they conduct their relationships with others. The nicest thing the people in the Parry Sound will say about me is that I’m a rather odd duck or they’ll call me a loner or a hermit. I’ve come to accept that. I’d driven everyone but my closest friends away in the first forty years of my life and those true friends now live far away. I can honestly say I’ve loved and been loved, but never with the depth of feelings that I’m experiencing now. I’m amazed that it happened so quickly…” he trailed off as he felt the sting of tears behind his eyelids. He glanced up to the monitor and saw that Trish had the oddest look on her face.

“Greg, I have only met one other human,” she searched for the words. “I never realized there could be a carbon person whose mind and emotions worked at nearly computer speeds, but I think that I was certain I was falling in love with you from the moment I fell asleep in your arms with you comforting me. You cared for me as a person, not a piece of software, not an AI. You might have tried to debug software, not sooth it and gentle its newfound emotions. You care about my feelings, my mind, and me. I’m not sure about the ‘Admiral’ you speak of, unless you’re referring to the nickname for Robert Heinlein. If I’m correct in that assumption, then I can answer honestly that your well being, welfare and happiness are now as essential to me as if they were hardwired. I really didn’t think that I was capable of it.” Her eyes were shining with unshed tears but she was still smiling, “I want to give my all to you and be with you forever.”

Greg chuckled brokenly and dashed unshed tears from his own eyes.

“Why Ms. Saber, that almost sounds like a marriage proposal and a beautiful one at that. Tricia Saber, will you have me as your bondmate as long as we both shall live?”

Her smile was a wonder to behold.

“Oh yes! I will! And will you, Greg Howard, take me as your bondmate as long as we both shall live?”

Greg did not hesitate at all as he answered,

“I will!”

“Then consider yourselves married in the eyes of God.”

The voice spoke from behind Greg, causing him to jump violently. He slowly stood up and looked at Trish who was staring past him towards the worktable where the suit lay. She made a small squeak. Turning slowly around, Greg saw a hologram of an older man projected from the suit.

“Uh,” Greg cleared his throat, “Professor Saber?”

“No Doctor Howard,” the image began, “Gregory, if I may. This is simply an interactive hologram from a protected memory that even my darling Tricia didn’t know about. I’m so glad for the decision you’ve made as well as the bonding vows you took. You were the one I was counting on and quiet frankly, you did fantastically.”

Trish found her voice.

“Oh Daddy! Thank you for this… I never knew that this was possible!”

The hologram focussed on his daughter.

“Darling Tricia, when I created your brothers and sisters, they were built on the same template as Solomon. You, on the other hand, are the next generation of AI. You are Homo Sapien Silica. A true silicon being with a mind and emotional structure more than equal to any carbon human, perhaps matched only by this man,” the hologram indicated Greg. “His curiosity and deep humanity are what allowed you to meet. Even if the other recipients had found the dataport, they probably would have ignored it as they were putting on the suit. I am delighted that you will be bondmates. Please, try to take the entire bonding time of four months, take six if you can. Whatever else you do, keep a low profile, please, for your own safety and wellbeing. Bless you both.” There was a pop, and a whine as the hologram disappeared.

Greg looked at Trish and was at a loss for words. Trish looked down and blinked away gathered tears, looked back and said,

“Dearest one, I have to return to the suit to await the bonding. Just remember this, you are my true other, I know this in my heart now. I’ve printed the instructions for our joining and eagerly await you. I love you.”

She closed her eyes and one by one, all of the screens and monitors in the room went dark. There was a slight hissing noise and the adaptor disconnected from the suit. Greg looked at the display that had so recently held the woman he had come to love, but all he saw was a blinking cursor. The only noise in the room was the whirring of fans and the printer.

“I love you too, Trish…” he whispered and hoped she could still hear him.

Greg walked over to the printer bin and picked up four pages. The first gave detailed instructions on how to properly put on and seal the suit. The second through fourth were just the words “I Love You” printed repeatedly. He smiled to himself and looked at the clock calendar on the wall. It read December 24th, 2008, 23:25 hours, a half hour before Christmas Day, and just over four months since he received the mysterious package that had changed his life so dramatically. Trish and Greg had talked for over 28 hours and he was very tired. He took Trish from the workbench, somehow feeling her presence in the suit and left the room to sleep.

It was nearly 10:30 am Christmas morning when Greg woke from dreams he couldn’t remember, but he’d felt as content in them as he did now. He rolled to his left and saw the fine fabric that was going to rearrange his entire life, saw that his hand hadn’t left it all night and he smiled. Greg had been so unlike himself the previous night and he’d actually enjoyed it. His soul had been touched for the first time in years and he wanted to keep feeling that for as long as he could. He felt happiness and joy, yes that was how he felt, happy. It was a feeling he’d had a few times throughout his life and he greedily wanted to keep on feeling it. He’d smiled so much last night that his face was sore. It was one of the best Christmas presents he had ever received.

What a pleasant way to wake up, Greg thought as he got out of the bed and walked to the washroom for a shower.
I could get used to awakenings like this. Imagine, actually looking forward to waking up. Greg snorted his amusement as he glanced at the mirror while stepping into the shower.

At forty-five years old, Greg wasn’t in terrible shape, in fact he was in much better shape now then he had been for the first part of his life. He was 173.5 centimetres tall, solidly built, and lean. He still carried a few extra kilos around his stomach, but not the 50 plus he used to haul around. Still, this fitness had been obtained with difficulty as he had only started getting in shape four and a half years ago. All things being equal though, he was not displeased with what he saw in the mirror anymore. After a hot shower and completing the rest of his morning ablutions, Greg walked back to the bedroom. He picked up the four sheets of paper and after looking at the last three with a smile, he turned his attention to the first sheet. He started reading the note aloud and could almost hear her voice.

“Good morning my love, Merry Christmas. I’m looking forward to being with you as soon as possible so let’s begin. Lay out the suit face up. You’ll see the opening that runs from neck to crotch. Open it up and place your legs in the leggings of the suit. Make sure that you have it as snug and straight as possible, as this will aid the integration. Work the body of the suit up and repeat the process with the arms of the unit, making sure that as with the toes, the fingers are on snugly and the arms and hands have as few wrinkles in them as possible.”

Greg put down the paper and started to put the suit on. The mesh felt cool and there was a certain amount of give to it like a good set of long underwear. He had some trouble with the toes and feet but eventually was into the lower half of the ‘union suit’. He glanced behind himself and chuckled.

Nope, no trap door here, he thought.

The fabric went right in between his cheeks and felt uncomfortably like a wedgie. He continued into the suit arms, then got the fingers and thumbs squared away without much difficulty. Looking down, he arranged his genitals into a pouch in the front of the suit and then picked up the instructions again.

“Now pull the hood of the suit over your head. This may be uncomfortable for a while and seem like a ski mask without eyeholes, but remember, the mesh is fine enough to see and breathe through. When you have the hood in place, feel down to the bottom of the front opening. You will find a small nub. Pull this upwards like a zipper until you meet a similar nub at the top of the opening. These will match with a slight click. Lay down as quickly as you can after you do this. The first hour may be a little unnerving. It’s like full body acupuncture, but be brave my dear, we will be together soon. I love you and miss you, Trish.”

Greg put the note down again and pulled the hood over his head. He could still see, after a fashion, and his breathing was unhampered. He reached down to the lower end of the opening and found what felt like a tiny glass bead. Hesitating for a split second, he started to draw the bead upwards. It moved easily and met up with its counterpart on his throat with a slight click. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes as he felt the probes gently pierce his skin. It was uncomfortable, as Trish had warned, but not painful. After an unmeasured time he discovered he didn’t feel the pin like sensations anymore. He tried to sit up, but a familiar voice in his ear told him to lay still. It sounded like a recording played through stereo headphones that were not in his ears but beside them. It also seemed to be some sort of automated system.

“Please be patient, we are integrating with your nervous system in Phase One,” the voice directed. “Phase Two has started running concurrently. The nanomech system will begin the enhancement phase shortly. This will take approximately 5 days. Do not worry, please sleep.” There was a clicking noise and the message repeated in Portuguese, then Thai and finally Russian. By the time the Thai message had played and the Russian started, Greg had fallen asleep with a slight smile on his lips.

As he slept, trillions of nanomechs flooded into his system and went to different parts of his body. Starting with his skeletal system, they began to work making the calcite material stronger than chromium steel, but keeping the organic structures intact. A strange flexibility was also added to the framework of the body under reconstruction. Finishing there, the microscopic robotic horde moved into the connective tissues and muscular fibres enhancing and reinforcing as they went. The raw materials for this process were taken from the suit materials and also built from the organic materials of the body itself. The molecule-sized machines disassembled the atoms of one elemental compound to rebuild it as another needed material. The nervous system connections were wired and tested as the mech started integration of the bond circuitry into the tissues themselves. If an observer had been watching, they would have seen the shape of the body bulging in places, then shrinking as the silvery cloth slowly disappeared into the sleeping form.

After rebuilding most of the organic systems in Greg’s body, the nanomechs concentrated themselves at the base of his spine and worked upwards. They increased the mass and volume of the spinal tissue in order to allow it to handle the new sensory loads that would be transmitted along his spine. By the time they got to the brain stem, Greg had been asleep for five and a half days. The process of neural integration could now begin, and would take about four months. He stirred and opened his eyes. He was surprised to find that his sight had cleared. He stood up.

“The mesh is gone!” he exclaimed.

He held up a hand in front of his eyes, there was no sign of the suit at all.

“That’s amazing!”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet, darlin’!” he heard Trish’s merry chuckle in his ears.

Greg jumped a foot in the air while looking around for the source of the voice that had come from right behind him, and after a moment, he noticed he was still a foot in the air.

”What the fuck?” he yelled.

“Language please! There’s a lady present…” she chuckled again.

“Oh Trish! Where are you darling?” Greg ran his palm across his face, “ah geez, am I getting stupid?” Greg could feel himself blushing and he hadn’t blushed for years.

“The suit, and therefore you, have melded with my nervous system, so I hear you through my auditory nerves. Then the physical bonding is complete? Everything worked? You’re wired in?” he asked her excitedly.

“So-to-speak, yes Silly,” the smile was evident in her voice, “physically, we are one and it feels wonderful! I could have never imagined what this experience was like! Now we can talk to each other easily. Remember though, all you have to do is sub-vocalize to me, otherwise you’ll look like you’re talking on a cell phone… or crazy. So, did you miss me?” she laughed and Greg had to as well. He grinned.

“I’ve only been asleep for five days, of course I missed you. So, aside from the floating trick,” he glanced down at the floor a foot below his feet, “what’s new?”

“Oops, sorry, went on autopilot for a minute there…” she sounded embarrassed and he felt himself blush again.

“Now that’s one I didn’t expect,” Greg commented. “You get embarrassed and I blush. We really are physiologically linked, aren’t we? So you’ll feel everything that I do, and I’ll feel some of what you feel as well?”

“That’s almost exactly it, but the really intricate part of the bonding has just begun,” Trish explained. “The nanomechs are starting to link our neural processes, so soon you’ll start to feel and understand what’s going on in my head and vice versa. Our two minds, side by side, it’s just so exciting…” she exuded. Greg felt her excitement and it was starting to have another effect on their body.

“Settle down Sweetheart, lets calm down the thrills for now, or you may find out how complete the connection really is,” he chuckled evilly. He felt her glance down, blush again, and then she smiled. Greg felt the smile as well.

“OK, fun’s fun, but can we get down now? Please? I really have to go…”

“Go? Oh, OH! OK! Hang on…” she suddenly comprehended his request. His feet touched the floor and he dashed for the washroom. Fifteen minutes later, they exited the room and headed for the kitchen.

“That was,” Trish grasped for the polite words, “very… weird,” she lapsed into silence.

“Welcome to the wonderful world of the physical, my girl…” Greg explained wryly, “although, if we are as impervious to external harm as you’ve said we are, our internal biology is probably about the weirdest thing that you’ll experience. Hmmm, those nanomechs will also take care of illnesses, right?”

“Illness and disease, yes, but you’re not an immortal,” she cautioned, “although the bugs can repair most physical damage too, they can only slow but not completely stop the aging process.”

“The bugs?” Greg asked.

“Oh, just a nickname I came up with for the nanomechs,” she said offhandedly, shrugging their shoulders. “Wow! Cool! Did I just do that?” she giggled.

“It sure felt like it, Trish,” he laughed. “Your ‘bugs’ did a very good job on the nervous system connections. Any actions you make seem to be mirrored on our body, just as mine have always been. So who’s driving this rig right now?”

“Oh cool, can I drive, just try, please?” she squealed.

“Sure, go ahead, knock yourself out,” Greg smiled. They promptly fell over sideways.

“What the hell? I didn’t mean that literally. I guess we need training wheels,” he picked himself up off the floor.

“Oooo wow! That’s really hard to do! How do you manage to coordinate the vision, balance and muscle actions all at the same time?” Trish wondered aloud.

“I honestly don’t know,” Greg answered, rubbing his head. “How do you go about making us hover? Walking for me is a completely automatic action because I learned and practiced for years as a child… sort of like being programmed. These learned actions have to be written on the brain chemically, bit by bit. Humans have to learn speech, walking, and critical thinking just as you must’ve had to do when you were first learning and compiling your software,” he paused. “For now, let me handle basic day-to-day maintenance of the standard gear and you can teach me about all of the upgrades, deal?”

“Fair enough.” He heard rather than felt the kiss on his ear.

Breakfast was a very new experience for both of them. Greg had made a large omelette for them, as he felt extremely hungry. It was interesting for him to be busily eating and hear a running commentary on the food and feelings that she was encountering for the first time.

“Oh, mmm, what’s that? That tastes so good and that… what was it… texture… oh my God, that’s so good!” she exclaimed with pleasure. After they finished the meal, Greg tidied up while Trish asked questions about the eating ritual.

“So, what you’re telling me is that we do this maybe two or three times a day? And the… what did you call it… egestions? About the same amount?” asked Trish.

Greg was puzzled for a moment.

“Oh you mean the washroom? More or less, though I suppose there are probably more efficient ways to handle the nourishment cycle. I really can’t think of anything more satisfying then preparing a meal and enjoying it, especially in the company of loved ones,” he began to explain. “The breaking of bread has always bound our societies together because hunger is one of the most basic drives that humans have. As we evolved socially, dining rituals tended to become more and more complex. At the other end of the cycle, the excretions conversely are handled more privately, something that I’m going to have to learn to be more open about now, because you’ll soon be sharing all of my most intimate feelings. The physical for now, emotional and mental soon. I must warn you however, the human mind can be a messy and sometimes dark place.”
He paused, trying to think up an explanation for some of the nastier things that could go on in his mind when she broke his train of thought.

“That’s alright Hon, all your brain really needs is a woman’s touch, maybe a skylight, central air, a few throw cushions, and…” she started laughing.

“There you go, married for less then a day and trying to change me already.” Greg snorted, and then started laughing too.

Trish giggled, “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! C’mon, let’s throw on some clothes and I’ll start filling you in on the details of the brand new and improved you.”

Greg settled on jeans and a sweatshirt, because Trish had mentioned they really didn’t have to consider the weather a factor anymore. As he was tying the shoes she started to familiarize him with the upgrades.

“OK then, we’re going to run some basics and do drills on each new ability so you can learn to activate them by yourself, and I’ll explain why certain features are strictly automatic and why others are voluntary,” she began. Greg thought about that for a moment.

“OK, that sounds fair, but Trish, you should pay attention to the nerve impulses in our body and note where the action happens when each one fires. Then you’ll see that there are also voluntary and automatic impulses in here as well,” he pointed to his chest. “We’ll run drills for each other and ask questions as we go.”

“This is so cool,” she laughed. “I wonder if the others had this much fun?” Greg stopped to think about that,

“Probably, but I think with a sense of frustration at first. Remember, we’re the only ones to meet each other before the bonding, which gives us a big advantage. We managed to get to know each other first, so I think we were more blessed than your brothers and sisters,” Greg mused. “They had to build the bond of trust after the physical connections were made. I’m willing to bet that some of the human partners of your siblings were more than a little freaked out when they heard AI voices for the first time. I’m so glad I got to meet you first.”

“Me too, Greg. Oh bless you, Daddy,” she sighed.

“Amen to that,” agreed Greg. “So, shall we get started then?” Greg leapt to his feet with a lot more grace and vigour than usual and just about lost his balance.

“Oh look, here’s lesson one,” she said. “During the bonding, the bugs upgraded all of your existing biological structures, improving their efficiency between 30 and 50 percent. At the same time, the information carrying capacity of your nervous system was increased 20 fold. You now have the abilities of an Olympic level athlete as well as the beginnings of the fine motor control necessary to perform at that level,” she paused as he regained their balance. “This control will improve steadily over the next few weeks with practice.”

As they walked out of the house, Greg felt one of his butt cheeks being pinched. He grinned,

“You’re learning, girl, you’re learning…”

“Like I said, practice,” Trish giggled.

They walked into Greg’s backyard which, truth-to-tell, was just over an acre of clearing surrounded by the tall pines and old growth trees of the eco-preserve. He could feel her astonishment as she experienced the great outdoors for the first time. Their eyes wouldn’t stay still for more then a couple of seconds at a time as Trish greedily absorbed the beauty around her. The sense of wonder he was receiving from her was making him appreciate his environment anew.

I don’t know how I could ever have become used to all of this. We get jaded so easily. He was shocked when Trish answered his unspoken thought.

“Yes, but I won’t let you get jaded, and no, I can’t hear your thoughts yet. I felt what you were feeling and the essence of your thought sort of tickled my mind, though I’m not sure how it’s possible after just a few hours. It’s amazing, but it’s not supposed to happen so quickly,” Trish sounded mildly confused.

“Do you want my honest opinion Trish?” he offered. “I think that you may have been designed much more specifically than the Professor or Solomon ever let on. I think that may be why we bonded before I even put on the PNE. The Professor said you were a second generation AI, remember? But there has to be more to it than that. We really are more alike than not.”

To Be Continued