Archive-name: Changes/bluebox1.txt Archive-author: Archive-title: Bluebox, The - 1 **Chapter 1** "I knew it," Jeffrey muttered to himself. "One letter in my INBOX, and it had to be this one." In the past three years of his dealings with the government, they had always used private couriers to correspond, or more often the telephone. But when the message came via MCI MAIL, he knew that his three-year project was at an unsuccessful end. From: George F. Frankel MCI ID: 213-9164 To: * Jeffrey Landers MCI ID: 150-1060 Message-ID: 5M113684/818802K3 Subj: Final Project Decision - Confidential Dear Mr. Landers, It is with great regret that we must inform you that your proposal to refine, and implement the use of, the device we have discusssed has been denied. Unfortunately with budget cuts applied, this department does not have the resources to properly administer programs which consist primarily of research and development. I will personally keep the proper information on file so that, if the situtation changes, we might be able to continue work on what could be a valuable tool to our society. I also commend your work and thank you for your efforts to this point. Formal notification will be sent to IDT shortly along with cost recovery information. Sincerely Yours, Gen. G. F. Frankel Human Services He switched the terminal off. Government Imbeciles. Not only did they make any sort of effective demonstration impossible, but they had to break the news through MCI MAIL. Strangely, he felt little anger. He had a good time working on the project, excellent pay, at the mere expense of his social life. His time had been devoted to endless revisions, modifications, and testing of the Device. It wasn't his fault that the Federal people who came to test it were just too-- too-- boring to use it. Unfortunately he'd never be able to prove that. He wasn't sure of the situations that caused the tests to fail. It worked for him, he felt, because he had a good imagination. Good enough to think up the device in the first place means that one must be good enough to use it. The Device was a thought amplifier. Bred from some licensed Japanese electro-encephalographic technologies that never saw any use outside some experimental psychiatric clinics that (giggle) were now being sued for some sort of fraud, the Device was a miracle more stunning than the space program, the new light-speed superprocessors, or Ronco's solid-state IR laser turkey carving set. It started out as a device which could clarify thought patterns for analysis by trained therapists, for use in mental hospitals. The Feds got involved when the NSA wanted to know if it could be used to read minds. Even if Jeffrey could have spent a few years researching that application, he wouldn't think of it-- because certainly he wouldn't be ALLOWED to think of it if the device became a reality. But Jeffrey's employer, Interactive Device Technologies, liked the idea of lucrative government contracts and encouraged him to continue with the development. Three years later, Jeffrey and IDT had finished the thought amplifier, but this last MCI letter meant that there was NOBODY, and that meant nobody, interested in continuing with it. Now that IDT had no hopes of a $12 billion contract, Jeffrey would probably be out of job. *** Chapter 2 *** Cheryl walked into the Lab. "Is that the TA-12?" she queried, pointing to the metallic blue box on the counter, without even saying hello. Jeffrey knew at that instant he was being set up. Cheryl never had anything to do with the technical staff. He had seen her around the building often enough, but learned quickly of her distaste for the techies, and had properly ignored her ever since. Undoubtedly one of the IDT managers got a carbon-copy of the MCI letter and sent Cheryl in to cheer Jeffrey up, rather than stopping in themselves. How unthoughtful. He didn't want to be cheered up. Cheryl was still standing there, though, and Jeffrey racked his mind to remember what she had asked him. "Yes, that's it." Cheryl didn't waste a second. "It doesn't work, huh?" Nice cheering-up job, Jeffrey thought. He answered in a tone normally reserved for when you lose your best friend. "It works fine. It just doesn't work for everyone, that's all. All the government people who tested it were so skeptical, so narrow-minded it couldn't have possibly worked." He wondered if he was rationalizing it or not. Cheryl continued her insistent questions as if she had a list of them. "It works for you?" "Yes. And most other people can use it too." "Oh." It sounded like she just ran out of questions. "Sorry to be ignorant. I just don't pay much attention to what our experiments do, that's all." Jeffrey reached behind him and picked up the Device. "Have a seat", he said, pointing to a chair across from him. Cheryl sat. "All it is, primarily, is a thought amplifier. It looks to what you're thinking, and retransmits it so that you can see it more clearly. But the big advantage is that it transmits to others within a few feet. Want a sample?" *** Chapter 3 *** Cheryl nodded without saying a word. Jeffrey started his long- rehearsed demonstration speech, required so that the visitors would know what's going on and would have some margin of safety should something go wrong. "Touch your finger here for a second", he said, pointing to a small metal circle on top of the Device, which was in his lap. Cheryl did. "All you did was allow the device to calibrate itself to your..." (he hated the oversimplification)... "'wavelength', so you can participate. You know what the Device does, and it's easier to show you it's abilities than to tell you. All you have to know is this: This box cannot reproduce itself in this color in your mind. It's a safety device that took almost nine months to install. If I were to try to fool you into thinking that the demonstration was over, you'd notice that the box was red, not blue, because it won't let you see it any other way. There's a timer on the top that will end the demonstration in..." (he set the timer) "about ten minutes. That's another safety device in case for some reason I can't turn it off. It'll also turn off on any sort of sensory disturbance, so you have to be comfortable before you can start." He elected to omit the usual comment about using the rest-room first. "The final safety device limits the amount of pain and suffering you can feel no matter what happens to you. In the image that the box presents, you could stab yourself with a knife and would feel only momentary discomfort. And of course, you wouldn't sustain any real-life damage. That prevents the Device from being used to torture someone, for the most part. Now just clear your mind for a moment, and relax." He looked up at her. She closed her eyes. He stole a quick peek at her uncrossed legs and the space between them, that had crossed hi mind many times before. Why didn't she like the technical people? Such a waste. Oh well. He leaned back and pressed the switch to start the demonstration, then put his hands at his sides. He opened his eyes. "Cheryl?" She opened hers without saying anything. The box was red, instead of blue. It was incredible-- she could have, by any other measure, been actually sitting there staring at a red box there with Jeffrey. But no, the box was blue, and her eyes were closed. It just SEEMED that way. She moved her arms. They moved. Fingers too. "Everyone always does that", Jeffrey giggled. "Obviously it works with you. Yes, everything seems normal. Your fingers wiggle. And no, they aren't really wiggling in real life. But, for now, they might as well be." "Incredible. You did this?" Jeffrey smiled. "Yup. Three years for this. But you haven't seen anything yet!" They both got up. Just as they got to their feet, the walls and ceiling of the building vanished, revealing the trees, sky, clouds, and such outside. It may have been 41 degrees on the outdoor thermometer 5 minutes ago, but it was a comfy 70 or so now. "How did that happen?" "Easy. I just decided that the walls should go away, and even before I imagine it happening, it does. The Device reads what I'm thinking, and makes it seem like it's happening. It was all so simple once we got the basic theories straight. Notice how there's no detail left out?" Cheryl looked around the room (what was left of it) and nodded. Jeffrey continued. "In actuality, that's not true. For all we know, none of the things we're not looking at this second exist. But once we go to look at anything, the image gets filled in from our own thoughts. For the most part, what we see, hear, smell, feel, or taste depends on who looks at it first-- it fills in the detail from that person's memory. The other person sees that as the first imagined it. But the person who's holding the physical box has the ultimate authority. Watch." A small metal box appeared on the counter, with a lid that was closed. "There's an index card inside that box with a four-digit number on it," he said, "but I don't know what it is because I haven't decided on one. Why don't you open the box and see what it says? Cheryl walked over to the box while Jeffrey looked around outside. It was mid-afternoon. Some birds flew nearby, something not formerly present. "It's 9601, the last four digits of my phone number", Cheryl reported. How did that happen?" "Either because you wanted it to, or because the Device decided that it was the most likely thing to put there. I don't know your phone number and couldn't have put it there. See?" Again, Cheryl just nodded. With that, the numbers on the card changed to 2066, Jeffrey's office extension number. Jeffrey explained. "You might create something out of your imagination... but if there is a conflict, the box-holder gets his way with reality. The problem with the tests was that the people who tried it either didn't have the imagination (faith if you like) to make the device work for them, in which case the only effect they ever saw was the box changing color, or they couldn't mentally lock on to the signals from the box, which meant that even THAT didn't happen." Again, did he really know? Maybe not. It could take years of research. Oh well. "Come on, let's go." *** Chapter 4 *** Cheryl wheeled around and discovered that Jeffrey had sprouted a perfect pair of wings, feathers and all. It was one of his favorite diversions, which he had developed after weeks of testing. He picked Cheryl up from behind; his arms fitting into the somewhat innocent space below her breasts. She was very light because he had decided that she should be, at least for now. She didn't complain about it. In an instant Jeffrey cringed down, and leapt into the air. It was too fast for Cheryl, who felt that the exciting part had been rushed. They were already fifty feet above the ground, coasting over the trees towards downtown. With a few flaps, Jeffrey lifted them both to several times that altitude. "Nervous?" he asked. "No, I'm fine." It wasn't convincing. The only other person he'd ever taken on this tour couldn't take it too well. Jeffrey pitched upwards a little bit and slowed down, then gained some more altitude, and generally swooped around a bit. The scenery was breathtaking, and the feeling was unparalleled. "Afraid of heights?" Jeffrey remembered how he had thought of the Device as a tool to eliminate such fears, the last time he asked that question. Cheryl didn't answer. With nothing to lose as far as Cheryl's opinion of him, Jeffrey did the only thing he could think of to remedy the situtation. He dropped her. Cheryl screamed, fell a few feet, and stopped in midair at Jeffrey's command. She couldn't have done that herself. He stopped in midair and had her float up to him, facing him. "You see? There's nothing to be afraid of. You can't get hurt here. And I wouldn't let you get hurt anyway. She didn't look resentful. She looked down at the streets below, then reached down as if to see what was holding her up. It always seemed to take a while for people to get "the idea"-- that the constraints of reality no longer hold. "It can be like an amusement park-- thrills without danger, or whatever amuses you." Cheryl was now smiling. It was time for Jeffrey to try and promote that idea. It was no fun here with someone that didn't understand, and it looked like Cheryl was beginning to. Jeffrey continued. "Take my hand," he said. "I think you've got the idea." She did. Jeffrey's wings disappeared. A moment later they started falling, from the five thousand feet (funny, we weren't that high up a moment ago) to the town below. Jeffrey looked straight at Cheryl. She looked up at him. It had worked! She felt enough confidence in him to be able to take her eyes off the approaching Earth. He couldn't keep his feeling to himself. "I'm impressed, Cheryl. You've got more inside than I credited you for. Congratulations." He pulled her to him, and held her tight. She wrapped her arms around him, and looked down. Just before they reached the earth, a large pool of water appeared below them and they splashed harmlessly into it, coming to an almost instant stop. Cheryl, who had let go just as they reached the water, paddled back over to Jeffrey and grabbed onto him again. He liked the feeling where she was pressing against him. Finally, she spoke up again. "Can we try it again? Not the fall, I mean, but flying around? I'd like to try it out for myself." Jeffrey nodded. A moment later, they were both in midair, and Cheryl had developed some nice orange feathers. Jeffrey followed Cheryl as she flew back towards the company, swooped down over the trees, and shrieked with excitement. "I want to try landing", she said. "Will you go first?" Jeffrey agreed, and lined up in front of her, feet down, heading for the flat roof of IDT's main building. Then he was sitting in a chair, with the blue box on his lap. He looked at the top of it. "Timer's... No, there's still time left, must be..." He looked towards the door. His supervisor had walked in, and the noise had tripped the sensory-monitor device, ending the simulation. "Good night, you two. Lock up the lab when you leave, OK?" Jeffrey and Cheryl both nodded. Jeff added a "Good night" as the supervisor was on the way out the door. As the door closed, he turned to Cheryl once again. "Always happens that way... There were only about 30 seconds left anyway." "That certainly seemed like more than four and a half minutes!", Cheryl exlaimed. "It always does seem longer," Jeffrey agreed. "It would be impossible to test, though, right? A simulated clock would go just as fast as you would imagine it to go. Everything else could speed up too. It just seems to be the way people think." Surprisingly, although it was a few minutes after five, Cheryl wasn't leaving like Jeffrey expected her to. Did she really feel like spending time with Jeffrey? Maybe her opinion about techie types had changed a bit. "Can we try it again? Everyone's gone now and I just had so much fun with you...? *** Chapter 5 *** Jeffrey couldn't get his mind off the words 'with you' very easily. "Sure, I'm in no hurry tonight." He started to reach for the timer controls again, and Cheryl interrupted. "Could I do it this time? You did it last time, and..." Jeffrey nodded and handed the box to her, touching the circle on the top after setting it in her lap. "We just set the timer for as long as we want-- maybe ten minutes would be better this time, and..." Cheryl didn't wait for the explanation. She set the timer for four hours, sat back. An instant later, the box turned red. Jeffrey got up, startled, and noticed the timer was set for 4:00, not 0:10. "How come you--" "Because I don't want to be interrupted again. I can turn it off anytime before four hours runs out, right?" "Yes-- you just IMAGINE you're holding the box, and are turning it off, and it does. Maybe we should do that, and fix the timer--" Jeffrey reached for the box, but it vanished from Cheryl's lap before he could reach it. She had made it disappear. She could bring it back, but he couldn't. He felt uncomfortable at the prospect. "I just want to play a while. I'm SURE you won't mind. You said you weren't going anyplace." Pointing to her lap, she added: "Pretty good, huh?" "Um... Yes", said Jeffrey, obediently staring at her lap. "OK, then, let's see what you can do. Want to go flying again?" "Not right now. I was just thinking how you can do anything here-- like flying before. Anything." She looked straight into his eyes. "Must be pretty good when your company's getting horny, huh?" At first, Jeffrey thought she was talking about him. After all, the thought had crossed his mind since they first started the adventure. But no, he hadn't expressed that thought. Then maybe she was just being hypothetical. But the tone of her voice was telling him otherwise. He didn't know what to say. Cheryl stood up, and wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against him. "Remember? In the air? It was your idea, not mine. I don't know whether it was all the adrenalin, the thrill, or you personally. And I don't know how you felt, but it got me positively wet between the legs. Even if I was just imagining it." Jeffrey restrained himself at the thought of that wetness. He had felt a little something, but at the same time was worried about being a little too forward. But he had to say something. "Isn't this a little... fast? I like you a lot. But two weeks ago you wouldn't have given me the time of day, much less admit what you just said." "Maybe. I never really thought about you at all until about two weeks ago. I don't know why. I guess I started feeling guilty about the reasons I DIDN'T pay attention to some people. So, it seemed like the perfect opportunity when Dan asked me to see how you were doing. And..." (she ran one hand across his bottom) "...what a better way to meet? Perfectly romantic." They were standing on a boat, facing a setting sun, with a violin playing in the background. "Or however else it should be." The corny sunset-boat-violin scene disappeared, leaving total darkness except for themselves. "Much better than meeting in a laundromat." Sounded rational. Of course, rational was the last thing on Cheryl's mind. Jeffrey had his arms around her. He slid his hands down across her derriere, feeling the soft fabric of the jeans she was wearing. She seemed to approve. But she let go of him. She stood back a foot or so. Slowly, and tauntingly, Jeffrey's clothes began to fade away. First his shirt, then his slacks, and without any hesitation, his underwear began to become transparent, revealing everything to Cheryl's eyes. He couldn't bring his clothes back. The awkward situation made him lose what erection he had. "Neat", Cheryl exclaimed. "I just have to imagine it starting-- your clothes disappearing-- and unless I stop it, it happens by itself without me helping". At first, Jeffrey though "Neat" was referring to his naked body. But then he realized that he was an unwilling accomplice to Cheryl's vanishing-clothes trick. She had never seen him naked before, and so the vision that she now saw was constructed from Jeffrey's own thoughts. He was beginning, more and more, to feel like the student in this environment, when before he was only the teacher. He'd never done anything quite like this in the demonstration-- Cheryl's voice interrupted his thoughts again. The sexy tone in her voice had returned. "YOU'RE neat TOO, you know." She was staring, unashamed, at his previously private areas. She walked back up, still dressed, and touched his penis. He didn't complain. She looked at him straight in the eyes, and made her own blouse disappear, slowly like before. No bra-- just two very nice tits were now visible. She still looked straight into Jeffrey's eyes, watching them sweep down her body, hesitate, then look back up into her eyes. "I want to see you get hard. I want it to happen right here. Bigger, harder than you ever have before." Jeffrey obliged her. He felt himself starting to stretch right in her hand, growing, getting warm, and longer. Her grip tightened around him as he grew. He ran his eyes over her chest freely now, using the stimulation to carry out Cheryl's request. Finally he reached up and touched her breasts, which somehow seemed to excite him more than her. Her attention was on his growing member. He rubbed his fingers, then hands, then both hands over her tits, watching her nipples grow erect at his fingertips. She let go of him. It felt cold now, but his penis didn't wither. Cheryl stood back, again, and this time revealed the rest of herself to him. Jeffrey's eyes, as one might expect, focused on the little patch of brown hair between her legs-- as his mind focused on the infinite pleasure just beyond. At this point Jeffrey's mind was so fixed on the impending copulation, that even the unnatural absence of background didn't seem unnatural anymore. This wasn't imagination; it was reality. There was Cheryl, and Jeffrey, and that was all. Nothing else. And Cheryl had decided, apparently, that there was only one thing to be done-- and it was just minutes away. He was impatient-- knowing that those minutes would seem SO LONG -- until he finally reached his goal. *** Chapter 6 *** Cheryl's voice was the sexiest he'd heard yet. "Touch me. Touch me all over. You know what I want. You know what to do so I get it." Jeffrey slid one arm around her, pulling him to her. Her bosom pressed into his chest again, and he could feel her nipples stiffening against him. He wrapped his other arm around her, and slid his hands over her buttocks. It was something he never thought he'd be doing. A few seconds later they were both floating, weightless. Cheryl kissed him, sliding her tongue into his mouth, exploring it. Her hands went to his bottom also, one hand between his bowels, rubbing the area around his anus. Nobody had ever done that to Jeffrey before; he liked it. Jeffrey's hands approached her pussy. It seemed warm even before he touched the hair around it. He could smell her wetness. The scent was making him lose what little control he had left. He hesitated for a moment, giving himself final clearance to proceed, then probed through her pubic hair, touching the skin between her legs. He rubbed the area for a minute before one finger felt her pussy's lips. It was wet inside. He spread them apart, and touched it. After a few seconds he knew what was where... She clenched him as one finger slid by her clitoris; and when a finger finally discovered the opening into her vagina, she grabbed his hand and pushed his finger inside. He slid it back and forth. His other hand was now on her breasts. Cheryl came after just a few seconds. She pushed his hand against her. He felt a ripple inside her as her muscles contracted. She held him there for a moment, then let him slide out. "Lick me," she demanded. "Learn what I taste like." Jeffrey wasn't bothered by that prospect. He floated away from her for a second, then she floated towards him, aiming her pussy towards his head. As he started to slide between her thighs, she locked her legs around him, squeezing him, locking him in place. Sh was getting him wet. His tongue instantly found its target, first sliding across her clitoris, and then inside. He swallowed her juices. She came again, squeezing with her legs so hard that, for a minute, he couldn't breathe. Her pussy surrounded him. He felt another surge of liquid from within her. As soon as it was over, she released him, and they floated alongside each other. She had regained some of her control; yet now her pussy was aiming towards his previously ignored cock. She held on to him, and pulled him towards her, keeping a careful eye on his navigation. Jeffrey seemed to have some reservations. He hardly knew her, really, and that thought was starting to surface. That thought got through to Cheryl, who knew better-- that they both wanted the same thing and there was no reason not to have it. "You have no choice now." The distance between their pubic areas continued to reduce. "Besides, I know what you want. You wouldn't have gone this far. You're not getting away now. You want me as much as I want you." She was right. Jeffrey insisted, though, not because he was unwilling, but because he was afraid that she'd regret it later, and would blame him for it. "It's too fast. Why are you rushing? I want to learn about you... get to know you..." Cheryl didn't listen. Jeffrey's penis touched the hair around her pussy. Then he felt the warmth at the tip of it. His cock still had some flexibility to it. In a short time-- almost too fast, Cheryl took him inside. The heat made him grow very hard, conforming to her shape. She started to wrap her legs around him, and to slide against him. He grabbed her body, realizing that it was the last chance to save his rational self, and stopped her from moving. He concentrated on everything but the fact that they were now mating. She resented the fact that he was forcibly interrupting her pleasure. But it did return her faculties to her, long enough to realize once again that this wasn't really happening, and that she was in control of things. She hadn't heard what Jeffrey said, but this time decided quite consciously to continue. She could show her anger now without Jeffrey being able to do anything about it. Besides, she knew that he was struggling to hang on to his mind, while her pussy did its work on him, her breasts and body draining his willpower. "Shut up. It's too late. I'm screwing you and there's nothing you can do to stop me." The words, she figured, would send him over the edge and he'd stop resisting. Jeffrey never thought he'd ever be in the situation of resisting a beautiful woman's advances, unless she was married or had some disease or something. But neither was the case now. Her words were a temptation of defial. He placed both hands on her hips, and started to push her away, hoping she'd forgive him, and even be thankful that he gave her a chance to think rationally about her actions. His penis started to slide out. The tip was swelling inside her, though, at Cheryl's command. Jeffrey felt his skin stretching. He didn't know how big he was, and he wouldn't feel much pain as long as the Device was working. Cheryl's orifice tightened around the base of his cock. It had grown inside her, and she was growing tighter. He pushed harder against her hips, but couldn't slide out. He was locked inside her. He slid back in to try again, and this time the sensation of sliding into her warm flesh pushed him over the edge. Her words had come true. He lost his last reasons for stopping it, and his thoughts faded with only one intense purpose remaining. He started sliding in and out, making no further attempts to escape. Cheryl giggled once. "That's it, animal. Fuck me. Then, maybe I'll let you go." It was all a game, Jeffrey and Cheryl both knowing the rules quite well. Each word, each motion, could do nothing but stimulate desire. Jeffrey's attempt to "stop" her was played perfectly. He probably knew it would excite her. And now, he was hers, undulating against her, and pulsating inside her. She giggled again once more, watching Jeffrey turn into the animal she wanted, before her own thoughts turned again towards the act of mating. She grew hot inside as the excitement increased. Cheryl was approaching her climax, but still had a handle on what was happening. Her words came one at a time, with each breath and each of Jeffrey's thrusts. "I.. want.. all of.. you... inside.. deep.. yes..." Continued....