Selective Mute-ism!

You make it back to base camp and find Mute sitting on… The VCS!? Also, he’s shirtless!??

“Ow!” You yelp, pinching your arm. Nope, not dreaming. Then again you weren’t dreaming in that conference room. It was dreamy, but not a dream. Like, you’re pretty awake even now, looking at him, shirtless. Part of you wants to slide right up against him. Seat so small you have **** but to mush your bodies against each-other. He’d put a hand on your leg and you’d look into his eyes. Then he’d say, “Shiv, what are you doing?”

“Wait, what?” You stutter, thoughts interrupted and idly fiddling with a loose lock of hair.

Mute repeats, “What are you doing? You just sorta-” he waves a hand in front of his face, “spaced out completely.”

He knows! Quick, lie!

“I wasn’t thinking about your butt.” Nice. Perfect. You could sell bottled air to a hurricane.

Emalie enters the room with a smile, as she says, “Cool, me neither!”

Upon seeing the VCS Emalie stops dead in her tracks. Gesturing towards it, mouth agape, she looks at you and back to the VCS.

“I know! Crazy coincidence, right!”

“Why are you guys so excited about Mute’s butt?” Jorrel asks, as he throws a sack of coffee on the pile.

Frustrated, Emalie retorts, “I’m not, it’s the thing he’s sitting on! Shiv and I sat through a dumb presentation of the thing.”

“It wasn’t dumb,” you snap without thinking.

Emalie seems offended as she looks you over, “Why so defensive?”

Right. Hopefully she didn’t see the same as you, otherwise she wouldn’t be calling it dumb. Or maybe she did see the same thing and found it gross. Then again, Emalie would totally have pointed that out. They’re just looking at you… Oh, right, you’ve been quiet for a while now and Emalie asked you a question. Awkward. Right, just admit it was dumb and backpedal, let’s do this mouth. You reply, “I’m just saying it wasn’t dumb.”

Wow… thank you.

“Fair enough.” Emalie doesn’t look mad as she says this. You’re pretty sure that means she’s going to bury your unreasonable response deep down and bring it back up when you least expect it.

Trying to warm the room again, Mute says, “Anyway, the thing tried to burn me alive. Hence the lack of shirt.”

“Must have been space magic,” Jorrel starts, “I mean, if you were actually on fire, you’d have burn marks all over.”

Mute looks himself over and raises a surprised eye brow, “Oh… I… I guess you’re right. Huh.”

You all gather in a circle around the VCS, handing it a collective stare-down.

When no one speaks, you take it as a sign that they’re waiting for you to explain what it is. “Rolph – don’t ask – called it a VCS,” you begin, “Or a virtual community simulator. Supposedly it alters the world around you, making things appear as you want them to.”

“Physically or,” Jorrel points to Mute, “as hallucinations?”

Emalie takes the torch, “Hallucination but not. Of course Rolph didn’t actually tell us any of this,” she says bitterly, side-eyeing you, “so it’s all pure conjecture.”

Jorrel crouches down, inspecting the machine. “There’s a bunch of tiny letters here… I think it says ‘Boot 100% awaiting activation phrase’ or something,” He reads from tiny LED displays on the machine.

"Activation phrase… where have I heard that before?" Mute asks.

“Robbington,” you remember, “When we found it, asked for the same thing. I don’t see why they should be identical but… I don’t see why not?”

"Way I see it," Jorrel continues, "We can try turning it on here or bring it back to Shiv's workshop and turn it on there." Jorrel looks to the group. A little more at Mute than the rest of you.

You say, "It might only work here. Some bots are bound to the building we've found them. So, it's always a gamble. On the other hand, I got all tools and restraints there."

"Right," Emalie acknowledges, "Since it's a fire-starter, it might try to violently **** us when we turn it on. But it might be better taking it on here, rather than not at all."

Jorrel thinks, brow furrowing, intensely staring into nothing. "I need to talk out loud for a moment, stay with me."