It's amazing how word can get around. Over a million people in the city, and everyone I knew in it knew each other. Which meant it was only a matter of time before Marie heard about Sarah.

I knew it was nonsense. Marie was part of the system, and the system knew about Sarah the moment she first jacked in. Since I had authorized her detention, that plus the cruise ship's records probably got filed as a matter of public notice, propagating outward, with the sim as the first stop on the way.

So the sim knew about Sarah, but Eddie had to be shown. And Marie had to be told.

And it would have been better if she'd been told by me.

I knew she was a sim. I knew she was an artificial personality, built from some basic concepts and fed cues and stimuli by me. I knew that if I messed up with her I could just go find another one and start over. If I ever really had to I could reset the whole system.

But I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to throw away the real time and real feeling I'd put into the relationship. I thought of it as accomplishment, but not in getting the girl. I thought it an accomplishment to be able to feel what I felt, even if the target of my feelings wasn't real.

So it was real hurt I felt when Marie didn't want to talk to me. Stella didn't either, but someone had to tell me that Marie wanted me to go away. I tried telling Stella that Sarah was just an acquaintance, that it didn't mean anything, but I was talking to a wall. A wall with a KEEP OUT sign on one side and Marie on the other.

I found myself wandering town. Away from the areas I knew well. I didn't need to run into people I knew and get pity, or reproach, or scorn, or Eddie's I-told-you-so.

I did need to get a drink, though. And even if it was a seedy dive, it still looked like a bar, and hopefully acted like one. The name didn't register as I stepped inside.

I walked up to the bar and asked for whatever was on tap. I got it too. I think the place's idea of a microbrew would be one served in a shot glass. What I tasted made me think of off-label vendors, who wholesale their goods to people with their own labels.

I took a breath and chugged it. I ordered another. I got it, and turned to sip it as I surveyed the bar.

And saw Sarah.

She was sitting at a corner table with a couple hairy bruisers in leather jackets. They were doing shots and laughing at everything each other said. Sarah's drunken laugh was piercing; you could hear it through the whole bar.

I stared at her for a while. I knew this wasn't my turf, bailiwick, stomping ground or even comfort zone. I could see she was getting along with the guys, and that she was in a sim, in a bed, where she couldn't be harmed. I knew the best thing I could possibly do would be to finish my beer and leave.

I walked over to her.

She looked up and saw me. She stopped laughing, and her mouth twisted into a wry grin. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

I stopped in my tracks. "You have?"

"Hell no! Why would I want to be around you? You an' yer stuck-up boring friends. Whaddaya doing here? Why aren't you over at that prissy bar you like so much?"

"Just...stopped by. It's, uh..." My eyes were briefly drawn to the leather jackets at the table, who were eyeballing me. "...good to see you. You okay?"

"Am I..." She stared at me in disbelief before turning to her tablemates. "Whaddaya think? Am I okay? Tell me! Am I okay?"

"Yeah, sure, you're okay."

"There you have it, Joe! I'm okay! Satisfied?"

"Uh...you know...I don't think it's healthy to be in here this long. Maybe you should log out for a bit? Get some real air?"

Sarah snorted. "Gee, Dad, is it past my bedtime or something? I don't wanna be late for school..."

"No, really, I think you just need to..."

Nothing touched me, but I still felt a looming presence behind me. The man with the shaved head I found there was taller than either of the hairy ones, and maybe as big as the two of them put together. I started wondering just how real and intense sim pain could be.

"Hey babe, this guy botherin' you?"

Sarah smiled sweetly and looked at me. "I don't know. Are you?"

I felt myself deflate as I looked into her eyes. I didn't have any words left. I turned and headed for the door, almost feeling their gazes push me on my way.