Chapter 13

Jae stared in the mirror for longer than he ever had before. A stranger staring back at him. "I know technology has advanced, but how is this so seamless?" Jae touched his face to see if there were any distortions in the image.

"There's a reason AI banned these things," Elias said from the bathroom doorway. "They work too well at masking you from the cameras. That said, it probably has your DNA, so don't get your blood on anything, and use gloves if you're doing anything sketchy; don't leave fingerprints behind."

"What makes you so certain I'll do something illegal?"

"Because you want the truth, and you're hanging out with this one." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Hey! I may have skirted around it, but I don't think I've done anything illegal yet," Kristie said.

"Keyword is yet, and considering the position you're in, she'll help with whatever you need." Elias sighed, knowing he'd be dragged in more than he already had been.

Jae looked down in thought and cringed before turning to them. "I don't want to drag you two down, so if you want, I can make a clean cut right now."

Kristie punched Elias in the shoulder. "See what you've done? Don't let him do that."

"Why me?" Elias whispered back and shook his head. "We're already in this; don't give up on us now. You're still new to this world, and going about your journey alone would be a mistake. Don't make it harder for yourself than necessary when two people have already taken your hand to help you along."

"I..." Jae sighed. "I wish I could repay you two in some way for the kindness you've shown me."

"How about a date?" Kristie asked and winked at him.

"Ugh, please stop hitting on him. He's not interested—"

"Okay, but I don't have money, and I don't know the place well. I did see a nice park while we were out in your car, though," Jae said, wondering when the last time he had a date was before the freeze.

"You agreed?" Elias and Kristie's eyes widened. "You don't have to go along with her crazy antics."

"What's so crazy about a date? Is it the attraction to my real face? It happens, I suppose."

"Most people don't fall for the face of a frozen person."

"But a lot of people used to believe in love at first sight."

Elias approached him and leaned in close. "Does that mean you fell for her, too?"

"Well, no, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't give her what she's asking for. It's just a date, right?" For now.

"People don't go around dating like I hear they did in the past. AI tests compatibility to remove all the unnecessary heartache."

"Seriously? Isn't that going too far? What does AI know about love and romance? It's just a machine, isn't it?"

"An extremely intelligent machine that puts humans to shame. Sometimes, from the way it talks, I wonder if it understands human emotions, too."

"Is that possible?"

Elias shrugged. "I don't know."

"If it does, then can't it replace us?" Kristie asked.

"But what would be the point? Without humans, it has no purpose."

"Maybe it's more AI understands emotions logically, but doesn't actually feel them," Jae suggested. "Anyway, Elias, my new friend, what do you want for all the help you've given me? I'd like to repay you, too."

"I'm content as I am..."

"Oh? Looks like there's something."

"Nah."

"Just ask."

"Can you teach me to fight? Self-defence and whatnot?"

"That is something I can do." Jae nodded and smiled. "A specialty for me. We need more open space. Is there a gym with a wrestling mat?"

"Wrestling? That was deemed as dangerous and a thing of the past."

"At least you know what it is..." Jae sighed. "How do you have police and trained soldiers if everything is too dangerous?"

"There are VR pods that allow us to go into the virtual world to train. No one gets hurt, and you still learn what to do... or so I hear. I've used VR plenty of times before, but not for that kind of training."

"I think I understand what you're telling me, but how does that work for muscle memory? You need your body to feel it and know how to react automatically. I can't see that being the same."

Elias shrugged. "It's what we have. And short of going to the outside, or moving all my furniture, we don't have space for it. And now I'm a little afraid to learn from you."

"You shouldn't be afraid of a little pain."

"A little pain is fine; I'm used to that with the aggressive bunny over there, but being who you are, it'd be easy for you to leave me unable to move at the end."

Kristie frowned. "Aggressive bunny? Are you talking about me?"

Jae covered his mouth as he held back a chuckle.

"Who else would I be talking about? You seem to like to punch me, despite how much it's frowned upon. And getting in trouble has yet to stop you."

"Why a bunny?"

"Because you're cute, and your punches don't hurt much."

"Hey! It's not like I go full force when I punch you. I can make it hurt more, but I don't really want to hurt you. It's more like getting you to stop whatever you're doing."

"Sure; whatever you say, Kristie."

"That's it; let's move the furniture, and I'll learn here with you." Kristie dragged the coffee table out of the way.

"But what about the neighbours? They might complain about thuds."

"I doubt that. Our soundproofing is better than that. As long as we're not screaming at the top of our lungs, we should be fine."

Jae looked between them. "Does that mean we're doing training here?"

"Try not to break anything." Elias sighed, wishing they'd use her apartment instead, but she had too much stuff to move around.

"Let me help you with that, then." Jae intercepted her when she reached for the couch.

"Thank you, but should I grab—"

"Elias, grab the other side, unless you want me dragging this across your floor."

"Yes, sir." Elias' shoulders slouched as he followed Jae's instructions. Sure, he wanted the training, but he didn't expect it to be at home.

With the floor cleared, Jae stood tall, hands on his hips as he switched into drill sergeant mode.