AfterNet 01 - Good Cop Dead Cop

died?”
    “62.”
    “Hmm. You’re a little old for this, I’m afraid. It might not work as well, but we’ll see.”
    “Is this going to … hurt?”
    Younger stopped and turned to where his voice came from. “Oh you big baby,” she said in a comic voice that was unfortunately lost on him. But he saw her smile.
    “Come on,” she said, resuming her march. They were now at one corner of the floor, screened off from the rest of the space by more glass walls. One of the large white spheres dominated the space. She entered the area through a gap in the glass walls. He followed.
    “Is that the chamber?”
    “Yup,” she said. “But before you go in, I’ve got to get some readings from you. OK, now stand over here, in this mesh, like so.” She kept her hands about shoulder width apart and motioned that he should enter a wire mesh ball about two feet in diameter. The ball was split down the middle and apparently hinged. He entered the ball and she promptly closed the halves of the ball together. He could easily see through the mesh.
    “Are you in the middle?” she asked.
    “Yes.”
    “All right, don’t move. You can talk except when I tell you not to. Just try to stay in the middle.”
    “Jawohl, Frau Blucher,” he said.
    “Huh?”
    “I won’t move.”
    “OK, I’m just going to record your field. This will probably feel … good.”
    She flipped a switch on a piece of test equipment. Munroe was about to object when he felt the nicest experience he’d ever had since dying. It was a combination of the smell of warm apple pie, Mom tucking him into bed, a woman stroking his crotch, his first taste of really good Scotch, the first time he proposed and the first time he used the AfterNet, all rolled into one, with a thousand other shifting good emotions fighting to get in.
    “Fine, that’s enough,” she said, turning the switch off.
    It was a few seconds before he could talk. “I love you Dr. Younger, and I want to marry you.”
    She smiled quickly. “Yes, they all say that. OK, this next part … well, it’ll probably feel bad.”
    In retrospect, he should have seen it coming.
    “I never knew the AfterNet did so much research,” Yamaguchi said as Feore poured himself coffee in the break room. He came back to sit with her at one of the tables.
    “I know. Most people just think we run the forums and install terminals. But the mandate was to make ‘life better for the disembodied and improve relations with the living.’ So, we keep trying to improve the user experience.”
    He reached for his coffee cup and said, “You know, I am sorry I ran out of the party.”
    “I was a little … annoyed at you. You basically dumped me to talk to Alex.”
    “But I’d be willing to take you to dinner. I wouldn’t do that for him.”
    “Well, he’s really not into food. Wait, are you saying that you’re not mad we forced you into this?”
    “No, I’m still pissed about that, thank you for reminding me. But it was my own fault for bringing it up in the first place. I was trying to impress Alex.”
    “And why were you doing that?”
    “Well, if you want to … date old Reilly’s daughter.”
    “What?”
    “It’s an old song you sing when you’re really drunk on St. Patrick’s Day. Forget it. I just thought if I could impress Alex, he might say a nice thing or two about me.”
    “You could have just asked me out.”
    “What a good idea. Would you …”
    He was interrupted when she heard what she thought was Munroe’s new digitized voice, very loud.
    “OK, the worst is over. Let’s rejoin your partner,” he said.
    “Bitch!”
    “Calm down. It’s over now. Everything’s OK. I’m sorry, that was the worst part. Everything’s neutral now. I just need you to be quiet …”
    “You fucking bitch! What did you do to me?”
    “They’re never quiet,” she said, sighing. “It’s the only way to get a real reading. Look, the chamber is going to interface with you like you’ve never experienced. I’ve got the baseline reading now. All we have to do now is get some neutral readings, so please, just be quiet for a minute and we’re done with this part.”
    Munroe had been ready to kill. He knew if he’d still be alive and armed, the bitch would be dead. But already the anger was flowing out of him. The experience itself had drained it out of him. All that remained was resentment.
    “OK, Alex, please. You’re moving around in there and thinking too much. Try to relax.” She went to