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"I see you came prepared..."
I couldn't help but comment on the cable that went straight down to where the reservoir's depth increased sharply. And this cable was clearly not something that was left there by the people who flooded the valley.
"...and I was wondering what that thing floating on the surface was. I don't remember seeing anything like that before..."
"Panam helped me. I had to come here a couple of times in my free time to get ready..."
We had just gotten to the cable.
"Now be careful; it'll be easier to go down with the cable, especially for a newbie."
"Got it..."
I grabbed the cable, and we started our descent to the bottom of the reservoir. We didn't talk during the descent. We just watched the light from our headlamps illuminate the space in front of us. And only when we got to the bottom did Judy break the silence.
"And here's my hometown... welcome to Laguna Bend..."
I flinched as I heard what sounded like a distant car horn and the joyful chatter of children running away. It was hard to make out a specific voice or what they were saying, but I could definitely tell that there were both boys' and girls' voices.
"Yeah, when I was a kid, this place was very lively... but I personally felt like this place was comparable to a prison..."
A feeling of sadness and being in a confined space washed over me.
"Back then, I didn't understand what a good place this town was, and when they decided to flood it, I was genuinely happy about it..."
This time, a mix of feelings of joy and anticipation washed over me...
"Gran, we're going to live in the City of Dreams, right?"
The voice definitely belonged to Judy, but it sounded so childlike...
"Did you say something?"
"Huh? I said I was happy..."
"No, not that..."
I shook my head.
"...you..."
I fell silent for a couple of seconds.
"...Judy, check the synchronization level, please. I just heard you talking to your grandmother..."
"What?"
Extreme surprise was in Judy's voice, and then I felt the shock she was experiencing.
"Fuck... eighty percent! That's... fuck, that's beyond all our calculations!"
"Alright... just focus on me..."
I closed my eyes and focused on the memories I had gotten from David. I chose one of the happiest ones, when Gloria took him—me—to the now-closed roller coaster... I remembered the wind hitting his—my—face and him—me—screaming with delight, and Gloria was laughing happily next to him...
"Well, son, did you like it?"
"Yeah, Mom!"
"That's good. If you do well in school, I'll think of something else at the end of the school year..."
"Uh... I hear voices?"
Judy sounded very unsure of what she was saying. Well, that was understandable. Admitting something like that was a pretty unconventional thing to do. And the only thing that saved us was that I had recently said something similar, though in a slightly different way.
"A little boy's voice and an adult woman's?"
"Yeah... that was you and... your mom?"
"Yeah..."
I nodded.
I focused on the memory of when...
"You went somewhere..."
"To the roller coaster, the one that's closed now."
"I see..."
"Now, let's continue. I'll listen and focus on you, and you tell me about your town."
"Alright... but are you sure... we weren't counting on something like this, and..."
"Judy, something like this can't be calculated, not with our knowledge. To calculate reactions like this to synchronization, you need a much deeper knowledge of medicine and biology, as well as chrome... But I don't think anything bad will happen. After all, in the Basilisk, the pilots' synchronization is much deeper than what we could even theoretically have. We studied this, and we took some of the synchronization data from there."
"Well... alright..."
There was a hint of uncertainty in Judy's voice and emotions, but she still decided to continue.
"Yeah..."
It took Judy a couple of minutes to collect herself, after which she continued.
"Back then... as I said, I didn't appreciate this place, and only after living in Night City for a few years did I realize that Laguna Bend was a much better and more honest place."
"You're under arrest for stealing a fire truck."
"But I didn't steal it! I found it in a junkyard and fixed it!"
"Yeah, right... a little brat like you fixed it?"
"But it's true!"
A wave of emotions—hurt, confusion, anger—washed over me from Judy. It was a whole cocktail! It was terrifying! It was most likely the moment she realized that Laguna Bend was much better. But there was nothing she could do about it, as the town had been flooded, and she had already been sent to jail...
"Then... then there was the Clouds, the Moxes, but that's a different story. And we still have to get a good look at the town, and we only have..."
Judy checked the sensor on her wrist.
"...about two hours, but it's better if we get back in an hour and a half..."
"Whatever you say, you're in charge."
"Alright, then let's go..."
We swam for a bit and stopped next to a building from which a sign had fallen.
"This is Flo's Diner, the best eatery in town. The burgers were a little too greasy, of course, but that's what I think now. Back then..."
I could literally feel the taste of those hamburgers on my tongue. And I have to admit, they were greasy. Very greasy, but tasty enough. I would eat them, although... I could try to make something similar...
I looked at the sign thoughtfully.
"Wow, you had an interesting taste as a kid."
"And what about yours..."
I closed my eyes to focus better and remembered Gloria making potato pastries. They were the most delicious thing, in my past self's opinion, and I was of the same opinion.
"Strange... it's a kind of a double feeling, but they both consider it the best taste of childhood... potatoes?"
"Not just potatoes, but potato pastries that Gloria made."
"Hmm... I can even taste it on my tongue..."
"I felt your burgers, too."
"And how did you like them?"
"Well, it's possible that your memories are a little too vivid because it was a long time ago, and your mind has sharpened some of the details, but in general, it's not a bad taste. I think I'll treat you all to some hamburgers I make myself soon."
"What about fries?"
I felt the taste of fries on my tongue. A little too salty for me, but they were fried pretty well.
"I'll make them..."
I grinned.
"...both fries and Idaho potatoes."
"What about onion rings?"
Hope was in Judy's voice, and in her emotions, too.
"Them, too..."
"Good..."
I was literally showered with anticipation and gratitude. And something like this was new to me. No, I had been thanked verbally, kissed on the cheeks and lips, but like this... directly in their emotions...
It was nice, so I tried to respond in a similar way, focusing on my feelings for her...
"Oh..."
I felt shock and confusion from my girl. She even seemed to lose her bearings for a bit, which was noticeable in her movements.
"You..."
She was confused, but at the same time, she was very happy and she responded in a similar way. And now I was the one who was lost in her emotions, and the previous wave of gratitude seemed like a pitiful drop compared to what I was feeling now.
"Wow..."
"You only have yourself to blame..."
Embarrassment was in Judy's voice and emotions.
"I'm not complaining, though. It's just... it's such an incredible feeling to not only know that you love me and to say that I love you, but to also transfer my emotions to you and to feel yours..."
"Yeah... it's nice..."
Judy turned a little and swam on. I could feel her embarrassment and her desire to end this as soon as possible, but at the same time, she didn't want it to end at all.
"And this is my grandparents' house. My grandpa was the one who taught me everything I know about tech. He was more of a hands-on guy than a theorist, so he mostly taught me with practical examples. He needed to fix a clock? He would call me over and show me how and what he was doing, and at the same time, he would tell me what each part was for."
"Look, Judy, this part is called a connecting rod, and it's used to convert the rotational motion of a crankshaft into the linear motion of a piston."
Uh...
"Yeah?"
Apparently sensing my confusion, Judy stopped and decided to ask me what had caused those emotions.
"I'm just wondering why you're talking about a clock mechanism, but you're remembering how your grandpa taught you how to fix a car?"
"I don't know..."
She shrugged.
"Does it even matter?"
"No... " I shook my head, "what's more important is what you're feeling right now, and you're literally getting an emotional high from these memories."
"Well, it's my childhood, after all... the best time..."
"Should we go inside the house?"
"Let's do it!"
A feeling of nostalgia and anticipation washed over me from Judy. She was the first to rush toward the front door of the house, but I stopped her.
"Be careful. The house has been under water for a long time, and we have to be careful. I'll go first..."
"Alright..."
Judy nodded, and I first activated my optics and checked the house. But it was in pretty good condition. At least as good as my optics, which weren't made for this kind of thing, could tell.
I slowly and carefully opened the door and swam into the building.
"Well, looks like everything's still intact..."
"I'm coming in..."
Judy swam into the house.
"Oh..."
We swam through the hallway.
"...this is the dining room. We used to gather here, my grandma, my grandpa, and I. Mostly for dinner, and we'd talk about how our day was. When I was a kid, these get-togethers really pissed me off. I felt like I was this important, grown-up lady, and sitting with my grandparents..."
"Judy, get back to the table!"
"I already ate!"
"But your grandpa and I haven't finished eating yet, and we have a rule in this house... dinner is family time, and we only get up from the table all together."
"Bleh-bleh-bleh!"
A feeling of annoyance washed over me from Judy, and then embarrassment. The first emotion felt like it was far away, which showed that it was a memory, but the second one... it was very vivid...
"Did you feel that?"
"Yeah, you didn't like those get-togethers very much."
"No... I loved my grandparents very much, and I loved them back then, too, but..."
"But you felt like it was much more important for a grown-up girl to be out there, on the street..."
"Yeah... you want to see my room?"
"Let's do it."
I grinned, and we swam to the second floor, where Judy's room was located. In which...
"I'm confused..."
"What?"
Her voice sounded a little tense, so I had to turn around a bit.
"Knowing you, I imagined your room... more boyish..."
"Oh, really?"
She looked around the room, whose walls were painted pink, and the bedding on the bed... And the heart-shaped pillows... A feeling of embarrassment washed over me from her.
"Well... I thought it was cool back then to have a really girly room..."
A wave of embarrassment and... something else washed over me from her.
I grinned.
"You're lying!"
Judy sharply turned around and swam toward the exit of the house. A feeling of embarrassment was just radiating from her...
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