I wasn’t sure I’d want to go to Montford if I were a normal girl. The campus was stunning, but otherwise it seemed just like a regular school, with regular classes. Computer Science was a different kind of class, and it was where I began to see beneath the shining surface of the place.
Mr. Grassi—or Professor Grassi, as most of the students called him—was pretty cool. He looked ordinary in every way, except for the missing thumb on his left hand.
His classroom was not ordinary at all, though. Video cameras and screens hung at varying intervals around the room. And tucked into the corner . . . no way.
“Is that what I think it is?” I whispered to Hannah, pointing at the oversized machine.
“Yup. A 3D printer. Insane, right? I guess the alumni here have some big bucks.”
I whistled under my breath. Too bad Lucas wasn’t here. This class would be right up his alley.
I felt a pang, just beneath my ribs. Yes. I wished Lucas were here. It was time to admit it.
“Put away your textbooks,” Professor Grassi said. “That means you too, Ms. Peckles.”
Hannah’s cheeks flushed red as the class tittered. She shoved the book into her backpack.
“We’re going to do one of my rap sessions today.”
Good-natured groans filled the room, while one student launched into the chorus of a popular rap song. “I keep telling you people, not that kind of rap,” Grassi said, throwing his hands up in mock annoyance. But it was obvious he enjoyed the exchange.
“Today we’re going to talk a little more about virtual reality. So far, we’ve covered what’s available right now, in the present. But what might virtual reality look like in the future?”
He perched on the edge of his desk and folded his arms. “Let’s start with this—what kinds of experiences would you all most like to have? Right now, or at least in your lifetime? Supposing that anything was on the table?”
“Play on a pro football team!”
“Be president for a day!”
“Go on tour as a rap star!” the singer shouted.
“Sex!” a boy in the back row blurted.
Everyone laughed, even Grassi. He rubbed his hands together. “Perfect. You don’t know it yet, but you’re all falling right into my nefarious plans.”
“Nefarious? Wasn’t she a queen of Egypt?” The singer tossed that one out there, but his grin suggested he knew better. Grassi gave a theatrical sigh.
“Owens, Owens . . . do I need to have another word with your history teacher? You can redeem yourself by telling me this—what do most of those suggestions have in common?”
Owens’s brow creased as he tried to find the common thread. “They’re all about being famous? Well, except for sex.”
“Close, but not quite what I was looking for. What about you, Ms. Peckles? What do you think?”
Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know, because I wouldn’t pick any of those. I’d rather have a vacation experience. With a nice, comfy bed.”
He tapped a finger to his lips. “I see.” He grabbed some kind of tablet off his desk and typed in a note, before moving on. “Anyone else?”
In the front row, Claude raised his hand hesitantly. “Power? The first three are all about feeling powerful.”
“Yes. Exactly. Because the average American wants that kind of experience. And at some time, in the not-too-distant future, they might be able to get it. In fact, they might be able to get that experience all day, and all night. Virtually. Several prominent computer geniuses speculate that by the year 2028, we’ll all be living like those folks in the movie WALL-E. Shopping? Sex? Food? No need to leave home. You can experience it all from the safety of your own bedroom.”
Behind me, two girls gave high-pitched giggles. Meanwhile, other students looked at one another and began to whisper. “But that’s not really the same as experiencing it, right? You just think you’re doing those things,” said a girl from the middle row.
“Ahhh, but aren’t you? What is an experience, after all, but a series of brain synapses and neurotransmitters? If your brain tells you it happens, who are you to disagree?”
I digested that along with the rest of the class. Was that true? And, if it was, what did it mean for me? Because, of course, the thing I wanted most had nothing to do with power. It had to do with life itself—and not the virtual kind. I wanted my life to be normal. Fully human. Not enhanced by my android abilities, or