Chapter 5 Part 3
Rei had so much respect for the shapers that she had known when she was young she wanted to serve in the Conservatorium. Her parents had read her stories about the shapers, and she had looked to the shapers as idols. When she had grown up, however, she realized that her idols were mere people complete with the imperfections people held. People built legends around what they considered their forefathers. These legends elevated these forefathers into literal Gods. Perhaps it was human nature to take average people and speak of them larger-than-life. It made it seem like God--provided there was one--had not abandoned them--that something immortal could still walk and talk among "regular folks"--that when regular men and women could rise to be like Gods that maybe there was still hope for regular people to do the same.
Reid rounded the corner and took a seat at the desk centrally located in the middle of the Conservatorium. She accessed her personal information interface, or PII as they were called, and began to rummage around for pertinent communication.
On thing the holonosphere had not discouraged was marketing. People still sent annoying messages to other people designed to persuade them to buy what they were selling. The difference was, most of these pitches were in 3D interactive format. What had improved was the ability to sort through all the garbage. Rei quickly backgrounded several offers trying to entice her to spend her credits on products called Warbles. She was a little surprised she kept getting these messages since most people who wanted Warbles seemed to find them without needing to be told about them. A Warble was a lot like digital LSD, but whereas LSD actually interfered in the physical body, a Warble did no such thing. Different companies specialized in making different varieties of Warbles. There were some for relaxation, some for pleasure, and some for raising attention. When a user would "shift" a Warble, they would be greeted by an immersive 3D experience that would then be imposed into their neural pathways for a short time. Because everything was holographic, it was possible to pop a holon into pathways for a short time. Because everything was holographic, it was possible to pop a holon into or out of a neural net because the neural net itself was a holograph. Users had called it "shifting" because it "shifted" one's mind space. As opposed to the old world phraseology of "getting high" one could "shift up".
Rei found such needs to be crutches. Those that needed them were generally seeking an escape--and what they were trying to escape ultimately amounted to themselves. One message caught her eye, though. As the expertly scanned the information, this message practically shouted. The subject line was addressed as follows--Attention High Priestess Rei Carlotta. Rei hesitated. She hesitated because on some level, she knew that once that once she read this letter, her life as she knew it would end. She also knew that no matter what she did, this letter or one like it would find her. Rei took a breath, and opened the message.
