Daddy's World Page 4

  “He set up some kind of weird foundation that I’m not part of, with his patents and programs and so on, and his money and some other people’s.”

  “He’d better not turn up here.”

  Becca shook her head. “He won’t. Not without your permission, anyway. Because I’m in charge here. You— your program— it’s not a part of the foundation. Dad couldn’t get it all, because the University has an interest, and so does the family.” There was a moment of silence. “And I’m the family now.”

  “So you ... inherited me,” Jamie said. Cold scorn dripped from his words.

  “That’s right,” Becca said. She squatted down amid the rubble, rested her forearms on her knees.

  “What do you want me to do, Digit? What can I do to make it better for you?”

  “No one ever asked me that,” Jamie said.

  There was another long silence.

  “Shut it off,” Jamie said. “Close the file. Erase it.”

  Becca swallowed hard. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Yes. I’m sure.”

  “And if they ever perfect the clone thing? If we could make you...” She took a breath. “A person?”

  “No. It’s too late. It’s ... not something I can want anymore.”

  Becca stood. Ran a hand through her hair. “I wish you could meet my daughter,” she said. “Her name is Christy. She’s a real beauty.”

  “You can bring her,” Jamie said.

  Becca shook her head. “This place would scare her. She’s only three. I’d only bring her if we could have...”

  “The old environment,” Jamie finished. “Pandaland. Mister Jeepers. Whirlikin Country.”

  Becca forced a smile. “Those were happy days,” she said. “They really were. I was jealous of you, I know, but when I look back at that time...” She wiped tears with the back of her hand. “It was the best.”

  “Virtual environments are nice places to visit, I guess,” Jamie said. “But you don’t want to live in one. Not forever.” Becca looked down at her feet, planted amid rubble.

  “Well,” she said. “If you’re sure about what you want.”

  “I am.”

  She looked up at the metal form, raised a hand. “Goodbye, Jamie,” she said.

  “Goodbye,” he said.

  She faded from the world.

  And in time, the world and the tree faded, too.

  *

  Hand in hand, Daddy and Jamie walked to Whirlikin Country. Jamie had never seen the Whirlikins before, and he laughed and laughed as the Whirlikins spun beneath their orange sky.

  The sound of a bell rang over the green hills. “Time for dinner, Jamie,” Daddy said.

  Jamie waved goodbye to the Whirlikins, and he and Daddy walked briskly over the fresh green grass toward home.

  “Are you happy, Jamie?” Daddy asked.

  “Yes, Daddy!” Jamie nodded. “I only wish Momma and Becky could be here with us.”

  “They’ll be here soon.”

  When, he thought, they can get the simulations working properly.

  Because this time, he thought, there would be no mistakes. The foundation he’d set up before he died had finally purchased the University’s interest in Jamie’s program— they funded some scholarships, that was all it finally took. There was no one in the Computer Department who had an interest anymore.

  Jamie had been loaded from an old backup— there was no point in using the corrupt file that Jamie had become, the one that had turned itself into a tree, for heaven’s sake.

  The old world was up and running, with a few improvements. The foundation had bought their own computer— an old one, so it wasn’t too expensive— that would run the environment full time. Some other children might be scanned, to give Jamie some playmates and peer socialization.

  This time it would work, Daddy thought. Because this time, Daddy was a program too, and he was going to be here every minute, making sure that the environment was correct and that everything went exactly according to plan. That he and Jamie and everyone else had a normal family life, perfect and shining and safe.

  And if the clone program ever worked out, they would come into the real world again. And if downloading into clones was never perfected, then they would stay here.

  There was nothing wrong with the virtual environment. It was a good place.

  Just like normal family life. Only forever.

  And when this worked out, the foundation’s backers— fine people, even if they did have some strange religious ideas— would have their own environments up and running. With churches, angels, and perhaps even the presence of God ...

  “Look!” Daddy said, pointing. “It’s Mister Jeepers!”

  Mister Jeepers flew off the rooftop and spun happy spirals in the air as he swooped toward Jamie. Jamie dropped Daddy’s hand and ran laughing to greet his friend.

  “Jamie’s home!” Mister Jeepers cried. “Jamie’s home at last!”

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  BOOKS BY WALTER JON WILLIAMS

  Novels

  Ambassador of Progress

  Angel Station

  Hardwired

  Knight Moves

  Voice of the Whirlwind

  Days of Atonement

  Aristoi

  Metropolitan

  City on Fire

  The Rift (as Walter J Williams)

  Divertimenti

  The Crown Jewels

  House of Shards

  Rock of Ages

  Dread Empire’s Fall

  The Praxis

  The Sundering

  Conventions of War

  Investments (short novel)

  Dagmar

  This Is Not a Game

  Deep State

  The Fourth Wall

  Collections

  Facets

  Frankensteins & Foreign Devils

  The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories

  Privateers & Gentlemen (historical novels, originally as by Jon Williams)

  To Glory Arise (originally published as The Privateer)

  The Tern Schooner (originally published as The Yankee)

  Brig of War (originally published as The Raider)

  The Macedonian

  Cat Island

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