“So, let me get this straight. I was stolen and cloned, but now I'm in a private zoo, and, probably maybe, you are my zookeeper, and, in spite of what I remember, you cannot find any evidence I actually existed on Earth, except, again, your information probably came from whoever, whatever, is running this experiment, so maybe it's false, or maybe not.”

After this summary, Sally was out of breath. It was a few “days” later, she had made progress in being able to walk, and could now move a few steps when holding onto a wall. She had washed herself and her gown, both had been getting pretty rank, and she’d left the gown to dry while she slept. Nothing else had changed, except that spider-rabbits had wandered in and out of the room. Sally was getting used to them.

Jon and Sally’d had a number of conversations, which she had privately named her morning punch-in-the-face.

“And,” she continued, “as far as you know it’s at least two hundred years later than I think it is. You’re going to see if you can make a better estimate, somehow. Earth is a closed planet because people are stupid and couldn’t handle access to the larger universe because it’s a madhouse out there. Oh yes, except there were some people who managed to improved themselves, somehow, and they were let out. But, for the most part, for everyone left behind, life remains sort of the same as I remember it.”

Sally and Jon were sitting at the end of the main room, which Jon insisted she call an atrium, getting ready to enter one of the little rooms Jon had evaluated but never gone into. One reason why they’d decided to step up the exploration was to get Sally some exercise, but an even more pressing need was that her higher level of activity was making it critical that they find better food.

Jon spoke up, “Also, I haven’t found any indication that there are any radio, microwave, laser, subatomic patterning, or quantum resonance links active in this region. I’ve even looked for more esoteric means of communication and all my searches have turned up negative. This lack of signals is very unusual, since everything runs on information.”

Sally added this little tidbit to her pile of not very helpful information. She’d given up trying to understand everything Jon said, and usually just accepted what she could. At least, she tried to understand the gist of what he told her, even if she couldn’t understand the details. Which was a lot of the time.

Once or twice she had made the mistake of asking for clarification and had discovered that it was a good way to be inundated with gibberish masking as information. To his credit, Jon tried, and she felt that she could eventually understand more of what he was saying, but not without a lot of explanation. It would take a concerted effort on her part, and a lot of work. For the most part, she postponed it for later... much later.

Anyway, it was time to explore! Sally was excited. She was aching for a change from the drudgery of her physical recovery and the constant beating of her ego from the discussions with Jon. She just wanted to do something.

She decided she would start with a pep talk.

“Ok team. We're ready to go, here’s the plan: I will rush in slowly, and when the huge many-teethed, multiple-eyed beast attacks, I will marginally slow it down before you, Jon, deal with it. You will mourn my passing.”

Jon responded with all the enthusiasm Sally had come to expect, which was none.

Sally wasn’t to be denied. She turned the wheelchair toward the door of the nearest little room.

Jon blurred and was suddenly between her and her goal. His hand detached and flew around them once and then into the room, with Jon following.

Sally just sighed and followed after.

Each door to the smaller rooms was simply a rectangular hole in the wall with nothing to close it off, and as she entered, the walls began glowing. For some reason they hadn’t responded to Jon. She looked around, and as empty rooms went, this was one.

Jon, for his part, had his third eye open and was scanning the walls, floor, and ceiling with a variety of lights and sounds. Sometimes the light was extremely bright and changed colors, sometimes looking like a laser making patterns, and occasionally there were flashes of characters.

The walls and ceiling followed the plan of the atrium and halls, consisting of a plasticky white substance with two bands of wood. Jon had insisted that almost everything, including the walls, floor, and windows, were actually made from the matter of this universe, and just looked like other things. This material was impervious to just about everything and couldn’t be scanned through.

Jon finished whatever he was doing and approached her chair. Sally watched as his open third eye suddenly was covered by the metal disc, and she noticed his hand was back on.

“This room appears to be empty, and scans as similar to the typical empty rooms I have investigated previously,” he reported.

“Any idea why the walls glowed for me but not you?” she asked.

“I think it is because I do not need the light, but you do.”

“Does that mean the room knows we are here? Is something watching us?”

“Yes, and yes. It is always best to assume you are being watched. One of the factors in a technically advanced civilization is that there is never any real privacy. In particular, the Infinite City has gods. These are also called controllers, or the equivalent. Different names for the same thing.”

This was great. Just great. Sally certainly hadn’t been thinking about this while she had been wandering around in her less than adequate gown. She groaned, “Wait until pictures of me hit the internet. A million followers…probably not. Who cares about a naked primitive, anyway?”

Oh well. Nothing she could do about it.

Jon started toward the door.

“Wait!” Sally shouted. Jon stopped.

“If video games have been any use, they’ve taught me to check before I go back to the previous room for anything new that’s shown up.”

Jon looked at her with an annoyed version of the same non-expression he always wore. “You have a point.”

His hand flew off, through the door, and he did his little check of crouching by the door and quickly flashing his remaining hand into the opening, like it was a camera. It probably was. After a moment, he stood up and left the room.

Sally did a little happy dance in her chair. Jon wasn’t perfect! She basked in her glory for a little while and then headed for the door.

Sally had a sudden thought and turned back to face the room. Jon had told her that the way that the inhabitants changed the walls and rooms was to do something like praying to the gods, or whatever ran this place. Then he gave a bunch of examples of how this was done, but she hadn’t understood anything he said. It was all math and stuff. One thing she could understand, though, was praying for divine intervention. She had been a high school student, after all. It was worth a shot.

“Oh, great and wonderful gods of this infinite universe of loveliness, show me any secret passages and compartments, because, well, why not?”

That was fairly lame, but, whatever.

Nothing changed. Maybe next time.

They checked all of the rooms on one side of the atrium and didn’t find anything worthwhile, just garbage, like Jon had said. To access the upper level Jon carried Sally up the ramp, where he put her down so she could shuffle along behind him. They could’ve hauled the wheelchair up, but Jon wanted to get her out of it as much as possible.

There wasn’t much to see, the only difference in each room was a few feet of variation in the floor dimensions, and the kind of garbage. They moved to the other end.

In the lower level room, they found a small pile of cloth, but it disintegrated when Jon poked it. Sally was relieved when the powder didn’t try to run off. She shuddered when Jon tasted the dust that remained, but he didn’t seem to notice as he informed her that the powder wasn’t suitable for her to consume.

Jon carried her up to the second floor. He scanned the empty rooms from the outside and entered one of them. While he examined the room, she stood in the doorway and watched. Standing and moving were okay, if she held onto the wall.

Jon walked out of the first room, past her, and on to the next. Sally entered the room he’d just left and leaned on the wall. As with the other rooms, the walls and ceiling started to glow when she entered.

Sally was getting tired and discouraged. “Oh, glorious gods of this universe, blah blah blah, show me stuff.”

On the floor in one back corner of the room, the outline of a square started glowing with a golden light.

“Jon, Jon, Jon, JON!” she yelled.

There was a loud snap and Jon simply appeared in front of her. He’d moved so fast he seemed to teleport.

He stopped and froze, staring at the glowing square.

“Look! Look what happened!” Sally squealed.

A pause, then he said, “Humph.”

Sally looked from the glowing square to Jon.

“What does humph mean? Good, bad, what?”

“I have searched through a huge number of documents, novels, movies, and interviews, and humph seems to be the appropriate response.”

“Well, can we see what is there? I prayed to the universe and it listened. Ooooh, this is so cool, just like a real-life computer game.”

Sally thought for a minute, and then asked seriously, “Are we in a game? Do you think?”

“It is part of my processes to try and uncover inconstancies that would indicate that sort of deception, and I have not found any, to date. Being immersed in an artificial reality is not an unheard-of situation. It is generally recommended to treat everything as real, but remain vigilant and watch for clues that may indicate otherwise.”

He paused and added, “This situation underlines that I am not infallible. It does imply that the information I have may not be as complete as it should be. This, as well as other facts, such as my appearance as a small human boy, and the depth of the information I have concerning Earth, implies a tailoring of the data I have been absorbing, and that this tailoring is aimed toward some unknown goal.”

“Don’t care, don’t care, can you open the door in the floor?” Sally rushed out. Actually, she had listened but priorities, you know?

Sally used the wall to work her way over to the square. She put her foot on the band of light. For some reason, Jon didn’t stop her. The floor didn’t feel any different here than anywhere else. Sally slid down until she was sitting next to the square. She felt around with her hands. Still nothing.

“Any ideas on how to open this? I assume there’s something here and not just a glow-y square.”

“I have been trying a number of tests, but there has not been any response, and except for the light, I cannot detect a difference between that region and the floor in general.”

Sally yelled “Open Sesame!” Nothing.

She leaned over and pushed and pulled on the area of the square nearest her. Still nothing.

She hit the floor and yelled, “Open, you stupid door!”

The door swung up to lean against the wall, forcing Sally to scrabble back out of the way. She sat for a moment.

“Humph,” she said.

The glow in the floor had extinguished, and the door opened onto a dark space. The light from the room only dimly illuminated a few feet of the floor of whatever was below.

Jon’s hand flew past, and down into the hidden room. Lights and sounds emanated from below as it scanned. The sensor flew back up and attached itself to Jon’s arm.

This had become a normal event for Sally by now. “Ok, can we go down? Is there a ladder, or something? What’s down there?”

Jon walked over to the opening and stepped in. There was a thump as he landed and then the room lit with scanning energies as he walked out of sight. He returned, walking slowly.

Sally jerked back as he jumped back up through the trapdoor. That had to be at least 8 feet!

“I can lower you down, and you can see for yourself.”

Sally wasn’t so sure. She was still weak but had faith that Jon knew what he was doing. She scooted over until she was sitting on the edge, with her feet dangling. Jon came up behind her, gripped her hands in his, used his foot to shove her butt forward, and then lowered her into the hole. The walls began glowing as she dropped. Sally’s feet touched the floor. She looked up and saw that somehow Jon had managed to end up lying on his stomach. He let go and Sally pulled her gown back in place and then looked around as she rubbed her hands, which were sore where Jon had held them.

The room was not very large, just a short dead-end hallway. It was lined with open-topped bins that held a variety of things. Sally moved herself along, holding onto the bins for support. She worked her way down the row while examining the contents of each bin. It was like rooting through boxes at a flea market, but far more important! Most of the bins contained seeds and roots, but one had something that was probably cloth. Whatever was stored here seemed well preserved. She touched what was in several bins and nothing disintegrated.

With a thump, Jon landed behind her. He walked down the bins tasting the contents of each one. When he was done he returned. “This is good. You can digest the contents of six of these bins, and they will go a long way to supplementing your diet. I can modify a few of the rest to fill in the remaining needs. This should be sufficient for a complete diet for four months, and a partial, but adequate, supplement for two more.”

Out of the blue, Sally was struck by the sudden knowledge that she was stuck in this place, probably for forever! She froze where she was, quite lost.

Unexpectedly, Jon came over and put his arm around her. Sally was a usually touch-me-and-die type person, but the attempt was appreciated. They stood there for a few minutes until Sally started to feel a bit awkward. Sure, Jon had been carrying her everywhere, but this was a bit different. It wasn’t too bad because a hug from Jon was kind of like being held by a crowbar. This thought caused a small chortle to squeeze out. She looked down at him.

“How did you know I was having problems?” she asked.

“A surprising number of documents pertaining to human relationships state that when a female exhibits non-linear behavior there are a number of methods to deal with the situation. I find myself lacking flowers, chocolates, punching bags, or hundreds of other choices, but I am supplied with an infinite number of hugs I can share.”

Oddly enough this made Sally feel a bit better. It wasn’t the hug, but more the attempt that pointed out that she wasn’t alone. Jon might be the strangest person she had ever met, but he was here, and he tried his best. She took a deep breath, then extracted herself from his arm, and looked around. She was sure there were going to be more shocks, and maybe more moments like this. She would just have to be tough.

“Jon?” She asked “Do you know anything about that bin full of cloth? Can I use it to make clothes? It won’t fall apart, or, cause a rash, or anything?”

“It should be adequate. It is a processed version of chitin that is very durable and is a good choice for rough use. Additionally, I can use it to make backpacks and other items, and since it is a very rare and sought-after commodity it would be a good trade item if we ever have the need. A few of the bins contain what are regarded as spices, which you should avoid, and some high energy density foods, most of which are compatible with your biology.

“Whoever or whatever stored the items in this room made very good choices for a fallback cache for times of need. I have no idea why everything was stored here, or what happened to the entities who stocked it.”

“How do I use the cloth? Are there, like, scissors, and thread, or whatever?”

“That is not a problem. I can tailor clothes for you, as well as carrying bags and any other items we may decide we need.”

Sally was curious how this would happen, but when Jon said he could do something, then there was no doubt he could. She had learned that when he wasn’t certain he would usually give what she called “footnotes”. That is how she thought of his statements about percentages, likelihoods, and assumptions. She wasn’t sure how his mind worked, but she was getting a little more of an idea.

Her immediate problem was that she didn’t have a good idea of how she would get out of the storage room. She probably wasn’t strong enough to be boosted out. As usual, Jon had a plan. He startled her when he jumped up and out of the room. He then reached down for her and pulled her up until she was sitting on the edge. It was very impressive. It also really drove home that although he looked like it, he was not a little boy.

Jon jumped back down and started passing sheets of the cloth to her, which she piled on the floor.

When they were done, she edged out of the room and carefully inched down the ramp to the main floor. At the same time, Jon tossed the cloth off the ledge then jumped down. He gathered up the sheets and carried them to where the bed was laid out.

Sally rolled the chair over.

“What type of clothing would you prefer?” Jon asked. “I would suggest something light, but practical. Once you are mobile, it is likely we will be moving around a significant amount.”

Sally thought for a while, debating her options. She didn’t need anything too complicated, all she needed was a simple pull-over and pants that covered her knees. All the crawling she had been doing had taught her the importance of knee protection. She told him what she thought and they discussed the details.

Once Sally explained her ideas, Jon went to work. He spread out a few sheets and ran one finger over them, following a pattern only he could see. Sally was surprised when the cloth split apart where he’d touched it. He then butted two edges together, ran his finger over the join, and they bonded with a nearly invisible seam. Sally was amazed.

She watched as he made a top and pants, along with cutting some strips for lacing and putting appropriate holes in the clothing to allow for adjustments to make them fit. All in all, he was pretty impressive. The clothing he made was simple but functional.

Jon had also cut strips from one of the blankets they’d brought from her hospital bed to make a loincloth that would work as underwear. After watching the vomit disappear, Jon had told her that the blankets were made from a special material that would absorb body fluids and convert them to base elements. They didn’t even really need cleaning. This took care of a few problems Sally had been reluctant to bring up. Jon, on the other hand, had rattled on with way too much detail about how the material dealt with menstruation, sweat, anal leakage, and involuntary urination.

Sally tried on a top and pants, they fit amazingly well. She felt much better now that she wasn’t dressed in a perpetual peep show.

Jon went on to make two more outfits and some carrying bags. When he was done he went back to the hidden room and filled the bags with stuff from the bins.

Sally looked at the food he had retrieved. It was just a bunch of sticks and seeds and didn’t look very appetizing.

Jon watched her as she stared at the... kindling. “Go ahead, this will give you enough energy that your recovery to full functionality will happen much more quickly.”

Sally thought the seeds looked to be the safest bet. When she put one in her mouth she found it was more like gum than she’d expected. In spite of having no real flavor, it really started the saliva flowing.

Maybe it was okay.

She chewed, and chewed, and chewed. Eventually, she swallowed the last of it.

Next Sally picked up one of the sticks. It was quite thick, and when she tried to take a bite, she just put a few teeth marks in it. She started gnawing and finally worked a few small pieces off and doggedly chewed on them.

It tasted just like some random stick would taste. She swallowed and decided that was enough for now. She ran her tongue around her mouth. The wood had left a bitter aftertaste that a drink of the IV fluid didn't remove. Maybe she should scrape her tongue with her fingernails?

Instead, she stated her opinion. “Bleccch!”

Jon was no help. “Chewing on the sticks will also be good for keeping your teeth clean. You should keep that in mind.”

Sally drank some more and eventually, the taste subsided.

At this point, she decided it had been a reasonably productive day. They had food, at least for now, clothing, and she was becoming more mobile. Time for a rest, then back to the grind.