The box came in the morning. Inside she was surprised to find a small platform. It was sleek, metal, with a simple line running through the middle of it. The only instructions were that it needed to be laid out on the floor with clearance of about seven feet and to turned on. She set it up in her living room, right in the center.
Her heart beat against her chest as she pressed the on switch and let the machine do its thing. It would take all night, it was mostly silent, but a low humming noise came from the middle of the platform where the slit was.
She sat for a long time watching it, but nothing seemed to happen. It just sat, glowing an other worldly blue and humming to its own tune.
She got bored and went to bed.
Maybe this had been all a mistake.
“Julia” a voice called and she sat straight up in bed.
There he sat on the edge of her bed. It had worked.
“Oh my god, Pete, is it really you?” She grasped his face and ran her fingers over his slender cheeks. They were warm. It worked.
“Oh course it’s me silly” he had already gotten dressed “Why, where would I be? I just got back form the work trip, but that was a few days ago”
A connection that wasn’t real. She choked on her breathe. They told me it would be like this. He never made it back from his work trip. A wave of regret hit her. Tears fell down her face. She stood and hugged him with all her might.
“I’m so glad you’re back, I was so stupid. I made a horrible mistake” she pressed her face into his chest.
His hand went to the back of her head, she could feel him stroke her “We will work everything out. Don’t worry”
The device was gone in the living room. Pete explained that he had never seen anything. It must be part of the design she thought. Pete turned on the stove and started making breakfast.
She sat watching him. What a miracle. She smiled rubbing her forehead.
A week went by just like it used to. It was like he had never left. Their old problems came back, but she didn’t care, she would work through them differently this time.
She went to her mother’s place and came back on the Friday.
“Pete, where are you?” She entered the front door and looked in the living room. Her heart froze, the platform was sitting in the middle of the floor. She peered into the kitchen. Pete sat in a chair, pulled away from the table looking directly into the living room at the platform.
She approached and stopped when she saw what as in his hands.
“Julia, Julia Julia. A defect in the design, I wasn’t supposed to remember was I?” He leaned back in the chair. “My business trip, I never made it back, did I?”
Tears started to stream down Julia’s face as she shook her head
“No, I didn’t. How many times did you hit me in the head? Four times at least. The first time, I couldn’t even see after it, just stars. Then pain, blow after blow after blow. Then “he stood causing the chair to fall back onto the floor with a sharp bang. She shot back away from him “How did you get me in the car? Going that fast, in to the medium. Alcohol? When did you get so crafty?”
He moved slowly towards her.
“I was so angry. It was a mistake. I knew it, I brought you back. I printed you back to life” she pleaded.
“You should have read the fine print. If person died a violent death, give at least sixty days after their death to print them. Memory fragments can still be present”
“Please, Pete, please, I’m sorry.”
His eyes dead, and dull looked right through her. “I’m am too. Don’t worry, I’ll wait sixty days”
3D printing is one of those thing that I think will be pretty impactful in the future. Right now it’s a bit niche, but maybe it could become something like it is in the game Pragmata (great game btw). This was originally going to be a more love/intimate story, but some how It took a dark direction.
Always read the fine print. Cheers~