NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28: Ask Nicely
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Marie: Hey... Gordon? Would you still like me if I was a bug?
Gordon: No?
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Sol 491 FY 26, 17:01 Mars Time, Bonestell Crater Colony, Hab Layer, 9.32.002.B
"I don't like it," Adya snapped, stabbing her fork into her plate. She hadn't put down her utensils since the conversation began, and this refrain had been ongoing for … some time. "It's bad enough that we don't know anything about him, but now he's gone and been given a 3D model. Of our daughter's," She paused, clearly overwhelmed, "Body!"
Her words were becoming hysterical. "In a VR game, you could do anything, who knows what depraved things he might do!"
"Dearest. My heart," soothed Vincent. "It's only another NPC. You can't exactly walk up to the shopkeeper and ask him to get naked. And,sure, it's got her face—"
"—She. Scanned! Herself! IN!"
Marie took another slice of vat beef. Her dad, now, was also looking at her in horror.
"Is it true?" he asked her. She chewed thoughtfully, then nodded.
"A 3D scan of yourself?" he asked again. She nodded, then took another bite, this time with a bit of broccoli and cheese sauce.
Her father looked helplessly at her fuming mother, then back at her. "...naked?"
"Otherwise, the bra would show up in half my outfits, Dad. Don't be a drama king, Gordon understands consent, boundaries, all that good stuff, and besides, he's a public streamer, he wouldn't do that to me—."
"—Oh okay," interrupted her father. Vincent's mouth opened and closed, as if trying to find the right words. He looked back at Marie, who was calmly chewing, and then to Adya, whose face was going redder by the second. His temper was clearly rising as well. "So the only thing between MY daughter and HIS PERVY EYES is ASKING NICELY?!"
Marie looked vaguely sympathetic, but stood her ground.
"Yes, but that's going to be true when he's here in person, too, Dad." Her words were gentle. "A girl's got to grow up sometime."
Marie's fork hovered for a moment as she swallowed, letting the silence stretch. "It's funny how nobody's complaining that he gave me the same exact gift," she finally said, a devious smile crinkling her huge brown eyes to half their height.
Vincent sat down heavily.
"That," her father said after a moment, "Is going to give me nightmares."
Surprisingly calmly, he began to eat his broccoli again.
"Vincent!" hissed Adya, looking betrayed. He shrugged at her. "Don't think there's much we can do to stop them. Both adults, a hundred million miles apart, probably randy as hell… I'm just going to take the ostrich option."
"WHAT?"
"Pretend it didn't happen. Not my business anyway."
"If it helps, it isn't likely to happen," Marie said, patting Vincent's arm. "That sort of thing doesn't sound very satisfying."
"Well, that's good," her dad said. "Don't know that I'd have had the discipline not to peek under the hood, so to speak."
"I'm going out," announced Adya. "Don't wait up."
"What? You're hot!" complained Vincent. "I'd ask first!"
The door slammed shut, putting an end to that line of inquiry.
"It's not that bad when you see what Gordon did with it, Dad. I promise. Even mom would have to approve."
"We'll see, I guess," her father said doubtfully.
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Sol 491 FY 26, 18:00 Mars Time, Bonestell Crater Colony, Hab Layer, 9.32.002.B (14,503 viewing)
"Gallant and his Lady, I see," said her father. He'd gone all out on the 'hick from the sticks' look for his farmer character, down to a corn-cob pipe, farmer's tan, and overalls without a shirt under them. His sun-creased face, deeply lined with character, pursed its lips thoughtfully, causing a network of fine lines to flex in ways they didn't in real life—but then, Vincent wasn't at all sun-tanned in real life. "Well, he certainly lives up to the 'knight in shining armor' part."
Gallant stood half a foot taller than her father, and the plumes on his helmet made that half foot seem even greater. The farmer eyed his reflection on the steel pauldron thoughtfully.
"I suppose it would be rude of me to ask for you to take off your helmet so I can see your face?" asked her mother, who for reasons of vanity, or fascination with the character creation system, had chosen to be an ageless elfin beauty, as complete a contrast to her father as it was possible to be. She was draped in homespun, wore a shawl, carried baskets of produce, and probably milked the cow—Marie hadn't played with them on their farm for long before making a break for the wider world. It was strange how even in a game, certain themes kept repeating, with her mother.
Gallant tilted his head towards Marie, the way he usually did when someone addressed him instead of her. She still wasn't sure how much he actually understood, versus Gordon having predicted what would work in a given scenario, but it was very lifelike.
"Sure, but just know, this is exactly the kind of objectification you worried Gordon might pull with my avatar," Marie pointed out. "Gallant, please doff your helmet."
Gallant reached up and dexterously undid his helmet clasps, allowing the whole sallet to come free from his neckpiece. She reflected that she was going to have to download an anatomical reference on armor parts just to keep track of what was what.
Gallant's features—Gordon's, really—were handsome, she'd always thought. He didn't like his hooked nose, which she thought made him look a bit like a raptor, and his brow might be a shade on the thick, beetling side—not enough to be off putting, but enough to really throw his piercing green eyes into sharp relief when the light caught their normally shadowed depths. Gordon had given Gallant a relaxed facial expression, like someone listening to pleasant music—perhaps when he'd recorded this, he had been. Marie wondered what Gordon listened to.
"Hmph. I never liked a fellow with long hair," sniffed her mother.
"He wears a crew cut. This is just for Gallant—shoulder-length hair is historical, for knights."
Gallant looked from Marie, then back to her mother, nodded his head once, then turned and strode off.
"Creepy," her mother complained. "What's he doing now?"
"Walking the perimeter, looking for threats. He does that fairly often. His main role is to keep me safe, after all."
"And now he's keeping you safe without his helmet on," winked her father. "So—this is the young man you're bringing home, then."
"That's what Gordon looks like, yes."
"Taller than I'd pictured. He's going to have a rough time on Mars."
> x_TremeSnooze: Picturing Gordon trying to fit into a Mars rover. Hilarious.
"It's not that bad on Mars, Dad," she protested, smiling at the chat.
"It isn't that bad—for you." He busied his hands getting her order ready. Like it or not, she'd needed to restock on potion supplies—else she would have probably preferred to have put this interaction off for a while longer. Like, until after she and Gordon had found their own place, maybe. "But you're 'pint-sized', and he's the entire 'drink of water'—that's the phrase, right hon?"
Adya looked sour, even as an elf. "I don't see what's so important about dating a tall man anyway, Ma," Adya said, voice tinged with disapproval. She always called Marie that—an affectionate habit from the old country, though right now, it didn't feel particularly warm.
Marie rolled her eyes and ignored the bait. She was standing stiffly—talking to her mom would do that to a person—and her neck was getting a kink. She wondered how that mapped to her real body, half-asleep in her VR pod, body slowly contorting from second-hand stress.
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"WOW, you can move quietly!" interjected Vincent. Looking back, Marie saw what had startled him—Gallant, still carrying his helmet in one hand, had appeared behind her.
"He's got Gordon's stats, even if his equipment is themed differently. Gordon has moccasins for stealth, so maybe he's also put ranks in the skill—I wouldn't know, we tend to talk about other things than our characters' ins and outs."
"You could check Gallant's stats," her father commented. "He's right here."
"I could," she acknowledged. "But that feels too much like 'peeking under the hood'. He's meant to be my companion, and I want to experience him like Gordon meant him, a sort of love letter."
Gallant, helmet now missing—probably placed into his inventory—finished removing his gauntlets, revealing broad, velvet gloves. He began to rub her neck, and she leaned back into it with relish, nearly purring from pleasure as her tension began to bleed away.
"That's not natural," her mom commented, ruining it.
"Adya," Vincent interjected, "It's just a neck rub. You like those. In public, even. Just think of it like Gordon mailed her one of those coupon-for-neck-rubs couple's gifts, but with the neck rub included."
"It's pushing boundaries," said Adya. "Affection is for people, not computers."
Marie put one hand on Gallant's, signaling that he should stop the neck rub. She popped her neck by rocking it side to side instead. "It's just not your thing, Ma," she said reasonably. "Nobody's making you interact with one."
"I wouldn't know where to begin," commented Vincent. "Yours was pretty good—maybe a tad underdressed, but I know we've had that conversation before. But it can throw potions, listen to instructions—that's not as simple to code as it sounds. You did some good work there."
"You watch Gordon's stream?" she asked, a bit excitedly.
"Oh, at work sometimes the guys will have a screen up. Sometimes, while a print is going, there's a lot of standing around, so it passes the time. Seems like a nice enough kid," he commented. "Man, young man, that is."
Adya huffed and made another trip into the stockroom. Marie's reagent pile was starting to look pretty hefty.
"It is so strange, to me," her dad commented. "We're having what's basically normal daughter-dad chit-chat, but you've got ... what, dozens of people watching us do it?"
She checked her tracker. 14,533 live. "About fourteen thousand," she confessed. "I don't know why they're watching, but they're there."
> Randoon_the_wizard: It's the meet-the-parents stream. Wouldn't miss it.
> profit_of_disaster: You're grinding potions. What's not to like?
> x_TremeSnooze: I'm just waiting for Marsmom to get slapped.
> armyman56: Pretty sure Marie lives with her, IRL prolly not a great idea.
"Blows my mind. How do you not get stage fright?"
Marie had actually had some longer conversations with Gordon about this. "Mostly, you try not to picture them watching you. Cameras are pretty impersonal—you can get used to them being around, and in-game monitoring is invisible, so there's not even that much visual cue that you're being watched. If you just don't think about what it would look like to have that many people watching you, it doesn't /feel/ like they're there."
> Stormbringer777: Just pretend like we're not even here.
Gallant's hand landed lightly on her waist, just above the hip, the slightest of hugs, reminding her that he was present if needed, without interrupting what she was doing.
"I knew it," came her mom's flat voice. "It's a sexbot."
Marie felt her face go red. The chat flooded, though she chose not to look just now. "Ma."
"He kisses you. Holds you like you're his property. Touches you without prompting or ... asking for permission. He TOUCHED your REAR END. If this is what Gordon thinks is an appropriate way to treat you—"
> urbanhousemoose: I'm no expert, but that's generally called a 'waist'.
> Justamyth: And a lovely one it is, too.
"—MA.
"It's a SEXBOT! VINCENT, LOOK AT HOW IT'S TOUCHING HER! THIS IS INAPPROPRIATE!"
"Ma, stop talking—"
"What? Why? Someone has to SAY SOMETHING!"
"You're on the air."
> Randoon_the_wizard: DUN DUN DUNNN!
Vincent nodded. "The chat's pretty vocal about the topic. 'Don't worry, 'Marsmom', Gallant's just a big softy. Nothing to worry about."
He blinked. "They're calling you 'Marsmom,' dear. You've got a nickname now."
"Ma, he's just an avatar."
"An avatar programmed to act like your boyfriend! And don't think for a second I haven't thought about what that means. You're alone, in virtual reality, with this... this thing that looks like him!"
Gallant had been made to be a protector. He was now standing a bit in front of Marie, between her and her mother. That little detail made her feel a pang of sadness.
"Oh, so that's what you picture my sessions in ghostlands are about, Ma? I log in and, streamers watching, go to town on myself with Gallant as a tool? I didn't know you thought so highly of me—"
> Randoon_the_wizard: Don't worry Marsmom: WE WOULD REMEMBER, TRUST US
> urbanhousemoose: we will keep an eye on her.
> Neopets30: Gallant's literally just here to support her. Let the man vibe.
> justamyth: Both eyes…
> urbanhousemoose: Myth you're being continuously disrespectful, and I'm going to ban you.
"That's not—I mean, you don't have to be so crude! I'm just trying to protect you!"
Vincent shrugged. "You're making it sound like she's dating the toaster."
Marie shot him a grateful look. "Seriously, Ma. You're accusing me of things that even total strangers don't believe I'd do. Think about that for a second."
Adya stared, momentarily speechless, as if Marie had slapped her.
Adya threw up her hands dramatically. "You're all taking this the wrong way," she said. "I just wanted my daughter to be decent."
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Monday, November 18th, 2091, about 7:00 am MST, Montana City
Jill: Breaking news tonight: Gallant and his Lady! Meet the parents did NOT go well. Marshall at the commentator desk has the story. Marshall?
Marshall: Thank you, Jill. Tensions reached a boiling point during what should have been a routine visit to Marsmom and Dad's Potion Emporium. The family gathering quickly derailed when accusations flew, emotions ran high, and chat participation hit an all-time peak. Let's break it down.
(A quick graphic of Gallant standing stoically, holding flowers, with Marie facepalming in the background and her mom mid-yell. A fake headline scrolls across the bottom: "Marsmom Speaks Out: Is Gallant a Sexbot?")
Marshall: The drama began innocently enough, with Gallant performing a simple neck rub—a gesture that one might describe as chivalrous, perhaps even tender. But Marsmom, better known as Adya, saw something far more sinister. That's right, Jill. She called Gallant a 'sexbot.'
Jill: A bold accusation, Marshall.
Marshall: Very bold, Jill. And completely unsupported by evidence, according to our sources. Viewers were quick to chime in with comments like, 'Let the man vibe,' and 'Gallant's literally just picking flowers.' Despite this, Adya insisted that Gallant's actions were inappropriate and that Marie's VR companion was crossing boundaries.
(Cut to a short highlight reel of chat messages, with dramatic zoom-ins on key quotes like: "Marsmom needs to chill" and "justamyth: Both eyes.")
Jill: Once again, Gallant and his Lady are at the heart of the evolving question: just what is, and isn't, healthy when it comes to love in the digital VR age? Is virtual love bad for you? Is Gallant truly the 'love letter' Marie claims he is, or—as Marsmom so passionately argued—simply a projection of deeply ingrained misogyny? Marshall, what are the experts saying?
Marshall: Great question, Jill. It's a complicated issue. On one hand, virtual relationships have been a part of ghostlands and other VR communities for as long as we've had them—(A graphic appears on the screen: "Virtual Love by the Numbers" with pie charts and percentages. 68% of users say VR companions make them feel 'less lonely,')—even if we haven't seen anything as advanced as Gallant before, we've still had enough time to see the trends. And, on the whole—no, people aren't abandoning real-life love for the virtual replacement. People just don't like playing alone. On the other hand, there's the argument that companions are implicitly teaching people to objectify their partners, reinforcing problematic stereotypes, and setting unrealistic expectations. In fact, Dr. Cynthia Awkworth of the Virtual Ethics Institute recently published a paper titled 'To Have and To Hold (Virtually): The Ethics of Digital Companionship,' arguing that while companions (like Gallant) can enhance emotional well-being, they also risk fostering unhealthy dependency if not used responsibly. The question of whether Gallant represents a healthy form of companionship or simply reinforces unrealistic standards for real-world relationships remains unanswered. And with 'Marsmom' voicing concerns over Gallant's 'objectifying' behavior, the debate is far from over.
Jill: A thought-provoking point, Marshall. Certainly, passions are high, and opinions remain divided. And while we can't say for sure if Gallant's a knight in shining armor or just shiny, one thing's clear: Marie's fans are not ready to let him go.
> Neopets30: Gallant is just there to make her feel safe and happy. Humanity disappoints me.
> urbanhousemoose: I'd kill to have someone make a gesture like this towards me. Marsmom needs to chill.
Jill: Up next, a deep dive into the programmer himself! And stay tuned for the unexpected results of the Gordon X shipping poll…
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Monday, November 18th, 2091, about 8:00 am MST, Montana City
"...a public poll asked: Who do you ship with Gordon? The results to the 'Gordon X' poll are in, and I have one question: Who the heck voted for Claire? Fifteen percent of you think Gordon should date his step-sister. You're all grounded. No internet for a week."
Gordon cut off the television feed.
"Karen or Marie?" he muttered, scrolling through the endless stream of comments on his portable. "I'll bet Claire is thrilled right now."
Harry leaned over his shoulder, smirking. "Twelve percent for me, too. That's people for you—Claire won't hold it against you—though she might look at you funny for a while."
"We'd be a power couple," Gordon joked. "'I ship it, but I also feel like I need a shower after'—that was urbanhousemoose. I thought I liked that guy."
He sighed, flopping back onto the couch. "How is this my life? I just meant to make someone a nice gift. Now it's 'sexbot scandal' this and 'date your stepsister' that."
"It'll blow over," promised Harry. "Meantime, think of all the views we'll be getting. Dollars in our pockets."
[7:57] Marie: You knocked it out of the park. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
"Anything good?"
"Yeah, she's telling me I did good, don't listen to losers on the internet. Paraphrase."
"Right on. Listen, this is going to be good for our viewership, short term. We should try to accomplish something while we've got the people's eyes, cement our name. We should get sponsorships."
It was a nice thought. "Like how?"