by Dominic Eberle

The last REM phase ended

The metallic taste of the night still stuck to his tongue. He should probably postpone the nightly boxing training with sparring partner in the Klartraum for a while.

He knew about himself that he liked to exaggerate.

That night he escalated again, knocked the sparring partner and 2 helpers unconscious until he finally collapsed exhausted.

This has to stop. But it was also such fun. He asked Sarah to suggest a non-violent dream for the next night. A sail? Yeah, that sounded good.

He opened his eyes

Soft waves caressed his ears. The ceiling shone in a soft blue, only occasionally interspersed with a few feather clouds. Sarah was a sweetheart. And with the new update almost perfect.

Sometimes she could be a little more out of his thoughts. Just the other day he had tried to start a fight with her again, but her AI was just too good.

Delicate coffee aroma caressed his nose, interspersed with some salty nuances. The kitchenette had already covered breakfast for her.

He was happy. Again he toyed with the idea of asking Sarah for a second wedding. He had a weakness for old rituals and she, of course, knew about them.

Their first wedding almost 100 years ago was a glittering celebration

Many of his friends from all over the world were there and had brought family, friends and partners. The location was first class. A glacier where you could ski, which was his wish. Directly inside was a palm-lined beach with crystal clear water, which was her wish.

Jane and her team from Berlin must have spent weeks at the holoworld, that’s how perfectly it was simulated. Even Abadi latched on from the ISS for a few hours. His diary as commander was always full to bursting, which is why he was particularly grateful to him that day.

He was an optimistic individualist

Many of his friends and acquaintances were trustworthy individualists or trusting group people. He never liked to have long dealings with pessimists and envious people, be they group people or individualists.

Since the disappearance of the state borders and people were able to move freely in the colonized space, people defined themselves not according to where they were born or where they lived, but according to their own ideas of society.

You could live practically anywhere. And even beyond that, if you synchronized your mind via neuralink with a surrogate, an android without AI. You just looked for your niche, where you felt comfortable.

He turned his head and saw Sarah lying beside him

She was beautiful as always. He gave her a kiss. Her perfume seductively tickled his olfactory cells. He bathed in the nuances of his thoughts and tasted every breath down to the last molecule.

The olfactory generator cells of her skin worked perfectly. He could definitely judge that after the last genetic update of his sense of smell and the subsequent mental training.

The endorphin output was consequently particularly intoxicating. He closed his eyes and mentally followed every wave to the furthest parts of his body.

The neuroimplant reminded him of the time of day

He sighed. Slowly he stood up and stepped against the tent window. Spotted red and white, Utopia Planitia lay spread out before him in the light of the rising sun.

They had really found a perfect place. He stretched briefly and then tightened his shoulders. They had to hurry today if they wanted to reach Viking 2 before sunset.

The hot springs, the snow sculptures and the view of the stars are said to be breathtaking. Just the thing for their heavenly wedding day.

When he turned around, Sarah sat at the breakfast table and smiled happily at him.