Virtual Eternity (the Serialized Novel) Episode 8 - The Career Advice from Lana: Building Corporate Performance

This is Episode 8 of the serialized version of the novel, Virtual Eternity: An Epic 90s Retro Florida Techo-Pro-Life Love Story and Conversion Journey. These 52 episodes are presented here free for you every Friday. You can buy the paperback version from Mike Church’s Crusade Channel Store (at a lower price than Amazon!).

Or you can start reading at the Table of Contents: here

The Career Advice from Lana: Building Corporate Performance

At least once every weekend, Maureen woke around 3 a.m. to let Klopp breeze in. Each time he slept soundly on the sofa. She detested the places he went with vendors. She hated the strange cologne he used to attract the dancer  to his table. Gina, who knew their frequent sleeping arrangements and the frustrated drives of the male parts, had explained that his outings somehow appeased his urges for Maureen.

So, each weekend Maureen’s promise to Christ stayed intact, at least for another week. But she always pledged to please Klopp on the next occasion.

“Next week,” she guaranteed every Monday morning, “he won’t need those lounges.” No, she remembered. At least she must agree to marry him, if he asked again.

Gina and Winnie stopped by her apartment one humid Saturday morning in July. The long drive southward to the mall near Miami would allow Maureen to explain why Klopp was at her apartment in a bathrobe.

“What did you two do last night?” Winnie asked. Gina added a quick “Uh-oh.”

“We went to a dinner party.”

“I’ve never been to one of those,” Gina said. “My parents did, when I was little.”

“You guys missed the cookout at Scott’s,” Winnie said. “Much wildness.”

Maureen had heard about the cookout party; secretaries seemed to know about most upcoming large gatherings. When no invite came from Gina or Lisa, she agreed to go to Klopp’s boss’s dinner party.

The dinner party helped Klopp’s career, Maureen imagined. Five couples fit into the pool patio of the boss’s house. Klopp clung to her when the men stuck to their wives. Otherwise, she talked to the wives, who had plush lives, pools, zero or one kid, and ever-promising careers.

Meanwhile, at the cookout, Scott hooked up with someone named Elizabeth, or Eliza; the oysters were so good; the keg was floating in its industrial trashcan by eight; the next keg that someone trucked in was flat, but floated by ten; someone named Steve dropped his guitar and ruined it, which served him right for hitting on this girl Trish, who left with some guy they didn’t know who fell in the pool after Lisa threw up in it; Winnie and Kevin left early, for some reason; Gina and Mike passed out at Mike’s condo, although neither remembered going to bed.

“Well,” Gina turned to Maureen, “Did you and Robert do it?”

“No, Gina.”

After she recounted her history with Klopp for Winnie’s sake, shame compounded her guilt. Guilt? For not relenting? Could she expect empathy from them? She certainly could not mention her promise. Imagine how they would laugh.

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic about your relationship,” Winnie said at the mall, as they tried on clothes in the last carrel of the dressing room. “Is it so bad that you can’t even sleep with him?”

“Well, the main reason is that I’m a virgin.”

“Really?” She laughed. “You’ve never been with a man. You’re kidding. Why not?”

“I’ll feel terrible about doing it. I know it’s something we’re not supposed to do.”

“That’s understandable,” Winnie said. “You probably don’t like Robert that much. Do you think he’s attractive? Isn’t he about ten years older than you?” One of the blouses she chose lit up her golden eyes.

“Eleven,” she said. “He’s not the most good-looking guy in the world. That’s not supposed to matter, right?” Moments later, the two left the dressing room.

“What’s the big deal, Maureen?” Gina said. She had been listening from outside. “You’re such a prude. Such gorgeous guys are out there. I’ve been tempted since I was twelve. How can anyone resist?”

Maureen had often wondered that. If she were prettier, would the mass of opportunities have crushed her resolve? She shuddered. “I may sound like some kind of nun or something, but I was taught that if I did it with someone before Marriage, I’ d be committing a mortal sin.”

Gina and Winnie shrieked. “A what?” Gina said.

Maureen laughed too. It sounded absurd, here among libertines in the halls of apparent wealth, as the scents of the sexually formulated perfumes and images surrounded them.

“Those commandments don’t mean anything today,” Winnie said. “They don’t know how to reach us. They blurt out these rules and expect you to follow them blindly. If you think them through, their only purpose is to make you feel guilty.”

“I also worry about getting pregnant,” Maureen said. “Or AIDS.”

“Use protection,” Gina said.

“But nothing’s a hundred percent reliable.”

Gina sighed. “If you get pregnant, then you need to end it. I can’t imagine having a baby. Mike would agree. I’ d need to weigh out all the pros and cons, but I don’t think a baby would be best at this point in my life.”

“If you’re not happy, the baby won’t be either,” Winnie said.

“This conversation is too serious,” Gina said. “Speaking of sin, I need to buy something to wear for Mike. I’ ll meet you in Burlton’s lingerie, in about twenty minutes.”

As Gina trailed down a corridor, Maureen and Winnie continued through the store out into the mall, intoxicated by the nearness to material fulfillment.

The call to spend summoned them from every storefront. Shop after shop held dozens of items they needed. Every year they said she needed more, not because Maureen was changing or the products improved, but because the terabytes of marketing data and the new cognitive science of how to appeal continued to flow down to malls. The “30% Off ” signs were larger and more strategically placed to align with the person who walked down a particular aisle. Whoever typically walked to the back of the store liked their jeans stacked up in little boxes; those who browsed the fronts liked their jeans draped on hangers, with a “45% Off ” sign. The piped-in music, mostly top-ten tunes from at least fifteen years ago when everyone listened to the same material, was precisely calculated to increase one’s stay at the mall. The selection of hip-hop music doubled in playing time over the mall to the north, given exact sales demographics. The bath-and-body store knew the right scent to project for this time of year and location. The specialty shoe store knew the precise price to charge for the loud-clomping, attention-getting, black leather shoes without backs that many in South Florida (but no longer in New York) wore this season.

Winnie led them through the big glass portal of the shoe store, doing math aloud as she read a receipt.

“How have you and Kevin been doing lately?” Maureen asked as they entered another store.

Winnie stopped and leaned on a plastic tree of blouses. “Actually, I broke up with him. I’ve tried my best, but he simply won’t pay any attention to me. He might have somebody else, but I don’t care.”

Maureen stifled a smile. Why do I enjoy this?

“Now it’s time to have some fun again,” Winnie said.

“That’s true.”

“This has been brewing for a while. When we first went out, he was great. We liked to do the same things. But our differences began to come out. He’s rough in bed. I hate it. Then he started to take me for granted. It’s like he wanted those virtual reality games more than sex. And we can’t converse anymore. He’s lost his need to be with others. He’s sick a lot. They almost put him on the layoff list. Then I gave him an ultimatum.”

“That didn’t work?”

“Never does. But I started to play some of the Magic Theater games. They are good. I can’t wait to buy my own. We played some dual-interactive games. We related with each other better than ever. But we hardly ever talked or went out. My palm reader said my relationship would end soon, and she was right. Last night I put a stop to it. He wasn’t even upset. So here I am. It’s been months since I’ve been available. It’s scary.”

“Oh, you’ ll do fine,” Maureen answered. “Today I saw guys staring at you. Lots of available guys are out there. What about that guy at Santiago’s a few weeks ago? Jonathan. He’s cute, and he seems funny.”

“He’s hot, but Gina said he’s doing that blond woman, Lana.”

“Not surprised.”

“They’ve supposedly been with each other ever since that night,” Winnie said. “See? The few guys maybe worth dating are usually taken. I’m getting so tired of the whole thing. Guys can be such jackasses.” They walked through the perfume department in the anchor store of the mall.

“I do appreciate the compliments,” Winnie said. “You’re such a sweet person. But a prude!” She hooked her arm as they laughed in the fragrant air.

“You know,” Winnie said. “I do understand how you felt about Robert last night. But be careful. Once guilt stopped me from doing what my heart actually wanted to do. I lost this person because I didn’t act on my feelings.”

“Maybe it depends on who’s tempting you. What was he like?”

Winnie smiled and shook her head. “It hurts to think about it. My life would’ve been much happier, but very different.” She sighed. “Let’s go. I need some new clothes to perk me up.”

 *   *  *

“Haven’t you played Magic Theater yet?” Lana said as I stepped out of the shower and peeked around toward her bed. She sat up. She had undressed under the covers. “Haven’t you been assigned to work the marketing plan?”

“You know all that?”

“Yeah. I’m on some good e-mail distribution lists. You do realize we monitor your game usage.”

“Really? Based on whether I logged in?”

“Of course. I was notified you weren’t playing.”

“I don’t even have a system set up.”

“What? That means you’re already a couple weeks behind. Jonathan, please don’t let me down. You simply must understand how important this is.”

“I’m dreading all the extra time I’ll spend playing.”

“Jonathan, this is a tremendous opportunity for you.”

“I know. Okay, I’ll get started this week. For now, there’s only one game to play.” I yanked the sheet to expose her. I hovered myself over her body, then managed to find her eyes.

Afterward, we embraced like spoons, in silence.

“Are you free Friday night?” I asked from behind her ear. “I have two tickets to see Swan Lake in Ft. Lauderdale.”

“No, I can’t make it.”

“Okay. I can get seats for Saturday instead.”

“Saturday’s bad too,” she said as she slid off her side of the bed. “I already have plans for the weekend.”

On her way to the bathroom, she turned and leaned over me. “Call me late Sunday night to see if I’m back,” she said, and she kissed me. “I’m starting to really like these Sundays.”

For each of the past four weekends, we had met on Sundays. It perfected our weekend and engaged our last moments of freedom, like a last meal. Or it was our form of worship.

But this rejection for both Friday and Saturday nights was unusual. Obviously, she was traveling overnight somewhere with someone else. I steadied myself. Her continued search for an exclusive lover must remain a covert matter between us.

In looking to that weekend, my muscles quivered less than the last few weeks. I had always spent my five workdays planning to surprise Lana on the free two. Now she would explore new indulgences and shout new pleasure cries with someone else.

With this setback, I decided I should explore the Magic Theater games.

Maybe I needed to forget all the confusion Lana caused in me, as I had forgotten Meredith, as I had forgotten the strange light that awoke me in Meredith’s bed. It no longer emerged in my dreams.

Surely athletes don’t allow such trifles to interfere. Begin the long rise to become a captain of industry. Play the games as expected, write the marketing plan, then satisfy Lana.

During the Friday celebration at a bar near the tower, I pressed Mike, Scott, and Kevin for guidance.

“You haven’t tried the Phase 3’s yet?” Mike said between gulps of beer.

“And you have access? Lana Schon must have you really whipped.”

“As if,” I said.

“We know you’ve been seeing her all this time. Why haven’t you told us about it? Haven’t you done it with her yet?”

“No comment.”

“C’mon! After all this time, you can’t say?” Scott said. “What’s the matter with you? She’s da bomb.”

Their needling seemed adolescent, but this affair must mystify them. Could this woman foil one of the most successful seducers in their experiences? And everyone knew she was accommodating.

“Anyway, do you guys know anything about Phase 3?”

“Not much,” Kevin said. “The company must’ve given you our best hardware.”

I nodded.

“Awesome. You need the latest helmet. It has the finer resolution stereoscopic eyepieces and the brainwave sensing interface. It’s incredible. It goes to the correct environment based on some algorithm the software applies to your EEG measurements.”

“So I’ve heard. How do they come up with these algorithms? Can you talk here?”

“Dude, I don’t know anyway,” Kevin said. “I only work with the authentication hardware. I know brainwave sensing is very complex. It applies different formulas based on many factors, like your moods and personality. Those guys up north have created a masterpiece.”

Next week: Episode 9 - The Secret Flagship Product: Playing Magic Theater

Copyright © 2022 Christopher Rogers.

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