Sony 505 Review by Test Driver John C. Bunnell

PASSION AMONG THE PIXELS

Episode One

by John C. Bunnell

*…there was one fierce moment of unbridled mutual ecstasy, and then they collapsed into each other’s arms.*

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After exactly ninety-three seconds of utter stillness, the woman whispered hoarsely, “Is she gone?”

Her companion tilted his head sideways on the pillow, cracked one eye just the slightest bit open, and listened to the silence for several moments.  “She is indeed,” he said, stretching and untangling various limbs from those of his bedmate.  “Closed out of Word entirely and logged into – yes, that will be *City of Heroes*.”

The woman sat bolt upright, one hand reaching for the drawer of her nightstand.  “Oh, good!  She’ll be online for hours.”

“Why, Connie,” said her partner dryly as she opened the drawer and withdrew a flat rectangular object covered in brown leather.  “I’d almost think you didn’t care for me.”

She shot him a withering look.  “Only on the page, Ernest.  You know the rules; interpersonal chemistry for prose characters only applies when the Author actually writes the scene.  Between chapters, you’re on your own.”

Ernest smiled dazzlingly back.  “As you say, my dear.  But what in heaven have you got there?”

“Brand new Sony ebook reader,” she replied, setting the device on the nightstand and pulling a compact label-maker out of the drawer.  Within a few moments, the reader’s cover bore the neatly taped-on legend *Property of Constance Lee Reading*.  “Got it on loan for a test-drive program from a romance-readers’ Web site.  All I have to do in return is post a couple of reviews, then send it back in a couple of months.”

“I . . . see.”  Ernest’s tone suggested otherwise, though his unique blend of French and Texan accents made the confusion sound more amused than befuddled.  “A loan, is it?” he inquired, gesturing at the newly applied label.  “As for the other – are you sure that doesn’t violate the fourth-wall clause in your contract?”

Constance shrugged.  “It’ll come off when the time comes – or I might buy out the deposit.  And what fourth wall?  The ‘Net’s the same all the way down.  These days there are so many Authors playing fictional personae online, who’s going to notice one of us hanging out on the Upstairs Web?”  She flipped open the reader, tapped a few keystrokes, and switched on the bedside lamp.  “If you don’t mind,” she said, “I’ve got some reading to do.  I downloaded the last book in one of my favorite series last night, and I just have to see what happens next.”

One of Ernest’s eyebrows rose.  “An electronic display, yet you cannot read it in the dark?”

“A whole new kind of display,” Constance told him.  “More like paper, less like TV.  Not so good in dark rooms, way better in bright sunlight.”

“As you wish, my dear,” Ernest said, briskly gathering and putting on such of his clothing as had survived the earlier love scene.  The underwear was a total loss, but he silently blessed his foresight in choosing a Western-style shirt – unlike regular buttons, the snaps didn’t pop off when pulled apart.  “I look forward to tomorrow.”

But as soon as he’d closed her bedroom door behind him, he lifted his left wrist and spoke softly into his watch.  “St. Cyr here.  We may have a VICE violation on our hands.”

“Understood,” an equally soft voice said in his ear.  “We’ll dispatch an agent at once.”

(to be continued)