Katherine Stevenson sat in her writing room, slumped back in her chair and staring glumly at her computer screen. The glow of the monitor casting a pale light on her face and reflecting off her glasses to hide her tired green eyes. The room was dimly lit, the lights in the overhead lamp turned low as the fan blades rotated lazily. She drummed the fingers of her left hand against the padded leather of her chair and sighed softly. She glanced to her left at the only other chair in the room, a cushy recliner currently occupied by a number of books that belonged on the bookcase along the wall behind her. She glanced from the monitor to the chair and back before shaking her head and sighed again.
"Milady," a deep voice broke the silence.
The voice had come from a small device sitting on top of the desk near the mouse pad. The device was roughly oval in shape, though blocky as opposed to rounded. It was a about ten inches in length and five inches wide with a large screen taking up most of the surface on one side. The casing was black except for sword design painted on the underside. The screen glowed softly as the voice spoke again.
"Milady, you have a message. Its from Christine."
"Christine?" Katherine asked.
It was the name that broke the young woman from her silent reverie. Christine was her editor and was more than likely inquiring about the state of current chapter of her novel. Her deadline was only a month away, after all. Katherine was no where near hitting the agreed number of pages, writer's block claiming her creativity as it had claimed that of so many others.
"Yes, Milady." The voice continued to confirm the woman's suspicions. "She would like to meet with you in a few days to discuss your progress toward meeting your deadline."
"I was afraid of that, Durandal."
"Can I offer you my assistance, Milady?"
"We might as well give it a try. Staring at this screen isn't going to get Roland any closer to his goals. I need inspiration."
"Shall I prepare for battle then?"
"Yes, I'll be jacking you in shortly. Roland is facing a group of less than skilled bandits. ACDC would probably be an adequate challenge for comparison."
"As you wish," Durandal replied.
The young woman minimized the window of her word processing program and prepared to send her Navi into ACDC Net. With luck, a few rounds of virus busting would jog her creativity.
14534 Sky Meadow Terrace
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Katherine maximized the window for her word processing program and typed off a few quick sentences to finish the current paragraph. She hadn't met today's quota, but that was becoming a habit that she was in desperate need of breaking. She sighed softly as she shut down the program and pushed herself from her chair.
"Well Durandal, shall we call it a day?" Katherine asked as she pocketed the PET.
"As you wish, Milady," her Navi answered. "Shall I send Christine a response?"
"Yes," Katherine paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Let her know that I am going to be going to SciLabs for a day trip on the 2nd. I shall be meeting with a consultant to work on a difficult part of the manuscript. Assure her that I shall meet my deadline with time to spare and ask her when it would be best for our meeting. My schedule is open as always."
The young woman moved to the doorway and shut off the lamp with a flick of the switch. She moved down the hallway and down the stairs to the condo's small kitchen. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and drank it down quickly before returning upstairs.
Katherine walked past her study and entered her bedroom. She flicked on the overhead light, revealing a room mostly occupied by a large bed flanked on either side by nightstands. A small bookcase sat against one wall, filled with a few choice books along with copies of her more successful novels. A dresser sat against the opposite wall, its drawers filled with a myriad of clothing. A large mirror sat on the top of the dresser. A flat screen television was mounted on the wall opposite the bed.
Katherine walked across the room to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She set her PET on one of the nightstands before going into the adjoining bathroom to change. She flicked off the lights, climbed into bed and then abruptly fell asleep.
"Well Durandal, shall we call it a day?" Katherine asked as she pocketed the PET.
"As you wish, Milady," her Navi answered. "Shall I send Christine a response?"
"Yes," Katherine paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Let her know that I am going to be going to SciLabs for a day trip on the 2nd. I shall be meeting with a consultant to work on a difficult part of the manuscript. Assure her that I shall meet my deadline with time to spare and ask her when it would be best for our meeting. My schedule is open as always."
The young woman moved to the doorway and shut off the lamp with a flick of the switch. She moved down the hallway and down the stairs to the condo's small kitchen. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and drank it down quickly before returning upstairs.
Katherine walked past her study and entered her bedroom. She flicked on the overhead light, revealing a room mostly occupied by a large bed flanked on either side by nightstands. A small bookcase sat against one wall, filled with a few choice books along with copies of her more successful novels. A dresser sat against the opposite wall, its drawers filled with a myriad of clothing. A large mirror sat on the top of the dresser. A flat screen television was mounted on the wall opposite the bed.
Katherine walked across the room to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She set her PET on one of the nightstands before going into the adjoining bathroom to change. She flicked off the lights, climbed into bed and then abruptly fell asleep.