“Okay, Markus!” Windee said.
Lan frowned as she watched them leave. Markus was right; there was a lot of work to do at the store. Still, it would have been nice if he and Windee had stayed a bit to help Katrina and Shizuka learn to use the studio.
Then Lan had an idea. The reactor should provide enough power, and there seemed to be adequate data bandwidth …
“Shirley? Are you there? Try projecting yourself here.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Who was that? Where had that voice come from?
Katrina’s questions were answered almost immediately. Above her appeared a glow that brightened, sparkled, then seemed to take solid shape.
Katrina tried to remain calm as a figure, an entire person, materialized out of nothing.
Maybe Miss Satomi will explain later.
“This is Shirley,” Lan explained. “She’ll help you get started with the projector.”
“Shirley, you look different outside of Starrgate,” Miss Satomi said nonchalantly.
Shirley. Yes, Miss Satomi had mentioned her before.
“Your daughter?” Katrina ventured. Lan glanced away.
“This menu makes the projection immersive,” Lan said, quickly moving to the control panel. “Show them, Shirley.”
It happened so quickly, yet Katrina caught it easily. Lan’s expression was one she had seen in her parents far too often.
Shame.
Katrina glanced at Shirley; their eyes met for an instant before the girl motioned to the projector and opened a control screen.
“You control the scenes from this menu,” the girl said evenly. “And once we calibrate your brain waves to the presets, you will be able to change scenes by thinking about them.”
“Amazing,” Katrina heard Miss Satomi say.
Katrina looked at Lan, who now avoided her glance. She looked up at Shirley, but she was focused on her job.
Katrina wished that she had time to talk to her, but she had her own work to do.
“Get Martha,” Miss Satomi said.
As Katrina played, Shirley first showed the sound capabilities, how to work with effects, balance, even how to simulate microphone placement.
Katrina’s heart began to race. With this studio, she could create videos that could match any online!
And then Shirley nodded to Edwin.
“Let’s try the character mask.”
Edwin hit a switch, and they were all suspended as in clouds.
“No, Edwin, the foreground.”
“Sorry!”
“Huh?” Suddenly Katrina was in armor. Then she was wearing a glistening jade and rhinestone ball gown. Then, she was in a cosplay costume from the anime Sword Art Online. And she had bigger boobs.
And these changes weren’t merely visual—they felt real.
“The projector focuses energy from the reactor into a state very close to matter—in essence, virtual mass,” explained Shirley. “This permits the projections to interact with the physical world as if real. So be careful not to scratch your violin on your, um, armor.”
Katrina nodded. She was still herself. Everything was just shifted a bit here and there. It was cosmetic, decorative, nothing more. But then, she saw herself on the monitor.
“Oh my God.”
Gently, she put Martha down. She stared at Shirley, then at Miss Satomi, and then up at herself again.
* * *
“‘Liebesleid,’ ‘Love’s Sorrow.’”
Katrina must be playing videos in her new studio.
Shizuka smiled to herself. Game music was great, but it was good that Katrina was expanding her knowledge. She hadn’t realized that Katrina knew of Fritz Kreisler. This piece was an excellent choice, though. Perhaps one day his work should be in her repertoire.
Ah, to be young and not need sleep. Shizuka turned off her lights. The recording was not too bad, either. Shizuka didn’t recognize the violinist—probably one of those younger players—but the expressiveness seemed to faithfully follow the old-school nuances of Kreisler himself.
Wait. Shizuka opened her eyes.
“Katrina? Katrina?”
The Queen of Hell rushed to the studio and opened the door.
“Miss Satomi?”
Katrina was floating through the air, her body altered by the projector, in a glowing, flowing gown.
“You’re playing Kreisler?”
“I heard this in an anime. Then I found the original. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“W-where’s the music?”
“The sheet music? I was going to download it later. For now, I have it in my head.”
“I … see. How long have you been working on this piece?”