Crosstalk , the late book from multiple Hugo- and Nebula - award winning author Connie Willis ( Blackout / All Clear , Doomsday Book ) takes a futuristic feel at a very modern-day topic : finding dependable love in the era of social medium , oversharing , and being instantaneously available every s of the day . And io9 has the first chapter for your reading joy .
First , here ’s the official synopsis :
In the not - too - distant hereafter , a simple outpatient subroutine to increase empathy between romantic partner has become all the fad . And Briddey Flannigan is captivated when her boyfriend , Trento , suggest undergoing the mental process prior to a wedlock marriage offer — to enjoy better aroused connecter and a consummate family relationship with accomplished communication and understanding . But things do n’t quite cultivate out as planned , and Briddey finds herself colligate to someone else entirely — in a way far beyond what she signed up for .
It is almost more than she can cover — specially when the tension of managing her all - too - eager - to - convey - at - all - meter family is already burdening her brain . But that ’s only the beginning . As thing go from big to unfit , she get to see the dark side of too much information , and to realize that love — and communicating — are far more complicated than she ever reckon .
connive ? Well , we ’ve got the tight - pace first chapter flop here on io9 , ahead of the rule book ’s release tomorrow , October 4 .
“ Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impedimenta . ”
— William Shakespeare , “ Sonnet 116 ”
By the clock time Briddey pulled into the parking service department at Commspan , there were forty-two textual matter messages on her telephone . The first one was from Suki Parker—of course—and the next four were from Jill Quincy , all saying some variant of “ die to discover what happened . ” Suki ’s said , “ Heard rumour Trent Worth take you to Iridium ! ? ? ? ”
Of of course you did , Briddey thought . Suki was Commspan ’s very own Gossip Girl . And that meant by now the whole company have it off it . It was a good matter Commspan did n’t have a no-fraternization policy—she and Trent could never have proceed their romance secret . But she ’d desire to keep them from finding out about last night at least until she could tell her family . If they do n’t know already .
She scanned through her other text . There were five from her baby Kathleen , eight from her sister Mary Clare , and nine from Aunt Oona reminding her of the Daughters of Ireland Gaelic poetry reading Saturday night .
I should never have given her a smartphone , Briddey thought . It had never occurred to her that her great-aunt would envision out how to expend it—she could n’t even determine her DVR . Or her clocks . But Briddey had compute without Aunt Oona ’s desire to pester her invariably about the Daughters of Ireland . She ’d have Maeve to learn her , and she now sent Briddey text about it twenty time a day .
Briddey quickly interpret through the relief of their subject matter , but none of them begin , “ OMG ! You ca n’t be earnestly recollect of doing this ! ”
Good . That meant she still had fourth dimension to determine what she was going to say to them—though not much , given the speed of communicating these twenty-four hours .
She scrolled quickly through the rest of her messages to see if there was one from Trent . There was . It said simply , “ jazz you . Call me ASAP . ” She very much wanted to , but the longer she was out here in the garage , the more potential Jill—or worse , Suki—was to take in and begin interrogating her , and she ’d derive to work too soon on the button to avoid that . Talking to Trent would just have to waitress till she develop safely to her function .
She get out of her railroad car and walked quickly toward the primary door , go over the other cars to see who else was here . She did n’t see Trent ’s Porsche . She did n’t see Suki ’s motorcar either , or her assistant , Charla ’s , which was good , but Jill ’s Prius was there , parked next to C.B. Schwartz ’s ancient Honda .
His railway car was always here—Briddey suspected he lived in his lab , kip on the sagging couch that looked like he ’d retrieved it from a curb somewhere . But Jill usually arrived latterly , and Briddey would n’t put it past her to come early on expressly to pump Briddey . She was probably lie in wait for her in the lobby . I ’ll have to go in the side entrance , Briddey thought , changing course , and hope nobody see me on the way there .
Nobody did , and there was no one in the lift or up on four . Good , Briddey cogitate , hurrying down the hall . With Charla not in yet , she could go straight into her office , barricade the door , and get up with some way to break this to her family before they start bombarding her with call saying , “ Why did n’t you answer any of my schoolbook ? What ’s improper ? ”
specially Aunt Oona , who always immediately jump to the conclusion that something terrible had befall to her and began call around to all the hospitals . And this time she ’ll be convinced she was absolve in her presentiment , Briddey opine as she turned down the entrance hall to her office .
“ Briddey ! ” Jill Quincy called from the remnant of the residence .
So close , Briddey thought , trying to resolve whether she could make it to her office before Jill reached her , but Jill was already running toward her , calling , “ There you are ! I ’ve been texting you all morning ! I did n’t see you descend in . ”
She skidded to a stop next to Briddey . “ I was down in the entrance hall , ” she said breathlessly , “ but I must have missed you . I heard you and Trent Worth went to dinner at Iridium last night . So what happened ? ”
I ca n’t evidence you , Briddey thought . Not till I ’ve told my family . But she could n’t pass up to talk either , or that would be all over the building within seconds . “ hail here , ” she suppose , and pulled Jill into the copy room so passersby would n’t hear them .
“ Well ? ” Jill said the mo Briddey’d shut the door . “ He propose , did n’t he ? Oh , my God , I knew it ! You are so lucky ! Do you know how many women would kill to be engaged to Trent Worth ? And you handle to snag him ! After only six week ! ”
“ I did n’t ‘ snag ’ him , ” Briddey say , “ and he did n’t offer . ” But Jill was n’t listening .
“ get me see your ring ! ” she cried . “ I ’ll wager it ’s gorgeous ! ” She grab for Briddey ’s hand and then , as its ringlessness registered , asked , “ Where is it ? ”
“ We ’re not engaged , ” Briddey said .
“ What do you think , you ’re not wage ? Then why did he take you to a office like Iridium ? On a Thursday ? Oh , my God ! He require you to get an EED , did n’t he ? That ’s even better than getting engaged ! ” She hug Briddey . “ I am so happy for you ! I ca n’t expect to narrate everybody ! ” She get for the room access .
“ No , do n’t ! ” Briddey sound out , grabbing her weapon system . “ Please ! ”
“ Why not ? ” Jill asked , her eyes narrowing suspiciously . “ Do n’t evidence me you turned him down ! ”
“ No , of course not , ” Briddey said . “ It ’s just— ”
“ Just what ? He ’s the most eligible guy at Commspan ! And he must love you or he would n’t have asked you to get an EED ! And you obviously do it him or you would n’t have said yes . So what ’s the trouble ? ”
She impart Briddey a searching expression . “ I know what it is . You ’re disappointed he did n’t necessitate you to have it and purpose , are n’t you ? ”
And now that would be all over Commspan , too . “ No , not at all , ” Briddey say . “ He say he wants to await to get affiance till after we have the EED , so I ’ll be able-bodied to sense how much he loves me when he take me . ”
“ Oh , my God , that ’s the most romantic affair I ’ve ever heard ! I ca n’t trust it ! He ’s gorgeous , he ’s willing to perpetrate , and he ’s romantic ! Do you get laid how rare that is ? All the guy I see are either commitment - phobes or liars — or both . You are so lucky ! It ’s that haircloth of yours . Guys go wild for cherry hair . perhaps I should dye mine red . ” She frowned . “ You still have n’t told me why you do n’t want me to tell anyone . ”
“ It ’s my fellowship . I ’m not sure how to break out this to them . ”
“ You do n’t think they ’ll be glad ? But he ’s so stark ! He ’s got a great job and a great car , and the failure your sister Kathleen dates . . . Or is it the EED ? Everyone says it ’s altogether safe . ”
“ It is , ” Briddey said . “ But they ’re kind of— ”
“ Overprotective ? ”
No , meddlesome and interfering . “ Yes , so do n’t say anything till I ’ve told them , hunky-dory ? ”
“ Only if you state me all the gory details ! I need to know when you ’re get it done and— ”
Briddey ’s phone rang . It was Trent ’s ring tone , but that did n’t mean it was him . The last metre she ’d been with the family , Maeve had done something to her phone so that half the clip it said it was him when it was n’t , and Briddey had n’t been able-bodied to repair it .
But at least it was a mode out of the conversation . “ no-count , ” Briddey said to Jill . “ I just involve to see who this is . ” She glanced at the screen . “ Look , I demand to take this . ” She opened the copy room doorway and started out into the anteroom . “ Promise me— ”
“ My lips are varnish , ” Jill said . “ But you have to promise to tell apart me everything . ”
“ I will . ” Briddey rick away so Jill could n’t see her declining the call , then put the phone up to her ear , said , “ Hello ? ” and walk briskly down the hall till she was out of mass .
She hold fast the telephone set back in her air hole . And was like a shot dark when she saw Phillip from Logistics bear down on her . “ I heard via the pipeline that you and Trent Worth are going to get an EED , ” he said .
How is that potential ? Briddey think . I only left Jill ten seconds ago .
“ Wow ! Just like Tom Brady ! ” Phillip was say . “ Congratulations ! That ’s great ! But I hope you ’re not going to do it till after your boy Trent amount up with a better idea for the new phone than just more memory and an unbreakable covert . The rumor is Apple ’s coming out with something that ’ll blow every other smartphone out of the urine , and Trent ca n’t give to be put up in the hospital— ”
“ The EED ’s not major surgery , ” Briddey start , but Phillip was n’t mind either .
“ If we do n’t watch out , Commspan could be the next Nokia , ” he said , and launched into a chronicle of smartphone - company failures . “ A small company like us ca n’t vie unless we come up with something revolutionary , a whole novel concept , and we involve to come up with it fast , or— ”
make out on , Aunt Oona , Briddey remember . You commonly call me every five minutes . Where are you when I need you ?
Briddey ’s earpiece rang . give thanks you , she breathed . “ I have to take this in my office , ” she said . “ I ’ll see you at the merging at eleven , ” and walked off .
But it was n’t Aunt Oona who ’d saved her . It was Mary Clare , and the instant after Briddey sent the call to her voice mail , she scram a school text from Maeve . “ I ’m okay , ” it read . “ compensate no attention to my female parent . ”
Which meant they still did n’t make out , give thanks good , though she matte up sorry for Maeve . What was it this time ? Videogames ? binge-eating syndrome ? Cyberbullying ? Mary Clare was invariably in hysterics over her , even though Maeve was a perfectly normal nine-year-old girl .
In fact , she ’s the only normal member of my sept , Briddey guess .
Mary Clare certainly was n’t normal . She obsess constantly about Maeve ’s homework , her grades , whether she ’d get into an Ivy League college , her friends , her feeding habits ( Mary Clare was convinced she was anorexic ) , and the fact that she did n’t read enough , even though ( or possibly because ) Mary Clare was constantly force lilliputian Women and Alice in Wonderland on her .
Last week Mary Clare had been convince Maeve was sending too many texts , and the week before that that she was eating too much sugared grain ( which did n’t exactly substantial with the anorexia ) . Today it was probably nude selfies . Or the hantavirus .
For Maeve ’s saki , Briddey should really call Mary Clare and attempt to calm her down , but not till she ’d worked out what she was going to say about the EED . And she did n’t have much clip . one-half of Commspan likely knew by now , and one of them would be bound to remark it to Aunt Oona the next sentence she “ popped in ” with Maeve to show her how Maeve looked in her Modern step-dancing costume and attempt to win over her to go to some tedious Daughters of Ireland affair . . .
Oh , my God , and there was Suki , Grapevine Girl herself , emerging from the Human Resources power . Briddey cast decorum to the confidential information and sprinted for the prophylactic of her office . She jerk the door open and chuck out herself inside—and much into her help ’s implements of war .
“ I conceive you ’d never get here , ” Charla say , brace her . “ You ’ve got a million substance , and I want to hear all about last nighttime ! You are so lucky to be getting an EED ! ”
Faster than a speeding bullet , Briddey thought . If Commspan desire a rotatory strain of communicating , they should design a phone base on our grapevine .
“ I did n’t see your railway car in the service department , ” Briddey said .
“ Nate hand me a ride to body of work . I wish I could talk him into having an EED done . It would be great to cognize whether he fuck me or not . You are so lucky you wo n’t have to worry about that anymore . I entail , I expend all my meter endeavor to estimate out when he tells me he does , is that for real or does he just desire to hook up ? I mean , last night , he— ”
“ You said I had messages . Who are they from ? ”
“ Your sis Mary Clare mostly , and your aunt and your other babe . I put them all on your computer . I guess you told them not to call you at body of work . ”
“ I did , ” Briddey say . But they did n’t heed . As usual .
“ Did you talk to them ? ” she asked aloud , dreading Charla ’s answer , but Charla shook her top dog .
Thank good for that . “ If they call again , ” Briddey said , “ do not , repeat , do not say anything to them about the EED . I have n’t had the chance to tell them yet , and I want to be the one to break the news . ”
“ They ’ll be so excited ! ”
Wanna depend ? “ Who are the other messages from ? ” she asked .
“ Trent Charles Frederick Worth called and said to call him as soon as you got in , and so did Trish Mendez and Rahul Deshnev ’s help . And Art Sampson postulate you to look over his memorandum on improving interdepartmental communication right off and tell him if you have any suggestions to total . It ’s on your computer . So when he asked you , were you thrilled ? ”
“ Yes , ” Briddey said . “ If anyone else come in or call option , tell them I ca n’t talk to them till after the meeting . ” She went into her function , shut the door , and called Trent . He did n’t respond .
She texted and message him secernate him to call her , tried Rahul Deshnev ’s helper with the same result , then called Trish Mendez . “ Is it true that you and Trent Worth are plump to have an EED ? ” Trish said .
“ Yes , ” Briddey aver , think , I do n’t think interdepartmental communicating needs any improving .
“ That ’s wonderful ! ” Trish state . “ When are you hold it done ? ”
“ I do n’t have sex . River Trent wants to have Dr. Verrick do it , and— ”
“ Dr. Verrick ? Oh , my God ! He did Brad and Angelina ’s , did n’t he ? ”
“ Yes , so he has a really tenacious waiting list , and I do n’t know when we ’ll even be capable to get in to see him , let alone schedule the EED . ”
“ He did Caitlyn Jenner ’s , too , did n’t he ? ” Trish said . “ And Kim Kardashian ’s , though that one did n’t do work because she fell in love life with somebody else , I ca n’t remember his name . He was in the last Avengers movie . ”
This was going to take all daytime . Briddey adjudge her earpiece close to the desk and rap twice on the desktop with her fist . “ Come in , ” she called , and put the phone up to her ear . “ Listen , my engagement ’s here . Can I call you back ? ”
She hung up and , with a feeling of “ out of the frying cooking pan , into the fire , ” checked the twenty-two message from her family—correction , thirty-one—to verify they still did n’t bang , starting with Mary Clare ’s in fount she ’d decided Maeve was possessed by demons and had schedule an exorcism or something .
excerpt from Crosstalk by Connie Willis . right of first publication © 2016 by Connie Willis . All rights reserved . No part of this extract may be reproduced or reprinted without license in compose from the publishing company .
BooksConnie WillisFantasySci - Fi
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
news show from the future , delivered to your nowadays .
