Trust Machines - Welcome to the Carnival

Electric Daisy Carnival.

What could you say that could describe it?  It was one of the largest gathering
of fans of electronic, dance and house music in the world.  It was a three day,
non-stop party unlike any other.  It was a small city compressed into the
confines of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, nearly 250,000 attendees, all sharing
the music, the celebration of life, the joy of friendships with even total
strangers.

For years Electric Daisy Carnival grew in size, bringing in fans from around the
country and around the world.  Some would design their outfits months in advance
for the shows, with an eye to show off their works.  But with the arrival of the
Venn Machnines, Electric Daisy Carnival also became a venue for the showing off
of one's skills in transformations, with some of the more expert individuals
able to make extra money from their design work.

But the music was the important thing, and Electric Daisy Carnival attracted the
best artists in the techno and house fields.  From Armin van Buuren to Matt
Darey, from Above and Beyond to Ferry Corsten, anyone who was a name in the
techno and DJ industry came to Las Vegas to peform to the audience, premier new
music and sign new artists that are up and coming.

---

Kyle Elliot guided the old Taurus down out of St. George, Utah heading south on
I-15.  It was the last leg of his journey from Aurelia, Iowa, his home for the
last 24 years.  Fresh out of college, he had decided to break his family ties,
leave the homestead and move somewhere he felt more comfortable, somewhere that
he could find out who he really was.

Why Las Vegas?  He had asked himself that question a few times as he traveled,
usually circling back to the same reasons.  It was far enough away from Iowa, it
was a totally different kind of environment, he could easily find work in a
place like Las Vegas, and Keri lived there.

Keri Terrance was a gal he had met online several months back, before he had
made the decision to move.  She was a fun one to talk with, their conversations
lasting long into the night hours as they talked about work, life, music and
other mundane topics.

When Kyle mentioned his plans to move, Keri immediately offered him a place to
stay.  "Since you're coming for EDC," she messaged, reminding him of the event,
"then you can stay at my place.  It'll be cheaper than renting a room, and
besides most all the hotels are going to be packed for the Carnival to begin
with.

Kyle discussed and debated the arrangement with Keri, but finally agreed after a
while.  He made it clear that he was going to remain discreet around her and her
roommate, who he discovered was another gal he knew from the same online chat
area, Tasha.

He turned his attention back to driving.  Don't want to get into an accident so
close to his goal.

---

Following Keri's instructions, he turned off of the Interstate on to East
Flamingo, then down to South Sandhill.  The GPS guided him to Woodhill Avenue,
where he pulled up into the driveway of a neatly maintained house.  He exited
out of the car and walked the short distance to the door, already noticing the
hot dry air that was the desert southwest.

He didn't even knock but once when the door opened up, and a mass of red hair
framing a brightly smiling face greeted him.  "Hi, you must be Kyle!  I'm Keri."

Before he could say anything or even react, he was kissed by her, a rather warm
kiss at that.  She broke the kiss after a few seconds, then motioned for him to
come in.

"I hope you don't mind the mess, Tasha and I hadn't had much time to clean up."

Kyle looked around the living room, blinking.  It actually looked fairly neat to
him, there were a few pieces of trash on a table, and some dust on the entrance
carpet, but it really didn't look as bad as she described it.

"Actually, it's fine," he said slowly.  "Speaking of which, where is Tasha?
Work?"

Keri giggled a bit at that.  "Nah, she's just laying around at the moment," she
said lightly.  "You'll get to meet her soon enough."

"Would you mind if I get comfortable?" she asked.  Kyle shrugged his shoulders.

"It's your home, I'm just a guest."

"Oh, you're more than just a guest."  With that, Keri took off her top, and Kyle
blinked in sudden stunned surprise.  She was wearing a custom-tailored bikini
top, one clearly designed to hold two pairs of breasts which she sported on her
chest.  She saw his expression and laughed, making her breasts jiggle in front
of him.

"You act like you've never seen this before," she teased.  Kyle blinked a few
times, coming out of his stunned state, and looked up at Keri's face.

"Uhh... as a matter of fact, I haven't," he admitted, a statement that caught
Keri off guard.  "I mean, I've heard of people using some kind of machine to
change themselves, and I've seen online images and the occasional bit on the
television, but they didn't have anything like that where I'm from."

"You're telling me you didn't have a Venn Machine close to you?"  Keri sat down
across from Kyle.  "Where were you living, in a wilderness?"

"That's... a good description of nortwest Iowa," Kyle said with mock humor.
"Where I grew up, we didn't have much in the way of what the large cities had.
No malls, no shopping centers, a lot of stuff you'd get from either small stores
or mail-order.  Unless you wanted to drive for two hours just to go shopping."

"Unbelievable," she said softly.  "I grew up here in Las Vegas, so we had pretty
much anything you wanted."

"What can I say, I grew up a country boy."  He gave a wry sort of smile.  "But I
grew tired of it, and well, decided to leave home finally.  Go live somewhere
else, find out what life's like in other areas of the country."

"Life here in Las Vegas can get pretty wild," Keri lightly teased.  "This is a
tourist town and a party town, and we take our partying seriously."  She waved
her hand indicating her current looks.  "And there's a number of us who'll take
shapes for partying in, thanks to the Venn Machines."

"They don't have those where I'm from," he pointed out.  "In fact, I don't think
there's many in Iowa to start.  Maybe places like Des Moines, Ames, Dubuque,
Sioux City, but not towns like Ft. Dodge, Storm Lake or definiely Aurelia, my
home town.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one it'd be shunned by
folks."

"Why would they do that?"  Keri was perplexed now, Kyle turning out to be quite
a bit more complex than she expected.  And much deeper than he looked.  She
sensed that there was a potential in him, something she and Tanya might just be
able to bring out.

"Partially the conserative nature of the area, partially the fact that folks
there hate change.  Sure, there's things like wind farms and cable television,
but there's still a lot of folks who use horse and buggy, farm in more
traditional fashion and dislikes how technology is changing everything."

"Do you... want me to put the shirt back on?"  Keri was reluctant to ask the
question, afraid of the answer.  Instead, Kyle surprised her once again.

"No, you don't have to do that.  At first it was surprising to see that, but the
more I talk with you, the more comfortable I'm feeling about you.  And about
the... look.  By this time tomorrow, I probably wouldn't even notice it all that
much."

Keri grinned widely.  "Don't worry, I'll find ways of reminding you," she
teased.

---