Insurance - part 12

[miriam_e]

(1936 words)

total so far:

22,668 / 50,000
(45%)

OK back onto the main storyline.
Is it just me or are these chapters feeling shorter? This one is higher than my average, yet feels absurdly brief. Weirdly, each one takes longer to write. What's with that?

I hope you enjoy this part. Let me know what you think.

Note that what follows contains adult concepts.
The love of two females for each other is central to this story so if you are offended by that stop reading now.

12 - insure

Rachel stumbled into the livingroom, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She flumped down in the lounge chair near Sally who was in her customary position, stretched out on the lounge reading. Sally put the book down on her belly at her sweetheart's entrance.

Rachel leaned forward to get the mug of hot tea Sally had placed on the edge of the coffee table. "How do you know when to have the cup of tea ready every morning for me, sweetie?" She asked a little groggily.

"I know how long from the first waking sounds till when you'll actually rise. I'm not always 100% accurate. Sometimes you roll over and go back to sleep, but then I always get a second shot at it. I just reheat the tea."

Rachel sat back and contentedly sipped her tea while the fog of sleep lifted gradually from her mind.

"What are you reading?"

"The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin at the end of the 1990s. What an amazing mind. You should read it hon."

"He was the guy who got the space exploration program started again?"

"Without him it would have set its sights much lower. He was able to explain clearly how achievable it all was. Clear, insightful intelligence."

"My Mum met him when he came out to Australia to give a talk on that. I remember her saying how impressed she was by him."

"I didn't know your mother was interested in space science."

Rachel smiled. "She's interested in lots of things."

Sally said, "We should visit her again before Miriam finishes the book."

"Yes. We should... ummm... what book?"

"Nevermind. There was a call for you from Zoe while you were still asleep. She and Viv want to know if you are up for a visit. They want to take us to a concert. But you might want to see if you can postpone it, because Savannah also called. She has arranged a meeting between you and a member of Insurers Consolidated's board today. You should call her back to confirm. I already told her it was probably OK."

"Excellent! I'll call Savannah now." She drained the last of the tea and set the mug on the table, then got that faraway look people always did when talking on the net via the cap.

A minute later, "It's set. I'll leave shortly." She rubbed her hands together.

"Not without breakfast first," said Sally, getting up off the lounge and putting the tablet computer on the coffee table. "Ring Zoe and I'll bring your brekky."

A couple of minutes later Rachel walked into the kitchen area and put her arms around Sally as she took a warm bowl of porridge out of the replicator. From behind, Rachel nibbled Sally's neck as the beautiful android put bowl and spoon on the counter. She turned in Rachel's arms and returned the hug, her head on Rachel's shoulder. They stayed like that for a while till Sally said, "Sweetie, you'd better eat. Want me to come with you?"

"Of course. You might be able to pull off another miracle like last night at the cyborg meeting." She picked up the bowl of food and ate.

Sally walked back into the livingroom and called over her shoulder, "Just chalk it up to being another example of the multifarious advantages of being an avid reader."

---

Rachel and Sally stepped out of the elevator onto the same dark red carpet as the offices where Savannah worked. This was a few floors deeper, the corridors were wider, and their dark faux-wood walls were decorated with 3D pictures of, presumably, board members and other supposedly important people. Spotlights came on to illuminate each picture as the girls approached, and extinguished as they passed. At the end of this entrance corridor was a dark blue desk and a male android with long, blonde hair sitting behind it in a pool of light. He smiled like an angel as Rachel's cap sent her details. He raised his eyebrows to Sally and Rachel put her arm around her saying, "My wife, Sally."

Satisfied, he indicated luxurious, velvet armchairs the same deep red as the carpet and said in a soft, rich, resonating voice that Mr Richards would see them in a few moments.

As they sat, Sally asked Rachel why she was wearing the same boring conservative black outfit -- halterneck top, miniskirt, ankleboots. Rachel insisted that it suited the conservative occasion. Sally was wearing a thin, bright yellow bikini and matching sandals. The sandal straps wound up and around her legs to just below her knees.

After a short wait the male android announced that Mr Richards would see them. He walked ahead of them, leading down another corridor. Sally grinned at Rachel's astonished expression off the perfectly proportioned male android's near nakedness. He was barefoot and wore nothing but a gold codpiece tied on by gold string. Sally looked in danger of bursting into laughter.

The android announced the two girls, ushered them through and closed the door behind them. The room looked like everything was made of polished wood... except for the trim little old man who arose from his desk to greet them. He could have been anywhere between sixty and ninety and was almost bald except for a little white fluff over his large ears. He wore white shorts and a long-sleeved white shirt that clung to his body, a bright contrast to his green skin. His cheery smile, accentuated by trimmed white moustache under his long, sharp, aristocratic nose, put the girls at ease as he motioned them to more armchairs -- wood with red velvet padding.

"Which of you lovely ladies is Rachel?" he asked in a very cultured voice.

Rachel held up a hand. She asked, "Did you get a chance to look at the figures I got Savannah to send, sir?"

"Oh heavens," he said with a chuckle, "Don't use any of that 'sir' nonsense here. Just call me Brian. And yes, I had a good long look at the figures. Very, very interesting, though it is not going to be easy selling the idea of veeps as allies to the rest of the board. Although most of them are quite a bit younger than me, in some respects the poor dears are quite a lot older." He grinned a big toothy grin.

The wind taken out of her sails by his pre-empting her point, she floundered for a moment. Clearly Brian Richards was no senile fool.

Rachel tried a different tack, "Have you been scanned, umm, Brian?"

"I have, yes. I know what you are going to ask: have I considered that it is in my interests to work toward veep equality, as I am clearly nearing the end of my biological life and will likely emigrate soon?"

This guy was altogether too quick. Rachel started to say she wasn't trying to suggest he was too old, but he shushed her with a bright-eyed smile and a chuckle.

"I hope to cling to life for a while yet, but yes, I do intend to emigrate when death comes knocking. Veep equality is not a personal issue for me because the only human family I have are already veep, and I have safeguarded my future in a virtual world buried very deeply and safely which is powered by ambient energy. That's not to say I don't care to help. I do. I'll argue the case before the board at the next meeting and press for recognition of veeps. It would be nice to leave behind a good and lasting mark."

Rachel sat back in her chair, at a loss for what to say. Sally said, "Close your mouth dear." Rachel's mouth clopped closed.

Brian chuckled. "I guess you came prepared to have to argue. Sorry."

Rachel shook her head, "No, it's refreshing. I just didn't expect... well... I didn't really even think you'd have looked at the data."

He said, "Oh it was a high point of my day. We don't get much excitement around here. Andrew keeps my mind active with information on current research and technology. He is a fountain of knowledge. Explains all the complexities and theory to me behind the latest science. What a marvellous age we live in, eh?"

The girls smiled. He was vibrant, enthusiastic, and it was infectious. "As I say, we read through the proposal and it was wonderful. It is rare that something truly important happens in this line of work. And this is important."

He paused and looked at the two of them. "I wonder if you realise just how important this is? The logical next step from recognition of veeps is recognition of androids. Now, that is a big step. I hope I am still here for that. Imagine what humanity can achieve with veeps and androids as their partners!" He shook his head.

"Can I offer you ladies anything? Wine? Water? We have lots of savories if you wish..."

They both accepted some water, which Brian poured from a large jug into elegant, tall glasses.

"I've seen a lot of changes. I saw the arrival of television in Australia, Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, the birth of the internet, brain scanning technology, the first androids. Many people become attached to the past and make the mistake of thinking different means worse. In my experience most changes are for the better. Of course not all things are simply good. AIDS and CBF were major disasters. And the fall of USA caused a lot of pain and soul-searching, but on the whole things move forward. I think we can get veeps recognised by the insurance industry soon." He gave his toothy grin and rubbed his hands together. "And after that we'll try the issue of android equality."

Sally asked, "Brian, which other board members would it be worth our chatting to?"

He thought a moment running a finger over his moustache. "Well, my dear, I don't know that outsiders are likely to accomplish much with most of these folk. I think Savannah referred you to me because... well, she knows how I think. The others, I'm sad to say, have become complacent and avoid mental challenge instead of seeking it out. Trying to convince them of things by simply giving them the facts is unlikely to work. I have developed a technique of planting an idea and letting them believe they've thought of it themselves. With Andrew's help I think I'll have most of them on side for the next meeting in about two weeks."

The two girls looked at each other in surprise.

Brian laughed. "My, that was easy wasn't it? Just let Brian do the work, my dears. It feeds my soul to be able to do something of worth in these irrelevant old corridors."

They stayed for a while talking with the amazing old man about the direction humanity was taking. He felt big things were afoot. It was all the result of The Spike, he said -- a term popularised by Damien Broderick decades ago. It referred to the curve describing the rate of technological change climbing to near-vertical.

"We are in the middle of The Spike," he said. "I know it feels normal to you, but I've seen a lot and this is it." He laughed. "It is a great time to be alive."

Eventually he apologised that he had another meeting and thanked them for coming. The beautiful male android opened the door and saw them to the reception area.

Sally turned to him and said, "Thank you Andrew." He flashed a brilliant smile.


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Comments

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Heheheh :)
I'm getting there.
At this rate 13 more days will put my story past 50,000 words. Yippee!

Have you put yours online? I notice you're not saying much about it in your LJ. Sounds like you are flat out at work.

I've been really naughty. People are getting annoyed at me because I've been ignoring my work and not answering emails. At some point there will be hell to pay... but at least I'll have got this thing written. I've been wanting to put all this stuff into words for years. It is finally happening. It probably isn't good, riveting story, but some of the ideas are wonderful and just make me thrill with delight. If I get run over by a truck at least the ideas will remain.