Chapter 4
He started to fix the coffee. She was so intent on seeing what he was doing that she was always in his way. He turned and bumped into her and spilled the coffee grounds all over the floor. The fact that she was totally nude did little to help him. He cleaned up the mess and waited for the coffee to finish brewing.
He saw her staring at him, "Would you like something to eat? I have no idea what your people eat, but I'm sure I have something that you'll like."
"Where do you store the nutrition capsules?"
He turned slowly, afraid of the answer to the question that he was going to ask, "What is a nutrition capsule?"
"To keep the body functioning."
When she saw that he had no idea of what she was talking about she continued, "I don't know what your time calls them, the capsules to replenish the vitamins and minerals that the body has used during the day."
He chuckled, "We aren't that far advanced, we have to eat food, preferably three times a day."
She snickered, "But that is so unscientific. There is danger that you might not get the proper nutrition. We have read that some people in your time have stored much fat on their bodies because they did not refuel their bodies properly. Studies have shown that this can cause health problems. I have also read that some people have died in your time because food was not made available to them, although that sounds ridiculous."
"Well some things you tell me about the future, I don't agree with. You are right about my people not getting the proper nutrition. I can't go along with the pills though. Who makes the pills?"
She thought for a moment, "I don't know. The Council On Nutrition provides them free. Everyone gets the proper nutrition capsule they require. There is no hunger, there hasn't been for several hundred years."
"Everyone gets the pills? I don't know," he said, "If this council makes the pills, controls them, distributes them... I don't know it sounds dangerous to me. Too much leeway for hanky panky."
"What is hanky panky," she asked.
"Well if the government doesn't like someone they can just hold up the capsules."
She shook her head, "No everyone gets the pills. We are not charged for them. The pills are naturally withheld from the trouble makers."
"Ahah! Tell me about you government. Did you elect them? Why are there trouble makers as you call them?"
"The Supreme Ruling Body runs the government. One member of each sector of this side of the world, I believe that you used to call it North and South America sit on the body. They debate each issue and make a ruling. If a member dies or wishes to be replaced, the Body votes a new member in. Usually a member serves for life. The government functions very well without interference from outside influences. There are a few troublemakers who want to return to the old ways. The feel that they are smarter than the Body. I think that they just wish to rule the people themselves."
What a minute," he said. "You said North and South America. What about the rest of the world?"
"Shortly after your time, it was decided that the different races would never learn to get along. My land was secured for the fair race only. What you call Africa and the Middle East is for the dark race. What you call Europe and Asia is for the yellow race. I don't really know if that was wise. There is still a lot of tension between the races. There are not as many wars between the races as there was in the 22nd century, but tensions continue."
"What about the Arabs and the other Middle Eastern people? What happened to the white population of Europe?"
"The was a lot of resettlement, with the European people, when the decision was made final. The Middle Eastern people resisted the decision and most of them have been killed or have been assimilated into the dark race. The dark race has troublemakers too."
"The more I hear about the future, the less I like it. One more question. What do you do with the troublemakers?"
"They are recycled."
"My God, that doesn't sound good at all. What do you mean recycled?"
She thought for a minute, "I don't know. I never asked. Whatever, it is seems to be effective. We don't have as many troublemakers as we once had."
He was sure that he did not want any of the nutrition capsules she talked about. He remembered the movie "Soylent Green." Her naiveté was probably because of her isolation in the space capsule since she was a child.
"Tell me about your life up to now. I think that you said you were put in a space capsule as a child and you lived in it until you were bought here. How did you live and where did you get you education?"
"I was conceived to be an astronomer. After it was determined that I didn't have any defects, I was put in a space capsule and sent to deep space to study unknown areas and report back to earth. Sleep was induced and I slept until I reached the area I was to study. My education was fed to me every minute of the day from earth. I was taught the history of the earth and every bit of knowledge that we have in my field. I was also taught about the way my people live on earth in my time. I was taught the other sciences after I had completed the studies of my field. I probably know more about the earth than the people that have lived there all of their lives."
"You mean that this is the first time you've been on earth since you were a child?'
"Well actually, this is my first time on earth. I was conceived at one of our space colonies. The colony is quite far from earth. I would not live long enough to make it from earth to the area I was to study."
He thought to himself that this was getting screwier and screwier. The future was like nothing he could imagine. Her world seemed so sterile and definitely not a place he would ever want to visit.
"What is the life expectancy in your world?"
"At the age of fifty, all persons are put in a state we call the long sleep. Only the Supreme Ruling Body is exempt from that rule."
"You mean people willingly cease to exist in your world?"
"Of course. It has been that way for over 300 years. The world can only support so many people."
He had enough of this for a while. He cleaned up the kitchen and headed for the bathroom.
"I'm going to take a shower. Make yourself at home until I finish."
He took a leisurely shower. The solar hot water heater on the roof kept the large, insulated tank that was buried below ground stocked with an adequate supply of hot water. Soap got in his eyes and burned them. As he stepped out of the shower he rubbed the soap out of his eyes with a dry part of the towel. He started to finish drying off and suddenly noticed her sitting on the toilet, watching him. She watched him intently as if he was the first man she had ever seen, and then he realized that he was the first man she had ever seen.
He moved to the sink to shave. He lathered up his face and took a new disposable razor from the medicine cabinet. As he scraped the hair from his face he heard her giggle.
"What's so funny?'
"Men in my time do not have any body hair. There is no reason for body hair on modern man. It is a genetic trait left over from the time of the cave man. Even the women only have hair on their head and I hear that some women are electing to get rid of that. Body hair was genetically engineered out of the males in the late 21st century. Even in your time, natural genetics started to eliminate men's hair on their head. I have been thinking about having my own hair removed permanently. It is only because of vanity that women desire hair on their heads."
He finished shaving and rinsed the lather off. He took out his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth. She was quiet until he finished.
"Why did you do that to your teeth?"
He went over and stood in front of her, "I have to brush my teeth twice a day. If I don't tooth decay will start and I will lose them."
"Don't you have dental pills?"
He didn't answer. He looked at her. They seemed to have a pill for everything in her world. He knew he would be considered a troublemaker in her world.
She reached out and took his cock in her hand. She examined it from every angle pulling on it and moving it from side to side.
"I have never seen a man's pleasure center before. It is much different than I had imagined."
He started to become aroused and his cock became hard and started to grow. She dropped him and moved away from him with a shocked look on her face.
"How did you do that?" How did you make it get hard and make it get longer?"
"Damn woman, what do you expect? I was getting aroused. Don't you ever get sexually aroused?"
"Why don't you use one of your pleasure devices?"
"Ah, I prefer the real thing. Now, go into the other room while I get dressed. I'll find some clothes for you. They'll be big on you, but they'll cover you so that...
He pushed her into the hallway and went to the bedroom and finished dressing. He searched for some of his clothes for her to wear. As he was searching through the closet he came across a shirt and jeans that one of his female friends had left in his house last summer. She had spent some time with him at the lake, but nothing had developed between them.
He took the clothes to the girl and convinced her to put them on.
The clothes fit her pretty well and he knew that she would turn a lot
of heads if she went out into public.