“We are are proud to bring you the halftime score for the hockey
game between Le Meat Big and S.S.R.Inc,” announced the speaker on
the radio at the super maglav platform where Rachel was waiting a few
days later. “By the end of the second quarter Le Meat Big leads by
twelve points. Impressive, but this is still anybody's game,
especially now that S.S.R.Inc's star player Richard Middle Manager is
back from rehabbing the torn shoulder he suffered earlier in the
season. If he keeps it up like this, he'll be a new Brachium Fortis
any day now. But Le Meat Big would really like to take this one
home. S.S.R.Inc has had something of a target on their backs ever
since their surprise big win against Fashion Brigade two weeks ago.
Stay tuned to find out what happens and don't forget the terms of the
game. The loser will pay a penalty of half off their entire
inventory for the next twenty four hours. We'll be back with an
updated score shortly after play resumes but in the meantime...”
The final words of the announcement were drowned in the sudden woosh
of the super maglav rushing up and then settling onto the overhead
cables above which its suspension box hovered during transit.
Stepping onto the
public transport alone that morning, Rachel had felt odd. It was
true there was no way an outsider looking at her could tell she was
now an independent woman, a money card carrying house pet, but she
still felt like it was written all over her. Yes, she had been a
house pet before, but, when she lived with Esteban, she had rarely
gone out alone, instead choosing to sit around the house moping, on
the off chance he wanted her. Rachel fumed in disgust at the memory.
At the very least, she could have obtained some digi-books to read
and gotten some education so the time would not have been utterly
wasted. Besides, things were very different now. She was much freer
than a normal house pet both because she had won life-long hOwnership
and because of her special relationship with Dave in which he allowed
her to come and go at will, refusing to make demands on her time. A
group of girls from Urban's
was sitting in the back of the transport, all buzzing about the
latest news concerning Gregory's
recent plant purchase and Luther's
“secret” plan to surpass them, and Rachel was amazed by how calm
she felt in what was normally a horribly tense situation. Only
gradually did it dawn on her that the number of plants owned by
Gregory's had absolutely no
effect on her now. She felt a rush of wonder, as if she were lighter
than air. Then, it was gone and the loud chatter of the girls from
Urban's was no more to her
than the faint buzzing of an electrical circuit. Pulling a digi-book
out of her purse, Rachel began to read in the unexpected tranquility,
not lifting her face from the book until she reached the stop
opposite the station.
After the maglav had docked it took her very little time to locate
Susan since her lime green traveling suit and matching crocodile
print leatherette suitcase could be spotted halfway across the
station. Rachel called out and waved her hands and Susan came
running to meet her, her suitcase zipping along at her heels, almost
like some small robotic dog, the kind that sometimes showed up in old
“futuristic” cartoons. If the company Dave was working with did
ever get around to making them, she guessed Susan would be one of the
first in line to get one.
“Rachel, did you spy in the computer?” Susan teased. “How did
you know I was coming?”
“Because I arranged it,” Rachel replied, but with only a shadow
of the expected grin. “A lot has happened while you were gone,”
she said in a much lower voice.
“I can imagine, considering the insane bet you made.”
“Oh, the bet is the least of my issues now,” said Rachel with a
bitter edge to her voice. “But where were you?” she asked,
making an effort to reach outside her own troubles.
Susan made a gagging motion. “I was teaching, again, at a brothel
in Punthage, I hate that word,” she began.
“So it was a legitimate assignment?” asked Rachel in some
surprise, turning to walk back to the transport spot.
“Luther’s was getting
paid, if that's what you mean. But I can tell you that
brothel was not legitimate, even if the job was. Not a one of them
could give a proper hand job. We should have saved ourselves the
trouble and sold Alice to them. They would have been happy to get
her too. Thanks so much for rescuing me from that sewer of
incompetence. I fail to see why I had to go anyway. As I
said, Alice could probably have taught them.”
“Alice is why you were sent,” said Rachel in a cold voice as
boarded the waiting saucer. “Elissa wanted to deprive me of your
help so I would lose the bet, and now she's...”
“Well, how do you like that?” Susan burst out in anger, ignoring
the rest of Rachel's statement. “Putting her personal feelings
first? She would lose all clout in the brothel or could even be
expelled for trying to sabotage something like this. We'll confront
her and give her a piece of our mind just as soon as we get home.”
Susan's face went bright pink as it usually did when she was angry or
excited.
“No, Susan. 'We' shall do no such thing,” said Rachel quietly.
“Because, you see, we're not going to arrive home together.
Luther's isn't my home
anymore.”
Susan looked confused for a moment, then she broke into a broad grin.
“David, isn't it?” she crowed in triumph. “I knew it I knew
it.”
“Do not taunt the Demon.” Rachel drew back her lips and bared
her teeth in a snarl. “Anyway, it's not what you think. He did
it, not for himself, but to protect me from having to sleep with
other men against my will.” Quickly, and without pride, Rachel
explained to Susan what had happened. She didn't want to dwell on
the situation with Dave which she honestly found rather embarrassing,
instead feeling impatient to tell Susan about Alice and make sure
Susan was on her side.
“That...is...incredible,” said Susan in awe.
“It's not as wonderful as you might think,” said Rachel dryly.
“Because of this, Elissa decided...”
“Wait, wait.” Susan waved her hands. “No more new information
yet. I'm still trying to process what you told me. Lifelong
hOwnership you said?”
“Yes, I did
say.” Rachel ground her teeth in frustration. To her utter
disgust, Susan insisted she explain the minutia of the contract over
and over again, while Susan oohed and ahhed over every bit. With a
sick sensation, Rachel felt the transport begin to lower to the
ground. As Susan got up and began to move to the door, Rachel
grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Listen to me,” she cried
frantically. “Elissa claimed that my leaving the brothel
invalidated the agreement and tried to throw Alice out. I don't
think she succeeded but, anyway, Alice believes that was my intent
and hates me now.”
“I see,” said
Susan with a queer expression.
“Please help
me,” Rachel whispered, but Susan was gone without answering.
Rachel wasn't even sure she had heard her.
Two days later,
Rachel sat in Dave's transport, feeling again like she was going to
be sick. Would Alice still be inside and would she come out? If she
did, that might be worse. Alice could glare at her coldly for the
entire party or turn up her nose in contempt and Rachel felt her
stomach lurch at the thought while her fingers dug into the cloth of
the seat. Regaining her self-control, she forced her hands to relax
their grip. She didn't want to puncture the seat cover so Dave would
have to take the trouble of having it repaired. She blushed faintly,
reminded of how wonderful he was, the warmth of his kiss against her
neck as he said farewell, his eyes smiling down at her as he brushed
back a strand of hair deliberately left loose from her elaborate up
sweep and whispered in his meltingly rich voice, “We’ll be
together again in just a few hours. Best of luck. No matter what
happens, my feelings about you won’t change.”
The transport
settled to the ground with a slight jolt, startling Rachel out of her
reverie. She had become so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had
not realized she had arrived. She rose, straight and stiff, and
walked grimly towards the door, touching the opening button with a
gesture of grace and disdain. The door slid open, revealing gray
paving, soaked with swiftly falling rain drops sponsored specially by
the Taranburgh Steel company in honor of the event. There was a
stirring in the doorway of Luther’s
and Rachel felt her breath strangle in her throat. They were coming!
A large, brightly colored umbrella emerged from the door, then moved
to the side and was followed closely by another. Susan walked
beneath one umbrella, her hair piled on top of her head in a towering
spiral. She looked magnificent in a flashing diamond necklace and a
silver-black dress that left little to the imagination. Behind her,
Alice tottered along on her unfamiliar silver heels.
Despite her fear and bitterness, Rachel caught her breath in awe at
the sight. This was the first time Alice had been permitted to lay
aside the dull clothes of a new hire, make herself up, and style her
hair. She wore a gown of shining white silkone cloth, edged with
silver embroidery in a pattern of curling vines. The skirt reached
to her ankles with only the tiniest of slits to allow her room to
walk. The neckline cut across her body in a diagonal, leaving her
left shoulder and arm bare, but the right sleeve went all the way
down to the wrist and the bare left arm was balanced by a delicate
white glovelet on her left hand. She wore no jewelry except for a
simple circlet: a single large diamond on a slender fillet and her
hair coiled in roles over her ears. Her make-up was soft and
delicate, her eye-shadow of pearly pale blue and her eyes carefully
outlined to make them look huge and frightened. Further, careful
highlighting and shading had been used to make her cheeks look hollow
and her face long and thin. Behind her floated a hover basket
carrying an oddly shaped item, wrapped in plaZtic to protect it from
the rain, which, after a second, Rachel realized was Alice’s harp.
Once she had gotten over the initial shock and, admittedly, relief
that Alice was actually going to attend the party, Rachel felt a
sullen coldness spread through her. Alice looked magnificent. Susan
and whoever had helped her, had done an excellent job. But it wasn’t
right. Rachel had been Alice’s mentor, the one who had guided and
watched over her. It was her duty, her right, to be the one who
prepared Alice for her coming out of the closet. She should have
been there to see Alice’s beauty emerge, most likely shaping that
emergence with her own skillful hand on the make-up brush, to see the
wonder and delight grow in Alice’s too long haunted eyes as she
finally saw her potential. The chance for the special intimacy
resulting from the sharing of last-minute privacy and holding out the
hand of comfort was gone from her forever, taken from her by the
malice of Elissa which no triumph or revenge could ever restore.
Rachel felt her throat close and feared she might cry. With grim
determination, she gripped the sharp edge of the door so the physical
pain snapped her mind away from her emotional pain.
Now, the two women had reached the steps up to the transport,
entering one at a time with long pauses for closing the umbrellas.
Susan gave Rachel a polite greeting and she nodded in response.
Though she had warned Susan about Elissa’s treachery and Alice’s
coldness on the ride back from the super maglav station, her speech
had been hasty and their minds distracted by other concerns so it had
been hard to tell exactly where Susan’s sympathies lay. Besides,
other people at Luther’s
could have influenced her afterwards. Rachel kept her face neutral
to defend against possible enmity. One look at Alice made it plain
that her feelings had not mellowed. Her eyes were hard and
icy, almost glassy, her face drained of blood and her mouth stiff and
formal. However, this only made her look more shy and modest than
ever. They took their seats with a strict sense of propriety, all
spaced evenly, so neither like nor enmity was displayed, then sat in
silence, looking uneasily at the walls and floor. Rachel flipped a
switch so that most of the walls and ceiling turned clear, allowing
them to pretend they were distracted by looking out the windows, a
ruse Rachel herself took maximum advantage of.
Someone else turned on the radio to cover the awkward stillness with
what turned out to be a story about some malfunction on the space
elevator, far too technical for any of them to understand, of course.
Apparently, there had been some casualties but only low level
workers, mostly unprofitables, so no one they would have known.
Rachel noted the news report mentioned the algae tanks were unharmed
but most women, including, she was sure, Susan and Alice didn't
understand their importance in the first place and so wouldn't have
been worried. Instead, Susan was excitedly pointing out that their
host might be able to get a lucrative repair job out of this and so
might be in a particularly good mood. The party was a small
gathering in an office. A wealthy businessman from the Taranburg
steel company was showing off for some potential clients, though not
from any of the companies affected by the malfunction as it had only
just happened, a perfect scenario for a coming out of the closet
party as it seemed best not to frighten Alice with large crowds or
the intimacy of a private home. As they sank into the docking bay on
top of the steel welding plant, Rachel wished she could say something
to comfort Alice. She looked so utterly terrified.
©Amanda RR Hamlin 2026
