by D G Hervey
“Yes,” Dr. Cuadro informed, “that is done, and will be done with the red blood cells for all babies born on Calypso. But, there are additional possible uses for other components of the blood. Some aspects of what we do have not been in use long enough to ensure that there are no detrimental side effects. But, I think that there is great promise for positive results, and I hope that you and Jon will research our database to decide whether either or both of you may be willing to be future test subjects.”
Jon walked back in with a pot of hot steeping tea, four cups and saucers on a tray, a small pitcher of milk, a sugar bowl, a ‘pot’ of honey with a dollop in it, four shortbread fingers, four spoons, and a small bowl of almonds.
“Sure!” replied Jon, “I’ll consider being a guinea pig for you doctors, for what?”
Dr. Cuadro answered, “Jon, for the possible improvement in the retention of your mental faculties at least. There may be other improvements as well. Who knows all the good that such young human-umbilical-cord-stem-cells injected into someone of your age might do. Increased longevity is another distinct possibility. But, you research the pros and cons on our database to decide for yourself. I don’t want to push you into something you wouldn’t want to do. We are about to have an unprecedented supply of umbilical-cord blood per person old enough to benefit from it. On Calypso, the only two people old enough to really benefit from what might be done are you and Marie. But obviously, it cannot be a meaningful experiment with a blind control group. There is not a large enough pool of potential test subjects or, as you said, guinea pigs, for that.”
Jon poured and passed out the tea and shortbread fingers. He offered nuts, sweetener and milk. Marie took her tea straight, Dr. Cuadro, following Jon’s lead, sweetened hers with a dollop of honey. Dr. Ozlem tried hers straight, the way Marie had hers, and then added a bit of milk. Everyone took a few almonds.
Dr. Ozlem remarked, “No wonder you like this tea so much. I’ve never had better.”
“Why, thank you, Dr. Ozlem,” Dr. Cuadro teased, “for getting us this invite. And thank you, Jon, for being as wonderful a host as she expected you to be.”
Jon commented, “Well the supply won’t last. When it is gone, it is all gone for good. Rather like the shaving lather that I used to have. Now I simply use soap on my face instead. Such is the case with all of our former brand loyalties back on Earth. When we’ve used up the last of what we brought with us, we all have to make do with the best imitation that can be rigged up here in our new home. Not that I complain overall, mind you. Life here is interesting and rewarding. I don’t regret for a moment the snap decision that Marie made for us to come.”
“How nice to have you say that, Jon. Thanks,” Marie remarked, expressing her appreciation.
“Okay,” remarked Jon, “let’s get to scheduling this training you want us to have. I’m ready and willing, whenever it is mutually convenient.”
“Not today, Jon,” replied Dr. Cuadro. “Dr. Ozlem and I need to come to agreement, and get the delivery room set up for training you two. But it will be soon. Early deliveries could start anytime now. And I’ve heard rumors that Ykon may be starting a trend, wanting your presence at the delivery of her baby girl. So, don’t overcommit your time very far in advance. You may have ‘emergency’ calls to the delivery room rather often once deliveries start.”
Jon enthusiastically stated, “Bring it on. Isn’t that why these women wanted me to be here, to be a father figure for their daughters? Isn’t that why all of these fertile women are aboard, to grow a population that will be sufficient to start a colony about a new star while maintaining a strong technological society? We don’t want the second gravida of homo sapiens to be reduced to being hunter-gatherers, the way many of the indigenous people of the Americas generally were after the Europeans brought cross-species diseases to them.”
Chapter 9 - In ‘Retirement’ - Jon: Like Voltaire’s Candide
For Marie’s birthday, Jon decided to take her to eat out at Djang’s Kitchen. They dressed nicely, took the escalator up to Level 4, and boarded the moving walkway to get to the restaurant.
They were greeted at the entry by a bot. Jon was disappointed by the lack of human greeters at the restaurant.
Marie, noticing Jon’s annoyance, commented, “In light of the extremely limited supply of live people, I suppose there is no alternative but to have a bot serve as greeter.”
Jon nodded. It was a change from his experiences back in Texas. There had been a lot of changes in how he lived. It was just that he had not anticipated this one.
The bot showed them to a table, nicely set with table cloth, cloth napkins, and chopsticks. Jon liked the Chinese table setting that was similar to what he experienced in the nicer Chinese restaurants in Texas. They both enjoyed Chinese food and Marie especially liked to not have to cook. In fact, Jon did about half of their cooking.
Jon looked over the menu, ready to order for them both. It was special for Marie to have oysters. Jon asked her, “Would you rather have steamed oyster with black bean sauce or deep fried oysters?”
“How delightful that they have oysters on the menu,” replied Marie, “and not just some oyster sauce. But that is a hard choice. I’d rather not have fried food for supper, but I’m sure I’d enjoy the fried oysters more than the steamed ones, although the black bean sauce is intriguing. So I’ll splurge, forget the calories for now, and have the deep fried oysters, please. It could mean that I’ll need to sleep with my head higher than my body tonight.”
“I hope we can get it family style,” commented Jon. “Then, if you don’t want all of your fried oysters, perhaps I can help you get rid of one or two.”
Marie asked, “what are you going to order for yourself?’
“I have particularly enjoyed the beef with Chinese broccoli back in Texas,” replied Jon. “I’m a bit surprised to see it on the menu here, especially since beef is rather scarce. I wonder what demand there is here for Chinese broccoli. I’m glad to learn that it is grown on Calypso. I think I’ll order it so I can make a comparison.”
Marie stated, “I hope you’ll share that with me so that I can get some vegetables. I guess you’ll want wonton soup. That is your usual. But, I want hot and sour soup, please.”
“Should I,” asked Jon, “include you in the order for Jasmine tea?”
Marie agreed, “Why not. Between that and the fried food, I may get little sleep tonight.”
To Jon’s astonishment, out came Djang herself, bringing the soups they wanted, with a bot following her carrying the hot Jasmine tea, a cold plate of chilled carrot strips and beans on a bed of crisp shredded romaine lettuce.
Marie gave a little delighted laugh and remarked, “Now I’m sure that you heard everything that we said. How else could you have brought vegetables with our tea and soup?”
Djang explained, “How best to serve our guests is to understand what they desire. I’ll take your little laugh as a compliment.”
“Good,” responded Marie.
“Welcome to my kitchen,” Djang greeted. “I am honored to have you two as guests. A specialty of the house is our service. There are adequate serving bots that you should get what you’d like almost instantly if you just express your desire. But, it is my pleasure to participate in serving you as well.”
The bot opened the cloth napkin with a flourish. It spread one first in Marie’s lap and another in Jon’s lap. The bot then poured piping hot Jasmine, first in the cup with no handle that was before Marie and then in a similar cup before Jon. It then placed a sparkling soup spoon beside Marie’s bowl of hot and sour soup and then placed another one beside Jon’s wonton soup.
With a bit of a bow, Djang and the bot left them to enjoy their soup, sip their tea, and munch off of the chilled vegetable plate.
Marie remarked, “Not only is the service outstanding, but this is great soup, and the beans are surprisingly nice.”
Jon tried a bean, then some of the carrots and commented, “But the carrots
are outstanding. You know that I consider myself to be a connoisseur of raw carrots. I wonder how Djang gets such good ones. They are chilled, crisp and sweet. They’re delightful.”
“I bet we are making her day,” observed Marie.
“And perhaps enhancing her business,” added Jon. “As the adage goes, ‘always assume the cameras are on and the mikes are open.’”
Marie asked, “Where did that adage originate?”
Jon guessed, “It must have been in the early days of television. More than one person has lost his or her job for not heeding the warning in that adage. If the old saw had been only to assume that the mikes are open, I’d have guessed that it came from the early days of radio.”
As soon as they finished their soup, a bot was at their table asking if they would like more soup, or whether they’d prefer for it to remove the bowls.
“I believe,” replied Marie, “that we’ve ordered more food than I’ll be able to eat anyway, so please, let us be finished with our soup.”
As the bot whisked away the bowls, another bot arrived with their ordered entrees on hot platters with serving spoons, and yet another bot brought them warmed plates and a nice bowl of sticky rice. It placed the warmed plates, first one before Marie and then one before Jon. It then spooned three of the fried oysters onto Marie’s plate, then some rice onto Jon’s plate, and topped the rice off with some of the Chinese broccoli and beef. Then it asked, “Madam, would you like for me to serve you some of the broccoli and beef over rice?”
“No thank you,” Marie replied.
Meanwhile, the other bot had refilled their cups with tea.
The bots then departed.
With a bit of difficulty, Marie picked up a fried oyster with her chop sticks. It was a bit too big of a bite for her, so she worked at splitting it with her chop sticks. A bot, promptly appeared with a sharp knife. It asked, “May I cut the oysters into two pieces, madam?”
“That would be nice,” Marie replied.
So the bot cut each of the oysters on her plate into two pieces. Then it asked, “Can I be of further assistance.”
Marie responded, “Not at the moment.”
Then the bot withdrew.
Jon picked up his chopsticks and managed to begin to reacquire some of the skill he had once had using them. He knew that he was using rarely-used muscles in the palm of his right hand. Those muscles might be a bit sore tomorrow, but he kept at it. He knew he would get a bit better as the meal progressed.
Marie had no trouble getting the half oysters up with her chop sticks. Somehow, being a bit smaller was a help. She commented, “I do love fried oysters. Jon, will you serve me a small portion of the rice and a good portion of the Chinese broccoli with a bit of beef with a spoonful of the sauce to top it off.”
Jon did as she requested. He commented, “This is just as good as I remember this dish back in Texas.”
Marie tried some of her Chinese broccoli and remarked, “The broccoli is so tender, and the Chinese make such wonderful sauces to go with their dishes. It is just delightful.”
They ate a while. Then a woman from a neighboring table approached and commented, “Now that you are nearly through with your meal, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Vrike. Of course, everyone on Calypso knows who you two are. I am in charge of the orchards and vineyards of Subtle. I’ve been hoping for an opportunity to show you, especially Jon, our orchards, vineyards, and particularly the Dorman red raspberries that got introduced after we voted to get the two of you, because of Jon’s interest and experience with them back in Texas. They don’t have much of last year’s canes on them, so there won’t be much production this year. But the first ones are just beginning to ripen now. I thought you might like to pick some and eat them as they ripen.”
“How thoughtful everyone is,” commented Jon. “I’ll be pleased to get some fresh Dorman red raspberries. I’d especially love to see your domain, all of it.”
“Well, for me,” Marie remarked, “a sampling of it will do. That is really Jon’s interest.”
“We also have a winery,” Vrike informed. “So far, I make only red wines and not just from grapes. So in a few years when the Dorman red raspberry production is great enough, I’ll want to experiment and make some red wine from them.”
“Marie used to love a glass of wine before bedtime,” Jon remarked. “But that was before she got so sick. Now, with the drugs that her doctor prescribed, she is not supposed to imbibe at all. I tend not to drink alone. But, with your company, I’d be delighted to try some Dorman red raspberry wine once you make it. My uncle used to brew homemade wine. Some of it was quite good; some was not so much to my liking.”
Marie asked, “When might you have time to show us around?”
“Virtually anytime will do,” Vrike replied. “How about tomorrow?”
Marie remarked, “That will suit me just fine. What time tomorrow?”
Vrike offered, “How about nine thirty tomorrow morning? That will give you time for your exercises, breakfast, and meds.”
“Oh,” commented Marie, “you know our schedule. Are you one of those who exercises with Jon on a daily basis?”
Vrike confessed, “Guilty as charged. I feel better with that regular exercise. Jon is an inspiration with his constancy. Honestly, his workout has been taxing for me to achieve, but Marie, yours was just not enough for me.”
“Perhaps,” Marie replied, “it will be enough some day when you are older.”
“Tomorrow morning then,” agreed Jon. “You’ll come by to get us?”
Vrike remarked, “I will be glad to do that.”
-
The next morning after breakfast Marie remarked to Jon, “It will be nice for you to get back into your gardening. I bet Vrike will let you work plots to your heart’s content.”
As they walked into the pod’s common room Jon replied, “Now there is an idea that I like. I’ll have to get some extra-large work gloves if I do though. You like for me to have soft hands. I doubt that there is much call for my sort of extra-large, soft leather, work gloves. There may be a few women here with larger hands than mine, but very few of them are likely to be wanting work gloves. If you are provided some soft leather, do you think that you could make me some work gloves? That is not something that I even thought to bring from Texas.”
“With no go-by,” replied Marie, “the seams may lack the comfort you are accustomed to having. But, no doubt, I can make you some. However, I don’t know where you will get some soft leather.”
“Clearly,” he projected, “they slaughter animals for meat. Surely, the hides are tanned. I doubt that they’ll have deer hide. I did not notice any venison on the menu at Djang’s Kitchen last night. Deer hide is the material used in the gloves that I thought were the best ones I could find in Texas.”
Just then the escalator activated downward.
Putting a tote bag over her shoulder, Marie observed, “Our guide for the morning, Vrike, seems to be arriving.”
Coming into view Vrike responded, “And right on time to boot. It looks like you two are ready. I see that you have your walking shoes on.”
Appreciating that Marie had said the woman’s name, Jon invited. “Lead on, Vrike. Let’s get this show on the road.”
-
Vrike led them up the escalator, onto the moving walkways, and Marie was quickly disoriented.
Marie requested, “Someone will need to point the way for me to get back to our pod. I know the address at the top of our escalator is East 41, North 43, on Deck 4, and I could eventually figure out which way to go, but I’d rather get directions.”
“Marie, I’m taking you on the short circuit,” volunteered Vrike. “I’m expecting that will be enough for you. We’ll bring you back here and not just give you directions. Then, I expect to show Jon most of what I do. But Marie, would you like for me to include the winery in your part of the tour?”
Marie answered, “I guess not. Such things that I’ve visited before tend
to be a bunch of vats, and are more focused on those on tour getting a free taste of various wines so they can decide what they’d like to purchase.”
“Well, the sampling is something that we offer,” informed Vrike. “But as yet there is no real marketing of the various wines, I guess because it is not a private enterprise. Still, there is a nice decor, different from the norm on Subtle.”
“Okay,” responded Marie. “You’ve changed my mind. I’ll go to get to see the decor. It may be a pleasant change. I suspect the pods have some variation, but the walkways, corridors, the one pine forest I’ve seen, and office spaces seem very institutional to me.”
“Yes,” acknowledged Vrike. “The agricultural spaces are very much the same, too. I might call them industrial, but institutional seems like an appropriate description as well. Speaking of which, here is an orchard in production. We are presently harvesting from it every day.”
Vrike led them through double doors into a space with trees in orderly rows and a carpet of grass underfoot. Near the walls of the enclosure were flowers which Marie decided were from bulbs, probably irises.
“This would be a nice place for a picnic,” commented Marie. “It has a manicured lawn, flowers, and beautiful fruit trees.”
“Peach trees,” observed Jon. “They look luscious.”
Marie remarked, “They smell luscious as well.”
“I brought you here,” Vrike informed, “because this grove is of a variety that Jon grew back in Texas, TexPrince.”
Jon predicted, “And I expect you have the chill hours perfectly controlled; so that once the blooms appear, there is no more risk of frost; and so that with the trees’ blossoming, suddenly there are bees to pollinate the trees so the peaches set. But do you have to spray to keep the trees healthy?”
“Yes,” responded Vrike. “We do spray to keep the fungi in check. Some always seems to come along with the grafting that is needed to get the fruitful scions on the good root stock. But, with careful observation, we don’t have to spray often and not at all for worms in the peaches.”