Space Junque Read Online Free Page B
Author: L. K. Rigel
why she'd always resisted coming up here. She would never be one of the sophisticated people.
Reynaldo sighed. "Not now, Geraldo."
Geraldo tweaked the server's nipple and slapped her backside. "Run along then."
Jake's face was a blank, but Char felt certain he'd be glad to join Rani in squishing Geraldo like a fly. Good. She'd help.
Mike didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He tasted the champagne offered by the wine steward and pronounced it acceptable. "To Sanguibahd."
The trays were loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables and dips and sauces. Char's mouth watered. The colors alone were exciting -- bright reds, greens, and yellows. It had been a year since she'd had anything from hydroponics. Store-bought food was so bland, sometimes she'd go for days on protein drinks and lattes and vitamin pills.
"Delicious." She bit into a red-orange cherry tomato. "I can taste the nutrients."
"We stock from orbit when we can," Jake said. "Food up here beats anything grown in the ground."
"I've always wanted to see the new hydroponics annex." The thought of it brought Char's old life back.
"I'll take you after dinner." Mike ran his fingers over her wrist.
"You're into hydroponics?" Jake looked surprised.
Why shouldn't he be? Why shouldn't he think she was an unproductive ornament, saved from the chaos below because she was related to Mike's fiancée?
Mike pulled his hand away as if he again realized that she wasn't Sky. "Char helped design the annex."
"That's generous. I was an intern. I was in my doctoral program working with the design team, but I quit before it was installed."
"Quit?" Geraldo practically sneered.
"Char's sister was with Tesla," Mike said. "She's been in mourning."
"Half the planet is in mourning," Geraldo said. "And the other half soon will be. No one has the right to withhold their … gifts anymore."
"Artless." Reynaldo licked his fingers. "But true. The survival of the human race might well come down to one woman's refusal to give what she can. It's what this project is all about."
The two tipped their glasses to each other.
"The land around Corcovado is blessed." Creepy coming from Geraldo, hardly the reverent type. "We've discovered a natural artesian aquifer. Clean fresh water. A pristine environment to keep the girls healthy. We're calling it Sanguibahd."
He must have come up with the name himself, he was so proud of it.
"Blood City," Char said.
"A sanctuary for fertile females."
"But no one has a natural pregnancy anymore."
Women's fertility had long been undependable. In the Gulf Spill of 2010, the oil company used dispersants in their attempts to conceal the gravity of the disaster. Those chemicals infused endocrine disruptors into the ecosystem. At first the local fish, plankton, and birds were affected. But the slick spread to currents that channeled the whole mess into the Atlantic, and the tainted birds and plankton and fish were subsumed into the food chain.
Within ten years half the women on the planet were infertile. Another quarter suffered from incompetent uterus syndrome at six to seven months. A generation later, some said the infertility had tapered off. Some said it was getting worse. The Imperial Census knew the truth, but the information was classified.
To be safe, most babies were baggers now, engineered at dedicated hospitals.
"Sanctuary." Char said. "Safekeeping from pollution?"
"Pollution. Mischief. Fertility wasted on the undeserving." Reynaldo licked his fingers again. "Raptors."
"Raptors? But that's just a rumor!"
Jake shook his head and Reynaldo chuckled.
Geraldo said, "If you don't see it on the television, it must not be real?"
Char was beginning to feel hopelessly naïve.
Mike's com sounded in his ear, so loud she could hear it. His self-important vibe put a stop to the group's conversation until he ended the call.
"Something I have to deal with." He stood up. "Reynaldo, Geraldo, you need to go back down. Keep away from the Pacific Zone. In
Reynaldo sighed. "Not now, Geraldo."
Geraldo tweaked the server's nipple and slapped her backside. "Run along then."
Jake's face was a blank, but Char felt certain he'd be glad to join Rani in squishing Geraldo like a fly. Good. She'd help.
Mike didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He tasted the champagne offered by the wine steward and pronounced it acceptable. "To Sanguibahd."
The trays were loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables and dips and sauces. Char's mouth watered. The colors alone were exciting -- bright reds, greens, and yellows. It had been a year since she'd had anything from hydroponics. Store-bought food was so bland, sometimes she'd go for days on protein drinks and lattes and vitamin pills.
"Delicious." She bit into a red-orange cherry tomato. "I can taste the nutrients."
"We stock from orbit when we can," Jake said. "Food up here beats anything grown in the ground."
"I've always wanted to see the new hydroponics annex." The thought of it brought Char's old life back.
"I'll take you after dinner." Mike ran his fingers over her wrist.
"You're into hydroponics?" Jake looked surprised.
Why shouldn't he be? Why shouldn't he think she was an unproductive ornament, saved from the chaos below because she was related to Mike's fiancée?
Mike pulled his hand away as if he again realized that she wasn't Sky. "Char helped design the annex."
"That's generous. I was an intern. I was in my doctoral program working with the design team, but I quit before it was installed."
"Quit?" Geraldo practically sneered.
"Char's sister was with Tesla," Mike said. "She's been in mourning."
"Half the planet is in mourning," Geraldo said. "And the other half soon will be. No one has the right to withhold their … gifts anymore."
"Artless." Reynaldo licked his fingers. "But true. The survival of the human race might well come down to one woman's refusal to give what she can. It's what this project is all about."
The two tipped their glasses to each other.
"The land around Corcovado is blessed." Creepy coming from Geraldo, hardly the reverent type. "We've discovered a natural artesian aquifer. Clean fresh water. A pristine environment to keep the girls healthy. We're calling it Sanguibahd."
He must have come up with the name himself, he was so proud of it.
"Blood City," Char said.
"A sanctuary for fertile females."
"But no one has a natural pregnancy anymore."
Women's fertility had long been undependable. In the Gulf Spill of 2010, the oil company used dispersants in their attempts to conceal the gravity of the disaster. Those chemicals infused endocrine disruptors into the ecosystem. At first the local fish, plankton, and birds were affected. But the slick spread to currents that channeled the whole mess into the Atlantic, and the tainted birds and plankton and fish were subsumed into the food chain.
Within ten years half the women on the planet were infertile. Another quarter suffered from incompetent uterus syndrome at six to seven months. A generation later, some said the infertility had tapered off. Some said it was getting worse. The Imperial Census knew the truth, but the information was classified.
To be safe, most babies were baggers now, engineered at dedicated hospitals.
"Sanctuary." Char said. "Safekeeping from pollution?"
"Pollution. Mischief. Fertility wasted on the undeserving." Reynaldo licked his fingers again. "Raptors."
"Raptors? But that's just a rumor!"
Jake shook his head and Reynaldo chuckled.
Geraldo said, "If you don't see it on the television, it must not be real?"
Char was beginning to feel hopelessly naïve.
Mike's com sounded in his ear, so loud she could hear it. His self-important vibe put a stop to the group's conversation until he ended the call.
"Something I have to deal with." He stood up. "Reynaldo, Geraldo, you need to go back down. Keep away from the Pacific Zone. In
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