So far, James doesn’t like the future. At least during his time, the taking of one’s life was viewed as a catastrophe. He is alive now, though, and James Alexander Fletcher is a capable man. Despite the superficial and callous new world he’s found himself a part of, he plans to make the most of his accidental escape from death.
If only he understoodwhy. Why him? Was it truly chance that led Kate to select his DNA, or is there some greater purpose he’s meant to fulfill?
Fate must have its justification to unfurl in this manner, but he’s never been one to waste energy on impossible philosophical questions. He certainly isn’t the type to waste an opportunity—because ultimately that’s what this is. He’ll do whatever it takes to make something of himself a second time. Now, he has no other choice.
7 – Report a Dangerous Product
James
“Here, breathe through this. It should help.” Kate holds out a little device that looks like an inhaler. “For your lungs. I’ll order some food.”
He takes it from her and draws in deep breaths through the mouthpiece. As she goes to check an exterior delivery compartment in her wall she refers to as a smartwaiter, he rummages around in the refrigerator and finds a bottle of plain water. After a few sips, the chalky taste from the inhaler vanishes.
He follows her into the other room with a million questions banging around the hollowed-out cavern of his mind. The food she ordered arrived and she’s busy arranging two benign-looking boxes of what resembles fried rice on the coffee tables. Seems like as good an opportunity as any to get started learning about the world now. “You said New York City is under water. Why?”
“The Great Warming.”
“You mean climate change?”
“Yes. But it played out over a period of several hundred years due in part to the industrial and technological revolutions. From this historical vantage point, we can see it more clearly than you did in your time. Now it’s known as The Great Warming.”
“Does the United States exist anymore?”
“No. Out of necessity, the countries that existed then banded together under one centralized government called the Northern Hemisphere Organizational System, or NHOS. It’s run by the Board of Commanders, which includes three randomly selected representatives from each major population center. They serve for ten years each, before the next lottery.”
Kate must notice the melancholy washing over him because she says, “Paris still exists, though not as you would have known it. Mexico City is a big one. Let me see, Dallas–Fort Worth is coastal, and the air near the ocean is even more uninhabitable than it is here.”
“I see.” James takes a moment contemplating the state of the new world he finds himself alive in. He glances through the windows toward the grimy building across the street. “Wait, you mean to say the outdoors is uninhabitable everywhere? Not just here. What about plants and animals?”
Kate picks up the same remote she turned the screens off, pressing a few buttons. A tropical beach appears outside the window. When James’s nose wrinkles, she says, “Too much?” She settles on a cityscape that might have existed from a high-rise penthouse in any major western city.
“To answer your question, yes, to go outdoors anywhere on Earth now, a respirator is required. A full protective suit in some areas, or for people whose job regularly exposes them. Even that isn’t advisable for extended periods. It’s common knowledge that planetary atmospheres change. The emergence of life on Earth is one example. The impactof human progress is another, though it happened many times before those two instances from modern history. Maintaining an indoor equilibrium designed for human habitation is incredibly important. Hence my line of work and how it affords me all this.” She waves her hand around to her stark unit. Theand youis implied this time.
Her space looks a little sterile to James, but he keeps the observation to himself. She doesn’t seem to see it that way. “No stock market, then?”
She shakes her head.
“Money?”
“Unicoin is distributed by the Centralized Worldbank.”
So, a government currency. “Is Worldbank owned by NHOS?”
Kate nods. “Ownedisn’t really the right word. But it is run in cooperation with SHOS, the organizational system in the southern hemisphere. I’m not sure where your line of questioning is going, but I have a suspicion.”
Somehow, he doesn’t think that this new world will allow this reincarnated version of himself, a manupartner, to go on existing without it causing a stir, and he refuses to become the subject of an investigation, scientific or otherwise. He elects to keep these thoughts to himself. For now. He needs time to learn about this world and consider his options. To come to terms with his new reality. “We can talk about it tomorrow. Is there somewhere I can stay for the night? A shelter, maybe?” The sound of that makes him as uncomfortable as she looks.
Kate’s brows don’t seem to be able to crease, but her expression suggests she is rife with concern. “A shelter?”
“It’s a place where people without a home can stay—”
“You can take the spare room for now. We’ll discuss what happens next in the morning.” She leaves no room for argument.
After cleaning up, she ushers him back to the bedroom he woke up in. She takes away the GROW Pad, then brings a pillow from her room and places it on the uninviting bed. Shows him where the bathroom is and how to operate the knobs and switches, then leaves him.
James crawls atop the bed fully clothed. It’s only as he lies staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep, that he realizes this room wasn’t intended for him. She expected him to sleep in her bed tonight. Maybe she expected more than that after the staged meeting she referred to. After all, she expected him to be a fully functional sex doll. He closes his eyes, letting his mind wander. He really should start thinking of a strategy to find an income—a methodical approach—but another question nags him. Who is Kate, and why did she feel so desperate for a warm body that she needed to purchase a clone to be her lover?
The bed creaks as he flips to his side, considering moving to the couch. The closed door gives him space to think, however, so he stays put, letting his mind drift to the strange woman on the other side of the wall.
