Chapter Forty-One - Physical Comfort in the Presence of Another

“It’s a strange quirk of human nature that no matter the culture, there is nearly always something that will be considered an intimate, or even taboo, subject or action. For many western cultures this was depictions of sexual intercourse and images of breasts and genitals. For other cultures the taboos were other things.

As humanity entered the twenty-first century, however, titillating materials became the tools of advertisers who wished to shock and intrigue, and because of their overuse of such salacious materials, they became commonplace.

Now, images that might once have been considered downright pornographic inspire little more interest than passing notice. Instead, what has become the new subject of enticement is something beyond the reach of many:

Physical comfort in the presence of another.”

--Excerpt from Handholding and Other Carnal Desires, 2050

***

“So whatcha gonna do?” Rac asked.

No one tried to stop me or even slow me down as I headed out of the city hall building and back onto the street. I absently called up another Uber ride, this time aiming for the hotel. “I have an idea or two,” I said. “But nothing concrete.”

“Surprised you didn’t just cut the mayor in half.”

“It was tempting,” I said. “But that wouldn’t fix our problem.”

“It’d feel good though,” Rac said.

I couldn’t fault her there. The mayor was, in a word, a shitsac. He was making a terrible situation worse just by being himself. It was frustrating as hell. I didn’t think that killing him would improve things either. The mayor was a product of a system, someone who was good at playing a fucked up game. He reminded me of Doc Hack a little.

Then again, I did cut Doc Hack in half. But that... felt different. It was violence in response to violence. An escalation, where the mayor wasn’t.

“If it really comes down to it, I don’t think I’d have a problem introducing the mayor to my sword,” I said with a tap to the hilt by my hip. “But I think there might be other things we can do first.”

Our ride arrived a moment or two later. A driverless car that hovered near the ground and waited for Rac and I to board before taking off and merging back into the traffic above. I didn’t even bother trying to make it move faster.

“Where’re we going now?” Rac asked.

“I have a home... but it’s under construction right now. We’ll be going to a hotel. That’s where the kittens are, and Lucy, my girlfriend. You can stay the night, if you want.”

“I can take care of myself,” Rac said.

I nodded. “I know. I won’t force you, but... well, wait until tomorrow? I have something that you might like. A job, of sorts, you might be really good with. Plus we have room service.”

“Okay,” Rac said.

I leaned forwards, elbows on knees, and ignored the incessant beeping of the car trying to tell me to buckle my seatbelt. I needed to figure this sewer thing out.

Gomorrah and I could take over the operation, I was sure. Some of those matter-reconfiguring machines, a few hundred drones, and a steady supply of materials, and probably a whole heap of stuff I wasn’t thinking about and we’d control the sewers. They’d probably run better, and we wouldn’t need a mutilated sewer gang to do things for us.

But that was a huge responsibility, the sort of commitment I wasn’t ready to take up, not by a long shot. Hell, I hadn’t even asked Lucy to be more than girlfriends yet, I couldn’t turn around and take over the critical infrastructure for a city with a population over a hundred million.

So, if we didn’t do it, then who would?

The city had proven unable or unwilling to act until it was way too fucking late. That left... some corps? The Family, maybe. They had to have a few samurai that could handle big infrastructure things in their ranks.

“Myalis, can you write something for me?”

I likely can, yes.

I leaned back into the seat. “I need a summary of everything we’ve learned about the Sewer Dragons and the water system for the city. How soon it’s likely to fail, what needs to be prioritized, all that stuff.”

Done.

“Right. Can you send that to Deus Ex, and Longbow. Tell them that I have no fucking clue what to do with this whole thing.”

Message sent. I assume you’re aware that you could do something to alleviate this situation, though at great cost to yourself?

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I don’t like it, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t do a good job of it. Let’s look into other solutions before we get locked into becoming some sort of... sewer samurai.”

Understood. I think there are a few avenues that you haven’t yet considered.

“Oh?” I asked. Trust Myalis to have a hundred solutions to my none. I should have asked her earlier.

Before you take any such step, you should rest. You’re not in a physical state to act just yet. You’re likely to make some critical mistakes if you don’t take time to sleep. Unless you wish for a method to remove the need to sleep entirely?

I snorted. “I like sleeping,” I said.

It didn’t take long for the car to pull up into the hotel. Rac had her face pressed up against the window as we arrived. “Fancy,” was her only reply.

“Yeah,” I agreed as I pulled the door open and stepped out. A small pop-up informed me of the credits I’d just spent on the ride, and it was only the fresh knowledge that I was rich that kept me from wincing at the number of zeros.

Rac scrambled after me and we headed for the front entrance.

I noticed plenty of people looking our way, and plenty more of them recoiling or touching their noses once we passed them.

Right, the smell.

Rac followed me into an elevator, and I pressed the door-closed button. “Myalis, I need something for the smell,” I said.

There are some low-cost anti-bacterial decontamination sprays available in your MEDICAL catalogue, in aerosolized form. They should remove the majority of the stench.

“That sounds perfect,” I said.

My points dropped to 10,704 and I received a small box with a can within it, one that had a big plastic nozzle on the top and some very basic instructions on the side. I sprayed down my side, then up the centre of my body and hoped that the spray was getting everywhere.

“Do I still stink?” I asked Rac.

“I guess,” she said. “I’m used to it.”

Fair enough. I gestured for her to turn around. “Close your eyes and t-pose for me while I spray you down. You can do me after.”

Rac nodded and did as I asked. “Can is running out,” she said after a bit. The entire elevator had a haze to it, which I figured was for the best, all things considered. “Can I keep it?”

“Sure,” I said as I reached out and pressed the button to our floor. I mostly didn’t want Lucy to find me smelling like shit.

The elevator doors dinged open and Rac and I stepped out and into the corridor leading to my kittens and Lucy. I felt like I had a weight lifted off my shoulders.

Still, I had some sense of responsibility. I sent off a text to Gomorrah, telling her that I was home, and that I needed a few hours of sleep. She replied with a thumb-up emoji, so I figured we were cool.

I knocked.

“This is where you are staying?” Rac asked.

“For now. I bought the top floor of this building not too far from here. But we’re still fixing that up.”

“Neat,” Rac said just as the door opened.

Lucy was standing there, in a T-shirt and ripped up jeans, her hair a messy wet poof above her. She stared, then grinned before noticing Rac. “Oh hey, you brought another one home.”

I stumbled forwards and pulled her into a hug.

Lucy laughed, and I felt her hands sliding over my armour to return the hug. “Missed you too,” she said. “Where do you want to start?”

Where did I want to start? A rant about stupid people, a long discussion about what to do? Maybe some fucking? Food? Those would all feel great.

“I want a shower,” I decided.

Lucy giggled. “I just came out of it. Should still be nice and warm. Come on.”

“Uh, this is Rac,” I said with a gesture to the girl that followed me in. She was staring at the other kittens who were perked up and staring right back. She also glanced at the cat-mecha currently acting like a sphynx before the fridge. I bet there was a story there.

“Hey,” Rac said, one hand rising to wave. “Sup?”

“Hi Rac! Junior, can you take care of Rac, please?” Lucy asked. “She looks like she could use something to eat, and a shower too.”

Junior looked up from where she was zoning out on the couch, sighed, then bounced to her feet. “Why can’t you ask Daniel?” she muttered as she approached Rac.

“Come on, kitty Cat,” Lucy murmured. “Let’s get you all cleaned up.”

She pulled me after her, and despite the armour and all the gear, there was nothing I could do to resist her tug.

***