Page 47 of CHOICE Lover
(11/14/2299) CHOICElover is founded.
(11/14/2302) CHOICElover rolls out first manupartners to the public.
Those dates are exactly seven and ten years after his twin’s suicide. It feels too significant to be a coincidence. Or is she jumping to conclusions again? A gut feeling tells her there is something to those dates. A loss that significant could explain his reluctance toward close relationships. Even some of why he might think manupartners would be a good idea.
She requests that DumBot remove its memory of the conversation and then deletes it for good measure. As she closes the app, her eyes snag on the date: October 21, 2390. That means the anniversary of his brother’s death is less than a month away. No wonder he’s so mixed up.
What is she supposed to do with this new information? It’s not like it changes anything. Well, it explains why he keeps referring to Jerme in the past tense. A pang of melancholy hits her. He keeps suggesting Jerme will like her, even saying they’ll meet soon. How sad is that? Her heart aches for him. She understands all too well what that feels like.How long Jerme’s been gone doesn’t matter. She still mourns the loss of her mother, and it’s been nearly twenty years. What now, though?
Be patient with him about Chryl, her inner narrator, who sounds a lot like Ask Doctor Janet, suggests.Yeah, yeah.Chryl is his shield, and it did seem like he was trying to push her off his lap when Electra walked in. It’s hard to imagine a man as serious and emotionally constipated as Res6 being romantically involved with a bubbly, bodacious woman like that, albeit a fake one.
The urge to help him smacks her in the heart.He isn’t asking for your help, the Janet in her mind reminds her. True, but it isn’t just him. It’s everyone! There is one thing this society is seriously lacking, aside from the ability to go outdoors, and it’s partially because of his invention of manupartners:human connection!
Sure, she should be cautious—the world is a scary place—but the possible benefit outweighs the risk. The column could soak up her anxious energy and give her purpose. Maybe even prove she deserves a place here, instead of waiting for the world to remind her she doesn’t belong.
With her experience of how things were before, she’s the exact woman to show society how to reestablish real, meaningful relationships through her column. Not to mention she’s a romance writer—she’s basically a relationship expert!
And if Res6 grows as a by-product of her efforts, so be it. Not that she plans to use him as a test subject, or even tell him about the blog he’s so disapproving of. Only influence him through the psychological concept of emotional contagion.Take that, Janet!
Grinning, she picks up her tablet and logs on to the FrogBlog app with her new account. It really is a perfect plan. What an excellent main character she’s becoming.
14 – A Surprise Sparkler
Res6
October 30, 2390.
“Will you please act like a manupartner today?” Res6 asks as the SAT door opens. He jumps out, circles the vehicle quickly, and helps her out first, then Chryl.
“I thought I was allowed to be myself.” She shoots him a snarky grin.
He stifles a groan.Her existence is your fault, so you deserve this.“I changed my mind.”
Electra chuffs. “What does ‘act like a manupartner’ even mean?”
“Be agreeable. At least until we are alone, if you can manage that.” He instinctively offers Electra his elbow. “Better yet, don’t speak. That goes foryou too, Chryl.”
“Yes, Daddy!” Chryl says, earning a groan from both him and Electra. Chryl loops her arm through his offered one. “Don’t be cranky, handsome.”
He shakes Chryl’s arm off, angling for Electra, who steps out of his reach.
“My not speaking wasn’t part of our agreement,” Electra says.
“Perhaps we can add it as a condition?”
“How about a second favor of my choosing?” She smiles at him smugly.
Zorg, give him strength. He shakes his head. “No.”
It’s not like hisattitudeis unwarranted, considering he spent fifteen minutes bargaining with Electra to get her out the door. Besides, he already heavily weighted the deal in her favor by granting her one request of her choice—at a time of her choosing—that he couldn’t refuse, in exchange for agreeing to visit the lab with Chryl in tow, plus lunch for advertising.
It’s a steep price, which feels a little ominous, if he’s being honest. But after the sixth failed synthetic Jerme DNA attempt that morning, he was desperate to get her to the lab for some scans, so he gave in. Should the scans offer a path to bringing Jerme back, fulfilling her request will be well worth it. Then he won’t have to use the organic samples as Lextr keeps pushing. It’s getting harder to deny the soundness of his reasoning.
