“Will she meet with you? She must be aware that you are my nephew, and of my support for Tag.”
“Well, she knows I’m an arbitrator and if I pitch it that you and I are not totally in agreement on the Tag Law then I think she might be intrigued enough to at least meet me.”
Sir Thomas leaned back in his Siteazy, his hands folded over his stomach. He looked directly at the camera. I thought I might have pushed it too far. My thoughts scrambled for something to say that would convince him, but he interrupted.
“Yes, that might be useful. But are you sure you want to do that?”
“It’s worth a try isn’t it? If they’ve got something in the wings she might give it away.”
“You feel pretty strongly about this Tag Law then?”
“I know how important it is to you and, as I told you on the golf course, I’m for it although I haven’t broadcast that fact.”
Sir Thomas smiled at my words. I thought I might have overdone it but he seemed convinced. I smiled back.
“Goodbye then, Uncle. I’ll be in touch as soon as I return.”
“Goodbye, Jonah. Safe travels.” And his image disappeared from the screen of my Devstick.
The Lev to London had been tiring, crowded and noisy, when travelers had joined the Express Lev at the stop in Paris for the last fifteen minutes. The final leg of the trip to London.
Tossing my beach bag on an overstuffed ancient chair next to the large double sleeper, I sat down and thought about the call I had to make. Annika Bardsdale, head of the Social Responsibility Party. Not a major party but still with significant numbers. More of a leverage player in large Popvotes, able to swing their followers’ voting to one cause or another and thereby keeping themselves as a fulcrum in politics. They mostly campaigned on green issues and civil rights.
I picked up my Devstick and called the SRP office. The Interactive Voice Receptionist led me smoothly through a list of options but the one I wanted wasn’t there. I could register with them, donate, complain, recommend a cause, join a march, but I couldn’t speak to them. I didn’t have her direct contact details, so I decided that the only other thing to do was to walk down to her offices. I had hoped that I could call in advance and make the meeting a bit more normal than me just walking in off the street, but it seemed that this was the only option. I clicked through to their site.
I must be tired, I thought. All the pressure from those Lev tubes had squeezed my brain so it wasn’t functioning. Right there on the front page was a huge banner suggestion to send a message to Annika: Go Here.
I thumbed Go Here, and with a quick glance in the wall-length glass mirror opposite the sleeper to check my appearance, set my Devstick on the table next to the sleeper and looking directly into it, said, “Hi Annika. I am Arbitrator Jonah Oliver — Sir Thomas Bartholomew Oliver’s nephew. I am in London on my way to New Boston. I hoped we might have a chance to sit down together and talk. I believe that I may be able to help you with your goal to stop the Tag Law. I’m attaching my contact details with this message. Hope to hear from you. Thanks, Jonah.” And with what I hoped was a convincing smile reached over and thumbed End Message.
I needed a shower and I needed some clothes. I spent the next ten minutes ordering clothes and asked for them to be sent to the hotel. Stripping off, I walked through to the outlet and was surprised to find that unlike the building and the room, the outlet was modern, with a sanitizer dryer and shower unit with a mirror running the length of the room. I took out my shaver and got rid of the stubble that had formed over the day. The Dev in the outlet read 11:45am, so 5:30pm in New Singapore. I wasn’t that tired but I was hoping that I could get some sleep before meeting with Annika. If she wanted to meet, I guessed it would be after leaving her contribution which typically means 6pm. I wouldn’t be at my sharpest after going for seventeen hours without sleep. I stepped into the shower and my Devstick in the room buzzed.
I wrapped a towel around my waist and went back out into the room, feeling a bit cool, the room’s temp was set too low. I picked up the Devstick — it was Annika. I thumbed show my face only for the transmission and answered.
“Hello Annika,” I smiled at the beautiful Annika Bardsdale. Prior to becoming involved in politics Annika had been a model and a flick star. To say star is a bit of an understatement, though. She was a mega star, until she quit saying that the flicks had given her enough of a platform to be of use and she entered politics. That had been twenty years ago but she was still an extremely beautiful woman.
“Hello, Jonah. I must say having the nephew of Sir Thomas, my most vocal opponent, call me to say he thinks he can stop the Tag Law was not what I was expecting when I got out of my sleeper this morning.”
An image of Annika in her sleeper popped into my head. I was glad I’d said face only, otherwise this conversation could have got very embarrassing.
“Yes, I imagine that would be a surprise. I have to tell you that I have already informed my uncle of my decision in this matter and while of course he’s not happy about it, he accepts it as my personal choice.”
“I see. And how do you think you may be able to help?”
“I’d prefer if we talked about that offline, face to face. Would that be possible?”
“Sure, when and where would you like to meet?”
“Whenever’s good for you. I can travel anywhere.”
“OK, come over to the offices. You know where they are right?”
“Yes. What time?”
“About six would be fine. We can meet here and then go get something to eat if you’d like?”
“Sure, that sounds fine. I’ll see you at six.” I smiled and she smiled back. Putting the Devstick on the side table, I remembered my promise to Mariko about sexual partners. I fell on the sleeper and shut my eyes. I could shower later.
“Hold all calls and wake me up at 5:30pm,” I said to my Devstick and shut my eyes.
Five and half hours of deep sleep had restored my energy. It felt good to be doing something. Anything was better than inaction. Mariko’s talk with me in the morning had given me confidence and renewed my faith in our cause. I felt a sharp spike of a ‘sense of her’ within me. I missed her: thinking how lovely it would be to walk these streets with her, without a care in the world.
The Social Responsibility Party headquarters was in an old brick building on the border of the city where fire and shockwave had not reached. Much of Richmond had survived and had remained largely unchanged over the years with many buildings being declared national treasures for the architecture and style of a time gone by. I was dressed in a long coat, wearing thick woolen leg outers and a silk top outer with a light woolen outer over that. The colors I had chosen were differing shades of grey. I had a scarf wrapped around my neck, defending it from a temperature that had now dropped to one cel.
I walked up the steps and pressed the intercom. It was 6pm, midnight in New Singapore, but I had slept for a few hours and was rested. I was also hungry and looking forward to having dinner with this beautiful woman. The door buzzed open and I went in. Annika was waiting in the entrance hall. She looked even more beautiful in person, standing perhaps at one hundred and seventy two cents tall, with dark brown hair sweeping off her high forehead down across her breasts. Her cheekbones were pronounced, and she had the largest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. She smiled and her full lips stretched out wide, putting a dimple in her cheeks.
I paused and gave her a polite wai, which she returned, bowing at the same height to indicate that she thought we were equals.
“Come with me,” she said, turning. She was wearing a long black dress open at the back in a vee that went to her buttocks. I followed her down a flight of stairs and we turned left into a room that had a fire. Small windows just at ground level would provide light in the day, but it was dark and the only light came from the fire.
“Isn’t that a bit environmentally unsound,” I said, nodding at the fire as she sat down in a large comfy looking Siteazy next to the fire.
“No, the carbon is recycled, as is the material burning. In fact we need a bit more carbon than we’re getting in this part of the world.”
“Oh, I confess I don’t know much about the environment. I sort of assumed that since the raft of green laws most of that battle had been won.”
“It has, but there’s never a time when we can relax. The Ents are always looking to lower costs, cut corners, and before you know it you’ve got a mess on your hands.”
