Chapter 15

“What’s your problem with Drew?” Joyce asked, always prepared to fight for her child.

“He’s arrogant, demanding, rigid in his thinking. And he’s usually not very nice to women.” Aislinn said.

It was Jennifer who spoke up. “He is also a genius in his field, a perfectionist, and autistic. And although he hasn’t had a lot of experience with women, look at this house full of naked or near-naked women by his side. He can’t be all that bad. What is it that’s really bothering you?”

Aislinn went all in without a second thought. “I think this whole extraction stuff is exaggerated. People are all parroting each other. Then they add romantic stuff like going off to the stars and starting a new life. But it’s all fucked up, of course. White guys run off with a bunch of women, and they treat these women as hucows. Human cows. Do you know how many babies you can deliver until your body is completely broken? Cows have a natural lifespan of about 15 years, but on intensive dairy farms it’s 5 to 6 years. They produce 2 to 4 calves a cow. Most of them suffer from energy depletion, calcium drain and uterine stress. And of course intensive reproductive cycling effectively ages the cow’s body faster. Concubines in the colonies do not differ from cows.”

If she can come up with exaggerated examples, I can do much better. “Perhaps. On the other hand, just suppose this talk about the Sa’arm is all true.” I said. “If you don’t think they are a threat, just think of a locust swarm. A large swarm can contain up to 80 million locusts per square kilometre. They eat as much food as tens of thousands of people daily, and locusts can consume their own body weight in food daily. So if animals on Earth like can do that with plants, is it so hard to understand aliens can do that to people? Isn’t it better to take your chances in space than to be eaten alive?”

Aislinn was shivering at the mere thought of that. I continued, “I don’t think life on the colonies will be all that great. The guys are away fighting the Sa’arm, and the girls are sitting at home and competing for the sponsors’ attention in whatever way they can. Our group is going to be different. We will be friends first here on Earth, before we leave. We will build a friendship that will survive any problem that comes along. You’re invited to become a member of this group. We expect you to work hard with us in building a reliable team. The goal is to make a stable base camp for Drew so he can concentrate on his important work. You are the only one of us who can help him with that. We can help him with other things, but we need you to be his lab assistant. We will allow you certain privileges, like staying dressed until we reach the starship. The only reason we make an exception for you is that we need you.”

“Why don’t you try it, say, for 20 days. Money-back guarantee.” Expect Isis to liven things up. Don’t worry about the crazy clothes; you’ve come to a crazy house. The thing they have invented today, or re-invented I don’t know, was that you have to kiss someone in passing. Suppose you want to read a magazine and it’s at the other side of the room, you will pass Sharon and give her a kiss, and you will have to meander through Jennifer and Joyce, you have to kiss them as well as you pass. If you go back to your seat and walk the same route, you will have to kiss them again. Glisskissing these nutters call them. Like I said, it’s a crazy house, but it’s fun.”