Chapter 14: Arts and Craft

Location: Newstock, Montana, North American Coalition, Earth
Era: Tuesday, 14th April 2246CE

Virtually all the Newstockers seemed to have the same youthful teenage appearance as Cloe and Iupputer. The exotic body art and bizarre body shapes that were so common in 2299 era Melbourne seemed to be rare in 2246 era Newstock. Except for an assortment of hats, bangles, and bags they were unclothed. Mark / Darren and Saffron stood out being taller, older looking, bulkier and more heavily muscled than the waif-like 2246 era natives.

"What do you want to do first?" asked Cloe. She passed out a token that linked to a shared canvas displaying a map of Newstock.

"We could see a performance at one of the sound stages. There is a steel drum band performing at the Krakatoa Stage. A Gamelan band at the Toba Stage. In 15 minutes there will be a Raxz Band starting at the Pelée Stage. A tap group is dancing on Vesuvius Stage in half an hour. The Newstock Players are half way through the comedy 'Death of a Telephone Sanitizer' on the Tambora Stage. The Drop Swans are doing Stravinsky's Firebird on the Laki Stage but that is almost finished," said Iupputer as he placed his arms around Saffron.

"I thought the performers were arriving in two weeks?" queried Mark as he examined a display showing a collection of hand painted fabric squares. The fabric stiffened to display the painting and softened to allow the material to be folded and stowed.

"Those are the drone sellouts. A lot of the drop outs are quite talented," said Cloe.

"Lot of the performers already here are hoping that the festival will be their big chance to break out," argued Iupputer. "They have their performances streamed to the Mesh. There is not such a sharp distinction between performers with media contracts and those without, Love. It is not fair to dismiss the headliners as sellouts."

"Which performance would you recommend?" asked Mark. The next series of tents were devoted to ultra-lights. The compact engines weighed next to nothing. The designs on the sails and the engine cowling were colorful and striking. He observed the stream of pedestrians flowing past from the corner of his eye. His extra sensors came on line giving him a 360 degree image of his surroundings. He wasn't exact sure what he done to trigger the panoramic view or how to switch back to normal vision. He brought up the manual on his sensor systems and skimmed though it.

"The Gamelan group is quite good." stated Iupputer.

Mark gave up on trying to find out how to return his vision to normal and returned the manual to his 'to read' shelf. <The demographics there are a little odd.> he sent to Saffron commenting on the public profiles that sprang up in his vision hovering over the pedestrians heads.

<I know it is very different from the 21st century.> she sent back.

Endless parade of gorgeous naked teenaged bodies sent a flush of heat though his body. After the last few weeks in Saffron's company he hardly gave a thought to being unclothed, but the jostling and bumping of crowd was a constant reminder that apart from a shoulder bag he was bare as the day he born. <You can say that again.>

"They include a laser harp. How is a laser harp supposed to be a traditional Indonesian instrument? And who uses a laser harp anyway? It has no haptic feedback," asked Cloe.

<Everyone looks younger that we do, but they are all ancient. Cloe is one of the youngest and she is supposedly twice our age, though she doesn't act it, > sent Mark.

The press of crowd threw a young girl against him, her breasts warm and soft against his side. He steadied her. He cock twitched against her thigh and instead of being offended she gave him a heart breaking smile, then gave his cock a quick squeeze before slipping back into the crowd. As he watched the retreating smooth unblemished skin of her back and her tight toned arse, he reflected that if his cock had legs it would be running after her. He struggled to damp down on his physical reactions. His reverie was broken by the awareness that Cloe was glaring daggers at the disappearing girl and that her arms were now possessively locked around him and her soft body was pressed against his.

<It's all those teenage hormones. Being a teenager once was enough for me. I am glad all that confusion and angst is behind me, > sent Saffron who seemed to find something about the situation amusing.

"They do a lot of hybrid music as well as the traditional," said Iupputer. "And you can get haptic feedback if you wire photo-sensors on your fingers into your tarka." As if to illustrate the point Jupe's fingers seem intent on getting haptic feedback from Saffron's taunt flesh. Saffron responded with a few well-placed squeezes of her own. Briefly Mark wondered if he should be jealous of Iupputer, but he just could not muster any jealousy. There was something about Jupe and Saffron that simply did not belong together. He could not imagine anything more than what Saffron liked to refer as social activities happening between them.

Mark steered Cloe to the lee of a tall display ordered to obtain some relief from the press of the crowd. She responded by cupping his balls and giving them a gentle squeeze. He yelped in surprise. Then panic set in as the stimulation she was giving him a top all the other excitement sent him dangerously close to the edge. He clamped down and tried to regain control. His perception twisted and something clicked inside his mind and he felt calm. His success in reasserting control was bitter sweet. He felt relieved to avoid embarrassing himself, but vaguely depressed to lose the sense of tingling excitement he had been feeling before.

After a couple of weeks of intense training in virtuality he had believed he had completely mastered his tarka, however after only half a day in the real world it had become clear that he had virtually no control over his tarka at all. He shook his head to clear it and a wave of dizziness hit him. Moving his head rapidly while his vision was in stuck in 360 degree mode seemed to be a bad idea.

<Where are all the young people?> asked Mark trying to get back to the headspace he was in before.

<You mean the Princesses? There are a few in the camp. There were never very many of them, that is one of the reasons they are called Princesses, plus this isn't really their scene. There is a famous Princess arriving tomorrow. Or she will be famous. It's Alysia Farrow, in about fifteen years from now she is going to write my favorite book. I have got to fuck her, > sent Saffron. <That's sounds kind of creepy. I am pretty sure that's stalking, > sent Mark.

"I prefer the steel drum band," said Cloe.

<It is not stalking. She's not famous yet, > sent Saffron.

<She may not know that your attraction to her is based on an obsessive superficial fan crush, but you do. Don't be that crazed fan girl, > sent Mark.

"Yes, I know," said Iupputer. From their gestures and body language there was more of the conversation going on silently. Cloe released Mark and stepped closer to Jupe and Saffron. She waved her hands about almost smacking a bystander in the face, forcing her to duck.

<Do they ever stop arguing?> asked Mark. They passed near a collection of glowing humming crystals. The colors and sounds changed as Mark placed his hands close to the crystals.

<She is upset because the organizing committee just voted six to four to accept our deal, and two of those who objected merely wanted Iupputer to press for a better deal. Only one other committee member aside from Cloe objected on principle, > sent Saffron.

<You hacked into their comms?>

<Yes. If a time comes when I cannot hack a 50 year old obsolete system I will book myself into hospital for dementia. Also Survival tarka is not as powerful as the Lotus tarka we use. They are relying a great deal on external logic built into the tent walls and the public utilities, like those benches over there. You remember what I said about how insecure using external logic was don't you.>

"How about the water park?" asked Cloe.

<You said it wasn't secure at all. Just how many conversations are you listening to at the same time?> asked Mark. He examined some wooden puzzle boxes. The wood carver encouraged Mark to try and open one. It was fiendishly difficult. He went back to studying the crowd as he manipulated the puzzle. Everyone was breathtakingly beautiful. Mark supposed that came from everybody having complete control over their appearance. Who would choose to be ugly? Also Jupe and Saffron were not the only ones showing public affection. They had passed several couples kissing and cuddling as they had wondered down the avenue. His attention snapped to a couple who seemed to be doing more than kissing. They were next to a statue of a man in an outlandish costume who was holding a quill in one hand and a scroll in the other.

Saffron gave an almost imperceptible shrug. <I am used to it.>

Mark vision changed from 360 degree mode to zooming in on the couple by the statue. The image went fuzzy. He turned his head slightly and the image sharpened and zoomed in further. He could see exactly what they were doing despite the blurry figures that kept passing in between them and him. He flushed and some of the tingling excitement he had felt before returned. The girl was leaning forward her hands pressed against the statue. The boy was thrusting into her from behind, she was pushing back enthusiastically. The boy trembled then slumped forward. He tore his eyes from the two and to his great relief his eyesight returned to normal. No panoramic or telescopic vision, just his normal 20/5 superhumanly enhanced eyesight. No-one else seemed to pay any attention to the amorous couple so he tried play it cool and do likewise.

Saffron frowned. <Now they're trying to pressure Cloe into being nice to us. That is not helpful. She has to want to be friends.> She broke her usual rules and looked directly at Mark. <Are you okay with being friendlier with Cloe? It would be good if we could distract her and maybe encourage her see us in a more positive light.>

Cloe was currently in one of the cold phases of the hot and cold treatment she had been giving him. Mark noted the gap between Cloe and himself and her rigid angry posture. Iupputer and Saffron by contrast seemed to be getting on like a house on fire. They had their hands all over each other. <You want me seduce her? Is that really necessary? I don't think she is into me. And isn't she married?> asked Mark.

"The water park is getting too crowded," replied Iupputer to a suggestion from Cloe that Mark had almost forgotten.

<I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with and it is not necessary to our plans that you seduce her. Possibly helpful, but not really necessary. However if you wanted a 21st century life lived with 21st century morals you could have returned to your own era. If you would like to find out what being a citizen of the 23rd century would be like, Cloe could help you. She is interested in you. She thinks you are cute. If she wasn't so angry about our land grab, she would be all over you. Between you, Jupe, and myself, you are the person she is least angry with at the moment. If you calm her down and distract her, you will find it rewarding.>

"Miles and his friends should create a bigger one. I am sure many people would help," said Cloe.

<How do know she is interested in me? She seemed more interested in you.> asked Mark.

"We don't have the water for a bigger one. The existing one runs on donated water and the most efficient recycling system I have ever seen." said Iupputer.

<She was interested in me before I bribed them to okay our land grab. She has gone cold on me since. She told her husband that you had a nice smile and she liked your body sculpture.> sent Saffron.

"What else can you do around here?" asked Mark.

"Zombie Tag and Laser Tag are the two of the most popular games." said Cloe.

"Hidden Secret and Ball Bop are also popular." said Iupputer.

Mark watched the silent to and fro between Cloe and her husband. He hoped he was not as obvious about his sendings as they were. Saffron hardly ever gave any visible sign that she was communicating with him, however he doubted he was as polished. <I am starting to feel left out of all this conversation. Can you let me hear what they are saying?> he sent as Cloe grew angrier.

<No way. You have one of the worst poker faces I have ever seen. If I let you overhear them you will give yourself away within the first few minutes. I bet you are still thinking of yourself as Mark instead trying to think yourself into the character of Darren.>

Cloe grabbed Mark tightly by the waist and yanked towards a tent filled with sculptures. "Why don't we look at some arts and crafts while we are deciding," said Cloe though gritted teeth.

<Now, what's up with her?> asked Mark.

<Jupe told her to be friendlier to you.>

<This is her being friendly?>

<No, this is her having a tantrum, > sent Saffron.

Cloe dragged him over to an awning where a small Eurasian girl with blue hair was constructing a small sculpture while seated at a long wooden workbench.

<Why do we have to put up with her? Surely we can explore the camp by ourselves?> asked Mark. A metallic smell flooded his nostrils as the girl used a pen laser to weld a copper rod onto a half formed statue of a man holding a torch. Her transparent inner eyelids darkened as the reflected laser light lit up her face.

<One of the objectives of visiting this place was to help you socialize into the 23rd Century. That is not going to happen with a freak like me as your only point of contact. Besides they aren't just anyone. When I put down those foundations, I drew the organizing committee's attention. Instead of sending a low level volunteer to welcome us, we were welcomed by Jupe and Cloe who are the chair and the vice-chair of the organizing committee.>

<And this is important how?>

<Unlike me, they are extremely normal. They are very much a product of this decade. They know everybody and everybody knows them. They have great influence and could be very helpful to us.>

<Why do you keep on putting yourself down? You seem perfectly normal to me.>

Saffron widen her eyes. <You must have a strange conception of what's normal then. I was unconventional to start with and more than a decade of extreme stress has not improved matters.>

Mark brought up the sculptor's profile

Name: Lynn Penn
Role: Water Park Committee Member
Age: 58
Gender: Female
Sexually: Bisexual
Marital Status: Married (Open)
Spouse: Cassandra Penn

The girl glanced up. "Hello Cloe," she said frowning.

"Hey don't be like that. We had a good time didn't we?" asked Cloe.

"God, Cloe. Is that all you think about?" said Lynn. "I am still annoyed with you. It was bad manners to ask for a gift like that, Cloe."

Cloe's face and chest flushed red with embarrassment. "Are you still going on about that?"

"Yes, I am still upset."

"It wasn't for me." Cloe tightened her hold on Mark. Moving until she was almost hiding behind him.

"It doesn't matter."

"How am I supposed tell you what is needed?"

"Tell me a story. If it's good story maybe I will help. A gift is not a gift unless it is a matter of choice," Lynn argued. She turned to the others. "Darren, Saffron you must be the couple with the unusual tents that everyone is talking about. I am so pleased to meet you."

"It is nice to meet you Lynn," returned Saffron. "Cloe has had a bad day today. She could use a little love."

"Knowing Cloe, it's all her own fault."

"She means well."

"Yes, she always means well," noted Lynn.

"Could you please stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" pleaded Cloe.

"At least we are talking out loud. It could be worse. We could be messaging behind your back," responded Saffron.

Cloe turned a deeper red than before. Squirming with embarrassment. Mark almost jumped as she nervously started nibbling on his arm.

"Oh that is cruel," commented Lynn.

"Is that going to be a lamp?" asked Saffron.

"Yes," she replied. She glanced at the statue and some cloth-like material unfurled from the torch the figure was holding and started to glow. The material fluttered and danced, mimicking the movement of flames. "I prefer to combine beauty and utility. I guess it's the architect in me."

"Is that what you did before you dropped out?", asked Saffron.

"I only partially dropped out. There is a mainstream market for my sculptures, but yes, I was at an architectural firm before I took up my current lifestyle."

"Why did you break with them?" Asked Saffron.

"They tried to lock me into a five year employment contract. The benefits and protection were all on their side. The downside was all on my side. I managed to avoid it for some time as I was quite senior. Eventually all the juniors had either signed or had been replaced by people who would. It became harder for me to resist the pressure. It never made any sense to me. However, many of the other business fads of the 30's never made any sense to me, either. With no large projects coming into the pipeline and fewer smaller projects coming in, they were going to have to reduce staff anyway, but they said they needed to position themselves for the upswing. Eight years later I have yet to see an upswing. Some of the other talent in the company decided to branch out on their own and wanted me to join them, but I had been in the business for 30 years and decided I needed a change of pace. I've never regretted it. This lifestyle is a lot more relaxing. No more people in your face who think courtesy is a sign of naivety and that aggression and selfishness is the path to success."