Chapter 53: Virtual Jewelry

Sigrid finished her report. "The bad news is that the jewelry line is a genuine flop. It's simply not selling, and I don't think it will sell at any price."

"How much have we got invested in it?" Saul wanted to know.

"Not a lot. Only a few hundred dollars. We were smart to start slow. Our stock isn't worth much; we could toss it, but we might as well put the stuff in storage for a while."

"Heather, that's bad news. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I've got a better idea: Virtual Jewelry."

"What's that?" asked Anne.

"Remember I was asking about body transfers? Instead of body paint?"

"Yes."

"Take a look." Heather turned her big graphics monitor so they could see it, called up a picture of her naked upper torso that filled the screen.

"Okay, you know what that is. Watch," she tapped the keyboard. A vivid swirl of color appeared around one breast, swept down and around her waist.

"Now, this." She tapped the keyboard again and the image was replaced with the image of a tiger whose eyes were her nipples.

"Wow!" said Tom.

"The possibilities are endless, of course," Heather said.

"Fine, I can see that. But what are we selling? How does it work?" Anne demanded.

"I talked to a guy at 3M Corporation. They have lots of stuff they invent and don't know what to do with. Turns out they've got an adhesive they can supply in all the standard artist's colors. We coat paper with the adhesive and silk-screen these images onto the paper. You set them on your skin and peel the paper off."

"Ugh, sticky?"

"Nope. Feels smooth to the touch. Doesn't come off. He demonstrated it."

"Not ever? Come, on Heather quit goofing on us."

"Okay. It stays on more or less indefinitely. They say a week. But you can wash it off any time with a special soap or anything that simply has citric acid — lemon juice, or whatever — added to it. Far as I know, or 3M knows, nobody's figured out what to do with it yet."

"You tell the guy what you're going to do with it?"

"No, Saul, I thought you might want to get into that. Like some kind of exclusive contract or something."

"You bet. I'll get after him Monday. Anything else?"

Anne pushed a catalog into the center of the table. "I got a catalog from these people the other day. Sort of competitors of ours. They sell oriental erotic art. It's good stuff. Take a look."

Will made a grab, opened it up, paged through it quickly.

"Who are they, Anne?"

"Asian Erotic Arts in San Francisco. Catalog lists Jimmy Lin as President."

"I think we had an order from them, Anne," Sigrid said.

"Really? For what?"

Sigrid looked in the database. "They bought one of the Erotics and two Explicits."

"Let's give this some thought, Saul."