Chapter 4: Incident

As the vehicle moved through the Hudson Valley, Terry looked at her, disconcerted, but quickly regained his composure. He spoke to himself, aloud: "I think I might have more than I bargained for here." Then he looked at her closely, perhaps for the first time since they met. He looked carefully at her clean, sharp features, her strong demeanor; registered her flash — out front, where he could miss it only by ignoring her reality. He could sense her earnest sincerity. She was not taunting him; she was asking him to define his needs.

"Pru, I don't sell sex. Anyone can do that, and the people who do it aren't any different than they were long ago. Just about anyone can get sex without a lot of difficulty now, even though some people are still hung up on it. But, that's not the issue.

"I don't sell sex," he repeated, "I sell satisfaction." Terry leaned back in the seat.

"And, just what is that?" Pru demanded. She sat back in her seat, too, her eyes and voice level. "I don't think sex should be 'satisfactory'". Though her voice was calm, her scorn was evident. "I don't want 'satisfactory sex'. That's bullshit, and you can't sell bullshit to people in a world that doesn't even know what a bull is."

Terry shrugged. "Sure you can, but semantics aside, it's not bullshit. And maybe it's not even satisfaction." He stirred in his seat. "The people who accept Neo-Tantric training find they can relate to other people more effectively. In sexual or non-sexual situations. They seem to understand each other more readily and when they choose to relate sexually, the union seems to be deeper, more — uh, well the only word I can come up with is 'satisfying'. Perhaps you'll be able to help with that."

The heavy 'mobile was moving more slowly, now. They were no longer computer-guided along the main way they had first taken beside the river; what Pru could see of the way was rougher and not as readily passable by a 'mobile that hovered on its fields only a few inches above the surface. It was a broad path that had been smoothed, obstacles largely removed. They were probably moving at about 60 klicks, the driver alert and manually controlling the vehicle, his eyes sweeping the sides of the way.

Every now and then, Pru noticed small animals fleeing the on-coming 'mobile. When they passed what had once been a town, they could now see only a cluster of decaying buildings, and she saw a road sign, faded to illegibility.

"Finding a better word shouldn't be hard," Pru said. Then, thinking she'd been a little harsh, she smiled and changed the subject. "How far out are you? Nyack is far enough out for a Metro connection, I know, but that means it's something like 80 klicks from the main Controlled Area. Does anyone live here?"

"Well the big agricultural and industrial OC areas are fairly well populated, especially upstate. No one's really sure what the population of an OC area like this is, but there are quite a few people. They stay out of sight, mostly, because that's why they're here. Voluntary or Expelled, they either don't like people much, or they want to be left alone. It's not a problem most of the time."

As if to comment on Terry's remark, a rock sailed out from behind a bush, bouncing on the edge of the way and, caught in the 'mobile's field, zinged off in a different direction at greatly increased speed with a loud crack.