A new beginning
12 Apr 2020Maggie Oz
"DAC where is the fucking coffee!" I shout at the house computer. 3 days into my new home and I am still trying to work out where things are.
After a fairly big night last night at one of the local hot spots I'm in need of a stiff shot to stop my head pounding
"Fucking Coffee is not in my database. I am only aware of two types of coffee ... " intoned the house computer
"I DON'T NEED A BRIEFING ON COFFE VARIETALS I JUST NEED TO KNOW WHERE THE FU... " deep breath " Just tell me where the coffee we have is and how I make a cup" I say in a level tone
DAC takes a moment to respond, clearly confused
"Would you allow me my lady?" I hear from behind me.
"Oh goodness, Pris ! I am so sorry for shouting"
"No mind my lady, it is your house"
"Well sure but you live here too. I just want a cup of coffee" I plead
"Let me" says Pris and she proceeds to expertly operate the kitchen. "DAC, perhaps some light morning music might be nice"
"Yes Pris" he says, in a much more jovial tone than when he talks to me
"Make one for yourself if you wish" I offer
"Oh I don't think that would be proper M'lady"
"Says who?" I ask "And please call me Maggie, m'lady and all that can just be for when we have to put on a show"
"As you wish ... Maggie" she says a little awkwardly
There is a tricky protocol around slaves. As they are usually voluntarily working off a debt it is the height of bad manners to offer to pay them out there and then, as I could have easily done. That would be seen as charity and really just making them even more indebted. Roy gave me the indenture and it came to Cr2 000 000 so that is just a trifle.
It is also the height of bad manners to ask how the debt was accrued, it is seen as belittling to ask.
Beyond that how you interact with a slave is very much up to the owner of the debt. You can view them as servants or as family members. So long as you don't mistreat them you can do more or less as you wish.
"I want you to know Pris that I don't expect you to be waiting on me hand and foot." I said to her once the coffees were poured and brought to the table "To be honest for the most part I'm not going to be around all that much so you'll really be the only one in the house for most of the time, more of a house sitter than anything else"
"Very well .. Maggie .. but I am required to work for you" she replied, a little concerned, I think, of being sure she is paying off the debt
"Yes of course and housekeeper is just the ticket. " I said reassuringly "Now, you also clearly have some exceptional horticultural knowledge"
"Yes, I was ... or I still am I guess .., a Horticultural Scientist. I worked with GAIA Corp on a number of terraforming projects, I was part of a tropical ecosystem team"
"Really, well that's marvellous. What is your alumni?"
"I studied at Achenar University, New Oxford College"
"What a coincidence, I read Science at New Oxford, "
"Oh? What year were you?" She asked. I felt a little awkward.
I raised my hand and pointed to a framed document on the wall.
"See there, that is my Degree that you hung for me, the date is on there"
She hesitated with a quizzical look but I urged her on.
"Magdalena Oztraya," she read," is admitted to the Degree of Bachelor of Science on" she stopped
"Is this a mistake? You're making a joke right? " she said with a laugh
"Nope, Class of 3090"
She looked at me with a look of wonder in her eye
"You're a Generational Clone" more statement than a question
"Yes" I nodded, soaking up her intelligent enthusiasm, "I was base life 20 when I got that"
"Incredible," she said truly enraptured now "So you're 236? "
"It depends on how you count it. Each re-life I do I officially restart at 0 although the clone body is 18 when I am loaded so I get an official birth date of the reload date minus 18 years. At that point, legally I haven't really existed before. Under Imperial law, all of my wealth and assets and so forth are forfeit when I previously end lifed. So no putting it in the bank and then waiting 300 years to relife and collect the interest! " I laughed, "However, my genetic code was created 236 years, 9 months ago by my Mother and Father so, from a certain point of view, I am 236. This present body though is 54"
"How many lives have you lived? " she asked
"Three, Base life where I lived to 152 , 1st life which was cut short at 30 and I'm in my third relife now "
"I can't tell you the questions I have," she said, the true scientist coming out in her now, "But I mustn't pry, I'm so sorry"
"Oh not at all Pris, it's nice to talk to someone about it without them being horrified or resentful"
Just then the comm rang,
"Oh bugger, excuse me," I said and went to take the call.
The call was just mundane, Holden wanting confirmation of attendance at some "event"
When I returned though, Pris had left the table.
I went looking for her as I had an idea of something she could do to accelerate her bond release.
As I walked up to the door that separated her quarters from mine, it cycled open.
"Pris?" I called, to no reply
I walked in a bit further "Pris?"
I suppose I could just get DAC to find her but I'm still angry with it for being obtuse with the coffee.
Her quarters were tiny, no more than a small room with a bed and a lamp, with a small sitting area for meals and everything else it seems.
I walked through and out onto the small verandah which had a lovely view of the lake. And I saw Pris sitting outside on the grass.
"Pris!" I called, and she looked around a bit startled. At that very moment a young girl, maybe 8 or 9 ran out of the shrubs
"Boo! Mummy!" she cried
I walked over to them, the little girl seemed a bit afraid
"Hello Pris, I'm so sorry to intrude"
"That's OK" she said a little sheepishly. "This is my daughter, Monique"
"Hello Monique, lovely to meet you"
"Hello Miss," she said in a quiet voice and then ran off into the garden again.
"I had no idea you were two" I said
"I must apologise M'Lady" I scowled at her, ".... Maggie"
"My contract only covers me you see but I cannot send my daughter away"
"Well this is most improper"
"Please forgive me M'La ... Maggie"
"No I mean it's most improper there are two of you in that tiny bedsit. I had no idea it was so crappy" I gestured across the garden, "that building over there, that's one of the visitor quarters you and Monique will move into that forthwith"
"But what if a visitor turns up?"
"We have 3 others and no one ever comes here, they can have those crappy servant quarters if it comes to that!" I laughed.
"This will increase my debt" she said
"No, I am required to give you food and board as part of the deal, it isn't mentioned anywhere that you have to live in a cupboard"
"Thank you Maggie you are too generous"
"Lives are too short not to be"
"Now what I came to tell you is that I wish to reformat your working arrangements"
"Yes?" Pris asked tentatively
"The gardens need a revamp, they are rather tired and to be honest, pretty dull." I said waving my arms about and making gardeny sort of gestures, "So I am engaging you as a Horticultural Project Manager to do a thorough makeover of the Imperial Gardens and to create a planting guide for the remainder of the station. "
Her eyes lit up "Oh that would be marvellous!"
"I have spoken to GAIA Corp and they tell me such services, taking into account qualifications and experience, usually fetch in the order to Cr2,000,000 per annum. If you are agreeable ...? "
"She looked at me with tears in her eyes, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart"
"You are very welcome Pris"
We spent the afternoon moving her into the house.
She insisted I join them for dinner which I was happy to accept and later, after Monique had gone to bed we opened a bottle of fine red that I had found in the wine cellar of my quarters, Roy has impeccable tastes in wines.
"You should put Monique in school, there is an excellent Primary School planetside and there is a shuttle from the station down and back," I said
"Yes I will look into that it would be good for her to have children her own age to be with''
"Is her father about?" I asked
"No," she said sadly "we lost him in a Thargoid attack on our station. He was in the militia, manning a defence cannon, no match for them"
"Oh that's horrible Pris,"
"Mon and I were taken off by a passenger ship pilot, it cost every cent we had," she continued, "Once we launched though he demanded Mon ... as a plaything or he would throw us into space. I had to ... pleasure him ... right there and give him a Cr2,000,000 bond to get him to take us to the rescue ship"
"I'll find his name" I said in a cold voice
"Don't bother," she said "the Thargoids shot him full of holes on the very next trip, we saw his ship vapourise and they scooped up his escape pod."
"Bastard deserved at least that"
We were quiet with our thoughts for a while.
"Do you have any children Maggie," she asked, the wine making her bold.
"None in this life, clones are sterile. In my base life though, I had two girls and a boy." I said pensively "I lived to see my great great great grandchildren"
"That must have been special"
"It was but to be honest at that level they are fairly distant, not really close family, especially when they are spread across the galaxy. " I replied "None of my kids became Generational, they didn't even know I had made that choice. To them, I was just Mum/Gram'ma who lived a long and happy life and was one of the first group of pilots to be awarded the Elite status from the Pilot's Fed. As far as they knew I was lost in the void to a Thargoid interdiction. Which is partly true but I actually survived. By the time my escape pod was found though there wasn't a whole lot left of me, so rather than try to repair, I went for a relife. I had to wait 18 years though before reload and by that time I couldn't imagine a way I could fairly reenter their lives, so I watched from afar and saw them grow .... and pass on."
"What of their father?"
"We were both pilots so our relationship was a series of meetups between contracts. We would take in turn when the children were little to be ground bound for a year or two to raise them. He disappeared, Thargoids were blamed again. I do wonder though if he just felt it was time to move on from us. I've not seen or heard from him since 3199."
"What was his name?" She asked sleepily I looked up and saw that she had fallen asleep
I answered anyway,
"Peter"