The World at the Edge of Space (Perseus Gate Book 2) Read online

  “All over,” Jessica replied. “Last stop was Njuen.”

  “Ah, they have good fish there! Did you bring any fish?”

  Jessica shook her head. “I wish we had. We thought you guys were terraforming here and with all that ocean down there wouldn’t want any fish.”

  The man chuckled. “Man…if we did have fish down there, I sure wouldn’t eat them. A bit too much experimentin’ going on down there for my liking.”

  “The whole retinol-chlorophyll thing, eh?” Trevor asked.

  “Yeah, plus other stuff, though you might know that. RHY Dynamics owns the whole world down there. Alotta rumors swirlin’ about what they’re up to. Sucks too. Most of us moved out here because we thought they were terraforming—you know, for the chance to get some dirt planetside. But that place is off limits…not that any of us would want to go down there, anyway.”

  “Well, yeah,” Jessica said. “From what I hear, playing at mixing alien and terrestrial life is pretty risky stuff.”

  “Yeah, no shit,” the man replied. “Try telling that to RHY, though. Those guys don’t give a shit, and they have people up high in the government too. We’ve sent a lot of petitions to the OFA—even up to the Praetor’s office—but nothing ever comes back. I guess they don’t care much about us out here.”

  “No love for the little guy,” Jessica nodded.

  “So where does the meat come from?” Trevor asked as he eyed one of the meat-filled pastries.

  “There are some farms on the moon, all underground. Not great, but its real livestock, not vat-grown, so there’s that.”

  “I’ll try that one,” Trevor said. “Anything for you Jessica?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll pass on the meat. Just one of those pastries with the yellow stuff…lemon of some sort?”

  “Yup, lemon. That we grow on station here.”

  “Awesome,” Jessica replied.

  The man placed the foot on small paper plates. “That’ll be nine-fifty. Make sure you put the plates in the right receptacles. Station is really picky about recycling.”

  Jessica passed the vendor her token over the Link and authorized the transaction, glad to see that the local bank accounts Cargo had set up using credit drawn against the sale of their produce worked properly.

  “Thanks,” Trevor said as he picked up his pastry and took a bit. “Mmmmmm, this is great.”

  “Thanks,” the man said. “Stop by any time.”

  “You can count on it,” Trevor said.

  Jessica led Trevor back out onto the sweep’s foot-traffic boulevard and took a bite of her pastry.

  “OK, that is good. That guy can cook.”

  “Or knows where to buy stuff cheap that he can mark up,” Trevor replied.

  “Or that,” Jessica nodded. “Either way, a nice change.”

  “For sure, been a while since I’ve had meat that was on the hoof at some point.”

  As they walked, Jessica drew a few long looks from the locals, the attention nearly making her feel self-conscious. It wasn’t as though mods were uncommon. Besides the usual rainbows of skin and hair colors, she saw a man with comically large horns, and two women with tails. She did notice a dearth of people with her coloring—perhaps it had to do with the retinol experimentation on the planet’s surface, and people’s distrust of the RHY Dynamics company doing it.

  They reached the maglev platform in short order, and boarded a car headed to Hermes Station’s central spire. Jessica took a seat and leaned back, before letting out a long groan.

  Before her, on the forward wall of the maglev car was holo-ad for ‘Retyna, a Division of RHY Dynamics’. Front and center, twirling about in the ad, was a woman with purple skin, purple hair, and a purple outfit not that dissimilar to Jessica’s own shipsuit.

  “Oh, for fucksakes,” Jessica muttered.

  Trevor’s eyes followed her gaze and when they alighted on the ad he burst into laughter.

  “OK, OK, it explains a few things,” Jessica said.

  Trevor didn’t reply, his laughter intensifying, tears beginning to stream down his face.

  “Really?” Jessica asked, beginning to flush as people on the car turned to stare.

  “If…if you…if,” Trevor gasped between bursts of laughter. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. “If you ever need a side giiiig!”

  The laughter resumed, and several other people on the car began to chuckle.

  Jessica sighed. “Yeah, just what I need, my face plastered all over every holodisplay in Orion Space.”

  Iris said.

 

  After she drove an elbow into Trevor’s ribs he managed to get his laughter under control, and they rode in silence—aside from periodic chuckles from Trevor—until the car stopped at a station in the central spire.

  Jessica and Trevor spent the next few hours walking through the station’s main commerce district, sampling more food, stopping in a bar for drinks, spending some time in clothing stores, and noting subtle aspects of the local culture.

  “One thing’s for sure,” Trevor said as he took a bite of another meat pastry they picked up at a small bakery. “These folks are omnivores. Vegans would not fare well here.”

  “I’ve noticed that too,” Jessica said. “I wonder if it’s a fringe thing. A desire for a more agrarian society—even if some big corporation is using the planet below for a lab.”

  “Could be,” Trevor noted, then pointed down the wide corridor at a storefront ahead. “Hey, check that place out.”

  Jessica looked where Trevor was pointing and saw a store with its holodisplay advertising natural leather products.

  “Huh, must be from all the food ‘on the hoof’ as that first guy mentioned. Might as well do something with the skins.”

  “I bet you’d look great in that jacket,” Trevor said, pointing to a black jacket with an angled zipper and a belt at the bottom. “Let’s go try it out.”

  Jessica sighed and followed Trevor, though her reticence was mostly for show. The jacket did look nice—if a bit retro.

  They walked into the store, and Jessica took a deep breath, savoring the scent of fresh leather. It was strong, but it had a very ‘real’ quality to it. Something not easily faked.

  Trevor threaded his way through the racks to the jackets in the back, and pulled one off the rack, holding it out to Jessica.

  “Not sure this is going to work,” Jessica said as she turned and slipped her arms into the sleeves. “My ratio’s a bit off for most off-the-rack clothing.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Trevor chuckled. “You’re a nightmare to shop for.”

  Jessica did up the zip—or tried to. The waist was baggy; the natural leather had no stretch, and no hope of closing over her breasts.

  Trevor stroked his chin. “Yeah, that’s not going to work. If I go a size down its going to look like a bolero on you.”

  “Bummer, though,” Jessica said as she stroked the sleeve. “It feels really nice.”

  “Can I help you?” a man said as he approached.

  “No—” Jessica began, but Trevor interrupted her.

  “Maybe,” Trevor said. “Do you do any custom work?”

  “Of course!” The man said as he eyed Jessica’s waist and amble breasts. “And I can see a custom fit is required. There’s a three-hundred credit charge. We do all alterations by hand.”

  Jessica exclaimed privately to Trevor.

  Trevor asked. “Deal,” he said to the man.

  “Excellent,” the man said as he looked Jessica up and down. “If you’d hold out your arms and turn please?”

  Jessica sighed and complied as the man scanned her, taking the measurements with his eyes—an amusing incongruity for a store that hand-made their clothing.

  Trevor concluded the transa
ction, and the man assured them that he would have the jacket delivered to their ship the next day.

  As they left the store, Jessica stifled a yawn.

  Trevor said.

 

  “Excuse me, miss. Hello!” a high-pitched voice called out from behind them.

  They turned to see a man and a woman rushing down the corridor smiling and waving.

  “Yes?” Jessica asked with an arched eyebrow.

  “Hi, thanks for stopping,” the woman said as the pair neared. “We couldn’t help but notice…well…you!”

  “Me?” Jessica asked.

  “Yes, yes, you look fantastic, you’re absolutely perfect,” the man said.

  “Thanks,” Jessica grinned. “I like to think so, glad you agree.”

  Trevor stifled a laugh. “Any reason why you stopped to tell us that?”

  “Oh yes, of course, this must seem strange,” the woman said. “We represent Retyna, you’ve heard of us, yes?”

  “First day on station, but it’s been hard not to have spotted your ads,” Jessica said.

  The man chuckled. “Yes, I suppose you’d notice those.”

  “That’s why we stopped you,” the woman said. “We’re here working on our plans for when Retyna hits the open market. Interviews with the scientist, sens-recordings of the facilities and the like. But our current Retyna Girl is just a sim. These terraforming types appreciate authenticity…the real deal.”

  “So what? You want me to model for you?” Jessica asked with a laugh.

  “Yeah!” the man said brightly. “You must get a lot of offers. You look amazing.”

  Jessica did get a lot of offers, but usually not for modeling. Most of the stations they frequented were not populated by people looking for that sort of talent.

  “She does, doesn’t she,” Trevor said with a smile as he glanced at Jessica. “You should do it, Jess, it would be a blast.”

  Jessica admonished.

  Iris said.

  Jessica asked.

  Trevor asked.

  “Thanks for the offer,” Jessica said. “But I don’t think it will work out. We won’t be on Hermes for long,”

  “We could schedule it soon, how does tomorrow sound?”

  “Yes!” Trevor replied.

  “No! He’s kidding. We have to go, c’mon, Trevor.”

  Trevor laughed as Jessica pulled him away, calling back to the confused-looking Retyna employees. “Sorry, I tried!”

  * * * * *

  “This is officially my least favorite station of all time,” Jessica said as she collapsed into a chair in Sabrina’s galley.

  Nance and Cheeky were present, both picking at the left-overs from a meal that had been prepared and consumed while Jessica and Trevor were out.

  “Why’s that?” Nance asked.

  “I bet I know,” Cheeky said, snorting a laugh.

  Sabrina said.

  “You have no idea,” Cheeky giggled. “Jessica is a shoe-in for a job at this local company called Retyna.”

  “I repeat. Why’s that?” Nance said.

  Cheeky flicked her wrist and a Retyna ad appeared over the table, eliciting another giggle from Cheeky and a laugh from Nance.

  “Wow, Jessica, if you ever needed another job…”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” Jessica said with a sigh. “They actually approached me for one. I guess with their whole schtick being retinol’s purpleness and all that, their corporate image is this purple girl. In their ads they say she powers her internal mods with retinol photosensitive skin.”

  “What? So, they want you to turn your skin into some sort of retinol plant-based thing?” Nance asked, her face a mixture of horror and curiosity.

  “I have no idea!” Jessica said. “I got the hell away as fast as I could. I don’t think I’m going back on station while we’re here.”

  “Could always just change your skin and hair to another color,” Cheeky said. “With your nanotech it wouldn’t take long.”

  Jessica nodded as she held up her hand and turned it over. “Yeah, it wouldn’t be hard. But this is something that reminds me of Trist and our time on Victoria. I know I have Trevor now…and I love him a lot, but Trist and…we spent almost seventy years together.”

  “That’s a long time,” Cheeky said with a nod. “You were with her longer than I’ve been alive.”

  “Yeah, I just like it as a memory of her…and now it reminds me of new memories with Trevor too. I know it’s silly—”

  “It’s not,” Nance interrupted. “None of us have a lot to tie ourselves to in this ‘verse. We’re like leaves on the wind. Stuff like that? Those special memories. They’re important and it’s OK to hold onto them.”

  “What she said,” Cheeky added.

  “Thanks, Nance, Cheeks.” Jessica said with a smile. “You two are the best.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Cheeky said.

  “There you all are,” Cargo said as he walked into the galley. “We’re in a right mess here.”

  “Oh yeah?” Jessica asked. “Worse than the usual?”

  Cargo grunted sourly as he sat. “Maybe. Seems you can’t just scoop fuel in this system. You have to pay a fee to some company that has a lock on that business. Since we can’t sell half our cargo, and we have to buy stuff to maintain our fiction as a trader, we don’t have the credit to scoop. Not at the rates I just got quoted.”

  “Could just scoop off the star when we pass by anyway,” Cheeky said. “What are they gonna do, chase us down?”

  “Doesn’t really help us stay under the radar,” Jessica replied. “What sort of company has a monopoly on scooping anyway? Whatever people don’t scoop just gets washed away in the stellar wind. It’s not like you can use it all without building a dyson sphere.”

  “I don’t know,” Cargo said as he rubbed his thumbs against his temples. “Some company called RHY Dynamics. The rate they charge is crazy too, it’s as much as we’ll make from selling all our cargo.”

  “Awwwww shit,” Jessica muttered.

 

  “Which one? RHY or Retyna?” Jessica asked, knowing it didn’t really matter.

 

  Jessica groaned. “Kay, put it on the table, but just show me. No need to let them know they have an audience to play off.”

  A moment later the image of the woman who had approached Jessica in the corridor outside the leather shop appeared above the table.

  “Jessica! Hello, I’m so glad I found you. It took a bit of digging, but Mary at the inspection office got me your name and your ship.”

  Iris said.

  “Hi…you have me at a disadvantage…” Jessica said.

  “Oh! Of course. We didn’t have a chance to get properly introduced before. I’m Phoebe, I run the marketing group at Retyna—though you might have guessed that,” Phoebe’s voice rose up at the end of her statement, squeaking a bit.

  “I wouldn’t have guessed that you ran it,” Jessica said with a sigh.

  “Yeah! My uncle owns RHY and put me in charge of marketing Retyna’s new products. Like I’d mentioned, we’re just through our final trials, so I’m out here to get interviews from the scientists, images down on the planet, that sort of th
ing. Running into you on Hermes was pure serendipity.”

  Jessica said over the shipnet.

  “I thought I told you that I really wasn’t interested in being your spokesmodel,” Jessica said.

  Phoebe gave an endearing smile. “Yeah, but I just figured you were playing hard to get. Thing is, we’ve been building up this whole Retyna Girl persona and how she has our patented Retyna in her skin that she uses to supercharge herself! It’s really cool, except putting Retyna right in someone’s skin isn’t something we can recommend…yet, There might be side effects.”

  “I can imagine,” Jessica replied.

  “Right! Of course, you can. Thing is, like I mentioned these terraforming buyers we’re targeting are very salt-of-the-earth types. They like real things, not sims, so we wanted to get a real model.”

  “I imagine that you can afford to get all sorts of models for this, though,” Jessica said. “What’s so appealing about me?”

  “Well…you, of course! You may have noticed that with retinol making plants purple, making purple appealing is our thing—hence Retyna Girl. And trust me, Jessica, you are the very definition of appealing.”

  “I’m still not interested,” Jessica said.

  Cargo interjected privately.

  Jessica said.

  Cargo said.

 

  While she had been debating with Cargo, Phoebe had continued extolling the virtues of Retyna and how amazing it would be for Jessica to become Retyna Girl; that it would be more exciting than anything she had ever done before.