huh

weird, that.

suddenly a
particular certainty’s just
gone

a phone call

et voilà
no more
like they just got up
and walked out
mid-sentence

left the room

except this one’s
time, space
all coordinates

huh

like turning up
at an old house
that was always open
busy, bright

full of weird things
like history, life

and finding the doors locked
all the windows dark
curtains drawn
and one permanent note
taped to the front door:

gone

 

©2017 threegoodwords

reconstruction, 3

Not PG rated

There were the usual procedures of inspection. It had to be done, there was always a Monitor, and if a client was dissatisfied, no complaints could be made if there had been no inspection. Contrary to the usual practices of giving orders, Ji’an had her own method. silkwood whiteJust letting them undress and going through the prescribed motions was not very exciting, so she acquired her own way. First she walked up to the resident and looked at his face. It was good-looking, all residents were nice to look at, though this one had something really nice about him that some sometimes had. Ji’an looked a little longer, enjoying the well-made face. He didn’t look at her, but straight ahead to the view of the City, his eyes violet in the red sunlight. He was obviously waiting for the usual inspection and she really shouldn’t stall.

Ji’an laid a hand on his right shoulder, it was firm and warm. She sensed a moment of surprise and smiled. Her method always surprised the residents. Then she began, tracing firm biceps, a broad chest, solid abs, feeling his smooth skin as she slid her hands over his body. It was firm and good, his muscles well trained. It was a delight to feel. She liked taking her time with this, exploring every ridge and curve, relishing the simple joy of touching a strong, healthy body. Maybe it was silly of her, but she liked to think the resident enjoyed it as well. She didn’t look to check however, it was enough that he remained still. An inspection wasn’t supposed to take too long anyway.

She walked around him and ascertained all was well. The dark hair was still unusual to her eyes, especially with that skin tone. It had always struck her as strange that most of Mistress Koun’s residents had a kind of cream-like skin. It was said she got them from the Mainland Territories, that unmapped dangerous place, but that was probably just a rumour. And how should anyone get them from there, the Territories were a savage place, nothing sane could live there. This resident was strong and young and didn’t look like the monsters they said were bred in those savage places. Quite the contrary, he was perfectly built, and since Mistress Koun was always very particular, there was a guarantee that he had been tested. It was a prerogative that Ji’an came to the inspections regularly as well, and she was careful never to miss them, one could be downgraded if one became careless. Next to that Ji’an thought it simply irresponsible to be negligent in such matters.

Ji’an continued, picking up the scent of freshly washed skin, maybe he just came out of the baths. Did they bathe together or did they have separate stalls? Just once she would like to see it… but this was not a time for that. She really should hurry up, she didn’t have all that much time.

*

After the successful inspection Ji’an went behind the screens. As always there was an armchair and a table with the necessary provisions: cleaning pads, a fresh towel, a robe, a sealed supply of make-up, a mirror and a phial of perfume. Ji’an undressed quickly, folding her clothes neatly over the armrest. Then she used the hygienic pads to clean herself, using one pad each for her armpits, and two between her legs. They smelled faintly of Jasmine, just like Ji’an liked them. She cleaned herself thoroughly. She always felt that, if one expected cleanliness from the residents, one should be clean as well. Once done, she threw the pads into the slim, white waste basket and checked herself one last time, then took the robe off the hanger and put it on.

She considered using the phial of perfume on the table but decided against it. She didn’t want everyone to know she’d been in a House when she left again, House perfume always stuck to one’s skin for hours on end. Sashing the silk robe, Ji’an walked around the screen. The resident was already on one of the recliners, the right one, stretched out on his back looking to the ceiling. With the sunlight fading into reds he looked like one of the sculptures in the PRA[1], smooth stone turned into perfect proportions. He had his hands folded on his middle, he had lost some of his firmness. Ji’an was a little piqued. She was considered attractive, if not beautiful, she wouldn’t have been able to enter her Loge[2] otherwise. She hadn’t taken that long. Then again, it wasn’t up to her to make him ready.

He didn’t look at her until she was right next to him. For a moment she thought she saw surprise, but you never knew with residents. With so many clients as Mistress Koun had, only few things probably surprised them and with a face and body like his, this one probably got requests very often. Ji’an removed her robe. She caught him tracing her body with his eyes, her breasts, her waist, her sex, her legs. It was quick and made Ji’an smile. It wasn’t something residents usually did, at least not so openly. Maybe he was surprised. She was young, and few of her age had the means to acquire permanent membership at a House like Mistress Koun’s, but in these matters, Ji’an had always been particular. Certain necessities were a given in such a House, and Ji’an was very willing to cut down in other parts of her life to keep this high standard.

* * *

Ji’an paused a moment while she retouched her make-up behind the dressing screen. That was… unexpected. Her body was warm, parts of her still echoed with sensation, and she felt pleasantly tired. She smiled a little, and finished preparing herself. Once done she walked out. One quick look into the glass walls was enough, she looked as she should.

Ji’an crossed the Garden Path, passed through the sliding doors and stepped out into the lobby where Sila was waiting. The payment was quick, though she couldn’t help a furtive look to the Monitor’s door. She half expected the silver door to slide open, but it remained closed. What happened on the recliner must have looked adequate on the Monitor’s screen, which in turn made Ji’an wonder how often the residents broke House Rules without the Monitor noticing. No resident was to put a client in a position where she no longer was in control of what was happening, which meant they had to be in control of themselves. It was a well-known House Rule, and the fines were high if it was broken. And yet, Ji’an didn’t file a complaint. She felt too well served for that. After so many days in the VBA without any kind of gratification, it had felt great to let go like that again.

shoes blackThe fee was high since her booking was for the following day, which was a very short notice. Ji’an felt she could only do it because she was a long-time client of the House. She would never have booked but for the dinner she had to attend the following evening. One of her colleagues had to go to the Upper Falls on an emergency and now Ji’an had to go in his place. It was a formal dinner, so one was to bring one’s resident, which in Ji’an’s case meant she had to request Mistress Koun’s services, since she had no permanent residency yet.

One day she would, maybe not too far away now. For a moment, Ji’an wondered how high the fee would be for the resident she had just been with. She could then have that kind of satisfaction at least once a week. Granted she would have to consider the expenses, the clothes, the allowance etc. She would eventually have to move. It would be expensive, but after what just happened on the recliner, Ji’an was starting to think it was worth it. She would make a formal request after the dinner, that way she’d have enough time to think about it without having someone else snatch him away.

As far as Ji’an knew, most of Mistress Koun’s clients had enough means to pay an a.v.[3] on a moment’s notice. She wondered if he satisfied all the clients like that. Probably, he had the build and the stamina. She would like to see him in a libria, but that always cost so much. Maybe his a.v. had already been paid and he was just waiting to change residency, you never knew really. She didn’t even know if she could afford permanent residency yet. Where would she move to? Prices were exorbitant these days. Ji’an decided to wait until after the dinner, she’d know what he could do better after that, and so waited patiently for Sila to finish the last touches to the booking.

*

Once Ji’an paid the fare and signed an agreement of full legal responsibility for the time the resident was with her, Ji’an left the House via the Commuters. Sitting in the comfortable armchairs she felt that particular softness under her skin that she always had after a session in the House. She slid the token Sila had given her into her Receiver, and watched the screening the Monitor had made, plugging her earphones in so she could hear it at high volume. It really did look all right on the screen. She replayed a few parts… there, that. He was good. She would talk to her Referent and see if she could afford a permanent residency.

Ji’an reached her home in the SSQ[4] not long after, humming quietly to herself as she stepped out of the Commuter, joining the crowd of men and women leaving the blue-lit station, wondering how many were just returning from a House. There were many in Cartin Place, some inexplicably luxurious, others simple Baths, where one took a quick bath, got a massage and picked one of the residents from the crowd. She had gone to Baths when she was still in training and couldn’t afford being a House client.original

With her Loge on the higher scale it was easy to get into the better Baths, where she had been part of some long nights, where a simple bath and massage turned into something very satisfying. That was back when they still went out in groups, usually four to five trainees, both men and women. There was one particular night she remembered, a night she went out with Enna. It was a simple Baths, but the residents had been ‘delicious’ as Enna said. Ji’an still had the screening. Enna’s preferences were fixed after that night, she kept on saying that one day she would apply for joint-residence, never mind the expenses.

That was one of the last parties Ji’an went to with Enna though, they didn’t see each other as much as they used to now that they were no longer trainees. Work kept them busy, but every now and then they met for drinks in the Main City and inevitably ended up in a House, where Ji’an could see Enna’s latest preferences. Sometimes they’d meet one of the men they used to go to parties with when they were in the Main City. As far as Ji’an knew, Enna had been eyeing one of them, Telen, for a consort the last time they met for drinks, but Ji’an didn’t know if anything had come of it. It was all a little while ago, and with the travelling she did she hardly had any time to keep herself updated on other people’s lives.

* * *

[1] PRA: Pre-Reconstruction Artifacts: exhibitions of artifacts created before the Reconstruction, set up in every JDC of the City.
[2] Depending on a Citizen’s physical condition and monetary abilities, once of age, each Citizen enters a Loge and thus is allowed to become a member of the Houses ascribed to the respective Loge. Beauty tends to reign over money, but since surgical redefinitions* are not uncommon, unattractiveness among adult Citizens is practically unheard of in the Federation. Natural beauty, however, is rated higher than ‘enhanced beauty’, and since redefinitions are always cited on a Citizen’s detail, the Loges choose accordingly: the more natural the beauty, the higher the Loge.
*Redefinitions are only open to adult Citizens. It is part of Federation Regulation that only women who have ended their years of fertility are allowed mammoplastic redefinitions, also known as mammoplastes. This is largely due to Federation Regulation 8-20 where fertile women are expected to breast-feed for three months after pregnancy as a service to the Federation. Federation testings found that the healthiest nutrition for newborns is mother’s milk. Mammoplastic redefintions are considered harmful to the adequate development of the necessary milk. Since pregnancies are strictly monitored under FR 8-20, and unauthorized pregnancies are severely fined, the prohibition of mammoplastes for fertile women is practically the law.
[3] a.v., short for Alias Via: the price set for residents to be released from a House to a paying client.
[4] Stellar Stair Quarter: main residence of VEN Centre employees

© 2014 threegoodwords

reconstruction, 2

Ji’an rushed down the glass halls of the VEN Centre [1] and was just in time to catch one of the Commuters into the Main City. Leaning back into one of the comfortable white armchairs, she tried not to fidget. She was late. And she hated being late, especially to these appointments. The Commuter glided through the transparent transport tubes in silence, the City rushing by, glass and lights flashing through the glass ceiling. A caterer offered her a cup of arica, which Ji’an took gladly.space 4

The Commuter was fairly full, most of the men and women Ji’an saw were from the VEN Centre, their crisp black suits and skirts always stuck out. Crossing her legs, Ji’an suppressed the urge to remove her shoes. At the end of a long day, the heels started to get uncomfortable, but as a member of a VBA, [2] she couldn’t afford indecencies in public, not even the slightest. During her training she hadn’t cared, ignoring the surprised looks, but now she had to keep form. She crossed her legs instead.

Ji’an drank from her arica and sighed. Other Commuters flashed by, men and women in black suits and skirts entered and left at the blue-lit stations. It was half an hour from the VEN Centre to the Main City, half an hour Ji’an took to lay down the busyness of the day. The Commuter finally stopped smoothly at Cartin Place, the cabin was almost empty now, only a small group of trainees sat in the back talking in low voices.

*

Rushing through the blue-lit station, Ji’an checked her timer. Five past already! She hurried to the glass elevators and watched the city grow smaller as she rose in a swish to the seventh floor of the building. It was already twenty seven floors above the ever-busy JDCs.[3] Up in Cartin Place, the air was peaceful. The sun was setting and bathed the entire City in warm light. They said there had been many parks before the Reconstruction, large patches of communal greens far larger than any House Garden. Ji’an couldn’t imagine it. To her the City was always glass and silver, flashing with windows.

The elevator came to a silent stop and the doors opened to a small foyer. A stylized crane graced the marble floor in shining black and gold tiles. It was spread out in front of the milk-glass sliding doors that opened the moment Ji’an walked across the polished floor. The entrance had its usual luxurious simplicity, whites and greys accentuated with the bright colours of flowers from the Low Don in enormous vases. The usual faint smell of incense lay in the air, and the young woman at the check-in desk nodded when Ji’an walked up to her.

‘Hello Sila,’ Ji’an said.
‘Ms Taiyge,’ Sila nodded, scanning through her monitoring screen with a flick of her hand.
‘I have an appointment. I know I’m late.’
‘She’s already waiting,’ Sila said, taking the card Ji’an handed her. ‘Will you be staying?’
‘Only the usual,’ Ji’an answered. Sila nodded and slid the card into the respective slot.

Ji’an thanked Sila as she handed her her jacket and her new Lexen, a perfect piece of yula leather. They would be kept in one of the private lockers until she returned. Turning, Ji’an checked herself in the mirrored wall, all was well. She walked to the office on the far side of the left corridor. There were vases of flowers in intervals, and the soft hum of faraway music. Ji’an stood out in her all-black outfit, her glossy heels clicking loudly on the marble, reminding her of the VEN Centre and all the business there. The milk-glass doors to the office opened noiselessly and Ji’an stepped in to the white space.

‘My apologies, Mistress Koun,’ she said immediately. ‘I had a meeting I couldn’t get out of. I’m not too late, I hope?’
‘No,’ was the calm reply.

Mistress Koun, dressed in her usual flowing dark robes, stood at her aquarium feeding her rare and poisonous fish, small and flat and very beautiful with delicate gossamer fins. Their watery world was the only colourful thing in the entire office. The windows behind the glass desk overlooked the sparkling City, awash in sunset colours.

‘Have a seat, please,’ Mistress Koun said in her calm voice, returning the fish-food into the long array of milk-glass jars next to the aquarium. None of them were labelled. Ji’an always wanted to ask how the Mistress knew which one to choose.

*

Mistress Koun walked across the room, looking as if she were gliding over the white carpet to the opposite side of the wide glass desk. She was tall and thin, and her face reminded Ji’an of the mysterious dark birds that sometimes flew around the VEN Centre. There was something almost too serene about the Mistress, even as she sat down in her spacious armchair and fixed Ji’an with her calm, grey eyes. They said Mistress Koun was from one of the Haldan Moons, but who knew. She was striking, that was certain.

‘I tried to get out as soon as I could, Mistress Koun, but the meeting was rather important,’ Ji’an tried to explain, but the Mistress waved her hand as if it didn’t matter why she was late. She was late, that was a fact that could not be changed. Ji’an fell silent and tried to look as calm in her seat as the Mistress.

‘Well,’ Mistress Koun said, and tapped the desk’s surface. The hologram screen appeared, showing the lists both to Ji’an and the Mistress.

‘Since your request was a little unexpected,’ the Mistress said, scanning through the names, faces flickering past the screen in flashes, ‘choices were limited.’space 3

Ji’an nodded, she had expected this. It made the fact that she was late a little worse. She hated being late to these appointments. Mistress Koun had a way of ignoring Ji’an’s discomfort that made it all the more clear that she didn’t approve of the delay.

‘Yes, I know,’ Ji’an said. ‘I received the invitation only yesterday. Someone else should have gone but then – anyway, I was told only yesterday.’

‘That is why I would advise you to keep a permanent residence, Ms Taiyge,’ Mistress Koun said, eyeing Ji’an through the hologram screen.

Ji’an dropped her gaze. She couldn’t admit that she couldn’t afford permanent residence yet. She had just been promoted. It was not appropriate to make such expenses now, but it would have taken too long to explain that.

‘Well, fortunately, I did find something suitable,’ Mistress Koun said.

Ji’an smiled with relief. Mistress Koun was famed for never letting her clients down, even if they weren’t one of the illustrious patrons of the House.

‘You’re 4.5, am I right?’ Mistress Koun asked.
‘Yes.’
‘No specifications?’
‘Not too young please.’

Mistress Koun raised a graceful eyebrow but nodded.

‘Well then, I have just the right one for you. Come with me.’

The older woman tapped the glass table’s surface and the hologram disappeared. She rose in a soft rustle of expensive cloth, Ji’an got to her feet and followed her. The milk-glass doors glided open to the Main House a moment later. The smell of incense was stronger here, and her tread was mute on the thick white carpet, despite her heels. They walked across the Garden Path, crossing the spacious House Garden in a high arch of glass. As always, Ji’an would have liked to stop and look down, but that was not done. There were House Rules and it was a given that one didn’t break them.

*

They reached the end of the Garden Path that opened to small foyer. The second milk-glass doors slid open, and Ji’an could already hear the murmur of the residents in the main rooms, distant and deep like quiet nights at the coast. It was every Citizen’s dream to once cross the forbidden threshold and see how it really was behind those doors, but the djan, the House Guards, only let the majar and Mistress through. The djan stood motionless on either side, their hands clasped behind their back, their long white robes and expressionless faces showing they would tolerate no disobedience. It was said that they would kill if it was necessary, and that no Magistrate would put them under the law for it. Ji’an always felt that terminating an intruder’s life was going a bit far, but then again this way privacy was guaranteed.

They had hardly reached the open hall when a tall, well-built man of at least forty approached them, dressed in simple white robes and the characteristic red belt of the majar. There was a short exchange between him and the Mistress. Then the majar nodded and walked past the House Guards into the depths of the forbidden premises. Ji’an followed Mistress Koun into one of the chambers.

It was like all others, a spotlessly clean, white room, with a high ceiling and broad windows overlooking the Main City. The gliders flew along the skyways crisscrossing the darkening sky and the Commuters raced like caterpillars of light through the tubes. Inside the room, there were the usual recliners. Round, wide and made of a soft material she never could name, they reached a little higher than Ji’an’s knees. Two people fit easily on them and there was one on each side of the room.

*

The sun was setting in bright colours, the first reds and oranges were already turning the white room into hues of rose and pink. The Mistress nodded ‘Ms Taiyge’ and left, the sliding door closing quietly. Ji’an stepped to the wide windows and watched the gliders and Commuters as the sun set. The City was a maze of skylines and skyways reaching far into the darkening blue, showing its overwhelming scale. It was the largest civic settlement this side of the Low Don and was still expanding. One day it would fill out the whole Shelf and maybe reach down to the Valleys.

Not long after the Mistress glided out of the room, there was the three-knock signal at the door, but Ji’an didn’t turn. She heard the door slide open and knew without seeing that the majar came in followed by one of the residents. There was another silky slide of doors, which meant that the majar had left the room. Ji’an was still at the broad windows overlooking the City with its glass towers and domes. It was said that ten million people lived in its expanse, and seeing all the windows glitter in the setting sun, gliders passing up high, Commuters halting and racing on, Ji’an believed it.space 2 She had always wanted to see the entirety of the City, maybe even go into those parts that were considered dangerous, apparently full of relics of that dark time before the Reconstruction. There was talk of ghosts and strange creatures that lived and fed in those dark spaces. Ji’an had seen some holographs of what was said to live down there, some were disgusting. Well, maybe one day she’d book a day-pass and take a guide down, but it would be a while until she could afford to ask for such freedoms.

Ji’an turned right then, the resident stood in the middle of the room, waiting. He was about her age, which was a relief, she never liked the young ones, she always felt inadequately responsible for them. He had the usual black ger on, loose Low Don cotton that reached to his knees, showing off well-shaped calves. His build was perfect, but that was to be expected, Mistress Koun only took the best. His hair was very dark, which was a surprise. Usually Mistress Koun gave her fair-haired ones. Then again, she had sent the request rather late. Ji’an stepped away from the window. She didn’t have all day after all, and the House’s fees were high.

* * *

[1] Vidan Eldin Noli Centre, named after Vidan Eldin Noli, one of the first to open up the trade routes after the Reconstruction
[2] Van Benem Associates, one of the various Providers, i.e. trading conglomerates in the VEN Centre
[3] Joint Development Centres, one of the many places of commerce and leisure in the Main City

©2014 threegoodwords

 

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