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The pounding sharp pain started behind Jason's eyes, then traveled down his back before radiating through his spinal cord to the rest of his body. He covered his head with one arm in an attempt to protect himself from whoever was pounding on it, but the motion only made the pain worse. Still shielding his head, he risked opening one eye, finally realizing no one was beating him. The pounding was simply the pulse of his heart sending blood coursing through a hypersensitive body.
Despite the pain, he breathed a sigh of relief. He must still be alive. Surely pain this bad was reserved only for the living. After several more minutes had passed, Jason rolled over, grasping his head firmly between his hands to keep it from falling off onto the floor. After a couple more minutes, he rolled over to the edge of the bed and managed to sit up, wondering what had happened to his clothes.
On the binge scale, this has to be at least a 9.5, he thought as he continued to sit on the bed, holding his head in his hands. He knew if he could just make his way to the auto-wash, he'd be able to get some relief, but first, he had to figure out where he was and if there was an auto-wash within fifteen or twenty feet. He doubted he'd be able to walk any farther than that.
He opened his eyes, slowly gazing around the vaguely familiar room. Not my apartment, he thought with disappointment. He tried to recall the happenings of the previous night, but nothing came to mind. Okay. I don't know where I am or how I got here, he thought. But that wasn't what was most important at the moment. He needed to find the closest auto-wash. Glancing down, he noticed the bed. Good sign. Most apartment layouts included an auto-wash close to the bedroom. He closed his eyes and waited for the stabbing pain to lessen, then opened them again and looked around.
Two doors. A fifty-fifty chance one of them would lead to the auto-wash. Pretty good odds. Let's play. Still holding his head, he rose to his feet and stumbled in the direction of the closest door. As he neared the door, he heard the familiar hiss that always proceeded a door's opening and was relieved to see his guess had been right. Just a few more feet to relief. Please, let it be operational, he prayed as he crossed the threshold and entered the small cubicle. As the auto-wash door closed, Jason felt the familiar blast of warm air, followed a second later by the soothing jets of water.
"Ahhh," Jason exhaled as he leaned against one side of the auto-wash to keep from falling over. He knew the auto-wash would not only clean him but would also massage his aching muscles with a kinesthetic forcefield while, at the same time, pulling most of the built-up toxins from his body. Fifteen minutes from now, barring a power outage or some other catastrophe, Jason would be almost as good as new.
Power outage? The phrase niggled at his memory for a moment, but he was unable to grab hold of it. Oh well, not to worry. Let the auto-wash perform its technological miracle. His memory would return in due time. He just hoped whatever had happened the night before could be as easily cleaned up.
He had been in the auto-wash for about ten minutes when he heard the door to the bathroom open and the footsteps of someone entering. He turned to the translucent door but couldn't make out any details.
"Good morning, Jason, though in another ten minutes it'll be afternoon. You're up bright and early, considering. I've brought you a fresh change of clothes."
The voice sounded familiar and definitely feminine, but who was it? And she knew his name, so he had to come up with hers. "Morning, ahh..." He was still trying to come up with a name when the auto-wash door suddenly opened, the spray and therapeutic treatment stopping in the same instant.
"Emerald Eyes," she finished for him. "Shame on you for forgetting it, especially after last night."
"Sorry," Jason said. "You know I could never forget your name. I'm just not myself this morning. Give me a few more minutes in here and I'll remember everything about you and about last night."
"No problem, Luv. Just as long as you're ready to honor your vow of lifelong cohabitation we shared last night," Emerald Eyes said as she started to close the door.
Jason caught the door inches from closing and pulled it open. "We what?"
"Gotcha," Emerald Eyes said with a laugh as she turned and walked away. "Breakfast in fifteen minutes, though by then it'll be lunch."
Jason closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief as the auto-wash started up again. There were certainly worse people he could think of to spend his life with than Emerald Eyes. It's just that he had no intention of making such a commitment with anyone. As he turned to switch the auto-wash up a few more notches, he realized he had a ravenous appetite, a good sign the auto-wash was doing its job.
––––––––
"WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER about last night?" Emerald Eyes asked as she set a plate of syn-food on the counter in front of him. Jason gazed around at the pastel colors on the kitchenette's walls and wondered for the twentieth time where Emerald Eyes had tracked down the green paint, then remembered the number of connections she maintained through her guests.
"Well, I remember arriving at Casey's in a piss-poor mood. I'd just received some bad news so I headed over to the rumbuc table to see if I could take my mind off it. I played a few hands; nothing special. Won a few, lost a few. Somewhere along the line, I decided to order a drink, then I ordered another one and another."
"Yes, that sounds about right," Emerald Eyes replied as she joined him, placing her own plate of food on the counter across from him. "What happened with your cardinal rule of not drinking while playing?"
Jason shrugged. "Like I said, I was in a bad mood. I couldn't get my mind off the news."
Emerald Eyes stared at him, a concerned expression growing on her face. "What was the news?"
Jason stared down at the food in front of him. "It was about my mother." Emerald Eyes was the only person Jason had ever told about being born naturally. "It was a series of photos taken from some old vid-report around the same time I was turned over to the Ward." Jason dropped the fork on his plate and ran his fingers through his damp hair. "They were photos taken of the crime scene where her body was discovered. She'd been brutally beaten and stabbed multiple times."
"I'm sorry," Emerald Eyes said as she reached out to touch his hand. "Any idea where the photos came from?"
"No. Someone had slid them under my door the night before."
Emerald Eyes sighed. "Well, at least now you know what happened to her."
Jason nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I couldn't get those images out of my mind, so I decided a drink or two wouldn't do any harm."
"Except by the time I arrived, you were thoroughly smashed with only five life-chips left."
Jason groaned. "Really? How can that be? That would mean I had lost..." He paused for a quick calculation, but found his brain wasn't quite ready for such an effort... "a shit load of chips."
Emerald Eyes nodded. "According to a few of the croupiers I talked to, you'd been drinking most of the evening and betting heavier than they'd ever seen, and losing consistently. Casey even came down at one point and tried to talk to you, but you threatened to take your business elsewhere, so he decided to leave you alone."
Jason groaned again. "Guess I have some apologies to make."
Emerald Eyes shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt."
"Then what happened?"
"You really don't remember?"
Before he could answer, Jason heard a high-pitched squeal from behind and above him and in the next instant, he felt something fly over his right shoulder and land on the counter, barely missing his plate of food.
"What the...oh, Mu-Monk. What the hell? You scared the bejesus out of me," Jason said as he reached out and handed the Rhesus monkey a tidbit from his plate.
"I'm sorry, baby," Emerald Eyes said as she rose from her chair. "I forgot to set a place for you."
"You spoil him, you know."
"It's my nature to spoil all my men," Emerald Eyes replied with a wink. "I spoil him only because you're not around enough. Besides, why shouldn't I spoil him? It's the only way I can get any of his attention. As far as he's concerned, his heart belongs to you."
Jason reached out with one hand and scratched behind one of the monkey's oversized ears. Mu-Monk had been genetically altered to fit into the lifestyle of the times. His brain capacity was calculated to be between one of his ancestors and a slow learning Homo sapiens. Jason met the monkey's original owner while playing rumbuc. The man had been totally out of his element, showing up at the casino in a desperate attempt to win enough worth-credits to continue his research to develop a line of monkeys for commercial use. His plans were to perfect them as pets for the millions of isolated and lonely humans. Mu-Monk had been his best prototype to date.
Jason seldom played at the worth-credit tables, preferring the adrenalin rush of putting his life on the line, but he had found the monkey interesting so he sat in for a few hands in order to watch it. He ended up winning the monkey on the final hand. The next day Jason heard the scientist had left Casey's and turned himself in to a Sleep Station. As far as Jason could tell, the man's research had ended with his demise.
"Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't remember. Since I'm here with you this morning and not in a Sleep Station, I'm guessing I must have passed out before I gambled it all away."
Emerald Eyes returned with another plate of syn-fruit already cut up for Mu-Monk, who grabbed several pieces before clambering to his favorite nesting place.
"That's not exactly what happened," Emerald Eyes said, then proceeded to recount the highlights of the evening.
As she spoke, Jason felt the blood drain from his face. Suddenly, his appetite disappeared, and he felt like he was going to lose what he'd already eaten. By the time Emerald Eyes had finished her story, he realized how close he'd come to ending up in a Sleep Station.
"So, a power outage saved my life."
"Yeah, that's about the long and short of it," Emerald Eyes agreed.
Jason picked up his fork and stabbed at his food but then dropped it on his plate. For several seconds, he stared at it where it landed before looking over to his friend.
"Thanks for all that you tried to do and for getting me out of there when you did."
Emerald Eyes' face reddened, and it was her turn to study her plate. "As I said, I enjoy spoiling my men. Besides, I figure this helps to even the score. You didn't raise a fuss when I joined my bet with yours all those years ago. Most gamblers would have. It's considered bad luck."
Jason nodded. The silence between them grew increasingly awkward. Finally, Jason coughed and shook his head. "It would have served me right for breaking my cardinal rule. The odds are always in favor of the house, and imbibing at the table just makes the odds that much worse."
"That's what shocked me the most last night," Emerald Eyes said as she stood up and started to clear the table. "You've always been good about keeping your two favorite pastimes separate. What happened?"
Jason continued to stare down at his food, unsure how to answer the question. The conversation had suddenly grown uncomfortable again. He shrugged. "I don't know. Lately, I've been...restless. There doesn't seem to be a point to anything."
Emerald Eyes returned to the table and sat down. "Well, honey, you're right. There isn't a point, but you've known that all your life. How many times have you heard the saying, 'Life doesn't matter—it is the way it is'?" She reached up and touched her earring nonchalantly. "Well, it's true. But Jason, you've got it made compared to most people in this world. You're one of the most successful life-chip gamblers under the dome. Most people consider you like a god, and the Gambling Zone is a fantasy world compared to everywhere else. Maybe you need to go out and live with the common folk for awhile. See what it's like in the Commons with almost no privacy, nothing to do all day long but watch mindless vids or holos, or stay whacked out on drugs if you can get them.Where all you've got is time and even that is controlled by the Patriarchy."
Emerald Eyes reached out and grasped Jason's hand. "Or go join the ULC; spend eighteen hours a day praying for a better life in the hereafter."
"I know, I know," Jason shouted as he jumped up and started pacing, startling Mu-Monk, who scrambled to a higher perch where he chattered down at him. "I don't know what's gotten into me. You're right. I do have it made, especially when compared to the rest of the poor bastards out there. It's just not enough. There must be something more."
Emerald Eyes snorted. "Not as far as I can tell, Babes. There's the Patriarchy, the Commons, and holier than thou Mother Church, and that's about it...well, except the Gambling Zone which is an anomaly and only tolerated because the Patriarchy and the ULC profit from it, and it helps to distract the rest of the world. I'd say, enjoy the ride while you can. Life is short, sweetheart, even for you, no matter how good a gambler you are. When your time runs out, they'll haul you away to a Sleep Station to make room for the next poor bastard. It is the way it is." She flicked her earring again for emphasis.
Jason continued to pace around the apartment. He knew what Emerald Eyes said was true. It had been that way for as long as he could remember. It had been that way for as long as people had lived under the Dome, and no one remembered life before that. Living space was at a premium, and although there were other domes to live under, they were essentially the same. In fact, most people considered the MED one of the more desirable places to live. Jason was one of the few people allowed to travel to a few of the other dome cities during some of the gambling marathons. As far as he could tell, they were all the same—overcrowded, dirty and in constant need of repair.
And no one lived outside the domes. Life under the domes might be harsh and short, but it was paradise compared to life outside. The polluted atmosphere, combined with the high level of ultraviolet rays, made it so inhospitable and dangerous that even the healthiest individuals would perish within a few short weeks.
I should just count my blessings that once again, Lady Luck has pulled my ass out of the fire, Jason thought. It's time to be a little more thoughtful and not push the envelope of his good luck so far.
"Well, one thing for sure. I promise, no more breaking my cardinal rule," he vowed, speaking as much to himself as to Emerald Eyes.
"Now, that's more like the J.J. I know, and I have an idea how you can make sure you keep your promise," Emerald Eyes replied.
"How's that?"
"I think it's time you took Mu-Monk back," Emerald Eyes said, then turned away, pretending to be busy cleaning the counter.
"I can't do that. I gave him to you," Jason replied.
"I know, but he's really yours. Besides, he's getting to be a pain in the ass. Whenever I have a client over, he tries to bite them and chase them away. He's ruining my reputation."
"Sounds like he's trying to restore it," Jason quipped.
"Exactly my point. I like being known as one of the most expensive escorts in the Zone, and I don't need any little ape meddling in my affairs. Let him pester you for a while."
Jason considered her offer. It might be fun to have the little pest around again. It would be a way to remind himself of his promise. Besides, if Mu-Monk became too much of a bother, he felt sure he'd be able to persuade Emerald Eyes to take him back.
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Mind? Hell no. It'll be good to have him out of here. I know of a least a half dozen clients I could invite back once they hear I'm living alone again."
"Okay, if you're sure. I'll come by tomorrow night and pick him up."
"No, I'd rather you take him now." Emerald Eyes' voice suddenly sounded huskier than normal. "It'll give me a chance to get the place cleaned up."
Jason glanced around the apartment until he found Mu-Monk sitting on his topmost perch studying the two humans. Jason held out his hand and made a high-pitched clicking sound in the back of his throat, the signal Mu-Monk recognized as the command to come.
Mu-Monk jumped from one perch to the next, then leapt the last six feet to Jason. He scurried up Jason's arm to his shoulder where he rested his head against Jason's ear, chattering softly.
"Oh boy, I hope I know what I'm getting myself into." Jason turned to Emerald Eyes. As he turned to give her a kiss on the cheek, he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. He started to say something but was stopped by her finger placed against his lips.
"You take good care of the little guy, or I'll hunt you down and turn you into a soprano."
Jason nodded, forcing himself to keep a straight face. He kissed her on the other cheek before turning and walking out with Mu-Monk on his shoulder.
––––––––
AFTER JASON LEFT WITH Mu-Monk, Emerald Eyes started cleaning up the kitchen, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She still remembered how difficult it had been for Jason to talk about his past and especially not knowing what had happened to his birth mother. So when she learned that one of her new clients worked for the Patriarchy's security department, she'd asked him to look into the case. He'd brought her the photos and she'd made the mistake of passing them along to Jason. It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but it had almost cost him his life. Okay. What's done is done. He just must never know that she'd been the one to slide the photos under his door. She hoped returning Mu-Monk to him would at least partly make up for her blunder.