Chapter No.34 Reconciliation

Give credit where credit is due.

As usual, Molly and I got together for supper and an evening of relaxation. I could detect some disgust in her facial expressions. I didn't know what was wrong but I decided that it was a good time to express my opinion about her.

"I went over your math for improving the gamma ray blasters. It's simply astounding. You are much better at this quantum physics than I am."

She smiled. "Thank you. I like to work out math problems."

"What you did is much more than simply working out problems. You are a genius, maybe the greatest human genius ever."

She could see that I was giving her a genuine compliment, and it caused her eyes to moist.

"Thank you," she said in a wavering voice.

"Maybe it would be better if you were in charge," I said, trying not to sound disappointed.

She waved a dismissive hand at me. "No, no! You're the one who can plan strategy. I'm perfectly happy at being the genius."

I chuckled. "And, you are the very model of a genius."

She laughed, but her face took on a more disgusted appearance. "Unfortunately, I'm not very good at fashion design. I'm having one hell of a problem trying to come up with a new uniform design."

"Have you discussed it with the androids?"

"No . . . I assume that they don't worry about what they wear."

"That's a good question." I turned to Alice. "What do you gals think you would like to wear as a uniform?"

"Clothing is a waste of resources, Jason. We don't need to wear anything."

I smiled. "Yes, I understand that, but we humans consider wearing clothing to be a matter of modesty. It comes from the fact that we evolved to become naked apes."

"We could change our flesh to look like clothing."

I wanted to laugh, but I smiled instead. "Yes, I suppose you could, but it's too radical. Perhaps you could wear skirts and a short-sleeved top. It would represent a compromise."

"I was thinking along those lines," Molly said. "However, if they do wear short skirts, they'll need to wear underwear."

I had to surpass the urge to laugh. "Yes, that would be a propitious combination."

"I think that stockings would also be a good idea with short skirts," Molly said.

"Yes," I said. "As long as I don't have to wear them."

She smiled. "I'm not changing our uniforms, just theirs . . . well, not just yet."

"Thank goodness."

That made her laugh.

Later that night, I saw Molly appear from the darkness in my bedroom and approach my bed.

"May I?" she asked, smiling.

"Of course," I said, raising the sheet.

She slipped in next to me and looked up at the screen above my bed. "What are you watching?"

"It's a documentary on the first moon landing in 1969."

"That's really ancient history," she said while staring at the screen.

"Yes, but it was the first time a human had stepped upon another world."

"You were the first human to step upon another exo-planet."

"That's not technically accurate. We really don't know what they did before the launch of Explorer-1."

"If it weren't for what you did, I wouldn't be here."

I turned to stare at her. "I am pleased that you are here with me."

She gave me a subtle grin. "That calls for a kiss."

Our lips met as if in slow motion, but when they met, I felt her tongue inserting into my mouth and then a tingling sensation that felt shocking. For a moment my mind was locked as I sensed data being transferred directly into my brain. The equations were complicated but absolutely incredible.

When we broke contact, my head slumped back into my pillow. "Ah . . . that was rather . . . exciting. How did you do that?"

"I've watched the androids kissing like that and at first I assumed that it was something sexual, but when they did it with me, I realized that it was a means of data transfer."

"Since their brains and ours are connected to the collective, why would they have a need to communicate through a rather unusual physical contact method?"

"I believe it has to do with their ability to transfer energy along with data. As you must know, they don't eat anything. They obtain their energy from standing in cylindrical cubicles that are located all along the hallways of the quarters-deck. I think that this one-on-one communication method is a quick fix for energy depletion."

"I'm embarrassed to say that I wasn't aware of that. You seem to have an uncanny ability of understanding them much better than I do."

She smiled. "Maybe it's because I am female like them."

"Yes, that is logical."

I had to admit that she was gradually growing more intelligent than I was. It was blow to my manhood, but then I had to admit that manliness was essentially useless in the present situation.

But, I was not quite done with my take on this somewhat unusual communication method. "Well," I said with a smug grin. "This personal communication method resembles French-kissing."

She laughed. "I was wondering if you were going to realize that."

"Oh, I realized it. It's just that I didn't want to sound silly."

"There is nothing silly about us engaging in sexually gratifying activities."

I wasn't sure how to reconcile that with our new sexless state of existence, but I was open to any personal gratification that she suggested.