“You know, if we make this work you’ll be my twenty third husband.”
“You don’t look old enough to even be on your seventh,” I lied. In truth the old woman looked exactly like you’d think someone who gets married every three years to a new man would look after their twenty second marriage.
Look. I never thought I’d get to this place. The restaurant is something that I’d only seen in pics or on casts, I never in a million years thought I’d be in one on a date. There are a lot of things that had happened over the last few years of my life that would have made this an impossible situation. Five years ago, I was happily married. We had …
Regardless I’ve what I had this is still never how I thought my life would turn out. On a date in the Hotel Prosperity. There are cameras on every surface. Listening devices on every sleeve and light fitting. There are servants who make more money in a year than I did five years ago. I’m mixing with the wealthiest and most famous people in the galaxy. I’m told even my date has somewhere North of two billion followers. It could be because she is the eldest contestant on the space station. It could be because she is outrageous. Already she’d slipped her foot out of her slippers and was rubbing it up the inside of my calf.
“Does that mean you have twenty-three children?” I asked my date. Most marriage contracts have one kid born for each parent, which I absolutely abhor.
“I only ever squeezed out four.” I watched tried not to vomit in my mouth as the old crone winked at me. “After that I let the surrogates do the heavy lifting.”
“Do you have any children?” She asks me. “A strong lad like you.”
Nope, not going there. I guess that is on me; I asked her didn’t I. Time to change the subject. “Does your dynasty really grow half a trillion tons of food a year?” I might have miss remembered what I was told. Even that seems to much.
“I don’t know the numbers, young man. I just sign the dotted line.”
“But your Dynasty does have the ability to feed one trillion people a year?” This is why I had really come to the Hotel Prosperity. My planet was in risk of starvation; we need food and soon. My date was one of the better options for getting it.
“We try and maintain those figures available to trade, yes. Let’s not talk shop on our first date. We should be getting to know one another. One of my favourite things to do is skinny dip. What about you?”
Did she say available to trade? Does that mean that they make that much more than they need. My date might be too big for me. Endarus Prime doesn’t have much to trade. We are a end-of-the-line system, independent to boot. Things that five years ago were a source of pride for all my people. Now, both those factors might be what force us to do what we never thought would. Give ourselves over to another system; becoming a vassal state is not what any Endarians have ever wanted. It is my job to ensure that never happens. That means trying to find a political marriage that will ensure my people can eat until we get back on our feet. So, with a deep breath and batting my eyelids.
“Skinny dipping. I could never.” I smile
“To much of a prude?” The bat poked me with he big toe under the table. “You don’t have anything to ashamed of.”
“Oh, no. You miss understand. I quite like the idea of skinny dipping, its just the water around my house is too cold… if you get my drift.”
With that my date howled with laughter drawing the attention from a few tables around us. “My place opens out onto a beautiful private beach with water that you can spend all day in. Not sights of ice burgs anywhere.”
The rest of my evening is spent in flirtatious banter with a woman who is old enough to be my grandma’s grandma. Once I stopped feeling dirt. Once I stopped feeling creeped out, I actually enjoyed myself. Then without warning her H.G.F appears at her shoulder.
“Ma’am, the feed is dead. Well done. Not you best numbers but it is still early. They climbed as the night went on and Mr. Lux, here, relaxed. He seemed growing more positive attention as your night went on.”
Almost like a light switch the playful light goes out of my dates eyes. She stretches her neck with dozens of cricks and cracks.
“Mr. Lux, it was a pleasure doing business with you. I appreciate the banter; hundred and fifty years ago you might have actually been into it. You’re a good sport, or a good liar. One is made for this place the other is going to get chewed up and spit out over and over and over.” As she stood up, no longer stooped, it looked as though she gained energy, like she’d just gotten three decades younger.
“I did have a good night,” I said. I think that wasn’t a lie.
“I’ll let my people contact yours to see if we get a second date. I’ll be honest, with me its more about the numbers than what you can bring to the table. If your numbers improve maybe we’ll get a second chance.” With that she turned. “Good night, Mr. Lux.”
She lift me standing there wondering what was happening. How? Why?
You would have heard of The Hotel Prosperity, everyone has. However, what you need to know is how I ended up here. only a few weeks ago I was a free-lance political commentator not a High One of Endarus Prime, a fifth of the Throar Dynasty…
