Mary 13
Chapter 1
It was a rare day of activity for Medical Room 19, a stark bright room on the 25th Level of Tower 1. Its encompassing light had no single perceptible source, but came from everywhere at once: walls, floor, and ceiling. There were no shadows. The room produced no sound, no smell, no air movement, and its temperature was a breathtaking 50 degrees. A nearly invisible medical air table seemed to hover in the center of the room; a smaller tray table of the same material hovered next to it. A young woman, healthy and fair, lay naked on the table covered to the neck by a thin white sheet. Her striking blue eyes, soft pink lips and golden hair interrupted the solid white of the room. Against her ivory skin, and inside the colorless room, those eyes jumped out like two patches of summer sky between the clouds. A sky she had only ever seen through her window. Her one window.
Mary 13 used her favorite concentration technique from the meditation programs to try and stay calm in these new elements. She deduced the feeling she was experiencing was cold. Having never actually felt it before, she remembered a program she helped code that dealt with the conditioning of body and mind against possible elemental changes should the towers ever experience power shortages, which they never had. Her steady breathing provided the only air movement and sound. Her silken skin had developed strange little bumps from her toes to her scalp and the smallest hairs on her arms and neck stood up and quivered. At first, she assumed this was a reaction to the cold. But it wasn’t from the cold. She was quivering in anticipation. She was truly excited for the operation, and for what lay beyond this new room.
Mary 13 was not thinking about what she would be leaving behind. Habitation Room 198, Level 54, Tower 2. The room that had raised her, taught her, and held her for an entire life. The room that reacted to her every thought, mood, sensation, and command. They had built a life together, this room and her, one of comfort and collaboration. It had consoled her during the bad times, and nursed her during the sick times. Her every experience had happened in her room, including her birth. A sensor screen, skin and hair rejuvenators, and life extending pills were made available to all tower habitants. She had put in many years of work for the tower to earn the life chair and cloud bed, both specifically engineered just for her. Next had come thought-controlled accommodators, an auto nurse and dentist, energy healers, muscle pulsers, various learning programs and, of course, the pleasure devices. The pleasure devices she had only recently acquired, and they had opened up a whole new world of stimulation and joy for her. And now she was leaving it all, forever. She wasn’t thinking of how she would miss her hard won comforts. She wasn’t focusing her energy on what this new room lacked. Or what her new life would be without. She was thinking about the new sensations she was feeling lying on that table. The flittering in her stomach, the dryness in her mouth. She was struggling, even with her mastery of breathing and meditation, to control her pulse. For the first time in her life she would be in the same room as a man. While struggling to comprehend how to interact with him, or even how to place these new feelings, a door in the wall of light opened and closed, and he walked in.
Luke 4 carried himself with the bearing of a wise man. A man of average height and build, he seemed to be in excellent shape for his advancing years. His thick black hair was shorter and curled more than Mary’s. His black, bushy eyebrows moved with his expressive face and complimented his dark eyes. He always seemed to be contemplating something, and his expressions betrayed this. His skin had a curious reddish hue, prominent against the white of a doctor’s suit, and his lips looked almost chapped.
“Hello Mary 13, my name is Luke 4. I am very happy to meet you. I will be your guide on this adventure. I understand that all of this is new to you, and difficult to process. Don’t worry; you may advance at your own pace after the procedure. For now, just try and relax, this won’t take long or cause you any pain.”
Luke 4 had stood by the wall as he spoke, aware of her shock at human contact, carefully timing his approach. He took 3 strides towards her making sure to take deliberate steps with no added or sharp movements. He blushed slightly as he examined his patient and noticed the bumps on her skin, the rising of her chest as she drew in a sharp breath, and hardening of her nipples as he came to stand within a step of her.
“I apologize for the cold, it is required to slow your blood flow before the operation.” His eyes shined watching her struggle to continue her steady breathing. “You are doing an excellent job of using Calmcentric Breathing to control your pulse and heart rate. If you want to speak, please do so now. You won’t be able to once we get started. No pressure, I understand if you don’t want to converse yet.”
Her mind raced at the thought of a conversation with this man. Her senses filled by his smell, his voice, his movements, the kindness in his eyes. She reverted to the safety of analytical thinking to ask a question she hoped wouldn’t betray her excitement. “Hello Luke 4.” She paused to reflect on her first words to another person and decided her voice was steady enough to keep going. “How did you know I was using Calmcentric Breathing? There are so many programs…”
His smile now showed wrinkles at the corners of his brown eyes, and included his mouth to show a perfect set of white teeth. Her teeth were the same, but she had no wrinkles. He gave a short laugh - the greatest sound of her life. “I wrote that program, I’m honored to see you using it. I used the same technique when I had my life needles removed. I believe this is a good sign. Keep using it; you will be just fine.” He took the final step and began.
Mary shivered slightly, but otherwise made no move or sound. Her cheeks flushed as she became aware of her aroused nipples and how they pressed against the white sheet. Luckily, he was concentrating on her head where it seemed he would start. She had made eye contact as he came in the door, but now, with his breath so close to hers, it was far too stressful. She closed her eyes harder than she needed to. He smiled and spoke again, this time using soft, hypnotic tones as he started his work. She said a silent thank you for the soothing sound.
“Mary 13, what I’m doing now is displaying the laser point map of all the life needles in your body. As you know, the life needles are built and inserted into the arteries of every Tower habitant to ensure longer life and give our advanced health programs an inner look into the bloodstream of every person. This room has been specifically built and equipped with a very elaborate program to monitor, change, and if needed, remove these special needles. For example, the walls, floor and ceiling are fully lit so that no matter where I move I will have perfect vision. As you may also know, I was the first person to have my life needles successfully removed. In doing so I’ve learned the formula for success. I won’t bore you with all of the details of the operation, but I will tell you that I have to work quickly and keep the same pace throughout the procedure. I will start at your head and systematically extract your life needles from your blood stream. As you have already been informed, there is some risk involved, but if you stay still and all needles come out as they should, you will safely transition to the decompression procedure. After decompression we will start your training and you will be able to begin your new life. Don’t worry and keep breathing, I will be by your side during this process.” And then he smiled again as the tension around her eyes lessened.
He didn’t wait for a response as he picked up magnetic tweezers in his right hand and let his left hand hover over her forehead. The brisk confidence in his voice and movements filled her with a sense of protection. He stood over her with a smell she had never experienced. Somehow she knew he smelled like a man. She silently reprimanded herself for exotic thoughts that might spike her blood flow and ruin this opportunity. Fighting the greatest feeling of anticipation in her life she managed to resume her steady breathing. She wasn’t worried about the procedure. There was no grief for the loss of her former life, her room, or her possessions. No self-pity for losing 300 more years of life in comfort. She didn’t wonder about how long her new life span would be. Be it a century, or a year, it was no concern to her. Her mind raced faster than any thought expander could push it. A sensor screen had never held her attention like this. No pleasure device produced this level of arousal. Her entire naked body felt ready to float towards the promise of one single moment. The man reached down to place his left hand on the skin of her face. This would be the first time she was touched in her entire life.
Mary 13 was one hundred years old.