Free Overdrive by Phillip W. Simpson Page A

milling group of what appeared to be other
new arrivals. All smiled invitingly in their direction as the three men entered
the room.
    “Any particular
preference? We cater for all sorts here. Male, female, bi, uni, hemof,
transplant, artificial etc." Walter looked slightly amused at the
confusion displayed by the two men. “You do of course realize that your ticket
comes with a companion for the duration of the trip."
    The other new
arrivals seemed to be socializing quite pleasantly with their Hedonist
companions. More than a few appeared to be getting quite familiar with their
very friendly Hedonist companions while some, obviously in a hurry to start their
holidays, were already engaging in various sexual activities.
    “Well, um, no,"
said Tarquin. He gave Logan, who was grinning like a banshee, a nudge in the
ribs.
    “My, my,"
replied Walter. “You are very new to all this. Well, its not compulsory you know,
but I’m sure our companions here would be rather disappointed if you decide not
to choose.”
    Tarquin kept a
straight face. “I think we might have to pass at this point. Perhaps later."
Logan wasn’t even listening, having been distracted by a buxom brunette smiling
winsomely at him.
    “Well, if you
change your mind, let me know. Now if you’d like to follow me…” Walter trailed
off gesturing in the direction of a door guarded by two woman garbed in
revealing leather and armed with whips.
    “Lead on. Come on
Log," said Tarquin grabbing Logan by the arm before he disappeared with
the woman he was eyeing up.
    “Yeah, yeah.
Coming," a somewhat despondent Logan replied.
    “What were you
saying about not being here for a holiday?."
    “I was just
looking," said Logan defensively.
    “Yeah, and I’ve
got 3 testicles”
    “That must be
quite uncomfortable”
    “Shut it”
    Walter led the two
men past the two dominatrix, through the door and into a corridor bathed in red
light. Logan lit up a cigarette. A blue field sprung out immediately from an
innocuous nozzle on the ceiling to surround him.
    Walter observed
this with a smile. “You will find the Dirty Little Minx to be equipped
with all the latest in field technology. We have many AG bars also fitted out
with various field generators to make your stay more interesting. Ah here we
are."
    Walter halted in
front of an AG lift. The doors opened and Walter motioned to the two men to
step inside. The blue field from the corridor shut down to be replaced
instantly by one in the lift. Logan’s blue smoke field shrank to conform to its
new environs. Even so, Tarquin’s head entered the field briefly.
    “Oi! Keep your
field to yourself”
    “Blow it out your
arse big fella. You really should give it a go. Its not as if they can kill you
anymore."
    Smoking had lost its
following by the mid 21 st century Earth thanks largely to
legislation forbidding smoking in any public place whatsoever. That, and of
course its major side effect – it killed you. The lid of the coffin of smoking
was firmly hammered shut when smoking in your back yard (if you had one) was
banned followed by smoking in your house unless you received special
dispensation, were extremely sneaky, or hailed from France.
    By the 22 nd century, a cure for cancer had been discovered but by then, smoking was a lost
art form to all but a few, mostly diehards located in France. The French colony
world, Gitane, had been founded in 2240. It immediately declared itself
“smokers paradise” and started cultivating large crops of tobacco for its
residents and the slowly increasing off world demand. By now, any harmful
effects caused by smoking could be easily countered with basic medical
procedures, or, more expensively, by genetic engineering or GE’ing. Seven
hundred years on and smoking once again had a strong and no longer harassed
following numbered in the billions.
    Logan had started
smoking 5 years ago to the disgust of Tarquin, who although was no stranger to
chemical body additives, for some