Free Senescence (Jezebel's Ladder Book 5) by Scott Rhine Page A

“Speak one
more time without being spoken to, and you’ll be wearing this. Understand?”
    Stu ignored him and went back to
meditating. He had been able to check the time on Rayburn’s wrist.
    At lunchtime, a man in a delivery
outfit brought them each a sandwich. Fighting his cuffs, Stu peeled it apart
awkwardly. “I recognize the lettuce and bread … sort of … but what’s this pink
foam?”
    “Meat,” Onesemo explained, taking a
healthy bite of his own.
    “You’re joking. What animal?”
    “Probably a combination of pork,
beef, and chicken. They grind up everything, including the lips and assholes.”
    Removing the round slice of meat
foam, Stu wiggled it suspiciously. “You can have mine.”
    “Okay.”
    “And this white stuff?”
    “Cheese.”
    “Cool. I’ve always wanted to taste
it, especially on pizza. We don’t have cows in space.” Stu leaned over to eat
from his anchored hands.
    Onesemo smiled. “What else do you
want to try while you’re here?”
    “I studied the Seven Wonders, the
pyramids and stuff. I want to meet a cowboy with a real horse. Hopefully, I can
see a joust. Someone recommended the Holy Stairs in Rome and the Vatican
Museum. I might visit the British Museum or the Louvre. I hear the imperials
stole all the good stuff from the all the other civilizations and stored it in
one place.”
    “None of that is modern.”
    “I’d like to get in touch with my
heritage,” Stu said with a shrug. “I wanted to visit my grandfather in Wales
and my aunt in Brazil. They both have mansions on the beach.” He paused to
chew. “Maybe I can talk to more of those beach girls, but they didn’t seem too
bright.”
    “We don’t date them for their
brains,” Onesemo joked, taking a swig of his water.
    “I meant their auras. Dad told me
that making out with a woman without an aura was like sleeping with a
mannequin.”
    The guard sprayed the wall with his
drink. When he could breathe again, Onesemo asked, “You’ve obviously never done
either.”
    “No. I’m waiting till I get
married.”
    Onesemo asked, “Any other dating
advice from Lou?”
    “Um … Look for a woman you would
want to have children with, who could be your best friend. Have her read out
loud to you. Watch how she treats her younger siblings. Is she the kindest and
bravest person in the room? Does she encourage you in your job but excel in her
own realm? Do her hugs make you feel you could do or bear anything? Can you
look into her eyes and see that she’d do anything for you, including forgive?”
    Onesemo stopped eating to stare
into space. “Tall order.”
    “Yeah. He really loved Mom.”
    “She’s gone?”
    Stu shook his head. “You clearly
want a count of the crewmembers remaining in case you invade. That’s not going
to happen.”
    “Gotta try. It’s my job.” Onesemo
took another bite. “Herk went fishing with me and my dad back in the day.”
    “Herk showed me how to tie flies
and bait hooks. He always clubbed the fish before he took out the barb.”
    “So it wouldn’t feel the pain,”
Onesemo said. “You really did live with him.”
    Stu had finished his sandwich, but
he was still hungry. He had gone over twenty hours without food. “Can I share
some of your crisps?”
    “Cricket crunchies? You won’t eat
meat, but you’ll try these?”
    “I had to eat bugs for my survival
course,” Stu said. “Besides, our chickens love them.” He grabbed a handful of brown
protein chips and leaned over to consume them. That was when his special senses
picked up the flying insect. It had a higher density than a real
insect—probably a spy drone. Whose? It had probably snuck in with the
delivery man, so it wasn’t the US military. In an ideal world, the spy device
would be from Fortune Enterprises. In the worst case scenario, it could be from
the faction that had attacked Ascension .
    “You raise chickens? In space?”
Onesemo sounded doubtful.
    “Yeah. You guys know we live inside
a biosphere