The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 35

“Would it surprise you to learn it was totally vegan?” saidAlice.

“What? I don’t believe it,” said Henry. “That’s pure,best-quality beef if I ever saw it.”

“Nope, purely vegetable matter, grown in laboratories righthere in Oxford. And it’s indistinguishable from the real thing. Soon there willno longer be any need for herds of cattle belching out methane into theatmosphere.”

“Well, that’s unbelievable,” said Henry. “I’ve always knownI should cut down on red meat and move to a plant-based diet, but it neverappealed to my palate. That was before I knew it would be possible to createthis. I have to say it would be worth staying in Oxford for this alone.”

“That’s settled, then,” said Alice. “You can come and workwith us and kick Vanessa into touch.”

“I don’t think she’s going to lie down that easily,” saidHenry. “This could get messy, believe me. I’ve seen it all before and it’s notpretty.”

“Yeah, you alluded to that earlier,” said Alice. “I take itVanessa’s got a chequered history.”

“Very,” said Henry. “I could tell you a few tales, believeme.”

“I’m all ears,” replied Alice, leaning forward, eager tohear what Henry had to say.

Normally she frowned on gossiping about people behind theirbacks, but, such was her intense dislike of Vanessa, she was willing to make anexception on this occasion.

“As scientists, you know how we get obsessed with our work?”asked Henry.

“Don’t I just,” said Alice. “I’ve been married to Josh forthirty years and this last year has been one of the worst.”

“Well, Vanessa’s like that, too – but with people. When shesets her sights on a man she won’t take no for an answer, and won’t rest untilshe’s got him.”

“Was she like that with you?” asked Josh.

“No, not at all,” replied Henry. “She made it quite clearfrom the start that this was a marriage of convenience. She had the money tofund my research, and that was good enough for me.”

“So, you married for money?” asked Alice.

“Not in the traditional sense. I never had any great desireto acquire personal wealth, but as scientists you know how frustrating it iswhen you can’t turn your ideas into reality because of a lack of funds.”

“I know what you’re saying,” said Josh. “The university isgenerous, but we could be ten years ahead of where we are now with unlimitedfunding.”

“Right, well everything you saw in Canberra, from theequipment to androids like Dani was extremely expensive, but Vanessa said moneywas no object. She turned on the taps and the money flowed. It was all aninvestment to her, one that she eventually hoped to recoup.”

“And now it looks like that isn’t going to happen after yourrevelations earlier this evening.”

“Exactly,” said Henry. “Hence why she was so angry before.That’s one part of it, and then there is her obsession with you, Josh.”

“Yes, and I’m extremely concerned about that,” said Alice.

“You should be,” remarked Henry. “I said I could tell you afew tales so here’s something to mull over. A few years ago, she becamebesotted with a student at the university. She did her usual thing – showeringhim with cash and attention in an attempt to seduce him. She even altered hisgrades. Anyway, to cut a long story short, she was caught having sex with himon campus and an almighty scandal ensued.”

“How old was he?” asked Alice.

“Eighteen,” replied Henry. “She was in her late-forties atthe time.”

“Oh my God, she’s a paedo,” said Josh. “What happened?”

“The whole thing was hushed up,” replied Henry. “It wasn’tso much the sex as the grade-altering that was the real scandal, but she paidthe boy’s family off. It was a substantial sum, I should add. None of them willever have to work again. As for the university, she made sure they didn’t kickher out by paying for a brand new lecture hall.”

“It seems you can get away with anything if you have money,”said Alice.

“Such has always been the way of the world,” replied Henry.“I suppose it won’t come as any surprise to you that she was also knocking offthe State Governor at one point and he’s done her plenty of favours in return.She has friends in extremely high places.”

“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question, Henry?” askedAlice.

“Fire away,” said Henry.

“Did you and Vanessa ever even consummate your marriage?”

“Alice!” exclaimed Josh. “You can’t ask that!”

“It’s OK, Alice,” said Henry. “I don’t mind. The answer toyour question is yes, we had sex a couple of times when we were first together,but quite frankly, it was awful. There was simply no chemistry between us, andwithout that, sex is just reduced to an emotionless biological function.”

“OK thanks. I hope you didn’t mind me asking, but you cameacross as such a mismatched couple that I couldn’t help wondering,” said Alice.

“You’re not the first person to ask that question, as ithappens,” said Henry. “But usually people ask me if I’m gay and if the marriageis just a front. Just to clarify, I’m not but I can see why they ask.”

“The Hawaiian shirts?” asked Josh.

“Yes – it is a bit of cliché that only gay men wear them.The truth is, I just love them. I spent some time in Hawaii in my teens andbought my first one then. After that it sort of became my trademark.”

“I take it there’s no one else special in your life?” askedAlice. “Don’t you get lonely? I can imagine that it can be lonelier being in aloveless marriage than it would be being single.”

“Not really,” said Henry. “I’m married to my work. And thenthere’s Dani of course. I’m sure you can’t have missed Vanessa’s little commentsabout her.”

“Was it true what she was hinting at? That you have a sexualrelationship with Dani?” asked Alice.

“Alice!” said Josh again. “I’m sure Henry doesn’t appreciateall these personal questions.”

“Really, it’s fine, Josh,” Henry assured him. “It’s nice tohave someone to talk about this with, to be honest. Yes, I do have sex withher. I don’t think it’s any big deal. The thing is, I think that relationshipsbetween humans and androids will become more and more common in the future.”

“Don’t people think it’s a bit weird, though?”