The Brave New World 83 A Delightful Picnic

He'd woken up before dawn full of apprehension. His subconscious was telling him Cruz had missed Pitcairn, and was adrift somewhere in the Pacific. An itchy rash had developed on the inside of his thighs while he had slept. A sudden flashback took him back to New Year's Eve: he saw himself pouring champagne, and raising a toast. He'd been so happy, so hopeful! And just a couple of days later, everything turned to s.h.i.+t.

These unhappy thoughts and the itchy rash made it impossible to return to sleep. He tossed and turned, and eventually got up and walked down to the beach. His men had painstakingly cleared all the trash from the stretch of sand neighboring the camp; but every night, fresh trash floated in. Susanto walked along the water's edge with his forehead creased in thought, kicking plastic bottles he encountered back into the ocean. Did Cruz make it? What if he didn't? What if he did? How long would they have to wait before help arrived?

Susanto hated waiting; waiting was a waste of time. So as soon as the sky in the east started turning pink, he returned to the camp and woke everyone up. Juan was instructed to prepare an extra hearty breakfast, and to include one of the two remaining cans of sliced pineapple as a morale booster. Unfortunately, the main course was the same as for lunch and dinner: fish and coconut kernels and palm shoots. Although Juan did his best with the spices and herbs at his disposal, that particular dish was rapidly getting old.

Following breakfast Susanto treated himself to a kretek cigarette, noting with alarm he had just eight left. As he inhaled the clove-scented smoke, he reviewed his plan for the day. It included paying a visit to the New World. The prospect scared him, but the prospect of just sitting there on that f.u.c.king island doing nothing but waiting for help scared him even more. Rafi Susanto was a doer: he had to keep active. He had to do things, keep moving to stay alive, just like a shark.

He issued a series of stern instructions, sending everyone but James and Candy to their tasks. The crewmen were to continue taking items from the cube; the wh.o.r.es - gather coconuts and anything else that was edible. Then he pulled James to the side for a quick conversation.

"James," he said rather dramatically, "I am about to place my life in your hands."

James didn't look happy when he heard that. Susanto noted this with satisfaction. His steward's unease meant he was fully conscious of the great responsibility placed on his shoulders. Without question, he was the right person to act as Susanto's guardian during the planned excursion into the New World.

"We are going to visit the New World," he told James. "But only Candy and I will go all the way. You'll stay here, so that I can use your guy there to communicate. If there's trouble, you'll remove my implant. That's all there is to it."

"But what about the dinosaurs?" asked James.

"We'll replicate in a different spot. Hopefully, we won't run into any, at least not right away. I need to have a look around over there. I just might get lucky, and find some tiger rock and food to send back here."

As Susanto had antic.i.p.ated, the chance to obtain some fresh food immediately won James over. He said:

"You can count on me, sir."

Susanto nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Get a package together," he told James. "Food and drink for three people for the rest of the day, two of those mats, six implants."

"Six?"

"Just in case, James, just in case. It's good to have backup at all times."

"Of course, sir," said James, and scurried off to his task.

Susanto approached Candy, who had been watching him with a new interest ever since he asked her to stay instead of going off with the other wh.o.r.es to gather food. Candy was a realist; being realistic was a must in her profession. She knew she ranked behind Elena, probably behind the two other wh.o.r.es as well. She suspected she'd been asked to stay for a different reason than s.e.x, but she had no idea of what it might be. Candy was somewhat limited in her imagination, and it actually hurt her career not a little. An imaginative, inventive wh.o.r.e was a better wh.o.r.e.

Susanto stopped in front of her and smiled. She tried to read something from that smile, and failed.

"Candy," Susanto said, "I have the exquisite pleasure of inviting you to a picnic."

"A picnic?" said Candy. No one had ever invited her to a picnic before. She wasn't even sure what the word meant. She had a vague idea it involved sitting down on the ground, and eating food out of a bag.

"Yes. We shall have a delightful little excursion down the coast, and relax. It will do me good to get away from this place for a while. It feels like I've been here for years. I'm sure you feel the same."

"Oh yes," said Candy happily. "That will be very nice. I know a perfect spot! A small beach over there."

She pointed east, and Susanto frowned.

"You mean the east coast? What do you mean, a beach? It's all cliffs."

"It's under the cliff. And I found a way to get down to the beach. It's not difficult. And there is no rubbish on that beach."

"Okay," Susanto said slowly. "When did you find it?"

"Yesterday. When I was looking for coconuts."

"Hmmm," said Susanto. He clearly remembered that the previous day, Candy had brought the smallest haul of all the wh.o.r.es: a hundred coconuts, not a single one more. Elena had brought in almost a hundred and fifty!

So that was what the little b.i.t.c.h had been up to! Lying on a secluded beach and catching a few rays while her companions labored! Still, a spot like that might be perfect for his purposes. He asked:

"And how far away is this beach of yours?"

"A little bit down the coast... I was walking along the sh.o.r.e, so it took me almost an hour. But if we took a shortcut we could be there in twenty minutes. Maybe half an hour."

That made it over a kilometer, but less than two. Susanto tried to recall, from what he'd seen of the New World, what the landscape east of of his original arrival point looked like. But all he could remember was that the New World beach stretched a long way to the east, and ended with a jumble of rocks at the base of a cliff.

Thick vegetation had obscured the view inland; all that could be seen from the arrival point was the top of the hill with gold nuggets - and a timon cave, if Cruz was to be believed. They had all made for the top of that hill, hoping to get a better idea of the surrounding countryside. But Cruz had circled the hill first and ended not climbing it at all, because he found a cave with walls of timon. And when Susanto had made it to the top of the hill, his attention had been distracted by the wildlife. His skin crawled when he recalled what he had seen.

What he couldn't recall was what the land east of the hill looked like; the dinosaurs had been gambolling around in a clearing to the south. Well, he would find out today. And Candy would have the honor of being the first wh.o.r.e to visit the New World.

"Okay, Candy," he said. "We'll visit your secret beach. We'll be leaving soon; maybe you would like to change your clothes?"

"What would you like me to wear? I'll bring it with me. I can change once we get to the beach."

The stupid b.i.t.c.h thought he had meant one of the costumes she wore for her professional performances. Susanto had a good mind to punish her by making her wear skintight black latex from head to to toe while they walked under the sweltering sun. But he didn't want to be cruel, at least not yet. He wanted her to be in a good frame of mind when he told her she'd be visiting the New World.

"I meant something you'll find comfortable on our picnic. Maybe something with pockets? You could carry the first aid stuff. You know, bottle of Dettol, cotton wool, bandage, some sticking plaster."

Candy's eyes widened with alarm.

"Am I going to get hurt?" she asked.

"Don't be silly. I always take that with me on trips. What if you or I slip and fall and hurt a leg or whatever? We'll be very glad to have that stuff with us."

"I understand," said Candy, in a tone that told Susanto she didn't, not really.

"Okay. Go get ready. I need to get ready myself."

He watched her walk away, biting his lip and wondering whether he'd made the right choice when he selected Candy as his companion. Then he remembered the incident involving his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, and grunted.

He'd made the right choice; whatever would happen, she deserved it. He caught himself hoping they'd run into a dinosaur. Nothing too dangerous, maybe one of those plant-eating lizard cows with spikes or something similar on the back - he remembered the picture from his school days. He could even remember the name! He grinned, and murmured:

"Candy, meet mister Stegosaurus. Mister Stegosaurus - Candy. Please be gentle."

He let out a guffaw, and went to talk to James.

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