Making Myself Useful
The Caves: Alchibah - Day 885
Janie Bartlett sat at the back of cave holding the cloth wrapped bundle with a gurgling Tammy Jane Bartlett inside. A hundred feet inside of the hillside it was cold but quiet. No sound of the storm outside could penetrate this deep and the other children were all asleep. The baby, after being fed, had stopped crying and her eyes were open, blue grey, the same color as Bart’s, but many shades lighter. No longer hungry, she was quiet now, but that wouldn’t last for long. The Jeep stood at the room doorway, squared up and with a proper door finally installed. He, expressionless as only a robot can be, said quietly, “Bart says the meeting is about to start so you should hurry up.”
“Thank you JP. Let him know I will be out in a min. See if Hanna is clear to take over for a bit.” Janie set the infant into the small crate being used in place of a cradle, the one the folks in the furniture shop had made as a present was in the nursery in their home on the point. She added blankets and instructed the nursery bot to keep an eve on her then followed the Jeep from the room. In the small connecting room she saw Hanna and gave a pleased smile.
“Glad your here already. I hate to leave the babies with just a bot watching. And by the way, I can’t get over how you and Jules have changed. You both look twenty five years younger than you did before slizard serum reset your clocks. And I sure am glad it didn’t reset your personalities the same way.”
“Yes we were both thankful for that,” Hanna said. “Experience and maturity in a young body, the best of all possible worlds. And a good thing the regression stopped when it did, I was worried we would keep getting younger until we were children, then babies, then… I can’t bring myself to even think of being any younger than that. They told me at the Biolab that the age reversal stops where your mind thinks your body ought to me. They added some mumbo jumbo but I know it came as a surprise and wasn‘t like they were predicting this in advance.”
“I understand that part Hanna, I’m kinda’ happy Bart and I Haven’t had to take any of the stuff yet, it seems creepy but it is good to know that it’s there. Have you gotten over the destruction of the Inn yet?”
Just then Bart walked in, gave Janie a hug, and said, “Got tired waiting for you Babe.” Then he said to me, “And good to see you too Hanna.”
“Why thank you dear, I didn’t think you would even notice little old me.” And then on a more serious note, “Janie just asked me about the Inn and yes I miss it, but it’s only bricks and mortar. If we get through this thing we can rebuild again. It’s the people that really matter. Do either of you know what Les is going to say? And have you heard anything about JJ?”
“Don’t know more than anyone else about what Les has up his sleeves and all I know about JJ is that he is still alive, we are expecting to hear details when Les gets the meeting underway. And that means we gotta’ hurry Janie. And thanks again Hanna for taking over the nursery.”
“My pleasure, glad to be of use. I would have nothing much to add, certainly nothing that’s new, and if a vote comes up I can push a com button here as well as anywhere else so I’ll watch and when you and Jules come back you can all fill me in about what the people grumbling in the back were saying.”