the manufacturer right now.”
“That is so cool! Way to go guys! I’m sure our investors will be willing to put up some more money. Draw up a plan for their cost and usage and the expected return etcetera and I’ll get it to them.” Ell turned to walk away with Roger and Emma.
Ben gazed bemusedly after Ell as the beautiful young woman turned the corner toward the Quantum Research area.
John interrupted his woolgathering, “Good God Boss! Did you see the way she handled Waldo? I’ve been working with him for a week now and I keep having to ask the AI to stabilize Waldo’s position. I sure as hell can’t jet him back into place myself like that! I certainly can’t toss a rock back and forth from hand to hand!”
Ben snorted. “Yeah, it’s amazing just how good the reflexes of world’s greatest gymnast actually are, huh?”
***
Mack Williams sat despondently in his truck. He’d driven over to Shelly’s new apartment at seven and he’d been sober then. If only she could see that he could stay sober, he felt sure she’d come back to him. But he’d felt really nervous. When he’d finally gotten the courage to go knock on her door, he’d been glad she wasn’t there.
At first.
Then as he’d sat waiting for her to come home, he’d gotten irritated. She’d only moved out of their home two days ago and she wasn’t even home at seven at night? Mack’s nerves got worse and worse. Finally he decided he had to go get one beer to calm himself. Medicine really. He wasn’t an alcoholic; he just needed a little something to soothe himself when he felt jagged.
He’d been going to buy only a single beer, just one to calm himself. But the store only sold six-packs. Frustrated, he got a six-pack and a pack of gum to keep the smell off his breath. He took one beer and tossed the other five in the back of his truck where they wouldn’t tempt him.
Back at Shelly’s place he started just sipping the beer, but then thinking about how it was “medicine” to calm his nerves he chugged it back and got out a stick of gum. He chewed the life out of it, got out another and got out of the truck. The beer had been disappointing. It hadn’t calmed him like it should. As he walked up to Shelly’s apartment he thought to himself that they were probably watering the beers down.
He knocked.
No answer.
Mack knocked harder and finally pounded on the door.
Back in the truck he’d decided he needed another beer ‘cause Shelly’s being out was really pissin’ him off.
Drinking the last beer in his six-pack, Mack saw Shelly enter her apartment. He realized she hadn’t been “out” engaging in any nightlife because she hadn’t been dressed up. He got out of his truck to goisa truck talk to her… then realized that even though a six-pack wasn’t much compared to what he drank sometimes, he’d better not try to talk to her with beer on his breath. With a sigh, he told his truck’s AI to take him home.
To his and Shelly’s empty, lonely home.
He’d just have to come back and talk sense into her tomorrow night.
***
Carter DeWitt sighed. There were no jobs for someone with an undergraduate degree in physics. After all that effort; busting his ass in construction and taking out loans to get enough money to finish his degree, he’d found out that the degree was essentially worthless, at least to him. He’d need a graduate degree to get a real physics job. No one advertised jobs for a physics BS it seemed. Why hadn’t he thought to look at the job market before he’d gone for the degree? He shrugged, he loved physics and it seemed to him like something that should be in demand. There probably were jobs, but he couldn’t find any in this region.
Carter couldn’t afford to go to gra d school, he had a child and, already in debt, their financial situation wouldn’t tolerate it. He felt a tap on his arm. He looked down from his HUD (Heads Up Display). His daughter Jennifer’s pale blue eyes
“That is so cool! Way to go guys! I’m sure our investors will be willing to put up some more money. Draw up a plan for their cost and usage and the expected return etcetera and I’ll get it to them.” Ell turned to walk away with Roger and Emma.
Ben gazed bemusedly after Ell as the beautiful young woman turned the corner toward the Quantum Research area.
John interrupted his woolgathering, “Good God Boss! Did you see the way she handled Waldo? I’ve been working with him for a week now and I keep having to ask the AI to stabilize Waldo’s position. I sure as hell can’t jet him back into place myself like that! I certainly can’t toss a rock back and forth from hand to hand!”
Ben snorted. “Yeah, it’s amazing just how good the reflexes of world’s greatest gymnast actually are, huh?”
***
Mack Williams sat despondently in his truck. He’d driven over to Shelly’s new apartment at seven and he’d been sober then. If only she could see that he could stay sober, he felt sure she’d come back to him. But he’d felt really nervous. When he’d finally gotten the courage to go knock on her door, he’d been glad she wasn’t there.
At first.
Then as he’d sat waiting for her to come home, he’d gotten irritated. She’d only moved out of their home two days ago and she wasn’t even home at seven at night? Mack’s nerves got worse and worse. Finally he decided he had to go get one beer to calm himself. Medicine really. He wasn’t an alcoholic; he just needed a little something to soothe himself when he felt jagged.
He’d been going to buy only a single beer, just one to calm himself. But the store only sold six-packs. Frustrated, he got a six-pack and a pack of gum to keep the smell off his breath. He took one beer and tossed the other five in the back of his truck where they wouldn’t tempt him.
Back at Shelly’s place he started just sipping the beer, but then thinking about how it was “medicine” to calm his nerves he chugged it back and got out a stick of gum. He chewed the life out of it, got out another and got out of the truck. The beer had been disappointing. It hadn’t calmed him like it should. As he walked up to Shelly’s apartment he thought to himself that they were probably watering the beers down.
He knocked.
No answer.
Mack knocked harder and finally pounded on the door.
Back in the truck he’d decided he needed another beer ‘cause Shelly’s being out was really pissin’ him off.
Drinking the last beer in his six-pack, Mack saw Shelly enter her apartment. He realized she hadn’t been “out” engaging in any nightlife because she hadn’t been dressed up. He got out of his truck to goisa truck talk to her… then realized that even though a six-pack wasn’t much compared to what he drank sometimes, he’d better not try to talk to her with beer on his breath. With a sigh, he told his truck’s AI to take him home.
To his and Shelly’s empty, lonely home.
He’d just have to come back and talk sense into her tomorrow night.
***
Carter DeWitt sighed. There were no jobs for someone with an undergraduate degree in physics. After all that effort; busting his ass in construction and taking out loans to get enough money to finish his degree, he’d found out that the degree was essentially worthless, at least to him. He’d need a graduate degree to get a real physics job. No one advertised jobs for a physics BS it seemed. Why hadn’t he thought to look at the job market before he’d gone for the degree? He shrugged, he loved physics and it seemed to him like something that should be in demand. There probably were jobs, but he couldn’t find any in this region.
Carter couldn’t afford to go to gra d school, he had a child and, already in debt, their financial situation wouldn’t tolerate it. He felt a tap on his arm. He looked down from his HUD (Heads Up Display). His daughter Jennifer’s pale blue eyes
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