The virgin & the bad boy (Gravity)

Chapter 15/we need strong body odour, strong mints.. for a stronger planet

A/N Picture historic picture Salem.  video: book soundtrack -  Jennifer Ann - Mad World

A/N Ok this chapter release on an Monday is a bit of a one off to celebrate exactly 500 votes! There is a nice dramatic pause between this and chapter 16 ( on Thursday ). So yes a moment of weakness, but Thursday's chapter is good. See you there.  

The next day we finished a wonderful toothsome lunch at which George knocked back many ginger beers. After which we took the cable car pod down for the last time. Kentro had an Ubur car was waiting for me. Aunt Mallery and Uncle John had left the night before with the camera robots. The whole sky girl business was exploding and she needed to be seen to 'do something' or as Ronald Bentham said 'get off her fat ass and solve the planet's problems before I go to bed and I sleep early'. This the bots had assured us would make great television.

After aunt Mallery had left, the container drone from the Dutch museum flew up in the morning, Kentro and some Dutch museum robots took down the fake back wall and filled the container with every bedroom invention known to womankind.

I had announced that I was keen to see more of what used to be called America and wanted to drive south to Atlanta rather than take the hyper loop. I had decided to drive from Boston to New York then catch the Hyper loop train from there.

Having nothing else to do the others including Dante had decided to come with me. Kentro had wisely got two Uburs to drive my new unbidden shoe collection south. Dante and George had slaved their auto-bikes to our Ubur and we travelled in convey off.

The super drone carrying the container full of grandmother's toys was still hovering at the house while we left. There wasn't enough space in the trunk for all the robots so Kentro was traveling with us in the cabin. George looked out the back window at great grand mother's floating house.

"I'm still sorry to see them all go, there was in truth more there than any woman could humanly use" said George looking out of the back window as the house sorrowfully hid behind the tall forest for the last time.

To George's irritation, we have been quite good about no 'dipping' into the catalogue that Kentro had negotiated with the dutch Museum. Everything would turn up as promised down to the last packet of vajazzle.

"Well madam can always visit them in Holland. I believe if one wished they would name the new exhibition wing after you" said Kentro to George.

"Me, why?" said George sitting back straight into the back seat next to me.

"Well I believe the collection was bequeathed to you in your great grandmother's will. I presumed you knew" said Kentro.

The Ubar was filled with a huge "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what have I done!!" as George was filled with anguish at the loss of her inheritance. "and I missed watching New York beat Arsenal in person as well!!!!!!!! That so sucks" she screamed.

"Total pit stop bud" I said as we pulled away.

************

We traveled down the empty freeway. The population of America had dropped from 400 million at it's peak to about 1 million now, it was about double that if you included off-world tourists. So the old roads were huge and now empty, a solemn tribute to better days.

ON the Eye the roads were planned before the first settlers landed. So on the Eye roads were straighter than a Mel Gibson clone in a gay pride rally. On Earth by contrast freeways meandered always keeping the destination out of sight, which I quite liked. The landscape hypnotically passed by from grasslands to lakes to forests. Dante looked out as if he were staring through it or past it, into a world for his eyes only. So much green, no wonder people wanted to stay. We passed historic billboards running advertising. They could tell you were coming and switched content to match what they thought you were interested in. I liked it when they got it wrong.