Week 67: On the Worldview

It was amazing what money could buy. Good food, nice clothes, fine weapons, and excellent, excellent rooms. The suites that the Oracle agents had bought were the highest level of luxury rooms by EI standards. Real wood furniture, fresh fruit and chocolate welcome baskets, and even a personal AI that could prepare thousands of foods right before eyes from an arsenal of nothing but the freshest, realest ingredients. Everything was plush, soft, automated for the relaxing pleasure of the patrons. Every room had panoramic views of space. The bedrooms were equipped with massive, comfortable beds that could be fine tuned to provide support, temperature, texture, even vibration for maximum sleeping pleasure. Even the bathrooms were decorated, with showers that could accommodate five at a time, hot tubs, and a personal sauna.

Each agent's quarters were nearby and semi-connected through a shared entry lobby that lead off into individual suites. Hugo stepped into his assigned room--which he would more than happily share, with say, Silvia, if she was so inclined--and looked around. The Worldview itself, from the shops to the elevator to the entrance lobby to the little ship up here had all been overwhelmingly opulent, but this was... this was.. something else. He stroked Una's barrel absentmindedly. "..Fuck me."

Fenris grinned. She thought Hugo wasn't like other WF agents, that he had seen the world... But he had apparently missed the best bits. "I'm sure they'll have a guy for that. Or a girl. Whatever you want really, they have everything here!" She swooped into Hugo's room, helped herself to some of his chocolate, and collapsed into the most comfortable chair in the world. "I mean really! You'd think you've never seen and E.I. luxury ship before!"

"Well, yeah. He's Fed, remember? Those of us from the dull oppressed parts of the world don't get to see the same kinds of luxury as you guys from the drugged-up oppressed parts," Shinobu joked as she, too, intruded into Hugo's room. She was dressed in an unusually frilly dark blue dress and her hair was green and tied back in a ponytail. "Pretty nice, huh? I guess theoretically home should be like this with the amount of money we make..." she pondered as she started peeling an apple from Hugo's fruit basket. "Oh, and thanks for being so generous, man," she added before eating the peel and setting the naked apple back in the basket.

Hugo shook his head at the pair of little cats eating his food and climbing on his furniture. Their presence was enough to shake his awe. He laughed low in his throat, and looked over the basket of food. He plucked some chocolate covered strawberries out of the bag and ate one. He moaned quietly and flopped down on a couch next to Fenris. "What.. is this..? Oooh.. Wow. Wow. Wow."

He gave Fenris a happy look, somewhere in confused food-related bliss. He took a deep breath. His voice was strange and quiet. "This suite is bigger than the house I grew up in."

"Yeah, money can have that effect." Fenris was thoroughly in her element, and she was reveling in it. She waved over the Helpsalot, and told it to slice up the apple that shinobu had left. "I mean this room probably costs more than the village you grew up in Hugo."

The stunned look on Hugo's face faded, and he looked at Fenris with a grin. He plopped another strawberry in his mouth and said through food-based moaning, "Not any more, Fenrir. Not any more." Except for the smugness, he didn't elaborate, eating more chocolate covered strawberries with every look of indulgent delight.

"Hey, I wouldn't say we're lowering the value of the place that much," Shinobu added with a laugh as she sank down into another chair. "You've been sending money home, then? Sounds like the kind of thing you'd do," she said a little indifferently.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we don't have it too bad, but it's still a war zone, and I want my family safe." He shrugged, crunching through the chocolate shell of the strawberries and turning to face Shinobu. He offered a smile. "I always sent money home, even when I was just a solider. You never did?"

The idea that Shinobu's family may have been well enough off to not need outside financial support from her was not something Hugo had considered.

"You guys still know your parents?" She seemed a little envious, but mostly just curious. "I've not spoken to mine in... Years. Not since E.I. decided we might be agent material." She flicked a piece of apple into her mouth, obviously not too bothered about the situation.

"I haven't spoken to my family since the big upheaval. Y'know, before the tsunami?" Shinobu replied. "I imagine trying to get back in touch and telling them what I've been up to would be a pretty good way to commit suicide, though." She shrugged before considering Hugo's question.

"Well, it's not like my parents ever needed it or anything. We weren't wealthy but we were well-off, and we had history and loyalty and that makes you truly wealthy. Well, that's what father always told me," Shinobu replied, chuckling a little at the memory. "My money would have become the family's money when I succeeded him so it'd be moot in the end anyway? Well, if not for the whole 'traitor to the corporation and family legacy' thing I went for in the end."

Hugo looked to Shinobu then Fenris with a look of mild confusion, then pity. He clucked affectionately, and put a hand out toward Shinobu to pull her close. "I understand... sucky parents, I guess. I mean, definitely, you wouldn't want to talk to any parent who hurt you, or abandoned you, or was cruel. ...But not talking to them?" He turned to Fenris, brows knitting. "Why not find them and talk to them now? Your training is done, and you're free now."

He appeared to be out of chocolate covered strawberries, and his comforting gesture to Shinobu turned into a "and bring that fruit with you, too".

Fenris shrugged "What's the point? I barely remember them, and I sure as hell couldn't point them out if I saw them. They're just another rich couple as far as I'm concerned." She reclined back into the chair, and finished off the apple with evident delight.

"Well, it's nice to get along with family. And hey, It's not like hardly remembering them means much. Adopted kids go looking for their biological parents all the time. Not that I'm going to nag you into doing anything, it's your life to do what you want," Shinobu suggested. She leant over towards Hugo, passing him the bowl of fruit. "It's not like I have any problems with my family. My parents were stern and serious and all, but they cared, and I got on well enough with my siblings. But they're very dedicated to the Shi Yukiro, so I keep my distance to not get assassinated. It works."

Hugo rifled through the bowl of fruit, pulling out a tiny little glass pot of... something orange. He opened it, sniffled it... Shrugged, and began to dip grapes in it. It smelled spicy and sweet. "Family always wants you. Loves you." He gave a glance to Shinobu, and his face darkened a little. "...Most of the time. Siblings especially, but.. almost always parents. You should still find them. Maybe they'll have stories about you, when you were little, or you can find out stuff. Maybe they.. miss you." he sounded less convinced as he went on, and gave a little shrug. "..Or don't. Okay, I claim these little pots of whatever in your rooms, right now."

Fenris sighed. "They've had sixteen years to try and contact me, if they wanted to. They don't care, and neither do I." She looked suspiciously at whatever it was that Hugo had. "You can't have mine till I know what it is, I might want some, but if you want more i'm sure that can help." With that she waved in the vague direction of the AI chef .

"It says, uh..." He turned the little pot in his hands. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Moo-tar-day? It's not in Spanish or English. French maybe." He raised his eyes to Fenris, smiling impishly. "It's probably irradiated. Let me eat it to save you from poisoning, Fenrir.

She smiled. "Please! I am rich, remember? Money gives you the ability to eat french stuff." While she was talking she asked Hugo if she could use his eyes to read it. "Anyway, chuck us the small brown fuzzy thing in the fruit bowl would you? I've no idea what it is, but if it's here it must be good."

Hugo promptly denied the request to look at his U-view. "It's so GOOD I don't even want you LOOKING at it." He grinned smugly and chuckled, and then handed Fenris the brown fuzzy thing. It was pricklier than he expected on his rough hands. "I bet this would taste good with a banana..."

"Hey, is it this?" Shinobu asked as Hugo's PDA received a message linking to a page on a foodstuff that about matched his description. "Or this?" Another link came through, then another. "Are you just going to be stuck in here eating this stuff all week, J? We'll send Silvia over to check you're still alive if we have to."

Hugo raised his eyebrows and looked through the pages on his phone. None of them were exactly right, but as he got to the last one his smile widened. He looked up at Shinobu, then reached forward and grabbed a bright, perfectly yellow banana. "Send Silvia over? I thought she was staying with me." There was a small amount of confusion in his voice, but smugness also. He peeled his banana and dunked it into the orange, syrupy paste.

Shinobu laughed. "I'm sure she wouldn't want to get between you and your new edible girlfriend." She reached over to grab some grapes and sank back into the chair.

"This is all crazy, guys. Seriously, just think about the amount of money we earn for what we do. Before I came to Oracle I was travelling all over just making ends meet, and now... Well, we're rank 1 and we can easily afford luxury suites on the World View. It's mad." She paused to eat a grape. "Not that I'm complaining, God no, but it sure is something."

Fenris had quickly peeled her fruit, and was discovering the delights of a kiwi. "Speaking of which, should we go and see the world while we can? I'm sure all of this will still be here when we set off." She unfolded herself, and reluctantly climbed out of the chair.

Hugo gave a nod, eating his mustard covered banana with every sign of hurried enjoyment. He tried to talk, realized he couldn't do it with a full mouth, sighed, and swallowed. "Yes, let's find everyone else." He reached forward and gave Shinobu's arm a squeeze. "We can reflect on how lucky we are later, hermana."

"Good idea," Shinobu said, strolling over to Han's room and knocking on the closed door. She had never talked to him outside work, sure, but there was no time like the present to get to know Oracle's little veteran. "Hey, Han! We're going to go take one last look at the Earth before we vanish off into space! Come with us!"

Han looked up from the paper where he was currently writing his name over and over in an attempt to get used to being able to move his fingers again. He looked around for the source of the noise, grabbing his PDA from the table. "Oh, hey Shinobu. I... okay. I'll be there in a short while." He said, over the PDA in response. He sighed, and reached for his walking stick, an ornately carved staff, with an extremely detailed dragon snaking it's way along it, a sword lodged through the dragons head.

Limping, he began making his way to the others.