Journey of Rick Heiden Ch. 09

The Journey of Rick Heiden

All Rights Reserved © 2018, Rick Haydn Horst

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

CHAPTER NINE

Later that night, afterward, as David held me, I asked him what he did during my orientation. He lay behind me, his mouth level with my ear, he whispered that he had visited several people, but I noticed one omission conspicuous by its absence: his parents.

"Hadn't you visited your parents?"

"Not yet," he said, and something hadn't felt right.

I turned to face him. "Oh? What's wrong?"

"Must you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Read me! It makes me feel vulnerable. Don't get me wrong; what you do astonishes me, but sometimes it's like you see through people."

"It's not magic, David. You haven't seen your parents in 10 years, and you didn't see them on the first day back. Naturally, I'll think something's wrong."

"Okay," he said, "I was afraid."

"Of what? I thought you said your parents were amazing people?"

"They are amazing --in their own way. It's just that I failed, and I know what my father will say to me."

I hugged him. "If he can't see how wonderful you are, he doesn't deserve you."

He wrapped his arms around me. "As biased as that sentiment is, it's still nice to hear, so thank you."

At three in the morning, Aiden awakened us for an early breakfast. We had several dozen dishes containing various culinary selections in the middle of our table, half of which were alien. And while I ate more than typical for me, Aiden was so ravenous he lost all his table manners. After stuffing himself, he grew sleepy, and we helped him return to his bed.

We missed the sunrise as it occurred on a different side of the building, but the view from our window, with the sun reflecting on the forest, made it look like Earth at a distance, but every step I took told me I was elsewhere. The weight on my legs grew intolerable. My woeful lack of athleticism had caught up with me at last. I never weighed more than one hundred and sixty-five pounds, too much of which was body fat. The heaviness of my then two hundred twenty pounds caused extreme discomfort for my leg muscles.

"How did people ages ago cope with this excess weight?" I asked.

"They were probably stronger people back then," David said, reading a book. "They weren't a bunch of lazy buggers like many modern humans. Don't worry, the Foundational Enhancement will recognize the gravity strain you're under, and you'll do better in no time."

"Well, this feels like a rigorous athletic training program, so it should hurry. All I foresee myself doing for a while is morning exercise, meandering around in pain, stuffing myself with food six times a day, and taking naps." Ever the attentive mate, David knew when I needed a hug.

A bit after dawn at 6:10, they brought our clothes back to us, but none of us thought that wearing a suit there made any sense, so we left them in the bags with our robes for us to carry home.

Not long afterward, they gave us our physical examinations. They declared me healthy despite my muscular deficiencies. It hadn't shocked me too much. Although, I would have loved for the clinician to have deemed me fighting-fit, but that more described David. Still, I never lived tied to a chair for a third of the day, and I ate well. On the other hand, Aiden, the research scientist, not only lived his life tied to a chair but consumed copious amounts of the unhealthiest, dare I call it food I had ever seen. Based on his musculature, they declared him twenty-five pounds overweight. So, his results hadn't surprised me either, but he never expected it. Aiden had an IQ too intimidating to admit, yet he hadn't seen the detriment of his culinary lifestyle. It baffled me.

Afterward, they had brought us one at a time into the examination room next door with a different clinician. Aiden and I had become apprehensive, so we let David go first.

Aiden amazed me; he never complained about anything. Apart from his irrational fear of Amaré, which appeared cured, it seemed that he could cope with everything that went on around him or happened to him. I admit that it made me envious.

"You've never said, so I'm wondering if it's just me. Have you any gravity-induced pain?" I asked Aiden.

"Yes," he said, "I thought the long hot shower would help to relax me, but I had trouble sleeping last night."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

"Why would I? It won't make it go away. So," --Aiden gestured toward the examination room door-- "will you be bold this morning and go for it?"

"What will you do?" I asked.

"It's my body and my life. I've decided to get exactly what I want, and not care what anyone thinks about it."

It took about 30 minutes, and David exited the room with a smile on his face, particularly pleased about something, which made me suspicious. Aiden insisted I go next.

The female clinician, Yoncara, and I got along well. She treated me like I had known her for jears. With the list in hand, I had questions, so she and I discussed them. And the more we discussed them the stranger it felt. My only comparison might be that it felt like we had taken on the task of redecorating a house. Except, rather than choosing between siding and brick, hardwood and carpet, or fabrics in solids, stripes, or chintz, I played the focus in a Jiyū edition of 'Supreme Makeover', and I held a menu of highly customizable options. The whole process fascinated me, and I will say that I enjoyed myself.

I asked her how the memory boost worked. She told me that it programmed the nanos to build a unique structure called a quantum memory lattice tucked away inside your skull. Once it integrated itself with your biological brain, it caused nearly perfect memory recall. She assured me that I wouldn't feel it and that it had no side effects, but I didn't feel ready to mess with my brain in that manner, so I declined that one.

I read down the list checking off all the necessities telling her what I wanted, "I doubt I'll be a party to anyone's pregnancy, so I don't need my fertility controlled. I need the Forever Young. It wouldn't do for someone to mistake me as David's doting decrepit grandfather. Why does the seminal support enhancement have a star?"

"It's a popular one and highly recommended," she said, "especially if you enlarge your penis, which David said that he hoped you would ask me about."

"Just how common is an enlargement, really?"

"Over 90% of men have it done to one degree or another. David told me about your fear, so may I give you some advice?"

"Sure."

"You grew up on Earth in a conflicted culture where, on one hand, you're encouraged to go for what you personally want, and on the other, someone will come along and chastise you for wanting it in the first place. You grew up in America so, you know what I mean. Think about this, who are you hurting by having a man for a mate?"

"Nobody."

"Exactly, and this is no different. I have seen this too often with newcomers. You're afraid to have what you want because, according to the taboos, mores, and conditioning of your upbringing, you're not supposed to want it. Those are control devices. Over time, they conditioned you to allow those devices to make your choices for you to keep you in line, and when you consider going against it, it creates anxiety and a fear of the repercussions. But who are you hurting by enlarging your penis if that's what you want?"

"Nobody"

"Exactly. This is Jiyū, when it comes to your personal choices that wouldn't harm anyone, no one here cares what you do, and they won't judge you for it. So, whatever you decide, never let external opinions or conditioning from your past make your decisions for you. Those are decisions you'll regret.

"I don't know your current size, but I've been a clinician with this job for 538 jears. Humans are very sexual beings, and they alter their genitals for various reasons. Sometimes it's because nature can be quite cruel, but for the most part, it's just because they want to, and they need no other reason. People want what they want, and I've made anatomical alterations that you couldn't imagine, but the choice is yours."

I sat and thought about it. I would never have described David as ordinary, and that presented a problem for me because, in contrast, I had proclaimed myself an introvert who reveled in the quiet calmness of his home to read the latest paperback novel by the fireplace, and even to me, that reeked of the conventional. It seemed enough for me before. But that day, faced with the opportunities like those on the list in my hand, with its options ranging from the fantastical to the mundane, it had importuned for a rejection of a life lived in self-appraised mediocrity.

So, the time had arrived, and I deliberated over it, for as long as seemed prudent, given the circumstances. I knew what I really faced. I had more occurring at that moment than a simple choice over whether to have a penis that wet dreams were made of. Of all my choices that day, that particular choice was representative, a true test of my mettle. Would I begin facing the fear I felt in making my choices both then and in the future, or would I continue to play it safe, and be little more than a mediocrity in David's considerable shadow?

I took a deep breath and I recalled what David said to me once, "Be Bold and Own it."

"Okay," I said. "Let's go for it."

"That's the spirit. What can I do for you? I can set it for whatever number of centimeters you wish to add or in multiples to a tenth of a decimal point like x1.6 or x2, whatever you want."

"Well, if I'm being bold and owning it, my penetrating David is unlikely to ever happen; I'm not really into that. So, I have no need to concern myself over whether he can take me."

"That leaves your options wide open."

"Be bold," I said to myself. "Okay, question. How will this affect my flaccid size?"

"The nanos calculate the optimal size that will give you the strongest erection, but it always seems to be proportional to the erect size increase."

"Okay, be bold, be bold. Ahh...add 1.25 centimeters to the circumference--that's about half an inch. But if I'm going to do this, let's be bold as hell and double the length. You only live once, right?"

"Well," she said, "with the Forever Young enhancement, it's likely to be a very long once. Anything other enhancements?"

"No, I think you have everything."

"You can always add something later. Now I should give you the standard statement I give everyone. 'Among all our available enhancements, a few ongoing ones we can stop like the libido enhancement, but some finalized enhancements might require a reversal. Currently, the only ones we can reverse are fertility control and a nano-tattoo; the rest we cannot reverse. For example, if I enhanced your height, we cannot undo that. It's one thing to make someone taller, but quite impossible to make them shorter. For many enhancements, once you get them, you can't change your mind. Do you understand?'"

"Be Bold. Be Bold," I said to myself. "Yes, I understand."

"Good, just give me a moment to finish this, and I'll program your nanos," she said. "I must tell you that for the libido enhancement to work properly, you must eat well, rest, and drink plenty of fluids.

"Good to know. So, how long will these take to start working?"

"Well, some enhancements work faster than others," she said, "The libido enhancement is your fastest. That will only take a few hours, but based on your choices, Forever Young will take the longest. How old are you now?"

"I'm thirty Earth years."

"Hmm, thirty. Could you stand up, please, while I do this?"

"Will this hurt?" I asked.

She placed an elegantly shaped device on my torso just below my heart. "One last chance to change your mind."

"Be bold. Be bold," I said to myself. "Do it."

"I'm done."

"That's it?" I took a deep breath trying to relax. "What's done is done, I suppose. Okay, so thirty."

"Thirty Earth? That's a five-year reduction. I wish I could tell you it had the equivalent of so many days per birth year, but it doesn't work like that. For you, at five years, I would say a good estimate is a quarter of a jear. David, on the other hand, I didn't have to estimate. He's at the maximum age. You see, if attaining youth is the goal, it doesn't work well the older you get, so we use forty as a cut-off age, but anyone forty takes a whole jear."

"So, a hundred days, for me. That's not so bad."

"The seminal support enhancement takes no more than a day. The communication link takes about a day, and then you will have Iris available to you. To do that, place your finger on this spot behind your ear and hold it. When you hear a tone, the link to Iris has activated. Tap the spot twice, say Iris, and she'll respond. Now for the others. Several of those depend on you."

"Okay, how's that?"

"Your arm hair, chest hair, and leg hair will fill in and thicken over a few weeks, all the rest of your body hair will begin to fall out in a few hours. It depends on how much you have before it's complete, but no matter how much you have that should finish in no more than a day after it starts."

"How much will fall out?" I asked.

"Everything you didn't want from the neck down. Between that and the Foundational Enhancement, most of your skin should look like a clean slate. Now, for the genital enhancement."

"Okay," I said with trepidation.

She smiled. "It works like the body hair, it all depends on you, but it should finish in no more than five days, including your uncircumcision," she said.

"Only five days?"

"Yep. The nanos induce skin and tissue growth with incredible ease. If you had asked for something outrageous that would take longer. One last thing, since you got your foundation from David, you've never had this, but you'll need it. Your body will go through a lot of change in the next few days; so, I will give you some nano-suspension." She handed me roughly an eight-ounce glass, twice the size of the one Aiden had the day before. It also looked like prune juice but had the taste and texture of a tepid vanilla milkshake.

When I left the examination room, I'm sure that I had the same look on my face that David did earlier. I would call it the I-know-something-you-don't-know look.

Aiden went next, and I wished him luck.

David hugged me. "How did it go?"

"I was bold, and I will own it." I kissed him and told him how much I loved him.

"I'm proud of you," he said. "So, how bold were you?"

"Way, way, way outside-my-comfort-zone bold with a capital B."

"Good! I look forward to it."

"Well, let me tell you," I said, "it will be difficult to miss."

"I was pretty bold myself; I hope you don't mind."

"After my recent insanely bold move, I have no room to complain."

It took Aiden only twenty minutes. He either didn't want much, or he knew in detail what he wanted. He had a funny look on his face when he reemerged.

"So, how did it go?" David asked him.

"Good," he said. "Yoncara gave me another dose of that stuff. You're right, the vanilla is better."

"So," I said, "have you also made a decision that might, in all probability, prove irretrievably foolish by equinizing yourself?"

He laughed. "Well, I don't know about equinize," Aiden said, "but I made a few plumbing improvements that are sure to please. I want to thank you again for bringing me. We haven't even seen the city yet, and I'm already stunned."

Just before second meal, David received a visitor: his adoptive mother. As a woman younger in appearance than David, she could have been his younger sister.

It had reached the point that I realized physical ages were irrelevant. I saw many people whose apparent age looked quite young. However, I still saw people who had not taken the anti-aging treatment, as there were people both middle-aged and older, yet they seemed in good health and doing well. Everyone had the personal freedom to choose. Some people wanted to live for as long as possible, while others wanted to live a more natural existence by growing old and dying. For them, the thought of living thousands of jears was unappealing, and everyone accepted the personal choices of everyone else.

David's mother's face had that attractiveness that often comes with youth. She had ash brown hair and wore a beautiful wrap-around dress of what looked like blue silk. It was stunning, and she looked beautiful in it. As she approached him, I thought they would embrace --it seemed reasonable for them to, but that never happened. She stopped about ten feet away.

In a calm, disappointed tone, she asked him, "Why have you not visited us? We waited when we heard you had returned, thinking you would want to see us."

"I'm sorry, Mother," he said. "I know how quickly news travels, but I had an uncertainty of what sort of reception I would receive."

"Do you think us that harsh?" she asked.

"Failure is failure, Mother."

"Fifty jears have passed, is your father not allowed to change?"

"We both know why he is as he is," said David. "Has he an incentive to behave otherwise?"

She glanced at her feet. "You've changed."

"In many ways, I had yet to mature when I left. I know who I am now, and I'm mated." David gestured to me. "Mother, please meet Rick. Rick, this is my adoptive mother, Siona."

I merely bowed with my head as politely as I could when she glanced in my direction, but I thought it best to say nothing. She nodded in return, acknowledging my presence. I felt I had received as close to an expression of acceptance as I would get at that moment.

"You will always be welcome," she said to David, "and despite your expectations, I believe your father had changed in your absence. I urge you to rethink your assumptions." She paused, looking at him, and switched the topic. "It's good to see you. You look...well."

David made a slight shift of his weight. He seemed uncomfortable, and I hadn't understood why.

"You haven't changed at all, Mother," said David, "and you're still the peacemaker. I will consider what you have said."

She turned to me. "I am pleased to meet you. I can tell you are a kind man of thoughtfulness and intelligence. David chose well. You are also welcome in our home."

And with that, they said their goodbyes, and she left. They had no hugs, no expressions of love. The overall formality of it felt strange.

"She had some kind things to say about me," I said, "but I only saw her for a few minutes, and I hadn't even said anything. How does she know that's how I am?"

"Welcome to the world of everyone who has ever stood in your presence," said David.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

David smiled and laughed. "It's funny. You must have difficulty recognizing that part of yourself when you gaze into a mirror." He pulled me to him.

"I don't understand what you're saying," I said. I did, though, and David knew that, but I hadn't wanted to admit it.

"I know," he said, hugging me, "and that's one of your many charms."

When it came to mealtimes, we had a radical change in diet. Aiden said nothing, but it must have put a strain on him. His typical food choices on Earth were those dipped and doused in enormous amounts of fat. Still, he ate without complaint. Jiyū had vegan food because the planet had no animals. However, due to the variety of foodstuffs, both indigenous and alien to the planet, they had enough macro and micronutrients to remain healthy without meats. Jiyū had several native species of plants unusual in that they contained a complete complement of amino acids in the same quantities as meat. I suspected they were not entirely plant. Once I learned of this, I made sure to eat more of that to increase my protein intake, as they were quite delicious.