The Problem With Immortality Ch. 14

The Problem With Immortality

Chapter 14

By Gary LM Martin

Chapter 14: The Erotic Pursuit and Capture of Tom Holiday

It only took Judy Ford 200 years to figure out the secret of life.

And Judy was one of the smartest women on the planet. She had an IQ of 172, two points higher than her father, Anson (her mother, Jennifer, always said that IQ tests were for snobs who weren't confident of their own abilities... but when Judy had told Jennifer her own test results, Jennifer made sure to boast to all her family and friends).

Judy could be forgiven for taking so long. Life was complicated. And it didn't come with a ready made instruction manual.

Jennifer always thought of Judy as her "little girl", but Judy, in fact, was almost as old as her parents. In fact, she was exactly 306 years old. That's not exactly the age of a little girl, even one who looked cosmetically 28 years old (just like her mother).

Some women preferred to look younger, 24, 22, or even 18, but Judy had been a psychologist for many years, and knew that that most people didn't prefer to see a therapist who looked 18 years of age, even if she was 306 years old chronologically.

Judy had been married three times. The first was to Tom Holiday, the love of her life. Their marriage had been the longest, for some 82 years. But then they had drifted apart, as people did, and they divorced, and then Judy met the new love of her life, Mike Bentley, and they had gotten married and had 49 blissful years together before they too called it quits, so sick of each other that they weren't willing to stick it out for a marginally record setting fifty years.

And then Judy had married the next and last love of her life, Lars Swenson. That marriage had lasted 12 years, a wholly unremarkable length, even back in the days when people were not immortal.

And after that Judy never took a man as a husband again. She was the first to notice that the length of her marriages got shorter and shorter. She had boyfriends, sometimes for months, sometimes for years, but never longer than a few years at a time, and she always kept it casual.

But she yearned for more.

And not just in her personal life. Her professional life too.

Robots never entirely replaced psychologists; there were many people who still preferred to talk about their problems with an old fashioned flesh and blood. But after being a psychologist for over 120 years, Judy grew tired of it. Peoples' problems all became the same, one big blur to her. When you hear about people's problems, over and over, they tended to fall into the same patterns. And after 120 year those patterns become painfully repetitious.

And so, like many people who enjoyed immortality, Judy became bored, in her personal and professional life. Some people chose to deal with it by simply consuming more entertainment, and eating more. Obesity was rampant in the 28th century.

Others chose to be more direct with their discontentment, getting hooked on Weed, or the Dreamscape, or going the more direct route and submitting themselves for recycling at a Soylent Green Center.

Judy was not one to give up so easily. But it took her a long time to figure out what she wanted to do. She dabbled, trying different kinds of professions, finding brief happiness in some but lasting contentment in none, and basically played around for 150 years. She could have called that time wasted, except, with immortality assured, time was virtually meaningless.

And then, shortly before her 300th birthday, she finally figured out what she wanted to do with her life. It wasn't the result of any particular kind of research, or kind of introspection; it was just from the result of living so long.

She figured it all out.

Psychology was a dying field. Most of the work was handled by robots, and in any event it was quite repetitive.

What interested Judy more was the rapidly shrinking pool of the incurably mentally ill. There had been great advances in brain research and biofarming technologies. Doctors could now identify troublesome thoughts on the cellular level. They also developed technology to grow or regrow healthy brain tissue.

And so Judy, at the tender young age of 299, decided to go back to medical school to become a psychosurgeon and a cranium biofarmer. It would take 12 years of medical school, and residency, and additional training before she was ready, but Judy Ford didn't mind; she had all the time in the world, and this was a brand new, cutting edge field that currently wasn't being done by robots. Not yet, anyway.

Judy threw herself into her studies and found it interesting. But studies alone were not sufficient. She had dalliances with more than one cute medical school student, some of them married or coupled, some of them not. But she craved for more.

Looking back on it, she realized she had had the best times of her life with her first husband, Tom Holiday. They had never had any children--Tom had been too single-minded in the pursuit of his career, engineering, and Judy had thrown herself into her work as a psychologist with a passion, and somehow, the timing was never right to have kids, maybe because they always knew they had eternity in which to procreate. So it never happened.

Much to Judy's regret.

The first 30 years of their marriage, however, had been the happiest years of their life. Tom was witty, Tom was handsome, Tom was great fun to be with.

But then, as with most marriages, familiarity wore down the attraction between them over the decades. By the time they had divorced, by mutual consent, 82 years had passed. Statically, 72% of marriages ended in divorce by the eighth decade, so this was no surprise.

But Judy found that now, nearly 200 years later, she missed Tom.

She thought about him more and more, and spent time looking into what had happened to him. After her, he had remarried twice, just as she did, but neither marriage lasted as long as theirs did. Currently he was cohabiting with a woman named Jeanine who Tom had two grown children with. They had been together, on and off, for more than 60 years.

Perfect. Tom should be tired of her by now.

Judy recognized the mistake she and Tom had made. They thought they could make it through eternity, just the two of them. But the human mind wasn't built to endure sameness, the lack of new stimuli, for decade after decade after decade. In the time before the immortality serum was devised, most marriages lasted forty or fifty years at most, and they had some variety as people aged and changed over time.

Now, no one aged at all, cosmetically, and marriages could last for decades, or hundreds of years, or, theoretically, forever. The human mind wasn't built to endure such sameness for such long periods of time. It needed change. It needed rotation.

That's why Judy decided that this time, she and Tom would keep lovers on the side, from time to time. Not in secret--they would always be honest about that. But they would get a break from each other, a change, something different, which would help keep their relationship from getting stale. Having sex with the same person for a 100 years was a surefire recipe for divorce; but branching out, seeing what else humanity had to offer, and getting some variety in faces, bodies, personalities, and penises and vaginas, could keep a relationship between two people sane.

So Judy hoped.

The only minor issue involved in carrying out Judy's plan was winning Tom back.

She hadn't spoken to him in nearly 200 years, and he was currently living with a woman who was the mother of his two grown children.

The relative morality, or immorality, of stealing Tom away from his girlfriend was barely a consideration for Judy. She was single-minded in her pursuit of happiness; and of all the men she had experienced in her long, 300 years of life, he had been the best, head and shoulders above the rest.

And so she resolved to win him back, regardless of the cost.

********

Tom worked as an engineer in the Dyson Institute, just outside of Pittsburgh. She had private investigators follow him and gather information about his work habits and personal life.

The first thing she studied were the holos of him. Her memories were one thing, but his current appearance could be something else.

She was very relieved to see he Tom looked exactly the same way as he did 200 years ago.

Which wasn't surprising, since he had the same cosmetic age of 25. Tom was a little vain, and always preferred to look on the younger side. Judy was pleased to see that he looked fit and hadn't gotten fat. He had the same sandy brown hair, the same gorgeous hazel eyes, the same manly jaw, even the same smile she fell in love with. She actually gasped and grabbed her titties when she saw the smiling photo of him.

Judy, however, no longer looked as she did 200 years ago.

She looked even better.

In anticipation of her reunion with Tom, she had gotten a tune-up. She had dialed back her cosmetic age from 28 to 22. (The taboo on looking young in the medical field had disappeared over two centuries ago). She had the bags under her eyes tucked, to make her blue eyes look more prominent, and grew her hair long and electrocized it blonde. Tom always said he liked blondes.

And then, most importantly, she had her breasts biofarmed.

Judy always had small to average B cup breasts. Tom had always told her how much he loved them, but she could tell, from his eyes and the way he looked at other women, that like most men, he thought more was better.

Judy briefly toyed about getting an enlargement to a C cup, as her mother Jennifer had. Jennifer, who in Judy's opinion was even more beautiful than she was, looked positively stunning when she upgraded to a C cup--and Judy wasn't even a lesbian. She could tell from Dad's grin the day the procedure was done how pleased he was.

But when Judy studied intelligence photos of her competition, she saw her competitor had D cup breasts. Judy couldn't compete with that on C cups alone.

So she decided to upgrade directly to D's, but paid extra to get breasts with minimal sag, and to get them much more rounder. Judy could see that Tom's girlfriend had big, hanging mammaries, like a cow. Well, Tom might like those, but she was sure he'd like rounder ones that measured up better under gravity even more.

When her body had been molded to her satisfaction, and she decided she was ready, Judy decided to make first contact. She strategically hung out at a sports bar that Tom typically frequented after work sometimes. It took only two evenings before he showed up.

Judy nursed a drink, sitting purposefully near the front door, when Tom came in. She was wearing a stunning low cut red dress which showed off her new mammaries quite well. Judy almost gasped when she saw him, in the flesh; it was one thing to see her former lover in a holo, but quite another to see him in person. He was every bit as handsome as she remembered. She felt a thrill go through her body.

As he entered the bar, Tom looked at her, and looked at her again, and smiled appreciatively, and walked past her, which Judy could forgive him for doing, since he hadn't seen her in nearly 200 years, and she was now blonde instead of brunette, and she had giant titties, which might make her hard to recognize.

But even as he sat at the bar with his friends, she saw Tom look at her a third time, and then a fourth time, and smile at her, a kind of puzzled smile.

Judy summoned the courage to smile back at him.

Tom got up, walked away from his friends, and walked over to her. "Excuse me... but... do I know you?"

"I don't know, Tom, do you?" said Judy, speaking in a low, sexy voice.

Tom looked at her, surprise written all over him. He looked at her face, her hair, her body, and then her face again. "Can it be... Judy, is that you?"

"Tom!" She said, and she was flying into his arms, and they were hugging each other and even kissing, not passionate kissing, but friendly kissing, but still it was a promising start.

"Judy! How have you been? What have you been doing? How did you get here?"

Judy had her story ready. It was close to the truth, with a few minor alterations. She said she was in training to become a psychosurgeon (true) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (not true--actually, she was on sabbatical from Stanford, purposefully having taken a break from her studies to snare Tom.)

"It's so great to see you," said Tom, letting his eyes roam over all of her. "You... you've changed," he said, looking at her eyes and her hair and most of all, her breasts.

"Changed good or changed bad?" Judy asked, teasingly.

"Good," said Tom, blinking. "All for the good."

Judy liked the sound of that. "Why don't we have dinner some time? I'd love to catch up with you."

Tom looked hesitant. He looked at Judy's expression, and could tell what she was after. "Ah, Judy, I'm with Jeanine now. I... I can't."

There was no time for further evasions. "I want you back, Tom."

"What?" said Tom.

"I want you back," said Judy.

Tom blinked, trying to process this. "Let me get this straight. You come back into my life, after 200 years, looking completely different, like a blonde bombshell with huge breasts, and you want me back?"

"I think you've got all the details down perfectly, Tom," said Judy.

Tom gave her a look like she was crazy. "It was nice seeing you, Judy," he said, going back to his friends.

Judy felt naturally disappointed, and even embarrassed.

But she wanted Tom, and what she wanted, she would get.

********

Two days later, Tom was on the nuclear golf course on Diamond Run, waiting impatiently for his partner to show up. He and Bill Kenney were supposed to play nuclear golf with Anderson Tanner and Desmond Walker. But so far, Bill hadn't shown up.

"Do you need a fourth?" said a stunning young woman, walking up to the green. She was wearing tight shorts, which showed nearly every contour of her ass and vagina. On top she was wearing a nearly sheer white top that showed the outlines of her breasts quite clearly. She had long, stunning blonde hair and a beautiful smile which could make a man melt.

"You bet we could!" said Anderson.

"No, that's not necessary," said Tom hastily.

"Why not?" said Anderson. He eyed the newcomer hungrily. "She can be my partner."

"Come on, Tom, we'll lose our reservation if we don't start now," said Desmond.

"All right," said Tom grudgingly.

"Thanks," said the young woman. "My name is Judy. And yours is..."

"Tom," said Tom. "Tom Holiday." He didn't want his coworkers to know that he and Judy knew each other. It was embarrassing enough already.

For the next two hours Tom played the worst golf game in his life. Judy made sure to stand in clear view of him whenever he was getting ready to swing. Her ass looked simply gorgeous in those tight white shorts. And the way they gripped her vagina left little to the imagination.

And her breasts! Tom was still getting used to the idea of seeing his former wife with huge breasts. Judy, the so very serious and scholarly Judy! She had been feminine, in her own way, but now... she was beaming like a searchlight of sexuality.

She distracted him by her mere presence, with her large breasts, with her golden long hair that streamed down on her shoulders, and with her gorgeous smile, which caused him to swing his golf club into the grass instead of the ball on more than one occasion. And each time he missed, showing that she was distracting him, she gave him that flirtatious look with her eyes.

Tom found he couldn't keep his own eyes off her. She was more gorgeous than he remembered. And the way she smiled at him! So outrageously sensual, so seductive. Why couldn't she have been like this when they had been married?

When they finished the game, it was no surprise that Tom and Desmond lost, by a large margin. After the guys had left, Tom had a word with Judy.

"Are you going to be following me everywhere?"

"Yes," She said, smiling at him. Had she also gotten her teeth whitened too?

"Judy... I'm with Jeanine now."

"And you used to be with me."

"'Used to' being the operative words."

"82 years. A very long time."

"Also, a very long time ago."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Tom finally said, "Are you going to keep following me everywhere I go?"

"Definitely."

Tom said, "What will it take to get you to go away?"

"A kiss," said Judy, answering so fast that Tom suspected he was being manipulated.

"A kiss?" said Tom, looking at her warily.

"Afraid?" said Judy, raising her chin.

"All right," said Tom. "One kiss."

"That's all I need," Judy smiled.

Tom leaned forward, and pressed his lips against hers. She quickly pulled away.

"Forget it," she said, looking at him disgustedly. "You're not even trying." She started to turn away.

"Wait!" said Tom.

She stopped in midstep.

Tom walked over to her. He caressed her face in his hands. She really did look beautiful. He lowered and pressed his lips against hers. When their lips met, Judy jumped slightly. Tom kissed her earnestly, with effort. He couldn't deny that he felt something too, and the kiss lingered a bit longer than he had planned.

When he pulled back, Judy was smiling and touching her own hair self consciously.

"Satisfied?" he said, in a raspy voice.

Judy smiled. "Much better, my love."

********

Two days later Tom was getting a massage after work. It had been a rough day and he needed to relax. He paid extra to have a human masseur, which was increasingly rare nowadays.

Tom, face down on the massage bench and wearing only a towel, heard his masseuse come in. "Hey Kathy," said Tom, not even looking up.

"Hey there," said a soft, feminine voice that definitely was not Kathy.

Tom looked up to see Judy.

She was stunning. She was wearing a sheer white shirt that showed her large, perfectly round breasts and enormous areolas. Her luscious blonde hair was perfectly combed, and she was wearing a short skirt.

Tom had to resist the impulse to fuck her. Jeanine, remember Jeanine he told himself.

"What are you doing here? I thought we agreed you would stop following me!" said Tom, trying to get himself angry, while also trying very hard not to stare at her breasts.

Judy smile as she saw his averted gaze. "I lied," she said simply.

"Where's Kathy? How did you get in here?"

Judy traced her fingers over Tom's back. "I told the management that I was your girlfriend and it was your birthday and I wanted to surprise you."

"It's not my birthday and you're not my girlfriend," said Tom.

"Correct. I'm your wife."

"Ex-wife. Very ex," said Tom.

Judy continued to trace her fingers across his back. "Come on, Tom. It's just a massage. What are you afraid of?"

"I don't have time for this. I came for a quick massage and then I have to get home," said Tom. To Jeanine.

"Then let me give you one," said Judy. Her fingers did feel good on his back. So did her smile.

"Just a massage, nothing else?" said Tom.

"Nothing else," Judy smiled. "I promise."

"All right," said Tom. She was so sexy! And very hard to resist.

Judy started to massage his back. "You are tense," she murmured. "Hard time at work?"

"Very hard," said Tom.

"Ummm," said Judy. She planned to give Tom a hard time here as well, but a hard time of a decidedly more pleasurable kind. Judy massages his muscles for a while, engaging in idle smalltalk. Every time he looked at her, she smiled at him, and he looked hastily away.

He was attracted to her. She could see it.

And, more importantly, she was still attracted to him. After 200 years, she had worried. That he might have changed. That her feelings for him might have changed.