Excerpt From Silicon
Sunset
Book One, Chapter Five
There was tension in the air as Ansie calculated that
19 previous days in George’s life currently surpassed his total satisfaction for the
day—even after the gifts he would soon receive were taken into account. George knew
this too, since all economic transactions, including gift purchases, were carried on the
Public Netgorks. Fortunately, there were still six hours left in the day to raise
George’s satisfaction level, and he had yet to eat dinner, over which Ansie had gone
to great lengths.
Kale was growing tired of these birthday pressures, but she computed
that the net gain from avoiding them didn’t outweigh the loss from creating a family
disturbance. When her mother signaled her to order an extra gift as insurance, she
promptly selected an ambulating light ball, which she determined that he would enjoy in
his den.
Meanwhile, Joseph walked over to Kale and made a roaring sound in
her left ear to remind her of the lives of animals. When George and Ansie’s backs
were turned, he struck poses of wild cats that had once roamed the uninhabited regions.
At 8:06 PM Earth Standard Time, the family sat down to a dinner of simulant
calamari tempura, simulant orange roughy, bourbon yams, and stir-fry vegetables. The
tempura pieces were in the shape of golf balls, the fillets were in the shape of golf
clubs, and the yam mold was in the shape of an 18-hole golf course. As an added touch, the
vegetables were in the shape of derby hats—the most popular design put out by
George’s firm. All the ingredients came directly from the exclusive Marquesas
satellite.
"What a layout!" George exclaimed. "The best hues!
The best shapes! The best sources! It’s fantastic!"
After dinner, Ansie laid out the birthday gifts. George opened all
of them in 18.26 seconds, intaking the smaller presents by osmosis. Then he thrust on his
new Gravity Deniers, installed the Gebedex headware, and rushed out to the front of the
house with a Stroke Compensation putter.
As his family watched from the window, he placed a golf ball by his
shoe, neurally adjusting the tension of the crimson flex-o-padding. He spent 1.71 seconds
consulting his kinesiology database and another 0.62 seconds engaging in frontier
estimation. Finally, with only the moonlight to guide him, he took the swing and sunk the
ball in a cup 19.36 meters away.
"Yes!" he yelled. "This is some world! Yes!"
Once back in the house, George indicated his readiness for dessert,
so Ansie brought out his favorite concoction—a dish called millefiore suprema,
which consisted of lemon custard, shortcake, and 16 fruits in the shape of tropical birds.
He ate with careful desperation, and no one dared look at him while he ingested the
shapes.
On his eighth bite, while eating a pink flamingo molded from
guanabana fruit, he crossed the threshold, attaining more total satisfaction on that day
than on any previous one. Joseph brought out a bottle of purple cognac, and they each took
turns toasting George’s good fortune. |
