Maxwel sat staring down at the off white metal floor of the Metro Tube train while reading next months financial forecast that was scrolling across his contact lenses. Even as crowded as the evening commute was the train was surprisingly quite with almost everyone lost in their own worlds, gazes fixed forward without seeing what was in front of them.
A soft chime sounded, a chime that only Maxwel could hear and he smiled before gazing at the phone icon that had appeared in his vision and blinking.
"Hi hone," Jasmine said as soon as her image replaced the lines of numbers that he had been looking at moments before, "I hope I'm not bothering you."
"No, what's up?" Max replied.
"I just wanted to call and let you know that the EPaC license came through this afternoon!" Jasmine beamed.
Max's smile widened while his eyes never strayed from Jasmine's oval face, almond shaped green eyes and small, upturned nose. She had dyed her hair a shade of eye watering neon blue that he still wasn't quite sure if he liked, but he still found her beautiful.
"Max?" Jasmine asked with a small smirk.
"Oh...sorry, was just admiring the view," Maxwel said and then grinned, "That's great about the license, is it an open license or only for a limited time?"
"Limited time I'm afraid," Jasmine replied with a slight frown, "But the period is for the next three months!"
Max tried not to scowl, the Environmental Protection and Control agency had been more than a little stingy over the past few years with reproductive licenses, but he also understood the need to reduce the population to a targeted seven hundred and fifty mill globally. He waited a moment to get his instant response under better control before smiling again.
"Excellent!" Max finally said with a nod, "That should be plenty of time."
"I hope you don't mind, but I ordered the coconut milk curry chicken that you loved so much from the Yellow Lotus for us to celebrate," Jasmine said with a bit of a sheepish look.
"How could I be mad at you," Max said and then leaned sharply to the left with the momentum of the train slowing, "I'm at my stop now so should be upstairs in another ten or fifteen minutes.
"Be sure to forward the license and the finalized financing contract to Megan please."
"Already beat you to it," Jasmine said with a smile, "And I might have another surprise to help celebrate when you get upstairs too."
"Oh really?" Max said with a grin.
"Really really," Jasmine replied and then blew him a kiss, "See you in a minute!"
The phone call abruptly ended leaving Max staring at the train station sliding into view beyond the aluminox windows of the train car. He gave his head a small shake and then stood up to leave with the rush of people getting off.
The train station was a drab, open hall of pillars, polished stone floor and yellowed, water stained panels of bare concrete, but as Max's gaze traveled across each panel adds personalized just for him would flash up onto his contact lenses giving the illusion of vibrancy and life. For Max the train station was filled with brilliant colors and a myriad of adds, the score or more of other commuters seeing something similar but different for each person.
One add caught his attention and he slowed to take a second glance at the latest NeuroSynth AI assistant. The add morphed as he stared, sensing his interest so that statistics began to scroll down along the left side of his vision.
A quick comparison was all that Max needed before turning and heading for the elevator banks, the new NeuroSynth only a slight improvement over his current AI virtual assistant and really not worth the price or the hassle of familiarization that came with any new AI.
As usual there was a crowd clustered around the elevator banks, but the que moved smoothly until he was able to take the express lift up to the 400's concourse and from there take a second lift up to the 435th floor. Max turned left and after only a dozen steps reached his pod, the smart door sliding open at his approach.
"I'm home!" Max called out as he stepped into the small room and took a deep breath of the delicious aroma of coconut milk curry. An illusion of a lake and brilliant blue sky dotted with clouds was projected onto his contact lenses instead of the bare metal panels set into the walls, his wall bed folded up to create more room in the small three by four meter room. He barely glanced towards the smart door that led to the small bathroom with a walk in shower-toilet combination, his attention drawn to Jasmine standing with her bare back to him behind the kitchenettes center island that she had folded down from its nook.
"I was starting to get worried with how long you were window shopping downstairs," Jasmine said and stepped around the island that separated the kitchenet and living room, "You like?"
Jasmine spread her arms wide for Max to get a perfect view of her while she grinned. He smiled as he took in the sight of her standing barefoot next to the center island wearing only a gossamer thin shawl tied loosely around her waist that hung down in a triangle covering one hip and her mound. His eyes traveled from her bare feet, up the long, slender legs of a runner, over her clean shaven mound that he could clearly see through the thin cloth, across the flat expanse of her toned stomach with belly button piercing sparkling in the light, over the luscious globes of her firm, C cup breasts until he finally found himself staring into her lovely green eyes as she smiled at him in delight.
"I like very much!" Max replied while grinning from ear to ear, "Is this the other surprise you were hinting at?"
"Ummm, maybe," Jasmine said while licking her lips.
Max continued to grin while he watched Jasmine grab one of the two chairs from beneath the kitchen table and spin it around to face him.
"Maybe just a part of the surprise," Jasmine replied and began to slowly walk over to Max.
"Just a part?" Max asked, a hand reaching out to playfully pull at the knot holding the shawl around Jasmine's waist when she reached him.
"Just a part," Jasmine sighed and began to unbutton Max's shirt, a hand slipping beneath to caress his chest when she had the front open.
"The food's gonna get cold," Max said a bit breathlessly.
"We can nuke it," Jasmine said huskily while a hand worked at Max's belt.
