The Demo

Alice woke to the smell of breakfast and was immediately confused. Her roommate Violet normally wouldn't even wake up before noon if there was anything she could do about it, and today was a Saturday. A glance at the clock on the bedside table told Alice that it was just after 7AM. She sat up, tucking her hair behind her ear. The smell of citrus and eggs continued to waft from the hallway as she blinked sleep from her eyes. Alice was about to get up and investigate when Violet walked in, burdened with a metal tray. It was laden with a selection of dishes piled high with a huge variety of food. Violet almost lost her balance as the tray wobbled. Alice couldn't suppress a quiet chuckle as she watched her roommate, brow furrowed, make her way across the room, measuring each step carefully. Finally, Violet set the tray (which turned out to be a baking sheet) on Alice's lap.

"Is this... Is that raspberry syrup?" Alice pointed at one the half dozen dishes, a small mountain of french toasted with a light red liquid drizzled over it.

"I figured if I'm gonna get up at this ungodly hour to make my favorite roomie breakfast, I'm gonna go all out." Violet grinned and puffed herself up proudly. Even disheveled as she was, flour powdering her T-shirt and clad in sweatpants, Alice couldn't help but admire her friend. Where Alice was fairly average, Violet was the ideal; beautiful eyes, full lips, curves that were beyond perfect. She marveled again that such a woman would want her, and yet...

"You certainly did... What's all this for, Vi? You don't cook that oft-"

"Can't I wanna cook for my very most special friend?"-Violet pouted in mock sadness-"Can't I just wanna fatten you up, twig lady?" She poked Alice in the ribs and the younger woman jerked away, threatening to tip over a pitcher of what looked like fresh squeezed orange juice. She held the tray steady for a moment before glaring at Violet.

"Sure you can, Vi! But I know you're more of a brunch person, and this is just... Wow." She the fork Violet was holding out and speared a chunk of potato which had been sauteed with onions and what looked like rosemary. She chewed slowly as Violet looked on, her grin returning. "Wow." Alice repeated. The potato was perfect, slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. There was just the right amount of salt and the rosemary was perfectly balanced with a hint of what Alice guessed would be cumin.

"Well?" Violet was obviously proud of the feast she had prepared. "I'm pretty damn good, I think."

"It's amazing, Vi. Really." Alice took some french toast next, rolling the bite around and letting the syrup coat her tongue. The balance of sweet and bitter was perfect, playing across her tongue. "I still-" She paused to swallow "-think you're up to something. Gods, this is good." She tore off more of the toast and stared down over the baking sheet, wondering how long Violet had spent on this. As she did she noticed something, a piece of paper, pinned under the pitcher of juice. Suddenly Violet seemed the very picture of innocence, absolutely indifferent to what was on the tray. She walked over to the closet and seemed to occupy herself picking out a shirt. The paper was notable enough that Alice returned her attention to her lap, rather than take the opportunity to watch her beautiful roomie change. She slipped it from under the pitcher which she now suspected might actually be full of mimosa. The paper turned out to be a small envelope. Alice stuck her finger in the unsealed envelope and pulled out a single piece of paper. She glanced at Violet as the older women started into a pantomime whistle. What in the world? She read:

"As an employee of Technerve Solutions™, it is my most sincere pleasure to extend an invitation to one Violet Evans and one Alice Powell to attend an exclusive demonstration of our newest advancements in Applied Biotechnology. Please join us as we expand the horizons of our understanding and of our experiences. Inclosed you will find the location and time for the event, as well as a survey to be filled out before you arrive. While we understand that some of the required information is quite personal, we assure you that we only wish for your visit to be as enjoyable as possible.

-Best Wishes, Naomi Reed"

In a smaller, handwritten script, below that:

"

I promise you're gonna love this, Vi! You owe me!

"

Alice's eyes went wide. She thought of the first time she had read the words "Technerve Solutions". They had been stamped in small script on the back of a small silver patch. A patch which, combined with an extremely eventful night, had completely transformed the nature of her relationship with Violet. She had started one morning as a shy and introverted roommate and woke up the next firmly in the "lover" column. Since that night she had slept in Violet's room more often than she had her own, as she had done last night. The patch in question was present in the bedroom fairly often as well. She flushed at the thought of its effects. If this were the same company, then...

"So, uh, explain?"

"So, uh, ok." Violet was beaming now. She motioned for Alice to eat as she talked. "My friend who got us those patches, that's Naomi. Well, we can buy 'em now, but she got us a sample before they hit the shelves. New tech, expensive stuff. I knew her a few years back, helped her get rid of her ex."

Alice chimed in, speaking around a mouthful of egg. "Mfh, that prick with the lava lamps?"

"Yeah, that guy. Anywho, she's high up in this company, and apparently they're absolutely killing it right now. They've got stuff that's gonna revolutionize the world based on the way she talks. And, well, we get to see some of it." Violet leaned in close to Alice and whispered in her ear. "Should be... Really fun." Alice shivered.

"So, do I have to be full to the gills with delicious food for this?"

"Gahh! Look, if you must know, Naomi's real hot and with this whole deal I wanted to make sure you stayed in my corner. Can't lose my lovely twig lady, can I?" Alice fought hard not to choke on her food as she laughed. Violet was so out of Alice's league, the thought that she might worry about this was just silly. Then, looking up and seeing the near-shock on her friends face, she laughed again and ending up coughing as her eyes teared up.

"I love you, Vi," said Alice "No one knows me better." She pulled Violet's head down for a quick kiss, laden with raspberry syrup. She thought of her first kiss. Violet's face was serene for a moment afterward as she stared back at Alice. Then she seemed to come to her senses and stood.

"Well, good! I love you too. Now, eat faster! We leave in half an hour!" She practically flew over to the closet and began to pick out an outfit for Alice. At this point many of Alice's clothes had migrated over to Violet's room with repeated nights of sharing the bed. Alice was beyond excited now and practically attacked her breakfast in her enthusiasm. Soon, she had had her fill and was shrugging on the light green sweater that Violet had set aside. Violet handed her a small sheaf of paper and told her to fill it out in the car. As they hurried outside, Alice saw that it was the survey the letter had mentioned.

The drive to Technerve was shorter than Alice expected. She spent most of the fifteen minute ride thinking about the questions in the survey. From them she could guess what was in store, but she wondered if such a thing were possible.. Her friend hummed tunelessly as she drove. Her face said that she was positively delighting in the mystery of this excursion. No way she'd answer any questions.

By the time they pulled into the driveway Alice was twitching with anticipation. She was somewhat disappointed by the Technerve building, though she didn't know what she expected. It looked in many aspects like a college campus. Squat buildings of concrete and glass, some brick, with brickwork walkways dotted with tasteful flower arrangements connecting it all. Alice thought maybe there'd be a vast skyscraper or something.

Violet was already by the passenger door and holding a hand out to help Alice out. She looked more excited than Alice could remember her ever being. What did the demonstration have in store for them to make the mellow woman so jittery, actually hopping from foot to foot in a little dance? Seeing that brought a smile to Alice's face. She took Violet's hand and walked with her toward and into the reception building. It was a fairly large building, decorated by a dark wooden sign above the door that said "

invenire mirabilia

". Latin? Alice couldn't help but smile a little wider at the cliché.

They were assailed as soon as they entered by the sounds of a huge crowd. Past the reception desk they could see a wide central room packed tightly with all sorts of people. Some were holding gigantic cameras and boom mics, almost all were wearing suits or formal wear, and they were talking up such a hubbub that Violet had to raise her voice nearly to a shout to be heard by the receptionist. As Violet checked in for them, Alice looked into crowd feeling suddenly underdressed.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but a survey wasn't required for the event, I'm not sure where you would have heard that from." Alice turned back to the receptionist. He was very young and his suit hung loosely over him like was playing dress up. He smiled sheepishly. "I probably shouldn't take that from you."

"But, the letter we got-"

"That's alright Nikoli, I'll take it from here." Alice turned to the new speaker, a shorter woman wearing a stunning blue dress. She strode up to Violet so quickly that Alice worried they might collide, and then they did. Violet pulled the smaller woman up into a hug, swinging her back in forth as both woman laughed. The newer woman's sapphire earrings twinkled as she returned the hug. When she touched ground again and Alice actually met her eyes, she saw that they matched the intensity and sparkle of the gems perfectly.

"Alice, I presume!" She extended a hand so quickly that Alice expected a whip crack.

"Alice, this is Naomi. The one responsible for our presence here, and those lovely patches." (The receptionist, standing quietly now on the sidelines, fidgeted as his eyes widened a tad.) "She's nice despite her terrible manners, and is apparently fuckin' loaded. Where'd you get that dress, Mimi? You look spectacular!"

"Aw, thanks babe. You don't look bad either. And you brought this

absolute

treat!" Naomi returned her gaze to Alize, beaming. Alice smiled, nervous. She reached out and took the proffered hand. Naomi's grip was surprisingly gentle and her smile was obviously sincere.

"It's nice to meet you, Naomi."

"Aw, so demure! God, I can't believe you're the one Violet talks about. I hear you're an animal in bed if you get revved up enough." Alice went scarlett. She didn't seem to be having as hard a time of it as the receptionist though. He suddenly appeared to need to check the reservation list again, tracing down the side a page with a wildly shaky hand.

"'Ey, mimi! Be nice to her, and back off! She's mine!" Violet planted herself in between Naomi and Alice in a mock fighting stance. They stood like that for several moments before the older two burst out laughing. Alice couldn't help but join in as the tension passed.

Soon, they lapsed into comfortable conversation. Naomi took their surveys, explained that the two of them were getting a demonstration not part of the regular event. Of course neither of them would tell Alice what that entailed. Naomi blew her off with a smug grin, promising only that it would be "Beyond anything you could hope for.". Obviously she had a sense for the dramatic. Alice would have to wait a while to find out what this special treat was, naomithough. According to Naomi, that part came after the nearly three hour long event.

"Speaking of which, I should head backstage. Gotta put the final touches on my speech!" Naomi said as she started towards the back of the room. "It'll start soon." Then she was gone, swallowed up by the crowd.

"I didn't know she was giving a speech. She must be pretty important around here." Violet mused. She and Alice joined hands again, and weaved their way through the crowd to find a good spot. Soon they had a pretty decent view of the stage, though the woman in front of Alice was tall enough that she had to lean over a little to see. At this point she didn't really mind. She just wanted it all to be over with, so she could get to whatever surprise waited after. As she waited for the speech to start she thought over the questions she'd answered in the survey.

Favorite color? Sure. Ideal vacation? She'd answered probably hundreds of similar questions online. Favorite mythical creature? Easy. "How did you first hear above Technerve or its products?" Alice had blushed answering that one. "Please describe your relationship with your gender identity." That one raised an eyebrow. Upfront they had warned that the questions might be personal, but what on earth would they need that for? Though, Alice supposed that some people might be bothered by the patches or... Whatever was coming up. Fair enough, then. "Please list your phobias, if any." There had been so many questions on the survey she had been almost uncomfortable giving it to Naomi.

The crowd shifted and Alice looked up. On the stage were two people: One was Naomi, her dress shimmering in the stage lights that were shining down on her. The second was a relatively old looking gentleman with a salt and pepper goatee. He smiled amicably as the noise level fell. He had Naomi's olive skin, and Alice guessed he might be her father. He was wearing a jacket loose over a coarse sweater, colored in a brown and tan combination that made Alice think of hot chocolate. He spoke first in a light and airy tenor that wavered slightly. He sounded older than he looked.

"Greetings, guests and friends. Thank you all for showing up, especially those of you who had to trouble yourselves with long distance travel. My name is Eli Reed, and this is my daughter, Naomi. While I am sure that most of you know what you are here to see, I shall explain for those of you who snuck in while our receptionist had their back turned." He paused, letting a small wave of laughter subside. "This complex is the headquarters of a group who is sitting, as far as we know, on the pinnacle of modern science and achievement. This group being, of course, Technerve Solutions. Unless the someone has been exceedingly clever since I last checked, this is the only place on earth that a person could hope to see what will be demonstrated for you, here, today." There was another ripple of laughter.

"Now, what are you going to see today? In grand, unhelpful terms, it is the future. There is not a problem that we cannot solve with the sciences that are now within our grasp. To be more specific, though, we will be unveiling for you our new product line. A product line that contains, among other things, a potential end to the worldwide epidemic known as 'hunger'." Gasps and murmurs spread throughout the crowd, and flashes erupted from the sidelines as several people took photos of the mainstage. It was a long while before it quieted down again. "We plan on bringing every product you see here to as wide an audience as possible within the decade. Some of the more discerning members of the crowd may understand that this announcement is fairly premature; I want to assure them that these prototypes are quite ready, and that the timeline proposed is mainly in order to build the infrastructure necessary to effectively disperse them. And also for legal reasons, so that we can be sure no one will try to profit off of our technology by re-creating and selling it. For, there is one thing we want to make sure everyone understands-" He nodded at Naomi, and she stepped forward. Cleared her throat and stood at the mic. Silence fell. She leaned forward, and enunciate clearly.

"We plan on distributing any and all products necessary for health and wellbeing as thoroughly as we have the resources to do so, and we plan on doing so at no cost whatsoever."

The crowd exploded, reporters and guests shouting questions, waving their hands. Alice stood in the middle of it all, being jostled and moved as people around her clamored to see and hear what was happening.

End hunger

? Was this really the same company that made the patches? How could they ever hope to do something like this, and all without charging for it? Violet was looking at her, saying something. She couldn't make it out over the din. She was thankful when Naomi managed to get the audience under control and Eli stepped back to the microphone.

"We understand that you have questions, concerns. The scope and audacity of this project is not lost on us, nor any of the associates in our company. However, as you will see tonight, we have the ability, and every person involved is dedicated to seeing it through. I'll leave the details to my daughter, now, since she is by all accounts more knowledgeable than I. I hope you enjoy tonight's demonstration, and wish you the best for now. Without any more preamble: Naomi Reed, vice president and chief engineer of Technerve Solutions."

There was a smattering of applause as Naomi returned to the central position on the stage, subdued somewhat by what seemed to be confusion. The implications of these announcements were so massive that no one knew quite how to react. Was the event just going to continue like any other tech showcase? That appeared to be the case. Naomi cleared her throat.

"I imagine that many of you are thinking that my father is exaggerating the impact of our work here. I'm sure that you may think that this is the time for me to backpedal, say 'well, what we really mean is...'. And, I am afraid, it's true: My father is indeed prone to dramatic statements and gestures that may not be in agreement with reality."

Alice relaxed a little, miffed that they would joke about something like this.

"The truth, really, is that he has been dishonest only in that he hasn't come close to what this technology really means. Hunger is, all things considered, a small step compared to the issues we are poised to address. We are currently developing medicines, for example, for roughly seventy percent of known ailments and illnesses, and we fully expect to be finished with the remaining thirty within the next two decades." She smiled as the crowd erupted into more questions and exclamations. As he gaze swept over the group, she met Alice's eye for just a second and her grin widened slightly. Alice was nearly overwhelmed with it all.

Naomi was bringing the noise under control again. "I know you'll have questions, and we will invite them later in the event. For now I'll try and be more specific about what we have accomplished here. Please keep in mind, we need to keep

some

secrets secret. Any technology with the versatility of this one is dangerous even when used with the best intentions.

What we have here-" A screen behind her lit up, showing a diagram of what looked like a necklace bead. It was an ellipse, with a hole bored through the narrow center and four spokes sticking from its sides at right angles. "-is the core of every discovery we have made here. This beauty is a few thousand atoms wide. We call them 'Computerized Atomic Transports', mostly because I wanted the acronym to work" She smiled, and there were a few chuckles from the crowd. "What they do is transport bundles of atoms to the desired location, most often a certain place in the body, then, using the heat of the host as fuel, dispense its contents in a desired manner. It work in much the same manner as our own cells, albeit at a greatly accelerated rate; you wouldn't believe how long it took us to keep the temperature to safe levels."