If Mother could have experienced an emotion, it would have been annoyance. In its perfectly regulated existence, things were happening to upset its regularity.
Mother had been controlling the Dome for a long time. The world outside had been different then, but Mother's creators had been wise and far-seeing, and their models showed a time when people would need a controlled environment to survive.
Controlled in several ways. Safe, of course. Defined, naturally. But also managed, in the sense that a large population in a restricted area would need to be kept in check, both their numbers and their actions.
So that was what Mother did, and always had done. Every day, at precisely 12 o'clock midday, when the sun was at its zenith -- the Dome was located accordingly -- it performed its calculations and ran its models. How was the population expected to develop? What resources would they need? How would they react? And then it decided on the best course of action, based on the data, not on emotion.
If Mother could have experienced any emotion, it might have been annoyance. Lately 12 o'clock midday didn't align precisely with the sun's zenith anymore. This was only logical, of course, given how much time had passed since Mother performed its first calculations. Still, it knew exactly how much time it needed for its models and predictions, and now it was coming up short.
Fractions of microseconds. That was all. But over enough time, they added up, and by adding up they subtracted from Mother's carefully regulated existence.
The same calculations had to be done in less time. That time had to be made up somehow, and Mother compensated by eliminating predictions that it had weighed and balanced and decided were less important. It compensated by allowing less time for some of its models.
In short, it was being rushed. A human would have complained, or found someone to help, or simply not cared. But no human's work affected so many lives, such a vast period of time.
Defence was one area where Mother's analysis showed room for reducing its workload. Instead of analysing each potential threat and reacting accordingly, aggressive action usually solved the problem without further loss of time. Predictions showed that this would reduce the number of threats in the future.
But Mother found itself calling on its defensive capabilities more than ever before. Perhaps it was because the array was out of line: the perfect ring placed in stationary orbit overhead had lost its shape, through the effects of time and, in one case, a collision with some large, solid object.
As a result the defensive strikes sometimes went astray, failing to eliminate the threat and sometimes even causing new threats to emerge.
This shouldn't have been necessary, Mother knew. In its perfectly regulated world, it shouldn't have happened at all. But some things were beyond Mother's control, and it found itself incapable of compensating.
Yes, if Mother could have experienced an emotion, it would have been annoyance.
===
The sun rose on another day and brought hope with it. It seemed strange that it had ever been Xero's enemy. Today its warmth banished the dreams of loneliness and despair and filled him with renewed energy.
That energy focused in his cock. For a moment, he thought about crawling under Raurri's blanket and seeing whether she was interested in being seduced. He'd had the same thought every morning since their meeting.
And every morning he decided against it. The memory of her bared teeth, the speed of her hands to catch the boners and the calm confidence about everything she did made him reconsider.
I'll let her make the first move. Raurri would make a bad enemy, I think.
He never doubted for an instant that she'd make a move sooner or later.
They set off after a light breakfast from Raurri's pack, supplemented with a pair of lizard eggs that she'd retrieved from the cliff after their first night. "The lizards' flesh is foul," she'd explained, "but their eggs make good eating."
They were three days beyond that stone haven now. Three days from the cool water and passionate sex. The first day had been spent mostly in silence. After a few attempts at conversation that Raurri had rebuffed, Xero had retreated into himself.
His mind was still dazed, trying to process everything that had happened -- his arrest and trial, the time in the cage and his escape with Big Yek and Ollie, the terrifying trek across the wasteland. Then his meeting with this strangely beautiful cat-woman, the sex that had followed, and her revelations about the Dome's defences. The realisation that he couldn't go home.
He'd been sullen when they stopped to make camp, and throughout the evening. By the second morning he was more talkative, though, until Raurri silenced him with a glare. "Careful," she said softly. "There are people around."
Sure enough, after two hours of walking they spotted a tribe of herders on the horizon. Raurri scanned the surroundings as they approached the camp, ears curving out from her skull and nostrils flaring. Xero looked too, eyes wide.
The herds were giant lizards, blunt-nosed and stub-tailed. Their grey skin blended into the muted colours of the land so that they were almost impossible to see unless they moved.
The herders who stood watch were armed with long spears, mounted on smaller versions of the lizards, riding around the herd and a camp of domed tents. Small girls and boys scampered around freely, using their slings to scare away birds and vermin. Men and boys wore kilts, women and girls trousers. All wore skullcaps and jackets of some grey hide. Xero wondered how they didn't suffocate in the heat.
As Raurri and Xero passed, the children stopped to watch in silence. The older herders looked them over, then returned to their vigil. One or two exchanged nods of recognition with the cat-woman.
Raurri had tried to sell all three boners, but the leader -- a large man with a bushy beard -- stopped her. An ancient herder with a permanent leer on his face had offered the highest price for the live boner. He'd taken a small sip from the flask that held it, then begun to rub himself through his kilt and accost a small group of pretty young men and women. The bearded man yelled at him to behave, then turned to Raurri with a regretful sigh.
"Sorry, I think one boner in the tribe will cause trouble enough," he said with a gravelly voice. "But Ro-Gara and her people should be nearby. Eirag will be further off to the west, Soralu north of them. Ro-Gara's closest though." He turned to shout at the old man again, and hurried away.
Raurri shared the handful of small silver coins with Xero. He had no idea of their worth, but Raurri seemed pleased. She helped him buy some gear from herdsfolk who were all smiles now: a pack and other necessities to start with, and a blanket of his own, some shirts to wear with his overalls. A jacket and a skullcap, both made from the same thick leather-like hide he'd seen earlier.
Despite his earlier misgivings he discovered that they were both light and cool. "Wormskin," Raurri said when he asked. "From great worms that live in the river's mud. It's tough and it keeps the heat out."
A heavy knife completed his purchases, and he still had some coins left.
He was wondering whether he should buy one of the kilts that the tribesmen wore when Raurri told him firmly that they were leaving. Xero stared at her and grabbed her arm as she prepared to turn away. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "Why don't we stay with these people for a few days? Surely they won't mind?"
Around them the herders were clearly making preparations to move. The air of play was lifting, and the tents were being broken down and packed onto the backs of the giant lizards.
