Children of a Dead Earth Book One by Patrick S Tomlinson Read Free Book Online Page A

of tempura sitting on a slice of ginger in the middle of his plate caught his eye. He glanced over and realized Theresa’s plate had one as well.
    â€œExcuse me, waiter?” Benson pointed at the golden fried lump. “But what is that?”
    â€œThat, sir, is a piece of white-meat chicken breast, marinated in a wasabi soy sauce, then dipped in an egg yolk tempura batter and deep fried.”
    They both looked at the waiter uncomprehendingly. Benson broke the moment of silence. “I’m sorry, did you say, ‘chicken breast, and egg yolk’? Surely you meant tofu chicken?”
    â€œNo, sir. It is genuine chicken meat. It was a gift to the restaurant from the Genome Archive. This bird had been one of a small experimental batch to calibrate artificial wombs for different species ahead of Landing.”
    â€œAnd the egg yolks?”
    The waiter smiled. “Two of the chickens survived to maturity and started laying eggs. Unfertilized, of course. The crew in the project saw no reason they should go to waste.”
    Benson nodded. Conservation at its finest. Nothing ever went to waste on the Ark. “That is quite a gift. Must be expensive.”
    â€œReally, Bryan,” Theresa chided. “What else are you going to spend it on?”
    The waiter held up a hand. “As these were a gift to us, they are a gift to you, compliments of Chef Takahashi, in honor of your Mustangs reaching the Championship.”
    â€œThis isn’t a bribe, is it? Is there a body in the freezer?”
    Theresa slapped his hand. “Bryan, don’t be rude.”
    â€œI’m kidding, of course. Tell Chef Takahashi that we are humbled by the honor.”
    The waiter bowed and left them to their meals. Theresa shook her head mockingly. “Zero Hero.”
    â€œHey, I’ll take it. Chief constable doesn’t pull these kinds of perks. I doubt Chief Bahadur over in Shangri-La is eating a beef burger tonight.”
    â€œI doubt it too, considering Vikram is a Sikh.”
    Benson shook his head. “You’re thinking of Hindus. They’re the ones who venerate cows.”
    â€œAm I?” Theresa tilted her head as her eyes unfocused, consulting her plant. “Hmm, you’re right. Although it hasn’t been much of an issue for a while, since the last cow died two centuries ago.”
    â€œNot really, no.” Benson picked at his catfish roll. “Still, the rest of the meal is going to set me back enough as it is.”
    â€œHey, you splurged on the food, I splurged on the presentation.” Theresa waved a hand over the dress. “Unless you think I pulled this off the rack.”
    â€œWell, I’d like to pull it off the rack.”
    â€œUgh.” Theresa threw a napkin at him. “Can you pretend not to be a boorish clod for just one meal?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Do you want us reported?”
    She referred to the long-standing policy aboard the Ark of a couple’s requirement to declare their relationship before intercourse. Officially, any two people, so long as they were unmarried and had reached the age of majority, could engage in any relationship they desired. In practice, however, social pressure had a habit of cropping up for couples who didn’t have appropriate levels of genetic and personality compatibility.
    The thing was, while Theresa didn’t know it, she and Benson had already been reported twice before to other constables, who dutifully filed reports and submitted them directly to their chief, where the reports mysteriously got lost in the shuffle of paperwork.
    â€œSorry. I’ll stop. But do you really think it’s going to matter?”
    â€œWhat do you mean, exactly?”
    â€œI mean, in two weeks, we’re going to start shuttling down to build a new world. All of the artificial limits we needed to survive in this fishbowl for the last two centuries will disappear.” Benson poured