Chapter Two - A Slice of Happiness

Chapter Two - A Slice of Happiness

Chapter Two - A Slice of Happiness

Times of peace arent uncommon. But they never really last.

--Deus Ex, June 2057

***

So, whatve you got for me? I asked Myalis while looking over at Dumbass the First.

I suppose I could start with the youngest and work my way up.

Sure, I said. So well start with Nose, or is Spark younger?

I believe that Nose is the youngest, judging by the scans Dumbass has taken.

The kittens were all gathered around the kitchen island still, even Lucy who returned from ordering breakfast with a sly smile on. Daniel had pulled around on his chair and waved me hello before deep-diving into his phone.

Nose and Spark were both standing near the edge of the table and looking at me without blinking.

Nose... and that is an awful name that Ive no doubt you had something to do with, seems to suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Its at the third stage. Its rather surprising that he can still function moderately well. He has a few other conditions mostly centred around his nasal cavity and esophagus.

Nose is a tough little shit, I said.

Nose nodded seriously. Yeah.

Got a cure?

Obviously. A nano repair suite should be sufficient to cure the ailment.

I grinned. Dont keep us waiting, Myalis. And tab it all up for me in one go at the end.

A box appeared on the island, small and cheap. Inside was an inhaler with a tank the size of a soda can and a red button on the top. Its front was shaped like a rather basic oxygen mask.

Spread out the use over the course of the day. Tell Nose to drink a lot of water and have a big, varied meal later. Hes got a few nutritional deficiencies. In fact, all of them, you included, do.There are also traces of heavy metals in your blood and in some of your organs, some nitrates, plastics, and a few other chemicals that I suspect were used as fertilizer and pesticides. Its fortunate that humans are so resilient, or youd all be tumorous masses by now.

I slid the inhaler over to Nose. Take a puff every hour or so. And then eat a lot tonight. Oh, and down a couple of glasses of water, alright? Id need to get some sort of detox thing for all the kittens later, but that could probably wait a day.

Yeah! he said before taking the inhaler. Everyone watched as he took a deep breath from it, then coughed a few times. Tickles, he said.

Itll get better, I said. Sparks, youre up next.

Alright! Sparks said. Hit me up, doc Cat.

Sparks has an interesting one. It seems like a sort of prion disease. I suspect he came into contact with something while very young. It has mostly kept to his parietal lobe, reducing his ability to feel touch.

Right, I said. Its why hes called Spark, he likes licking power outlets.Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

I dont! Spark protested. It just feels weird.

A simple Neuro Regenerative should do.

Another box, this one with a red plastic nib and drawn instructions on the side to place it against the crook of the arm. Can you figure it out? I asked.

Im not an idiot, he said before fumbling with the injector. He didnt even wince as he pulled back his sleeve and jabbed it in. Whens this going to work? he asked.

It will take approximately an hour for the first signs of regression to show. Six for a complete cure. Also, hes far too thin. I suspect that he cant feel hunger pangs at all.

Give it until this afternoon, I said. And eat more. Youre too damned thin. Tim, youre too thin too.

Okay, so, for my final acts... Daniel, youve got some sort of muscular fuck-up-edness, right?

Thats the medical term, yeah, he agreed with a grin.

Muscular dystrophy. Chemically induced at that. A rather simple fix.

I flung the next box over to him and he saluted me back. Thanks, love.

Dont try.

How long until I can start dancing?

Two to three days.

I snorted. Your pasty white ass will never be able to dance, I said. But in a few days, youll be able to traumatize the kids by trying.

He flipped me the bird, but it was while still smiling. Well see.

And finally, we have Junior. She... is merely malnourished, with traces of contaminants in her blood that will pass eventually.

Junior, I said.

Yeah? she asked as she looked up from her bowl.

Youre too fucking skinny.

Fuck you, she said.

I felt a shy, tentative hand touching my shoulder. What about me? Lucy asked.

Lucy has Multiple Sclerosis. A simple enough thing to cure.

A fresh box appeared on the table.

Give her those. Then allow for a few hours to restore all of her cognitive functions. It might be mildly unpleasant. Afterwards, shell need to practice walking and running once more.

Youll need to take these, I said. But theyll make you feel all tingly.

She smiled up at me. Tingly, huh? she asked. Will you help me get rid of all my tingles?

I leaned down and our lips met for a moment while I fiddled with the box with my free hand. I had the tablets out soon enough and was carefully pressing the single pill between her lips.

For fucks sake, get a room, Junior said. Dont do that in front of my cereal.

Lucy and I happily complied, though it was a bit hard to make it back to the room with our faces practically glued together.

Oh, oh man, it really is tingly, Lucy said as she sat on the edge of the bed. My feet are all... You know when your arms go to sleep and then they come awake? She wiggled her legs, then wiggled them some more as she slid off the pyjama pants she was wearing to expose two beautiful dark legs.

I got to my knees to capture one of her feet. Carefully, I started to massage it, just a bit of pressure in the way she always liked. The pleased little noise she made said a lot.

I leaned down and pressed a kiss onto the top of her foot.

And then, before I could lean back, a pair of panties dropped down and came to rest around her ankles.

I looked up to meet Lucys bright eyes. You said youd take care of all the parts that tingled.

So I did, I agreed.

***