LOCATION: MALLORY, VANESSA & DARIAN’S HOME
CITY: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
DATE: JANUARY 10, 2032 | TIME: 9:00 AM
Saturday mornings at the high-rise condominium that was now Mallory, Vanessa, and Darian’s home were always full of joy.
After the global rollout of the System on New Year’s Day in 2027, the married trio had arrived at a decision they’d been looking forward to for some time.
They decided to finally start a family.
With their new biology, becoming pregnant was a choice. Birth control was no longer necessary, as each person had such precise dominion over their physiology that a couple could make the decision to have sperm fertilize the egg. Both had to consent, and their bodies would respond accordingly.
Mallory, Vanessa, and Darian had chosen January 10th as the day. It was a few days before humanity would exit the global Tutorials, and it was set to be one of the last quiet days the Core Council was likely to see for quite some time.
Darian was tasked with the shopping, while Mallory and Vanessa set the scene at home.
He found three bottles of exquisite wine, all of which would pair perfectly with the meal the three were preparing.
The world slept, and he felt strange entering a store and taking the bottles without paying, but he knew the world was about to transition to a credit-based economy soon enough. So he shrugged it off and headed to the grocery store.
He selected excellent cuts of meat and vegetables that were still in good shape. He added a few spices and other aromatics and headed out.
On the way home, he entered the local florist shop and put together a dozen roses, alternating white and red. They wouldn’t last much longer, but were in perfect bloom that day, and that was all he had hoped for.
Darian returned home to find Mallory and Vanessa in gorgeous lingerie, lounging on the couch.
“What took you so long?” Vanessa asked. She nearly purred as she spoke, and Darian felt his excitement building.
Mallory stood from the couch and walked seductively toward their husband. They each took a bag of groceries, leaving him holding the flowers.
Darian placed the flowers in a vase and set it on the table in the dining room. They put on soft background music. They flirted and danced through the kitchen as all three worked to prepare their meal.
Darian opened the first bottle of wine. To set the mood, he had selected a bottle of Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay. The light minerality and buttery richness combined for a nice, relaxing palate.
They finished the bottle just as the last dish came together. The two wives carried the plates to the dining room while Darian opened the second bottle.
It was a Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was perfectly matched with the beef tenderloin and mushroom gravy.
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As usual, Darian sat at the head of the rectangular dining table. Mallory was on his left and Vanessa on his right.
“Mm,” Darian said between bites. “This is fantastic. A toast.”
He raised his glass. The dark, burgundy colors shimmered in the light from the chandelier.
“To us. I love you both so very much.”
A tear fell from his eye, and Vanessa wiped it with her napkin before she and Mallory leaned in to kiss him.
They finished their meal and Darian opened the final bottle. It was a 10-year Tawny Port from Portugal.
He poured three snifters and they moved to the living room, falling into a heap on the spacious couch.
The moon danced on the waters of San Francisco Bay, and the stars glimmered in the sky on the unusually clear night.
“It’s the perfect night to start a family,” Mallory said.
Darian smiled warmly. He pulled his wives closer and kissed them both.
“We should celebrate January 10th every year.”
“It’s a deal,” Vanessa said. “But first, we have to make it a night to remember. Now are you two done with the preamble yet?”
A wicked grin crossed her face as she stood.
Her athletic form swayed, illuminated equally by moonlight and the fire crackling in the fireplace.
Mallory and Darian watched as she danced seductively.
Vanessa dropped her arms, and her silken robe fell to the floor with a nearly silent whoosh.
She reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, then let it fall, creating a pile on the floor that was soon joined with the rest of the clothes covering her partners.
In mid-October of 2027, the family grew from three to five. Mallory and Vanessa gave birth to two girls two weeks apart.
They easily agreed on names.
Kaela and Elena Sirova.
Raising children in a System-enhanced world was a new experience. First, Elise was pleased to see that the newborns would not require Vitalyx, as the clean genes of their parents had been passed along.
As for Rejuvenex, they decided to wait and see. Growing up in an environment suffused with nanites might be enough to allow their natural biology to handle the task.
By 2032, Kaela and Elena were five years old. School curricula had been developed by education-based Profession paths, and they grew up in a world that nobody could have imagined just one year before their birth.
Well, not nobody, of course.
Elliot Voss had conceived of it and built it all from scratch, beginning in the 1960s. And it was all coming into shape just as he had planned.
Humanity needed perfect health first. Vitalyx handled that.
Then they needed time. Rejuvenex took care of that.
But the last ingredient was one that Voss could not provide. It was one that each person had to find within themselves.
Courage.
The two sisters, conceived on January 10th, 2027, would later become world-renowned for their legendary courage in the face of every adversity thrown their way.
And so, on January 10th, 2032, the family got together at what had already become a new annual custom: celebrating Kaela and Elena.
They had their birthdays in October, of course. But January 10th carried a different sort of tone to it.
Darian would select the wines. For the adults only at first, of course. The kids would help set the table as soon as they were tall enough to reach. But everyone was involved in the fun bits.
Dancing through the kitchen while their Mommies and Daddy cooked. Darian would pick them up one at a time and spin them around.
The girls would giggle and declare it was their turn next. The scene was filled with complete joy.
And dinner always began with the same toast.
Mallory raised her glass. It was the same Caymus Cabernet as the first time.
“To Elliot Voss, whose vision and extraordinary drive made all of this possible.”
Kaela and Elena stood and leaned forward to clink their glasses with everyone else. Water swayed in the wine glasses, and they pretended like it was the most wonderful flavor in the world.
Imitating their parents, of course, who were indeed savoring the wonderful flavors of their wine.
“Who is Elliot Voss?” Kaela asked.
Vanessa leaned to her right and wrapped her arm around Kaela’s shoulder.
“Let’s tell you two the story about a great man who changed the world.”