give it all you got, go

[alicornucopia]

At a booth in Milliways sits a woman in her thirties, stirring a cup of tea, watching the stars explode. There is a fat boring-looking lawbook under her elbow, and a barcode across the back of her right hand.

Mark (with kappa)

Ruth (with Maggie)

Comments

[alicornucopia]

"Brain transplant," she blinks.

[unmarred]

"Yeah. For the rich and decrepit. Old body starts to wear out, no problem; just have 'em grow you a new one. The clone's brain is of course mere waste material, when the time comes. Unethical practices like that are why the rest of the galaxy looks down on that planet."

[alicornucopia]

"Good for the rest of the galaxy, far as that goes. My world's not to that point. So far."

[unmarred]

"I was getting that impression, yeah. So what does yours do?"

[alicornucopia]

"Organ harvesting. My original died outright before she needed anything I couldn't live without."

[unmarred]

...He blinks.

"Cloning individual organs, without the rest of the human attached, has been a solved problem in my world for centuries. Want me to send you home with some books? See if you can get the technology started early?"

[alicornucopia]

She drops her tea. She saves her book but not her blouse. "Yes," she says, biting her lip and looking around in vain for napkins.

[unmarred]

"I'll ask Bar for a suitable collection," he says. "And perhaps a hand towel."

He goes. He comes back in short order with a stack of slightly odd-looking books - is that plastic? - and a small towel.

[alicornucopia]

"Thank you." Dab dab. Peeeeer at the books.

[unmarred]

From introductory biology and medicine down to much denser technical volumes on the exact mechanics of partial-body cloning. It's a pretty comprehensive set.

"You're welcome," he says. "Oh - I'm Mark, by the way."

[alicornucopia]

"Ashley."

[unmarred]

"Nice to meet you. Enjoy the books."

[alicornucopia]

"Nice to meet you too. I have no bio background, but I know some charity workers who might be able to think of something intelligent to do with them."

[unmarred]

He nods.

"Shouldn't be that hard. I'd think someone would have to fuck something up pretty royally before they'd utterly fail to help. Whoever gets that technology off the ground stands to make vast sums of money obviating the need for salvaging organs from whole organisms."

[alicornucopia]

"Since no other motives have helped," she sighs.

[unmarred]

"Have they not?"

[alicornucopia]

"At the source? No. Sometimes someone will have an attack of guilt, but the companies survive the loss of their employees, and by the time the commissioners have this problem they've already fronted the money."

[unmarred]

"Ugh," says Mark. "And I imagine it's not a problem that can be solved with assassination or espionage."

[alicornucopia]

"Not straightforwardly, unless you wanted to kill everyone who runs a vat corp and keep doing it until no one's willing to do it."

[unmarred]

"Tempting as that option is, I think the books have a better long-term benefit for your world."

[alicornucopia]

"Probably." She stacks them on top of her legal textbook.

[unmarred]

Mark smiles.

[alicornucopia]

"How much did they - I have some money, I can pay you for the books."

[unmarred]

"Oh - don't worry about it," he shrugs. "Consider it a donation to the cause."

[alicornucopia]

"You want a receipt for your taxes?" she wonders wryly.