KETTY'S SUBDIVISION Wattys2017

Chapter 3-Part II

The next day, a few news stories about the meteor filtered in but there was nothing concrete. It was Saturday and Ketty had a full day of training in social etiquette and honing their personal image. Her bots needed to be fun and optimistic and some of them had a negative self-image. This was the hardest part of her job. She would be using exercises which would change their base learning subroutines in a natural and permanent manner. This wasn't a hardware issue or programming change. The work she would be doing over the next few weeks would solidify neural pathways in the sintered brains. The actual channels would increase in diameter as the learning progressed. Then they would be annealed by the nanobiotic fluid flowing there. These traits would be hard if not impossible to unlearn.

Saturday progressed like any other, lots of playing and running as Ketty did what she did best. A few news stories filtered in, but nothing concrete had been discovered, though the authorities were seeking answers. She put yesterday out of her mind and poured herself into her work, intent on preparing for the upcoming graduation. It was almost summer and soon she would be training every day.

Rayleen called that evening. "There's a massive party at Kato's. It's practically in your backyard."

"I'm not going, everyone will be drunk or worse." She didn't mention Kato was spying. It was her secret for now. "Besides, he got grounded from his father's space yacht for joy riding. He's reckless, dangerous, and a royal jerk."

"He's a really hot jerk and half the school will be there. I told him I was bringing you. The yacht is grounded, but we can still party on it, inside that creepy old wood barn he has."

Ketty had seen the space yacht named Kestral. She had to admit it was the most beautiful starship she had ever seen, with a large center section that came to a sharp point and two massive fusion nacelles hanging off the side. The hull metal was like black onyx, with fancy details akin to a piece of artwork. Every amenity was engineered with the finest craftsmanship, and no expense was spared. Under the skin was the heart of battle hardened light cruiser, with shielding, light weapons, and a sophisticated drive system. It was also built to carrier class specifications, so it could fit inside a container ship that traveled on the Fault-line. Simply put, it was capable of travelling anywhere in the Subdivision within a day.

She was tempted because she wanted to see the look on everyone's face when she told them Kato was a stalker, but she knew she couldn't do it.

Rayleen would never give up. "I invited Grendle."

"Rayleen!" he's eighteen and a geek.

"A really smart geek. Besides, he said he would only come if you were there."

That made her cheeks burn a little, but she tried to hold her ground. "I am not dating anyone, so quit trying to set me up."

"You need a few more friends, Ketty. Just friends, that's all," said Rayleen. "We're just hanging out and having fun, not saving the world."

Ketty couldn't believe she was friends with her. Rayleen was so superficial when it came to relationships. Still, Ketty had a savior complex and Rayleen needed her. A small part of her wanted to give in sometimes and just go with the flow, but she shut the door on those feelings. She knew inside she was a woman, perfectly capable of embracing all that entailed, but it was complicated and she liked her life simple. Still, she wanted to punch Kato in the face, and maybe she could get him on video making a fool of himself.

"All right, meet me there at eight."

"Yes!" Then, in her jubilation, a frown crossed her pretty lips. "Lindy can't come, her parents won't allow it."

"She'll be fine," said Ketty as she signed out.

Evening rolled around, and Ketty had forgotten how big the old wooden barn on Kato's estate was. It had been hand built with special materials, since no one used wood for houses anymore. When she stepped free of her metro car, Rayleen was there waiting.

"Eeeiee, you look amazing!" Ketty smiled, since she had dressed in white slacks and a simple turtleneck. Her friend on the other hand would be the talk of school on Monday.

Rayleen was breathless in her appearance, a fair skinned elf with flowing red hair, she made heads turn as her and Ketty pushed by the chaperone bot who registered them with a stamp at the door. The lacy frills around her sleeveless shoulders accentuated the shape of her face in a way that screamed, I am a goddess, yet her white dress was modest with one yellow floral print around the waist and a straight cut bodice. Even at her young age, Rayleen had other qualities. Boys lined up to date her and she seemed to fall for the jerks and rude boys who only wanted one thing. Perhaps Ketty had come to protect her friend.

Rayleen went directly for the bar, where a small bot scanned her bracelet and administer one shot.

"Your body mass will allow three more drinks during the time allotted for the party, please drink responsibly." The unsupervised drinking age was eighteen, and genetic predispositions to alcoholism had been genetically weeded out, so society accepted this behavior as normal.

"Come on Ketty, have a drink."

"No thanks, but it looks like Kato's parents are keeping a tight leash on his activities." She glanced at the magnetic straps holding down the space yacht. The swelling in her chest actually felt good, although she was gloating over someone else's misfortune. Her face grew flush. This wasn't like her and she realized she was succumbing to peer pressure on a different level. Not that she was doing something wrong, like compromising on her purity, or indulging in the synthetic drugs delivered by nano-bots. This felt worse to her.

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