Wake Me In The Future (24 page)

But even though my friends continued to monitor Ramoon's movements they could have seen more than they were looking for, if only they’d paid more attention; because, although Rachel’s parents had shown a grudging acceptance of our marriage, Ramoon had been overly delighted by it. He was acting as if some secret achievement had been fulfilled. And Maya and Mazood unexplainably, and without question, accepted their friend’s open display of enthusiasm; all rather strange.

But I was still aware of their dislike for me whenever we were together. That had not gone away; it hung in the air like a bad smell that everyone was too polite to mention. So I'd asked Rachel if there was anything that would make the marriage more palatable for them and she’d jokingly said, ‘They’d be over the moon if they had a grandchild.’

‘Why not,’ I replied, ‘you’ve mentioned children before; you know I’ve always wanted them. If the process can take a long time why don’t we apply for one now and tell them.’

‘Are you serious?’ she exclaimed, her face lighting up.

‘Never been more.’ I smiled; pondering how the difficulties Helen and I had faced in trying to have children didn’t even come into the equation any more. How she would have loved this.
Stop torturing yourself
, I thought.

But Rachel jumped up and down with excitement so vigorously that it raised my spirits higher than they’d been since my revival.
This is my life now,
my mind reminded me,
and I need to live it to the full.

Choosing how we wanted to celebrate our commitment wasn't as straightforward as it used to be. All the wedding ceremonies of the world were now available to us; because not being a believer in any particular religion no longer excluded the use of the ceremonies, traditions and symbols that had grown around them. And as neither of us had any strong religious leanings we found it difficult to decide. I gave a half hearted laugh when I saw how confused Rachel was at the choice. ‘Why not have all of them?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, why does the ceremony have to be a one off? We could have a Hindu marriage this year then a Christian one next year, a Muslim wedding the year after, then a Jewish one the following year, and so on, until we’re married in all the religions of the world.’

‘Wouldn't that offend anyone?’ she said looking at me quizzically, ‘some people take their religion very seriously you know, and we’d have to consider how closely to follow the rituals. I am not sure I want to wear Sindoor on my forehead like a lot of married Hindu women, and I am not that fond of wedding rings either.’

‘I don’t see why it should offend anyone; it might have been the case in my time, but we’d be honouring their religious traditions not disrespecting them. And we can decide ourselves what symbols we want to represent our marriage. After all, a lot of people follow religious practices but aren’t really devout.’

She looked unconvinced, ‘OK’ she finally conceded, ‘but only if we get advice and ensure it’s not going to cause any offence.’

‘You’ve got a deal,’ I laughed ‘I am serious about my commitment to you Rachel, and I don’t think one wedding is enough to show you how much I want to be with you.’

She paused and looked at me then, as if she’d only just realised what I’d suggested and said, ‘You know Richard - that is such a romantic suggestion. I can see why Helen wanted to spend the rest of eternity with you.’

The grin on my face concealed the tiny pang of sorrow that had just pulled at my heart, and to prevent it from escalating to something more, I gave her a kiss, before she returned it with a longer and more meaningful one.

Our application to adopt a reborn was accepted and we were overjoyed that we were going to get a chance to have a child of our own, or at least what constituted our own child in this strange new world.

We enthusiastically threw ourselves into the task of choosing the attributes for our child, a sort of compensation for not having them develop naturally inside the mother. We chose a girl, and she was to have Rachel’s nose and my eyes and a mixture of both our racial makeup. As it was also possible to choose the age of the child, and we'd both agreed that we wanted a young adult, we opted for her birth age to be fifteen, exactly the same as Rachel’s had been.

We’d agreed on the name Jane Maya after my grandmother and Rachel’s mother. But I laughed when she suggested a double barrelled last name of Green-Karr and after I explained what a car was we finally decided to reject that and opt for just Karr instead, which only ingratiated me more with Rachel’s parents.

The average wait for a reborn was two and a half years, which to immortals like us would pass in a heartbeat, and besides, the application had fulfilled its immediate purpose of placating my new in-laws.

In the absence of any of my biological family, Earl, Jennifer, Simon and Ankit undertook the duties expected during the Hindu ceremony. We’d travelled to the surface to hold it outside and around a real fire, which was the norm and I’d thoroughly enjoyed dressing up in the traditional clothing that was no longer day to day attire; and Rachel even allowed me to place the red dot of Sindoor on her forehead for the day.

Out of respect to my long gone family they'd agreed, and gained permission, to hold the ceremony in Sherwood Forest, near the place of my birth. Our marquee filled the clearing next to the cordoned off and ancient 'Major Oak', which was said to have once hidden the outlaw Robin Hood in its massive hollow trunk.

Inside the marquee, the noise that once would have filtered through
the
brightly coloured material was stopped in its tracks by the technology applied to it. No open entrances adorned its futuristic structure and as people passed in and out, through the designated entrances; their advanced senses controlled the transmission of their voices, retaining the relative silence of the forest around them to all but the participants of the event.

After the toasts had been made by family and friends, including a very touching speech from Ankit, who still looked depressed, I was surprised to see Ramoon walk to the front of our table to address the guests.

‘Everyone, could I have your attention please, I have an announcement to make.’ Silence descended as everyone looked up at Ramoon in confusion, because the previous speaker had indicated that she was going to be the last one to speak.

‘I know this is unexpected, but I wanted to take this opportunity to give the happy couple this good news on their special day.’ Rachel and I looked at each other puzzled, as Ramoon went on.

‘As you all probably know, Richard and Rachel have applied to become parents and now all the paperwork and formalities are over, they would normally be expecting to wait for several years for the happy event.’

He paused, as if knowing the effect
of his following words
.

‘I am happy to be able to tell you,’ he said looking directly at us, ‘that because of exceptionally high numbers of people being reborn, your new child will be ready to join you by the end of the month.’

If anyone had been watching us closely it would have been difficult to tell whose jaw dropped the furthest.

Then the celebrations truly started and were heightened all the more by the fantastic news. I even found myself so overtaken by the event that I hugged Ramoon and thanked him for his help.

But some of the guests were asking how it had been possible to start a family so early in our marriage. It was unheard of, and no amount of revelry or partying could hide the suspicious looks that passed between Jennifer, Simon and Earl. They had already discussed their belief that Ramoon was doing whatever he could to keep me from being involved in the Cryogen project, and only influence at his level could possibly have got Rachel and me a child so soon after our marriage.

But our friends later told us they’d kept their suspicions to themselves for the sake of our happiness, and as far as anyone else was concerned, the speed of the application was put down to the friendship between Ramoon and Rachel’s parents.

As everyone began to leave, Ankit came to congratulate us, and with his hands clasped around both of ours he said, ‘you make such a wonderful couple, and you’re going to be great parents. I am sure you’re all going to be really happy together.’

This must be difficult for him
, I thought, and still detecting an underlying sadness in him that seemed to have washed all the life away, I asked him if he was all right.

‘I will be after I get back,’ he said.

‘Why, where are you going?’

‘I’ve decided to take your advice Richard, and take a break. I’ve managed to get permission to go to the surface to travel around India. I am hoping its going to help me clear my head.’

‘How long will you be gone?’ asked Rachel.

‘I am not sure yet, but I’ll keep in touch, I promise.’

As I watched him disappear through the side of the marquee I made a wish to myself and to whatever gods existed in this time, that his holiday would revive the upbeat and happy personality that I’d first encountered.

I wanted my friend back.

Chapter 25
- Family

Although this was my second family, it was my first time as a father. It hadn't been until we'd reached old age that Helen and I had finally realised that the only family we needed were each other and those people who loved us as much as we loved them; after all, having children hadn’t even been the norm by the time we'd retired. The enforced sterilisation of all children, that had been introduced to protect the wealth of the few and restrict parenthood to those same elite, had ensured that. But even though we knew our views placed us in a minority we still felt deep down that we would have liked children, even though we’d come to terms with knowing we’d never feel the overwhelming joy of holding a child we’d both created.

And in a way Rachel and I hadn’t created this family, not in any sense I was familiar with, but it was the best we were going to get, so I fully intended to make the most of it. And the more I thought about it the more I understood that family really is those people who you love and who love you, regardless of biological ties. Whatever the truth, it would definitely have to be the case now.

We settled into our home in India Prime and quickly established a regular routine. Jane turned out to be the fresh faced and cheeky fifteen year old we’d hoped she would be, but thankfully without the stroppy attitude of the teenagers back in my time. She was confident in our presence when at home, to the extent that I wondered if she’d eventually move to another society when she matured. This was because, although she adhered to the norms when out in public, she lacked no inhibitions at all when she was at home; she seemed to have an intense interest in roaming about the apartment without any clothes on. Something I’d had to deal with on several occasions because it made me feel decidedly uncomfortable. The system intruded less in an individual’s family and home life it seemed.

But generally Jane was very grounded and sensible, although a little shy in other people’s company, and although I questioned if this had anything to do with the rebirth process Rachel just put it down to her lack of social skills.

Her skin was lighter than her mothers but she still had those distinctively sharp classic Indian features that we knew would bring her film star looks when she matured. We knew this because we’d chosen what she would eventually look like, and the system would ensure she grew into this over the years. Not that it could stop her clicking her fingers and changing her features at will. Something that I thanked God hadn’t become a common practice in society. That would really have freaked me out.

Although Jane had been endowed with the basic knowledge for her physical age she lacked any of the experiences that should have accumulated during her previous years. And to rectify this, Rachel and I were eager to involve her in our own life experiences and enthusiastically initiated a regime to help her learn and experience new things. To help her bond with each of us we'd planned to spend time with her individually, as an introduction to our own passions and interests.

As far as her formal education went I was just glad there was no such thing as a ‘
school run’
anymore. I remembered how tedious my friends who had children had described them. But the children of this new age were few and far between so conventional schools were impractical. In fact I wondered why they bothered at all, when it was possible for them to learn while they were asleep, but the same psychological reasons that influenced so much of this society made them want to provide their kids with a simulation of classroom schooling. And as such, every household with a child had a small room with a desk and chair that acted as a mini holo-deck, transporting each child into a virtual classroom with their fellow pupils.

But just like many parents, we both wanted Jane to share our own interests. Rachel wanted her to develop an interest in science, and took every opportunity to be involved in her science and maths learning; whilst I was looking forward to taking her to a football match, which I’d only recently discovered still existed.

I had to laugh inwardly when I thought about it, because Manchester United were still at the top of the league, although it was called
Earth League One
now, and the most absurd thing was that Paul Auldham, debatably one of the best players ever to play for that club, was playing for them! When I’d found out, I just slowly closed my eyes and shook my head. I didn’t even want to know if it was the real Auldham that had been revived, or just someone using his body template; I was beyond being surprised anymore.

I’d initially thought that every famous person I came across was the real one that had been revived; until I bumped into a young rock star, who I knew for a fact hadn't been cryogenically suspended. Then I learned that the estates of these people had ownership of the body templates and licensed them for use. Hundreds of thousands of copies of every single famous person the Earth had ever produced, with a recognisable image, were now walking around. Granted, there were more of the attractive ones than any of the others, but it was still disorientating, and if it hadn’t been for the highly advanced senses built into the new bodies, it would have been impossible to detect the differences between them.