Page 12 of Escape Clause

Krogan blinked. “No. He is not programmed to do that. He’s a house bot. Don1.0. Don One for short. Don as in Caradonia. There are later models, but I’ve had Don One for years and saw no reason to replace a perfectly good bot.”

“Oh!” She laughed at herself. “I misheard what you said. Can it speak?”

“Yes. Don One, this is my wife, Hope Bennett. Say hello.”

My wife.Her stomach gave an odd flutter to hear those words in his deep voice.

“Hello, Hope Bennett. I am here to serve you well. Would you care for a beverage with your dinner meal?”

She was impressed. “Yes, I would. What do you recommend?”

Don Juan—she preferred to think of him that way—offered a suggestion, but she had no idea what it was.

“It’s a juice,” Krogan explained. “Bring one for each of us,” he instructed the bot, “and some water.”

Don Juan left the room, and she studied her plate of unrecognizable bite-size nuggets. They smelled appetizing.

“I instructed Don One to prepare a sampling of different foods in hopes something would appeal to you. As he learns what you like and dislike, he will adjust what he prepares.”

“Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you,” she said. Could she have judged him too harshly? She took a nibble of something savory and delicious and discovered she was hungry after all.

Don Juan returned with several goblets. “Do you require anything else?”

“No. I’ll let you know if I do,” Krogan said.

The bot left.

“Do you have androids on Terra Nova?” Krogan asked.

“Yes.Inever had one, but they exist. People in government use them. The government controls our technology. They dole out what we can have, when we can have it, and how we use it. They limit and monitor our tech-tab time.”

“Why? What are they afraid of?”

“What all government officials fear—losing power,” she replied before she remembered he was governor-general. How much authority didhehave, she wondered.

Hurriedly, she added, “They started out with good intentions. The colonizers intended Terra Nova to be agrarian. Earth had developed too fast and didn’t manage its technology well, resulting in many unexpected harmful consequences to the planet and the people. Technology supplanted personal contact. People forgot how to behave around each other. They became isolated. And mining for the metals used in technological devices devastated the environment.

“Terra Nova is Earth’s mulligan. The government decided that Terra Nova would stick with the basics, operate at a simpler, slower pace, and focus on a lifestyle that brought people together instead of separating and isolating them. The planet was developed into small villages and farms. We have a few industrial areas, but most people live in hamlets.

“The goal was to use technology to supplement our lives, not replace it. Technology was put under the auspices of the government to manage and monitor,” she concluded.

“Once government gains control, they don’t relinquish it,” he said.

“You said it. I didn’t.”

“Nor did you say why you chose Cosmic Mates.”

“My village wasn’t safe for me anymore. I had to marry someone I didn’t like or leave.”

After losing her job at the bakery, she’d submitted an application, unsure if she would follow through. But upon returning to the cottage, she discovered Rose had discarded her belongings and changed the locks. With only the clothes on her back, she’d run to Prudence’s house. The constable—a crony of the mayor’s—had come looking for her, claiming she’d stolen from Rose. Her friend’s parents had covered for her, denying she was there, but Hope knew her presence put them in jeopardy.

For a month, until her Cosmic Mates application had been approved and the ship had come for her, she’d hidden out, moving from place to place. Friends of her boss and of Prudence’s family had hidden her. No one dared to confront the mayor outright, but they sympathized. Other than his hand-selected cronies, he had few friends. But she’d had to flee, as much to save the people who’d helped her, as herself.

“So, you exchanged one unwanted marriage for another?” Krogan said.

“Except this one has an escape clause.” She cringed at how rude that sounded, but then she realized he’d been pretty tactless in explaining his reasons. At least they were starting out honest. That was something, anyway.

“Speaking of that, we need to make it legal.”

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