Page 19 of Kiss of Steel

“I’ve never had banana.” He knew what they were; he’d seen them, but he’d never eaten one.

“Banana? Or banana cream pie?”

“Either.” He lost his appetite for the dessert and pushed the bowl away.

Her jaw dropped. “You’ve never eaten a banana?”

There were many common things humans took for granted that he hadn’t done because he hadn’t been allowed to. He’d spent his entire life imprisoned, furloughed only for missions. “Some of my life experience has been rather limited. Can we leave it at that and not discuss it?”

A wheeled robo rolled around the mess hall, collecting dirty trays. He loaded his dirty bowls and the uneaten pudding onto his tray and handed it to a passing robo the way he’d noticed other diners doing. The machine beeped as it took his tray.

The machine toiled, day after day on repeat. Once, he’d been that bot, an automaton rolling through life fulfilling his programming. If at any time he’d refused or questioned, he’d have been deactivated.

He’d never eaten a banana.

He stood up. “Finish your meal. I’m going back to the unit.”

Chapter Nine

Why had bananas upset him? Honoria stared at Jason’s retreating form. Had he taken her incredulity as criticism?

It can’t be about bananas. There has to be a deeper issue involved.Related to his “limited life experience,” no doubt. But it flabbergasted her that he’d never tried the most often eaten fruit on Earth. People all over the world ate them.

She finished her dessert, enjoying it a little less, even though it presented a faux-familiar taste of home. Her husband was a mystery. How could he have not eaten in a week? She could envision skipping a meal or two, possibly a whole day, but a week? Could that be true? Probably so, if the way he’d scarfed down three meals served as an indication.

If he eats like that all the time, he’s going to run out of credits. But maybe, after a while, he’ll slow down.She’d make sure he didn’t skip any meals from this point forward.

People crowded in, needing a place to sit, so she flagged down a robo to clear her place and surrendered her seat. She wondered about Jason’s “story,” how and why he’d come to Refuge. Didn’t personnel managers eat bananas? What kind of trouble could apersonnel managerhave gotten into that landed him here?

What kind of trouble could a secretary get into?

She exited the mess hall into almost-arctic temperatures. She fastened her coat all the way up her neck and set out across the quad. In the distance, several lights bobbed in the darkness and then disappeared. She surmised people heading to their units had cut through the passage.I need to get a light.She added the item to her mental shopping list.

As she moved away from the mess hall, total darkness closed in. With a frisson of alarm, she realized the strip of buildings had vanished into the night, along with the diners. Probably to conserve the solar-powered batteries, the now-vacant offices were unlighted.How am I going to find the passageway?She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.

She glanced back at the mess hall, trying to orient herself.The buildings are to the left of the mess. If I go left, I’ll run into them, and I can feel my way along the wall for the gap.

Or is the strip to the right?Unable to see, she was getting disoriented.

Arms outstretched to break a possible fall, she shuffled to the left, hoping it was the right direction. The wind cut through her coat and whipped around her bare neck and face. She shivered.

I could freeze by the time I find the cabin.She prayed her neighbors had their lights on, or she’d never find her cabin at all.

“Honoria,” a disembodied voice rumbled in the darkness.

A tiny scream of alarm escaped before she recognized the voice. “Jason?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you?” She pivoted in a circle.

“Here.” He touched her shoulder from behind.

She spun around, but she still couldn’t see him. Reaching out, she connected with the hard plane of his chest. “You c-c-can see me?” Her teeth chattered.

He chuckled. “My vision is a little better than yours.”

“Did you get lost? I thought you’d be in the c-c-cabin by now.” Her cheeks were numb. Her eyes watered from the cold and the freezing wind.

---