Read Online Date Night on Union Station by E. M. Foner - Free Book Online

asked.
    “Ah, that’s rather complicated. But I can tell you that two of the women on that ship were introduced to the bride-stealers through Eemas, and as soon as we suspected what was going on, we had to act to defend our business model.” Jeeves sounded indignant rather than defensive, and Kelly wondered if he was a stakeholder in the dating service.
    “So why didn’t you just deport the guys and confiscate their ship?”
    “You know that we don’t like imposing rules on other species, and bride-stealing is a widespread practice in many cultures. It doesn’t always include prior negotiations.”
    “And I entered into this how?” Kelly asked.
    “You fit the profile,” the Jeeves responded. “That made the date legitimate for both parties, and we do have a guaranty to uphold.”
    “I, what?” Kelly slapped the robot’s head and hurt her hand. “You think I’m so desperate to find a man that I want to get kidnapped?”
    “In any case, as an EarthCent employee, your implants are diplomatic quality, and of course, you authorized remote monitoring when you signed your employment contract,” the Stryx continued unperturbed. “By taking you without your prior consent, the bride-stealers violated your diplomatic immunity, which gave us an excuse to step in.”
    “Hold on a sec,” Kelly protested, with the feeling she was getting too much new information all at once. “What was that bit about authorizing remote monitoring of my implants? Do you mean you have me bugged?”
    “Strange how nobody from your world ever reads the end user license agreements,” Jeeves said by way of an answer. “This must have been the first time your implants were accessed remotely, or you would have been aware of it. The EarthCent agreement stipulates that the employee will be notified of any remote monitoring within one pay period. This conversation is being entered in the records that notification was made.”
    “Just wait a minute, and stop changing the subject,” Kelly demanded, trying to recall which question the robot was evading. But the whole situation was too confusing and she just wanted to get home and go to sleep. “I’m not through with you,” she concluded lamely.
    “You’ve had a strenuous day, you need rest,” the robot soothed her. “After a good night’s sleep, I hope you will see this experience in a new light. Remember, Eemas knows you better than you know yourself,” Jeeves invoked the tagline from the ads, and began rolling towards the exit.
    Kelly followed the robot in silence as she formed and discarded new lines of questioning. When they reached the corridor, Jeeves patiently waited for Kelly to choose her direction, towards the main tube bank, and then he headed off the opposite way. Just before the tube door closed, it occurred to her to yell at the vanishing robot, “Hey! Did whatever you call what just happened actually count as a date on my subscription?”
    Jeeves, who could probably pick up the vibrations of a butterfly landing on a leaf down on an ag deck, somehow failed to hear the question and rolled along his merry way.
     

Seven
     
    None of the mercenaries who had fought behind Joe’s leadership would have believed he could ever be so nervous, but speaking to a roomful of children was not the sort of challenge he relished. He was only there because Paul had practically begged Joe to appear as his parent or guardian for the career show-and-tell, one of the group classes the Stryx offered so the children could socialize.
    Despite Paul’s usual shyness, he was eager to introduce his stand-in parent to the class, and Joe waited his turn in the corridor for Paul to come out and get him. The door slid open and a well-dressed woman stumbled out, swabbing the sweat from her face with a handkerchief.
    “That was brutal,” she muttered to Joe. “It made my dissertation defense seem like a cake walk.”
    “What do you do,” he asked her curiously.
    “I’m an astrophysicist with