Europa

by Robert Mills

  We stayed at the Ganymede Hilton Hotel, an enormous building standing on piles driven deep into the moon’s surface. The next morning we were up and out early to visit the local offices of the company that runs the mining operation, the Universal Mining Corporation. We were one of a number of bidders for the contract to maintain their robotic workforce and Marvin made a presentation to the company’s senior executives. We knew that the weakness of our case was that we would need to recruit a number of additional technicians in order to cope with the additional workload, whereas at least one of our competitors had sufficient spare capacity to deal with the work involved. At any rate Marvin’s presentation seemed to be well received.

  The next available flight to Europa was due to depart the following afternoon. At breakfast the following morning Marvin indicated that our prospective clients had some additional questions regarding our bid, but that he would speak to them on his own. He suggested that we could meet up again for a late lunch. At first I wasn’t sure how I would spend the morning. I had a novel on my wrist tablet, but it seemed a waste of an opportunity to spend my time reading in my room. I decided to consult the directory of guest services. This revealed the existence of what was described as a health club on the lower ground floor and indicated that it offered massage, a sauna and a swimming pool. I took the lift down to investigate.

  The robot receptionist asked me if I was on my own, which seemed an odd question to me at the time. A screen on the wall behind the robot indicated that I could swim and have a sauna and massage for a modest, all-inclusive price. I offered payment, but was told that I should settle my bill when I was ready to leave.

  I was shown to a changing room where I donned the swimsuit and dressing gown provided. A door on the other side of the room led into a corridor, which in turn gave access to the various facilities on offer. I decided I’d like to swim, but was disappointed to find that the pool was small and it took only a couple of strokes for me to reach the other end. I swam a few lengths and then dried myself and changed into a pair of shorts. I’d never experienced a sauna, but was keen to broaden my experience. Having spent ten minutes sweating in the cramped cubicle, I decided that this was a form of recreation I could live without.

  At the end of the corridor was a third door that led into a much larger room. On the right was a counter from which drinks and light refreshments were available and there were armchairs, each equipped with a multi-function viewing screen. A number of men, who I took to be miners, were relaxing with drinks or food. I ordered coffee and enquired about a massage. I was told that all the experienced masseurs were engaged, but that a junior member of staff was available. I indicated that this would be fine and settled down to watch the news on my smartscreen.

  About ten or fifteen minutes later a slender young woman appeared and asked, “Are you ready for a massage?” When I said that I was, she indicated that I should follow her. On the other side of the lounge a door led into another longer corridor with doors on both sides of it. I was taken through one of these and told to undress and lie on the couch which, apart from a single chair, was the only furniture in the room. I felt somewhat vulnerable as I lay there exposed with only a sheet to protect my modesty, but as she started to work on my tight muscles with obvious skill I began to relax.

  When she had worked her way from one end of my body to the other she enquired, “Would you like a sexy massage?”

  I was unclear what this meant. Surely she wasn’t offering me the obvious delights of her firm little body, or was she? I could, of course, have simply said ‘no’ and that would have been the end of the matter, but instead I heard myself say, “Yes please.” I felt an electric shock of anxiety pulse through my body when she proceeded to remove her thin cotton dress to reveal that she was wearing nothing underneath. She advanced on me and pulled back the sheet to reveal an obvious lack of stiffness in my nether regions. She attempted to remedy this deficiency with obviously practised skill, but without success.

  “It’s not stiff,” she said with a frown.

  “I’m afraid not,” I replied ruefully.

  She made a series of further attempts to animate my flaccid cock but these proved equally futile. Eventually she shook her head in apparent disbelief and said, “I’m sorry, it’s no good.”

  “I’m awfully sorry,” I said, feeling mortified.

  It was clearly the time to make my excuses and leave, so I retrieved my dressing gown and headed for the door. Before I departed I turned and shook her hand with the pathetically formal and inadequate remark, “Thank you so much, I’ll try and do better next time.” She looked blank and I beat a hasty retreat. As I left I couldn’t help wondering if the ‘girl’ was in fact one of Mike Sinha’s sex robots. If she was, I was hard pressed to identify anything about her that confirmed that she wasn’t a human being.

  Back in reception, with my own clothes on again, I surveyed my bill with some surprise. A sizeable tip for my ‘attendant’ had been added to the expected amount. I considered whether to dispute this, due to the fact that I hadn’t actually had the additional service that the extra amount was clearly intended to cover. A moment’s thought led me to conclude that I would save myself considerable embarrassment if I simply paid and left, so I settled my bill and slunk back to my room.

  As I waited for Marvin’s return, I considered whether or not I should recount my adventure to him over lunch. I was beginning to see the funny side of it myself by then. When Marvin arrived in the restaurant he informed me that Universal Mining had been impressed with our bid but that they had decided to place their business elsewhere. He was clearly disappointed, so I decided that hearing about my experience might help to cheer him up. I waited until we were seated in the lounge over coffee before launching into my narrative. At first he listened without obvious interest, but when I reached the episode of the ‘sexy massage’ he looked horrified.

  “How could you do that, Symon?” he said. “I can’t believe you could be so irresponsible. What will Meena say?”

  “I wasn’t planning to tell Meena,” I said. I could feel myself blushing.

  “I can see why you wouldn’t want to,” he said sternly. “Maybe it’s for the best in the circumstances, but I think that honesty is very important in a marriage.” Marvin had lectured me before, but never with such vehemence. “And another thing,” he continued, “you might have caught some sort of disease from her, did you think of that?” I had to admit that this was something I hadn’t considered.

  “For goodness’ sake, Marvin, nothing happened,” I replied, lamely.

  “It’s just as well your cock has more of a conscience than you do,” he said fiercely. “I’d say you’ve had a narrow escape.”

  “Actually I think she may have been a robot. I can’t be sure though.”

  “And I suppose you think that makes it alright?”

  I didn’t reply and the subject was allowed to drop but the atmosphere on the journey home was noticeably frosty.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The years passed and the company continued to thrive. In spite of the success I was enjoying in business and in other areas of my life, I began to feel ill at ease. All in all my marriage to Meena had been reasonably happy and I delighted in watching my children grow and develop. Why then, I wondered, did I now feel so dissatisfied with my lot? Perhaps it was simply that the novelty of the early years of marriage and the pleasure and excitement associated with the arrival of the children was now behind me. As they matured and became, to a degree, independent of us, we had to face the prospect of a future alone together. Even then average life expectancies were approaching a hundred years, so this phase of our life together was likely to last a long time. I didn’t know how Meena felt about it, or whether she’d given it any thought, but I was aware that I viewed it with trepidation. As far as I could see, we had no interests in common and she had some habits and mannerisms that I found increasingly i
rritating. Worse still, despite all the years we’d lived together as man and wife, I still found it difficult to discuss my feelings with her. I’d tried on a number of occasions to embark on a conversation of this sort, but we had never got further than a couple of sentences before the subject had been changed.

  A few months after we returned from Ganymede, Marvin asked me to go with him to Europa City to visit some clients. In view of the events that had occurred on the previous trip, I was a little surprised by this, but readily agreed to accompany him. As we had an early morning appointment the following day, we’d planned to leave the office on Monday afternoon so that we could arrive in Europa City in time for dinner. At the last minute a minor crisis arose which required Marvin’s personal attention, so he asked me to go on ahead and take care of the morning appointments on my own. He said he would leave home early on the following day and meet me for lunch, provided that the problem had been resolved. I said that I was somewhat apprehensive about meeting the clients without him, but he told me that he had every confidence in me and so I set off to the transit terminal alone.

  When I arrived I checked into the hotel we’d booked and went over the notes Marvin had prepared for the morning meetings. After a while I started to feel hungry and set off down stairs to investigate the restaurant. I stopped at the sign that said ‘please wait to be seated’ and surveyed the scene. The restaurant was small but charmingly furnished and decorated. Each table boasted a fat candle-shaped light, elegant cutlery and glasses, and beautifully folded napkins. At last the restaurant manager appeared and peered down his nose at me.

  “Yes, sir?” he enquired.

  “I’d like dinner, if possible,” I said, trying to sound as if eating in an establishment such as this was entirely routine for me.

  His expression suggested that this was an unexpected and unreasonable request. He looked around as if his attempt to accommodate me was almost certain to prove futile, which was surprising as all the tables were empty. With apparent reluctance, he led me to a small table next to the door to the kitchen and gestured to me to sit down. Soon a robot waiter appeared and displayed a menu and wine list for my benefit.

  The truth was that I wasn’t accustomed to eating alone in public and felt somewhat uncomfortable. Choosing the food and wine gave me something to occupy myself, but once the order had been placed I felt restless. I took some bread from the basket on the table and buttered it. I didn’t really want bread at that moment, but it gave me something to do with my hands. Soon the waiter returned with the wine and after I’d downed a glass in short order I began to feel more relaxed.

  While I was eating the wild mushroom risotto I had ordered as a first course, a woman with short dark hair was shown to a table not too far from mine. As she studied the menu I took the opportunity to get a better look at her. She had flawless olive skin and large brown eyes. Her nose was small and her mouth broad and inviting. As I gazed at her I felt a sense of longing, a feeling that possessing this delightful creature was essential for my future happiness. It was, I suppose, the same instant attraction that had drawn me to Gardenia all those years before when I saw her for the first time. As I lingered over my fish stew, I imagined what it would be like to take her in my arms and kiss her. I imagined her dress falling to the floor as we moved as one towards the waiting bed. I could almost feel the smoothness of her skin under my fingers and taste the sweetness of her lips.

  I was disturbed from my fantasy when the waiter came to remove my plate and offered to show me the dessert menu. As I was no longer hungry I ordered coffee, simply to ensure that I could continue to observe her. I watched in wonder as she delicately dabbed her lips with her serviette. For her own part, she didn’t seem to have noticed me at all, but instead gazed into the distance as if deep in thought. Perhaps, I surmised, she was thinking of a lover from whom she had recently parted or about the lover she would meet again before long. All too soon she refused the dessert menu and left the restaurant without even glancing in my direction.

  As I lay in bed unable to drop off to sleep, I thought about my brief encounter with the unknown woman. To what extent, I wondered, did my reaction to her indicate dissatisfaction with my marriage? After all, I wasn’t in the habit of fantasising about women I’d never met. Even if this was so, what could I do about it? I couldn’t see a way out that wouldn’t leave me worse off. Eventually I fell asleep.

  The morning appointments went better than I’d expected and Marvin duly arrived in time for lunch. During Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning we completed our business and were able to catch an earlier ATV than we’d expected. On the return journey Marvin appeared very subdued, so I asked him what was wrong.

  He sighed. “I suppose I might as well tell you,” he said. “Liv and I had some bad news yesterday. As you know we’ve been trying for a baby for ages. Liv had some investigations at a clinic back on Earth and came away with a clean bill of health. She wanted me to be investigated at the same time but I wasn’t keen.”

  “How did you manage to get the tests done?” I said. “I thought they were illegal.”

  “They are, but there are places that will do them if you’re willing to pay enough. It’s the same here. Anyway, last week I finally agreed to get checked out and the results show that my sperm count is very low. The chances of my fathering a child are incredibly remote. Liv didn’t take it very well and the timing wasn’t good, you know with me being away from home and everything. The thing is, Liv is desperate for a child. I’d like one too, of course, but I’ve got a lot of other things in my life. She just wants to be a mother. She’s got no desire for a career of any sort and she doesn’t have much in the way of other interests either. I’d hoped she’d start playing tennis or something, if only to make some new friends, but she says she doesn’t like sport and I don’t know what else to suggest. The worst thing for me is that it’s my fault. I’d love to give her a child; I’d do anything to make her happy. I’ve been able to give her a nice home and an affluent lifestyle, but I can’t give her what she really wants. The simple truth is I’ve failed her.”

  The obvious depth of his misery surprised me. I hadn’t fully appreciated the all-consuming nature of Liv’s desire to be a mother. My mind went back to that afternoon by the pool in Miami when I had seen her crying as she watched my children playing in the pool. My heart went out to her in her misery, as it had done then.

  I decided to try and be constructive. “Have you considered adopting a child?” I said. “You’d be able to give him or her a good home and I think you two would make excellent parents.”

  “I’ve suggested that,” he said with a shrug, “but she’s not interested. She wants to give birth to the child herself. Don’t ask me why, I don’t understand it myself, but she’s adamant.”

  I thought for a moment or two. “As you know, all forms of infertility treatment were banned some time ago, so I don’t see what else you can do. Quite frankly you’ve done well to have the investigations.”

  “Liv was determined to find out what the problem was. Personally I would be very happy to adopt. I’d love any child who came to us, regardless of its origins. Look, I shouldn’t be burdening you with my problems. Let’s talk about something else.”

  “It’s not a burden,” I said. “We’ve always talked about our problems. You know that I’d do anything within my power to help, don’t you?”

  Marvin reached over and squeezed my arm. “You’re a good friend, Symon. I really appreciate your support.”

  I wondered if Marvin shared any of my misgivings about the future. Their childlessness meant that he and Liv would have come to terms with coexisting alone long ago and I couldn’t help feeling that she would be a more engaging companion in later life than Meena. On the other hand, their relationship was clearly under considerable strain. It seemed that after our golden years of success and happiness, we were both facing an uncertain and troubled future.


  Following our return from Europa City, it was very clear to me that all was not well in the Piper household. Meena and I saw less of Liv than before and when we did meet her she was withdrawn and at times almost rude. I took the view that she would get over her disappointment in time, but Meena, who was by now aware of the situation, was not so sure.

  “You don’t understand how a woman feels about something like that,” she said reproachfully. “Men have so little idea about women’s feelings. You’re particularly clueless; I wonder sometimes how I put up with you.”

  “Yes, dear,” I said wearily. There was no point in disagreeing with Meena when she was in this kind of mood.

  Marvin tried to keep a brave face, but I knew him well enough to recognise that he was not himself. A few weeks later he asked me into his office at the end of the afternoon when most of the staff had already gone home and made a point of closing the door before saying anything to me. He looked rather serious so I asked, “Is anything wrong? You look really worried. Is the business in trouble?”

  “No, our business is fine,” he said. “It’s a personal matter; sit down, will you?”

  Once we were settled he looked at me directly and said, “Look, Symon, I’ve got a rather delicate matter to talk to you about. I really don’t want anyone else to overhear this or find out about it later, OK?” I nodded. “I hope you won’t be offended in any way by what I’m about to ask you. I also want to make it clear that if you say no to my request, I won’t think any the less of you and it won’t have any effect on our relationship, either business or personal.” He frowned. “Frankly I’m not sure how I’d respond if someone asked me to do something like this.” He paused, then continued, “You know that Liv is very upset because we can’t have children. Well, she’s asked me to ask you if you’d be willing to help us out. It’s obvious that you are capable of fathering children and she wants someone we know, better still someone who’s a member of the family, to do it.”