A Visitor to the Future - 79 - House Warming
I'd failed to realise something about Sarkona, even though I'd known them for several months now. It was the sort of thing that you looked back on and connected the dots - realized how easily they related to people, how confidently they could strike up a conversation with a complete stranger with little in common.
Sarkona was popular.
Of course I hadn't seen it before - when Sarkona was spending time with me, it was often on a personal basis, to help with my adjustment to the Consortium. Apart from Antonia and Tungsten, who I'd met on the Promise of Sol, Sarkona hadn't been in a rush to introduce me to all the people they knew.
All of this dawned on me only when I asked how many people Sarkona had invited to the housewarming party.
"Oh, about eighty," Sarkona had said nonchalantly, "Most of my other friends are offworld."
In comparison, I'd invited fourteen. And that had been pushing it a little - at Sarkona's recommendation I'd invited some people I'd only met once.
Surprisingly, only two of the people I invited decided not to come. Robin, who I'd met in IJmuiden, had apparently decided to have his rejuvenation done early and was wrapped up in Bio-dev work that week - though he did send a basket of truffles as a gift. Waiola, who I'd met at the Earth Reclamation Project site, chose not to respond at all.
Everyone else was apparently eager to come and see the new place.
We'd spent the day before preparing the house for the occasion. Sarkona had suggested that we theme the event, which led me to a crisis of indecision. In the end they suggested ice-themed, which I did have to admit was appropriate. Drones hung blue and white streamers around the place, and three flowing ice sculptures depicting waterfalls were prominently displayed around the house. The music played would be chill 2250s electroswing, which we'd both found a liking for.
I asked Sarkona what we were going to do for entertainment, which they waved their hand dismissively at. "I never worry about that," they said, "Get enough people together and they'll come up with something to do organically. Better that than try and force it."
The next evening came, and as the guests began to arrive I found myself quickly outnumbered, the ambience becoming chatty and busy. Our house was large, but it wasn't big enough to fit nearly one hundred people - so everyone spilled out onto the balconies, around the swimming pool, and surrounding areas. Drones zipped back and forth from the surrounding areas, bringing chairs on request. Sarkona started introducing me to people they knew, one after the other, who all seemed to have something to ask about my experiences in the twenty-first century. My Human language proficiency was really being tested today, and Sarkona had to translate a few times for me.
"Is it true that most people had to wear standardised clothes?" asked Sarkona's mother, Malati. If I ignored Sarkona's hair, the resemblance was uncanny - they both had exactly the same brown eyes, brow, and cheek structure. Because they both looked around the age of thirty, I could easily mistake them for siblings. She was wearing a long beige evening dress, making her by far one of the most formally dressed people here.
"Yes," I said, "Tailoring was expensive - I couldn't afford it."
"You all must have been so uncomfortable all the time!" she said, "I can't imagine it! And so few clothes designers too - what a travesty! Listen, you must let me do some work for you at some point - I'd love to learn more about the fashions of your time."
As we moved on, more than one person wanted to know whether I had any recollection of the cryocontainment process - though to my surprise all of them approached the subject delicately, asking if I would be comfortable answering their questions. It seemed that the capability for tact was quite common. Sarkona slowly got dragged into other conversations, and I began to make my way around the busy house alone.
It took me another ten minutes to find people that I'd invited - I spied Tungsten talking with Regolith and Silence, the three CIs standing on one of the balconies, looking over the surroundings. Silence was bundled in what looked like a large, continuous piece of dark silk fabric, wrapped around him repeatedly before hanging off the neck like a scarf. Regolith was wearing the same V-necked brown shirt and a pair of three-quarter length trousers that I'd seen him in last time, and Tungsten a smart-looking white collared shirt and bow-tie.
"Good to see you!" said Tungsten, extending a hand in my direction, "Love the new place! It gives me a new appreciation for this style - look, so much free space! How are you finding things so far?"
"Busy," I replied, "I've never thrown an event like this before! There's so many people to meet!"
A slight smile appeared on Silence's synthetic lips, "Occasions like these are a good way to meet new people, if you choose. You will adjust in time."
"Anyway," I said, "I feel like I interrupted you - what were you talking about?"
"Animals," said Regolith, whose large, bulky form was leaning backwards against the balcony, "There is one downstairs."
"That must be Dela," I said, thinking of the Friendly Lynx, "Gatecrash said they were going to bring her. She's probably more popular than I am today."
"Indeed," said Regolith, "There is a queue to pet the animal. Domesticated animals - especially genetically constructed hybrids - are a rare sight these days."