Three weeks after waking from the coma, Jack sat in an office turned classroom as his trainer, what was his name? Roger, Reeger, Renger, spoke about the origination of the original Congress in Greek times and how it had been adopted by different civilizations throughout history.He could feel his lids getting heavy as the lecture continued. His fingers crawled to his arm and pinched hard. The small amount of pain gave him a little jolt of awareness, but not enough to sustain him.Henry walked through the door. The lecture came to a grinding halt. Jack smiled, secretly thanking the man for his timing, but still holding on to that underlying distrust."Out," Henry said and the teacher disappeared out the door in the blink of an eye. Henry spread his hands out on Jack's desk and leaned forward on them. "My man, the news is looking good! It's only been two weeks since your official return, but you are already top in the polls for thirty percent of neighborhoods. It's just a matter of ti

"No James, here, let me show you how it's done." Henry lined up his golf ball on the tee and pulled back the club. It hit the ball with a thwack. The ball flew up and over the green rolling turf. It landed after a couple descending bounces."It's a little bit different watching you do it than actually swinging the club," Jack said."That may be true, but a lot of deals are done on the golf course. You need to be able to keep up with these guys. So, put your back into it and hit that ball."Jack set the next ball down on the tee."There now relax, bend down, then pull back and just think like you're tossing the ball out into the great unknown.""That just sounds so easy," Jack mumbled."Don't get terse. Just hit the thing."Jack swung back the club, lined up the shot, and then whacked it hard. Turf and the tee flew. The ball actually flew this time, but only about a meter and to the left.Henry tilted his head to the side. "Well, at least it's an improvement. I think you just ne

Jack woke in his own king-sized bed with a nasty hangover. The pink-haired woman and redhead lay naked across the bed. He realized he was unclothed as well and quickly donned a bathrobe. The night was a blur in his mind. He was pretty sure they had slipped something in his drink. He'd remembered seeing Henry and Alexandra in some compromising positions. He wished he could burn those memories out of his mind.At one point, he remembered fending off Alexandra and had instead picked the lesser of the two evils. He ended up sleeping with these two girls instead. He wasn't proud, nor happy about it, but it was better than sleeping with a woman that looked like the woman he loved.He showered the sweat and other dried fluids off of him, wanting to scrape the stench of the previous night away. He slipped out of the bathroom. The two women still lay passed out on his bed. He went to the kitchen where his cook sat grilling up a meal. To his surprise, Alexandra and Henry sat at the table drink

Jack turned another page of the bill in front of him with a flick of his fingers. He blinked his eyes tight to try and relieve the strain from the screen, then rubbed at them when that failed. His cuff buzzed. He twisted it to read the message.It was a text from Dyna that read "Dinner tonight?"Jack frowned. He had been trying to do his best to stay away from her as Henry suggested, but it was hard coming up with excuses to dodge her invitations. He let the message sit while he continued reading through the bill.Most of the bills trying to get passed were vetoed just because they were so complex that most of the Representatives didn't feel comfortable passing them. For instance, this one would allow a human to purchase health care from a hybrid company, but it also allowed pods to use more power, let corporations lower wages, and let insurance companies increase minimum deductions. So, for one good thing that could be had, numerous bad things would get passed along with it. The Re

Jack opened his eyes. The biome he stood in was covered in snow. The last time he had seen snow was the first time he held Alex in his arms overnight. That pang hit his stomach again. He fixed his frown into a smile and looked at the scene. Lights hung across the top arch. Trees dotted the open area lit in colorful lights and sparkling garland. People milled about in coats and hats as they headed toward a giant glasshouse. It was truly a winter wonderland, but all Jack could do was think of the base where he had left Alex."Do you like it?" Dyna asked.Jack smiled. "Of course I do.""Have you ever seen snow before?"Jack thought it an odd question but then realized that most people in the Undersea hadn't. He shook his head."It's great. You can make snowmen out of it and throw snowballs, just like they do in the movies.""Really?" Jack did his best to fake interest."You've seen this before, haven't you?""Not this one. Show me.""You're a hard one to surprise." She grabbed hi