The Gremlins Consortium - Episode 2

Maria was up on the flat roof of her apartment building sunbathing in a colorful striped bikini and subtle rimless blue shades. Several feet away a blond, freckle-faced guy last seen in bright bermuda shorts and jet-black sunglasses was hidden in an impossibly deep Brazilian hammock that swayed softly in the warm summer breeze. The scent of suntan lotion and clean towels filled her with a sudden surge of kid joy and she stretched with a lazy yawn.

"You know," she commented, not particularly caring whether he was listening or not. "I think my tummy is a big solar panel. I have to recharge it a lot when the sun comes out or else the winters up here would do me in." Her smooth forehead crinkled in thought. "I wonder if I'm a robot."

"I think you are, Sush," said the hammock. Maria's friends called her Sushi. Except when they were feeling lazy. "You have to get charged up, and then you're good for long, bitter cold months without any sun. The way I figure, there's four kinds of people: robots, iguanas, lotuses, and rocks."

"Explain."

"Robots have to charge up their solar cells, but then they're fine until the charge runs out. Iguanas can't function unless they have lots of sunlight, otherwise they go into a depressed stupor. Lotuses, if they don't get lots of sun, die." The voice stopped.

"What about rocks?"

"Oh, they just don't care."

"Wild guess which one you are."

"Yup."

There was a contented pause. A thought meandered into Sushi's mind. She sat up on her elbows.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Do I ever know what time it is?"

"Right." She got up and crossed to look over the low parapet at the edge of the roof. The bank clock on the corner across the street said 12:56. She gave a petulant little sigh.

"I just remembered I have to be somewhere. I'll see you later, Zen."