The Inclusion Body

The Inclusion Body



Joachim Huguenot sighed heavily and looked at his computer screen once more. The complex mathematical equation on the screen had been plaguing him for days now and he knew his boss was getting impatient. No matter how hard he tried to solve the equation, he couldn’t find the light at the end of the tunnel. Solving the equation would allow his boss to achieve at least a 45 percent increase in the efficiency of the company’s database.

More importantly, solving the equation would mean prestige for both his boss and himself. The chairman of the board, Henry Wexel, opened slots for junior executives to join the specially-created Junior Executive Corps, membership in which often led to a high management position within the worldwide electronics firm. Competition was fierce, so Wexel created extremely complex mathematical equations. Those that solved them were considered for the promotion. The managers of those considered received bonuses.

Joachim tapped a few more buttons and, magically, half the problem was solved. He almost shouted for joy, until he remembered that he’d held off on using the move for several days. Now, he felt sheepish and stupid for not trusting his own intelligence. He’d been afraid of being wrong and incurring the wrath of his manager, Abigail Lightner.

She’d become manager the old-fashioned way, with hard work and seniority, but she didn’t mind the accelerated promotion of her junior executives as it meant larger holiday bonuses at the end of the year. Still, she had a reputation of efficiency to uphold and, no doubt, his continued failure to quickly grasp and solve the math equation had to be grating on her. He knew that if he failed to solve the problem that, most likely, he’d be knocked to the bottom of the list for a raise come evaluation time.

He decided to take a break and do some regular work. It would have been much easier if he could use his computer’s Artificial Intelligence to, at least, give him some clues, but that was forbidden. The equation had to be solved with human brainpower alone. Worse yet, he had to do it on his break time or lunch, so that the company’s work production would not suffer.

He got up out of his chair, stretched and then walked out of his cubicle. He looked around and saw nothing but the walls of other cubicles. He did hear finger clicking away on computer keyboards. Occasionally, he heard muffled voices of people using the voice-recognition systems. It was a very impersonal setup, he said to himself as he walked down the hall towards the server room. Then again, he reminded himself, it wasn’t too long ago when such a work area would have been found in India, Ghana or Brazil instead of the United States.

“Look smart, Hugo,” a portly blond-haired man said as he walked towards Joachim. “You’re pretty popular these days.”

Joachim forced a smile to his lips and nodded at his co-worker, who usually hid out in the mailroom. He hated to be called “Hugo,” but almost everyone called him either that or “Jock.” They couldn’t pronounce “Joachim” or “Huguenot” correctly and took to giving him a nickname to make it easier on themselves. He had to give a little slack for their inventiveness, however. He’d always had someone in his life – a clergyman, a cop, a teacher – who was befuddled by his combination of a German first name and French surname. Only his high school history teacher had ever gotten his surname right, but that was because she knew that it referred to the Huguenots, a French reformist commune in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

“What’s up today, Martin?” Joachim asked. “Do I finally have some mail?”

Martin Ruddy laughed with jocosity. Ruddy, whose surname perfectly matched both his complexion and his demeanor, could laugh at anything. Joachim strongly believed it came from the fact that no one else was going to laugh at Ruddy’s jokes except himself.

“Got a letter for you, buddy,” Ruddy said, as he handed Joachim a thick envelope. “I ain’t nosy like some other people but, if I were you, pal, I’d wait until I got home to open it. Whoever sent it might be brave enough to send it to your current place of employment, but they won’t be paying your bills if Miss Abigail finds you reading it and cans you.”

Ruddy walked on to deliver some more mail, mostly packages from various overnight delivery companies. Joachim felt a little special. With the virtual dominance of the Internet, Internet 2 and Internet 3, hand-delivered mail was a thing of the past.

He knew because he was the only member of his family who wrote letters anymore and he always got strange looks when from his neighbors when he walk out his house, carrying a bundle of envelopes.

He returned to his cubicle to salt the envelope away among his personal items. He’d just stuffed it into a pocket when a leggy blonde stuck her head in. He was startled but quickly recovered his poise and said hello to his manager.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, Jock,” Abigail Lightner said, in a sweet and demure voice. “I see that you’ve solved half of the equation. Congratulations. Is there anything I can do to stimulate the old brain cells for the other half of the equations?”

“Well, not right now, Ms. Lightner,” Joachim replied. “But, I did finish the Spratley files this morning.”

“Oh, yes, I did see that,” Lightner said, off-handedly. “Come on. Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”

Before he could react, she’d slipped into his cubicle. She moved behind his chair and he felt her hands on his shoulders. Her fingers began to massage his shoulders, neck and the back of his head. He had to admit that it felt good, but his mind reeled at the breach of professional ethics.

Abigail Lightner had told him that she didn’t mind him trying for the executive position, despite the fact that she’d had to work her fingers to the bone to get to a managerial position. He could also understand the desire to earn a bonus if someone from her division was advanced to the selection round. But, this personal touch from her was a bit much.

“I think I have a way to get the juices going again, Jock,” Lightner said. “Be at this address tonight at 10 p.m.”

She walked around his chair and dropped something in his lap. He watched her walk out of the cubicle or, to be more accurate, he watched her magnificent legs walk out of the cubicle. He’d only been with the firm for three years and never had Abigail Lightner paid him more than scant attention. He’d been just another employee to her.

Except now, when he might be her ticket out of the lower ranks, he thought. Company rules forbade a new executive from bringing any co-workers along, to avoid the appearance of cronyism. There was nothing mentioned, however, about companions at important company functions and get-togethers, places where an ambitious woman like Abigail Lightner might make important connections.

Yes, he was a bit of a geek and his social life needed a lot of work. But, he wasn’t stupid. He had more than just book smarts. He also had some street smarts. He picked up the business card she’d dropped in his lap and read it. It had her address on the back. He looked down at the miniature shredder beneath his desk, smiled and stuffed the card into his shirt pocket. He had street smarts, but maybe, just maybe, he told himself, he might have to play the game her way to get ahead.



* * * * * *



Joachim sniffed the air as he stepped outside of the office. The air was cool but still reeked of exhaust. Indeed, a glance at the skyline of the city still showed a clearly visible bank of smog. He shook his head sullenly. It had been more than 20 years since former Vice-President Al Gore had warned the world of global warming and climate change from carbon emissions and still little progress had been made on reversing the damage.

He pulled his air filter mask from his jacket pocket, slipped the secure band over his head and placed the mask over his mouth and nose. Now, he looked like the rest of the pedestrians. A police cruiser passed by and he stifled a laugh, wondering how the cops could recognize criminals now if everyone wore masks. It was a crazy world, he thought to himself, as he began walking towards the subway station.

The trains of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority were running late again, as usual, but Joachim was in no hurry. Waiting on the platform was better than waiting in a car in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Mass. Turnpike or the Big Dig. At least with the MBTA, he could leisurely read a book or close his eyes and think while he waited.

Joachim’s eyes caught sight of gorgeous legs – he had a thing for well-toned legs – protruding down from a short skirt and disappearing inside a pair of black high-heeled leather boots. The owner of those boots looked over her shoulder at Joachim and winked.

The woman reminded him of Jessica. Jessica Hardy lived two houses down from him on Monument Street in the Greater Boston suburb of Medford. She was a boarder as she continued her pursuit of a Ph.D. at Tufts University. She also was president of the Indigo Society, which sought to force the academic world to get involved in stopping the disastrous global climate change. She was forever trying to get him to join, even though he hadn’t been in school since getting his Master’s two years earlier. He guessed she believed that his mathematical and analytical skills might, in some way, help the cause.

The train arrived and Joachim stepped aboard the third car. The crowd was light today and he was able to secure a seat. He removed his filter mask and breathed in the clean air that the MBTA piped into all of its trains and buses. That’s when he noticed that the girl with the leather boots sitting across from him. She wasn’t looking at him but she’d crossed her legs and seemed to be pointing them his way.

The train moved away from Lechmere Station and headed for Park Street, where he would switch to catch the Orange Line. He spent his time enjoying the cool air and sneaking glances at the woman across from him. Without her mask, she was cute, having what his mother would call a “rough” beauty. Her face and demeanor oozed intelligence and wit. Occasionally, she looked up at him and he’d shyly look away. Unlike Abigail Lightner, this woman didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives for flirting with him as he’d never seen her before. That made him interested in her but, at the same time, served to bring back the shyness that had sapped the life from his social skills since junior high school.

At Park Street, he disembarked and headed towards the Orange Line. He caught the train just as it was about to pull out, plopping down in a seat. A moment later, the woman in the leather boots sat down next to him, equally out of breath.

“Wow, almost didn’t make it,” she said, between gasps. “Judy Couture. How do you do?”

“Joach—Jock Hugo,” he said, somewhat taken aback by the woman’s boldness.

“Uh-uh, you were about to say something different,” she note, as she finally regained her breath.

“Actually, my name’s Joachim Huguenot,” he said, sheepishly. “My friends and co-workers call me either Jock or Hugo because they can’t pronounce my names properly.”

“Joachim’s a nice name,” Judy said, with a big smile. “And Huguenot’s very historical.”

Joachim smiled, surprised that someone recognized the historical significance of his name. He began to explain the historical significance of the Huguenots and this led to other more modern topics. He found Judy to be very charming and very disarming. He’d talked with her for almost 20 minutes before he realized that he’d been talking not just with a total stranger, but with a cute woman and hadn’t felt shy. He quickly made up his mind to keep the conversation going for as long as possible. He’d been trying for a long time to be more sociable and he figured it couldn’t hurt to talk a little more with Judy.

“That’s quite a conundrum you have, Joachim,” Judy commented, pronouncing his name so smoothly it sounded professional. “Your boss is pulling for your success on the one hand and your female friend wants you to join up with her. And you want my opinion, right? I know you didn’t ask, but I can see it in your eyes.”

Joachim was stunned. He’d been thinking of that exact thought. Was he that transparent or was she some sort of psychic? He decided that it didn’t matter and waved a hand to signal her to continue talking.

“I can sum it up in three words,” she stated. “Part and parcel. Everybody’s being forced to take sides. Your boss wants to hobnob with the big boys and girls and she sees you as a way to do it. So, you have to join the executives. Your female friend would love nothing more – in my opinion, of course – than to have a potential executive in her ranks. Indigo Society is the exact opposite of the big corporations.

“Corporate America talks a big game about using technology to clean up the environment, but can’t bring itself to destroy the bottom line. Technology, especially new technology costs a lot of money to create, install and maintain. No different than any other product ever marketed but only far more expensive. The CEO’s can’t see the future, only the bottom lines staring them – and their investors and stockholders – smack dab in the face.

“Indigo Society, on the other hand, wants to stop them,” Judy continued. “They say a lot of good things and raise awareness but they take in so many disparate opinions that they can’t keep their promises. It’s like when Barack Obama was running for president back in 2008. He had a message about hope and millions of people jumped on the bandwagon. His supporters were literal hodgepodges of fringe groups and people fed up with the norm. There were a lot of different messages floating around, yet almost no one really knew how to bring them all together and make them heard. It’s like one of those old movies where an angry mob of townsfolk demands action, except that they have no idea what kind of action they want. They just want someone to do something. Sooner or later – most likely sooner – it’s going to boil over for the Indigo Society. They’ll demand action and your friend will have to deliver something.”

“Wow, you are amazing,” Joachim complimented after a moment of silence, a look of awe on his face that made Judy blush deeply. “Political science major?”

“Political Environmental Science,” she corrected. “I’m burning both ends of the candle. I even have my own business. Well, it’s not going so well. Both sides are trying to squeeze me out. I’m holding on, but it’s a one-woman band against a high school band on one side and an orchestra on the other. Oh, darn, here’s my stop.”

“I’m sorry it has to end,” Joachim lamented. “This is the most conversation I’ve had with anyone in years.”

As the train coasted to a stop, Judy stood up. Joachim rose, too, and looked up, noting that she was stopping in Malden. Maybe it might be so bad, he thought, since Malden was across the Mystic River from Medford. She looked at him and suddenly handed him a business card. It read “The Inclusion Body.”

“I hate to mix business with pleasure, but I need all the help I can get,” she said as she headed out of the doors. “If you have some referrals, let them know about me. Have a good day and I hope your problems work themselves out."

The doors closed and the train began to move again. Joachim watched through the window as she walked away. Just before the train re-entered the tunnel, he saw her glance back over her shoulder and look his way. He felt warm inside and he settled back in his seat, with a smile on his face. Yes, it seemed things were looking up for him these days, he thought, as he glanced down at her business card again.

"The Inclusion Body," he murmured. "Interesting name for an interesting girl."

The rest of the trip was brief since the very next stop was Oak Grove, the station that serviced Medford. Joachim liked to tell people just how historic his hometown was, it having been established in 1630, just after the founding of Salem and Boston. It was the seventh oldest town in America (preceded by St. Augustine, Florida; Jamestown, Virginia; Plymouth; Salem; Lexington, and Boston), had been the home of former governor James Royal, and was famous for Medford rum and Medford mud taken from the banks of the Mystic River and used to make bricks that had survived well into the 21st century. The town was even mentioned in Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.”

Joachim caught the bus to Boston Avenue, getting off at the first stop when the bus passed over the Mystic River just after the Mystic Valley Parkway. He looked to his right and sighed, as he caught sight of the nearby Green line train station. Budget cuts had forced the MBTA to shutter it a few years ago, otherwise he’d have been able to avoid the bus to Oak Grove. Of course, he thought, then I’d never have talked to Judy.

He walked down a side street and then turned on to Monument. As usual, the street was full of children playing. Older adults, most of who were retired and renting out parts of their multi-family houses, chatted on porches. A few waved at him and he waved back.

He liked the atmosphere of the street. It wasn’t so long ago when neighbors didn’t talk to neighbors. Nobody knew who anyone’s kids were or what they were doing. That had allowed crime and pedophiles to gain the upper hand for the longest time until the movement a few years ago to bring back some old-fashioned values to family life in America.

He arrived at his abode, a three-story, multi-family house halfway up the street. It was comfortable enough, though he'd really wanted to stay in his parents' house a few blocks over. They'd willed it to him before they'd passed on from various cancers. Unfortunately, it had burned down after a lightning strike, forcing him to stay with his uncle in Milton while he attended Boston College for his undergraduate degree. When he'd attended Tufts University for his Master’s degree, he'd felt that it was better to return to his old neighborhood, which was literally right down the street from the college.

He'd liked the accommodations so much that he'd stayed. There was really no risk. Since he didn't have much of a social life, he didn't have to worry about marriage or kids just yet. The neighborhood was generally quiet and the neighbors peaceable. Best yet, the air in the suburbs and further out from Boston was cleaner. Filter masks were not required nearly as much as when he was in Boston or Providence.

He eventually wanted his own house, but even with his salary at the firm, he knew he would need to build up his savings a lot more before trying to enter a tight housing market such as existed in New England. It had been bad enough when his parents first got their house and it was much tougher now. Housing was at a premium -- too many people and not enough space.

He looked back over his shoulder, at the house two spots down and saw that the porch was empty. He guessed that Jessica was still at school, no doubt planning another rally for the Indigo Society. Maybe it was just as well, he thought. He needed a break, first to clear his mind to tackle the equation tomorrow and to remember the pleasantness of his conversation with Judy.

"Hey, Jock, hold up!"

Joachim didn't need to look back to see the source of that voice. He knew it was Jessica, but he turned around just the same. He found her to be annoying at times, but that didn't mean he had to be rude to her and keep his back to her.

At the same time, he remembered Judy’s words. He’d been smug enough to think Jessica needed his math smarts for her society, missing the fact that Tufts was full of guys like him. No, she wanted him for another reason, one that Judy had presented to him. If he made executive at his company, he would be in a supreme position to help Jessica and her society. So much for my street smarts, he thought to himself.

She came running up the street, out of breath when she reached him, to the point, she had to stop and stoop over to catch her wind. She wore khaki BDU pants, black hiking boots and a muscle shirt. She looked as if she were going to puke and no wonder, he thought. The air may have been cleaner in the suburbs, but not so clean as to allow one to run around willy-nilly. Even the children had time limits for playing outside before going inside for a break next to an air purifier.

"Sorry, I...just...wanted to catch you before...you went inside," Jessica gasped. "Wow, the air...tastes pretty bad when you're out of breath."

"What's up, Ms. Hardy?" Joachim asked.

"Hey, call me Jess, okay?" she retorted. "We're friends, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Hey, what's wrong?" she inquired, a look of concern on her face. "The Man got you down?"

Joachim wanted to laugh, but stifled himself. Jessica could be like that. She filled her head with old jargon, "the Man" being a perfect example. He'd heard that used in the old "blaxploitation" flicks of the 1970's. It had caught on in revolutionary circles, whether the users were revolutionaries or just thought that they were.

"When are you gonna' learn, Jock, that the Man is just using you?" she asked, rhetorically. "Henry Wexel uses those equations to separate people and find those who fit his mold. Then, he uses them to continue raping the world's resources."

"It's not like that, Jessica," Joachim shot back, with more than a bit of anger. "We develop technology to help clean up the environment."

"Then, why do you have to wear an air filter to work every day?" Jessica asked. "Your company, all of them, all of Corporate America, they talk a big game, but they can't change. Yeah, some of them are just greedy bastards, but most of them don't know how to change. They can’t change their spots and those spots are green, like money. But, the world, it can't go on like this, Jock. Pretty soon, we'll need filter masks all the time in the suburbs and even in the country. Is that the kind of world our kids should grow up in?"

Joachim figured Jessica would bring up children. He was sure she was being rhetorical, but some part of him wondered if she had ulterior motives. She was good-looking, but she was so different from him. She was outgoing, extroverted, the exact opposite of him. He felt a kinship with her because she seemed to be the catalyst he needed to get out of his doldrums. Still, she did have some sides to her that he didn't find so appealing.

"It's not that, Jess," Joachim tried to counter. "You're forgetting the human equation. A new, modern refinery will clean the air, but will replace six old refineries. One thing it won't do is create enough jobs for all the workers who will be displaced. That's why the unions are stifling the changeover."

"Oh, I'm crying," Jessica mocked. "The CEO is just using that excuse to cover his ass and appease the stockholders. The unions are looking out for themselves, so they don't lose all that money they get in dues. Who's looking out for Mother Earth? Jeez, Jock, I wish you'd come to one of our meetings. You'd learn so much. I promise we don't bite. Please?"

Joachim saw her eyes pleading with him and he began to lose his nerve. He was a sucker for not just legs, but pleading eyes. That was why he spent so much money every year on Girl Scout cookies. Mentally, he chastised himself for not having more backbone, for not being more like Judy. Physically, he found himself agreeing to attend Jessica's next meeting.

"Okay, it's this Friday night," Jessica said, beaming. "Eight o'clock. I'll pick you up at seven. Thanks ever so much. Oh, hey, let's duck inside your house. I've got something else for you."

He let her take him by the hand up to the porch. He produced his electronic key, opened the door and then stepped aside like a gentleman to let Jessica in first. They went inside and she quickly closed the door.

"What's the surprise?" he asked, when they'd gotten into his living room.

She didn't answer. She just jumped him. Before he could react, her lips were on his and her hands freely roamed his body. As he had not had much practice with social skills, he found himself letting her have her way. His body reacted as it should have and he was fully aroused within a minute.

His mind almost seemed to leave his body and look down on him as Jessica made love to him. Slowly, she slid to her knees, looking up into his surprised eyes. She then smiled before manipulating him. He moaned in ecstasy and gave in fully.

An hour later, she got up from the couch and began to get dressed. He lazed under the serape and smiled languidly. Although he was almost 30, this was only the 10th time he'd had sex and Jessica had been the best.

"Seven o'clock, remember, on Friday," she said.

"Huh?" he asked, absent-mindedly. "Oh, yeah. Friday. Yeah, I'll be ready."

Jessica looked at him. She sighed and then took her clothes off again. She climbed over the top of the couch and pulled the serape off as she straddled him.

"Looks like someone needs another reminder," she said, coyly, as she bent down to kiss him.



Later that evening, he stepped out onto the porch to enjoy the cool air the came just after dusk. With the sun down, the sea breeze swept in and momentarily took the bad air away. This was the best time to sit back and enjoy some peace of mind. He found a lounge chair and pulled it up to the banister, so that he could kick his feet up on it.

He heard footsteps and saw a tall, slender black man walking towards him. He smiled and waved lazily at his next-door neighbor. Bernie Watts was a jack-of-all-trades who specialized in computer assisted design with one eye and neighborhood watching with the other. He kept watch for anything suspicious and especially looked after the house that Joachim occupied, since its owners had been having health problems lately.

"Looks like something's eating you, Mr. Huguenot," Bernie said, as he walked up to the banister and leaned against it. "For someone who works at one of the premier computer firms in the country, that's probably not a good sign."

"Hello, Bernie," Joachim said, with a sigh. "I've got some problems, that's all. You know I'm doing that super hard-assed equation for Mr. Wexel. My manager's really getting on me to finish it up."

"And, meanwhile, you're also doing the Indigo Society, so to speak," Bernie said, as if he'd read Joachim's mind.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess you could call it that," Joachim, trying vainly to stop his cheeks from blushing royally.

"Don't sweat it, kid," Bernie said, nonchalantly. "I was young once, too. Just be careful with those revolutionaries. Are you going to one of her Indigo functions?"

"Friday night," Joachim replied.

"Let me guess," Bernie said. "Before today, you were reluctant and only agreed after she begged you. Then, you two had relations and now you're eager."

"Is it that transparent?" Joachim queried, incredulously, as he took his feet off the banister and sat upright. "Jeez, I didn't even think of it like that. Should I still go?"

"Hey, it's a free country, kid," Bernie answered. "But, right now, you got you some and it was probably pretty good. And your mind is saying 'don't screw this up.' All I can say is go to the meeting, but with an open mind. Treat it like an election. Learn what's what and then make a decision. If she likes you for you, she'll respect your decision. If not, then, she'll fit the mold."

"Sorry to cut this short, but I have somewhere to be at 10," Joachim apologized, as he stood up.

"At ten on a work night?" Bernie asked. "Uh-oh, I think I see the other half of your dilemma."

"Don't you ever take any side but your own, Bernie?" Joachim asked. "Lord willing, I've got about 40 to 50 more years on this rock. I don't have the luxury of standing back and looking judgmentally at everything and everyone."

"Hey, kid, learn from experience," Bernie retorted. "I wasn't born this way. I got this way by trial and error. Life's like a card game. You don't just play the hand you're dealt. You've got to anticipate what the other guys have. But, most of all, kid, you've got to take chances. Like baseball. You can stay at first all your life or you can try for second. But there's no shortcut to home plate. You have to hit all the bases. You're gonna' get thrown out a few times, but you have to learn from those experiences and adjust.

"So, think carefully when you go to this appointment this late at night. Make sure you know what you're getting into. These women might seem more sophisticated or worldly to you and you might think that they’d get you out of your box, but just think, kid. Use your head because no one's gonna' mail common sense."

"Jesus Christ!" Joachim exclaimed. "I forgot about the letter."

He rushed back inside the house and tried to remember where he'd left his briefcase. He finally remembered, went to it and opened up all the flaps. He pulled out the thick envelope and then quickly walked back out to the porch where Bernie waited with a sarcastic look on his face.

"You know, I'm probably one of the last people in the world who writes letters," Bernie stated. "I probably write 10 to 20 a month. You know how many I get back? None. Everyone replies with e-mails. Getting a letter is rare, but you up and get a letter and forget about it?"

"Give me a break, okay?" Joachim retorted. "I had a lot on my mind. Besides, I had to hide it. I got it at work and I didn't want Abigail, eh, I mean Ms. Lightner to see it."

"Abigail, huh?" Bernie asked, slyly.

"Hey, I got it, okay," Joachim shot back. "I wasn't born yesterday. I can handle my manager. Anyway, let's see who sent the letter."

"Uncle Sam."

Joachim opened the letter and then pulled out the wad of official-looking papers. He perused them quickly, unused to actually having to read something other than a computer screen. He finally set the letters down and looked at his neighbor, who smiled smugly.

"How'd you know it was from the government?" he asked.

"Most companies won't send official correspondence by letter," Bernie answered, casually. "And those that do won't send it to someone's workplace because they don't want someone to do it to them. So, the only one left who'd send a letter to a man's workplace without any qualms is the government. What is it anyway? A draft notice?"

“It’s from the National Air and Space Administration,” Joachim announced. “NASA. They want me to come in for an interview next week. They say that they like my credentials and analytical abilities. Wow, never thought I’d get to be do space work.”

“Humph, the third half,” Bernie muttered.

“What third half?” Joachim inquired. “And how can you have three halves?”

“Okay, third side then,” Bernie corrected himself. “Like the third side of a triangle, smart ass. Your company’s one of the biggest suppliers of technology to NASA. That’s how they know about your credentials. Ten to one they’ve already talked to your manager about you.”

“Funny that Abi—that Ms. Lightner didn’t mention it,” Joachim remarked.

“So much for having street smarts, kid,” Bernie said, sarcastically. “How’s she gonna’ hobnob with the executives or earn any bonuses from the CEO if you’re not around to be named a junior executive?”

“Well, I’ll ask her tonight,” Joachim said as he stood up to go back inside. “From her card, it looks like we’ll be having dinner. The name on the card is a pretty nice restaurant.”

Bernie peeked at the card and frowned. Joachim paid him no notice, said his good-byes and headed inside the house. He liked Bernie. Bernie had a lot of knowledge, but Bernie didn’t know when to stop giving that knowledge. So, when talking with his next-door neighbor, he had to give not so subtle hints that it was time to go.

Unfortunately, for Joachim, Bernie was right and he should have stayed to listen. Bernie had frowned after peeking at Abigail Lightner’s business card, not because he hated the restaurant, but because he knew that the restaurant was on the ground floor of one of Boston’s most exclusive hotels.

The invitation to dinner was for two and Joachim Huguenot was the entrée. He’d never had a chance to ask Abigail any questions or raise any objections or point out the many violations of the company’s sexual harassment code that she was breaking. He’d been exhausted by Jessica’s ministrations, but Abigail had brought him back to life repeatedly.

Later, he lay on his stomach on the bed. Abigail sat on his lower back, her hands massaging the soreness from his muscles. Once during the massage, he’d responded and she’d nipped it in the bud, so to speak. Now, he was so limp, he could only enjoy her hands on his back.

“Look, Jock…eh, Joachim,” Abigail said. “I know this smacks of harassment, but it’s not when we both obviously consented. Besides, we’re friends and friends do things for each other, right?”

“Eh, right,” he managed to murmur.

“This can be the start of something much more, you know,” Abigail continued. “More for us. More for the company. Mr. Wexel is planning a major expansion of the company. He plans on taking the business model nationwide. That’s why he’s looking for more than two new junior executives this time around. You have the opportunity to make it into one of those extra slots, Jock. You just need to get that problem solved ASAP.”

“Well, you also benefit, Ms. Li—Abigail,” Joachim said, as he caught himself. “I won’t forget this night, that’s for sure. And, like you said, we’re friends and friends do things for each other.”

“That’s right,” Abigail agreed. “They sure do.”



The next day at work, Joachim worked like a dynamo on the equation. Occasionally, Abigail came by his cubicle to check on him. When he was tired, she massaged his shoulders. When they had a moment alone together, she massaged something else. The end result was that he solved the equation within two days and Abigail forwarded the results to Mr. Wexel. That night, they celebrated in a different hotel, but with the same results – namely him being totally wiped out.

“What a change in so short a time,” Abigail said, as she stood in front of the hotel room’s bathroom mirror, combing her hair. “You’ve grown quite a bit since you first joined the company.”

Joachim padded into the bathroom and hugged Abigail, nuzzling her neck and making her giggle. She turned and kissed him long and hard. He finally let go and moved to the other mirror above the double vanity. He let his eyes rove over Abigail’s body, even though a Japanese kimono she’d brought from home covered it. He then looked at his own face and tried to see if Abigail’s observations had been correct.

He did see a change in his face, but, suddenly, he wasn’t quite sure if it was a good change. Hadn’t he always wanted the change the world, he thought? Maybe people didn’t change the world anymore. Maybe the world changed people.

“Turn this way,” Abigail said.

He looked at her and she sprayed him with some sort of aerosol. Surprisingly, it felt good and he breathed in some more. The cool, refreshing taste seemed to invigorate his lungs and body.

“It’s oxygen,” Abigail explained. “Our parents used to have to go to what they called oxygen bars to get it. Now, we have it canned. Used to cost extra, but now it’s standard with the rooms. I guess the air finally got bad enough for some businessmen to take notice.”

Joachim flinched at the explanation. Wasn’t his company supposed to be creating technology to clean the environment? But, here was Abigail, using canned oxygen like it was an expensive perk, something that would probably be around for a long time if it came standard with hotel rooms. If that was true, what was all of his hard work at the company for?

“Time to go,” Abigail said.

She shed her kimono and, momentarily, Joachim forgot his broodings. Her body was almost perfect as he watched her walk out of the bathroom, kimono folded over an arm, and into the bedroom. She began to get dressed. He reluctantly followed her out.

“The room’s paid for all the way until nine in the morning,” she said, as she slipped into her shoes. “Breakfast is already paid for, too. Just don’t sleep in late. It might be casual Friday, but Mr. Wexel still expects punctuality. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got an early manager’s meeting.”

With that, she was out the door. Joachim felt even more alone than he’d sensed minutes ago in the bathroom. How had he let it come this far? Was he that desperate for good sex as to sleep with his boss? She’d seemed genuine but her performance a moment ago had showed her true colors. Was she afraid of being seen leaving the hotel with him? Did she have another reason to go home, such as a Mister Lightner?

“Joachim, you’re a fool,” he told himself as he sat down heavily on the bed. “They just want you as a stepping stone. With this expansion of the company, you know they’re gonna’ do it to other people. But, you’re too weak to make a difference anymore, aren’t you? Damn.”

He flopped back on the bed and let sleep overtake him. It was a fitful sleep and he didn’t need a wakeup call after all, at least not one that a hotel front desk could provide. He was awake by 5 a.m. Not knowing what else to do, he showered, dressed, ate the free breakfast and headed for his office.



He was completely spent when he dropped into his lounge chair and propped his feet up on the banister at his rented house. The air was cool at dusk that Friday. It smelled of exhaust for the breeze off Boston Harbor was a little stronger that day, but he paid it little mind. If it got too bad, he knew he could go inside and sit in front of his air unit, but he wanted to hold off on doing that for as long as possible.

No one else was out tonight, on account of the fouled air and he felt a little guilty for it. After a few moments, he heard a faint sound, like footsteps and looked up to see Bernie coming out onto his porch. Bernie’s porch was enclosed in a strong mesh, so fine you could see through it if he didn’t have the tint control turned on. It was also double-layered to trap pollutants and allow only clean air through. Such a system was beyond Joachim’s finances.

“Penny for your thoughts, kid?” Bernie asked as he plunked himself down into a comfortable lounge chair.

“I finally got the equation done at work,” Joachim said, wearily.

“And you sound so happy,” Bernie remarked, sarcastically. “Conscience eatin’ at you?”

“I don’t know,” Joachim said, throwing up his hands in despair. “I thought it was what I wanted, but now I see that I had hands pushing me in the back. But, if I decide not to do it, I can pretty much kiss my career at the company goodbye.”

“You could always find something else to do.”

“Like what?” Joachim asked, with an air of scorn. “Economy’s kind of a little too flaky to take a big pay cut and start out somewhere else?”

“There’s always Houston or Florida.”

“NASA? Yeah, I’ve given that some thought, but I think I’d be in the same spot. They had a brief flurry of activity about 20 years ago, but now they’re back in the game of politics. All they seem to want is for me or guys like me to figure out how to get more juice out of the International Space Station.

“Can you imagine it, Bernie? Seven billion people on this rock, all represented in space by the three-man crew of the International Space Station. Makes you sick, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t there have been air cars or orbiting space cities or moon colonies by now? I’ll bet Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick are spinning in their graves. All those pinheads at NASA want to do is keep the government funding rolling in.”

“Glad to see you’ve come around to my way of thinking, Jock.”

Joachim was so startled by the sudden intrusion of Jessica’s voice that he nearly leaned too far back in his lounge chair. He barely caught himself. Jessica was almost to the railing by the time he’d gotten to his feet and had looked at his watch.

“You didn’t forget did you?” she asked and Joachim was sure he saw a flash of fire behind her eyes. “Seven o’clock? The weekly meeting. I said I’d pick you up. But, I’m sure you were just waiting for me, right?”

“Uhm, yeah, sure, I was just shooting the breeze,” Joachim stammered.

“It’s good that you’re in the right frame of mind then,” Jessica answered, taking no more than a few seconds to look over her shoulder at Bernie. “NASA is just like Corporate America. They want to fill the trough, with our tax money. NASA’s even worse. They’re supposed to be looking to the future, but can’t see past the present budget. Give me a few minutes to freshen up, okay?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She just walked down the driveway to the sidewalk and then on to her house. Not once did her head glance over at Bernie as he sat on his porch. Joachim noted it, with some irritation.

“First you can’t laid for all the money in the world,” Bernie noted, with a laugh. “Now, you got two women leading you by the nose. We should all be so lucky, eh?”

“It’s not funny, Bernie,” Joachim snorted. “I’m new to this. Help me out.”

“Okay, then,” Bernie started. “Take both ladies and cut out the one who is willing to break federal harassment rules to earn an invitation to her CEO’s parties. Then, take out the one who is just downright irritating.”

“That takes out both of them,” Joachim noted.

“Yep and now you have no problems.”

“I’m guessing this is why you’re still single,” Joachim quipped. “Anyway, I made a promise to go, okay. If I’m anything, I’m true to my word.”

“Your word and your promise are two different things,” Bernie retorted. “Promises are made to be broken, but your word is your bond. If push comes to shove, just promise them the world.”

“Has she ever said anything to you, Bernie?”

“Oh, Little Miss Jessica?” Bernie queried. “Hell no. I’ve said hello to her, but she is what she is, Joachim. In her world, she hears what she wants to hear. And what she wants to hear right now is you agreeing with everything she’s going to say tonight.”

Bernie started to say something else, but stopped when Jessica appeared. She was clad in faded camouflage pants, hiking boots and a pullover top. Joachim swore she looked more at home in the backwoods of Appalachia than in suburban Boston. She waited for him to come off the porch and then she hooked her arm into his and led him on. As she walked up the street, he looked over his shoulder at Bernie’s house with pleading eyes.



As Bernie had said, the Indigo Society meeting was little more than a forum for people to vent their wrath on all they thought was wrong with America and the rest of the world. Joachim was no detective by any means, but he suspected that the 50 men and women in attendance belonged to 50 different groups.

The meeting was absurd, to say the least. Tufts University’s old library meeting room was barely enough to contain them all, making for a cramped and suffocating atmosphere. And the hot air from all the protest rhetoric didn’t help. By the end, Joachim felt it wouldn’t be so bad on his conscience right now to visit the hotel again where he’d stayed with Abigail.

“Okay, okay, settle down!” Jessica screamed into her microphone as she stood by a lectern at the front of the meeting room. “It’s Friday, for Pete’s sake. You all should be exhausted from your classes!”

That seemed to break the mood for the better. Most of the arguments died down, to be replaced by laughter. Jessica took advantage of the levity to call the meeting to order. Joachim stood nearby, but tried to move back into the crowd. The last thing he wanted was for Jessica to mark him as hers or for anything to associate him with Jessica and whatever cause she was standing for. He was just here to listen and, as Bernie had suggested, to find out information.

Jessica gave over the lectern to about a half-dozen individuals who made various reports, mostly about finances (or lack thereof) or upcoming protests that all members could participate in. Then, a few members from the crowd stepped forward with various proposals about the Indigo Society’s next big event.

Joachim listened with some disgust, wondering how such supposedly intellectual and learned people could be putting forth such rubbish. Most of the proposals were straight out of an anarchist’s handbook. That fact was confirmed when some of the people behind him began whispering that various speakers had undergone their baptism of fire at a number of the massive and often violent protests against the World Trade Organization and G8 summits a decade or so earlier. One woman who now stood next to Jessica had supposedly been a high school freshman when she had almost died at the hands of French sailors who had rammed a Greenpeace ship that had entered waters around a nuclear testing zone.

Again, Joachim wondered why he was really needed here at the Indigo Society. It had to be for his connection to Wexel. He would never make it as a revolutionary with these Neanderthals, he thought. Therefore, his only value lay in his current work.

After the meeting, Joachim tried to catch up with Jessica, but the crowd kept them apart. He felt his anger rise when she didn’t even bother to look his way. Finally, he found a side door and entered a darkened hallway that was eerily quiet. He walked down the hallway, hoping it led back outside.

He stopped when he heard noises and realized the area was directly behind the meeting room. He cautiously peered around and went white with shock. There stood Jessica, heavily lip-locked with the woman the crowd had said had almost died with Greenpeace. The way their hands groped each other told him it was more than just some infatuation. They were lesbians, his mind told him. Suddenly, he felt not anger, but stupidity and humiliation.

At that moment, the women broke their kiss and Jessica looked up to see Joachim, his head hanging low, his arms down by his side. She whispered something to the older woman and then walked quickly down to where Joachim stood. She was clearly nervous, as she constantly wrung her hands together. She looked highly embarrassed.

“Wow, so, uhm, what did you think of it?” she asked, sheepishly.

“The meeting or the kiss?” Joachim snapped.

“Well, that…that was, uhm, well, see I’m bi,” she hemmed and hawed. “You know, bisexual. A lot of people on campus are. I still like you and I really did like our time together. But, let’s forget that, okay? Tell me what you thought of the meeting. I know it sounded chaotic, but it often is. We like to be a sounding board for ideas.”

She took his arm in hers and led him off, down the hall. He heard, but didn’t listen, not knowing really what to think. He knew she was lying, though. She was too hot and heavy with the older woman and didn’t seem embarrassed by his seeing it, but by what she thought his reaction might be. Stammering about being bisexual showed she’d been trying to come up with an alibi for her conduct. It hadn’t worked, though. He knew she’d used sex as a tool to gain his trust and get him to the meeting.



“Bernie, what’s an inclusion body?”

Bernie looked up from his work nailing new wood shingles onto the side of Joachim’s house. Joachim was sorting the shingles out of their packages, since different parts of the house took different sizes. Bernie stopped hammering and looked over his shoulder.

“What was that?”

“An inclusion body,” Joachim repeated. “It’s the name of a company this girl I met on the subway founded.”

“Don’t you think you have enough female problems without making more?” Bernie asked, with a little bit of disgust as he finished hamming down another shingle. “Anyway, you’re the brain, with access to three different Internets. Surely, you don’t need some old dog like me to answer a biology question.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to break your concentration,” Joachim apologized.

“But, since you asked me, I’ll be happy to answer,” Bernie blurted out. “It mainly deals with cancer. A cancer cell that attracts debris and other particles to it to form a cluster. Doctors say it’s part of the multiplication process of the cancer that makes it spread throughout the body. It uses the debris as energy to reproduce. Then, the cluster swells in size and bursts, flooding the surrounding area with new cancer clusters.”

“The girl on the train, she named her company the Inclusion Body,” Joachim explained, handing another shingle to Bernie. “She didn’t look like a doctor or anything.”

“Well, an inclusion body can be used to describe other things,” Bernie replied. “In politics, it can apply to a movement that draws in new and disparate members who, in turn, spread out and form new groups. In religion, it’s often associated with cults. In business, it can be used to describe…well, it’s like the old MLM’s, the multi-level marketing systems or even, say the Army or Marines. A bunch of aimless people thrown together and reformed into a fighting machine that then sends them out to other units. In return, the aimless suddenly have aim and purpose. They feel like they belong.”

“An interesting concept, wouldn’t you say?” Joachim asked.

“Wow, you met this girl on the subway?” Bernie inquired. “Have you talked to her since then? No? Hmm, she must be a model or have drop-dead good looks or smarts or business acumen or something.”

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Joachim countered. “She said she’s really having a problem keeping the business open. It’s only her and she’s being squeezed on both sides. That’s how she put it anyway.”

“Still, you can’t get her out of your head,” Bernie noted. “That’s more than I can say for Miss Abigail or Miss Jessica. So, take it for what it’s worth. Now, put your head up here. Sounds like you’ve got some seriously thinking to do about your life, kid and you need a good knock in the cranium.”

“Uhm, no thanks, Bernie,” Joachim said. “I think I’ll just knock a few holes in the plaster myself. It’ll hurt less. Thanks for the help.”



When Joachim wandered into work the following Monday, he barely had time to sit down and log into his computer before Abigail appeared. He started to say hello but she just walked in, grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to his feet. She then began looking him over, making him feel really uncomfortable.

“Hmm, shoes need some work, but we can’t help that,” she commented, dryly. “Come on, let’s go. It’s almost starting.”

“What’s almost starting, Abi-Miss Lightner,” Joachim asked, catching himself at the last moment from calling her by her first name, something she’d specifically told him not to do after the last time they’d made love.

Abigail didn’t hear him as she was too busy striding down the hallway. He had to jog to catch up with her. She didn’t bother to look back, just kept going straight ahead until she reached a large red door and pushed it open. Joachim did a double take, recognizing the door as the one leading to the executives’ meeting room. Only junior executives and higher were allowed to use it. A manager like Abigail would need special permission to be in there.

“Ah, I see we’re all here then,” a gray-haired portly man in a sharp (and very expensive) Italian suit said, as he stood behind a lectern in the front. “Thank you for joining us, Ms. Lightner.”

Abigail shot a dirty look at Joachim, as if he’d done something wrong. Henry Wexel had obviously directed his sarcasm at her but Joachim hadn’t done anything wrong. He had arrived in the office on time. In fact, he was 30 minutes early. If Abigail had wanted him in sooner, she’d had plenty of opportunities to tell him so. He sighed and began to feel that maybe being with Abigail wasn’t so much fun if she was going to act so self-absorbed.

“…having analyzed the results of this year’s equation,” Wexel continued, causing Joachim to hope he hadn’t missed something important, “I can see that we have a bumper crop of potential young executives. I say this to lessen the blow since we did have quite a few candidates this year, so it’s good to have to announced that at least half of you have made it to the next round.”

Mild applause filled the room for half a minute until Wexel ceased it with a wave of his hand, like some powerful monarch waving a scepter.

“Still, only half of those moving on will become junior executives, filling the spots that we are endeavoring to create with the largest expansion in this company’s history,” Wexel stated. “I know it’s a huge venture, taking in so many disparate entities and transforming them into the company mold to head out and expand, but I know we have the junior executives to do it.”

Joachim winced at the word “disparate.” It sounded just a little too close to something Bernie had mentioned in his definition of “inclusion body.” He perked his head up and saw Abigail looking at him, smiling somewhat mischievously. He suddenly felt flushed, but not in a naughty way.

“This room isn’t big enough to hold all the candidates who participated, but it is big enough to hold all those who have made it to the second round,” Wexel announced, drawing a huge round of applause, along with some cheers, when people realized the gravity of the news.

“And, to reward you for your accomplishments,” Wexel added, pompously, “we’ve awarded you all bonuses. Somewhat substantial, I might add. These are yours to do with as you wish, no strings attached. Get a new car. Take that vacation you’ve always wanted. Maybe put down on a house, but wait until you know if you’ll be filling one of the junior executive slots beforehand.”

Abigail looked over her shoulder and winked slyly at Joachim. But, it wasn’t a personal look or a look of congratulations. It was more of a predatory gaze, such as a hawk zeroing in on an unlucky pigeon or so it suddenly seemed to Joachim. Joachim visualized a lot more time in expensive hotel rooms, only on his tab as Abigail cemented herself more solidly into his future.

The meeting lasted more than an hour, but most of it was filled up by candidates and their managers commingling or enjoying a hearty buffet of wines and cheeses, certainly not something the ordinary workers could access. Abigail presented Joachim to several of the other managers and, more than once, he felt like a painting or piece of sculpture being paraded at auction.

Later, Abigail took him aside for a private chat. When she’d made sure no one was looking, she kissed him deeply and he couldn’t help but respond. She eyed him deviously and toyed with his tie before recomposing herself.

“Look, keep this to yourself, but you made the top 10 percent for solving the equation,” she announced, with a big smile. “That means you get an extra bonus that’s triple what the others got. Looks like we celebrate in style now. Just don’t let me get too drunk or I might forget to take my birth control.”

She blew a kiss at him and then turned and walked off. As soon as she was out of sight, he let out a huge breath of exasperated air. Jeez, he thought, did she just hint that she might “accidentally” get pregnant? She knew of his upbringing and knew he’d do the right thing and marry her to give their child a proper name. And what better way to get into the junior executive lifestyle than by marriage?

Hadn’t he seen Trent Dillman at the meeting? Dillman was one of the junior executives who’d been selected two years ago and the woman who was now his wife supposedly had been his manager then. Same thing for Marisol Estevez, who had married her manager after she became a junior exec. Was this to be his fate, Joachim thought, with some disillusionment? To be married to a superficial woman just to get ahead in the company or to keep from losing what he’d gained?

He had a lot of things to talk over with Bernie that night.



As luck would have it, Bernie was out that night and, in fact, was away the entire week on a consulting job in Fort Worth, Texas. Joachim had to try to keep his sanity, what with Abigail trying to carve out private time with him. They’d already celebrated hard once during the week and only quick thinking made him remember to use protection himself instead of hoping she’d used hers (he still remembered the surprise on her face when he’d produced the condoms).

Things had gone much too far for him to even think of claiming sexual harassment and she knew it. No, she was angling to get her hooks fully into him. When the inclusion body headed by Wexel multiplied and burst forth, sending new agents across the country, Abigail Lightner was destined to be in it and Joachim knew he was losing the battle to prevent it.

At the same time, Jessica was all over him, but not sexually. No, after seeing her with that other woman, Joachim had lost interest in her socially. She still wanted him and constantly stopped by his house to try to explain the situation that had occurred after the meeting. The night before Bernie returned, Jessica upped the ante and brought her lover over to his house.

“Look, Jock,” the woman, who was named Ezbeth Cullerton, said, using Joachim’s unofficial nickname without even bothering to ask if it was okay. “I know you’ve seen Jessica with me and, yes, we are lovers. But, the Indigo Society is more than me and

Jessica. It’s about saving the planet from those who would rape it in order to make a few more bucks. I’m not sure if I approve, but Jessica still likes you a lot and I, of course, love Jessica. So, I’m willing to compromise.”

Here it comes, Joachim thought. Here comes the pitch to get him to join the Indigo Society. He wondered if it would be the promise of fame or some crap about doing the right thing.

“I’m willing to share Jessica with you,” Ezbeth said.

Okay, I wasn’t expecting that, Joachim said to himself as his mind reeled trying to take in what he’d just heard.

“I’m a lesbian, but I do like to remind myself of what it’s like to be with a man,” Ezbeth continued. “Jessica tells me you’re excellent in bed. So, what do you say?”

Joachim couldn’t say anything. Jessica laughed and said that since Joachim hadn’t said no that it must be all right. She stood up and began to untuck her shirt. Ezbeth did the same and they both settled into his lap. Ezbeth began to unbutton his shirt while Jessica started to undo his pants.

That’s when fate intervened. Someone began pounding on the front door and ringing the doorbell. Both women half-screamed and jumped up, quickly searching for their shirts. Joachim fixed his pants and shirt and then headed for the door. Behind him, Jessica and Ezbeth, red-faced, frantically tucked their tank tops back into their waistbands just as he reached the door and looked out the window.

He opened the door and Bernie was standing there.

“Hey, kid, that drain pipe’s about to fall off the back of the house,” an angry Bernie said. “You’re supposed to let me know when things like that are gonna’ happen. It would have fallen on whoever’s car that is in the driveway.”

“Uhm, thank you, sir,” Ezbeth said as she and Jessica squeezed past him. “Thanks for the time, Jock. Remember what we said.”

Bernie watched the women walk down the steps and over to the driveway. Moments later, a car engine started and a sleek sedan backed out of the driveway. In seconds, it was headed down the street, out of sight.

“Great timing, Bernie,” Joachim said, with a huge sigh of relief. “I thought you were due back until tomorrow.”

“I wasn’t,” Bernie replied. “But, thanks to the global-climate-change-big-ass-storm-pops-up-out-of-nowhere dropping in from Seattle, I thought it was time to fly back home before the airports shut down. Good thing, too. Nebraska got smashed an hour after I left Lincoln. I see you got more female problems.”

“It’s out of hand, Bernie,” Joachim replied, exasperated. “I can’t keep up. Abigail wants to be Abigail Lightner Huguenot, one way or the other.”

“So, I guess I should congratulate you on making the next round, since that’s the only reason Ms. Abigail would be digging her claws in deeper,” Bernie remarked.

“And, now, Jessica is trying to patch up that big mistake she made at the Indigo Society meeting,” Joachim continued. “You won’t guess what she proposed to make up for it?”

“I can guess,” Bernie retorted, with some disgust on his face. “Jessica’s a lesbian, right, and the cougar is her lover?”

“Good guess,” Joachim said, surprised. “How’d you know?”

“Tank tops, camouflage pants, boots, bandanas and no makeup,” Bernie answered. “They might as well paint a scarlet L on their foreheads. Of course, I’m just guessing, since the previous remarks could be construed as prejudicial and intolerant. Whatever the case, if they’re willing to compromise themselves like what you’re inferring, whatever their sexual orientation may be, you need to be real careful. Too many people are trying to be players without knowing the rules of the game.”

“That’s why I need your advice, Bernie,” Joachim almost pleaded. “I got some huge bonuses at work. I can hire you as a consultant.”

“I give advice freely, kid,” Bernie shot back. “But, what you need is an outside opinion or, at least, someone more outside than me.”

“Point taken,” Joachim replied, with a nervous smile.



“I am so glad you came to see me finally,” Judy Couture almost giggled. “I thought you’d thrown my card away. Well, how do you like it?”

Joachim looked up and took in her small office. She’d been a little too ambitious by getting an office that could accommodate four to five desks. As it stood, she was the only occupant. So, while the portraits and paintings adorning the walls made the office seem homier, they looked lost within all the empty space.

“Nice,” Joachim said, to be kind. “Spacious.”

“Too much space,” Judy lamented. “I was so full of hope when I started this grandiose plan. Now, I’m…well, I’m disillusioned. I know I always seem bubbly but I do have my faults. One is picking the wrong friends. They were supportive of me in the beginning and then, when I needed help, they disappeared.”

Joachim listened intently. This may have been only the second time he’d seen her, but he felt as if he’d known her for a long time. She had interesting things to say, things worth hearing, which was something he couldn’t see with Jessica and Abigail.

He looked down at her computer as she ran through some of the programs she used in her business. She had lists of people and organizations that she had contacted or tried to contact for assistance. She also had a list of potential business partners. The list was open but she quickly closed it, though not fast enough.

“What do you mean by partnerships?” Joachim asked, curiously.

“You weren’t supposed to see that, Joachim,” Judy replied, with some angst. “It’s some business stuff.”

“I recognized some of those names,” he countered. “My company works with a few of them and one of the others is part of that radical eco-movement, the one where they think sabotage and terrorism are means to an end.”

“Look, Joachim, I like you,” she said, though with some dejection. “You’re smart. You’re obviously going to go places. You’re practically set. Me, all I have is this business and it’s about to go under. All I wanted was to try to be a middle ground for both sides in this environment ‘war.’ I wanted to give compromise a voice or, at least, take the movement back to the center and out of the hands of the extremists who hijacked them. Business and the environment can co-exist, but only if the current players stop trying to demonize and alienate each other.

“But, it’s not enough. They’ve marginalized me, made me persona non grata. It’s like if I’m not with their views, I’m the enemy instead of a peacemaker.”

“So joining them is the way to go?” Joachim blurted, incredulously.

“Well, no, it’s not what I thought I’d ever do, but it takes money to run a business,” Judy snapped. “It takes people. A lot of people and people need paychecks. I can barely afford to pay my own bills. What am I supposed to do? If I form a partnership, I can still do some of my own things. I mean, yeah, I’ll have to answer to someone else, but it won’t be so bad, if I can keep my goals in sight.”

“How long can you last?”

“Oh, about another month or so,” Judy replied. “Then, I’ll have to close down.”

“Actually, I meant how long can your conscience last?”

“Look, Joachim, it’s late,” Judy replied, ignoring his question. “I’d love to chat with you more. You’re a really nice guy. You’ll make a great executive someday. Just remember us little people, okay?”



Joachim had the day off and it was a good thing. His conversation with Judy hadn’t gone as planned. He was now more confused than ever. He had too many situations for his mind to deal with – Abigail, his quest to be a junior executive, Jessica, the Indigo Society.

Even NASA had come calling again, wanting him specifically for the Mars Project. He knew that was a very important and prestigious project. He also knew that it was a troubled project and its failures had put it on the edge of being cut from the budget by Congress. He couldn’t shake the feeling that NASA was only trying to recruit him to placate Congress and continue getting funding for the beleaguered space agency. It would be a very lucrative career choice, but would require some serious compromises.

He got back to his street and strolled a little slower to enjoy the slight breeze. It smelled of freshly cut grass, with only the slightest hint of smog. Still, the exhaust smell was enough to take away some of the pleasure. He wondered if this was one of the things that Judy was working to fix.

He didn’t look up when he passed Jessica’s house. He didn’t know if she had classes today or if she was elsewhere. He passed Bernie’s house and saw no sight of his neighbor. He then went up to his porch and sat down in his lounge chair.

“Must be time for serious thinking if you forgot to put your feet up on the banister,” Bernie said as he stepped out onto his porch.

“Bernie, I need some advice,” Joachim said, with a heavy voice. “Okay, some more advice. I really should be paying you a mint for all of it.”

Bernie nodded his head as he sat on his own banister. “I call it being neighborly. Of course, I’ll expect a cut of the profits when my words pay off for a change.”

“Touche,” Joachim sighed, sheepishly.

“Okay, then, it’s going to be like this,” Bernie started.

“But, I haven’t told you what I need advice on,” Joachim countered, holding up a hand.

“Actually, yes, you did, kid,” Bernie replied, nonchalantly. “Look, this morning, some jackass went through the red light and got tagged by the cameras. Of course, it wouldn’t have helped me. He just barely missed me, as I was about to cross. So, you have to ask yourself what you would do if I weren’t around to dispense valuable advice.

“You’re afraid to step out of your comfort zone, Joachim. That’s all well and good. Millions of people do the same thing. But, you’ve also got people pulling you along out of your zone and into theirs whether you like it or not. So, my advice is to think for yourself. Come to some sort of middle ground and make a decision and stick with it.”

Joachim could only nod in agreement, as the gears of his mind began working, as if for the very first time.



Judy Couture couldn’t help but shed a tear as she locked up her office for the final time. She stood back and looked up at the sign above the main window that read “The Inclusion Body.” On the front door and main window were signs that read “Out of Business.”

“It was a good idea when it started,” she said with a sigh. “I wanted to pull in disparate elements turned off by the viciousness of big business and the Eco movement, mold them into a formidable right-thinking force and expand so that everyone with common sense could be heard. Looks like I failed miserably. Who’d want to be associated with me?”

“Maybe me.”

Judy gasped and spun around, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Joachim. He apologized for scaring her. Then, he looked past her at the signs and then back at her. She looked at him, with angst and sadness.

“Decided not to make a partnership, eh?” he finally asked.

“No, I couldn’t compromise myself,” she explained. “I’m out of business now, but I’m glad I took your advice and went with my conscience.”

“Wow, at least someone’s taking my advice,” Joachim commented, with a slight laugh. “Which I guess makes two, since I’m actually listening to myself and not other people. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s common sense,” Judy answered. “Which, unfortunately, isn’t so common. Say, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Normally, yes, but I resigned,” Joachim replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. “It wasn’t working out. I kept having to compromise.”

“Wow, I bet your boss was pissed.”

“And then some,” Joachim said, with a bigger laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she put a contract out on me. Although, she was part of the reason I had to get out of there. To her, I was a tool.”

“Interesting,” Judy said. “So, what are you doing now or what are you going to do? Get with that female friend of yours?”

“Oh, no, I’m putting her even further away,” Joachim replied. “No, I actually pondered NASA, but I opted out. They don’t like someone who thinks outside the box.”

“So, what’s left then?”

“Well, a disparate soul like myself, who’s looking for sanity in an insane world, probably needs to get picked up by an inclusion body, if you know what I mean,” Joachim replied.

At that, Judy’s smile disappeared. She looked mournfully over her shoulder at the “Out of Business” signs. Maybe if you’d come sooner, she said to herself.

“Sorry, Joachim, there’s no more Inclusion Body,” she said, with a heavy voice. “I still had a little bit of money ;eft, but not the energy to do it alone.”

“You should try getting some help, my dear.”

“It’s too late, Joachim.”

“It’s never too late for common sense and you have a willing worker right here,” Joachim rebutted.

“God, I’d like to,” Judy said, as her eyebrows furrowed, showing her mind had begun to consider his offer. “But, although I feel like I can talk so easily to you, this is only the third time we’ve ever spoken. You’ve got a lot going for you. You have other women in your life who would be far better suited for you than a plain Jane like me.”

“Yeah, but none of them make me want to leave my comfort zone,” Joachim countered. “Or do what I’m about to do.”

Judy started to say something, but stopped when her mind figured out what he’d just inferred. He stepped forward and took her hands in his and she felt her resistance melt away. Then, Joachim Huguenot, for the first time in his life, initiated personal contact and kissed Judy Couture full on the lips. It wasn’t like kissing Abigail or Jessica, for this kiss had all the passion that he’d come to realize over the past month that he felt for this plain girl who stimulated his mind.

Two women looked at the kissing pair, as they walked by, across the street. Both women looked jealous. An elderly couple passed just as Joachim and Judy broke the kiss. Judy gasped for air and then turned to look at the elderly couple. The elderly man looked over his shoulder at Joachim and gave an old-fashioned thumbs-up sign as his wife playfully slapped him on the shoulder. Judy blushed deeply and then looked up at Joachim.

“Ahem, well, that was…wow,” she hemmed and hawed. “Now, that was a kiss.”

“I’ll say,” Joachim agreed, as he coughed to clear his throat and to hide his own embarrassment of having delivered a far more passionate kiss than he’d believed was possible.

Judy playfully slapped his shoulder before she realized she’d just imitated the elderly woman. But, she wasn’t so embarrassed now. She smiled before reaching up to straighten up the collar that had flipped up on Joachim’s shirt during the kiss.

“It won’t be easy, Joachim,” Judy finally said after several quiet moments. “It’ll be a lot harder than sitting at a desk, working out equations. It also doesn’t pay too well. I can’t even promise you a salary just yet. And you’ll have to get used to be my little quirks.”

“I’ve still got my huge bonuses from my last job,” Joachim countered. “They’re mine to do with as I please. And, as for the job, hey, if you can do it, then so can I.”

Judy smiled and welcomed him to the company. A moment later, she frowned and shot him a severe and sarcastic look as his playful jab at her finally hit home. He feigned surrender and she finally smiled, though with mock indignation.

“I see I’m going to have to get used to a few things from you, as well,” she commented. “Shall we continue this business negotiation over lunch?”

“What negotiation?” Joachim answered. “I’ve already agreed. How about showing me what I signed on for?”

Judy smiled broadly as she fished her keys from her purse. She opened the front door and let both of them inside. She then let the door close while she went and sat at her computer. A second later, she got up, went back to the front door and yanked down both  “Out of Business” signs. When she went back to her desk, however, she discovered that Joachim had taken her seat. Without missing a beat, she promptly sat in his lap. She typed something on her keyboard and, together, they began looking over their future.