Just as the sun had evolved, so too had humanity. The change was gradual, hardly noticeable as it was happening. It was subtle. The exact process i... unimportant to this story. Suffice to say humanity had moved from corporeal to incorporeal. Emotions, feelings, primal urges all disappeared. Discarded baggage on the path to so-called perfection.Even after this transformation, humanity continued to change, eventually shedding even incorporeal individuality. Humanity now simply was. A. Nadia has a packet with Gérard's name on it. She gave it to him with a shy smile. - This is a present from William. Gérard ripped the tape and unpacked a long whip from the inside. It was a real art object with braided leather. The long handle was partially lined with spikes which extended to a good part of the thong. The girl asked: - Excuse me, can I take off my jacket? - But of course, Nadia! Let's see what you hide underneath!The jacket, style "Perfecto" was encased by three metal belts. It. That night, The Mistress and I sat in her small kitchenette. I watchedhe eat an entire salad without lifting her scarf high enough to see herface. "...Okay, I gotta ask... why can't I see your face, at leastonce?"She looked up at me for a moment. "You don't have temperature sensors,"she mumbled through her mouthful of lettuce and tomatoes. "You don'tknow how cold it gets up here. Middle of winter, in New England, on topof a skyscraper without walls? Huh-huh!" She chewed for a moment,. That’s what I assumed. But I’m now wondering whether they’ve been taken. There were only three of them.”Sir Michael nodded. “That was good spotting. How did you find it?”“There are only about five real clearings in the wood, this was the third one I checked.”“You’ve checked all the others?”“Yes sir, all clear.”Sir Michael nodded, but said nothing.“I checked the brocks first, just in case the local farmers had taken it into their heads to drive them out.” There was much antipathy amongst the.