"Remember me?" I said out loud to myself, "Nigel, Nigel, Nigel, my first kiss. How could I forget you?"We were both twelve years old and innocent. Bot... of us were shy, but Nigel was shyer than I was. We hung around together at school, but he lived in town and I lived on a sheep station in the country. He was really cute. His blonde hair and blue eyes about drove me crazy. I was at the age of puberty and my hormones were going crazy. I imagined Nigel's were also. But with both of us being shy,. I reengaged in the dinner table conversation, chatting about what was becoming known as Universal Basic Income, a system of unconditional income for each citizen. The concept was receiving increasing scrutiny because of the trends in robotics and artificial intelligence that suggested a large percentage of the Euro-American population being put out of work by automation by the year 2050. I thought that there would be other needs that would arise before any unemployment crisis arose. In either. They put the dog in his run and then went into the flat, she made coffee and they sat and drank it with not a word said. Finally she broke the silence “did he mean what he had said about punishment?” He nodded, then said that “he never joked about the dungeon” The silence again descended for a while then she said “to love you do I have to become your slave then?” his answer was that she would never be his slave, she would be sexually subservient and yes, she would do whatever he told her in. For my part, not having her consent didn't bother me at all. I toldJack at the bar where we'd met that she'd know I wasn't him. She'd be afool not to. But Jack didn't care, by that time he said it would be toolate.Jack carefully sat down in a chair next to the bed. He indicated to methat she was ready and waiting. I don't know what had passed between themearlier, but obviously she was expecting to be taken by him at some pointthat night.So I nodded my understanding and slowly, for Jack's.