Of course out here in the Diaspora there were twists, all caused by the Swarm War. For one thing, in the post-scarcity economy, there was no point in ...unning out and getting mass-produced gifts. They meant even less than they would have to the recipients of Earth. Instead, people tried their hands with calligraphy of poetry and prose extolling the recipients' virtues, or informing them that someone cared. A gift of time, or a gift that cost the giver time to create, was worth far more than a. Her heart races with excitement mingled with fear as she watches him. She knows what can happen on that table. Her legs start to tremble as she remembers the first time she was on the table. It was their first date. She remembers how she felt the first time he strapped her to it. She was so frightened, but she obeyed. She remembers how her mind was racing with wild thoughts as he first strapped her arms in two places, first strap just above her elbows, and the second strap around her wrists.. In the excitement, my hand hit the door, though softly. Subadra Ammayi heard it I guess. I got scared. She quickly changed and was coming out. Meanwhile we sneaked back into our room, which was the second one from hers. We closed the door and we could hear her bedroom door opening. “Don’t worry”, Chettan said, “she would only think it’s the cat or something”. His words were comforting. Later that night Chettan and myself began our session late as we wanted to be safe. This time we turned off. Usually, every other day I would drive out to the property on Mount Carmel Road to check on the progress of the house building. Things had started, but it was a maddeningly slow process building a house using conventional construction techniques.By the Nineties, Lefleur Homes had begun selling modular homes as well as trailers. The pace is vastly quicker than with conventional ‘stick building’. In a stick-built house, you have to build the basement first. Then you build a floor, and then you.