7. Basic Modification to A-hh (the National Nutrient)

Date: August 16, 2710, 8:31:45

To: All A-3 Workers

From: Dr. Lilithe S. D’Adame, Quality Control Engineer (A-2)

Subject: Procedure for Top Secret Recipe Modification for A-hh (For A-3 [and above] eyes only)

Please pack a suitcase for two weeks and report to your work station immediately. Further orders will be awaiting you. Some basic information is offered below.

Background: Based on new research regarding optimal nutrition, the recipe for basic A-hh has been slightly modified to include some additional vitamins and a small amount of animal protein. Over the last 50 years, the population overall has become physically weaker from the all-plant protein/carbohydrate formula. As a consequence, we have noted an overall decline in citizen production and a 5% rise in the average citizen’s weight.

In a five-year experiment conducted on exiled prisoners living in Corpus Delicious East, A-2 scientists added a small percentage of animal protein to the recipients’ A-hh allotment and discovered that their productivity increased by 20% and their weight dropped by 10%.

The law mandating the addition of animal protein has been extremely controversial among A-2 staff, but the decision has been made by the A-1 Board and is non-negotiable.

I need not tell you that if this information were to be leaked to the general population, it could cause chaos of the highest order. Thus, you are under orders to comply fully with the manufacture of the modified A-hh without arousing suspicion among the masses.

Therefore, by August 30, 2710, all factory machinery must be modified to accommodate these changes, so mandatory overtime will be necessary. All A-2 and A-3 workers will be required to spend the next two weeks on site, where special accommodations have been set up for you. You will tell your family members that your absence from home is a result of major changes in factory infrastructure, which is absolutely true.

All Lunch Dates are suspended until further notice. However, after the extended work day, special late-evening Dinner Dates will be allowed on site, but A-3 workers may dine only with other A-3 workers and for no more than one hour each evening. You may not dine with anyone off site, and non-employees will NOT be allowed on site.

Once the machinery and formula have been modified, life will return to normal, and you will be free to return home each evening after work.

A-3 tasters and colorists will meet today, at 14:00, in the amphitheater. These groups MUST attend this important meeting. You may not be aware of this, but animal protein has a distinctive “taste,” odor, and color, so the bouquet of A-hh must be modified in order to avoid panic among the population. An off-taste, odor, or color could create societal chaos.

Machinists will meet today, at 12:00, in the Great Work Room; bring all your hand tools.

As you are aware, these new ingredients are for the basic formula only, and, as per government policy, the secret ingredient is never revealed to anyone but the A-1 Board.

Here are the ingredients for the basic formula (based on nutrients needed per day, which varies for each individual, specific specs calculated by Government Nutrition Office and dispensed directly to the consumer):

Nutrition:

-- 20% animal protein* powder (type of animal protein is classified)

-- 30% plant protein powder (type of plant protein is classified)

-- 45% carbohydrate powder (type of plant carbohydrate is classified)

-- 5% top secret powder

Vitamins and Minerals:

-- Vitamin A, 5,000 IU, 100%

-- Vitamin C, 60 mg, 100%

-- Vitamin D, 400 IU, 100%

-- Vitamin E, 25 IU, 100%

-- Vitamin K, 80 mcg, 100%

-- Thiamin, 1.5 mg, 100%

-- Riboflavin, 2.7 mg, 100%

-- Niacin, 20 mg, 100%

-- Vitamin B6, 2 mg, 100%

-- Folic Acid, 400 mcg, 100%

-- Vitamin B12, 10 mcg, 150%*

-- Biotin, 300 mcg, 100%

-- Pantothenic Acid, 10 mg, 100%

-- Calcium, 1,000 mg, 100%

-- Iron (Varies, depending on gender, physical condition, and age)

-- Iodine, 150 mcg, 100%

-- Magnesium, 400 mg, 100%

-- Zinc, 15 mg, 100%

-- Selenium, 65 mcg, 100%

-- Copper, 2mg, 100%

-- Manganese, 2 mg, 100%

-- Chromium, 120 mcg, 100%

-- Molybdenum, 70 mcg, 100%

-- Classified supplements

*Our scientists believe that the added animal protein and 4 extra mcg of Vitamin B12 will revitalize our citizens, help overall productivity, and, ultimately, pump up our slow economy.

Note: customized A-hh, which could include supplements, such as contraceptives, fertility supplements, medical prescriptions, and/or other special additives, occurs later in production by The Special Formula Department, NOT during this part of this project.

The next two weeks will be busy, but the rewards will be great. If we finish our project on time and accurately, each worker will receive a 100% bonus and an extended Lunch hour on or after September 1.

As always, treat the contents of this memo with the greatest of discretion by committing this sensitive information to memory; this file will self-destruct within 30 minutes.

Do not share or discuss this info with anyone holding A-4 credentials and lower. Leakers and illegal data miners/snoops receiving this information will be subject to additional penalties, including permanent exile in Antarctica and, perhaps, even death. In the interest of National Security, even innocent leakees will be exiled to a satellite province, most likely to Corpus Delicious West.

To be continued...
___________________________________________________________

Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009-present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.

6. Corpus Delicious: An (A-hh) Decent Proposal

An (A-hh) Decent Proposal
____________________________________________________________________

Lily and Jason arise from the mini-altar and quickly dress.

“I’m sorry,” Jason says. “I got carried away.”

“I was caught off guard, that’s all.”

“I thought you knew I, uh, wanted to...”

“To take things up a notch?”

“Well, yes.”

Lily shrugs. “I didn’t. Sorry.”

“I guess I misread your cues...” He pauses. “We’ve been hanging out a lot in the past year, and you’ve...”

“I just like to socialize a lot. You’re not an exclusive.”

“Who is these days?” He stops and touches her shoulder. “Look, I’ve applied for a procreation license.”

“No way!”

“It’s true. My application was approved.”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

“My contraceptive has been turned off for over a month now...I’m producing the real deal now and looking for potential partners...”

“Oh, no, I don’t like where this is headed.”

“Just hear me out. We have a lot in common. We’re dynamite together, and our children would be beautiful and smart.”

“Oh, Jason...”

“I know for a fact you’ve been doing some headhunting...”

“Who told you that?”

“Never mind. I have my sources...The point is, we’re not getting any younger, and it’s time to think about creating the next generation.”

“I have been thinking about the future, but I’m not quite ready...”

“Lily, honey, I’m not looking for an exclusive partnership–I would like to create children with at least two other women–so you’d be free to do whatever you’d like. Have one baby with me, that’s all.”

“Look, Jason. I love what we have now, but I don’t want to have a baby with you. When I have children, it will be with one man.”

“You mean you want an exclusive relationship?”

“Don’t be silly. I love my male friends too much. But when I settle down to have children, I want just one partner to help me raise them, under one roof, someone who will be there when they need school clothes or are sick. I don’t need a pathological impregnator who has women and kids scattered all over the country.”

“Wow, I sure had you figured wrong.”

“I’m no prude, but when it comes to creating a family, it’s one man for me. Of course, we’ll have our separate social lives...”

“I guess I see things differently. I earn good money, so supporting several children with different mothers is not a problem. You see, Lily, I want to create this great legacy, beautiful and smart children from all parts of the country and with accomplished women like you. Also, I have to consider genetics...”

“Genetics? What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re lovely and all, and I have carefully vetted your medical and DNA profile, but what if something goes wrong?”

“Wrong? What do you mean?”

“If you have a gene that goes awry. I don’t want place all my genetic hopes on one line...”

“Oh, Jason. We have so much fun together, but our outlooks are so different.”

“I can see that.”

“You go start your families, and we’ll see how things shake out for us. But no more surprises during Coffee Break.”

“Fair enough.”

Lily checks her watch. “It’s back to work.”

Jason opens the cubicle door and takes the bill from the slot. “It’s on me today.”

“Jason! You know our policy.”

“Yeah, Dutch Treat, but I feel guilty about putting you on the spot.”

“Well, okay, this one time, but I’ll leave the tip.”

“Good deal. I’ll walk you back to your office. I want to hear about your plans for the Judge.”

“Not much to tell. I ordered nothing but the best, and I’ll be scrimping for the next few months.”

“That’s harsh. I haven’t done a Business Lunch in months. It’s too nerve-wracking.”

“When you meet with those potential Mommies, you’d better be putting your best foot forward.”

Jason raises his eyebrow. “A few times with me, they’ll be begging for more.”

It was true. Of all her friends, Jason was the most fun to be around; when he was away on a business trip, she missed their Coffee Breaks, although she had plenty of guys from the factory from which she could choose, depending on her mood.

“So why the big deal? Do you even know this guy?”

“Never met him until I landed in his court.”

“Making that proposition was risky. He could have taken it the wrong way.”

“I knew he’d accept the deal.”

“That’s my Lily, always confident.”

“In this world, you have to be. Besides, men like me, I like them. It’s not complicated figuring out what you guys want, but...”

“Tell me, Lil.”

“I’m really nervous about this Business Lunch.”

“Why?”

Lily doesn’t want to go into the specifics with Jason. “Well, you know, the formality of it. I can think of 101 things that can go wrong.”

“If you hired good attendants, they’ll keep you on track.”

“They’re supposedly two of the best.”

“Well, then. You’ll be fine.”

“He’s a judge who holds a lot of power.”

“You’ve made a deal. He’s forbidden to use anything that happens behind those closed doors against you.”

“Yes, that’s the law. But you know how things can really work.”

“You’ll just turn on that awesome Lily charm, and he’ll melt like ice in on a steamy July day.

“Thanks, Jason.” They stood outside her office. “Oh, here I am. Time to get back to work.”

“Same time tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

For now, she’s relieved to get back to work and away from Jason.

What a sneak, trying to get her primed to bear his child. She had thought about asking him about going off script for their Coffee Breaks, but now she’s glad she hadn’t gotten around to it.

Still, she would like to go off script sometime, but with someone she could trust completely if something went awry.

Savia!

Perfect.

To be continued...
___________________________________________________________
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 -present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.

5. Corpus Delicious (a novel): The Coffee Break and an Important Epiphany

The Coffee Break and an Epiphany
___________________________________________________________________

Lilithe meets Jason at the factory café for Coffee, where he’s waiting for her in their favorite cubicle.

He is supine on the mini-altar, naked and ready. Next to him is an end table, with small dishes of cinnamon and nutmeg powder. A cone of Banana incense sizzles, the smoke swirling in upward spirals. He nods toward it: “A little joke.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Lily says. “I only have 30 minutes.” She closes the door and undresses, carefully hanging her clothes on a hook, next to his.

“I have even less. So how did it go?” He reaches for her and pulls her on top of him.

“Expensive. I’ll tell you later.” She straddles his hips and starts rocking back and forth.

“Okay.” Jason licks her skin just beneath her breasts, but not quite touching them.

“Umm. I need this Coffee.”

Jason licks his finger and pokes it into the cinnamon dish. He outlines her lips with powder.

“Delicious,” she says.

“But do not ingest.”

“I will not ingest.”

Lily licks her finger and pokes it into the nutmeg dish. She outlines Jason’s lips.

“Delicious,” he says.

“You must not ingest.”

“I will not ingest.”

“May I touch you lip to lip?” he asks.

Lily can’t believe Jason’s impertinence–not part of this script. “Uh, umm, the time is not right.”

“Then let us touch tongue to tongue.”

“I accept a fleeting touch of your tongue to mine, but no more.”

“I am grateful. A fleeting touch is more than I could ever expect.”

Lily is alarmed at the turn of events; she has never thought of Jason as any more than just a Coffee Mate. But she offers him the tip of her tongue, a major pleasure spot, her secret and one of many when she’s alone.

Jason flicks the tip of his tongue against hers. “A-hh.”

“A-hh.”

In public, they could be fined for uttering this word, but it’s okay during private times such as this.

Lily continues rocking back and forth on Jason. She can feel his Horn of Plenty growing hard, but in all good time. He will just have to be late for whatever meeting.

“I will now paint my lips with powder.” Lily takes her fingertip into her mouth and wets it. She presses into the cinnamon bowl and paints her lips until they are brown. “I will lick my lips until they are pink again.”

“But do not ingest.”

“Not to worry, I will not ingest.”

As she licks her lips clean, the powder feels sweet and spicy in her mouth. How many times has she wished she just could swallow it? What would happen, really, if she swallowed? She is almost tempted to take that swallow, just to see what it would feel like having something other than A-hh sliding down her throat. But the consequences could be grave. She liked Jason well enough, but he was a company man and would probably report her.

So, like a good girl, she spits into the nutmeg dish. “I offer you the elixir of my juices.” She offers him the dish.

“And, with great honor, I accept.” He mixes the nutmeg with her saliva and paints his own lips until they are brown. “I will now lick my lips until they are pink again.”

I wonder if he also has the urge to swallow?

Once the brown is gone from his lips, Lily places nutmeg dish under his chin.

He spits into it.

She squeezes hard against him and rocks her bulb harder against his Horn of Plenty; then she takes his nutmeg and mixes it with her cinnamon.“I will now paint you with the spices of life and our meshed juices.” She dips her fingers into the bowl, places the bowl on the end table, and begins painting around his nipples, working her way toward his Horn of Plenty but not touching, never touching.

“A-hh, yes. Please don’t stop.”

Another off-script remark, but she must remain calm and not get all flustered. She must guide him back to the script and conclude today’s Coffee with her independence and his ego intact. “I must stop for now.”

“Yes, you should stop, and I should begin.”

She picks up the dish and offers it to him.

He places it on his chest and dips into it. “Now I will paint you.” He follows the script by painting all around her breasts but not touching her nipples and works his way toward her bulb and entry, painting all around, not touching...

“The body best understands pleasure when it is delayed,” Lily says.

“The body is best nourished through pleasure.”

Then his finger brushes against her bulb, not quite enough to pin blame, but too much to ignore.

The dish falls from his chest, hits the floor, and shatters.

She gently takes his hand and holds it against her face. “You must take care.”

“Yes, I was careless.”

As a reminder, Lily invokes a special incantation: “We will come, but then we must leave.”

“Understood.”

“For this time only, I am yours, and you are mine.”

“Yes, for this time, you are mine, and I am yours.”

“I will ingest you.”

“I will fill you.”

“Today, I am Alpha.” She pins his arms down against the Mini-altar.

“I accept. I am Beta. I offer you the Horn of Plenty.”

“You may enter now.” She lifts up her body, opens her legs wide, and pushes down hard on him. “Linked, body to body...”

“...We are now one,” Jason says.

As Jason writhes beneath her, she sees only the Judge’s face, hears only his fateful words:

I see standing before me an unacceptably fat person.

But Lily knows the secret that no one will ever admit to in public: men love women with a little flesh to their bones–the proof is in the number of men seeking her company. She sees how men stare at her in public, the covert exchange of business cards, most of which she throws away, the fleeting touches by strangers. She understands the subtext of the Judge’s biting words:

If you are too greedy, we will have to hide you from polite society.

Perhaps the Judge was right: if she were a man, she would pursue Lily D’Adame and not stop until she won her. In fact, if she ever found another Lily, she would have to possess her, even at the risk of imprisonment.

But being Lily is a good thing, too, for she will never face rejection: any time she wants Lily, she can have her, to possess, to ravish, to love, to fill with her own pleasure. She knows and loves every curve and every lump of fat, hidden in secret, moist and warm places. She loves the way she touches herself and how easily she finds just the right pleasure spots and the exact pressure points, how she can bring herself to the brink of pleasure and then stop and then start all over again, and again, and again...why shouldn’t she bask in her own body and indulge in the worship of self?

As Jason jerks upward and pauses in that split second before a man possesses a woman (a fiction, of course), she realizes why she is so nervous about her Lunch Date with Adam H. Alvarez:

She must prove her worth, to demonstrate to him that fat is delicious and desirable and not worthy of all the laws against it. She would like to walk the streets freely without some cop writing up an illegal fat ticket, while dodging that same cop’s brush against her breasts.

More than that, she needs to feel Alvarez exploding beneath her body weight, succumbing completely to her fatness, losing all self-control, offering up his body to her.

Then beg for more...

Lily meets Jason’s upward thrust and consumes that which fills her...

“A-hh...”

To be continued...
_____________________________________________________________
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 - present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.

4. Corpus Delicious (a novel): A Late Bloomer

Late Bloomer
_________________________________________________________________________

Lily starting doing Lunch somewhat late in life, at 15.

In Corpus Luminous, children 10 years and older are allowed to Lunch with other children. Engaging in Lunch before age 10 is forbidden, although a special license can be obtained for the rare child under 10 who may be deemed mature enough for Limited Lunching; most children simply decide to wait until 10 or even later.

Occasionally, a precocious eight or nine year old will apply for a license, but it is almost never granted, especially if parental involvement is suspected.

Besides, children under 10 go to schools without Lunch-Zones, so opportunities are extremely limited.

By age 12, children are encouraged, not forced, to start Lunching, but only with other children, never with adults. In fact, any adult caught having Lunch with a child is immediately arrested and sent for life, without a trial, to a special enclave away from the city and fed a special formula of A-hh that eliminates their desire for Lunching or any kind of social interaction.

The rules are simple and clear cut: if you are 18 or over, you don’t do Lunch with a 17 year old, not even if you are one day older than 17 and your potential partner is one day under 18. You simply wait before suggesting Lunch to a minor on the cusp of adulthood. Period.

Furthermore, Lunching among children must be mutually consensual and never forced, even by parents anxious for their children’s social growth. In the matter of Lunching, children decide whether or not to Lunch and with whom.

As a youngster, Lily was more interested in studying hard in the field of nutrition engineering and not at all interested in Lunching. Her goal: to create a special formula of A-hh that would self-replicate--which would make ingesting nutrients practically obsolete--and automatically mutate within each individual in accordance with his or her own physical specs.

At 14, she discovered a live strain of A-hh that could self-replicate on a limited basis, but she had yet to find the key that could keep the culture alive for long--it always died out within 24 hours.

There has to be something about A-hh itself...Never mind, that’s heresy...

Still, only The Great One knew the full recipe–every school child knows this basic fact.

She spent her days poring over cultures in various stages of development: always working, working, working.

When Lily turned 15, her worried mother hired a guide to help Lily make the social transition into Lunching.

The guide, a highly-trained adult specializing in teen issues, was responsible for seeking out suitable candidates and introducing them to Lily, who proved to be a difficult student, and then guiding her through the highly specialized ritual.

But Evy, the guide, was quietly persistent and found a suitable Novice Lunch candidate, a shy quiet prodigy who, by 16, had earned his Ph. D. in Bio-Engineering. Lily felt that Limon was an excellent choice, most likely just as reluctant as Lily about Lunching and also obsessed with his work.

Evy, too, felt that Limon, also a novice, would be an appropriate Luncher for the first time.

Even now, Lily cringes at the memory. In retrospect, she would have done better with a boy who had at least some experience. Even with their guides, it was a disastrous Novice Lunch, with much fumbling and awkwardness--and, ultimately, no Communion.

Ironically, she and Limon are still friendly and often work together on projects, but they have never Lunched together since that first time. It was an unspoken rule between them that they never speak of or revisit that time.

Her subsequent Lunches were much better: Evy found Savia, a more experienced boy, who, for Lily’s second Lunch with him, guided her through the ritual with great technique and understanding.

After a few Lunch Dates with Savia, Lily was hooked and Lunched whenever her busy schedule allowed and was soon having Lunch with several boys.

From time to time, Lily still Lunches with Savia, who has proven to be more confidante than ardent Luncher. Besides, he’s been Dining regularly with Penny, another co-worker. It has been rumored that they are about to apply together for a procreation license. Savia has already admitted that he and Penny have touched lip to lip. A lot, and with exuberance. They have also engaged in serious tonguing, something Lily has never even done, the kind of physical contact reserved for committed couples. She could still Lunch with Savia, of course, but he seemed to be at that stage in a relationship where he had eyes only for Penny. Lunching with Savia could prove to be very sensitive right now, so they will probably switch to Coffee Breaks, at least until the fire cools a bit.

On some level, she will always love Savia; he came into her life at a time when she was frightened and disgusted by the very idea of Lunch, and he understood. In fact, during their First Lunch together, she did not take part in Communion.

At the moment of ingestion, she became afraid and backed out.

“Look, it’s okay, Lily,” he said. “We all have a first time.”

Luckily, Savia’s attendant, a pretty redheaded 16-year-old, girl offered him Communion, and he accepted.

Lily and her attendant, a 13-year-old boy, observed, and it didn’t look so awful.

“Don’t worry about pain,” the attendant, a freckled-face boy, said.. “We have a special tool for the first time. So when you’re ready, we can help.”

Lily would later learn that attendants in general had special latitude and powers when it came to attending their clients. For instance, they were empowered to touch their clients in certain places when the client deemed it necessary, and often they were called upon to finish or participate in Communion, especially with very young or very old Lunchers.

But it was understood that none of it meant anything; attendants are neutral parties, employees hired and train to make sure Lunch is pleasurable, not to develop relationships with their clients. Therefore, attendants are forbidden to develop any kind of relationship with people outside of the Attendants’ Corps.

The Children’s Attendant Corps has always been a mystery to her; growing up, she never saw a child attendant at her school--or any school, for that matter, or in public. She suspects that these children, carefully selected chosen for their sleekness, height, and high I.Q.s, have been raised in special institutions that train children from an early age. Most adult attendants had been young attendants who, after becoming of age, simply decided to continue with the adult corps. They are obviously well-educated, healthy, and smart--one could ask an attendant anything and receive an intelligent answer within minutes, even seconds.

Lily often wonders if encouraging children to do Lunch so young is really such good government policy. She always felt there was something unnatural about children engaging in what seems so, well, adult.

I’ll never nudge my kids to do anything before they’re ready.

To be continued...

_______________________________________________________________

Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009-present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.

3. Corpus Delicious (a novel): Arranging a Very Important Lunch Date

Banana
____________________________________________________________

As she exits the school, Lily breathes a sigh of relief.

She hated these mandatory outings, these pointless lectures to schoolchildren. She knew most would comply with the law; the others would be quietly whisked away to rehab, where they would spend the rest of their lives as convicted Rabble-Rousers.

Like that redheaded kid in the back of the room, just a few years away from rehab.

Secretly, she admired his sassiness. Too bad his high spirits would come to nothing–no place for dissent in Corpus Luminous. The Government was always right, the Government always won.

As she walks to her aircar, she says, “DotTel!”

“Proceed,” a disembodied voice says.

“The Banana Tap.”

The phone rings for what seemed a long time. She’s slightly dizzy from her 500-calorie-per-day suspension, imposed by Judge Adam H. Alvarez, but she will soon adjust, maybe even lose a few of those vexing pounds that keep landing her in court.

“The Banana Tap. May I help you?”

“Yes, I need to book the Raspberry Torte room for next week, the 12th, for four hours.”

“What time?”

“Noon.”

“Umm, Business Lunch. Looks like you’re in luck. A last minute cancellation.”

“Judge Alvarez will be my partner, so everything must be perfect.”

“Lovely choice.”

“Excuse me?”

“The Judge is quite popular here.”

Lily’s heart sinks. She can only imagine the incredible delights other ladies have arranged for the Judge’s Lunch. Will she be able to outdo the others? She will have to try. Legally, she’s okay–they have an iron-clad agreement and the Judge is required to accept whatever arrangements she has made–but she does not want to feel shamed before him.

Besides, it is likely she’ll be standing before him again at The Board of Acceptable Weight, fined yet another Fat Tax. She wants him to remember their Business Lunch, but for the right reasons.

To gather her bearings, she leans against her aircar, a Cherry Coronet 5000, fully loaded with an automatic navigation system. She has never learned how to drive.

She is nervous about First Lunch with the Judge. There are special rules about this event--it has to be perfect--especially since it will, in essence, be a Business Lunch.

“In that case, I’ll need to meet with you in person.”

“Certainly, Madam.”

*
Lily has never liked preparing for First Business Lunches, because too much can go wrong and has, like the time when her Lunch partner was more interested in the male attendant than he was in her. Very awkward for everyone, especially the attendant, who ran out of the room, screaming, “I don’t get paid for this kind of crap!”

Lily meets with Sid, the top Business Lunch Concierge at The Banana Tap.

“I don’t know the Judge at all.”

“No problem,” Sid says. “We have his preferences on file.

“Spare no expense.”

“Of course.”

For over three hours, they pore over his likes and dislikes: he despises daisies of any kind, including floral designs on Altar Cloths, but he loves deep red carnations, the most expensive dish on the menu, so she orders three dozen. “Nothing but the best quality,” she says.

“We serve nothing but the best.”

To go with the three-dozen carnations, she selects a matching Altar Cloth for when they take part in Communion. She even selects carnation under-covers; given the Judge’s popularity, the Altar Cloth could, at some point, rumple up and even slide off the Altar. At any successful Business Lunch, lots of enthusiasm and a little sparring is expected and even desired.

Lily interviews 10 attendants and reads through their profiles, before settling on two, a man and a woman, as is customary when the Business Lunch partners are of the opposite sex. Although all Business Lunch Attendants are tall, very slim, and attractive, selecting the right attendants is an art, based on intuition and knowledge of their backgrounds. Lily makes sure that her attendants have a solid and positive history with her partner, while also appealing to her. She particularly likes the man, who is of pure African descent and highly educated in the Humanities, and the woman, a lovely redhead with ivory skin, a known favorite of Judge Alvarez.

She selects garments and undergarments with great care.

For Lily: a red silk robe with matching sash, decorated with real red and white carnations. Undergarments: filmy red panties and bra, scented with carnation.

For the Judge: a matching robe, except that his carnations will be all red. Undergarment: filmy red briefs, also scented.

The attendants have their own special garments, mandated by the Attendants of Corpus Luminous Union: a blue silk robe for her and a silver one for him--one less thing to worry about.

For Confession: two large red carnations with special elongated thorns attached.

For Aroma Therapy, an incense of carnation and rose. It is important to fill the room with intense delights.

For the Lip Ritual, she selects several dishes, consisting of fine lip powders: chili, curry, basil, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

For the Body Rub, Lily chooses a special red oil, essence of carnation and clove.

For Communion: a lighter version of the red oil, two red feathers, a Butterfly device, and a platinum finger enhancer (with warmer), a special tool for increasing pleasure centers associated with touch and texture.

For Post Communion: a special stone spa, filled with warm scented water, consisting of a slightly sweet bouquet, a recipe which remains a secret. Lily selects Jasmine, the top brand of spa water.

The Raspberry Torte Room turns out to be a good choice, with its red decor, lovely hand-carved Altar, and large size, so, fortunately, Lily is able to keep decoration costs reasonable.

So many preparations! But, finally, Lily closes the deal by pressing her fingertip to the credit blotter. The bill is shocking and will set her back financially for the next month or two, but she has senses that, in the end, it will pay off.

Now all she can do was wait and spend her non-working hours meditating for the Business Lunch and hoping that all will go well.

Lily doesn’t wonder if the Judge is married, because it no longer matters. If he has a wife, she won’t care too much if her husband does Lunch with other women; it is likely that she, too, has regular Lunch Dates with men.

Lily guesses that Judge Alvarez is in his mid-40s, part of a generation that still wed, especially among the educated classes, so there’s a 50/50 chance he’s married.

Very few young people marry these days, perhaps a few holdouts who live in isolated conclaves still clinging to the Old Ways.

As a modern liberated woman, she will never marry; marriage would be much too confining and socially limiting, but she wants children and thinks maybe the Judge might be a good candidate. These days, she is always on the lookout for suitable donors for her future children and is financially secure enough to sign waivers exempting any potential donors from fatherhood responsibilities.

And on that fateful day, as she stood in judgment before Judge Adam H. Alvarez, she noticed his strong jaw and wide shoulders; she liked his confident tone, his emphatic legal ruling making her tingly all over, almost always a good sign for procreation. She decided he was worth some inquiries and an expensive Lunch. If nothing else, she had solved a pesky problem: possible imprisonment and/or a huge fine; therefore, suggesting Lunch together has turned out to be a win-win situation.

Next week she’ll know more about his mental state, personality traits, physical specs, and DNA profile--whether or not she would be willing to accept his seed. In four hours of intense lunching, one can learn much about candidates.

Lily jumps into her car and flies off to the A-hh factory, where she and a colleague have a standing Lunch arrangement, short and casual, of course, and mutually satisfying without any procreation expectations.

To be continued...

________________________________________________________

Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009-present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.

2. Corpus Delicious: The Convoluted History of A-hh, How It Got Its Name, and Why You Should Not Ingest in Public

The Convoluted History of A-hh
____________________________________________________________________

Hello, class.

I’m Miss Lilithe D’Adame, a Quality Control Engineer at the A-hh Factory, and I’m here today to deliver “The Talk” to you. I have been granted special permission speak of this topic in a public venue because it is important that you understand the rules so that you don’t break them.

(A buzz and twitter rises from the classroom.)

I realize that this is an embarrassing topic for you--all of us, actually--but it’s time that you know some facts so you don’t later fall into temptation.

(Some giggling and whispering.)

Sh-hhh.

(The boys and girls settle down. In exact precision, they open their netbooks and begin to type.)

A-hh was born in the 21st century, during a time when domain name cartels controlled the buying and selling of dotcoms, the gold standard for navigating the web.

Aren’t we glad those bad old days are behind us?

Those awkward dotanythings seem silly to us now that the interweb has been tamed into the Supreme Lady that she is today.

You, my dear children, are so fortunate that the buying and selling of keywords has been strictly forbidden.

Not that it’s necessary, now that we Lumens are fully wired to the interweb; we always have access to what we need, when we need it. And if we can’t find it, then it’s not relevant.

So much for the short web history, which you will study in more detail during 6th form.

A-hh was developed by one of our Founding Mothers and a sharp business woman: the famous D.B.A. Jennifer International, who wanted to develop a new slimming product that would offer complete nutrition without consumers having to chew and swallow chunks of matter.

(Rises up from a chorus of children:)

“E-yew!!!!”

That’s quite enough, class. I realize that certain means of ingestion are repulsive, but what do we know about history?

(A chorus:)

“If we don’t study history, we are doomed to repeat it!”

That’s absolutely correct, but be sure to study the right history. The wrong history leads to nothing but trouble.

(A chorus:)

“Yes, Miss D’Adame!”

Good, then. Back to our lecture.

We don’t know much about Miss International--we don’t even know what her initials D.B.A. stand for. Alas, we lost much of our history prior to the 22nd century due to the great electronic meltdown of 2099. Therefore, our Founding Fathers and Mothers had to reset history and reinterpret it.

But we do know this: Miss International worked with some of the best scientists of the day to develop this uber nutrition, which, for the times, turned out to be a superior product and nearly complete as a stand-alone source of nutrition.

Not quite, but almost. That would come much later.

In those days, if someone wanted to sell a product to the public, they had to set up a website, preferably using their product’s generic name for their domain name.

Users who wanted to find that product would need to type in a domain name in a box, such as

(Miss D’Adame, deep in thought, closes her eyes and blinks several times. “http://www.areyouevergoingtobethin.com” appears on a large screen).

Now who’s going to remember a name like that?

(A chorus:)

“No one!”

(A tiny voice from the back of the room:)

“What does ‘areyouevergoingtobethin’ mean?”

Never mind. You’ll learn about that later.

So Miss International set out to find her perfect name for the web but soon discovered that the best generic names for her product were already registered, many of them for sale by the domain cartels.

However, our Founding Mother wasn’t about to buy a name from any cartel, so she decided to find, on her own, a domain that she could buy for cheap, directly from a registrar, a company in charge of registering and maintaining domain names for its clients.

She looked, and she looked, and she looked some more, but to no avail. Every name she queried was already taken.

One day, she happened upon an interweb forum--forums are now outlawed, thank goodness!--that helped cartel owners to find, buy, sell, and register domains for their portfolios.

We know for certain that Miss International made a difficult ethical decision, when she stated, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

So she joined and lurked on the “Available Domains” conversations.

History has forgiven her for this transgression, which, at that time, wasn’t a transgression at all. One fact that you must remember about history: acts that are now illegal, often were legal way back when. So we must view historical events through a different lens and offer allowances to people who had to work within existing systems.

Besides, had not Miss International not taken this important step, our lovely Corpus Luminous, as we know it, would simply not exist.

Our Founding Mother continued to lurk on the forum. She soon realized that she wasn’t going to acquire a generic name related to her product unless she was willing to make a major financial investment.

One day, she stumbled upon a conversation debating the pros and cons of hyphens in domain names. Most resellers of domains argued that hyphens were to be avoided because computer users were less likely to type a hyphen in a domain name.

Miss International thought it was a silly debate because, many times, while conducting research on the web, she had typed in hyphenated names; those resellers were simply being obsessive-compulsive.

Even so, the good generic hyphenated domain names were gone as well. Obviously, a lot of people disagreed with the purists.

She visited other conversations on the forum. People often discussed building a brand from short, pronounceable made-up words, like “Hulu” and “Digg.” But these types of names were gone too.

The one day, Miss International had an A-hh moment: she found A-hh.com on the “Available Domains” conversation. Despite the hyphen, the word was short and real, expressing what was then considered pleasurable.

And the world changed forever.

Of course, over time, the meaning of “A-hh” has changed to reflect a deeper religious meaning, for ingesting is supposed to be a reflective time.

She set up her website and started selling A-hh to the public when nutrition was sold in public stores and still ingested in public.

Fortunately, the A-hh keyword now belongs to the government, no more dotcom.

As you will study later, shortly after the meltdown in 2099, all the dotcoms, dotnets, dotorgs, etc. went KAPUT!

The term “A-hh” is now fully protected and its use in print, the interweb, and in public discourse is strictly forbidden.

I can’t give you too many details on how the substance A-hh evolved into what we ingest today because those facts are a trade secret and must be withheld from the general public.

Besides, why would you care?

I’m here today for another reason: some boys and girls from this school were caught ingesting contraband A-hh in public. In addition, we suspect that these same kids also painted A-hh graffiti all over the bathroom walls. They are being severely punished; if they weren’t minors, they would probably receive the death penalty.

I’m going to show you a short film:

(As the room darkens, a title appears on screen: “The Last Party.” Melodramatic music, fraught with angst and terror, plays. Images depicting young adults whooping it up with A-hh at a party, then a police raid. These young people being rounded up and hauled off to jail and then being convicted of unlawful ingestion. Receiving the death sentence. Then a time-lapsed collage showing the prisoners, on display in the center of the city, slowly starving to death, and, finally, their naked emaciated corpses on display in the rotunda. The film ends abruptly.

The boys and girls squirm in their seats. A girl in front sobs.)

Kids, this film is just an re-enactment, but the penalties shown are real.

As it is, the teenagers caught last week are looking at 20 years of house arrest, which means they will lose all opportunities for a good career. They will be assigned at-home work: menial tasks at low wages.

You’re young and exuberant, so, naturally, some of you will want to take risks. I say “go for it,” but leave A-hh out of your chancy activities.

Have wild parties, enjoy lunch with each other, whoop it up in the town square, play loud music, speed on your motorcycles. Some of these carry small risks, but nothing like the grave consequences attached to ingesting illegal A-hh.

If an older child offers you A-hh of any kind, simply turn away and then report him or her to school authorities, who will discreetly take care of the situation. You’re not snitching; you are possibly saving the offender from more serious consequences.

Remember: always ingest your allotment of A-hh in the special booths in designated public spaces or your special A-hh space at home. Remind your parents that A-hh ingestion must be done in total isolation and not to be ingested during their dinner hour.

If they don’t comply, let the proper authorities know, especially if they ingest in front of you. You should not have to bear witness to others ingesting A-hh, even your parents. If you have only one A-hh space in your home, then individual ingestions must be staggered. Your parents already know this, but a gentle reminder can’t hurt.

Bear in mind that you can’t rush through ingestion; the nozzle is set to dispense a certain amount of A-hh at a set time, customized for your individual needs. So make the most of your A-hh time. Meditate. Pray to your God. Offer penance for your misdeeds. Do nothing but ingest and think.

Any questions before I go?

(The boy in the back, a freckled-face redhead, raises his hand.)

Yes, young man?

“How is A-hh made?”

A gasp rises up from the classroom.

(Lilithe A’Dame grabs her chest.)

We don’t discuss A-hh in polite society.

___________________________________________________

...To be continued

___________________________________________________

Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009-present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.

1. Corpus Delicious (a novel): The Board of Acceptable Body Weight and a Decent Proposal (Instead of Jail)

Left: Lilith, by John Collier (1892); Right: Another View of Lilth
_______________________________________________________________

Lilithe Sylvia D'Adame has never eaten a slice of pecan pie.

Or toast, steak, oranges--or even a stale saltine cracker.

Lilithe, who prefers being called Lily, has never eaten anything at all. In fact, she and her fellow citizens have never even heard of solids being ingested for survival.

In her country, the Land of Corpus Luminous, citizens don’t eat; they sip A-hh, the national nutrient, or plain water. Anything else is considered contraband.

And the people ingest nutrition through the oral cavity in total privacy, even away from the eyes of their loved ones.

Only total perverts smuggle their daily allotment into containers and later drink their A-hh in social settings. These “people” are considered the scourge of society.

Taking in nutrition, a necessary evil required for basic survival, has long been associated with fat and corpulence, and, therefore, is spoken of only in hushed tones and never in polite company. Children who yell “A-hh you” or “Fat you!” find themselves in deep trouble--and a mouth full of soap.

Thin is not only “in,” it’s the law. By the national standard, Lily, at a snug size 8 (though, at times, a tight 10 or a loose 12), is considered overweight.

Fat, in fact.

She often runs afoul of the law and, at least once a month, must pay a hefty fat tax--usually after the mandatory monthly weigh-in, but sometimes mid-month if a food cop nabs her while being fat.

Lily can easily afford to pay high fat taxes; she draws an excellent salary as a Quality Control Engineer at the Nutrient Plant, the government facility in charge of manufacturing A-hh and distributing it to the cleverly masked Nutrient Stations around the country. As an “Edge Person” with a good education and even better political connections, Lily’s corpulent days are grudgingly tolerated--enough to avoid serious jail time, although not enough for her to weasel out of her nuisance tax.

Funny, though. Despite her corpulent tendencies, Lily doesn’t sip A-hh any more than anyone else her age and sex. In fact, A-hh, considered a highly-controlled substance, is dispensed in exact portions to the citizenry, determined by individual specifications based on age, gender, job classification, caloric expenditure, metabolic rate, and body build.

Trafficking in illegal A-hh carries an automatic death sentence, carried out by public execution, which happens so rarely that Lily doesn’t remember it ever happening her lifetime. According to horror stories handed down through generations, these executions, extending over several months and even years of public display, are ugly sights, the executed suffering slow, gruesome deaths caused by continuous intravenous feeding of a special Super Octane A-hh, kept in reserve just for this purpose.

At birth, citizens are implanted with a microchip, which, when scanned at a Nutrient Station, dispenses a specific amount of A-hh: growing babies and children receive more proportionate to body size, elderly people less.

Generally speaking, citizens receive between 1,000 and 3,000 calories per day, men who are heavy laborers on the high end, women and light workers on the low end. The National Nutritionist Board issues monthly guidelines to local boards who then determine the specific need for their area Nutrient Stations, all A-hh inventory based on continuous census tallies, updated several times a day. That way, there is very little chance of illegal A-hh bypassing legal channels and slipping into the Black Market, which, according to government sources, no longer exists.

Someone Lily’s age (28) and sex is typically allotted 1,800 calories per day. Not that she would crave any more than that, for A-hh has absolutely no flavor or any other sensory pleasure attached to its ingestion; however, the body still needs what it needs for survival, so, in that sense, Lily looks forward to visiting the Nutrient Station six times a day.

If she were a hard laborer and male, she would be allotted between 2,500 and 3,000 calories per day; however, Lily isn’t envious. She loves her mostly sedentary job and would rather be allotted fewer calories than have to toil in the fields or on a road construction crew.

Today, Lily has been called before The Board of Acceptable Body Weight, after a career-climbing colleague has accused her of pilfering A-hh for personal use. Moreover, an inventory audit has indicated that a small batch has gone missing in the past month, and, add to that, Lilly’s body has expanded to a not-so-loose size 12, which in itself could have triggered an internal investigation, given her sensitive position in the Nutrient Plant.

Standing before the Judge, Lily pleads “Not Guilty.”

Given that her accuser has failed to provide any concrete proof of Lily’s involvement in pilfering the substance, the Judge dismisses her case, but issues this caveat:

“If you are EVER caught with illegal A-hh, the consequences will be dire.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Lily says as she picks up her papers and briefcase.

“Not so fast, young lady. I’m not finished with you yet.”

Lily stands at attention.

“Something is obviously going on here.”

“Sir?”

“I see standing before me an unacceptably fat person, which suggests that something unusual is occurring here. I can only surmise that your caloric intake HAS increased--”

“No, Your Honor! I swear!”

“Well, how do you explain your current condition? Are you pregnant?”

“No, Sir, I’m not.” Lily says, almost wishing it were so, which would be no big deal in Corpus Luminous. In fact, most people no longer bother getting married; for the past 200 years, plurality and casual relationships have been sanctioned as acceptable and even desirable.

“Hum. What to do with you...”

“Your Honor? May I make a suggestion?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Cut my daily allotment to 1,500 calories.”

The judge rubs his handsome chin. “A most unusual request...”

“I want to prove to the court that I’m telling the truth. If I were stealing A-hh, why would I propose such a draconian punishment?”

“I’ll consider it.”

Lily takes a good look at the Judge. He is, perhaps, 45 to 50, maybe a bit older than Lily normally likes in men, but not at all bad looking; very slim, with rugged features and taut, brown skin, black hair with no gray, intelligent blue eyes. Yes, this could work and even be enjoyable for both of them... “And business lunch. My treat.”

The Judge looks up from his papers and takes a close look at her. “I normally don’t do any kind of lunch with fatties...”

“I’m an edge person, Your Honor. There’s a big difference.”

“Debatable, perhaps, but, still, I find you oddly spunky and intriguing.” He smiles and takes a deep breath. “Okay, then, I sentence you to a limit of 1,500 calories for exactly one month and one business lunch date with me, at your expense, at a time and place to be determined by the Board.” He lowers his hammer. “Dismissed!”

(Whoa! Let’s back up to 2009, where such a practice would surely land Lily and the Judge in jail, for bribery and sexual harassment respectively. But try to imagine a future culture in which the intake of solid food would be strictly forbidden and the act of ingesting liquids would be an extremely private act, not to be carried out in social settings. How might the founding fathers and mothers of this culture compensate for the lack of “breaking bread” with others? Dear reader, you figure it out. And, please! Don’t take “lunch” so literally!)

To be continued..._____________________________________________________________

Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009-present (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.