6 Space Race, Take Two. Part 4: Family Planning?

"So, we're married…" starts James, with a grin on his face.

"No. Our bodies are. Big difference. I've told you. I won't have any romantic relationship on this planet. If you want something with me, it must be on the Moon or Mars.

"Speaking of which, now that we're here, I could perhaps try and get there."

"The moon? As an astronaut? Why not. It could help us get more stuff done if you're a national hero. But we have 5 years before the first moon landing, and while you're from the Navy, you're still field artillery, not air force."

"I'll manage. How do you know so much? Is it Cassie?"

"Cassie helped a bit, but Katherine Johnson was one of my heroes. I know a lot about her and her research."

"Right, the human calculator for the first manned missions, is this it?"

"And so much more. We can use that. Cassie and Nessa will help us fill in the blanks in due time."

"So, what do we do? I get started on politics, commercial and getting me to the Moon to get more influence?"

"And I take care of the first manned missions, getting more necessary to NASA while trying to advance technology a bit."

"We also need to get some cash, what should be our fastest way to get a starting fund? We don't have any available technology to introduce without being inconspicuous, and without access to the internet, we don't have any cryptocurrency."

"Hm. Cassie has a few thousands of books we could publish, we need to find someone to "write" them for us, and while that's a long play, it can give us a head start. We need to invest in a couple of companies as soon as they're available."

"1960s, huh? There is Sony I believe, Panasonic, Intel in a few years, as well as Microsoft and Apple obviously…"

<The US company SWTPC is to be created in two years, and is a favorable target for acquisition, as one of the first suppliers of microcomputers to the general public thanks to its production capabilities and access to microprocessors.>

"Thanks, Cassie. Create a file of all the companies we should invest in and acquire, list them by date, add a note on why. Make another file with all the people we need to keep an eye on. Science, engineering, politics, you decide, we'll check it from time to time."

<Task created. Task started. Files shared with Nessa for ease of access to James.>

"Speaking of this, we need to be able to do more with our assistants. While we kept them and they seem to have 'fused' with us somehow, there should be something we can do." Cassie was very useful, but its uses are pretty limited: advanced calculator, simulator, and memory unit. CAlculate, SImulate. CASI, Cassie for marketing reasons. Same for Nessa: NEtwork, System and Security Assistant.

"Don't you worry about that, Nessa told me as long as she gets access to the internet she'll be provided with more processing power and their capabilities will be improved somewhat. For now, we need to focus on the short term. Money, Science, Influence. Those are the big three, right?"

"Alright. Just keep me up to date with how things are going outside while I work on the space program with an abacus."

"Even with just a paperclip, I believe you'll be sending someone on the moon."

"Try and flirt more and see if I don't kick you there. But more seriously, I'm sorry, but while we're married, you can't go and sleep with a lot of women. Especially if we can get you a "hero" status. So, you'll have to keep it in your pants for a while. It never really worked out for influential people to have affairs. We're working on a long plan, with you being on the seat of a country as the biggest goal."

"Macy, you're forgetting something here. It's true I need to have a high status and "keep it in my pants", but I'm black right now. This is the 60's. America's 60's. They'll get a black president in fifty years. Not right now. At most I can control behind the scenes but I'll get killed if I even try to run."

"Shit, you're right."

"We'll make do, don't worry."

After a good 30 minutes of planning for the future, the doctor and Juliette come back. Juliette looks dejected, while the doctor has a new file in his hands.

"I've got your labs results, there's nothing in it that could explain what you've experienced, but also nothing nefarious. You're free to go home. I'd like to check in with you in a few weeks if you're okay with it. This is a very strange situation, and if it happens again you have to let me know. Here's my card, call me just after the ambulance, please," he says, before handing his card to Juliette.

After that, we take our coats, take a taxi to leave the hospital and go back to "our" house. We talk to the girls at dinner, they tell us about "us", about themselves, and what they know about my work. When I say that I'll be going there tomorrow, they try to convince me to take a few days off, unsuccessfully.