Truth & Code: The Future is Black and White

Jigsaw

Block 7,926,580

Huifen hears the door to the house open. She turns around and calls out to the kids, “Daddy’s home.”

The air immediately begins to fill with the screaming and yelling of Han’s children.

Haoyu, Lixin, and Lilly come running up, with Lilly pulling up the rear.

Han drops his satchel and the #3 bag and bends down to one knee to greet the children. They nearly bowl him over. He wobbles a little on his knee but can withstand the onslaught of love and affection.

He pulls his head above theirs and looks at Huifen. They lock eyes and blow kisses to each other. He then turns to kiss each child.

Huifen knew he would return sometime today but didn’t know when. Han always surprised her on his return. He flew in from Haiphong, the sight of the last node, to test and verify. After the node verification the previous night, he considered coming home but decided to wait and get some rest. But more importantly, He wanted to be fresh for Huifen and the kids.

“Kids, why don’t you get your projects ready to show daddy.”

They all ran off to the playroom to get their projects. Han could hear them cackling and screaming as they ran around to organize them.

Han stands up and looks at Huifen. She’s wearing a pair of light pink silk shorts that sit on her waist and cover just below her tiny bottom. She’s wearing a matching silk blouse that barely covers her belly and is unbuttoned between her breasts.

Han walks to her, and they hug. His hands slide down to caress her bottom, but she reaches down and whispers, “later, Lǎo Gong.”

“I know; I just wanted a sneak peek.” As he says that, he looks down at her blouse, sees she doesn’t have a bra on, and moves his hand from her bottom to her breasts.

“Lǎo Gong, if you keep this up, I will keep you waiting forever.” She says with a smile.

He puts both arms around her waist, pulls her tight, and they kiss.

“Ok, Lǎopó. You win. Let’s go see what our xióng háizis have for me.”

They hold hands, walking into the playroom. Han tries to grab Huifen’s bottom again before they enter the room, but she slaps his hand away.

“Wow, look at what you guys have done! I’m so proud of you! Han exclaims as they each stand near their projects.

He walks to each one, and they proudly present what they have been working on. Han listens intently to each while the others wait impatiently, twisting their bodies and swaying their arms.

He completes his inspection and sits down in the middle of the room with his legs crossed, and they all come and sit down on his legs or hang on him. They giggle and laugh as he plays and tickles them.

“I’ll let you guys have some time together. Then, I’ll get lunch ready. Are you hungry?

Han doesn’t hear with all the giggling and laughing around him.

Huifen knows the children, at least, will eat lunch, so she walks out of the room to the kitchen. Han falls backward and turns his head to her as she walks away, and he watches her with a smile. He’s not thinking about lunch at all but dessert.

They have lunch later, and then Huifen puts the kids down for a nap. Han and Huifen sit on the sofa together, having some tea. He sits lengthwise, and she sits in his lap. They spend the afternoon talking and catching up until the children emerge from their slumbers.

A little later, Han says, “Lǎopó, I’m going to go out to the garden and walk and stretch a bit before dinner.”

“Ok, Lǎo Gong.”

Han walks over to get his satchel and bag and takes them into the bedroom. He opens his bag to take the notebook and pencil out and places them on the bed. He put on a loose-fitting tracksuit and put the bag in the closet. He picked up the notebook and pencil, grabbed the satchel, and took it to his home office next to the front door.

“Han? Is that a new satchel? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Yeah, I decided to get it at Ben Jianao. It’s made organizing everything much easier, like my console and glasses. I started carrying a change of underclothes too. Unfortunately, I slipped and fell a little while looking at the sunrise.”

“Oh, my, dear. Are you OK? Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Well, because it wasn’t a big deal. But I did soil my clothes, and I figured a simple change of undergarments would be a good idea so I wouldn’t have to unpack at a node center.”

“Ok, my dear. I see you have a new idea.” She said as she peered at the notebook.

“Yes.” He smiled back.

Han and Huifen never mentioned the notebook or pencil by name for fear that AI would be alerted. But Han was sure AI was aware of its presence because the sensory component of the AI could essentially see without the use of cameras or video. As a result, it was much more efficient and could account for any lighting level, and the sensory waves could bounce around any closed structure to paint a picture. And the data could be deleted if no new information was found, unlike a video graphics file which would use vast amounts of data and energy.

Even so, Han and Huifen never described the notebook, and Han never verbally discussed its contents. Most of it wouldn’t make sense to Huifen.

Han heads out the door to the garden, stretching and walking. The garden was a little small, but it was acceptable for his purposes. Afterward, he sat down on a stone bench in the garden and opened the notebook to look at the inscription and the drawings.

Next to the capsule drawing, he wrote down several phrases: data storage vs. program; power source or no power source; retrieval of data?; how to execute the program?; SO-Land or not? New or old?

Next to the dome image, he reviewed his distance calculation and placed a big check next to it. He was confident he was correct. Ornament? But why? SO-Land or not? New or old? Dangerous land or not?

He kept mulling these questions over in his head. Then, finally, he figured that since he had a physical object with him, he could make more sense of that than a momentary image he saw on the horizon.

“I think I can begin a new project at Han that incorporates a feature to use an input device like the device in the capsule. I will assume it is a data storage device since there was no power source. I mean, why would a hermetically sealed capsule, crafted with skill, not contain everything you needed to power it if it was a device that needed a power source to run? So maybe I can have the engineers create a prototype and a complimentary device to scan it.”

Han feels satisfied that he can solve another piece of the puzzle. The domed structure, he’s still deciding. He will save his brain power for that later.

He walks back into the house. Huifen is almost ready to serve dinner. Han can hear the children playing in the playroom.

Huifen has changed into a similar short and top pair as she wore earlier, but it is now black silk. She’s standing at the stove. He approaches her from behind, and he can smell that she has showered. He smells her hair, and she extends her head back so he can smell her neck and looks down her blouse. She lets him have a little more play time at this point. She then turns around and grabs his bottom, and they passionately kiss.

The food timer dings and cues Huifen to playfully push Han off.

She bends down to open the oven, and Han watches her.

“Sit down, Lǎo Gong! You can’t have dessert until you have dinner.” She says with a coy smile as she turns her head to look at him.

“Yes, dear.”

Huifen calls the kids to the table, and they come running in.

“Slowly, slowly.”

They all sit down and eat. Han grabs Huifen’s hand between bites of his food and gently caresses her fingers.

After dinner, the family spends time together in the living room. They talk and laugh and giggle. The kids playfully jump up and down on the sofa and between Han and Huifen, who bounce as the cushions transfer their jumps.

“Ok, kids, it’s time for bed.”

“Really? Daddy just got home!”

“Yes, really.”

Huifen glances down the hall and sees that AI has already created its mood zones. However, each zone is different tonight.

“Go get ready. We will be in in a bit.”

“Ok!” They scream, running to their bedrooms to get ready.

Huifen glances towards their room and notices AI has also prepared their mood zone.

“Lǎopó, I’m going to shower, and then I will come and say goodnight to the kids.”

“Ok, my love.”

Han heads to the bedroom and walks into the bathroom. The shower is already on. He takes his time in the warm shower to relax and think about his puzzle. He finally steps out and dries off, and puts on his cologne. He grabs his dark burgundy silk bathrobe and walks into the bedroom. He sees Huifen is already waiting for him. She unbuttoned her blouse. Her breasts are still covered. And she has taken off her silk shorts. She’s wearing a black thong but is turned over towards him on her side with her left leg bent at the knee.

She taunts him with her eyes.

“Ok, dear.” He whispers, let me go say goodnight.”

He hurries out of the bedroom on his tippy toes and goes to each of the children’s rooms. They are barely hanging on to consciousness. He kisses each one and snuggles the blankets up over their shoulders.

He walks down the hall back across the living room to their room. The lights are dim, and he can see Huifen lying flat on her back with her knees up. He takes his robe off, crawls onto the bed, and slowly kisses up her legs and thighs, and they make love.