Welcome to Gaia! ::

“I’ve got it.”

With a snap of her fingers and a grin filled with a none-too subtle triumph Tali leaned back in her chair. A certain glow of abandon and rampant excitement radiated about her as her trademark amethyst eyes focused on the screen. For a moment she seemed statuesque, as if she would stare forever, but her attention soon chose to pay a visit to her favorite and only house AI.

“Very appropriate, Miss.”

Xu nodded his head as the flickering holographic skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled in accompaniment to his smile. The computer had chosen to take the form of the common stereotype of an Irishman, fiery red hair, freckles, green eyes and all.

“Lovely as well. Quite elegant.” He brought the two forefingers of his right hand to his lips then arched them forward in a simple gesture. “Flows off the tongue very nicely.”

Practically bounding up from her seat, the Asian girl’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Her head bobbed in agreement, large Alice bow in her hair wavering with the motion. She could see it now, her Prince’s name written with the beauty that was exclusive to the strokes of a calligraphy brush slick with ink. Here in Russia the name would be Romanized of course, written in the simple letters of Russian, French, and English. In that form it was also nearly a guarantee that the name would be mispronounced: Xinzang. People would look at it and utter “Jinzang” in ugly blunt accents instead of the more gentle “Shinsang” with its subtle flowing consonants. It was at times like this when she missed China. Foreigners had no idea how to properly articulate “X” and “Z” sounds.

Still, regardless of these minor . The name was his. Xinzang. Her child’s.

Very suddenly Tali was possessed with a silly, childlike urge to twirl—which she promptly satisfied—all the while cupping her hand over the brooch ever present at her breast.

“Xinzang,” She mused with a whimsical tone as she slowed to a graceful stop. “Heart. My heart.” She’d found a name, and it was perfect.

And with no time to spare. Two weeks was a rather abrupt deadline before her prince moved on to a stage of more vitality and interaction. To not have a name for him during the first stages of his budding awareness, what kind of mother would she be? Tali shuddered at the thought.

“Xu, where ever did I put that manual Maximllian sent over? I have to make sure all the necessary preparations are taken care of before Xinzang’s checkup.”
A flicker of pixels later and Xu was standing next to a worktable cluttered with everything from wrenches to decorative coasters. (Tali hated to get glass stains on her blueprints.) Briskly, she brought herself to the surface, clearing aside various debris with finicky hands. So much cleaning had to be done this week. It simply would not do to bring Xinzang home to this sort of environment.

“Ah-ha! Now, let’s see here…” With a smile she lifted up a simple, plain booklet with no more than twenty pages and promptly began flipping thought the pages.

Frozen lettuce, yes. Sifter, yes. Don’t take out of the water, yes, yes, yes. Tali sighed. Was that really all she needed to know? Where were the essential parenting techniques, the best music to play to the growing boy? How was she supposed to ensure her child had the greatest developmental advantage if this was all she was told? Grumbling, Tali flopped the booklet back down on the surface to be lost once again amongst the mess and returned with a determined stride to her computer.

“Parenting for beginners,” She announced curtly to the verbal search engine, taking a seat as the screen began to spin obediently into its standard information search. ”Specifically on environment for optimal development.”

Thus began Tali’s three hour scourge of cyberspace for a comprehensive guide to raising a child, a topic that everyone seemed to have their own opinion about, but little factual evidence to back up. Into the half an hour after the third, Tali decided to take a different approach.

“Search for the previously stated topic with the same parameters and bring up a list of the fifty most commonly used words excluding ‘and’, ‘is’, ‘it’, ‘the’, and ‘a’.”

Ten minutes later the requested list scrolled its way down the screen.

Parent, child, mother, father, pregnancy, love, nurture, Tali read through until she got down to the more practically applicable topics. Around thirty-two, the word nursery popped up.

“Nursery…”

She had barely murmured the word, but of course her state of the art computer sped off into an expansion on the ‘requested’ topic. Soon enough the screen filled with images of teddy bear filled rooms with cribs and fluffy blankets, state of the art facilities engineered specifically to optimize the level of intelligence in a child, rooms with various colors and shapes geared toward appealing to a child’s senses. Interest piqued, Tali looked on.

“Search Agalychnis callidryas, natural habitat.”
Once again, the search went on, but this time resulted in steamy rainforests, intertwining branches, lush green leaves. Tali stood suddenly, pushing her chair back to the point where it wheeled at least four feet further than she had intended.

“Xu, get me the number of the best interior designer Saltaire.”

For a moment the room filled with a noise that could only be described as digital scramble, then Xu’s voice clearly relayed a name. Tali paced to the phone, tapping the call button and waiting through the ring tone. She leaned against the wall, crossing her legs at the ankles, but jumped up at the sound of someone picking up the receiver and greeting her with a: “Hello?”

“Hello,” She tapped the screen that served as her caller ID and phonebook, bringing up the basic information of the man whose services she would be requesting. “This is Tali Novikov. May I speak to Mr. Fítheal? I have job request that I wish to parley with him.”

Tali crossed her arm across herself, cupping the elbow of her other arm as she twirled a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes with a finely manicured nail. Bright yellow this time. She felt the need for a little color. Not to mention it matched her pumps, the three bracelets encircling her left wrist, and the corset-inspired belt that encircled her upper ribcage. The dress, a lovely little strapless frock she'd commissioned last week that fell just above her knees, was the pristine color of lilies. The look was topped off with the previously mentioned Alice bow, perched atop her head and fashioned from soft lace. To match the apparel, Tali had set her Moodlett hair color of the day to a breezy, golden blond.

Relaxing a bit at the casualty in his voice, Tali smiled, angling her head towards the wall terminal.

"Ah, Ridoran! A pleasure, I assure you." From the tone of his voice, she could discern that he was delighted. That or an excellent actor. "I've looked over your credentials and am very impressed. I'll need the best for this job, and all your previous work points to that exact conclusion."

Upon hearing his name from Xu's scourge of the public databanks, Tali had recognized indeed it. Fitheal was a name accredited for nearly all of the renovation and finer construction Saltaire, so not all of her words were mere flattery. Tapping a few icons on her telescreen, Tali generated an visual identification of the man speaking to her. Hmm, pretty.

"Perhaps we could discuss the details over dinner? It is a rather... unique commission."

Oh, good at his job, handsome, and charming. A smile slipped its way onto her champagne colored lips. Tali did love interesting people, and judging from the photos of the architectural and interior designs she was pulling up, this Ridoran was indeed quite the character.

"Splendid!" With a flick of her hand the telescreen promptly changed to a command list for various robots around the house. As she spoke, Tali assigned various chores and duties to specific machines.

"Well, we would meet at my house, naturally, seeing as the job would be done here. The focus of my request is, as I said, very unique and I would like you to approach the project in reality to get a better feel for it." After tapping a few more commands a completion time flashed on the screen. Seven.

"Are you available this evening at, lets say... Eight o' clock? Short notice, I know, but I'm very excited you see." Tali paused for a noticeable duration, considering her next statement carefully.

"I do believe I am in a scarlett mood. Scarlett with smokey accents. You may coordinate with that, if you wish."

Well, what a perfectly lovely gentleman. She'd certainly have to put on the ritz tonight.

"Really? Excellent taste. I'm more partial to purple myself but I adore red accents."

Extraordinary! They were mere minutes into the conversation and Tali could already tell they clicked perfectly. She wondered absently if he was taken. Or gay. It seemed all the handsome, fashion savvy men were either or both.

"No, no. I'll send the information over right away." And with a tap of an icon, so she did. "It should be there in your messages now. Yes, I am quite excited myself. We have much to discuss. Now, If you'll excuse me, I must get to preparing dinner. It's been lovely chatting with you."

With a farewell, Tali tapped the end transmission button, still smiling curiously. What would she serve for dinner? Hmm...

"Xu!" She chimed optimistically, ready to inquire what the AI thought appropriate.

"Already on it, Miss. Caesar, poached salmon with ginger, and tiramisu.”

Tali nodded approvingly, trusting that the wines and decorations would be set to compliment the dishes. She’d programmed the machines herself, after all. They didn’t make mistakes. Humming to herself, Tali patted Xinzang with fondly. Good thing she was in a red mood, the brooch would coordinate nicely. Red dress, strapless, a black hat with fletchings of tulle…. Her mind trailed on as Tali took the trip to her room with an easy gait. Tonight would be most entertaining.

With a mechanized woosh Tali’s wardrobe doors opened, unfolding twice from themselves until the girl was surrounded by four close walls of mirrors, makeup, jewelry, and clothes. Her nimble fingers reached out to slide a holographic list of lipstick shades down to the “M”s. Now where was it… A-ha! There it was, “Moulin Rouge.” It was one of her more frequently used lipstick colors as well as one of her more expensive ones. As soon as Tali pressed the icon, one of the many tiny drawers on the wall to her left popped open and in response, the girl dipped into it to retrieve the awaiting item. It was a very prestigious color from a very prestigious brand. The shade was named after an old pre-war movie apparently. And such beautiful packaging! Crystal encrusted and accented with gold. Too bad the tube wasn’t reusable. She had a whole shoe box filled with discarded ones. Nostalgia in her smile, Tali placed the lipstick in the warmer on the makeup stand just next to the mirror. It made sure the makeup was the perfect temperature for application.

“Evening. Red. Mid-thigh. Strapless. Black accents.”

Even as she spoke the wardrobe set into motion, motors whirring as the racks spun to retrieve the section of clothing she had requested. A few moments later the wardrobe produced ten dresses meeting the parameters specified. The first three were definite “No’s”, the next five she had already worn this month, and the last two she couldn’t choose between. One was Tali plucked them from the rack, holding each up to her tiny frame in turn while facing the full length mirror.

“Xu!” She called urgently, brow set in concentration.

“The layered one, Miss Novikov. With the fitted bodice.”

Tali held the dress to herself once more, and tossed back on the rack.

“Glad to see I could help.” The AI commented dryly. Tali simply continued to strategize her outfit.

When seven thirty rolled around, Tali finally applied her layer of lipstick, and stepped back to scrutinize herself. Usually the girl didn’t take so long in preparation, but she could already tell this guest would notice and appreciate every moment of effort she put into her appearance. She twirled, eyes flickering to each mirror. Hm, one shade darker on the hair and everything would be perfect. Once adjusted, Tali beamed. Perfect. The shoes, the makeup, it all came together like a fashion symphony in crescendo! As Tali walked towards the outermost wall, the wardrobe parted and folded back into looking like a typical piece of furniture. It was a very convenient design. Tali was rather proud of it.

Descending down the stairs, Tali seated herself in one of the decorative chairs in the grand foyer, producing a screen from the little red clutch purse she placed on the arm of the chair. Now was a good time to look over some company information. As Tali looked over the charts and graphs on the pad, she caught her reflection in a mirror across the foyer. A smile lit up her delicate features as she settled in to wait for her guest.

Ridoran Fítheal was in for a treat.