The Vessel

By: Rita Kempley

Narrated by: Dani Dodge

After hurricane Adolph turns New York City into Big Apple Sauce, the good life goes on and on and on for one-percenters like Margaret Hughes. Margaret looks like she's twenty-two, but she's really more than a hundred years old thanks to the life extension technology she and her father developed in the 20th century. As the chief neurosurgeon of the Hughes Medical Center, she "youthanizes" only wealthy clientele. Her practice virtually insures the status quo.

Rich, famous, beautiful: Margaret has it all. But she's kind of bored until Chase Lyman saunters into her life one hot and thirsty afternoon. Chase comes from the wrong side of the tracks or would if there were any tracks left. The infrastructure crumbled decades ago. As a rollerblading medical courier, Chase relishes the challenge of swiftly transporting organs from donor to recipient. He has his pick of the "grinder" groupies, his own pigeons and all the warm beer he can drink. Yep, life is good until Chase begins a steamy affair with Margaret, who pretends she's only a nurse.

Margaret continues the ruse until Chase is mistakenly kidnapped by religious fanatics with a grudge against life-extension, her father and the center. Driven by guilt certainly not love Margaret mounts a daring rescue attempt that forces her to rethink the consequences of her life's work upon herself, Chase and humankind.

©2012 Rita Kempley (P)2014 Rita Kempley