“So what made you want to date a 44?” Hector asked Kaitlyn.

“A lot of reasons. What made you want to date an O F?” she replied.

“If I only dated people like me I would have a lot of free nights. Besides, Old Fashions make great girlfriends.”

This was their second date. They had already gone on the requisite coffee meeting that lasted long enough to be considered a real date. They had texted each other before the cut-off time of 24 hours later, and had spoken on the phone within 3 days of the first date. All data pointed towards a mutual attraction, so they proceeded with the longer drinks/appetizers, with potential for extending the date up to 12 hours after the original scheduled ending. Hector munched on his calamari fried in cricket flour, selected to emphasize his exoticness, while Kaitlyn nibbled on her spicy steamed soybeans, selected to emphasize her adventurousness.

“So you’ve had a lot of girlfriends?” This was clearly the interrogatory part of the date.

Hector smiled. “The longest real relationship I’ve had was a little less than a year. I’ve had to move around a lot for work, which is great for exploring, but terrible for getting to know people. I only changed jobs to something that let me stay in one place about six months ago, and since then I’ve mostly just been getting settled and getting to know Seattle.

“How about you, have you had a lot of boyfriends?”

“Oh c’mon, you know there’s no way for me to answer that.”

“I know. You don’t want to say you’ve had a lot, because you don’t want to look slutty. And you don’t want to see you haven’t had many, because you’ll look like a prude. If you say you just got out of a long term relationship, that signals you might have emotional baggage. I’m pushing the rules a bit, asking more about your romantic history than you usually do on a second date.”

“A little rule breaking isn’t a bad thing.”

They munched a bit in silence.

“So why did you want to date a 44? Were you looking for adventure? Looking to annoy your parents? Unless you have a very specific life in mind, you know this is a medium-term relationship at best.”

Kaitlyn wiped her hands and signaled to the server to come over. She preferred restaurants that still used human servers, especially during dates. Robots were too efficient. Humans would lag a little, and give time to think of a response to a tough question.

“If we’re going to have this conversation then I think I need another beer. Want another sake?”

“Sure.”

She ordered from the young man, who assured them their drinks would be coming quickly.

“When you’re in a relationship with another O F, there are a lot of expectations. You’re not required to have kids, but it is pretty much expected. So there’s pressure to submit your plan, get your license, take parenting classes, all that. I love having freedom. There are nearly 200 countries in the world. I’ve been to 23 so far. I want to see them all. But I also might want to settle down and have kids. I just don’t know yet, and I like it that way. A medium term relationship is just fine to me.”

The server was more efficient than she expected. She sipped her fresh beer while she thought of her next move.

“So that’s it, basically. I like freedom. I understand why parents need licenses. I understand why we’re careful about who produces kids. I just wish I could have the freedom to travel and see the world, but still have the option to settle down if I want to.”

She sipped again.

“There’s a lot of pressure on people like me to have kids, but there’s even more on 44’s. Why did you go searching for O F’s?” She picked up another pod and munched, signaling her intention to listen. Soybeans were great for conversations like this. It took time to open each one, slowing her down.

“I don’t know. There aren’t many of us, which doesn’t give me a whole lot of dating options. And I get the benefits of having more people like me. Last I heard Earth’s population was about 2% weirdos like me, but the New World was well over 50%.”

“Mars or Europa?”

“Mars is over 50%. Europa was close to 90%, last I heard. There won’t be any Old Fashioned humans at all there soon. But I like Earth. I love the idea of being able to go outside, swim in the ocean, hike through deserts. I figure unless you’re willing to move to another planet and live the rest of your life indoors, there’s no point in trying to perpetuate a genetic quirk. That’s already done. I might as well spend my time with people I like.”

“Yeah, but there are benefits to being with another 44. That chromosome you’re missing means you’re supposed to live close to twice what I’m supposed to. Even if you really like me, we couldn’t stay together nearly as long if you found someone like you.”

“True. But the life expectancy on Mars if even longer than 44s here. I could live close to 300 years, probably. A nice, safe, sanitized life inside the same rooms, with the same people, doing the same things. You can’t even see the moons from Mars’s surface. Can you imagine night without the moon?”

“You live in one of the densest cities in the world. You probably don’t see the moon much here, either.”

“But an hour train away and you’re in the desert. It’s like you said. It’s nice having the freedom.”

Their food was done. They still had about half their drinks left. The server had already slipped in and left the dessert menu on the edge of the table and vanished without making his presence known. Kaitlyn made a mental note not to come here again. The servers were too robotic.

“So, decision time,” Hector gambled. “Do we order dessert, and another drink,” he paused, wondering whether or not now was the point to test her adventurousness. “Or do we go and see if we really would make an infertile couple?”

She sensed an opportunity to change the power dynamic. “Aww. And you were doing so well.”

He could feel the flop sweat start to emerge. “Give me a chance to pass that off as a joke? Maybe chalk it up to the rice wine? It is true I don’t drink often. Something about only having 44 chromosomes, it has something to do with how quickly we get drunk.”

Kaitlyn acquiesced. “I have heard that. Is it also true that you have a longer set of intestines?”

“I’m told that’s true. Evolution’s little gift to us, once we managed to turn most of our world to either dust or deluge, a little pocket of humanity emerged that can be camels and go that much longer between sips of water.”

“Useful, I’d imagine.”

“It is.”

They sat in silence and slowly finished their drinks, drawing them out slowly.

“So how about a walk?” Hector asked. “Let’s wander around a busy street and make fun of people who stare at the mixed couple. I never have room for dessert after calamari.”

Kaitlyn smiled. He was proceeding much more carefully after his early poorly thought out “joke.” She felt it was worth a shot. She stood, and extended her hand to help him up. He smiled and accepted her help, towering above her. They both seemed to agree that this wouldn’t be the full 24 hour extension, but a long evening without pressure would be a welcome respite.