The ones they came - 2

Andrew Frueh

This is a story I'm working on. The way I write is to just keep a journal so I can see the way the writing evolves. The numbers before each entry are dates -- 20061024 is October 24th, 2006.

This is kind of scary to post this because it is messy,,, but I gotta start the ball rolling -- how else can expect anyone else to bear their... well. Anyway from here on out I'll just be posting more "normal" story roughs, but at least there's something. So, here it is.



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20061024

Salo Meshant pulled the couch away from the wall. The young woman who lived in the apartment stood behind him watching. "Yea," she said, "right back there. Sorry about the couch, but I was just trying to hide it until it got fixed."
As Salo pushed the couch further away and to the side, the smooth, gray square seemingly set into the otherwise beautiful wood floor became visible.

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20061025

The gray square was a failed particle tile. The rest of the floor seemed to be okay, wood panelling wall to wall, but he asked her to be sure.
"Yup, that's the only spot."
Salo bent down and ran a hand over the smooth surface of the dead tile. There was a dent, about as deep as his finger was thick. It had an odd shape, three parralel grooves like little knuckles as if a tiny fist had made the dent. Salo's eyes happened to fall on the foot of the couch -- a bulbous end, with the matching three knuckles. Salo looked up at the woman, then at the couch foot. She got a guilty smile, "yea, the party got a little roudy."

Note: I'm not sure where to go with this. The girl is selling (has sold) her body to a very rich and very old being. The exchange will consist of her organic brain being put into a bod (droud body) and the rich baing's brain being put into her body. This nice apartment is part of the arrangement (rent is covered until the exchange -- and until some period of time thereafter). Her responsibility up to the exchange ist o be as healthy as possible. Any breech of that is a breech of contract. So she cannot intake "toxics" (drugs, alcohol, etc.) -- if she does she loses all. I would think that sex would also be a "breech."
So if she and Salo begin to fall in love, she would be forced to choose between a very comfortable and extended life without Salo (since Salo is an "organic" or "bio" and would likely not be interested in her if she becomes a droid -- not to mention the physical woman he is in love with being possesed by some old merchant) and a messy mortal life with Salo. Hmmm. Potential.

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20061028

"Nice spread you have here," Salo said as he took the tile puller from his toolcase.
"Yeah, it's real fancy, "she replied. Salo watched her looking around as she said that -- like she was admiring the place for the first time -- kind of in awe. [(She needs to be more cinical here, not so nieve)] Something about her seemed out of place in this obviously very expensive apartment. "Maybe she's got a sugar-dady" Salo thought to himself.

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20061029

Salo set the tile on the floor, pushed a button, the tool came free from the tile. He picked up the dead tile and flipped it over to [look at] the back.
"You're in luck, I've got a replacement in the truck." As Salo stood up he groaned and his knee cracked and popped a little.
"Aren't you a little young for those sounds?" Tia [asked].
"Yeah, messed up my knee roughhousing with some friends a few years ago." Salo swung his leg back and forth and it made little complaints. "Not too bad, but it gets stiff every now and then." He walked toward the door with the tile under his arm. "Be back in a minute."
As Salo closed the door behind him, Tia thought about this young man with his creeky leg. He seemed like a nice guy, and pretty much healthy. But his body was already creeping toward failure. She wondered if he though about his body rotting out from under his. Did he worry about getting old like she did? Did he think of himself as being trapped in sack of flesh that each day was dying?
And then, of course, she thought of her arrangement with old Rondello. Did this workman realize that all this fancy stuff, this big apartment, was all paid for because of her arrangement? Would he be interested? Would he be discusted? Woud he care? If he knew that she had sold her body?
The body was just a vehicle htat you drove around in anyway. And in a few weeks, she'd be driving around in a top of the line mocel. Gone would be the worries of her body getting old while her mind stayed young. Rondello could have her flesh-sack. The dirty old geezer could prance around in her sexy young body all he liked. She didn't care. She wanted to live long. There was so much to see, so much to know. And without the constraints of a biological body, she could take her time getting to know the galaxy.

Salo came back in with a tile in hand and headed back to the hole in the floor.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Tia asked. "I've got 10 different kinds of fruit juice and the best alcohol money can buy."
"Glass of water would be fine thanks." Salo replied. Tia disapeared around the corner and Salo attached the tile tool to the face of the new tile. As she returned with his water, he was dropping the tile gently into the hole in the floor. As it engaged, there was a satisfied sounding chirp and Salo removed the tool from the tile. As he did, the new tile and its neighbors turned from gray to rich, golden wood to match the rest of the floor.
"Beautiful. Thank-you." Tia said smiling.
"It's nothing, really... do this all day long." Salo said as he closed up the small case he brought with him. "Besides, the tools do all the work."
"You know you could just say you're welcome." Tia gave him a wry and correcting look.
"Yea..." he looked down for a moment. Then looking up, their eyes met there was an akward silence -- neither of them could look away. Suddenly, the silence broke as the doorbell rang.
"Hold on," Tia started for the door. "Oh, here's your water."
"Thank you" Salo said taking it. As he did, their hands touched for a moment and again they both paused.
"Exc... excuse me" Tia tore herself away "I just need to..."
"No it's okay..." Salo siad quietly -- she had already turned away.
As the door opened, a large, bronze colored droid strode in.
"Goodday Tia" It bellowed deeply.
"Goodday Sir" Tia replied.
The droid turned sharply noticing Salo standing to the side. With large graceful strides the droid came up to Salo. It eyed his tool case, his outfit, and seemed to size him up.
"And Goodday to you... Mr.?"
"Salo Sir... Salo Meshant." Salo felt uncomfortable and intimidated by the large droid.
"What exactly are you doing here today Mr. Meshant?"
"Uh, surface Sir... a dead floor tile, but it's fixed now."
"Really." The droid said flatly.
Salo could see Tia's worried face behind the big droid. Salo now understood, or thought he did, the relationship here. He also now understood where her money came from. He guessed by the look on her face that the big droid wouldn't be terribly pleased by her "roudy" party.
"Yes Sir. But very normal, sometimes they just fail."
"Yes of course" The droid sounded less interested now. "Well, you really must excuse us Mr. Meshant. Tia and I have some business..."
"Of course," Salo picked up his case, walked past the droid and took a gulp of water before handing the glass to Tia. Again, their fingers met for a just a moment. "Thanks." And Salo walked out the door.

========
20061103

Salo went on about his business, but the memory of Tia did not fade. His fingertips were still haunted with the chance touch even two weeks later as he found himself back at Tia's building for a different job.
As he walded through the lobby he pulled his pal out of his pocket to check the address -- the screen [on the pal] said

Sandia Robles
13.15, Tamlin Towers

"Thirteen dot fifteen" Salo siad to himself as he stepped into the lift. As the lift accelerated upward, his thoughts fell back on Tia. His fingertips tingled again as the lift slowed to a stop. The door opened and Salo walked down the hall counting off the odd-numbered doors on the left until he got to number 15. He pushed the call-button and waited.
As the door opened with a "Yes?... how can I... oh! hello," Salo managed to choke up a "Wh... what?" though the mix of surprize and happyness at seeing Tia's face in the doorway.
"Mr. Meshant isn't it?" she asked.
"Yes." Salo answered "Shit. Sorry, wrong door."
"Nice to see you too," Tia said with her wry smile.
"No, uh, I mean hi." He was fumbling a bit. "It's just I meant to go to thirteen dot fifteen."
"Close. This is twelve dot fifteen. Right door, wrong floor."
"That's funny... um, how uh... how have you been?" Salo was nervous with excitement but trying to be cool.
"I'm well." Tia said calmly. "Would you like to come in?"
"No... uh yes, but I have to go up to thirteen-fifteen... they'll be waiting." Salo stood for a moment uncomfortable torn between the invitation and the job. "I, uh... I could come down after I'm done though" he added nervously " I don't have another job after this one and I..."
"Sure," Tia cut him off in his rambling, "that would be nice."
"Oh, okay." Salo was smiling from ear to ear "I'll uh... see you in a bit then." He turned and headed back down the hall to the lift. "Funny, one floor off" he muttered to himself. What luck! If it was luck. Had his subconscious done it intentionally? He had not been thinking of, and didn't even remember for that matter, Tia's apartment number. But here he was. Fate was giving him another chance to see her. He stepped onto the lift to go up just one floor.

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20061107

The Sandia Robles job was typically simple yet annoying. "Somehow" the program for the floor got stuck in a mode that was oscillating ([every few] minutes) between hard, high-polish, black and white checkers and a soft, spongy, deep-blue material (which Salo hadn't seen before). Sandia was a nervous droid that stood way too close to Salo as he was working -- which would have made him exremely irritable if he hadn't been so obsessed with thoughts of Tia. In fact, Salo had to do his best not to laugh as the anxious little droid complained obsessivly.
"It's very inconvienient... and quite distracting... You see! There it goes again! Oh dear. I really don't know what happened... but I can't take it much longer... will it be fixed soon?"
It was fixed soon (Salo thought in record tiome), and as soon as it was, Salo was saying goodbye to the obnoxious client and closing the door behind him.
Now it was back into the lift and down to twelve dot fifteen and destiny.

Salo touched the call-pad on the fated number fifteen. As he waited, his intestines slipped and slid over each oter like a sack of worms. His thoughts were flying by so quickly that he couldn't catch hold of even one to help stabilize him. And the blood was pounding in his ears filling his head with a ringing of anziety. But the orcestra of noise fell silent as the door opened and Tia's warm face appeared from behind it.
"That was fast," she said plainly.
"Wha..." Salo was still emerging from the daze of his boy-like crush. "Oh, yeah. The job was preyy simple, just bad programming."
Tia stepped aside and motioned for him to come in.

---

Notes:
Old Rondello was a woman not a man. It should still be refered to as "Sir" -- a term of respect which is gender neutral in this world.
It might be nice to include a scene between Tia and Rondello -- maybe after Salo's first visit. That would allow Rondello to lecture Tia about "breech of contract" -- due to Rondello's suspiscions about Tia having roudy parties (remember the broken tile). An initial meeting would also help establish a relationship between them.
Then, I think there should be another meeting between them... perhaps another interruption of some nice time between Salo and Tia. That way there can be a conversation between Tia an dRondello about Salo... something like
"Tia, have you told him yet?"
"No..."
"I think you shouldn't tell him Tia. It would only confuse and hurt him."
This being cover -- Rondello likes the idea of Salo being in love with the woman she's about to become.

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20061109

Notes:
This is tricky. This scene is Tia & Salo's first real conversation. In it I want certain issues to come up -- like the issue of Rondello having been a woman. And, of course, the big issue of body exchange. I need to know (and need to show) how these characters feel about the brain-body connection. Tia obviously feels it's less important as she is in an arrangement with Rondello -- though I don't think she'll tell Salo about that. I think Salo is more inclined not to like the idea -- maybe ge would even call it discusting/disturbing. And his adversity to the issue may be what causes Tia to keep quiet about it.
There's also the love interest. Salo is becomming enamored with Tia, But I'm not sure she feels the same way. I think she likes him, there's something about him that's interesting/attractive to her -- more than just that he finds her attractive. But, I don't think she is falling for him the way he is for her. Even if she was heading in that direction, I think his opinon of the body-swap process is a big turn off for her -- kind of an insult really. And I think this is the reason she is able to be sort of indifferent as she goes off to her proceedure knowing full well that he will show up after she's gone and think that Tondello is her (because it's her body still).
As for that later scene... Salo may be in love (or lust at least), but he isn't blind or stupid, and he realizes the reality [20061113:I'm not sure I agree with this... what would make him realize?]. I think that he will obvoiusly be shocked and uncomfortable, but I don't know if he will just march out. I imagine him to be more likely to just sort of collapse with confusion -- maybe with Rondello-Tia holding him and comforting him. Maybe during the shock-moment Rondello could ask him something like "What were you really in love with Salo? Tia's mind, or Tia's body?" This serves to confuse him (hence the collapse) as he realizes that he doesn't really know the answer. I see the story ending on that scene of Salo in Rondello's arms sort of broken.
Before this final scene, I'd like to have a scene of Tia (in her droid body) getting on a ship to begin her galactic trabels. As she does, I imagine her stopping with the cliche one foot on the ship (the last step), pausing and looking over her shoulder and feeling guilty about what whe did to Salo. A sort of "sorry Salo..." moment.
That all sounds fine -- and those scenes will actually be easier to write as they have something driving them. My problem right now is their current casual conversation. It still feels a bit forced. What can I do to make it more natural? What do Salo & Tia need as characters to help get this conversation in the direction I want it to go?

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20061110

Salo stepped into the apartment and looking around was reminded of the expensive furnishings that somehow didn't really fit Tia. He of course noticed the floor -- which was no longer set to wood but was now a deep and luminous green which seemed to have a gentle movement to it.
Tia noticeing his eyes on the floor, said, "You should take your shoes off... it's really relaxing."
Salo did take off his shoes. The floor was slightly warm and was gently moving under his feet ina way that was very relaxing.
"Go ahead and sit down, relax." Tia gestured to the various chairs and couch in the middleof the room. "Can I get you something to drink? Don't be shy -- I've got really... well, everything. And I don't pay for any of it. Really, just name something."
"What about..." Salo stalled for a moment. Most of his friends probably ask for pabo. It was expensive (for working class people) and though it was strong, it didn't give you a hang over. But Salo flashed to a night a few years ago when a high-class man had bought him a drink called Tircy. It came in a small glass, was very dark in color, and had a flavor that filled his whole head. Salo had since considered buying himself a glass, but it was just too expensive and he was just too practical. "Do you have Tircy?"
Tia's eyebrows went up. "A fancy man!" she smiled, "I thought for sure you'd ask for pabo." Salo lowereed his eyes feeling a little embarased. "Go on," Tia gestured toward the sitting area again, "sit down. I'll be back in a minute."
Salo walked over to the nearest seat, lowered himself into it, and let the rolling motion of the floor relax his feet.
In a moment, Tia returned with his drink. It was a small glass, though a bit bigger than the one from his memory, and as he sipped the dark liquid his head was filled with a flavor that he might of described as sweet and woody. It would have, in fact, been very difficult to describe because it was entirely unlike any of the flavors that were common to him. It was wonderful. He leaned back in his chair and let out a gentle sigh, and for a moment he was lost in the aroma that [poured] out of his nostrils as he [exhaled].
"I take it you like your drink?" Tia asked playfully.
"Oh yes, very much... thank you." Then, noticing that Tia was empty-handed, and feeling a little akward drinking alone, he asked "you're not having anything?"
"No" she replied, "I... I don't drink".
Salo looked puzzled. "Why all the..."
"All the alcohol?" She finished, "I entertain a lot of high-profile guests... like I said, it's not like I'm paying for it."
"I don't want to pry..." Salo very much did want to pry, "but does all this have to do with that droid that came in when I was here fixing the floor?"

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20061111

Notes:
Remember the gender issue -- this means you'll have to use the object pronoun "it" unless you are dealing with a human or a "fleshbrain" droid (as opposed to a "chipbrain" droid). The trouble is that we (humans) differentiate between "intelligent" i.e. sentient lifeforms by using gendered pronouns. The connotation of "it" is something less intelligent, less sentient. For example calling a human child "it" is seen as making the child less human. We humans actually have a whole set of special human pronouns (which can be used for things that need to be understood to be more like us -- using him/her for a dog to make that relationship closer).
Look at these pronouns and their "objectifying" wquivalants.

anthropomorphic objectifying

him/her (he/she) it
who/whom it
you ? you (if intelligence is recognized)
me/I this
us/we these
they/them those

---

Sqrl had a good idea -- why not just use people's names.... This solution isn't perfect though, as in casual speech it is easier to have shorthand. Using full names all the time gets to be pretty redundant. Also sometimes it is just not practical to use a name. Example:
1) When Salo called, he asked you to give him his keys back.
2) When Salo called, Salo asked you to give Salo Salo's keys back.

Damn!

[20061113: I am avoiding this issue for now and simply using gendered pronouns]

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20061112

A poem

Each of us a glory-god be
Through Manifest did Fathers decree
That greatness was our Destiny

Unholy knives did fly obscene
Spilling crimson blood on fields of green
To feed the glorious future machine

And still this story we're not told
Instead the products we are sold
Will ever this sad dream grow old

So we may know the day
When the truth can be the way

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20061113

Notes:
For starters, the story of Tia, Salo, and Rondello (is there a first name?) is set in the world of Earth after the Reclamation. The cities are dense but efficient and environmentally clean. There are also small towns, but there is no urban sprawl. In terms of the ecosystem, this world is more like the Earth before the industrial revolution. Raw, natural ecosystems account for the largest percentage of the Earth's surface. This is not to say that the ecosystem is not managed. On the contrary, there is extensive ecosystem management. The focus is not so much on trying to recreate Earth's original pattern of diversity and density. It is more about haveing the greatest overall health of the biosphere -- though sometimes this does mean mimicking the original conditions.
The business end of this Earth is in tourist service and biologic production. Beings from other worlds can come and visit Earth's "wide and beautiful ecosystems." As for biologic production, Earth exports a fairly sizable amount of raw, natural resources.
Humans are mostly in the lower (and lowest) socio-economic classes. This is due to the human civilization having been crushed into submission by an advanced culture -- meaning that the advanced culture became the upper class by default. There are of course Galactic Rights organizations calling for human (and the multitude of other subordinated cultures on other worlds) development. But ultimatly reality (statistics, etc.) gets is way and as always dominant classes are afforded dominance by their natural (implicit, status-quo) leverage over subordinate classes.
This is why the Reclamation is still a sore spot for humans. But for indivituals, "today is just another day, and now it's time to get back to work." Meaning that the Reclamation is mostly in the history books -- so long ago that no naturally-born, living human (that is till in their original body -- think of Rondello) actually experienced it. [I think that maybe Rondello was a young child during the time of the previous tree-planter story 20061016]

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20061114

"Yeah" Tia's head kind of dropped into her chest "that's Rondello... she owns everything."
"She?" Salo asked sounding surprized.
"Oh, right... she's a fleshbrain not a chipbrain. She like to keep that private, but regal old Rondello used to be a woman." Tia perked up a bit with the air of pride of someone delivering good gossip.
"That's just wrong." Salo said disaprovingly as he lifted his glass to take another sip.
"Why!?" Tia siad sounding noticably defensive.
Salo lowered his glass. "It's just... well it's not natural."
"That's a rather archeic view don't you think?" Tia said folding her arms -- definatly ready to defend her point.
"I suppose..." Salo's brow furrowed as he searched to find exactly where he did stand. "... it just seems to me that people shouldn't be swapping out bodies like they were..." he gestured to the floor "surface tiles or something. I mean... it's your body for christsake!"
"Hold on! Are you trying to tell me that if you could afford to have your legs rebuilt you wouldn't do it?"
"Well... I... sure I would. But that's diffenent." Salo was looing thouroughly confused.
"How?" Tia asked sharply.
"That's just a part."
Tia unfolded her arms and leaned forward in her chair "You know full well that there are people that have had so many transplants that they might as wel be in a different body."
"Fine. True." Salo sunk into his chair feeling fairly well defeated. "But at least it's all still flesh." With that point he thoughtlessly swallowed the remainder of his rare and expensive beverage.
"Ha!" Tia jumped out of her chair and stood in front of him pointing an accusing finger. "That's it! That's the real problem. You're one of those ritious people that thinks the human species is something sacred."
"How can you say that!?" Salo said standing up and pointing an accusing finger at her in return "You're human!"
"So what?" She threw her hands in the air "What if I had been born a droid? Would that somehow make me less alive? Would I then be inferior to you?"
"I don't know!" Salo yelled and then turned away "I don't talk to a lot of droids."
"You konw what your problem is Salo..." Tia said at him as he began to wander aimlessly in frustration "You've allowed yourself to believe there's something special about you because you're made out of flesh."
Salo turned and grabbed the back of the chair angrily "Why not! They do the same thing to us!"
"And that's always such a good solution" Tia said rolling her eyes.
"What the hell is this? You're human. You know how they treat us. Why are you taking their side?"
"Do you hear yourself? Did you ever stop to think that maybe there are no 'sides'?"
Salo headed for the door "look Tia... I'm done. I just wanted to hang out and get to know you. I wasn't looking for a debate about our civilization.
"Aw Salo, don't do that. Don't just walk out."
"I'm... I'm sorry." Salo opened the door. "Thanks for the drink Tia." And with that he left.
As the door closed she let out a sigh. Tia fell back into her chair and said "Shit Tia... why do you always have to start something."

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20061115

Later that evening, Salo was sitting in his much less expensive, and ever so much more cluttered, third floor apartment when he got a ping from Tia. When her smiling face popped up on the screen, he almost entirely forgot the argument they'd ended on -- almost.
"Hi Salo." Tia said somewhat bashfully.
"Hey Tia..." an akward silence, "what's uh... what do you..."
Listen. I'm really sorry about today. I didn't mean to have a big confrontation."
"It's alright" Salo was melting already. He wished he could be next to her tight now. "Things happen... we obvioulsy aren't just going to agree, but you gave me some stuff to think about."
"Well still, I'd like to... um, what are you doing tomorrow? I mean, do you have work or anything?"
Actually, tomorrow is my birthday. I was going to take the whole day off, and... well,,, I don't really know what..."
"Really?" Tia's face lit up "Your birthday!? Oh this is just too perfect. Why don't you come over tomorrow. Well do a whole birthday thing. What'dya say?"
Salo's heart lept up into his throat making it difficult to remain cool. "Yeah, okay," he said with a squeak of poorly stifled excitemnt.
"Terrific!" Tia said with a big warm smale. Then her brow furrowed as if suddenly remembering an important obligation. "I've, uh... I've got some stuff to do in the morning... so maybe after lunchtime?"
"Sure, whatever" Salo was too excited to care when.
"Great. I'll give you a call." There was a moment of silence and their eyes met.
"Okay..." Salo didn't really want the moment to end "see you tomorrow then?"
"See you tomorrow... birthday-boy." Tia said shooting him a playfully sinister look. Then her face disapeared from the display.
Salo leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. He felt like the luckiest man alive.

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20061116

Salo ran some errands early in the morning to keep his mind off the waiting. But he didn't stay out long because he didn't want to miss her call. Being at home turned out to be the prison he worried it would be. He couldn't really do anything except putter around and pace a lot waiting for her to call. When she finally did, in the early afternoon, he tried to appear cool and like he hadn't been waiting.
"Hi" he said with his heart pounding.
"So," she said, her head turned toward somethig she was doing with her hands offcreen, "you ready?"
"Yeah" he squeeked "er, um... let me, uh, just finish what I'm doing and Ill be right over" nice save he thought.
"Okay, see you" she didn't look up from her work.
Salo was out the door almost before the viewscreen went blank.

As he walked down the gall towared her apartment, he kept reminding himself not to expect too much -- and not to blurt out "I love you Tia" though he was certainly falling in that direction. This was just a casual friendly meeting. As he stood in front of her door ready to touch the call-pad he said quietly to himself "don't make this more than it is Salo, just enjoy yourself." He touched the call-pad.
When Tia answered the door she hardly looked up from what she was doing.
"Hi Salo, come on in" she was holding a pal and reading from its screen clearly in the middle of something. She walked off to the other side of the main room. Her hair was messy, her clothes were around-the-house casual, and Salo thought she looked beautiful. He came in an sat down. She seemed to be reading from a list and strinding from one part of the room to another -- picking up an item here, setting it down over there.
"What are you... uh, getting ready for?"
Salo inquired.
Tia kept moving as she spoke "I have to leave tomorrow. There are just some last minute things I have to put in order."
"You're leaving?" Salo tried not to sound disapointed "Where are you going?"
Tia stopped in mid stride holding a small statue in one hand. Without looking at him she said "I'm ... I'm going out of town... on business." She paused "No big deal. I'll be back in a few weeks... maybe a little longer... I don't know really."
"Oh." Salo said flatly. Then wanting to gring the mood up added with a laugh "Good thing my birthday is today then."
"Yeah" Tia turned and looked straight at him with a smile "I suppose it is."

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20061117

As Tia finished the last few items on her list, Salo just sat and watched her moving to and fro. He wondered if she looked to beautiful to him today simply because he was falling in love with her or if iwas because of the way she was today. With all her rushing about she was more rough around the edges today. Not that she had been dressed up the other days, but today her heir was tossed and a little messy, her clothes were wrinkled and frumpy. And all this roughness gave her a certain glow. It was...

---

Notes:

I need to rewrite some of this. So Tia's apartment does not need to be made ready for Tondello -- I am implying this with all her running around. This apartment is Tia's. Rondello lives elsewhere (and estate or just a bigger, fancier apartment). Tia would also not be entertaining "a lot of high-profile guests" as she earlier claimed. If their were an event like that (for example a dinner party) Rondello would hold such an event at her place. When these enents take place, Tia shows up (maybe) to be an Rondello's side? Or is Rondello retiring from her business / public life entirely? In which case there would be no effort to make a connection obvious to the world -- if fact, it would be the opposite; Rondello would seek to keep their relationship private.
In any case, Tia would not be throwing "roudy" parties in her apartment. I would think that Rondello would discouage Tia forming / keeping any personal relationships as it would only cause confusion / arouse suspiscion when Rondello takes over Tia's body. So Tia would be encouraged to disolve any remaing personal ties.
Tia's life would consist of staying healthy -- food food, moderate exercize. Other than that, she would be free to spend her time as she chose -- which I imagine for Tia would be studying the Galaxy and how to travel through it as a droid on a budget.
As for why Rondello-Tia would still be in the apartment for Salo to come and have an encounter with... elt's look at the body-swap deal.
Tia's fleshbrain would have to adjust to being put into its braincase -- the wrapper that makes it possible to make a fleshbrain portable like a chipbrain. But once that adjustment is complete, her brain can easily be installed into her droid body -- droid bodies are durable and simple machines.
Rondello's brain on the other hand is already in a braincase to she does not have that transition period. But instead for her, it's Tias body which needs to transition to being outfitted with the brainplug, etc.
So really, it's Tia's brain and body that are fragile and need to adjust. This means that Tia could be taked to a clean facility for her body and brain to be repurposed. When the adjustment was complete, her brain would be put into a droid body, and her body would be available for Rondello's brain.
Now, Rondello has the mony to recouperate wherever the hell she likes -- a big estate on another planet, whatever. But Tia is stuck with her apartment. And though she is going to travel, she needs to spend her recoup time somewhere -- so why not in the apartment. So after several weeks, when Salo comes to visit, he encounters a droid. He sais something like "um, excuse me... is Tia here?" Tia is not ready for this and just gives the stock answer "Tia doesn't live here anymore." Salo storms off. Later, at his home (maybe days later) he recieves a message -- and explanation. It is Tia (though her name is not Tia anymore so I'll need to come up with her new name), and she says that she is sorry, but she could not tell him, and was afraid to because of how he felt about body-swapping (go guilt!). The message also explains that she is off to explore the Galaxy.
So Salo knows her new name and that she is leaving to explore but nothing more. This means that you could take Sqrl's suggestion that if he relly loves her, he could try to find her (i.e. track her down).

Now, with these fixes in mind, start over again with Salo arriving at Tia's on his birthday day (maybe from when she answers the door).

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a few notes on the dominating culture ("The Ones") that came and crushed human civilization:

I see this as a culture somewhat like the United States, more broadly like "Western culture", and even more braodly like the human species. That is, an "open" society which places high value on the rights of the individual members of that society. This protection of the rights (and sometimes just privelages) of those in-members comes at the cost of being fairly careless with the rights/privelages/comforts/desires of organisms which are percieved as being outside that society.
In very broad example, we humans step on the rights of plants and animals because they are "beneath" us. They are not part of our group, and so we do not give them respect. It isn't even that we specifically target them with evil (though that happens occasionally). It is more that we simply give them nearly as much consideration as inanimate objects (like a chair).
As a whole, our culture is not capable of the broad wisdom that would have us understand our supreme power as a responsibility for gentle and kind stewardship. Again, it isn't that our culture is evil, just careless and inconsiderate. Kindness does happen, but only at the insistent and ferverent pleading of an extremely empathetic minority. An atrocious historical example is the foundation of the United States and "Manifest Destiny" which allowed a whole culture of otherwise intelligent beings to displace millions of beings of equal intelligence simply because they were outside the group. All of this was done in the name of extending and defending individual "rights" (privelages really). You could boil it down to "Me and mine are doing this thing because we want to -- everyone / everything else good luck and get the hell out of our way!".
We humans see somthing we want, and we just go and get it. And within our complex society it is fairly easy just to pretend that the nasty consequences of our actions simply don't exist.