We were tied until they brought out the light meter. Her smile was
10% brighter than mine and she got the job.
I went to a specialist and got the most advanced diamond epoxy overlays.
Next time it was no contest. I won the contract.
Things settled down for a while, but it was only a matter of time
before I fell behind.
Sure enough when we went head to head again, her smile blew my doors
off. Its after image burned my retinas for hours.
I flew to Zurich, Switzerland where an experimental process involving
specially refined radioactive isotopes had been developed. The treatments
were excruciatingly painful but my smile was two orders of magnitude
brighter than before. She and I were finalists once again and this
time I triumphed. I burned my smile onto her cheek as I walked out
the door.
I got a call from her the next day. How about a truce? Sure I said.
Just admit that your smile just can’t quite cut it anymore and
I’ll take pity on you. Dream on she replied.
There were lots of rumors circulating that she was testing fusion
implants which theoretically could emit near solar intensities. It
had been thought that they were at least fifty years away from being
developed.
I ordered a crash program and got all the best minds on it. They
said it was too risky but I wouldn’t let cowardice stand in
my way.
Finally the day for our presentations came. As usual there was nothing
to really separate us except our smiles. She looked really confident
and appeared ready to burst with good cheer. I was a little on edge
because we barely had time to install the implants and had no time
to field test them. She went first and her smile represented only
an evolutionary advance at best, not the revolutionary smile that
I would unleash.
I don’t really remember what happened. The next thing I knew
I was back at the lab with my mouth wired shut. No one would look
at me. I wonder if she still is interested in a truce?
Tim Bacon is a retired optometrist who has been writing
for seven years. His work has appeared in the Baker Street Irregular
and the Carquinez Review.
