Immediately, inspiration struck. The DataMicroCom satellites were still in orbit. Why couldn’t she deliver succor to the legions of gals worldwide who were sharing this same withdrawal from Beautiful You bliss?
   Unselfishly, she toggled and keyboarded until these same amazing sensations were bombarding all the women implanted by Beautiful You products. Penny’s mom in Omaha. Sassy, spunky Monique. Even Brenda—now Yuri’s newlywed bride and the CFO of Allied Chemical Corp. Kwan Qxi and Esperanza, too! Wherever they were, they would all be savoring rich desserts and the heavenly bliss of ripe movie-star smooches.
   Impulsively, she filled their far-flung nostrils with mango-scented breezes. Let all her sister women rejoice, Penny told herself. Through her they would achieve solidarity.
   While their actual circumstances might be grinding poverty and ignorance, she’d bestow upon them a rich surrogate reality. She’d deliver to their taste buds an unending banquet of gourmet delicacies. An unending repast without a single fattening calorie! She’d replace their mundane thoughts with snippets of inspirational poetry read aloud by the cultured mouth of Meryl Streep.
   A few pecks on the right keys, and she’d carpet-bomb them with self-esteem and resolve problematic body-image issues for all time.
   She cupped her breasts in her palms and lifted them, examining the nipples with growing awe and wonder. They were astonishing. Her heart, nay, every cell of her swelled in recognition of her own glory and beauty. Following suit, women around the world—tall women, crippled women, fat, old, young and skinny women, they rediscovered themselves. Wherever they were at that moment in their lives—dining at picnics or riding aboard buses or performing intricate brain surgeries—they paused and regarded their bodies with a new, powerful appreciation. Flat-chested, bowlegged, humpbacked, or balding, Penny would force them to recognize their innate beauty. At her satellite-relayed prompting, all women would begin to pet themselves, reveling in the quality of their skin. Penny’s electronic urging would compel them to immediately celebrate their bodies with vigorous self-romancing.
   This, this was power. She, Penelope Harrigan, would reign over the world, a benevolent lady dictator, awarding well-deserved pleasure to the multitudes. She’d surpassed the power wielded by even her heroes, Clarissa Hind and Alouette D’Ambrosia. To redeem Max’s wicked technology, she would singlehandedly bring about world peace and order. She’d reward good behavior and punish the bad.
   The generations of females trained too long to look for insults and injustice, Penny would pummel them with joy and drive them to accept happiness. A happy ending. With stealthy, subtle manipulation of their pleasure centers, she’d gently bully them into achieving their full erotic potential. Lady political activists might bicker over their strategic goals, platforms, and agendas, but Penny would trump their catfighting by giving them tsunami waves of physical thrills.
   An ancient truism had once decreed, “Self-improvement is masturbation.…” At last the inverse would also be true.
   “Baba,” she cried out, “rest easy, my guardian! I will not allow the power to overcome me!”
   This, Penny whispered to herself, this would be the best time in history to be a woman.
   She’d give ladies the ultimate zipless fuck. Erica Jong would be so proud of her. This—sex crafting, practicing carnal magic—would be the new frontier for the next generation of young female searchers.
   Acting on a generous impulse, Penny pressed the buttons that would bestow a loving, sisterly, long-distance hug on Gloria Steinem.
   That accomplished, she scuttled back toward the cooking fire lest her tasty lizards scorch.
   Intoxicated with satisfaction, weak from joy, again she referred to Max’s notebook of codes. Perfect as this moment was—the precious finger lodged deep inside her, the stewed skinks bubbling deliciously, the flames warming her nude, astonishingly beguiling body—even this scene could be improved upon.
   With tired, trembling, happy fingers she punched a few more buttons on the controller.
   What took place next was only a nanobot-induced hallucination, but Penny could see it, smell it, feel it.
   A robust, strapping figure emerged from the snowstorm and stood brazenly unclothed in the cave’s mouth. His dancing blue eyes filled with lust. His impressive, freckled-pink manhood swung heavily between his legs. And a handsome Ron Howard swaggered boldly toward her.
   The author would like to acknowledge the following visionaries for their unflagging faith and support of the arts. May the tantric gods visit you with frequent, pulse-pounding, sweat-soaked episodes of full release as you slumber.
   Mallory Moss
   Katie Dodd
   William Klayer
   Kasey Bossert
   Ian W. Arsenault
   Halle Kasper
   Megan McCrary
   Mandy Boles
   Kyle Becker
   Adam Stratton
   Donald Hugo III
   Chuck Crittenden
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   Angelena Bigham
   Zachary Glenn Harbaugh
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   Joe Wilson
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   Stephanie Wiley
   Patrick D. O’Connor
   Henry S. Rosenthal
   Brian Manning
   Parker Cross
   Margaret Dennison
   Sharon Leong
   Kevin Stevulak
   Charlotte O’Neil Golden
   Michael Anderson-McGee
   Katie McCartney
   Jacquelyn Nicole Tawney
   Gary Eaton
   Mike Parkinson
   Dustin Schultz
   Gina Chernoby
   Michele McDaniel
   Jake Richard
   Ryan O’Neill
   George Washington Anderson III
   Aysha Martinez
   Trev Pierce
   John Hardenstine
   Bettina Holbrook
   Michael Bowhay
   Mark V. Paulis
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   Patricia Scott Petey Wells
   Mike Hardin
   Thomas Wayne Harvey
   Andrew Greenblatt
   Elizabeth C. Nichols
   Brian Foster
   Bryce Haynes
   Tatianna Abastoflor
   Ronald Green, Jr.
   Alisha Ohl
   Cody Maasen
   Bryan Kraig Ward
   Jessica Dugan
   Matthew A. Eller
   Meredith Alder
   Tiffany Joy Atencio
   Kyle Adamski
   John Michel
   Quentin R. Voglund
   James Bendos
   Gabriel Cesana
   Jason W. Bohrer
   Shane Gollihue
   Scott Trulock
   Aaron Blake Flynn
   Brett Kerns
   Juliet Walker
   Kristina Valencia
   James P. Giacopelli
   Karen Zacconi
   Sean K. Smith
   Rita Su
   Will Tupper
   Michael Pedrosa
   Russ Robertson
   Tag
   Samantha Jade Schnee
   Rubyann Baybo
   Yassaman Tarazkar
   Shereen Lombardi
   Ashley Blaike Ralph
   Mike Dyson
   Lorne Sherman
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   Shaun Sharma
   Christine Strileckis
   Chuck Palahniuk is the author of thirteen bestselling novels—Doomed, Damned, Tell-All, Pygmy, Snuff, Rant, Haunted, Diary, Lullaby, Choke, Invisible Monsters, Survivor, and Fight Club—which have sold more than five million copies in the United States. He is also the author of Fugitives and Refugees, published as par 
					     					 			t of the Crown Journey Series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. Visit him on the Web at chuckpalahniuk.net.   
    
   Chuck Palahniuk, Beautiful You: A Novel  
     (Series:  # ) 
    
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