THE WORM HOLE by Ganymede WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of consensual sexual acts between men and MINOR boys. I do not condone either incest or child abuse except in the imaginary form presented here. If the subject of man/boy sex offends you, if this material is illegal in your place of residence, or if you are under the legal age for such material, do not read further! You have been warned! Read at your own risk! The story is copyrighted under the pseudonym, Ganymede. A single copy has been placed in the Nifty archives. Feel free to post it to appropriate newsgroups or send it to your friends. If distributing my story for monetary gain, please contribute $50 to the Nifty archive. The story is fiction. Any resemblance to any individual, alive or dead, is unfortunate. Apologies are made in advance to any offended person or group. FINAL WARNING: If you are under the age of 18, if this material is illegal in your place of residence, or if man-boy relationships aren't your thing, then exit now and save yourself from a life of sin! The WORM-HOLE (PART 1) by Ganymede Introduction The twenty-eighth period of the Scalen Cycle heralded the resurgence of Absolutist power. 4,058 Relativist years have passed since the death of Jesus Christ on Earth. With the advances of science, religious philosophy, and evolutionary change, there are now two distinct human species: Absolutists and Relativists. Only thirteen Earth years have passed since the massacre of Absolutist boys at Deam on the planet Yih-ko. The battle for Yih-ko marked the final separation of Absolutism and the true science of Newton, from the otherwise universal beliefs in Relativism, Einstein, and the mock-religion, Christianity. The massacre at Deam marked the beginning of the end for Absolutism. For fifteen cycles, or more than one thousand years, Absolutists have controlled travelling rights across the galaxy. The passport to travel is the WORM-HOLE, an extension of Newtonian physics--a direction of inquiry that was abandoned by Albert Einstein. Although it was intimated within his famous E = mc^2 equation, and can be reconciled with it by using simple mathematics, the science underlying the existence of WORM-HOLEs remained undiscovered until 1996 when Stefan Harper reformulated Einstein's equation and understood its implications. Simply, space and time are not relative as Einstein hypothesized, but are absolute in dimension. However, the concept of relativity is not irrelevant because space and time possess inverse dimensions of varying proportion, thereby making the Universe relative to an Inverse world. Using a WORM-HOLE, a person can travel from one place and time to another by establishing two multi- dimensional centers. 'One' center exists in the positive dimension of the absolute or real world, the 'Other' belongs to the equally real, but much smaller inverse world. Travel in the Inverse world is scaled (or related) though dimension and time to a different place and time in the positive (real) Universe. Without going into the mathematical complexity of derivation, the fundamental relationship of Absolute and Inverse Space can be demonstrated simply by expanding the terms of Einstein's equation with: (1) mass = x * y * z * d where x, y, z are unit dimensions of space and, d is the density of matter. (2) c = X * Y * Z / T where X, Y, Z are Absolute dimensions of the Universe, and T is Absolute Time. The logic behind Equation 2 is irrefutable. Simply "speed" is equivalent to the distance travelled per unit time. Because light travels in the three dimensions of the Universe, and the Universe has existed only for a known time, T, (during which it has reached Absolute dimensions of X, Y, and Z), the "speed of light" (c) is defined in absolute terms. Reformulating Einstein's equation yields: (3) e = (x*y*z*d)*[(X*Y*Z)/T] squared The inverse world is defined accordingly: (4) e/(x*y*z*d) = [(X*Y*Z)/T] squared (5) {[e/(x*y*z*d)] / [(X*Y*Z)/T]} * T = (X*Y*Z) Thus, a place in Absolute Space (for example, the Tower of Tanu- hag at Deam, on Yih-ko in the planetary system T23-q) has a corresponding inverse location in another much smaller world (the seventh tree of Essus on the Plain of Watergrass). The basis for the Absolute is described by Stefan Harper, "The inverse of the One, that is our familiar Universe, itself approaching infinite size, does not become infinitely small as logic would require for an inverse of something so vast. Nature, contrary to the logic of mathematics, requires balance in the Universe. Instead, consider the world we live in to be greater than unit one, and the other world to be less than unit one, inverse and very much smaller, but absolute nonetheless. Not only does the Other possesses inverse dimension, but by definition it is commensurate with the One and inverse to the sum of all energy, time, and density, as revealed in the reformulation of the Einstein Equation.... "Then, the connection between the One and the Other must exist in the realm of energy, time, and density, and should allow the passage of physical matter. Pursuant to that, the movement of a body from one to the other, can occur by the direct application of the greater equation to the material body itself, but the limits to that movement are immediately obvious. For example, for a human body with a mass of 80 kilograms and a volume of about 0.15 cubic meters, the connection or With-Origin-Relating-Movement (WORM-HOLE) has a theoretical width of 50 millimeters, or the breadth of two fingers. Curiously, the width is the same as a phallus, and is roughly proportional to body size and maturity. Suffice it to say, under such limits the opportunities for human travel will be very limited--to procreation of the species." Stefan Harper, "Dimensions and Time and the Problem of Reconciliation." Unpublished paper until 3018 AD, "Principles for Union and Travel: Readings for Initiates." It is the size of the WORM-HOLE that gives rise to the unique condition necessary for access from one world to the other. What Harper did not describe in his original, but deliberately obscure paper is the actual process of connecting centers, although by implication of his anatomical reference he seemed to be aware of the principle involved. Simply, the process of connection is initiated by metaphysical transfer resulting from the joining of two bodies in love. The WORM-HOLE results from the release of energy during sexual union that occurs when love is physically expressed. Simply, a traveller is pulled or pushed through the WORM-HOLE by his lover. Because of the nature of the WORM- HOLE, it can only be entered by a male during the act of anal intercourse. This fact directly causes the primary differentiation between the two species, Absolutists and Relativists. However, the difference is less one of biological and anatomical science and than it is of religious theology and psychological preference. Although natural selection and genetic differences are significant factors in the differentiation of the species--sexual orientation and the process of procreation are primary. In order to enter and leave a WORM-HOLE, Absolutists have forsaken women and are entirely homosexual. For them, the perpetuation of MANkind is artificial. Offspring are 'sired' by the laboratory union of the seed from two males, or replicated from the sperm of a progenitor by cloning. By either method, and by definition, only male children are produced. By puberty, boys have been mated with adult males and they are trained to become warriors, guardians, or guides of the inverse world. Beginning immediately after birthing by his surrogate virgin 'mother', a priestess of the Cult of Lo-qui-chi, or emergence from his chrysalis into the world, a boy begins the long preparation so that he is ready for the passive role in homosexual love. He will not be the active partner during anal intercourse until several years after he is fully mature. Just prior to, or at the onset of puberty, Absolutist boys are 'sired', a ritual of initiation that ends with sodomy. During a boy's first orgasm from anal penetration, which occurs at the exact moment of entry into a WORM-HOLE, a permanent ring or 'worm-tube' is formed around his penis and he is initiated. Despite their vital role in multi-dimensional space travel, other than those men and boys who live in the inverse world, by the Twenty-Eighth Period of the Scalen Cycle, Absolutist power is concentrated in a few outposts scattered through the Milky Way. One of them is Chadq, a small planet in the Orion system. ************* THE WORM-HOLE *************** Planet Earth, Period None, Scalen Cycle (1986 Relativist Years) "Ohhhhhhh! Jesus! You feel so good in me, Alan! Do it faster! For God's sake, do it faster! I'm getting close." Alan Harper gasped loudly as he slammed as hard and fast as he could in Julian's buttocks. Their bodies collided loudly as he thrust deeply into the sucking anus that contained him. His throbbing penis was tortured and his movements were no longer dedicated to providing pleasure to his partner. His heavy testicles swung back and forth with each deep stab, slapping and bouncing against Julian's thighs. So close! Only a few seconds more. His back was moist with sweat, some of it running down his flanks. He needed to last just a little longer. He could feel his testicles tightening up as his orgasm approached. Just another few strokes and he would ejaculate. Even though he was still in good shape, forty-three was almost too old for much longer. He felt his orgasm building, a final crescendo as he pumped viciously, as hard, and deep and fast as he could. He felt Julian's rectum clenching, his lover's body jerking in a frenzied ecstasy as he ejaculated onto his belly. He felt the sheets fall away from them. He grunted as he peaked and slammed his penis in all the way. For a moment he tried to imagine what his lover was feeling and wondered whether his joy could even begin to approach his own. He pushed deeply, forcing his glans into the distant end of the other's rectum, pulled back again, dragging his swollen head through the pulsing prostate. "Tighter," Alan groaned as he shoved forward one more time. His time was perfect. He felt his seed boiling out of his rampart organ and into his lover of twenty years. He felt the other man's anus gripping him reflexively, squeezing the semen out of him as it spurted in white thick strands. He continued to thrust, gradually slowing and becoming gentle until he was finished. His head lowered and his lips sought his mate's. They began to kiss, still joined, sandwiched belly to belly, groin and buttocks joined in a film of sticky paste of sweat, semen and lubricant. Their fluids mingled as their tongues twisted and united, each probing deeply in the release of passion. "God! Julian! I love you so much!" Alan said softly. His lips brushed the other man's ear and his tongue dragged over the lobe before pressing inside. He licked wetly. "Oh man! Oh you feel so fucking wonderful," Julian purred contentedly. "I love you too, Alan. I love you deep in my ass. You belong there, sweetheart." "I don't ever want to get up," Alan said before his lips returned to the eager mouth that instinctively opened and accepted his tongue and sucked it in as far as it would go. They kissed again and again, basking in their mutual warmth, each feeling contentment that came from being satisfied. The act of love-making always served to bring them closer together. Finally, when his penis had become completely soft and began to itch, Alan eased back and dragged his penis away, pulling the exhausted shaft out of its hot scabbard. A dribble of milky semen trickled from Julian's well worn anus as soon as his penis exited. Alan turned onto his back and placed his arm around the younger man. Six years separated them in age. The differences between them were not differences caused by age alone. The differences had brought them together and kept them in the same bed since 1975. Julian sighed, lifted up slightly, and turned his head to the side, leaving it on Alan's chest. He felt that wonderful happy bliss that comes from being loved and full of his lover's orgasm. Alan's fingers caressed his hair, twisting in the long strands. His thumb stroked the other man's cheek, marvelling that it still stayed so smooth compared to his own. He needed to shave and he rubbed his morning bristles against the other man's hair. Julian shaved every other day and then it was practically unnecessary. "You're still a great fuck, Julian," Alan sighed. "Just when I'm beginning to think I'm getting too old for really wild sex," Julian teased. "You sure know how to make a person feel good." The two men laughed. "We'll have to get up soon," Al murmured. "I'm too pooped to do it again, anyway." "You and me both, honey. Oh to be young again, and fuck until lunchtime" Julian mused. "Stef's got a soccer game at 10.30, remember?" "Yeah, I know. Can you take him by yourself, Julian? I have to go to work today for at least a few hours to finish off what I didn't get to yesterday. And don't forget where Stef has to be this afternoon." "The math contest? Don't worry, I won't forget! Besides Stefan wouldn't let me forget anyway. He's really looking forward to it. Can you imagine, an eleven-year-old competing with college students? God, I hope he wins a place. He certainly deserves to!" Alan sighed contentedly. "I'm glad he really excels at something. Sports are Stef's forte, that's certain. He has a lot of fun and he tries very hard, but he's not very good at soccer or baseball." Julian nodded slightly. "I really think he plays better when you're there Alan. He tries to be more aggressive. He tries harder for you." "Mmmmm," Alan sighed again. "That's because he's a lot like you, Julian. He wants so much to be like you. He tries harder for you too, only in different ways." His fingers caressed his partner's buttocks and slowly pressed into his deep hot crevice. He stroked his fingers through the juicy well-lubricated flesh. It was slick with semen and K-Y. He felt the wetness surrounding Julian's still-dilated anus and lovingly rotated two fingers around the mushy looseness where his penis had been only minutes earlier. "I didn't think you had picked up on it, that he was a lot a like me," Julian answered. "I've known it for a long while. It's lucky for Stef that he plays goalie as well as he does, or he'd spend most of his time on the sidelines. But you're right, he's not very assertive, is he? Some of the kids on his team can be downright scrappy when they're after the ball, but not Stef." "But he still makes a great goalie, even though he's fairly passive," Julian acknowledged. Julian's hips lifted up slightly as he pushed back onto Alan's fingers. Two of them easily penetrated into his weakened anus. They glided through the dilated opening until they were several inches inside. "Hmmmmmm, that feels nearly good as your cock," Julian sighed as the familiar full feeling returned. "I like it right there!" He waited for several seconds as Alan's fingers rubbed against his prostate before he pushed back against Alan's hand, taking both fingers into him as far as they could go. Alan's fingers eased out slightly, forced apart, and began to massage either side of the other man's prostate, eliciting a muted groan. "He's a natural bottom, you know Alan," Julian said softly. "Who? Oh, you mean Stefan? Tell me something else I don't know." "Well he is, Alan. And sooner or later we're going to have to face up to it." "That he's gay?" Alan prompted. Julian nodded slightly. "I've never imagined that he would be straight, you know. I think he was born to be gay. And if he wasn't, well Stefan's certainly had a positive role model in the two of us." "Do you think Stef's a bottom?" Julian asked hopefully. "He's built like me," he added, "and we like the same things." "The two of you even think alike," Alan offered. "Every time I see him I find myself wondering what you would have been like at his age." Julian smirked. "I didn't think you were into boys, Alan." "I'm not! However, for you Honey, I might have made an exception. I bet you were one very horny kid, but then so is Stef. If any boy was able to turn me on, he would be just like Stefan. He's incredibly sexy!" "That's a funny thing to say about him," Julian said. "However, I know what you mean. Maybe I had better warn his friends." "Assuming they don't already know we're gay? That's probably why he doesn't have that many friends, you know. Most parents probably warn their sons to steer clear of Stefan." "Assuming Stefan hasn't played around with them already?" Alan regarded his partner. He had started to wonder the same thing himself. Stefan was old enough to be interested in his friends' bodies. Sex play among boys was the usual way for a gay boy to discover his true orientation. It was the way he had started. He shrugged. "Stef's too much of a loner for that. Computer games are one thing but not sex games. Anyway, he's perfectly capable of satisfying his physical needs by himself. He's even started putting his finger inside himself when he jerks off." "He knows what he wants, just like I do," Julian taunted. Alan laughed and rammed his fingers harder into Julian's rectum before jerking them out. He squeezed the other man's buttocks, wiping the film of semen and lubricant on his cheeks. "I love a juicy rump, Julian, but you're oozing cum this morning." He glanced down at Julian's head and felt deep affection for him. "You're right when you said he's a natural bottom, Julian. He just doesn't know what it all means yet. I guess he'll figure it out soon enough. It's part of growing up. When a boy starts sticking his finger in his anus it's just a matter of time until he tries something a bit bigger." "I know that feeling," Julian laughed. "How big is the question. What do you have in mind?" "I imagine he'll start experimenting with one of his friends from school sooner or later. I know I did when I was his age." "The trouble with Stef doing it with a boy his own age is it won't be long until he wants something even bigger in his butt. Unless his boy friend is really hung, of course, which I sincerely doubt." "Why is that?" "Because most fifth-grade boys are very lucky to have four inches in the dick department," Julian laughed. "And four inches isn't enough?" Alan teased. "Four inches is a lot better than Stefan's three inches," Julian smirked. "But it's still a long way short of providing real pleasure, even for another boy." "I agree that Stef's probably better off with one of his own fingers than a dick that's the same size as his," Alan added. "But it's more fun with someone else." Julian smirked. "And safer too!" He studied Alan's groin with admiration. His lover was well equipped, not over-endowed like some men. Alan was perfect for him. "I'm sure Stef's going to take after me in penis size. That's another reason why he's better off being a bottom. We both know it's much better when a big dick is on top." Alan smiled appreciatively. "Maybe he'll become interested in boys," he suggested casually. "A big dick is a disadvantage then." His lover shrugged and wrapped his hand around Alan's thick member. He squeezed it fondly, gradually drawing his hand up the shaft until his thumb could rub across the slotted opening. "Well big- boy what do you have in mind for this whopper?" "I wish we had time to do it again," Alan purred contentedly. "We better get up now or we'll never get out of bed." They kissed again before getting out of bed. It was nearly nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. Tomorrow, they would sleep in later, perhaps even have the time to make love again before Stefan came waltzing stark-naked into their bedroom with the Sunday paper. Then he would get under the covers, placing himself between them in a position that he had occupied since he was a toddler. He had been raised to be uninhibited about his body and that all three of them were naked was only natural. With pages strewn over the bed, they would engage in the wrestling game that preceded getting up for breakfast. Alan faced the man he loved. They had aged together, but they still made a handsome pair. Together with Stefan they were a family, much like any heterosexual couple and their children. However, the stigma of being openly gay, even in open-minded San Francisco, complicated their lives and made Stefan's existence often considerably more difficult than it would otherwise be. With an intellect that was considerably more advanced than most people in their twenties, Stefan's life was complicated by factors beyond his parents' sexuality, not the least being that he was three years younger than the other boys in his class. Without friends his own age, Alan and Julian's friends became his friends and they had no shortage of friends. To a person they were gay or lesbian so it was not surprising that Stefan had no interest in the opposite sex. Other gay men referred to Alan and Julian as an example of a successful relationship because most of them experienced transitory romances at best. There was a strong physical attraction between them that fulfilled an inner need and made their love anything but fleeting. They depended on each other. Silently Alan wondered whether it was the effeminate side of Julian that kept him sexually interested for nearly twenty years. Julian was unlike other men, even those epicene men who flirted in the gay bars in drag. He was sensitive and loving. He was not afraid to show intimacy and share himself, and he was eager to take the passive role. Although Alan had not said so at the time, he had wanted to say that Stefan appeared to be turning out the same way. His thoughts were interrupted as Julian voiced an opinion not unlike his own. "If you're going to be at the office until lunchtime, Alan, maybe I should take Stef to the shop after the game ends. He's been asking me for weeks now if he can go with me. I thing our little boy- faggot is getting interested in Chris. Besides, he needs a haircut." Alan smiled. He did not particularly like the idea of Stefan having a relationship with Chris Turner, but Stefan's interest provided a clear and unambiguous sign of an emerging homosexual orientation. What he had suspected for some time, and kept to himself in the hope that he was wrong, was that Stefan was attracted to boys even younger than himself. There were more than a few signs of it with nine-year-old Lee Chang, a neighborhood boy who idolized him. "Chris has always been a bit too much of a pansy even for me, Julian," Alan said flatly. He hesitated, remembering how he had watched Stefan's eyes as he observed the younger boy when they played together. The interest was more than casual, it was increasingly obvious what Stefan wanted. He breathed out, hoping that he was wrong. Boylove and happiness did not go hand in hand. "It doesn't bother me if that's what Stefan really wants. As they say, it pays to advertise. I guess our little boy is starting to grow up. I for one, am very glad he's going to be gay. However, whatever happens don't let him be late for the math contest. He has to be there by two o'clock." Alan stepped forward and embraced Julian's nude body. He was several inches taller than the other man. He admired Julian's slender physique as he surged against the smooth-shaven body and felt his sex push against his own. Not only was there was no hair below his head but Julian's bare crotch and compact genitals never failed to excite him. He tried to imagine life without Julian, without the comfort of his warmth and loving caresses, without his soft voice and gentle manner. Julian made him feel whole and very happy. They hugged, kissing shamelessly as the warm sun bathed their lower legs. He felt Julian's penis begin to become erect again. His hand glided between them, sinking down between their lower bellies until he brushed against the thickening organ. It was more than an inch shorter than his own penis and not as thick. The stretching skin seemed much softer than his own. He thought of Julian as the almost-boy he had first met just after he had graduated from college. Julian was eighteen and beautiful with his special balance of man and woman. He could ask for nothing more for a partner for life. Without saying anything they began to kiss. Alan quickly became more aggressive as he asserted his familiar dominant role. Julian, the ever-compliant partner who welcomed his lover's penis into its rightful place within his body, yielded and sucked Alan's tongue deeply into him. They kissed with vigor, then softly, then exchanging saliva with their tongues entwined. When they parted, Julian's penis was rigid and Alan continued to jack the squat shaft, occasionally rubbing his thumb over the scarlet glans to use the oozing pre- seminal juice as lubricant. He felt Julian's hand enclose his own penis and return the favor with a slow deliberate motion, from base to tip sliding on the residual lubricant. It would not take more than a few minutes to make him climax again. This time his testicles ached from the effort. He felt as though he had ejaculated until he was drained of semen. "Sooner or later," Julian murmured, "Stefan will be doing this, you know Alan" "I know, Julian. I know! It's not Stef doing this that bothers me. It's the rest of it I worry about, but mostly what we were doing a few minutes ago." "Getting his butt fucked comes with the territory, Alan. I was just about his age when I started going all the way, and it wasn't with a boy my own age either." "I know that too. I guess I had better get him out of bed while you take a shower. This is going to have to wait until tonight," Alan added as he gave Julian's swollen sex a parting squeeze. "I love you Alan," Julian said softly. "I only hope Stefan is as lucky as I am." Alan smiled. "You know, there's no guarantees of anything in this world, but I have this feeling that he's going find a guy who's out of this world." "I'll be happy if he finds a man like you," Julian said. "Stef is a very special boy, and not only because he is so intelligent. I'm so happy he's gay! He'd be totally wasted on a woman." ********* As Julian stumbled into the shower to wash the signs and smell of sex from his body, Alan left the bedroom to make certain that Stefan was awake and getting dressed. He was oblivious to his nudity. Despite his age he was fit and relatively trim. Except for the inch or two of fat at his waist he had nothing to be ashamed of and his naked body was a familiar sight to his adopted son. Stefan was no longer asleep when Alan came into his room. Unlike the man who he thought of as his father, he wore a tee-shirt. At one time it had been Alan's, but more than a year ago he had adopted it as his own, just as he had been adopted nearly eleven years ago. The tee-shirt was big enough for a man nearly six feet tall. On his own slight frame of 4'10" and 81 pounds, it became a ready-made nightshirt that came halfway down his slender thighs, effectively removing the need for pajamas, pants, or even underpants. Stefan had just finished masturbating and his tee shirt was pushed up to his chest. One hand was draped over his bare hip, his fingertips still stroking his slowly deflating uncircumcised penis. Unlike Alan and Julian, who had been circumcised according to the fashion of the 1950's, they had been adamant about keeping his foreskin intact. Now his fingers eased the extra skin back and forth along his thin shaft, luxuriating in the added looseness. He basked in the afterglow that came from vigorous and prolonged rubbing despite the fact that he had yet to ejaculate. Like all boys approaching the onset of puberty, Stefan looked forward eagerly to the time when he would finally release semen. However, not realizing that the full extent of the more intense pleasures that awaited him, until that time arrived he was perfectly content with the very nice feelings he received from his immature sex organs. Stefan rubbed gently, lingering on the tip where the feelings were best, absorbing the sensations until his warm body tingled with happiness. With each downward movement of his hand the foreskin started to retract, forcing his little glans forward and partially through the opening. It was crimson-red and the tiny meatus opened like a little mouth gulping air. He studied himself, secure in his self-pleasuring, shamelessly enjoying the joy that came naturally to his young body. Although Stefan knew a lot more about sex than most other boys his age, his knowledge was almost entirely confined to the male anatomy. Both 'parents' saw to it that he was well informed about his body. With careful teaching he would appreciate his sexual functions, both front and rear, when the time was right. By eleven years old he had experienced self-induced pleasures that few boys ever discovered before their mid-to-late teens. The fingers of his other hand were under his tee shirt, barely touching his still-pointed right nipple. He stroked himself gently, shivering slightly as his nerves tingled with delight. It felt almost as good as playing with his penis, about on a par with his recently learned activity of inserting his fingertip part of the way into his anus when he was in the shower. His sexual experimentation had quickly become a morning ritual that was usually timed to the action in the adjoining bedroom, if he was awake. Like other mornings he heard the noisy squeaking of the springs and knew what was happening. The bed frame creaked loudly as the two men rutted feverishly towards a shared climax. He knew more than enough about sex to imagine what they were doing and to understand that he wanted to do the same thing. Stefan grinned shamelessly as Alan entered his bedroom. "Mornin' Stef'!" Alan said as he stopped at the window. "It's about time to get dressed, that is if you plan on making it to soccer field this morning and not spend the rest of the day jerking off." Stefan continued to grin as he continued to fondle his small penis. It was nearly relaxed although still inflated with blood. He was growing up with few inhibitions that plagued other boys his age. His body was something to enjoy and was frequently exhibited in its natural state. A long time ago he had discovered that his penis was a special part of his body, and his 'parents' had made very certain that he understood that it was not something that he should not be ashamed of. Indeed, its primary function was to make him feel good, and when he was older, to provide satisfaction for his partner. Until he shared his bed with someone else it was entirely normal for him to use it to satisfy himself and he had no hesitation in doing so whenever the desire arose. "I see you're getting your foreskin back easily now," Alan added. "Uh huh," Stefan acknowledged. "It's a lot bigger at the end." His hand pulled back and slowly retracted his foreskin all the way past the still-swollen crown before it stopped moving. His glans was slightly reddened, a visible sign that the sensitive and delicate tissue had been subjected to more than thirty minutes of abuse. Only his fingers tips continued to squeeze on the small bulb that terminated his penis. He smiled at the heightened stimulation of the exposed glans. "It feels a lot different when it's back," Stefan said with amusement. "If I rub the end of him it makes me feel like I need to pee really bad." That increased sensitivity was the primary reason why Alan and Julian had decided not to have their newly adopted son circumcised. Alan winked. "Well, like I told you Stef, you can play with it all you want, just don't pee on your bed unless you plan on changing your own sheets." He walked towards the young boy and sat down on the bed next to him. "It's nice that you're learning how to make yourself feel good," Alan added. "It's a very important part of growing up." Stefan shrugged. "When do you think I will start making that white stuff you told me about? That semen stuff?" Alan laughed. He glanced at the boy's immature sex organs and tried to gauge when he would begin puberty. It was obvious that the hairless boy was not about to ejaculate in the immediate future, probably not even in the next year or two. His penis was that of a young boy,and even his testicles showed no indication of the sudden growth spurt that heralded the onset of sexual maturity. For a moment he considered discussing the anatomical changes that occurred during a boy's sexual development. He decided against it. There was not enough time before they had to leave the house. It would wait until the next opportunity, perhaps even later that evening. "You'll do it when you're good and ready, and when your body says you're old enough." Alan grinned. "You won't know until it actually happens. Of course your balls will get a bit bigger beforehand but you won't have any warning. It'll just come spurting out one morning when you least expect it. But don't stop trying, though. That's half the fun." Playfully he dragged the covers down and began to tickle Stefan. The boy giggled and wriggled as he struggled to be free. However, his struggles were half-hearted and his efforts were less about effecting his escape than encouraging Alan to continue the tickling assault. Quickly both man and boy became excited. As Stefan squirmed and writhed under the naked man he thought of as his 'father', his adult- sized tee shirt was easily pulled up past his slender hips. Increasingly, their hands and genitals came into contact. What began as friendly grabs became lingering caresses and affectionate tickles that were directed primarily at his private parts until they were laughing hysterically. It was a game with strongly erotic overtones and the physical contact of their bodies was considerably more stimulating and invasive than any normal wrestling match between a father and his son. As Alan felt his heated penis begin to stiffen from the sudden flow of blood he eased away. He glanced down and was gratified when he saw that Stefan's body was responding in a similar fashion. It was time to stop. He sat back on his haunches and admired the nearly naked boy before him. The tee shirt was pushed up under his arms. Stefan's chest was reddened and he was breathing quickly. His penis flexed, guided by instinct and desire. Again, Alan grinned. "You better get up or there won't be a goalie with the strength to play in the game today," he chuckled. "Especially after you've spent most of the morning playing with your dick." Stefan grinned and flopped back on the bed. His rigid penis lay on his lower belly, pointing towards his small navel. His eyes glanced quickly at his 'father's' groin and his grin widened as he observed that he was not the only one sporting an erection. Alan also glanced down before looking up to his eyes. "What's it feel like?" Stefan asked awkwardly. He was suddenly very curious. Alan raised an eyebrow. "What? What does what feel like?" "You know! What you do to Julian. What does sex feel like?" "When it's inside?" Stefan nodded. He glanced down, following Alan's continuing gaze along his own body. Alan smiled slightly. "It feels good." He paused. "For both of us, Stef. Maybe you should ask him as well," he added. "We love each other and making love is part of it. That's much more important to us than how it feels. It feels good to be joined together." "When you put it in Julian's butt, doesn't it hurt?" "Boy, are you full of questions this morning," Alan teased. "No, it doesn't hurt. A guy gets used to it quickly. Even if a man did it to you, it would only hurt a bit for a while, maybe a few days, and then you'd like it." "Oh!" Stefan smiled shyly. He hesitated. "It's just so small back there. I can get my finger in part of the way and then it gets pushed out again." "I didn't say it was easy, did I?" Alan grinned. "You have to be patient and it takes some effort, but a penis, even a man's penis, can go inside you Stefan, believe me." "If I did it with a man,... would his really fit in me,... or would I have to put mine in him?" Stefan blurted out. "Hmmm." Alan smirked. "You could, if you wanted," he answered vaguely. "I could what?" "Either way, Stef, it fits, okay?" Alan teased. "You'd have to be careful if you tried to put man's penis inside you, but it would fit if you tried. Most boys begin by having sex with other boys but some start with men. Why don't you ask Julian? He wasn't much older than you are now when he started having sex with a man. You know you can always talk to either or both of us about how you feel." Stefan regarded his 'father' in silence, his penis curiously flexing without any guidance from him. He tried to find the courage to tell Alan how he felt about Lee. Alan smiled gently, encouraging Stefan to speak his mind. "Anyway, from the look of your dick and the way your questions are coming it sounds as though we need to find you a guy of your own." Stefan reddened slightly and glanced down at his still-very- erect penis. *********** "You guys should have won that game," Julian said as he closed the door. He paused as he fastened his seat-belt. "You played a good game, Stef," he added. Stefan shrugged slightly. "I missed that one ball," he admitted. Ruefully he rubbed his elbow. His elbow and back would be badly bruised by the night. Now, he just ached. "Well, you gave it your best shot. I'm surprised you didn't hurt yourself even more than you did." Julian started the car, engaged reverse, and backed out of the parking space. "You should have heard some of the parents standing beside me." Stefan smiled weakly, feeling responsible for the zero-one loss. One lucky kick! That was all it had been. Covering the ball as it came towards him, then a pass to the right, to a player who registered in his peripheral vision. God only knows where he came from. The goalie spun and leaped backward, his finger tips touching the ball as it came towards the net. He landed hard. For a few seconds he lay stunned, very frightened that he had broken his back or arm. His team, crowded around him. In defeat, he was still a hero, even to the boys who had not seen his display of gymnastic skill. Zero-one! Any way he looked at it, it was still his fault the team lost. Julian turned slightly as he pulled onto the road. He knew why Stefan was quiet. "You tried your best," he offered. "Do you want to go to the shop? You could do with a haircut, young man. It's nearly over your collar." Stefan nodded and absently brushed his sweat-dampened hair back from his forehead. He breathed out and stared at the passing cars as he tried to find the words and courage he needed. "Julian," he began tentatively. "Yes?" "Julian,... Alan said,. well I want to ask you something. Its... about... sex." Julian suppressed his smile. "Sure! Fire away!" "Promise you won't laugh?" "Promise? Jesus, Stef, sex can be funny at times, but when you want to talk, you have to know by now that I would never laugh at you." Stefan smiled, slightly confused as to why sex could be funny, especially when it was such a serious matter to boys of his age, notwithstanding the dirty jokes whispered in the playground. "What's it like?" he blurted out. "Huh? What is what like?" Julian asked. "You know,... what Dad does to you! What's if feel like when he's inside your butt? Does it hurt?" Julian swallowed, his throat suddenly becoming dry as he began to formulate his answer. He wondered how much he should tell Stefan about the exquisite combination of pain and pleasure that came with anal sex, how much he needed Alan's penis deep inside him, the satisfaction he felt when they were joined, and afterwards when Alan's seed remained with him, a wet reminder of their union. "Stef, you're only eleven. There are some things a boy shouldn't know until he's older." he replied. Stefan nervous expression shifted to momentary anger. "Only?" he queried, the sound of juvenile sarcasm audible in his quavering unbroken voice. His intellectual maturity contradicted his physical development. Outwardly he was still an immature boy. "Since when did my age have anything to do with answering my questions?" he added. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just,... well,... I don't know how much you can understand about it. Being in love and having sex is something that's hard to understand until,... well it takes time that's all." "Gee, that makes a whole lot of sense," Stefan said dryly. He smiled slyly. "How old were you, Julian?" Julian sighed and made a mental note to thank Alan. "I was about your age." "You did it when you were eleven?" Stefan asked incredulously. "Alan said you weren't much older than me when a man did it to you. I guess I thought you were a teenager or something." Julian laughed. "I don't think I was younger than you but I was certainly no teenager. I don't know why you're so surprised. Boys are perfectly capable of have sex at your age. Of course, most people don't like the idea of an eleven-year-old boy having sex so they try to stop him. That's why it's illegal for a man to have sex with a boy in most countries,... but it still happens all the same." Stefan glanced down anxiously. The man beside him had the answers he needed. "What's it like, Julian? Did it hurt?" he asked quietly. "Hmmmm,.... Yes, I remember it hurt pretty bad the first few times. It goes away quickly. It's only bad for a short time before you get used to it," Julian added swiftly. "I guess your big question is what does it feel like." Stefan nodded. "It feels good, Stefan. That's why guys do it, of course, because they like how it feels. It's the best feeling you'll ever have. Part of you feels like you want to die and the rest of you wants to go on living forever." Julian thought back remembering his first love. "He was a wonderful guy, Stefan, and I was very lucky. He was thirty-two and he lived in the apartment next door. My mom used to work the night shift and he used to come to our place every night to make sure I was okay by myself. He would help me with my homework and we'd play games together. In fact, most nights we even had dinner together. I think I knew him for about a year before anything happened." "Tell me," Stefan said with growing interest. "You want to know what happened?" Julian teased. Stefan nodded agreeably. "Well, I guess if you're interested then you're old enough to know," he laughed. "When you realize he was old enough to be my father, and I never knew my real father, maybe it was to be expected. I worshipped him so much. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I fell in love with him, Stefan. That's important!" "Did he love you?" Julian nodded. "Sometimes I think he loved me more than I loved him. Some men are like that. They truly love boys the same way that Alan and I love each other. Most people would never understand that, you know. Anyway, we used to wrestle after dinner. It was a way for me to touch him and not worry about it. I used to get a hard-on every time but somehow I convinced myself that he didn't notice. God, I practically humped him." "Huh? Humped?" Julian smiled, realizing that Stefan's high intelligence did not mean that he necessarily understood what sex entailed. "It means rubbing yourself against another person. It's what you do when you're feeling horny." "Oh!" Stefan blushed and looked down quickly as he remembered what he had done earlier with Alan. He had 'humped'. "Is that bad?" he asked uncertainly. Again Julian smiled. "Bad? No, hardly. It just means that you want to have sex." He waited until Stefan looked up again. "When boys feel like that, they need physical contact." Stefan's lips pursed as if to comment. Julian continued. "Anyway, one night things got out of control I guess you could say. My mom was away at work and we were lying on the floor in front of the tv. When the commercials came on we started to wrestle. After about a minute my dick was as hard as it could be. Somehow I knew it was different to the other times I had humped him. I ended up on top of him, pumping away for all I was worth and then he started to tickle me. The more I laughed, the worse it was. I humped him as hard as I could and he tickled me until I hurt from laughing so hard." Julian paused, thinking back to that first night. It was like a fuse had been lit and it was racing towards an inevitable explosion. Everything happened so quickly but he would never forget the wonder of it. Even amid the pain of first entry and the shock of losing his virginity, there had been incredible pleasure. It ignited a fire within him. And then there was the explosion. He sighed. "He put his hands on my hips and started to move me up and down. He did what I wanted him to do Stefan. Our dicks came together, at least part of them because his stretched right up past my belly button. I could feel it under my pants. It felt so hot and hard. After a few minutes he pulled my pants halfway down." Stefan watched him in interest, vaguely aware of the slow expansion in Julian's crotch, the demanding heat in his own groin, his little penis taut and constricted by his briefs. His mind created the picture, his imagination unleashed. He was Julian. It would feel good, so good that he would barely be able to stand it. He would be overwhelmed, just as Julian had succumbed to an inner desire. "He rolled me onto my back and finished the job. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd seen me naked, or even with an erection, but this was very different. Every night he used to come into the bathroom and watch me take a bath. Most boys get frequent erections at your age, and I was no exception in the bathtub." "Alan says it's normal for it to get stiff." "When you're older it's your body's way of telling you when it wants you to have sex," Julian chuckled, "but at your age it's stiff more often than it's limp. You'd be worn out if you had sex every time your dick was hard." Stefan giggled. "What happened after he took your clothes off?" Julian raised his eyebrows, intimating that such things were private. Although they had been insistent that the boy grow up with few inhibitions, Stefan's curiosity was pushing the limits. He relented and began to talk openly. "He began by playing with my penis. Stefan. It wasn't the first time he touched me, not by a long shot, but it was a hell of a lot different to fooling around in the bathtub and having grab fights when we wrestled on the floor. Man, was I hot. He stopped once. I guess he was having second thoughts. I reached right out and put his hand right back where it belonged. He was giving me the most incredible feelings I had ever had. At that moment the last thing I wanted him to do was stop." Stefan smirked. "So if you didn't want him to stop, what did you want him to do?" Julian grinned. "I wanted him to take his clothes off." "Did he?" "Eventually. He took me into my bedroom first," Julian admitted. "Actually that was the second thing. The first thing he did was take me into the kitchen." "The kitchen? Why the kitchen?" Stefan's voice crackled with urgent curiosity. "To get some oil." "Oil? I don't understand. What would you need oil for?" Julian smiled at the boy beside him. He realized he was telling Stefan things that he had never told to another person. Not even Alan knew all the details. "Hmmmm,... Unlike you I had absolutely no idea what guys did. I barely understood what I could do for myself. I just knew I wanted him to do whatever he wanted. I think I learned everything I needed to know about sex that night, and I do mean everything!" "Everything?" Stefan asked inquisitively. "You mean,... even what I asked you about earlier? So what was the oil for? Was he going to give you a massage or something?" "If you hold with the questions, I'll explain, okay! You know that tube of stuff we always keep by the bed?" Stefan nodded and smirked cheekily. "K-Y stuff that I always call Kentucky grease? That's the stuff that Alan puts on his dick to make it slippery." Slowly the realization dawned. "Ohhhhh! That's why he wanted the oil." Julian nodded. "That why!" He laughed. "Usually K-Y is better because it's water-based." He glanced at the youngster. "The reason he wanted the oil was to make me especially slippery because I was so much smaller than he was. His penis was pretty darn big now I think about it. The first time is a lot like putting a square peg in a round hole. It can be pretty painful for a while." "Weren't you afraid?" Stefan asked. "After a while I knew I wanted his penis in me, Stefan. We were very close,... much more than best friends. I thought about him all the time. Of course, unlike you, I really didn't understand the mechanics of sex except that my dick was somehow involved, but something inside me was aching so much that I could barely stand it. I guess you could say I had an itch that needed to be scratched. I really wasn't afraid, at least not of him. I think I was more scared that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do." "How did you know what to do?" Stefan squeaked. His voice was nervous, a clear indication not only of his immaturity but of his rapidly growing excitement. "That's the point. I didn't know anything about sex. He wanted me just like I wanted him. I learned by doing it. Paul said I should do what felt good and I did. I experimented. That's how most boys find out about sex." Julian remembered the man's loving caresses, warm fingers dancing on his virgin body, arousing nerves, tickling places never touched by another person, his urge becoming stronger until he was overwhelmed. Then Paul sucked him, consumed his penis and testicles until he was swallowed whole, slobbering on his juvenile member until he bucking wildly. Paul's finger sought his anus and pushed into him. He covered his body with kisses, squeezing nipples until they were hard bumps on his flawless chest, pushing his finger in deeper and deeper until it was beyond the second joint and almost touching something that threatened to send shivers through him. And then the finger came out. The next time, only moments later and covered in oil, it slid in without hesitation. All the way in despite the reluctance of his sphincter, a sudden spasm of rejection, a vain attempt to preserve his innocence, then slowly moving back and forth. The sensation was like no other. Paul's finger found his magic spot and centered the pressure. Julian remembered the fearful pleasure that came almost instantaneously. He pulled away then pushed down harder, squeezing his buttocks against Paul's hand, his finger fully contained in his rectum. He lost all sense of time. He was aware of nothing except Paul's gentle movements, coaxing him to do only what he wanted and nothing more. He soared, increasingly aroused until his body was out of control and he jerked in frenzied expectation of something that always seemed out of reach. Amid his own guilty confusion he grasped that Paul was coaching him to accept what he was doing, to express his desire without restraint, to be himself. From deep inside the nearly twelve-year-old boy, an obscene moan of ecstasy announced that he was ready for the final step. Julian smiled. "I've never even told Alan this," he began, "but Paul changed me forever. He was very gentle with me, Stefan. When I felt his cock between my ass-cheeks it felt so soothing. It felt like a big velvet ball that wanted to get inside me, rather like a tennis ball only smaller. I wanted it too. So he pushed and I pushed. Boy did it hurt! But I really didn't mind the pain all that much, and you know, just when I thought I couldn't do it, I felt it inside me. I felt so full and the head was only just in me. It was like I was stretched wide open and I needed to get even bigger." Stefan swallowed anxiously. "But you said he was very gentle," he reminded the man beside him. Julian nodded. "He was gentle. But you have to understand that a boy's anus is a lot smaller than a man's cock, Stefan. It takes a while to get used to it, that's all. I expect it took me a few minutes. The first time I only took about half of his cock, but four inches is plenty especially when it's as thick as Paul's, believe me." Julian slowed the car as he pulled into the curb. He turned off the engine and rested in his seat. Every detail was clear despite the passage of years. Paul had been an excellent teacher and he was a willing pupil. He remembered feeling like a thick stake had been forced into his anus, a plug of living flesh that moved of its own accord and overwhelmed his sanity as it began to feel better and better. As the pain diminished, he experienced waves of pleasure that he would never forget. He took a deep breath. "He made love to me in a way I had never dreamed possible, Stefan. After Paul there was no one else who even came close until I met Alan. Most people really don't understand what it's like for a boy to have sex with a man. It's hard to explain. I know it changed me." "How?" "Like I said, I wanted him, Stefan. Part of me was missing and he made me complete. I lived for him and I loved him so much I could barely stand to be apart from him while I was at school. We had sex every night from then on." "Alan said it only hurt for a while," Stefan ventured. "Alan is right. After a few times the pain went away almost immediately. So long as your anus is big enough not to get torn by his penis, that's usually the way it is. It's really just a matter of getting used to it before you really enjoy it." Stefan smiled weakly and tried to visualize the end result. He knew how large a man's erect penis was. When he tried to insert the tip of his finger into his anus it seemed to be very tight. It took effort to get the first inch inside, and while it feel okay, it was a long way short of being the incredible experience that Julian and Alan claimed it to be. Try as he could he still did not understand. "Julian, why does it feel so good?" he asked. For a moment Julian wondered how to answer the youngster's question. "Because it does," he began. He grinned and playfully ruffled Stefan's hair. "I know because isn't an answer. Inside you is something called a prostate. His penis rubs against it. That's partially why it feels so good. But there's more to it than that. If you love him, then you want him there, Stefan. You need him to be inside you because it brings both of you closer. Part of him joins with you and you become one. It's the way two guys show how much they love each other." "Oh!" Stefan said thoughtfully. "But how do you know when you love someone?" Julian grinned. "Stefan, you are just full of questions today, aren't you?" *********** Chris Turner watched his partner get out of the car. He smiled gleefully the instant he observed the boy. Julian and Alan had adopted him shortly after they had opened the salon and Stefan spent the first four years of his life playing there. Even at four years old he was a sexy little thing, Chris mused, but now? His loins ached every time Stefan came to the shop. Was it worse when the boy wore tight blue jeans that pulled into his crack and made his butt-cheeks look like two firm melons, or like now, when he wore loose soccer shops and his legs were bare from his calf-muscles to his upper thighs. Chris Turner drooled. By the time Julian and Stefan came through the door his penis was stretched out along his leg, a firm hot bulge that reminded him that he had not jerked off since the night before. In his jaded eyes, Stefan was much more desirable than the naked boy-nymphs he watched on his illicit videos. "Hi Ju!" Chris said gaily. "Hi Chris! How's the day been?" Julian asked as he closed the door behind Stefan. He was aware that Stefan was staring out the window, doing his best not to look at the other man, his partner of eleven years. It was no different to Stefan's last few visits. Those times Stefan averted his gaze, eyes downcast, mumbling in monosyllables as if he was afraid to address Chris. He suspected puppy love. "It's been quiet today. It must be the weather. There were three cancellations. I had an appointment with Mrs. Buchanan and her daughter, and Deirdre came by for a trim. I had a walk-in around ten, a pretty blond thing from the East-side wanted a perm, oh, and Sebastian was already here for his Saturday regular." Julian nodded. Most Saturday's were busier but after four weekends of dreary rain, the sunny weather was certain to alter their customers' plans. "I came by to do the books. Stefan needs a trim too. Would you mind?" "Me? I'd love to darling," Chris tittered happily. He glanced at Stefan and noted the boy's nervous avoidance. He winked at Julian, and gestured effeminately with his hand. They both knew what Stefan's problem was. "Okay Stef?" Julian teased. "Maybe you'd like Chris to give you a punk look, a perm and streak, perhaps?" Stefan shrugged with pretended disinterest as he stared down at the vinyl tiles. If Julian did not know better, he would have mistakenly concluded Stefan was pouting and not in the throes of a pre-adolescent crush. He did not answer as he led the way to the nearest reclining seat in front of the sink. Chris fastened the smock around his neck and Stefan sat down and leaned back, positioning his head over the sink. He closed his eyes and waited. Chris' look towards Julian conveyed his lust. Infatuation with the provocative youngster was evident in his hesitation. It was as if merely touching the handsome boy was more stimulation than he could bear. Julian watched with interest for nearly a minute. "Your hair is so shiny," Chris admired. "And soft! My, it's soft." His eyes travelled hungrily over Stefan's exposed legs. The smock covered his torso and upper thighs. It looked very much as if he was naked under it. His brilliant yellow socks and black soccer boots added to the fantasy. With soapy fingers, Chris began to massage the small head, working the white foam around and around to create a mass of dark curls. He rubbed abound Stefan's ears, playfully tweaking his earlobes, placing a white dollop of shampoo on the tip of his nose, openly flirting. Stefan was in good hands, Julian decided. After a thorough rinsing, Chris dried most of the water away by dabbing gently. With his hair tousled and wet, Stefan was the essence of prepubescent boyhood. Chris smiled, delighted to be close to the perfect boy. To Chris, Stefan was the ideal lover. Without the rugged masculinity of some pre-teen boys, he possessed the soft gentleness that the man longed for. It was all he could do not to rub his groin against the chair, so close to Stefan's slender shoulder. He contented himself by paying attention to his craft. "How do you want your hair cut?" he finally squeaked nervously. "Huh?" Stefan was startled by the sudden interruption to his thoughts. "Oh,... Yeah, I guess like always," he mumbled self- consciously. Chris smirked teasingly as he stepped into the youngster's line of sight. "You really ought to try something different. Something that, well,.... makes you look different," he said slowly, his hesitation implying that Stefan needed to do something about his appearance. "Like what?" Stefan challenged, his defensiveness right on cue. "Hmmmm,...." Chris stepped back and with an artistic flair gestured broadly. "Something fashionable,... something that makes a statement about who,... and what you are,..." He smiled. "Something sexy." Stefan felt the sudden flow of heat up his neck as his cheeks blushed. He was nervous and yet he was excited. He suddenly understood that the man was flirting with him. "Like what?" he asked. "Like what? Like something punk." "Punk? You mean like what those kids wear in England?" Stefan asked awkwardly. He remembered the outrageous hair-styles and clothing he had seen six months earlier when he had visited London with Julian and Alan. "It's all the rage in L.A. too," Chris offered with a pretended British accent. "You'd look good with a blue streak down the center," he teased. "Alan and Julian wouldn't recognize you by the time I'd finished." Stefan shrugged with pretended disinterest. "How would you cut my hair?" "With a mohawk, if you'd like. You'd might need a perm to make it stand up because your hair is so soft and fine." Chris paused. You'd look very sexy as well," he added suggestively. "Some people I know wouldn't be able to keep their hands off you!" Stefan grinned. "Okay! Do it!" He half-expected Chris to withdraw the offer but that was not too be. The man was too consumed with lust for the slender boy reclining on the seat before him. His rigid penis ached for relief as it arched into the tight confines of his trousers. He raised his eyebrows with an unspoken question. He was met by Stefan's challenging eyes. It was as if the boy sensed the effect he was having on the man and wanted to test his mettle. How far would he go? It was an interesting question. "Are you sure?" Chris asked as he stepped away mincingly out of Stefan's view. "I don't think Julian will mind very much, but Alan might get upset when he sees how sexy you really are. And you are really are a very sexy boy, Stef'," he emphasized softly. Stefan glared into the wall-long mirror suspiciously. He felt his heart beating faster than normal, a surge of excitement, of knowing. He swallowed, wanting to deny what Chris had not expressed. He was gay. They were both gay. It explained the curious attraction he felt towards the man. By the moral standards of other boys his age, he should have felt revulsion. Instead, he felt relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. He started to relax into the sticky vinyl seat beneath him and Chris moved behind him and began to work. Looking down, Chris could sense the young boy's uncertainty. He had been the same way when he first became aware that he was different to other boys, but he had not been so confident. Perhaps it had been because he was older, perhaps because he had been afraid. Afraid of his parents' reaction, afraid of his friends' ridicule, afraid to be himself. Stefan's eyes were closed as Chris brushed carefully, shaping the dark wet locks, reluctant to cut for fear of disturbing the boy's solitude. He began to trim, clipping expertly. The scissors darted back and forth, clicking repetitively as strands of hair dropped onto the plastic cloak. Stefan's slender neck enthralled him. He imagined his hands around it, his thumbs stroking the silky fur at the nape, lifting the beautiful face up and pressing his lips hard against the boy's willing lips. He imagined a hot wet kiss, given and taken with surprising passion. He stepped back and realigned his burgeoning erection, avoiding the persistent demand to touch the vibrant young body before him. He spoke quietly, his tone reassuring, teasing Stefan playfully about girlfriends he would never have, sly insinuations about Julian and Alan sex life. Finished with his masterly work he took a deep breath and surveyed the style he had imposed. He had changed Stefan. The new Stefan was perfection personified, his delicate features emphasized, his facial characteristics amplified, his identify forged and precisely refined. With building pride he rotated the chair, unprepared for the reaction. Stefan shrieked. "You made me look QUEER!" Chris gulped. He heard the disgust in the youngster's voice, the sudden realization that the faggot-boy he stared at in horror was himself. He could no longer deny it! He was a homosexual, just like Alan, and Julian, and Chris. "You,... look beautiful," Chris muttered. "You really do!" "It suits you," Julian said loudly. He stood in the doorway to the office. "I think Chris did a great job. Alan won't believe it's really you. The difference is incredible." "No!" Stefan countered. "I,... I hate it! I,... I don't want to look like this!" Julian sighed. "Are you ashamed of being gay, Stefan?" he asked gently. "Are you ashamed to be like Alan and me?" Stefan shuddered. He was the same as Alan and Julian. Had they made him homosexual? God only knew, they talked about it with him often enough. But he had been born that way. When they selected him, culled him from three dozen other baby boys at the orphanage in Yugoslavia, they had only wanted a son. They had hopes, of course, but there was no way anyone could tell from the appearance of a baby what he would be when he grew up, was there? "I'm not ashamed!" Stefan countered. "It's just,... God, Julian, I don't want people to make fun of me, that's all!" Julian smiled reassuringly. "Some of your friends make fun of Alan and me, you know they do." "They aren't my friends," Stefan said with increasing anger. "Do you hate me that much for being gay?" Julian asked carefully. He stopped himself, mentally trying to distance himself from his feelings. It was a trick he had taught himself years earlier when he was constantly taunted by two other boys about the sexual orientation of the two men he knew as his parents. At seven years old he did not understand why people rejected them, laughed at them, made crude and obscene comments about what they did in private, even insinuating that they did the same things with him. When he asked Alan and Julian why, the answer was simple. With objectivity, there was no reason why two men could not love each other just as much as a man and a woman. However the Christian morality that governed society was not rational, it was merely convenient, a specious morality directed to reproduction of the species. It did matter that David was the beloved of Saul. That was conveniently overlooked just as the Hellenic and Arabic traditions were overlooked. "I don't care that you're gay. I know better than that. You know that!" "Then what are you afraid of, Stefan?" Stefan swallowed. "I,... I don't know. It's,... it's just that,..." he could feel tears welling in his eyes and his hand lifted to wipe them away. He glared at the faggot-boy in the mirror. Such a pretty boy, even his pouting expression was overtly sexual. The punk hairstyle exaggerated his youthful features, still more feminine than masculine. He wanted not to be that boy, and although he seemed so far away, there was no denying the fact. "We better get to the math contest," Stefan added without conviction. Julian nodded, hesitantly acknowledging Stefan's reluctance to go into the street and show himself in public. Stefan was growing up quickly. ********* They talked little on the drive to the university. Even the fifteen minute search for the Harlington School of Mathematics evoked only muttered comments from Stefan. Afraid of being late, of drawing even more attention to himself, he became very quiet. However his fears were unfounded. Among two hundred college students, and fifty high-school students, his strange appearance was normal. What was not normal was his age and size! Professor Denton personally escorted him from the registration table to his classroom for the problems in differential calculus. Stefan surveyed the room. They looked like geeks, he decided unhappily. What was worse, most of them wore glasses so they looked like they spent their lives doing nothing except advanced problems in calculus. He looked up at Professor Denton and saw his encouraging smile. The man, more than old enough to be his father, too young to be his grandfather, seemed to look into his eyes and find the insecurity he harbored. He was scared stiff, unlike the serene boy who usually conquered test after test. The man winked at him and Stefan smiled weakly as he slowly sank into his seat. Problem after problem, each more difficult than the preceding one, dealing with theoretical constructs that Stefan had barely time to glance at before he had to begin his solution. There was a clock on the wall and it slowly clicked, each passing minute identified as the large hand inched further towards the hour. Stefan came to the last problem and stared at it until his eyes hurt. Even the words that described the motion of the moving pendulum left him in confusion. "Oscillation", "periodicity", "mean acceleration" were barely understood. The equation seemed wrong, the factor for gravity meaningless. He scribbled, tried to rearrange the equation to something more intelligible, gave up and rubbed his brow. He tried again, drawing a picture of the thing. Finally he stopped, totally confused. It was impossible. He lifted his pencil and scrawled in juvenile script, "impossible!" Moments later the man at the front of the room gave the order to stop work. Stefan handed in his paper and scurried from the room. His brisk walk, at a pace just short of jogging, brought the red-faced boy back to the pre-assigned meeting place with Julian. Julian stood up as Stefan came up to him. "Hi! So how did it go? Did you ace it?" "I screwed up," Stefan said quietly. His eyes, wet and reddened with shame, were downcast. "Come on! It can't be that bad. You're a math genius!" "It was hard. I could only do some of the problems. I tried! I really did!" Stefan answered. "The last problem was impossible." "Well, I know you did your best. Tell me about the last problem," Julian suggested reassuringly. "It was impossible. It was about a pendulum swinging. YOu had to figure out the rate of acceleration using differentiation, only,... it couldn't be done. I thought it could at first and then I realized. The pendulum was swinging in four dimensions. That's impossible," Stefan said adamantly. Julian smiled, concealing his ignorance. Hairdressing was a lot simpler. The biggest problem was keeping the ladies happy when they sat for a perm. Perhaps Alan would understand. "It sounds very difficult. Maybe you'll get points for trying." Stefan shrugged and led the way to the car, anxious to distance himself as far as possible from his ignominious performance. ********* Accordingly, he was surprised when the telephone rang later on that evening and Alan shouted for him to take the call. It was the professor from the math competition, a soft-spoken man who introduced himself as Matt Denton. "I wanted to speak to you in person," Matt said. Stefan was silent, his heart beating faster than normal. For some strange reason he liked the sound of the man's voice on the telephone. They shared a brief but very thoughtful moment. "Why was the last problem impossible?" Matt asked. "At least that's what you wrote." "I,... I,... I d-d-don't know," Stefan stammered. "I,... I tried to do it!" he blurted out. "It didn't make any sense." "Don't be worried, Stefan. By the way, you did very well. No that's wrong. You did exceptionally well. Could you talk to me about the last problem? Why didn't make any sense?" "Okay! It was the four dimensions the pendulum was supposed to move through." "Because there were four dimensions and not three dimensions?" Matt prompted. "Uh,... no,... I just expected it was one of those theoretical problems, Sir." "You tried to draw it?" Matt suggested. Stefan laughed. "It's rather hard to draw in four dimensions." "Even if time is the fourth dimension?" "But it can't be!" Stefan exclaimed. "Professor Denton, it just is impossible." "Why?" "Because of the values you get from the cosines. There isn't a solution." "But not all the equations are cosines," Matt said. "You have at least two ways of getting a value for the acceleration." Stefan shook his head and then sighed. He had given that problem everything he had. Partial derivatives were exceedingly difficult. "I tried. I couldn't get it to solve at anything other than the bottom of the oscillation. An there was no reason to assume that was where the greatest acceleration occurred." Matt shivered. He stared at the boy's scratchings. There was an arrow pointing at the center of the crude drawing of a pendulum and a long list of values and awkwardly formed characters. The gamma value was incorrect but it really did not matter. The boy was a true genius, Matt realized in a flash. He had found what none of the other students had seen. He was one of the once-in-a-lifetime people who not only had a natural insight into the complex and arcane world of equations and numbers but possessed the ability to understand their relationships. Stefan waited for the man to say something, anything. He longed to hear the soft tones of his voice in the receiver. The voice entranced him. "Why didn't you say something?" Matt asked at last. "You're right, there is no solution to the problem the way its written." "It was a trick?" Stefan asked uncertainly. "A trick?" Matt chuckled. "Hardly! It looks like I really screwed up!" "Oh! I thought it was me!" Again Matt laughed. He enjoyed talking to the boy. His mathematical gifts aside, his outstanding accomplishments on a very demanding test aside, he still felt a powerful affinity to the handsome youngster. It was sexual, of course. He knew that from the outset, from the moment he first laid eyes on the boy, from the thrill he experienced from merely escorting Stefan to his seat in the classroom. From behind the thick lenses of his glasses, he thought the boy was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. "So, tell me about yourself, Stefan," Matt said with the nervous excitement of a thirteen year old on his first date. "How old are you? What grade are you in?" "I'm eleven! I'm in sixth grade." "Eleven!" Matt breathed out. "You came second by the way. You might like to know that you were beaten by a second year doctoral student..... I'm stunned that you were able to even understand the test, let alone get the majority of the questions right. Two of the questions you got wrong I generally have to use optimized code for. They're what we call 3-D solid isoparametrics." "I had trouble with some of the words," Stefan admitted. "And I didn't do so hot on the element matrices." "You did great, Stefan. You got them all at least partially right. I am really surprised that you had any idea about Gaussian quadrature." Stefan grinned. "I didn't until a few weeks ago. I guess I got interested in it. when I was trying to do a problem on my computer." Matt hesitated. "Stefan,... what I'm going to say next is,... well it's very important. You have a very special skill. I guess you know that already." "My math teacher doesn't know what to do with me. She's been borrowing books from the high school for me," Stefan said as he warmed to the man. "She says I'm a pain in the neck, only she really doesn't mean it. She's cool! Most of the kids at school think I'm a nerd!" "Well, I think you are one radical kid!" Matt hesitated. He questioned his motives. Was it because the boy aroused his desire, an unspeakable desire that he kept submerged, or because of his special abilities? He could help this boy, but could he do it without trying to have sex with him? The prospect frightened him, excited him, unnerved him. "S-S-Stefan,..." he paused again, uncertain. He was risking his career and reputation. He would need all of his self control to survive temptation. "Stefan, what I'd like to do is to offer you is a place in math program here at the University." "I want to start in the Saturday morning classes, especially the one on Chaos Theory, only I'm still too young. I have to wait until I'm thirteen," Stefan said. "I think you'd be wasting your time. Those classes are for advanced high school students. That's not you. You're truly gifted and you should be studying under a great mathematician like Mandelbrot. You'd be the youngest student there, of course, but I know you'll be incredibly successful." "I suppose I'll go to college after I finish high school," Stefan answered vaguely. "I'm not talking about six years from now! I'm talking about right now! You could start in a few months." "A few months?" "There'd be a few problems I'd have to clear out of the way. There's a university rule that says you have to be at least sixteen to be admitted, but I think I can get the Board of Trustees to make an exception when they know the facts." "I,... I don't know," Stefan answered anxiously. He remembered how the other competitors had towered over him. He remembered their deep voices, so different to his own still pre-pubescent voice. Except for the Asian students with their smooth ochre complexions, the other competitors' chins were darkened with mid-day beards. "Stefan, you don't have to say yes right away," Matt offered hopefully. His eyes had been drawn to the boy again and again. He remembered a studious face, with refined features, aquiline nose and full lips, a beautiful boy's face. He sensed the reluctance on the other end. More than anything else, he needed to see the boy again. "Maybe I could come to your house tomorrow afternoon and talk with your parents," he suggested. "You know there's nothing to be scared of. I'd assign my graduate student to watch over you. You'd be able to live at home, of course. " Stefan thought quickly. It had taken nearly an hour's drive from his house to the University. That was two hours every day, probably more if they had to go when the traffic was at its busiest. There was no way that Alan or Julian would drive him every day, and the thought of taking a bus downtown by himself and changing to another bus frightened him. And yet, the idea of studying mathematics at the highest level possible appealed to him. "I,... I don't think it's going to work out," he murmured. "Huh? I'm sorry, Stefan. I didn't hear what you just said." "Uh, um, you know I can't drive a car yet," Stefan joked. "Huh! Of course you can't drive. You're not even twelve yet!" "How will I get there? I live in Richmond. It's at least 40 miles from here." "Oh! Yes, I suppose that is going to be a problem, isn't it? I didn't think about how you would get here. It's a pity you don't live closer," Matt said slowly. "There is no way I'd allow you to live in one of the dorms. You wouldn't last five minutes." There was a momentary pause that became longer until the silence was disturbing. "I'd really like to go to college," Stefan said with disappointment. "Well, I don't know what to suggest," Matt added. "It's a pity. You're a very special boy, Stefan. If I thought it would be possible, I'd even offer to have you live in my house. I'm only a few blocks away from the campus and there is plenty of room." Matt's suggestion ricochetted through both minds. So simple a solution, so practical, so impossible. "Huh?" Stefan muttered. "I could live with you?" "I suppose," Matt volunteered. "If it was okay by your parents, I would really enjoy the company. I have a big old house. There's just me and my dogs. I have a lady who cleans and cooks, but she leaves in the evening. I do get quite lonely by myself." Stefan said nothing. His mind raced. He remembered the man's pleasant face. He was older, in his fifties. His voice was almost fatherly as he talked. "It is an interesting idea, but of course, your parents wouldn't allow it, even if it was possible to schedule your classes so you'd be with me for three of four days at a time," Matt continued. He sighed loudly into the receiver. "Never in a million years!" ********* Professor Matt Denton had the guest bedroom redecorated for his young house guest. Even for three nights per week, especially for three nights per week, he wanted Stefan to be comfortable. A transformation was wrought, from Victorian Gothic to pre-adolescent modern. Stefan's bedroom was complete with primary colors, metal- framed posters of a Porsche 959 and a Ferrari Testarossa, and a desk and chair from the Knoll Collection. A queen-size bed with a vibrantly colored comforter completed the ensemble. He waited Stefan's arrival anxiously. From his study, he looked up every time a car passed. Still thirty minutes to go, he reasoned, and there was no reason why they would arrive earlier than planned. He went up to Stefan's bedroom and straightened a perfectly smooth comforter for the third time. He smiled, musing at how easy it had been after he had met with Stefan's parents. The situation was obvious from the outset. At the very first meeting, dinner at Guilio's, Stefan was accompanied by both Alan and Julian. Their relationship was evident from the closeness they shared. Matt discovered that not only were they lovers, but they were open-minded enough to extend the same flexibility to their adopted son. Within minutes they had sized him up, recognizing that his offer of a part- time home, while initially pedagogically motivated, was not inappropriate for Stefan given his natural inclinations. They welcomed him as the natural solution to a brooding problem. Latter, on a whim, Matt had stopped by Alan's office. Over coffee, Matt cautioned him to be patient with a boy who was about to take his first tentative steps to manhood. 'Give him all the love you have, nurture him, and he will be yours', Alan said pointedly. Matt surveyed the room one last time, hoping that Stefan would find his second abode as comfortable as his other home. He wanted the boy to be happy. If anything else eventuated, so be it, but he was resolved that he would not take the first steps. He intended to give Stefan all the love he possessed. On the way out the door he stopped by the bookshelf. Already he had given Stefan his two most prized possessions, Gaston Julia's "Principes Geometriques d'analyse", and "Elements d'algebre", with a handwritten note, "To Benoit. You care about solving the difficult problems." He hoped Stefan was able to understand French. In some areas, French was as much the language of mathematics as it was of love. Silently he mouthed the words, "Stefan, je t'adore." He looked up quickly, distracted from his musings of whispered endearments in a young boy's ear when he heard the car's tires on the gravel drive. "Soon, my little mathematician," he whispered to the room. "Soon you will be mine to love and nurture." He came with little more than could be carried in a small suitcase. There were no toys. At the last minute Stefan had removed them, discarding them as the playthings of a younger boy, not one who was going to attend college. He stood beside Julian, feeling the first pangs of homesickness as they proceeded through the farewell formalities. Four days, three nights away from home. Only a phone call away, Alan reassured him. He accepted their fond good-byes with more dignity than anyone expected. "You're so grown up," Julian beamed proudly. "In some ways you are more mature than a lot of college students." "This is a great opportunity," Alan added as he surveyed the bedroom. "I'm so proud of you. This is just the beginning for you. You're a very lucky boy." Matt smiled down at his youthful protege. ""I'm certain Stefan will make all of us very proud." Julian nodded. He remembered his own youth. His memory was strong. It's no more than he deserves. Stefan is a very special boy," he said. He turned slightly so that he faced toward Matt. "I expect you to do the right thing by him," he added seriously. "He's staying here on his terms, not yours'." Matt swallowed. During the last few weeks he had come to know Stefan better than he knew any other person. He loved the brilliant mind within the boy as much as he loved the boy in him. His self- control had been tested and he had survived with honor. There had been opportunities, times when Stefan had even seemed to be reaching out with uncertain needs he did not understand. Their relationship was already more than tutor and student, beyond mere friendship. Stefan seemed to be faltering, hesitant to accept the challenge of his inner self, to accept himself for what he was. Again. Matt resolved to let things proceed at Stefan's own pace and volition. Finally, afternoon began to change to evening. Matt smiled fondly at Stefan as he waved farewell to the departing car. With dinner cleared away, Maria had left only minutes before Alan and Julian. Now, there was just the two of them. Slowly Stefan turned to face his mentor. Beyond the thick glasses, Matt's eyes gazed into his. It was a magical moment. It was not the first time were they alone, but it was very special. Stefan sighed and smiled weakly. "I guess you're going to make me go to bed early so I can be fresh for my first day, huh?" Matt grinned. Stefan's eyes glistened, alive with youth. Then suddenly the truth struck him and his happiness vanished. "You're crying." Stefan started to shake his head. He sniffed slightly and slowly nodded. "I miss them already." "I expect you do. They're your parents. You're supposed to miss them." Stefan laughed. "Which one is my mom?" Matt chuckled. "I would have thought that was obvious," he replied. "Even though the possibility of Julian having a baby defies the laws of probability." "About one chance in a million?" Stefan agreed. "I never knew my real mother. I don't know whether she died or just plain didn't want me around. All I know is Alan and Julian adopted me from an orphanage in Czechoslovakia when I was about six months old." "They were very lucky," Matt said admiringly. "They hit the jackpot with you." Stefan shrugged. "That's the same thing Julian says about you." "What? What does he say about me?" Matt enquired sheepishly. Stefan smiled teasingly. "He's says I'm one hell of a lucky kid." He met Matt's eyes. "He's says you're special,...." "I'm special? How? In what way?" "Oh,... because you like boys." "Oh!... What else does he say about me?" Matt asked awkwardly;. Stefan shrugged again, pretending forgetfulness. "Oh this and that." "Like what?" "Hm! Maybe that's between me and Julian," Stefan teased brutally. "He says,... I should be careful." "Oh! I'd never do anything to hurt you, Stefan," Matt countered. "I think you know I'm very fond of you." "I expect that's why Julian says I should be careful. Because I like you a lot as well." "Does that bother you?" Matt asked quickly. Stefan shook his head. "I'm old enough to decide what I want to do. I'm old enough to have sex too,... if that's what I want." Matt's mind reeled. So close to his feelings, so close to his ultimate goal. He formulated a problem to divert his rapidly growing lust, burgeoning desire like the stiffening penis behind his trousers. Perhaps this boy was far more uninhibited about sexual matters because he had been raised by two homosexuals, perhaps it was the difference between generations. This boy was so confident. Supposedly, Stefan the student and he was the teacher, and yet he still had so much to learn. "I wonder what you really want to do?" he thought aloud. Stefan's eyes met his. His gaze conveyed his silent approval of the man standing before him. Professor Denton was so different to Chris. For one thing he was older, and it was not merely a matter of a few years. Professor Denton was a mature man with an intellectual depth that fascinated him. His voice resonated within him, arousing interest as it soothed him. They shared a spiritual affinity, more profound than mutual affection and a love of mathematics could justify. He was the opposite of Chris, with his flirtatious games and off-hand comments. "I think you just told me," Matt answered. "You did, didn't you?" Stefan nodded fractionally. He swallowed. He felt the exact same way Julian and Alan said he would feel. 'Nervous,... like a thousand butterflies are in your stomach,... like you want to jump into his arms. There's no feeling like it, Stef. When the time is right, you'll want to hold him tight.... Nothing else will matter.... You'll feel as if the only reason you're alive is to be with him. That's the way I felt..... That's when you should make love with him. Have sex is part of being in love with someone.... Trust him. He'll teach you everything you need to know. He loves you so he won't hurt you.... Do what your heart tells you to do. Do what you want to do. If he wants you to do something you don't want to do, don't be afraid to tell him.... He won't love you any less.' The smile on Stefan's face was nothing short of mystical. He quivered with the sudden realization. This man would teach him how to make love. "Do you want to go upstairs to your bedroom?" Matt asked in disbelief. Stefan nodded again. *************************************************************** Planet Chadq. Period Twenty-Eight, Scalen Cycle. A pungent, invisible odor rolls and swirls across the dusty crust. The dust lifts, eddying and pluming, leaving a thin, grey film on abandoned crystals, discarded like confetti. It settles slowly on a wall of ragged metal panels as electrostatic grime. With condensation, the dust will turn to acid and slightly etch the surface. Over time, it will devour all matter. The wall of metal spans a deep depression in the fractured, hostile environment. It ranges from one craggy mound to the other side and fills a cleft between them, a gash in the side of a mountain. The wall is ancient and badly weathered, its surface stained and pitted from centuries of accumulation and exposure. Even the once-impervious surface coating has eroded and become tarnished. Now the surface is uniform grey but for a few splashes of indigo which are barely recognized as phallic symbols. They are a fading reminder of the present purpose of the outpost. A door, hidden in the seamless, faceless metal wall, appears as it slides silently open. The silence is broken by a whirr, a high- speed whining of distant machinery from deep within the mountain. The drone moves quietly. It makes only the barest hum as it glides through the opening before it closes behind it. It hovers, scanning one side, then the other. A faint laser light begins to blink as the drone moves forward and away from the metal panels, searching as it goes. The flickering light is yellow, but in the intense ultra-violet spectra it appears green. It sees far better than any human eye. Even before it has travelled beyond the trampled zone adjacent to the wall, it becomes invisible. It fades, shimmers, and is gone. Except for the shimmering light, it does not exist. Not even a shadow reveals its presence. The boys wrestling in the arid depression do not see the drone approach, or if they do, there is no sign of recognition. The game is uninterrupted. Their privacy appears unviolated. They are naked. Their increasing sexual arousal is evident in the vigor they bring to combat, the protective stances adopted, and the heightened fervor of attack and defense. There are four boys but none had reached the stage of full erection. That will come later when the victor accepts his tribute. They are surrounded by huge boulders, discarded like gigantic marbles of the gods that have split with ear-shattering roars and crashed from the summit of the mountain. But even with gigantic, igneous tors, the landscape is monotonous and bromidic. The air is leaden and the light is insipid. Life itself is tedious in the unanimated and moistureless territory. Beside the boulders, the boys are puny insignificant creatures. They are the only life that has not become scorched and dehydrated in the barren world. At first glance, as the scuffling boys are scanned by the drone, there is only chaos, a twisting, writhing melee of bare, dark flesh as the lithe bodies engage and separate. But there is order to the affray and it gradually becomes apparent that one boy is defending himself against the other three. A stream of data flows from the drone as it monitors form and energy dispersal. The pandemonium of bare bodies is neither a quarrel nor a conflict. It is a contest. The boys scuffle, breaking from their scrimmage as their energies become depleted. They are all but oblivious that they are becoming as parched as the dusty ground on which they stand. Eyes dart from one to the other, awaiting the next eruption. Breathing quickly, they move with caution as they watched each other cautiously. In the ionosphere of Chadq, the space is warped by an uncompleted WORM-HOLE. Distorted by an invisible presence that is immune to all detection save its own. For the moment, time stands still. Another origin has been created in absolute space, connected through four dimensions to another smaller world. It exists despite the rigor of mathematical proof. It is an Einsteinian impossibility. From this metaphysical unity, all space and time begins as the harmony of the universe is interposed and transformed by inverse. Only one person stands at the origin. That person is Phaedrus, Lord High Councillor of the Foyre, Prime Guardian of the Inverse World. Before him, a hologram flutters, poised and floating as it begins to stabilize. The asomatous image is ethereal and the figures appear as apparitions, mere ghosts of corporeal phenomena. He watches intently, studying the soft, hazy outlines of the four children as they become perceptible. His eyes settle on one boy and follows his every move. His existence is real, even though his nude body is not tangible. "Is he the one? Yes, I think it is." Phaedrus is doubtful but he continues to study the child, comparing him to the three other boys. "Only he could be mine," he observes aloud. A smile flees across his stern regimen. There is admiration but it is suppressed to the level of mere interest. Too much is at stake to do otherwise. "He is the one," a confident voice says. The voice comes suddenly and without warning. There is no source and the disembodied voice echoes with a hollow resonance. It reflects not from any enclosure for there is none to be found in the relative dimensions of time and space between the inverse world and the real world. The smile returns to Phaedrus and lingers before it fades. "Old friend, you have done well," he adds with a casual admonition. "Far better than I deserve from you. He is a truly remarkable ped." "Well enough, my liege. I have done only what you asked of me. Nothing more, nothing less. The clay was easy to mold even in this waterless place." "No!" Phaedrus intercedes. "Just from the look of him I can tell that you have done far more than I asked of you. You have done much more than the promise required." Phaedrus steps closer to the hologram, close enough to reach out and touch the boys as they struggle together. The hologram fluctuates, changing color and shivering as the alignment shifts back and forth across the light spectrum. He gazes at the young boy and follows his every move. In the desolate world, the unclothed boys are unrivalled but the one boy who holds his attention is startling. "It is easy when the matter is agreeable. He is very well bred, my liege. That one is the pride of Chadq." Phaedrus nods. "Why is the image so fractured?" "The ultra-violet is mediating," the voice explains. "At dusk it is always this way. It will stabilize as it adjusts to the evening conditions." "That's better," Phaedrus observes a few moments later. His eyes still have not shifted away from the boy. He scrutinizes the lithe form and observes a slender body that conceals strength which is unmatched by the others. He is by far the most attractive child despite his unusual coloring. His hair draws Phaedrus attention. A thick, straight mane stands up a hand's breadth from his head. It is a sky-blue plume, like a savage from the planet, Tsug. His skin, while dark from solar exposure, is also blue-green tinted. The color becomes even more intense on the parts of his wiry anatomy that are less exposed to light--under his chin, the insides of his thighs, his genitals, and armpits. "Is he rebellious?" Phaedrus asks curiously. "He is no more unruly than most peds his age." "Then why is his hair colored? Is blue fashionable on Chadq this year?" Phaedrus challenges with slight amusement. A metallic laugh echoes. "Because he has your eyes, Phaedrus. Because blue is always a problem with Chadq's ultra-violet light. Fortunately blue eyes are recessive for Absolutists." "Blue eyes are not that rare." "You and Phaenon are the only true ones I have seen in many years. I am surprised that your gene was not subordinated when you bred." "Why is this a problem for a ped? It has never been a problem for me, Catapygos," Phaedrus continues expectantly. "On Chadq, all of the peds require isotopes to absorb the excess rays. Cadmium-32 was not within the realm of possibility with his eyes and he was allergic to all of the Cobalt group. His only isotope is Cuprum-24, if Phaenon was not to be blinded, or worse. His coloring is one of the unfortunate side effects, unless of course, you prefer blue-boys." "Cadmium-32, Cuprum-24, Cobalt, whatever! It matters little to me. The color will fade, will it not?" Phaedrus asks, "Or will he grow out of it in time?" He studies the boy by peering through the shimmer that suddenly appears as a haze within the hologram. Again the image is distorted and becomes shadowy as the fight becomes more intense. The naked figures seem to move in slow motion as if illuminated by a strobe- light, their fleeting movements could not otherwise be seen. He watches carefully, very aware that the agile boy is all sinew, bone, and muscle. He moves adroitly, leaping with a graceful arc before his feet land sturdily and sprightly. His body's flexibility and poise is remarkable. Phaedrus glances away as the voice continues. "Of course it will fade when he enters the WORM-HOLE, my liege. Even on Chadq I have seen it become lighter after a few years into manhood, but it never goes away completely. Still, anything is better than being blind or dying. With the constant exposure on Chadq, he would be dead by now without the isotope." "Then there is reciprocity failure," Phaedrus suggests in dismay. It is difficult for him to accept the possibility that the perfect boy may be flawed. "No, not that! He has always been like this, ever since you brought him here. It is unfortunate, but he doesn't mind. Besides, there are many who would prefer a ped like him. He is very unusual, in more ways than his coloring. You can rest assured that Phaenon will always be highly desired, my liege, even with his blue tint." Phaedrus steps back again. The hologram has stabilized once again and the image is clear. The four boys are tensed and an attack is imminent. One boy, his boy, prepares to spring. He is pushing his feet into the fine sand, crouching as his leg muscles tighten with building strain. The fluid dust oozes between his toes. At that instant he becomes the aggressor. His onslaught comes without warning as he catapults forward into the other three boys. Four denuded and hairless bodies are joined in playful combat in the bleak desert. It is impossible to define where one boy begins and another ends so closely are they locked together. "Perhaps his coloring does not bother him now, but he may care when he's a paedicari, Catapygos," Phaedrus thinks aloud. "I know some men who would not like his coloring." The bodiless voice chuckles, suggesting that it knows far more than to accept the last statement of the Councillor. Given the proficient skill of the attacker and the consummate ease with which he brought the other boys to the ground, it seems impossible that he would submit when his time comes to be mounted. "It's hard to think of him as the passive one, my liege. Phaenon is no pathicus. When he's older, the man who buggers him will, no doubt, have to turn about himself." He laughs as he considers the prospect of a mere boy mounting a man. "He has the will if not the size to do it, and even that will come in time." "Perhaps," Phaedrus says agreeably. "But there are few things in the universe much worse than an aggressive ped." "I agree. It's always better if a ped takes a man's worm in his ass without wanting to return the favor. Even if the boy is a pretty one like Phaenon." There is a long pause as he watches the boys tumbling together. Their fight is becoming vigorous, increasingly charged with latent eroticism. Even though the boys are still unmatured and their sexuality is abeyant, that aspect of their emerging beings is lurking under the surface. The potential exists for physical and emotional gratification should the opportunity present itself. On Chadq, the opportunity usually occurs in the privacy of the desert, but the four boys have grown up without inhibition. "Indeed he is certainly a handsome boy. Perhaps I have other plans for him," Phaedrus finally suggests quietly. "After Phaenon is mounted I'm sure he'll quickly become docile enough for any man," the voice continues. "Peds always do. Even the most intractable and unruly ones become amenable to being mounted once they've been penetrated by a man. It always affects boys the same way. Once he has felt the heat in his core he'll become quieter." "Perhaps he'll want for nothing else. A hard shaft in the behind will keep most boys happy," Phaedrus contemplates ambiguously. "I see that the other peds are dark-eyed like you, Catapygos," he adds casually. He looks away from the blue-boy for the first time and examines the other boys. They are dark-haired, russet-brown in color. It is a color not unlike the color of the boulders around them. They are no less dark in skin color, but without the blue-green tinge to their bodies that the blue-boy has. "Cadmium-32 makes their color more normal," the voice offers. "Two of them are my progeny." "Yours?" Phaedrus questions. "I didn't know you had mated." "I bred with a boy-warrior when I was with you on the frontier. Hyacinth. He was a handsome youth, a pleasant diversion for a centurion during the heat of battle for Yih-ko," the voice replies affectionately. "Yih-ko?" Phaedrus repeats anxiously. He sighs, undaunted as he remembers the battles on Yih-ko. The assault on the planet lasted for ten long years, nearly a deca-cycle. The hostiles resisted until it appeared that there was little left for either side to fight with or to win as the spoils of victory. The final attack began with victory at hand for the Absolutists. He had sortied into enemy territory with a force of a three hundred warriors, nearly as many peds, and twenty-three edrocs. Skirmishes had been frequent until, in a last-ditch effort, he engaged the enemy's reserves at Ratastad on Yih-ko. Many of his finest young warriors had died and those who survived, found new mates in the brief respites between encounters. "The other ped is a clone," the voice continues. "Yours?" Phaedrus questions. "Of course. He looks exactly like you, old friend, at least as I can still remember you as a boy." "He's mine," the voice admits quietly. "After Yih-ko, and the massacre at Deam.... So many boys were killed there. I had to do something." "I'm sorry, Catapygos," Phaedrus responds ardently. "I know a lot of boys were killed at Deam. Many warriors lost their catamites." "I do not blame you for what happened, my liege. We will have our revenge against the Relativists, sooner or later. The fates are on our side." Phaedrus suspects. His eyes narrow as he wonders how much his old friend knows and whether he can be trusted to know the rest of it. Only a few Absolutists know of his plan and they have been sworn to secrecy. He decides that too much is at stake to tell Catapygos, especially given the important role that Phaenon is to play in the emerging plot. He changes the subject immediately. "He's an attractive ped," Phaedrus observes swiftly. "Well formed in all his parts and like yourself, he has the length to make happiness wherever he goes." "He was a final attempt to preserve my issue. I did not know at the time that my seed had produced with Hyacinth's. After Deam,... it is still sad to think that so many boys were terminated,... I wanted to ensure my continuation." Phaedrus sighs again from deep within his chest. The carnage at Deam had precipitated many clones, his own included. For himself, the need to procreate had been overwhelming. The boy-warriors, all sixty that remained of his legion, had been slaughtered at Deam. Their naked bodies, genitals mutilated beyond recognition, had been butchered and devoured by the victors with the full consent of the High Council. He had good reason to hate Relativists with their spurious religion and mock-science. But a mere sixty boys paled with the final score of the bitter wars. "I do not remember that you were so well-favored as a child," Phaedrus observes fondly. "Your clone is very handsome." "Nor you, my liege," the voice says softly. There is a long silence. "I have not forgotten that you were the most beautiful boy on K-0-QAZ. You had no equal in the Universe, as far as I know." With interest, Phaedrus examines the replicated boy as he continues to struggle against his own progeny. Like Phaenon, his penis has started to become erect. At first glance he observes that the child is genetically identical to its father, now he looks for the minor differences of time. There should be physical differences, some merely because he is younger than his creator and others, because he has been raised in a different environment. Phaedrus shudders as he realizes that there is one difference that separates the child from his sire and from the other boys who he wrestles with. In strict accordance with Universal Law, the boy-clone has been emasculated, although not in the traditional way. Even as the boys merge in a tumble of writhing flesh, the peculiar appearance of the clone's genitals is visible. His scrotal pouch hangs unnaturally low. The bottom of the pouch is well below the tip of his penis before it starts to become hard. Then as the small organ becomes stiffer and begins to lift upwards, the exaggerated length of the tube-like encasing that encloses his scrotum becomes apparent. The boy's testicles form a nearly spherical bulb at the end of the tube. The image is still too distorted for Phaedrus to see the carefully woven web that criss-crosses over the tightly bound flesh, but he recognizes the method that has been employed as he sees the four or five strands of fiber that extend beyond the last knot. The stands reach well past the boy's bony knees and they jerk and flip from side to side as he moves and rolls on the ground. They will add still more to the length of his scrotum before the final knot is tied- -another one or two more months to be added to the eight or nine months that the woven tube has already been there to bunch his testicles into a small, hard knob. If there is any pain from the constriction of his testicles, the clone does not reveal it, but he is not oblivious to the pendulum bouncing against the inside of his thighs. Occasionally his hands slap gently at the distended ball and the dangling length of flesh to bounce it or vigorously rub it against his firmly muscled thighs. Already he has discovered the pleasures that are unique to the Kanja- ex. "It's a pity," Phaedrus muses aloud. "To stretch a boy so young is unnatural." "The law requires it," the voice says flatly. "A clone cannot breed, not even with his own family. And neither can he be cloned himself." "Don't lecture me," Phaedrus responds angrily. "I know that cloned boys are required by our Law to be sterilized prior to puberty." "My liege, do not be critical of what must be done. Know that I have done it only to prevent the dilution of our gene-pool." Phaedrus sighs and glances at his own offspring. "I know that, my friend. If it must be done, why use Kanja-ex and not the castration ritual?" Phaenon has backed away, crouching in the dust as he readies for the next attack. His lean limbs are tensed, thin muscles and tendons drawing into cords. "It the most sacred of all Absolutist ceremonies and one that should be respected if the Law must be obeyed. You cheat the boy of his heritage." "Kanja has dire consequences for the unsuspecting boy. I have seen peds die from a poorly executed cutting," Catapygos says argumentatively. "Is the dagger any better at the time of initiation? It is certainly far more painful." "Nothing is better," Phaedrus says flatly. "I have never appreciated the reason." "We must also protect against over-population. The worlds must be kept in balance, my Liege." Phaedrus snorts. "I didn't know you were a Malthusian, Catapygos! What harm is there in another boy, more or less? There really is no need to sterilize him and even if over-population was a threat, why must it be so,... so visible?" "Because I have raised him as an true Absolutist. Even our own customs require visible evidence of his sterility. You know that as well as I do. It would be unfair for his mate to believe otherwise. It's far better that it is done well. He has a year for it to stretch and become used to it before he is to be mated." "That's nonsense, and you know it, Catapygos. The Relativists want nothing more than mere confirmation that our clones cannot reproduce." "Without balls in his pouch, they know that there can be no seed," Catapygos interrupts. "And without balls, manhood cannot begin for him. The best your clone can be is a guardian and even that is doubtful nowadays. It's not a matter for debate." Phaedrus looks at the four boys again. Sadness etches lines in his forehead as he watches his own off-spring. The end is drawing nearer. All of the boys are panting for breath, their parched tongues lolling as they buck and heave, still struggling for dominance. Their bodies are dirtied and they covered from head to toe with a dark coating of grime. His own child is smudged with wet smears, blood splatters from his bleeding nose, drying instantaneously in the dry, hot air. The proud boy is close to exhaustion and yet he finds the strength somewhere in his slender body to go on fighting. He has been bred for endurance. "It's more than that alone," the voice argues. "I did not want to see it done to him either. If all of us cloned ourselves, the future would be bleak. We both know that it makes good sense to preserve the genetic range." "True enough, Catapygos. Breeding is important. I cannot disagree with your logic." Phaedrus smiles broadly as he watches his issue carefully. His victory is at hand. "Yes, that's probably true for most clones, I expect. But there are some, perhaps only a few peds, for whom I am certain it is not true. For them, breeding must be subjugated to the pleasure they can give to others." The blue-boy stands. He totters on exhausted legs, raising his arms in triumph. He had dominion over the other boys who lie in the dust, defeated. They watch him with downcast eyes, silently acknowledging his superiority. One boy, the clone of Catapygos, crawls forward and assumes a position of subjugation at the young victor's feet. In ascendancy, the boy smiles at his vassal. His arms lower, his hands moving to his groin, his fingers close around his penis. His fingers move slightly as they tease the partially limp flesh and encourage it to grow longer. As Phaedrus watches intently, the shaft continues to thicken from its half-erect state. Like any boy who is bred in the tradition of Absolutism, the slender penis does not become much longer or thicker as it grows harder. Fully erect, it will be thin and long, although still child-sized. Similarly Absolutist, and very unlike a Relativist-boy, this boy is uncircumcised. To do so would be to reduce the sensitivity of his most important organ and reduce his desirability to men. Thus, and in strict accordance with his heritage, his foreskin has been stretched in the year following his birth so that it is very long and almost impossible to retract. By convention, it will remain over the glans until he becomes the active partner and he is circumcised by the High Priest of the Council of Foyre. The boy's small scrotum has contracted and corrugated folds of dark blue-tinged skin are exposed below his penis. But the pouch is small and it is barely visible even when it is fully relaxed. His testicles have become bigger recently and appear to swell in the wrinkled pouch like oversized eggs. Indirectly, that fact is the sole reason for Phaedrus' visit to Chadq. Within moments the young penis is fully erect and pointing to the celestial heavens, towards the space-time dissonance of his father's existence between two separate worlds. The small, bulbous glans bulges in the thin membrane that covers it. Phaedrus smiles broadly. The beautiful boy is a warrior as well as a fighter. He watches as his son offers his aroused body to the vanquished boy. He feels the heat in his own groin and glances downward. Encircled by the yellow, metallic ring, his penis has become swollen and dark crimson in color. It throbs, jerking as the blood flow is restricted. The blood vessels within, but particularly the single thick vein on the underside, become prominent as the pressure increases. The color darkens, now deep purple. Even without the constriction afforded by the ring, it is different for the boy. He is much younger. Only a single thin vein is visible on the underside of his thin penis. That will change as he grows older. Once he has been sired and is penis is ringed, the rigidity of his small organ will increase. His penis is slightly smaller than those of the other boys--many years will pass before it is large enough to give real satisfaction in an active role with a boy, let alone a grown man. Phaedrus gazes silently as Catapygos' clone accepts the offering of friendship. He still has find memories of his own boyhood and of the numerous times that he wrestled with Catapygos on K-0-QAZ. The victor's penis enters the boy's mouth and disappears as it surges into his throat. He watches the victor's buttocks clench and tighten as if squeezing hard, then he relaxes. The dirt smeared cheeks are small and firm. The curvature of each rounded half is depressed as if pinched and protecting the crevice between them. From that alone, he knows that the boy is still a virgin. Once a boy is mounted his muscles will be weakened. His willing crack will be relaxed, his opening revealed for the appreciation of his mate. He recognizes the signs and realizes that Phaenon is rapidly approaching the time for his furrow to be ploughed. Dark urine, like vitriol, dribbles out of the conquered boy's mouth, evaporating even before it drops from his chin. It carries away the dust and leaves a pale line to mark its trail. On the barren planet of Chadq, the taste of human urine is disagreeable and even that of an immature boy is nauseating in its bitterness. On K-0-QAZ, urine is colorless, like its abundant water, and the taste is not unpalatable. It is even delectable, not unlike the finest wines of Cgahry, when it is taken from a child. A moment later, the boys part and grin broadly at each other. Catapygos' clone licks his lips quickly as he relishes the tangy nectar. Taking the hand extended to him, and with some effort, the boy- clone stands. He exhibits his affection by embracing the victor. Two slender, dirty bodies merge and press, genitals to genitals, joined together in seemingly puerile innocence, before they move apart. Now, the natural sons of Hyacinth and Catapygos kneel before Phaenon. Their arms reach out, extending hands as supplicants receiving a blessing as he steps before one and then the other. Only a few precious droplets are left. He shares them, fairly distributing his body's excretion as he strains hard to eliminate the last of the fluid from his almost empty bladder. He grins as he takes each boy by the hand and lifts him to his feet. He embraces both of them, taking longer each time as he becomes increasingly sensitized to the hot bare flesh pressing against his own naked body. When they part, each boy's penis has become as rigid as his own small member. They are both much thicker and longer than Phaenon's thin organ. Even the emasculated boy, though not as well endowed as his half-brothers, possesses a substantially larger sex. It is another sign of Phaenon's inheritance and one thousand years of careful breeding. His bloodline has been carefully selected with one goal in mind. Phaedrus smiles as he watches his offspring and wonders which boy he will select. It is not an easy choice given the handsome boys he has to pick from. Finally Phaenon gestures to the clone. It is the same choice his father would have made if Phaenon was not there. Hand in hand they walk towards the boulders, seeking privacy for the intimate games that always proceed combat. The image distorts and begins to shift. As Phaedrus stands, the scene before him changes. He steps back and raises his hand as the drone begins to follow the two boys. "Peds need some privacy," Phaedrus says. "It goes without saying that I would like to see him copulate, but we have more pressing concerns." "Yes, my liege," the voice. "Your son chooses as he should." "I would have taken your clone as well," Phaedrus admits agreeably. "It's a pity the boy has been gelded already. I would mount him myself without any hesitation. I have often wondered about combining my seed with yours." "Phaenon is your offspring, my liege. He chooses exactly as you would choose." Phaedrus shrugs off the barely concealed implication and watches as the two boys settle down into the dust behind the nearest boulder. They are no longer visible. The other boys wander off in the opposite direction, returning to the protected environment behind the metallic wall. "Is the clone of Catapygos a good fuck?" he asks crudely. "Or will he put what's hard and hot deep in Phaenon's tight arse?" Catapygos laughs. "I imagine both will play the man sooner or later today. Either way, it doesn't hurt them to practice, my liege. Boys will be boys, even in the dust of Chadq. But I'm sure that they are too tired to fuck now. Perhaps later when they have rested for a while. Now, I expect that they will settle for a good suck instead." "Perhaps we should have the drone watch them." Phaedrus laughs. "It would still be interesting to see them pleasure each other." "It will remind us what we were like as peds," the voice says slowly. "You used to suck me like a Hoyit from the Black Planet." "And you were always a good fuck too, old friend. And from either end, if I remember correctly. Perhaps I should ask you to mount him. I can think of no one better suited to the task of taking Phaenon's virginity." There is silence. Phaedrus breathes heavily, thinking quickly as he realizes why the other man resists his offer. Catapygos knows or strongly suspects. There is no other reason for his hesitation. "Please, my liege. Do not ask that of me?" the voice says. "Ask anything, but not that! A mercenary from Gyoptyer perhaps? I have heard that they do such things from time to time. He will not care that the boy does not love him." "Why do you say no?" Phaedrus demands arrogantly. "He is a beautiful ped, you have said so yourself. And you would waste him on a brute who cares only to fuck his worm in a tight young hole." In his arrogance exists the need for self-protection. There is too much at stake to do other than attack. "Phaenon is much more than a boy who is merely beautiful. I have seen no other to equal him, except one. He is also of the purest strain. I'm not blind, Phaedrus. Phaenon is your clone. I have lived with him for half a deca-cycle, for nearly twelve Earth-years I've watched him and when I see him, I see you as a boy on K-0-QAZ. Phaenon is you. He comes from your seed,... alone." "And if he was, Catapygos? What then? Would you want to castrate him even before he starts to ejaculate? Why would you want to take the sacred milk away from him?" The voice is conciliatory, more than prepared to meet halfway. "Of course not. I love Phaenon as much as my own progeny. But the law is absolutely precise about the treatment of a boy-clone, my liege. It must be done, and it must be done soon. There are no options. None! And if it's not done before he's mounted, then the man who has that delightful responsibility takes on the other task as well. I could not do that to Phaenon. I could not take the contents of his pouch when my worm is inside him and we are making love." "Nor could I present that task to a man who did not truly love him." "Then do it yourself, my liege." "There are alternatives," Phaedrus suggests casually. "Besides you, no one knows that Phaenon is my offspring." "Alternatives? As soon as he is seen by others, it will be realized that he's your clone. Why do you resist the law? Isn't it enough that you have reproduced? There is only a little pain for him if it's done properly and while a Kanja-ped may be unsightly to your eyes, it's far preferably to his death. And besides, it does not need to be from the dagger. Indeed, some boys even enjoy the Kanja-ex while it's there. Even my own son does not complain when it is tightened." "I have other plans for him," Phaedrus says flatly. "Plans that are essential for our cause. He cannot be emasculated." He breathes deeply, knowing that the time has come to be honest with Catapygos. He waits in silence as he considers his words. "Catapygos, what I will tell you must be kept between us." The voice does not respond for the moment. It is a long silence. "When we were boys together on K-0-QAZ, we mated as often as the stars rose and set, my liege. Your worm has been in my bowels as often as mine has been in yours. We took our turn at each end of it." "It was only fair. Besides, there is enjoyment either way." "I have trusted you since then, Catapygos." Catapygos smiles. "Our bodies joined as often as it rained. There is something to be said for the mixing of seed. As I have seen here on Chadq, it serves to bring boys to a common ground, and with love there is always trust." "I know that I can trust you, just as I trusted you to raise my son. Just as you now know that Phaenon is my clone, no one must know what I am about to reveal." Phaedrus does not wait for an answer. To do so would be to offend the other man. "Catapygos, I have a plan to renew the gene pool." "To do so,... a stranger must be brought into union,... with one of us," Catapygos says uncertainly. "That is true. And what is more, it must be within the Other so that his seed can be shared among our kind," Phaedrus adds. "But Phaedrus, the risk! Think of the risk! A damned Relativist! None of them can be trusted! Our gene pool can survive without renewal." Phaedrus laughs. "It cannot, old friend. And we cannot survive much longer. If you look at some of the young peds, already it is too late. Your own mixed offspring are all the proof you need." "Phaedrus, explain yourself!" "Look at their worms, Catapygos. Both of them are big, much bigger than your clone. Have you not wondered how much bigger they will be when their seed is ripe? They will soon be too thick to penetrate the hole. It is the same in other settlements. Soon, only our peds will be able to travel to the Other. It is something that we should have realized long ago. Why do you think they killed our boys on Deam? Remember what was done to them on the battlefield. We called it shameful mutilation but it had another purpose. Those boys were unsexed after death to stop us breeding. To make matters worse, we even sterilize our clones!" "I understand, Phaedrus. But, to bring a Relativist into our most sacred rites? To give him access to places like Ti-ora?" Phaedrus laughs again as he shakes his head dismissively. His genius has contemplated the problem from the time he first understood the reason behind the massacre at Deam. He wonders whether he would be capable of the task he is asking of Phaenon. He has done everything that he can to prepare the boy for what lies ahead. The hard life on Chadq has made him strong and resilient like the grass that struggles to grow in the dry dust. "Did I say a Relativist, old friend? There is another possibility, you know Catapygos...." He waits, hoping that the other man will come to the same conclusion that he eventually reached by himself. It is so logical that a conclusion otherwise seems impossible. It is an idea whose time has come. There is no other answer. Phaedrus yields as the poverty of the other man's intellect becomes obvious by his silence. "There is another source for our genes, beyond breeding with a damned Relativist. There is one person,... only one who is unpolluted by Relativism,... a man who is well known to us. Catapygos,.... there is always Stefan Harper!" The secret is laid bare. The sudden intake of breath gives Phaedrus cause for concern as much as the words whispered back to him. He will never more aware of the trust he places in Catapygos than at that moment. "Stefan Harper...." A moment later. "But Phaedrus? That is more than four thousand years ago. You would bring him forward 28 cycles to breed with some of us? Surely, he would not survive." "Catapygos,... I do not plan to bring him all the way to our time.... I plan on sending Phaenon to him." Phaedrus smiles to himself. It is such a simple idea that it is a wonder that it has not been thought of before. There is only one problem. Phaenon must enter the WORM-HOLE by himself, and without a guide he must find his way to the Origin. "When, Phaedrus?" "My son is ready to be sired, is he not, Catapygos? From the look of him I am surprised that a man has not already been behind him and ploughed his little furrow deeply with his spike. He is a very tempting ped, if ever there was one." "Yes, my Liege. But you must not forget that there are only a few men on Chadq, and those one or two who would be suitable lovers for Phaenon already have peds of their own. Besides, his time has not come." Phaedrus is surprised. "No milk yet? Surely the lad is beginning to ripen there." "Phaedrus, although his eggs have begun to grow, he is still a long way from milking. Perhaps in a year, maybe two, his first seed will appear." Phaedrus is curious as he remembers the naked boy who was wrestling before him. He is certainly capable of sexual arousal and he is old enough to give a man boundless pleasure. Another few months is just possible within his plans, but not one or two years. There is too much at stake to delay much longer. "I can see no reason to delay the mounting ceremony even if he is not ready." Sadly, Phaedrus half closes his eyes. His words condemn the boy to live forever within the Other. He remembers his own initiation. His first ejaculation of barely visible spots of immature nectar occurred at the precise instant that he was absorbed into the Other. For Phaenon, his orgasm would always be dry like the waterless planet on which he now lives. For Phaenon, there will never be the gushing of life-fluid from his loins. He would remain a ped forever. It is a price that is too high, even to bring Stefan Harper to the Other. "Enough, Catapygos," Phaedrus acknowledges defeat. Silence descends at both men contemplate the grim future of their species. Without access to the inverse world through WORM-HOLEs their reason for existence vanishes. Like the We-wat-uk-to of G8*Y, they will become an unnecessary species and natural law will quickly make their kind extinct. For a moment Phaedrus glances down. His fingers push between the folds of his robe and he strokes his penis meaningfully. With years of practice, his erection is nearly instantaneous. It is barely thinner than the width of his two fingers. Just fifty millimeters, the Absolute width of the inverse of the dimensions of the Universe. "Phaedrus," Catapygos begins uncertainly. "Even if Phaenon agreed to what you propose, there is still the matter of finding his first sire. I love him so much that I could not stand behind him when I know that I am losing him forever." "Catapygos,.... what do you mean by Phaenon agreeing?" Phaedrus stumbles on the words. "He will agree, if I asked him. I know him, Phaedrus. He is your clone." "He would sacrifice his manhood for you?" Phaedrus asks. "You would ask him to do that?" "Phaenon is a remarkable boy. In all ways, he is a true Absolutist. He is the one boy I know who is truly worthy of mating with Stefan Harper. Besides, what he does not have, he will not miss as much." "We both know that squirting his milk is only a small part of his happiness." "He will be pleasured with or without his milk flowing, but you are condemning both he and his lover to never know complete fulfillment. They cannot breed." "That is true, Catapygos. That is true! But I have no choice, there is too much at stake. Who would you have sire him?" "It isn't too late to invite a mercenary to ride him," Catapygos suggests slyly. "But if he is mounted by a mercenary, he will be lucky to walk in a normal fashion again. Besides, Phaenon will need all of his strength to find his way to the Origin." Again there is silence. Both men know the answer to the question. If one asks for the sacrifice of manhood, the other must perform the deed that makes the sacrifice happen. Phaedrus' penis quivers as he realizes what they both have accepted as the answer. "He will be tight, Phaedrus," Catapygos teases. "It will be hard to plough his little furrow even with a Absolutist share like yours. Are you sure you are up to it? Phaenon is strong enough to squeeze a worm like a man." "No boy's furrow is that tight! I will be his sire. I can see no other choice. Like most peds I have mounted, I am certain that Phaenon will be pleased enough with my performance." Catapygos laughs. "Is that because of size or frequency, Phaedrus? I walked bow-legged all the time while I was a boy on K-0- QAZ, and your worm was not that big." Phaedrus chuckles as he remembers his youth. "You split my cheeks often enough, yourself, old friend. Did you not say that our clones already know the same pleasure that we shared as boys?" "They practice mating as often as they sweat. They mount each other like there is no tomorrow. The Chad-qua are celibate by comparison." Phaedrus smiles. "The best boys are always like that before they take a man. It's good for them. Frequent ploughing builds a strong body without hurting the furrow. It is common knowledge that a ped can loosen his hole without adding length if he does it with another boy. It makes for a perfect WORM-HOLE!" "Sometimes I wonder how they find the energy," Catapygos jokes. "Your Phaenon is a dery-iqua and so is my son. They are the same as we were at that age, Phaedrus. Those two boys are not at all unlike the horny worms of Chadq. They are born to fuck." "Then I'm certain that Phaenon will take a man's worm easily enough. I expect that he will enjoy the added thickness of manhood. There are some things one boy simply cannot do for another," Phaedrus adds. His veiled allusion to orgasm induced through anal intercourse is not missed. He lifts his garment and takes his engorged penis in hand. The glans of his organ is swollen and crimson-purple in color. In another dimension Catapygos places one of his hands against the podium, bends forward in anticipation, and parts his firm buttocks with the other in a gesture of submission. There is no sound as their minds link together and they share feelings of mutual desire. Both feel the flow of energy between them as they communicate silently in a single purpose. They are united. The bonds that were first established between them when they played as immature boys, when they experimented with emerging desires and satisfied their curiosity about their pre-destined roles, are re-forged. A hungry fire rises up and consumes them as they join together. On Chadq, Catapygos sighs as he feels the other man's penis moving inside his bowels while their bodies are otherwise apart. Age and experience produce simultaneous orgasms. Phaedrus appears, first as a shimmering, ethereal mist, then taking on material form as his creamy fluid spurts deeply. They part, separating physical presence, withdrawing and terminating the mutual act as they clasp hands. "It's been a long time, my liege," Catapygos acknowledges. "You still feel every bit as nice as when we were peds." "A little bigger perhaps? My worm has grown since I was last behind you." "You were big enough then, Phaedrus," Catapygos answers. "Even when you could not squirt your seed, you pleasured me like no other has been able to since." "I have fond memories of Deam too," Phaedrus answers as he breathes heavily. "You haven't forgotten how to squeeze a worm. I hope that your son has taught the skill to Phaenon." "They have both had plenty of practice," Catapygos smiles. "It is a skill that comes naturally to boys like Phaenon. It is a game for boys on Chadq, they have little else to do beyond develop their natural capacities for pleasure." Phaedrus wipes the white dribble of his semen from the inside of the other man's thigh with the corner of his robe. He steps away and studies the place that his son calls home. It is a barren place, a cavern with rough walls that have been hewn from the mountain granite. Everything is green-tinted from the glowing pools of emerald light. Minute male glow-worms seethe in copper dishes, coupling endlessly, lighting sparkling golden points with every insect orgasm, producing the unsurpassed lubricant of Chadq. Phaedrus laughs as he trails his fingers through the iridescent luminance, collecting warm strands of insect ejaculate. Confronted by the perpetual fucking of the Chad-qua, endlessly copulating in order to survive but never reproducing, is it any wonder that the boys on Chadq think of sex as a means of recreation and not for procreation. The ready availability of the slimy mucus in any copper dish makes each and every moment an opportunity for intercourse. "My abode is not much to look at," Catapygos says apologetically. "Chadq is a miserable place with little to recommend it for habitation except that there are no Relativists here and our sons can grow up safely." "My Phaenon has been loved here. I could ask for nothing more." Phaedrus turns and smiles as he observes the two naked boys who have witnessed his union with their parent. Unlike Relativist children, Absolutist boys are considered equals to men. In this private domain there are only few secrets that remain to be shared by the time a boy is initiated. The two identical boys stand beside the platinum-colored metal wall that separates the cavern from the harsh environment outside. Without the distortion of the hologram, Phaedrus sees their soft features. Hyacinth, like his ancient Greek ancestor, was a comely youth whose beauty was well known throughout the Other. His claim to fame shows in his twin progeny. However the distinguished beauty of the twins pales beside that of Phaedrus' own clone. Phaenon's is a perfect beauty, the distilled quintessence of Absolutist genes, refined through careful breeding until he has no equal but one, his own sire. Catapygos smiles as he observes the other man's interest in his sons. He beckons for them to approach and take their places beside him. Soon enough they will stand beside another man, possibly even Phaedrus if one of them is lucky to capture his interest. The boys are tentative, cautiously walking across the polished green-stone floor until they stand, one to each side of their father. His arms possessively drape across their bare, brown shoulders, affectionately hugging them. Only a matter of days, perhaps only hours, separates them in age from Phaenon and their clone-brother for all four boys were conceived during the days and nights immediately following the horror of Deam, as men and youths began the slow process of healing from the loss of loved ones on the battlefield. Phaedrus smiles. He is excited by the boys and his status is sufficient that he does not need to conceal his interest. To mate with him, Lord High Councillor of the Foyre, Prime Guardian of the Inverse World would be considered an honor for any boy. For him, the offspring of the Lord Protector of the Other are acceptable candidates. Phaedrus' arousal is evident to all present. Nonchalantly, even though his erection is perfectly natural under the circumstances and nothing to be ashamed of, he repositions his robe to cover his exposed parts. There are other matters demanding his attention and of importance far beyond the need to mate. The boys return his smile with shy bashfulness. Chadq is a desolate and lonely place and they have seen only a few men besides Catapygos and Hyacinth during their formative years. The few priests are mutilated from self-immolation, virgin custodians of Chad-qua. The others are old warriors, curators of the memories, forever bearing the scars of battle and living in self-imposed exile from defeat. By contrast, Phaedrus is physically unscarred, a man in all respects. Even as they stand in front of their father he is very arousing to them. Their penises erect and their pouches tighten, hungry to be touched and loved by a man instead of another boy. Catapygos smirks knowingly at his childhood lover, willing him to pick one or the other, or both, and forget the insanity he has planned. And yet, even the identical growing stiffness of his stripling scions convinces him that Phaedrus is right. Their still- hairless members are already larger than his own when he was several years older and producing sperm. Another generation, perhaps two or three with luck, and access to a WORM-HOLE will be impossible for his descendants. "Damn them! They knew what they were doing at Deam!" he curses. "Their barbarism should have made us suspicious," Phaedrus agrees. "We were too busy fighting to realize their motives did not lie in battle victories." Catapygos nods his acquiescence. "Go to him, Phaedrus. It's a pity that Phaenon will not experience the same joy in his bowels that I knew with you." Phaedrus smiles. "You were a good fuck old friend, and a good ped too, from what I am told by one of the old men in the Council who you know much better than I. With luck, Stefan Harper will keep my Phaenon happy between his legs." They exchange fond memories with a long meaningful look. The significance of the moment is not lost on the two young onlookers. Their time to leave security of the cavern on Chadq is fast approaching. Like their father they will always have memories of long wonderful nights in the embrace of their half-brothers. Phaedrus turns silently, scooping his fingers through the lubricious scum in a copper dish. He reaches the metal wall and pauses for a moment as Catapygos activates the portal. The metal shimmers as molecules are realigned and liquefied. A passage melts into the seamless surface. As Phaedrus turns to leave, both twins speak as one, high-pitched feminine voices scratchy with erotic fervor as they envy the pleasure that awaits Phaenon with a man who they also desire, but nonetheless eager for him to enjoy what lies ahead for them. "They're under the rock." Phaedrus stops, half turns, waits for Catapygos to explain. A droplet of runny slime hangs by a silvery thread from his fingers, growing ever longer until gravity triumphs over matter. If falls to the stone floor, a glistening spot of insect semen crawling with a myriad invisible insect sperm. "It's by the cliff," Catapygos answers the unspoken question. "That's where the boys go when they want to be together and not be seen." Phaedrus steps through the portal, into a blast of hot dry air. He feels the moisture being sucked out of him with each breath, from the pores of skin like a sponge squeezed dry. Parched sand is trodden into solid where the feet of boys have run and played, fine dust swirls around his feet. He walks with purpose, remembering his own first time. It is very different with a man. The joy of full adult penetration is very unlike the thin penis of boy. He follows the firm path, passing between boulders that have fallen from the cliffs above. Scraggly plants eking out a miserable gnarled existence, watered only by evaporation and the infrequent urine of four human children, are tangled among the granite rocks. He pauses, already feeling drained. The heavy air is overpowering, weighing on the barren world and its sole occupant like the drifting sand that gathers in drifts where ever the wind is less. He scans the stony cliff. There are several rocks, huge stones whose fractured corners are nearly worn smooth by countless years of wind and sand. He focuses his mind, eyes partially closed as he seeks a sign. A ghit-yti, with wings the breadth of a man's outstretched arms and a beak that could tear strips of flesh without effort, rises in the thermal, swirling and weaving with each powerful beat. There is no doubt where the boys are hidden. The gigantic buzzard, perpetually searching for food is not particular whether its meal is carrion or a living boy. It circles waiting its chance. Phaedrus breathes deeply, his chest rising and falling as he contemplates his approach. He opts for directness, confronting the boys during the intimate act that consumes their attention. His approach is silent, his steps muffled by the sifting sand. The rock they have chosen provides protection with a dark shadow and coolness. Still unrealized, he creeps forward until he is only lengths away and out of the brilliant light. As soon as he is able to see into the gloom he smiles. So much for his earlier hypothesis that Phaenon would be a difficult ped when his time came to be mounted. The youngster presents himself like an accomplished lover he muses. Legs lifted up, knees nearly to his chest, feet splayed to either side of his waist, buttocks wide apart. The other boy squats behind him, not yet completely emasculated, his penis flexing hungrily as he spits precious fluid onto his hand. They couple quickly. The other boy mounts Phaenon with savage jerks, not wasting more than a second or two to get his thin sex inside his partner. He pushes all the way inside with several thrusts in order that the moisture on his rampart penis does not evaporate. Phaedrus nods appreciatively as his son's reaction. Powerful muscles grip the penis and squeeze relentlessly. They do not move. Copulation is unseen, other than the change in their facial expressions as their united sensitivities bring increasing pleasure. They conserve their energies in the fatiguing dryness, Phaenon manipulating the inner muscles of his rectum for each massaging contraction that tries to pull the other boy's member even deeper. But further penetration is impossible and they begin to rock, in slow motion as a rigid penis flexes in a supple living sheath. Gradually the motion becomes more agitated as their wiry young bodies approach orgasm. Sinews and muscles stand out on thin limbs like knotted ropes under glabrous skin. Phaedrus remembers. In some ways a boy feels better than a man. His slim, slick penis pumps wildly when there is almost no resistance, his haunches straining to go even further, stringy thighs intent of propelling his member faster, deeper, harder, neither causing discomfort or generating the intense pleasure of a man-sized organ. In his innocence, Phaenon is still unaware of the profound joy that awaits him. For now he is fully satisfied by the small piston jerking rhythmically in his bowels. He wantonly parts his small firm cheeks, lifting his buttocks higher as his climax mounts. His father is amused by his son's sexual pleasure. He imagines Phaenon as a sexless Relativist, his head tonsured and bowed low, the center of his loins an ugly thick penis, circumcised at birth in the traditional ceremony of purification. That is the consequence of Deam, the final outcome for his species if his plan fails. Phaedrus steps forward, reaches out and touches the clone's bare shoulder. The lad is startled and he pulls out suddenly, Phaenon's loosened anus sucking loudly on his penis as it drags away. They glare at the man who dares to interrupt. "It is his time," Phaedrus says softly. "Your time will come soon, son of Catapygos. A man's worm will find you soon enough." The clone looks sullen, unable to express what he feels. His jealously is concealed. He must be happy for Phaenon. For a few seconds his penis glistens with the juice of the other boy, but even as his anus contracts Phaenon's fluid fades to a dry powdery film. The clone stands on weakened legs, his thin erection like a finger pointed downward to the boy on the ground. He leaves, looking back only once to wave good-bye to his friend. Phaedrus regards the silent boy before him. There are few words necessary or allowed. The ritual of initiation demands it. His hand unfastens his tassel and he sheds his robe. Phaenon watches, eyes wide open as he absorbs the man's thickness and length compared to the size of his own maleness. It is much bigger than a boy's penis. It is very different, and to the youngster, on the threshold of initiation, very arousing. The man's penis is not smooth like his own. The purple veins are prominent as they engorge with blood constricted by the dark metallic band that encircles the broad base. Phaenon has waited all his life for this moment and now, as the gaunt man conveys the silvery cords of insect-lubricant to his penis, he is in awe. In a matter of minutes he will discover both pain and complete and utter happiness. Before taking his place on the sandy mound, Phaedrus removes a narrow metallic band from his third finger. It is crafted by the finest artisan, an amalgam blue-green filigree wrought in the caves of Tonkiu and blessed by the High Priest of the Council. He kneels before Phaenon's feet, lifting them higher so that his knees touch his shoulders. The man's rigid penis quivers expectantly, oozing pre- seminal slime through the exposed slit of his penis. His hand moves up and down, smearing the glistening jelly over the full length of his organ, retracting the foreskin and barring his crimson glans. It is swollen like a ripe plum and slick with nectar, like a crown anointed. With caution, Phaedrus leans to his self-appointed task of coition. Phaenon nods slightly and speaks nervously. These are the only words he will speak until he is commanded to speak again. "My master, Lord High Councillor of the Foyre, Prime Guardian of the Inverse World, I am Phaenon. I yield." "I am Phaedrus. This ring is your birthright, Phaenon. As I take you now, it will become part of you." Phaedrus slips the ring onto the small penis, fascinated by its size relative to his own. Despite the differences, Phaenon's parentage is unmistakable. He is pure bred, exactly like his father. His worm is the classic penis with its thin shaft, elongated foreskin, and rounded glans. Phaedrus pushes the ring down the narrow stalk, passing over skin that is smooth as silk. He positions it at the junction of penis and scrotum. The testicles are small and immature. Without seed present, Phaedrus knows that he is condemning the boy to perpetual childhood but there is no alternative. His sacrifice of manhood will bring Stefan Harper's seed for other boys. There is no need for foreplay. The boy is already heated and eager for the man to be within him. That is the benefit of prior entry by another, a boy who prepares the way by loosening the orifice and stretching the tube. Phaenon feels the bloated knob press between his cheeks, hot pressure squeezing into the indentation of his anus. He breathes quickly, closing his eyes to block the pain as the man looms over him. He feels it poking, searching, probing, pushing. It hurts as it penetrates his anus. The pain builds as the fullness grows inside him. There seems to be no end to it. So unlike a boy who enters his still-tight hole without difficulty, the man's brute strength forces him open like a wedge hammered into his fleshy opening. A muffled sniff, a strangled cry, tears at the corners of his eyes, teeth gritted until his clenched jaws ache. The head is past his sphincter, surging deeper into his pelvis, displacing vital organs in an onward rush. Phaenon grips his ankles tightly, resisting the impulse to scream as his pain increases. He curses silently, using the most obscene word he knows, condemning the other species and their mock-religion. Phaedrus ceases and holds his place in the shuddering youngster, now squirming like a wounded animal on his impaled spear. His tool is fully embedded, contained within the young body. The boy is both remarkably strong and fearless, he muses. Powerful squeezes of the violated rectum increase his urge to fuck, but he shows restraint. There is time enough to show Phaenon what it means to love a man. Phaenon feels soft fuzz rubbing against his buttocks. Instinctively he realizes why his insides are compressed. There is a sensation that he will explode at any second and it raises his anxiety but does not quell his enthusiasm. He wants more. No mere boy could feel as good as this. This is a man's penis, thick, long, and hard. His rectum is stretched out in length and diameter, creating an unfamiliar pressure on his bladder and prostrate. There is an ache in his testicles that has never been there before. He twitches, trembling as the nerves in his bowels send frantic messages to his brain. Phaenon has never felt like this. There is a feeling of imminent explosion. The penis moves slowly, cautiously testing his tightness, and he is jolted by the sensations that begin immediately. It pulls back carefully, pauses as if to give him time to breath, and then rushes forward again. He groans in agony. This time it hurts more than he can stand. But within the pain there is a surprising joy. He gasps with the sudden realization that he likes it. Again and again the man's penis slides into him until there is suddenly more pleasure than pain, or is it that the pleasure is so intense that he feels pain. He shakes his head to clear the confusion. He feels more alive than he is ever before. His mouth opens wide, gasping as his body responds instinctively, his boyhood reaching the apogee of erection as his anus dilates to accommodate the penis now totally inside him. He breaths hot dry air burning deep into his lungs. So used to other boys, Phaenon is unprepared for the surging maleness that pummels his prostrate and threatens to tear him apart. Absently his fingers explore his groin. Phaedrus concentrates on his penis, exciting the finger-like shaft by gripping the metallic band. It abrades his sensitive part as it slides through, jerking in syncopated rhythm with the penis stabbing in his bowels. His genitals feel foreign to him, his penis swells wider as if fills with blood, constricted at the base by unyielding compression, aching for relief. By contrast, his usually fat scrotum has flattened, becoming taut and wrinkled, protective of his boy-sized eggs. Both of them are unprepared for his orgasm. It comes suddenly, with a rush that makes Phaenon buck madly. Although his writhing naked body is hot to touch, it is nothing compared to the searing pain in his abdomen. It ignites a fire that bursts into a conflagration. There is no ejaculation as the boy shrieks in ecstasy. Somewhere deep within him a pulse is initiated. Quintessence, unseen and without matter but the immutable essence of life itself explodes from his loins. His penis, rock hard and vibrating, bursts a single clear droplet of pre-pubescent juice. It swells, purple veins bulging as the blood flow is restricted. Phaenon's hips thrust urgently, taking his father's penis full depth, in desperate need of ejaculation. He shrieks again as he peaks, pure pleasure striking deep in his clutching rectum. His organ jerks again and again as his limbs thrash wildly. Suddenly his father's penis pushes in further than it has ever been. His plateau of consciousness vanishes. Reason evaporates and he drifts mindlessly as he fulfils his primal need to copulate. Ahead looms a vast black opening, of the Universe, of nothing and everything. There is a burning pain and the boy is startled. He feels the thrusting penis expand and fill him until his lower abdomen is so full of his father's thick manhood that he cannot breath. Phaedrus thrusts violently as his conclusion and Phaenon's beginning approaches. He feels his scrotum tighten, drawing up his ripe testicles, squeezing sperm-filled eggs. He readies himself and silently pleads for his offspring to forgive him. Without seed, there is no coming back. He commits his cloned son Phaenon to eternal youth. With his hands on Phaenon's hips, he plunges back and forth, faster, harder, deeper than he would ever dare go with another virgin boy. Phaenon quakes, his rectum squeezing with terror for the moment is upon them. His hand grasps his child-sized penis and feels it merging with the metallic band as his immature juice begins to squirt through his thin shaft. Even before it reaches the tiny slit at the azure-blue tip, he feels his body being sucked into the WORM-HOLE, dragged though an orifice that is no bigger than the width of his finger. A scream echoes against the cavern walls as Phaenon vanishes at the very moment that semen erupts from his father's penis. It splatters on the boy's impression in the sand, drying almost immediately to clay tablets. ******************************************************** Planet Earth, Period One Minus 44 Earth Days, Scalen Cycle Professor Stefan Harper, Ph.D. glared at the computer screen. After thirty hours of computations he was ready to throw a brick against the monitor. "So god damn close!" he said angrily. "Fucking shit of a machine!" he added for good measure. Dejected, he turned away at the very moment the doorway was framed with a dark silhouette of a man. The Bhele Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, Matthew Denton entered the untidy office until he was stopped by the piled collections of papers and books stacked on the floor. "Hi Stef," Matt said. "I thought you had gone home by now. I'm glad I swung by to make sure. Are you ready to go?" "Ready? Matt, I'm wasting my time here. I've wasted the last five weeks." Matt nodded encouragement. "Sometimes you have to go sideways before you go forward when you care about solving the difficult problems." His comment provoked a laugh from Stefan. "Only I'm no Mandelbrot." "You're better!" "You're biased, Matt." Stefan stood up. At thirty, he was two inches taller then the sixty-seven-year- old man next to him. Fortunately for Matt, Stefan had developed slower than most boys. He was fourteen, actually fourteen and a half, before he experienced his first wet orgasm. His growth spurt came even later, but as the years passed, he caught up. The surprising thing was that their loved endured as his slender boy's body matured. At nineteen, he celebrated the successful completion of his oral exams for his doctorate and returned home with his lover of seven years to make love into the earlier hours of the morning. "What's the problem? You aren't still sweating on the paper for the June conference, are you?" Matt asked. Stefan pushed his chair back to make room in front of the computer. "No, it's a set of equations I've put together. I'm trying to resolve the system by taking limits. If you let this side go to infinity, then the other side approaches zero. It's pretty darned crazy, actually. You'd expect it to balance out, and the computer says it does. Even at triple precision, I get so damned close, but it doesn't balance. If you expand the series and substitute, well, you can see it shouldn't be even that close." "What are you trying to do? You're working on the extension of your dissertation again?" Matt asked. "No, I gave up on that. I think there's an easier way. And there is, I know I'm on the right track. You know what this means?" Matt laughed. "It means either I need to get you a nice padded room or that Einstein was wrong." "I'd settle for the padded room right now, just so long as there is something to eat and some good Chardonnay," Stefan grumped. "You could use up some time on the Cray," Matt laughed. "God only knows that machine is capable of doing any computations I can throw at it. Besides, Our departments share is going to waste." "Not a bad idea," Stefan mused. "You know, if I'm right,.... The Cray might just prove it,...." "Come on," Matt said fondly. "You need a break, Stefan." Stefan faltered. Home, dinner, a glass or two of wine sounded wonderful. It had been a very long day. "I'm getting close, I know I am," he said hesitantly. "You're tired. You look exhausted." Matt's head tilted, reminiscing. "You're never going to change. I remember when you first came to live with me." "How could I ever forget?" Stefan joked as he ruefully rubbed his buttocks. "I could barely sit down for the first few weeks." "I don't know what you're complaining about," Matt laughed. "I think you spent most of the time on your back. The only time you sat down was to go to the toilet and if I remember correctly, you were constipated a lot of the time." "I was a horny little kid, wasn't I?" Stefan replied. "The fact that I was in love probably helped." "I was sad when we stopped." "I grew up, Matt. If I could have stayed a boy forever, I would have for you." "I couldn't help it, Stefan. It's just the way it is for a boy lover. It can only last a few years. We were lucky it lasted as long as it did," Matt said sadly. "We had a lot of good years though, didn't we?" "They were the best years of my life," Stefan replied warmly. "It's weird how things turn out, isn't it? I mean here we are, both with the same problem. We both love boys." Matt nodded. "And we're both alone now. I was very lucky to have you, Stefan. There are many times when a man gets a boy like you for a lover." Stefan sighed. Being attracted to boys guaranteed loneliness. That was the one part of his life he would change it he had the opportunity. Certainly, he accompanied Matt to Mexico and bided his time for a chance encounter. As his own youthful charm faded and his desire developed he discovered the sadness. During his travels with Matt he learned that boys were available everywhere, but the risk was far too great in his own country. "I think I'm losing my mind, Matt," he said quietly. Matt grinned. "You haven't fallen in love with a boy you saw at the supermarket again, have you?" Stefan shook his head. "The dream I told you about,... it never leaves my head. I keep thinking about it. And today,... Matt it felt like he was standing right beside me. I could sense his warmth. It was almost as if I could reach out and touch him." "I think it's time you went for a holiday," Matt chuckled. "You need a boy in your bed for a few weeks." Stefan nodded agreeably. "I like that idea. I wonder if he'll have blue hair?" "What?" "The boy! Matt, last night I dreamed he had blue hair." "That's interesting. I could have expected that from you," Matt teased. "You didn't have to see the rest of him by any chance?" Stefan grinned. "Not the interesting parts. Matt, he feels so hot and alive. When I dream about him it seems like he's rubbing against me. At least that's the way I remember it." "Maybe one of the neighborhood kids has been sneaking into your room at night. There isn't cum on you next morning is there?" Matt joked. "Perhaps you can send him down to my bedroom next time." "No, there's no cum," Stefan replied. "Actually, I don't think he's mature yet." Matt raised his eyebrows. "And just how do you know that?" "I,... I don't know! That's what's so weird. I know things about him. I know he comes up to here on me," Stefan said as he lifted his hand to his breast. "I know his name is Phaenon." "Good lord! Now you're dreaming about an Ancient Greek legend," Matt taunted. "I better buy you a seat on the next plane to Mexico. Maybe you are losing your mind." "Huh?" Stefan queried. "Phaenon! He was a boy in a legend from Ancient Greece, I believe." "I know that Matt. I was at the library this morning. The name had me stumped for quite a while until I discovered that Phaenon was the same as Phaethon. He was a lesser known equivalent of Icarus, in a way. He was the son of Helios who wanted to drive the sun-chariot across the sky. Once the horses discovered that a mere boy was at the reins, they went out of control. In order to save the earth from being scorched, Zeus threw a thunderbolt at him and killed him." "There's a lesson in there somewhere," Matt laughed. Stefan looked down at the computer. The program had aborted as it wrote out an endless string of values alternating between very small and very large, so small and so large that they were for all purposes, zero and infinity for the computer. Perhaps that was the way it was supposed to be. Almost, but not exact. The margin for error, the variance required to balance the universe, the single seed of both chaos and unity. Perhaps the numbers were related in some fashion, a fundamental pattern that related one series to the other. "The One and the Other," Stefan mused aloud. "What are you talking about?" "This," Stefan answered as he gestured at the monitor. "I think I've found the answer, Matt. There are two series. At first I thought they were unrelated." I don't see a pattern, except for the magnitude difference is nearly infinite." "But look at them more closely," Stefan demanded. "There is a pattern, god damn it. And all this time, I was under the impression that there was a varying relationship. It's absolute!" Matt stared at the screen. The numbers were very long, collections of digits and widely different decimal places. There was no pattern, he decided. "It's been a long day, Stefan," he suggested hopefully. "Let's go get some dinner and maybe we can go to the mall and check the boys out afterwards. Maybe that little cutie is back again. I swear he was giving you the look." Stefan shook his head urgently. His decision was made. He would work all night if necessary. The problem justified an extreme effort. He slumped tiredly down before the computer again, barely cognizant of the departure of his mentor and friend. There was no reason to modify the computer program and run the executable again, he realized. He had the results he needed. It was a simple matter to collect the prior results from the window and copy them to a file. The program to study the two series was easily written. Just twenty five lines of code, triple precision accuracy. He compiled it without error on the first attempt and set it to execute. He leaned back and groaned loudly. His mind ached. He needed to rest his eyes for just a few minutes. Stefan awoke with a start. A shimmering form, a young boy, was standing next to him. Lean, lithe form, exuding heat and energy, as much alive as he was. The boy was brown-skinned, not nearly as dark as Mexican boys, not yellow like Asian boys, but burnished copper- brown. The boy's fingers beckoned, long and thin, with nails that were almost white. His hair was ragged, distinctly blue-tinted amid fine red-gold strands. "Phaenon," Stefan mouthed urgently. "Phaenon,... It's absolute, isn't it. That's what you've been trying to tell me. The answer wasn't what I thought it was. Relativity really isn't the answer." Unspoken words appeared in his mind as clearly as if the boy had opened his mouth. 'The One and the Other', His senses informed his brain and contradicted his reason. What he could not touch, could not exist. Or could it be a different reality? Wasn't that the whole point of his theory? The reality of his universe, the known Universe, had to have a balance. "Phaenon," Stefan begged. "That's where you are, isn't it?" 'The Other'. A thought drifted slowly. 'The Other'. 'Not opposite'. 'Inverse'. He reasoned slowly, stretching the arcane constructs of pure mathematics with imagination. It was not a parallel world as some had suggested, but an inverse world. Did such a world exist at the sub- atomic level? The numbers said it could exist, but this apparition did not support it. 'The Other', a silent unbroken voice pleaded. 'Come to me Stefan. Come to the Other.' Stefan searched the glimmering haze, no longer a shadow that could not be seen, something much closer but still not real. He blinked in disbelief. Finely sculptured features of indeterminate race. It was the first time that Stefan saw his face. His ethereal beauty was startling, incomparable. He was sexless, yet male. When Stefan's eyes reopened, the vision was gone. "God damn!" he cursed loudly as he returned his gaze to the computer monitor. "God Almighty!" He rubbed his eyes, closed them tightly, slowly reopened them. The numbers were not what he expected. "One-point-six-one-eight-zero- three-three-nine-eight-nine. God, it goes on forever. And then the same less one, exactly. This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Of course! How could it be anything else. One is absolute! It has to be One!" he exclaimed. As he stood up again the chair skidded across the floor and fell loudly against the concrete block wall. There was no doubt. He was looking at the answer to the greatest problem of the Universe. In a way it was the reason for life itself. Not equal, not opposite, but balanced. The inverse was the same as subtracting one, or adding one. Either way it was the same thing. It was an ancient proportion in the fullest meaning of the word, the essence of natural life. It was also the key to the Universe in a way that had been never realized before. His mind darted from the intangible to the tangible as he picked up his notepad and began to draw on the white spaces left among his scrawled notes. A material manifestation could be fashioned, in a way, by even a clumsy artisan. It was twenty minutes and ten attempts later before he flung the pad away in angry frustration. It was simply impossible. His laugh shattered the silence in the room. It was no different to a pendulum swinging in four directions at the same time. Two forms had to exist in the exact same place and time. It defied the principles of physics and stood counter to all logic. It was an abstract hypothesis, a purely speculative concept. However, the curious thing was it had to be relatively small, or rather, if it could be made at all, it would be no bigger than a napkin ring. Stefan groaned loudly at his discovery. "Fucking ridiculous," he snarled loudly. He made a circle between his thumb and forefinger, a circle with the diameter approximately that of a napkin ring. "Damn, you look though it and that's all! I could have known. It's all there!" He glared at his notes, page after page of scrawled formulae and scribbles of notes to himself. Among the pages, and there hundred of them, were the makings of a paper as yet untitled. His senses warned him that someone was in the room with him. Without warning he spun around furious that his anger was being observed. The image shivered, a shimmering light that danced, then fractured, then faded to nothing. "Come back," he cried as he reached into the vague image distorting the transparency of the air. "Phaenon, come back! You have to help me!" 'Come to me, Stefan.' The voice filled his head, pleading insistently without begging. He heard the longing, as he felt the longing in his loins, the need to be with another, to love and satisfy his need. For the first time he glimpsed the boy's mouth, full lips promising passionate kisses should he be able to reach across the chasm that separated them. He transcended his earthly realm, his imagination spanning the Universe, and the boy touched him. A feathery caress on his forearm. Stefan crumpled to the floor, no longer caring about anything, except the boy. If his strange fantasy was a dream, it was very different to his other dreams of the boy. For once, since the long journey had started, he knew Phaenon was safe. When he awoke, cramped and cold, the room was in darkness except for the muted blue light from his monitor. He stirred, shifted uncomfortably, tried to remember what had happened. His mind was blank, except for one thing. The form was not only clear to him, but he intuitively grasped how it could be made. Like the famous drawing, "Ascending and Descending", by M. C. Escher, the impossible could be made real simply by understanding the absolute relationship of the One and the Other. He forged the ring in the early hours of the morning of the following day. It was a labor of love in every sense, material proof of abstract mathematics, a disturbing contradiction to the accepted laws of mechanics. No high level of technology was required. Simple shop tools were enough, that and a passion for excellence and a deep love for a young boy he had yet to meet on the other side. He rushed, now impatient to complete the problem that had begun weeks earlier. His memory of that first glimpse into another reality was already uncertain. He could have imagined the brown boy, alone in the sandy hollow, body arched, limbs jerking in the throes of intense ecstasy. That was the beginning of the journey for both of them. Ever since, the boy was seldom out of his mind. A remote corner of his brain focused on the stripling, glimpsed fractured images of his travels through a landscape of incredible beauty. Without warning, he would momentarily view places and observe the boy's ongoing adventures. He chilled with fear when Phaenon wrestled with the Occt-gen, the 'octopus', each of its thick knotted appendages capable of such powerful erection that it could tear the lad apart. Later as he watched Phaenon sleeping, he was horrified and unable to intercede as the young body was invaded by the Ingou, a creeping jelly. Stefan looked on helplessly as it enveloped his nude body and sought an opening. Finally, at his already violated anus it began to quiver, ejecting copious slime as it tried to enter. His sleep was undisturbed as it breached him and slithered into his bowel, through his intestine and stomach, and up his oesophagus. It possessed him, spilling from his mouth. Stefan felt the boy's violent diarrhea, shared his agony as he vomited, then shuddering spasmodically, tormented by his own orgasm as the penis-slug released a torrent of milky seed. The Qaz-zee was far less frightening as Phaenon was ravished by maggot-insects. It was the stuff of fantasy. Now, his fantasy was becoming reality. Soon he would join with Phaenon and the ring was the means. The core of the ring was copper, a rare isotope referred to as 24, obtained from the secured storerooms of the chemistry laboratories. The green-blue powder was heated in a crucible until it became plasma and, like viscous gold could be poured into a plaster mold. The rough casting was turned on the lathe in the basement of the house where Stefan had spent the last twenty years of his life. He shaped it precisely, constantly checking dimensions against his calculations. It was accurate to a thousandth of an inch and free of imperfections. Satisfied, Stefan turned to the next stage. The shell was of Cadmium, and between the two was a thin layer of deadly cobalt. He hammered carefully, shielding his eyes as blinding flashes fused the metals, no longer base and pure in content but infinitely unified. Unknown to Stefan, he was creating the essence of the Universe, three isotopes combining with his intense mental anguish to form a material that had never existed before. It was a labor of love. He had no explanation, he followed an inner knowledge borne of brilliance and tempered by his growing desire. He knew only that the metals required physical, mental and spiritual energy to join. He was the alchemist, creating anew, expending his energies until he was a hollow entity. Finally finished, he stared long and hard at the object he held in his right hand. He could not believe that the task was done. There was nothing to be added. It was ordinary, a dull blue sheen, much smaller and thinner than the quantity raw materials implied. He shook his head in dismay as he held it up to his eye. What he expected to find, he did not. And yet it was there. He saw nothing, nothing but an opening that stretched away into darkness. Stefan harper looked into the first WORM HOLE. Stefan sighed unhappily and looked up to face his mentor. "I really thought I was creating a viewing hole to the Other, Matt. If you take the limits to the equations, well.... I predicted this. It can be smaller of course, but it can't be any bigger. I should have known better. I've been wasting my God damned time." Matt nodded. "Under the limits of the equations the opportunity for human travel is zero. It would be hard to squeeze through a hole that size," he said with amusement. "I'm sorry, Stefan," he added seriously. "I know how hard you've tried. I'm really sorry for you." "The damned thing's width is about the same as my cock," Stefan observed cynically. "Thank god!" He laughed madly. "Maybe we can use if for the procreation of the species." "It would make a very fancy cock-ring," Matt joked. "For your sake I hope it isn't radioactive. You'll look like you did when you were a teenager and you used to shave it for me." Stefan grinned. It was a ritual they performed every morning in the shower. Matt would shave. He would shave. One smooth face, one smooth groin. Because he was in college he did not have to worry about gym classes and what other boys would see. From the outset he knew why he liked the denuded appearance of his crotch. Simply, although he felt a profound love for his older lover, the fact was that he was also attracted to boys. He was sixteen years old and in his first year of his doctorate. "It's big enough, that's for certain," Stefan mused aloud. The urge grew stronger even as he considered the possibility. The darkness lured him. It emanated heat, a sensation that there was life within the black void. It seemed to pulsate, almost like the heart of a living body was sending blood coursing through vessels to nourish flesh. Cautiously he inserted a single finger into the opening. "It's hot! God it's hot," he gasped. "Matt, it's wet inside. I think it's pulling on me, like it's trying to clamp my finger and keep it there." He dragged his finger away, breathing heavily, frightened, excited, awed. He stared at the ring. So plain, he thought, yet so perfectly beautiful. Holding it in his left hand, he fumbled with his zipper. There was no logic underlying his actions. He was driven by curiosity, his reason fogged by unrequited desire, by the very absurdity of Matt's suggestion that it make a 'very fancy cock-ring.' Intuitively he understood it's purpose. He tugged at his briefs, clearing the way past the warm cloth to gain access. His penis was hot and hard as he brought it to the light. Matt smiled, still fascinated by the slender sex as much as he had been when it was still small and on the verge of puberty. Suddenly, he realized that he was more scared than he had ever been in his life. Perhaps it was the wild gaze in Stefan's eyes, the feeling of deja-vu that he would never see his lover again, that Stefan was going to take his advice. For some reason he could not explain, using the metal band as cock-ring seemed extremely dangerous. "Stefan,... please don't," he implored. "I have to, Matt. I have to go to him, don't you see? Phaenon needs me,... and I need him." "Stefan,.... please," he begged frantically. "I,... I don't know what I'd do without you! I,...." "Matt, we both know I can never be happy here. Maybe I'll be as lucky as you were with me. I doubt it. Besides, it's worse for boy lovers now. You've seen what's happening on the internet. Everyone is against us!" "Stefan, please?" Matt moaned. "Stefan I love you." Tears welled in his eyes and clouded his vision. He saw enough to remember for the rest of his life, enough to convince him that he needed to guard Stefan's discovery very carefully from the Christian moralists who would usurp the power and destroy the balance of the Universe. He watched as Stefan's hand brought the ring to his glans, slipping easily over the flared ridge, settling onto the shaft, sliding down until it nestled close to his scrotum. "Feels so good," Stefan groaned. "Matt,... You won't believe what it feels like." "Stefan, please take it off. Please do it." Stefan's thighs surged forward, then jerked back. His motion was erratic, the desperate rhythm of passionate fucking. A glimmering sheen, an oily wetness, appeared from under the band. It lubricated his aching flesh and he began to shudder as his senses were overpowered. "Matt, it's weird. It feels so,... so human. It feels exactly like the first boy I was with when we went to Mexico. It feels exactly like him, so hot and lush, like wet velvet. Oh God, Matt!" "Stefan, what's wrong?" "Matt, it's squeezing, oh God! Oh! Ohhhhhhh! God, I'm coming already!" Phaenon groaned as Stefan's penis began to ejaculate white-hot seed. He felt the man's member surging as it pumped out and he pushed back as hard as he could. Something hard and unyielding passed through his tight anus. The man was inside him and yet, he was not with him. Stefan gasped in shock and squeezed with all his energy to displace his prostrate before the pistoning maleness within his rectum. He gasped again, breathless and shaking uncontrollably as his own orgasm burst free. He quaked, grunting as he jerked back and forth on the rigid shaft. Again the man climaxed, spurting deeply inside him. Phaenon screamed as they sank to the ground. They lay still, joined as one and sharing mutual spasms in the bliss of their hot wet union. Two thousand years in the future, Phaedrus cried. END PART 1. Part 2, if it is every completed, will continue the adventures of Stefan Harper and Phaenon in the Inverse World as they travelled from the Origin to the seventh tree of Essus on the Plain of Watergrass. There, in an orgy of men and boys, the Absolutist power is recreated. Their lust satisfied, the gene pool of their species renewed, the warriors returned to Deam to exact their own revenge against the Relativists.