WACO’S
LUMMOX
By
Waddie Greywolf
Chapter
48
Brett Jones and
Basil Troubadour shared a suite with Commander Hawkins
and his companion of choice for the evening, young Sam Stamper who just
graduated high school and turned eighteen. The Stamper boys
were avid body builders and Sam was one of their most devoted.
They worked out under the tutelage of Bill Birdsall and Shane for
several
years and Sam progressed well past the intermediate stage.
When he was dressed in his Western clothes, Sam was stunningly good
looking. He might be compared with the winning home run in the
bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and the score tied.
Sam was certainly impressive enough to catch the eye of anyone, but
Hawkins met Sam on a previous trip to the colonies. Sam was
learning to become a captain of his own shuttle craft and was flying
copilot on Hawkins’ first trip to Mars under the watchful eyes of his
two older brothers, Burt and Phil. Sam seemed to be a natural
pilot and was learning faster than either of his brothers.
Del Hawkins
liked the young man and was drawn to his presence for his ease of
nature and his seemingly unending graciousness. Sam’s charms were
seductive without trying. Of all the Stamper boys, Sam evolved
into what one might call a natural man. Along with his charm he
exuded a masculine strength and easy determination that was
palpable. The Goodnight cowboys easily accepted the Stampers men
as part of their extended family, but Lucas was convinced Sam was
completely devoid of any hypocrisy or deceit. Lucas shared with
his brothers if there ever was an archetypical model for a cowboy he
would have to nominate Sam Stamper. Nothing ever seemed to bother
Sam, and he became a balm for Commander Del Hawkin’s sometimes troubled
soul. The commander seemed to really enjoy the younger man’s
company. He became a changed man when he was with Sam.
Without any agendas or pretenses, Sam brought his considerable comfort
to Officer Delbert Hawkin’s bed. Hawkins was heard to remark: Sam
is an easy man to love and a hard man to forget.
* * * * * *
Every door Brett
and Basil opened was a new and exciting experience. With Basil’s
youth
and Brett Jones’ maturity they met a middle ground and shared the
wonder. Basil was absorbed by the strange, alien decor of the
lodge.
“How very
Forbidden Planet.” he tossed off, after seeing the main room of
the suite complete with pool and waterfall with various plants placed
about for accent. It struck Sam, Hawkins, and Jones as funny.
“Your
observation seems fitting, Basil.” spoke Officer Hawkins, “After
all, it was built by a race called the Krell.”
“You’re
kidding.” stated Basil.
“Not at
all. Check with one of the androids. They’ll confirm it.”
“No! That
won’t be necessary. If Brett say’s it’s true, I’m satisfied.”
“It’s
true. I overheard Admiral Long telling some folks. He said
something about art becoming life or life as a reflection of art,—
something like that. ” Jones confirmed.
“I certainly
hope we don’t encounter a monster from the id during the night.” Basil
laughed. The commander raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Basil’s remark was pitched too easily. Hawkins could’ve knocked
it out of the ballpark with little effort, but he didn’t say a
word. He could tell a setup when he heard one. They went to
their separate rooms and closed the doors behind them. It crossed Brett
Jones’ mind how much he enjoyed the day with Basil. He thought it
might be nice to experience something closer, but he was
cautious. He was concerned his physical change wasn’t fully
stabilized, and he didn’t know how it might translate to physical
intimacy. He decided it might be better to err on the side of
caution, yet he thought he probably should discuss it with his
date. He had no way of knowing Basil’s expectations, if any.
“I’ve enjoyed
the day with you Basil.” he started cautiously.
“Same here,
Brett. It’s been a wonderful day. Shall we call it a day
and get an early start tomorrow morning. We’ve been invited to go
along with the men to see more wonders of the caves.”
“Probably, but I
think I would like to enjoy a little more of the hot water for a
while. How ‘bout you?”
“That would be
fine. It makes me sleep soundly after soaking for a while.”
They removed
their clothing and slowly eased themselves into the pool within their
quarters. Basil didn’t sit close to Jones and there was an
awkward silence between them for a few minutes. Jones broke their
silence.
“I forgot to
add, I’d also like to hold you close while we enjoy the water.” he
smiled. Basil grinned and moved next to him. Jones dropped
his big arm around the younger man’s shoulder and pulled him
close. “That’s better.” Jones allowed. Basil
smiled. Jones continued, “I’m afraid I’m somewhat socially
retarded or slow when it comes to one on one relationships. My
commander tells me it’s because I grew up being told what to do and I
never had to take much initiative or responsibility for myself or my
actions. I never had to relate to others as close friends or
intimates. I just did as I was told, stayed to myself and kept my
mouth shut. I had a few friends but no one really close.
Commander Hawkins is probably the closest male companion I ever had and
he makes great allowances for my clumsy attempts at friendship.
What I’m trying to say is, I ain’t real sure I know where to go from
here.”
“Uhh, I’m not
sure I understand. Are you suggesting I lead the way between us?”
Basil asked.
“No, not at
all. On the contrary, for once in my life I’d like to lead the
way. I want to lead the way. I want to be in charge, but
I’m unsure of myself for a couple of reasons. I could be wrong,
but I get the feeling you might like someone who is a take charge kind
of guy. Am I wrong? Maybe if you could be honest with me
about your feelings, it might help me a little.”
“My feelings are
open but guarded. You have to take into consideration what I’ve
been through to fully understand where I’m coming from. I won’t
bore you with the minutia or details of my suffering, it’s enough to
tell you it was horrible beyond belief. Some of the things that
happened to me were so awful, if I told you, you’d probability think I
was lying. All you really need to know is I lost all faith in
everything as I lay dying in a Cheney camp. I knew I was
dying and there was no one who could or would do a damn thing about
it. I couldn’t even save myself. I gave up all hope.
I no longer trusted anything or anyone,— not even myself. The
nearer to death I came, it became clear to me I had no choice in the
matter. I had to accept the fact I was going to die, but I also
realized it just wasn’t my fault. Not only did I have to accept
it, I had to forgive myself for not being able to do anything about it
before I could let go.
Once I forgave
myself, made peace with my soul and resigned myself to my situation, I
felt my consciousness, the part of me that is me, my soul, my person,
my identity slipping away, I lost all fear of death. It wasn’t
scary at all. Actually, it was rather pleasant. A faint
voice came to me and told me to hang on. It told me not to let go
of the last vestige of hope; what I knew about love from childhood; the
spark of love from another life that gave me life; that which I was
given at my beginning; not to let it become overwhelmed by darkness or
the self-centered apathy around me; to grasp it firmly with both hands
of my heart and hold on tight. The voice told me I hadn’t
failed. This world was not good enough for me. The voice
told me to believe in it, and it would take me to a better place where
I would survive and flourish. It made me a promise. Suddenly, I was
surrounded by a great white light and I thought, ‘This is it. I’m
dying. I’m crossing over into another realm of consciousness.’”
Basil giggled. “Well, you gotta’ admit, these folks are a whole ‘nother
realm of consciousness. If that wasn’t enough, the state of
Texas, itself, is guaranteed to do a quick knee-jerk to the gut and
suspend anyone’s reality.” the men shared a laugh. He continued,
“I was afraid to open my eyes until I heard the voice say to me, ‘It’s
all right. You are with us. You’re safe now. We will
take care of you, Basil.’ I opened my eyes to look into the eyes
of the biggest, best looking cowboy I ever saw with a monster looking
over his shoulder with tears in his eyes.
I wondered if
God was the cowboy or the monster behind him. It didn’t really
matter. They were both beautiful to behold.” Basil
laughed. “I was on board the Buttercup with Captain Waco and his
wonderful slave, Ox.” Basil finished and paused for a moment,
then continued, “I won’t deny I’m taken with you, Officer Jones, and
your attention to me, but I have only eighteen years experience in
life. The majority of my life has been shit until I was rescued
and brought to the colonies. I’d like to think I’ve been through
so much, I’m mature enough I don’t necessarily expect every situation
to work out like I might imagine, but I will never let go of the
spark of childlike hope I hold onto that has become my engine of
courage. You spoke of enjoying being the aggressor and wanting to
be in charge, so I’ll gladly give you room for that. You’re
right, I think I’d rather prefer that in a partner. I would like
to believe there is someone firm, yet gentle and understanding in whom
I can put my trust. If you’re
concerned about something physical between us, I’ll leave it up to
you. I’m certainly willing to entertain the idea, but it’s not
necessary. Just the chance to have a vacation away from the day
to day life in the colonies, to visit this wonderful place with someone
whose company I enjoy is enough for me. Besides, Officer Jones, I
make it a rule never to go all the way with anyone on the first
date. I try to maintain a modicum of decorum even when I’m with
someone as attractive as you.” Basil laughed and batted his eyes
at Brett in an exaggerated manner to lighten the mood. Jones
grinned and tickled him. Basil jumped and laughed.
“Thanks for your
honesty and sharing a bit of your history with me. That gives me
something to respond to and something to look forward to. You
see, I’m not so socially well trained or considerate. I want to
warn you, I make stupid mistakes sometimes, choices based on feelings
rather than reason that embarrass me. I feel like I’m a child
who’s just beginning to learn how to walk. I do a lot of
stumbling and falling, but I pick myself up and try again. I
probably would’ve tried to talk you into something for which you might
not be ready. Then again, I was afraid if I didn’t make an
attempt to go all the way with you this evening you might get the wrong
idea I just don’t care, that I ain’t interested. Trust me, you
wouldn’t be sitting this close if I wasn’t interested. On the
other hand, I have concerns my body ain’t completely through changing
yet, and I don’t think I’d be comfortable with physical intimacy with
anyone until I’m more sure of myself. My concerns ain’t just
about me, they’re about you as my partner. I just don’t know how
it might work out. That’s one of the reasons Jesse and Admiral
Long wanted me to have more time away from the Holy City. They
tell me I must keep my change hidden and secret from the Holy Prophet
and his staff.”
“I certainly
would listen to them and heed their advice, Brett. They’re wise
men. I have full faith in them and for someone like me to confirm
it should bear some weight. I can understand their concerns, but
as long as we have an open dialogue with each other, I don’t foresee a
problem. I’m enjoying this, just being here with you. I
probably would enjoy a little affection in the form of a nice kiss or
two.” Basil laughed.
“That was my
next subject.” Brett smiled as they shared a laugh and a kiss.
Brett took Basil
into his arms in an embrace. Basil raised his hand and placed it
on one of Jones’ enormous pectoral muscles and slowly felt it like it
was a precious object. He couldn’t remember how many times during
their trip to the savannah he wanted to reach out and touch the twin
peaks of Mons St. Jones. Basil imagined himself as a small, fey,
delicate Deborah Kerr to Brett Jones’ Stewart Granger, hyper-masculine
alpha-male, aloof, sweaty, guttural, pompously dismissive misogynist,
Allen Quatermain in the 1950's version of “King Solomon’s Mines”
looking up at the massive, snow covered peak of Mount Kilimanjaro
yearning deeply to be a part of it all, longing to follow Jones’
treasure trail down, down, down into the dark recesses of his pubic
jungle to mine his masculine jewels as the music of Rachmaninoff’s
Adagio Sostenuto from his second piano concerto in C minor Opus 18
swells in the background.
Ah, yes,
romantic pay-dirt at its finest; a quartet of Basil’s favorite things,
a mouthful of hot alpha-mancock, channeling Thomas Mann,
Rock-man-knee-noff, and the greatest rock song ever, Katmandu.
‘Cool, but not profound’ he thought, ‘then again, neither were most of
his attempts at Joyce. Just another form of glossolalia nonsense
for the would-be intellectual set; a prized pig sans wings, puns on
puns, with better makeup and heavier lipstick packaged as art. Be
it rolling-on-the-floor from fundamental religiosity or the esoteric
pomposity of Finnigan, quirks and quarks, mesas and bosons, mesons and
bisons, Bigalows and buffalos, particles and pratfalls, all part of the
sub-atomic psychedelic zoo; all loomed large on his mental horizon,
smelled as bad and were piled as high as any other brain fart or
steaming meadow muffin which every pragmatic sojourner seeking the
grail of personal bliss must step over on his journey through life to
discover for himself something that resembles sanity; something that
resembles peace. ‘Not as easy a task as it might seem.’
Basil mused to himself.
Hell, with his
art Basil launched a few swine into orbit to become firmly fixed
stars in the firmament. Basil was convinced, art wasn’t about
content so much as it was about packaging; unfortunately, an esoteric
pig by any name is still just an overdressed oinker. Not so with
Brett Jones. Big ears and all, Jones was the real thing. If
Jones was a pig, Basil wanted to share his wallow. There was just
something about the big man that spun the propeller on Basil’s
beany. Jones made the young man’s asshole pucker then lose its
tensile calling as his brain turn to cottage cheese. Basil wanted
nothing more than to feed his flock of free-range thoughts while paying
homage to Officer Jones’ manhood, but the idea of scaling Mons St.
Jones was just too damn appealing. Now there was a solid into
which he could sink his brain-teeth. Did his brain have
teeth? Of course it did. Born on Juneteenth of lasting
strength they would masticate every thought from sublime to
ridiculous. Ah, but Jones’ teats,— they were the real
thing. Not to be denied. No fantasy here. They were
as solid and wonderful to Basil’s touch as he imagined them to
be. They grounded his wandering psyche well within the positive
electrons of the planet’s core.
‘Fuck Deborah
Kerr, she was so damn effeminate! It’s wrong to think ill of the
recently departed, but I don’t wanna’ be like her. I wanna’ be a
man among men. I wanna’ be like Brett Jones. I don’t want
to be Brett Jones, but I wanna’ be his counterpart. I wanna’ be
his macho man. I’d suck his teats ‘til his head caves in.
Yin, Yang, cock and gin, but surely I say unto you, my brethren, the
greatest of these be teats. Ah, yes, teats! Officer Jones’
big, firm, fully packed man-teats! I gotta’ get me a pair of them
things.’ Basil shook his head to clear his brain. It didn’t
work. Basil filed away
his thoughts under ‘man-maid’ in an area just short of the dark,
unexplored, masculine region of his Medulla Oblongata. (He was
surprised to find he actually had one.) He fantasized it was
named after and populated with the biggest, blackest, most fierce tribe
of African warriors who were purported to have the largest male
appendages of any hominid on Earth. (‘Or was it a metaphor taken
from Catulli?’ he pondered: ‘Tua mentula elongata est.’ Only Orff, who
prattled on about his tuned stone temple blocks, would know for
sure.) It was one more rumor less than fact, few men survived a
butt fucking by a ponderously pendulous penis of the Medulla Oblongata
tribe. Of those who did, most committed suicide shortly
thereafter, because they knew they would never know such contentment,
such complete fulfillment again. Those who didn’t, were doomed to
roam the Earth as empty vessels, with a sad, forlorn look in their
eyes, forever seeking to be filled once more. There was neither a
pill to relieve their sorrow nor a rubber husband so large or comely it
could afford them a moment’s peace. Because of their failure to
find solace for themselves, only they knew the true origins of the
Latin phrase: Pacem in Terras. Jones gently
kissed Basil as the young man’s brain babbled on in his head blissfully
unaware of what the DNA of Jones’ touch, as loving and comforting as it
seemed, was doing to him.
* * * * * * *
The next
morning, after a good breakfast, the men who were going with Captain
Vinceeth and Captain Waco left the main area. The kids were going
back down to the savanna. There were enough Vasillian warriors
from the Banshee to oversee everything. Trey informed his partner
the evening before about what he found so Waco could assist him if
necessary. Waco was astounded as he knew the Admiral and his dad
would be. They came to a large room with what appeared to be a
large, central round island table in the middle. Around the
island table about four feet above floated what looked like holo-vid
screens and there was some strange apparatus in the center of the
island. Waiting for the men were the two fine looking androids
they first met when Waco and his companions reactivated the main
caverns on Mars and awakened its android work force. Their names
were Nonno and Leiset. They were a perfectly formed pair of
anatomically correct, human androids and wore cream colored jump suits
with one thin, dark-blue stripe down the left side. They greeted
the men.
“Welcome to Mars
central observation and diagnostic center, gentlemen. Some of you
may remember me and my female partner from your activation of the
caverns. I’m called Nonno and my partner is Leiset. We’re
here to assist you anyway we can. I’ll turn things over to
Captain Vinceeth and we will assist him in his visual
presentation. Trey stood on a slightly raised dias in front of
the men with the island workstation behind him.
“Nonno and
Leiset brought me and several of my officers here when we returned with
our last cargo of endangered critters. The Admiral left
instructions for them to look into anything more they could find out
about the planet, its history and any other wonders the Krell might
have left behind that might aid us in our joint venture to save as much
of Earth’s eco-system and history as possible. Leiset, if you
please, put up the latest cavern maps you and Nonno have compiled for
us.”
Leiset didn’t
answer, but quickly set to work typing commands into the keyboard at
her workstation at the island. The holo-vid screens came to life
and everyone marveled at the beauty and completeness of the three
dimensional renderings of the enormity and complexity of the Martian
caverns.
“What you’re
looking at, gentlemen, is the latest maps compiled, but please be
aware, these maps are not complete; not everything has been explored
yet. We estimate only seventy-five percent of the available,
sustainable land mass within the caverns have been found. Already
the landmass and oceans have surpassed the total landmass of Earth and
still there is twenty-five percent more to be discovered. We know
it’s there from the records. We just haven’t found them yet, but
we will.” Trey paused for a moment to let the enormity of the
findings sink in. There was a lot of whispering. Finally,
the Admiral spoke.
“It’s
incredible, Trey. It’s more remarkable than any of us considered
upon first discovery. It’s almost like it’s a godsend for our
purposes.”
“You may feel
even more that way when you find out what else they’ve
discovered. As you know there were two enormously large bodies of
water discovered. One was a salt sea and the other more recently
found is a huge ocean of fresh water. Leiset?” Trey spoke
to the female android and she hit another key on her keyboard. A
detailed map of the waters of Mars appeared within the three
dimensional ball representing the outer surface of the planet.
Clearly identifiable were the two huge bodies of water in almost
exactly the same proportions, one on one side of the planet’s center of
gravity and the other on the opposite side.
“Remarkable.”
Spoke Lazarus.
“What do they
look like to you, Admiral?” Trey asked him.
“My first
response is a human one. They look like testicles. They’re
even ovoid in shape and depth.” The men laughed and agreed.
“Exactly.
They struck me and Waco the same way. What else, Sir?” Trey
asked without hint.
“Fuel tanks?”
Spoke up Charlie.
“Well done,
Dad!” Smiled Trey
“You don’t mean
to tell us. . .?” demanded Lazarus.
“Hold on to your
hats, gentlemen. We will walk you thought this one step at a
time. We’ll physically show you. The oceans serve two
purposes; containers for a very active eco-system and as fuel
tanks for an unbelievably advanced and sophisticated tachyon drive
system to propel the planet. Mars never developed as the other
planets in this system and our discovery has the Venerians looking into
the possibility their planet wasn’t natural to this solar system
either. Mars was definitely flown into its present orbit, but we
don’t know why or for what purpose.
Nonno and Leiset
call them ‘tachyon’ drives, but we ain’t real sure that’s correct, but
for our purposes, it’s close enough. It’s probably the
most comprehensive explanation for our limited knowledge and
understanding of hyper-drives. Our scientists are just now coming
around to conceiving the possibilities and elementary applications of
the quantum world. Even Nonno and Leiset’s explanations of its
capabilities tries our understanding. Its like trying to explain
the concept of a forth dimensional tesseract, a hypercube or n-cube, to
a three dimensional world. A hypercube is the concept of a small
box with a larger interior than exterior, like the Tardis of Dr. Who or
the ultimate representation becoming the holo-deck of Star Trek
fame. The first steps to a greater understanding on a physical
level might be compared to the diminution of the communities on our
ships; same goal but different applications.
Our trip for
this morning, we will take you to the center of the planet where the
liquid, molten core is contained within an electromagnetic tesseract
field of huge internal proportions yet is contained within a sphere
about twenty kilometers in diameter. Its containment is the
reason all plate tectonics have ceased on the planet. Mars
surface is no longer growing due to the cessation of its internal
forces to push the planet’s building abilities. That’s why your
scientist have labeled Mars a dead world, but nothing could be further
from the truth. Seeing it from the surface, travelers from
another galaxy wouldn’t give it a second look. Not unlike
Pandora’s box, if its heart were released from its prison, its
tesseract field, it would continue its growth, but it would also cause
massive destruction and changes in the caves as the planet continues to
expand. As it is, the tesseract containing the core of the planet
acts like a giant reactor which is capable of breaking down the basic
elements of water to create tachyons. A single drop of water can
produce enough tachyons to power the engines for a fortnight.
The second part,
is to show you the propulsion engines themselves, the scale and size of
which have no corollary to our comprehension. If you could make a
mathematical equation equivalent to the mystery of all the Pyramids on
Earth and multiply their conundrums by a thousand fold, you would only
approach a small portion, perhaps less than ten percent, of the
magnitude of this accomplishment. There has never been anything
found on any planet of any solar system to equal the staggering
engineering achievement of these drives. Their sheer size and
scale are almost incomprehensible. We estimate the equivalent
land mass would be the size of the entire European continent including
Russia and China, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They’re just
that massive and that’s not even considering the incredibly huge
amounts of material which had to be removed from the planet’s core to
accommodate them,— and where did it go, what did they do with it?
So far, we don’t have a clue.” Trey smiled as he shook his head.
“How many are
there, Son?” Lazarus asked.
“Two complete
drives, Admiral. Enough power to put the fictional Krell
civilization to shame. It would be the equivalent of the base
power function of the id multiplied to the ultimate logarithmic
expression by the power of ten to thirty-two hundred billion,
quadrillion mega-joules output. The only thing we might compare
them with is two controlled supernovas the size of a star a thousand
times larger than sol. To be honest, it’s kept me awake a number
of nights trying to comprehend the magnitude of it all and for what
purpose it was conceived and constructed. It’s amazing it’s been
here all this time, lying dormant, and becomes available to us after
several hundred thousand years of sleep. Even more incredible is,
everything checks out to be in perfect working order like the day it
was rolled off the assembly line and onto the showroom floor. It
makes one think about predestination and the voices of the Ancients
looking out for the future and the balance of the universe.
Whoever built this world or converted it into its present form were
beyond gods. They were in a class by themselves.”
“Then, in
essence, what you’re telling us is the planet Mars is an enormous
spaceship, fully gassed up and ready to fly?” Lazarus asked
incredulously.
“Yes, Sir,
that’s exactly what we’re telling you with a couple of
qualifications. The tachyon engines have no thrust ports like a
conventional rocket engine. They’re more like our drives on the
Bandersnatch and now on the Banshee. On our ships, movement is
achieved and is a byproduct of wave manipulation from positive and
negative field functions. They create vast fields of
electro-mechanical repulsion and attraction waves that act like
positive and negative magnetic poles which use the standard
applications of the ethotic universal ‘lay-line’ derivative
functions upon the action, interaction, and reaction of dark matter
applications. Because our
knowledge on the subject of ‘tachyons’ is so rudimentary we’re not real
sure how these engines operate and their basic cause and effects.
Nonno and Leiset are still translating vast quantities of Krell
scientific libraries and the closest they can come up with is the
engines don’t cause the planet to fly or move, so much as jump.
While they are capable of moving Mars in a linear manner, we think,
once the engines are engaged, they cause the entire planet and its
contents to jump from one time dilation to another to arrive in another
solar system within another galaxy billions or even trillions of light
years away. One second it’s in the sol system, the next it floats
within a separate inner-dimensional state, the longest part of the
jump, for as long as it takes to type in the coordinates for a new
destination; once done,—
‘bamm’— it jumps to the prescribed coordinates.
Passengers and
crew feel little more than a slight discomfort in their stomachs.
Neither an egg in the galley nor one under a mother hen will be
cracked. The lack of movement, as opposed to jumping, would
suggest Mars, at one time, perhaps when it was placed into orbit in
this system, still had an atmosphere, surface water and may even have
supported rudimentary life-forms. If it was moved at any speed,
it could possibly rip away an atmosphere, severely jeopardize fragile
H2O or any life that might be present. It would seem,
this planet was created with the sole purpose of hiding, protecting and
transporting fragile elements necessary for life and enough room to
preserve and reestablish vast quantities of evolved life-forms.
It begs the question, could its original purpose have been to bring
life to this solar system? The explosion of life forms during the
Cambrian period was so great it’s never been accounted for by
scientist. There were too many that simply appeared almost
overnight with no regard to the laws and dynamics of evolution.”
“You mean,
life on Earth might have come from an ark? Mars could have been
our ark.” whispered Charlie rhetorically.
“Much more than
just an ark, Dad,” replied Waco, “it not only can transport precious
cargo, it can sustain it almost indefinitely. Nonno and Leiset’s
studies have confirmed it is a perfectly sustainable ethos unto itself
and has been so almost as long as the Earth has been in orbit around
our sun.” added Waco. He continued, “We’re still looking
for information about how long Mars has been in our system, but time to
the builders of this world wasn’t as important to them as it is to
us. Maybe as we live longer lives, it will become less important
to us. Who knows?” Waco shrugged his shoulders.
“Any questions,
gentlemen?” Asked Captain Vinceeth.
“How long to
load and when do we leave?” asked Lucas like he was ready to go
today. Everyone laughed at his enthusiasm.
“Admiral
Long?” Trey referred the question to Lazarus.
“With these new
discoveries it might move up the exodus somewhat from the original
projections of the universal high council and might change the
directives of the Ancients. Let’s face it, things have gone from
bad to worse on Earth. I foresee only a few more years before it
all comes to a head, but to be honest, I have a feeling those higher
than myself have factored all this findings into the equations, and my
guess is, we still have about five years. What I see as an added
bonus to these finding is we will be able to take many more folks and
critters than originally planned. We can use this world as the
model of what we hope to achieve in another galaxy. It can become
a separate social structure unto itself. We need more folks to
colonize whose main purpose will be to oversee and protect the delicate
eco-structure already in place. For now, I’m thrilled and
satisfied with Captain Vinceeth, Nonno and Leiset’s findings. I’m
anxious to see what other wonders you have to show us, Captain.”
Lazarus urged Trey and Waco to continue with the tour.
“This way,
gentlemen.” Nonno spoke for the first time to direct the men to
the shuttle train. The cars of the shuttle train were
considerably different from the bullet train to the savannah.
These were plush parlor cars like one might find on a world class
train, complete with fully stocked bar and an elegant dinning car that
served first class food and spirits. The train had no wheels so
there was no sense of movement. It rode on a electromagnetic
field. Differences in air pressure from the rear to the front of
the
train propelled it forward or in reverse depending on the desired
direction of travel. It took sometime to get up to speed, but
because there was no friction from wheels or bearings, it soon got up
to supersonic speeds. Captain Vinceeth had Leiset give a brief
description of the train and the facilities available. They had
cabin cars available in case anyone chose to lie down for a while to
rest or for whatever purpose. There were snickers at her use of
the word ‘whatever’ but poor Leiset had no clue she said anything funny.
The trip took
approximately four hours, but the men enjoyed the food and drink the
androids provided. They played games and conversed about the
meaning of everything they learned in the last few days. Basil
and Brett Jones were more and more impressed by the circumstances, of
which, they found themselves becoming a part. Even though they
hadn’t bonded physically, they were being drawn to each other on a much
stronger level of compatibility than either might have guessed at the
time. They didn’t seem to have as much interest in the
conversations of the cowboys and the others who were directly affected
by these new findings. Brett and Basil were more interested in
how all this might work out for them and their future. It began
to overwhelm them. Surprisingly, Nonno came to their rescue.
“Would you
gentlemen prefer to spend some time in one of our private rooms?
We would be happy to provide anything you might require. We are
fully staffed.”
Basil looked at
Brett and they read each others faces.
“I think that
would be very nice, thank you, Nonno.” replied Jones.
“I agree with my
friend, Sir.” Basil added his agreement.
“This way,
gentlemen.” Nonno motioned with his hand. The men got up
and under the watchful eyes of the other men made their way to one of
the private rooms. Nonno show them the room and asked if
they needed anything. He showed them how to use the servant
notification system and if activated promised someone would come to
their room within minutes. He wished them well, they thanked him
and he left them to themselves.
“This is nice.”
said Basil.
“Much nicer.”
replied Jones. They sat in silence for a while listening to the
soft swooshing sound of the train as it passed certain markers.
The markers were purposely designed and built into the tunnels as a
psychological aid to passengers so they might judge how fast they were
traveling. The faster the markers passed the faster the train was
going. They acted as a rhythm of comfort, like a surrogate
heartbeat to relax and reassure the passengers. They served the
same purpose as a mechanical clock enclosed in several pairs of old
socks and placed in the bed of a lonely puppy who howls all night for
his mother. The steady beat of the clock wasn’t his mother’s
heartbeat, but he didn’t know the difference. It would soon quiet
him down and give his new household a peaceful night’s sleep.
“Would you like
to get naked and lie on the bed with me, Basil?”
“I considered
yesterday our first date, Sir. Today is another day and in my
mind might qualify as our second date. I don’t know if I can be
good and wait for our third date.”
“I
understand. I have no fear of you being good. Even if you
allow yourself to be bad, I’ll bet you’re very good at it.” Jones
laughed.
“Are you still
afraid of changing, Sir?”
“Not so much
today as last evening. If we remain oral I don’t think we’ll have
much problem, but I don’t know what might happen if you were to ingest
my load anally. It ain’t like a regular human’s. It’s like
everything else about my body. They’re made up of many tiny
individuals. In essence you might be eating parts of my
body. That might be good, or it could be bad. It seemed to
work for Jesus if you don’t consider all the hype and controversy
about trans-substantiation, but on the upside, I promise I won’t
ask you to drink my blood and pretend it’s wine.” Jones grinned at
Basil. Basil grimaced like the comparison was not to his
liking. Jones continued, “On the other hand, my guys might
find they’re in the wrong body, try to readjust or find their way
home. I just don’t know what will happen.”
“At this point,
I’m too damn horny and hungry for you it doesn’t matter to me.
I’m ready to throw caution under the train. Whatever the outcome
or whatever comes out, we’ll deal with it together. Agreed?”
“Agreed,
partner.” Jones said as he embraced Basil and stole a kiss.
The men talked
quietly as they undressed. “How much longer do we have on the
train?” asked Basil
“About an
hour. I understand the tour will take a couple of hours and then
a four hour return trip.” Jones said.
“I may be ready
for a nap on the way back.” said Basil.
“Me, too.”
agreed Jones.
They lay down
together and started making love. It wasn’t long before Basil
worked his way down Brett Jones’ treasure trail to his engorged penis
and began to make love to it. Basil was very good at
cock-sucking. Jones made a few efforts to participate, but Basil
waved him off. He wanted only to pleasure Jones and didn’t want
to be distracted. Jones gave up, lay back and enjoyed his
partner’s talented mouth. It didn’t take Basil long before Jones
was squirming beneath the onslaughts of his partner’s throat.
Finally, Jones arched his back, started gasping for air and spoke
quietly to Basil.
“You got me,
Son. I’m there. Take me, Basil.” he spoke as a plea
and not a command. Basil was like a demon in his pursuit of his
prize. He felt Jones ejaculate boiling up from his depths and
quickly flowing the length of his hot, officer’s cock. He
swallowed volley after volley and was sure a normal male never produced
so much. He bravely drank every bit and to his surprised it
tasted more sweet than ordinary. Jones’ come seemed to have a
thicker, creamier texture, almost like eggnog. After cleaning
Jones with his tongue and mouth, Basil rolled onto his side, allowed
his partner to make love to him and compliment him on his blow-job.
“That was
fantastic, Son, I really appreciate the release. I’ll be happy to
reciprocate as soon as you’ve had a chance to recover.”
“No, no, you
don’t have to reciprocate. It ain’t necessary, Officer
Jones. I
did what I did because I wanted to, not because I expected anything in
return.”
“Perhaps not,
but that pretty much leaves half my needs standing outside the door in
the cold and rain, don’t it?”
Basil laughed at
his analogy. “You don’t have to look at it that way. Just
look at it as a gift.”
“Am I gonna’ be
in charge of our relationship?” Brett asked quietly.
“Yes, Sir.
I’d like it that way. I understand your point. I promise,
Sir, no further arguments.”
“Good.
Now, come up here and let me make love to you for a while.”
Basil responded,
but was suddenly aware something was happening to his body.
“Oh, god!”
he exclaimed.
“What’s going
on?” Jones demanded, “Speak to me, boy! Tell me what you
feel.”
“I don’t
know. It’s like I’m having a reverse . . .
aggggrrrgg! Oh, god! That was unbelievable.” exclaimed
Basil as he squirmed and writhed on the bed.
“A reverse what,
Basil? What’s unbelievable?” Jones again demanded.
“A reverse
orgasm....” Basil choked out as he doubled over with his hands
around his gut. “Oh, my god!” he reached down with his
right hand and carefully felt his testicles. They were enlarged
to almost double their size and were incredibly sensitive. He
pulled them up where Jones could see them. “Feel!” Basil
offered, then added, “But for god’s sake, be gentle.” he held
them loosely in his hands. Jones could see their enlarged size
and gently felt them. They were hard as two large rocks.
“I was afraid of
something like this.” Jones stated.
“What’s
happening, Sir?”
“I think my guys
discovered they weren’t home in my body so they moved to the closest
analog of home-base they could find, your testicles. Is it
painful, Son?”
“Not so much
painful as it itches like crazy, it’s like ma’ balls are on fire, and
it’s making me horny as hell. It feels like the old myth of
getting blue balls when you ain’t come in a while. It makes me
wanna’ take my fingernails and claw them out of my balls.”
“That can’t be
good. All the more reason for me to reciprocate.” stated
Jones as he stole another kiss from Basil. Jones soon moved down
to Basil’s ample cock and started to make love to it. He was
surprised it only took him several strokes with his throat when Basil
emptied both his and his partner’s stored load into Jones’ mouth.
Brett took everything and gulped it down, volley after volley. He
could tell the difference between his and his partner’s
ejaculate. His was a bit sweeter and Basil’s was a bit more salty
and tart. Together they reminded him of an oriental sweet and
sour sauce. He mentally reprimanded his guys and sent them back
to their nest. He could feel his balls filling up again.
Jones could swear he heard giggling as they went. The rest,
Basil’s sperm, were doomed to become part of Jones’ afternoon
snack. He had to talk with Jessie about this. How could he
relieve himself if his guys were like homing pigeons and could find
their way back? Jones looked up to see his partner lying on the
small bed, glassy-eyed, like he was in another state of consciousness.
“You okay,
Son?” Jones spoke softly as he rubbed Basil’s forehead and
smoothed his hair.
“I’ve never
experienced sex like that before. I’ve never felt so
drained.” Basil paused for a moment, then added, “That was
incredible. Thanks, Officer Jones. I’m glad you’re in
charge. See, you knew what to do. You took care of my
problem. I have faith in you to lead us. I don’t think you
would ever hurt me. What just happened was a bit
unexpected, but I can’t say it wasn’t exciting. It was certainly
stimulating. I thought I never would stop coming. How are
you, now that everything is back in place?”
“I have to talk
with Jesse about this. How can I get relief if my guys act like
Little Bo Peep’s sheep; leave them alone and they’ll come home wagging
their tails behind them?” they shared a laugh. Jones wondered
where that came from. He never made a joke before. He never
felt like he had the smarts to make jokes. It felt good to hear
his mate laugh at his metaphorical analogy. God help him!
He even knew what ‘metaphorical analogy’ meant.
‘What isn’t
sacrificed for procreation purposes returns to be recycled as food for
thought.’ came flooding into Jones’ mind from several tiny male voices
who
were once again all warm and cozy between his massive thighs. In
his head it sounded like a chorus composed of the Vienna Boys Choir and
the Chipmunks.
“Oh, good god!”
he sighed, “Now they’re singing to me.” he groaned as his grabbed
his balls with both hands and gently squeezed. It struck Basil as
funny, and he broke up laughing.
“I probably have
the only date on this train with singing balls. Even Roy Rogers
couldn’t claim that unless you count the Son’s of the Pioneers. I
wish I could hear them.” he laughed.
“No you
don’t! They’re singing about what part of them don’t get used for
insemination return to me to be absorbed as fertilizer for my brain, or
as they put it, ‘food for thought.’” groaned Jones.
“Food for
thought? Now, that’s funny!” declared Basil as he laughed some
more, “If nothing else you could end up with a very fertile mind, or
you might even have some pregnant thoughts.” he teased. He
laughed so hard he got Jones laughing with him.
“Stop!” laughed
Jones, “I don’t think my crotch commandos should have choices
like that. They’re carrying socialism for the body politic too
far. They’re pushing the no-man-left-behind idea over the
top. Whoever heard of a military tradition becoming a
syndrome? That’s ridiculous. No matter what I’ve become, I
expect to be in charge of my body and all its functions. Next
thing you know some damn ignorant rabid fundamentalist Republican will
want to pass some stupid law to forcibly protect my sea-men from
ejaculation. Why stop with a fertilized egg? Semen and eggs
share a half-life. Pounding your pud will be outlawed. My
body will not be a democracy. At worst I plan to be a dictatorial
tyrant, like a demanding and unbending orchestral conductor, or at
best, a benevolent monarch. If I’m the decider-in-chief, they
should be ready to sacrifice themselves to respond to my needs and not
theirs. I learned that from Saint W. Dumbfuck, the first false
prophet.” Jones said with considerable sarcasm and some disillusioned
anger. “Ah, well, it could be worse, I suppose.” allowed Jones,
“It could be my waste that insists on being recycled to my head
instead.” he laughed. That really set Basil off and they held
each other laughing. They calmed down and dozed in each others
arms for a while until the bell to their cabin rang. Brett answer
the receiver.
“This is Nonno
reminding you and Mr. Troubadour you have only fifteen minutes before
we arrive at our destination. You may wish to join the others,
Sir.”
“Yes, thank you,
Nonno. We’ll be right along.” Brett smiled at Basil. “Shall
we pickup where we left off on the way back, Son?” he inquired.
“I’d like
that. I’d like a little more experience dealing with your guys.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.
They don’t frighten me none.” replied Basil with conviction.
* * * * * * *
Trey and Waco
led the men to the main engine room complex which worked in conjunction
with a larger control center near the lodge in the first great
cavern. The entire planet could be directed from either control
center, but it was set up to have the second be an engineered slave to
the first. Trey had Nonno and Leiset show them live camera shots
of the tesseract containment center where the molten core of the planet
was contained. There were filters on the lenses to protect the
viewer from harmful rays that might damage their eyes. They
walked around for several hours until it was almost noon, then returned
to the train for a nice lunch. Talk was lively over lunch and
what all this meant for their eventual getaway.
After lunch they
took another shuttle to the shores of the great fresh water
ocean. It was as big as the Pacific Ocean on earth and had many
small islands one could travel to and explore on their journey across
the great expanse. It was as remarkable as any other of the
incredible discoveries on Mars. Trey and Waco were able to show
the men a holo-vid of the two engines and everyone marveled at the
enormity of their size. The men spent another couple of hours
touring several parts of the engineering section within the interior of
the enormous structures. There were mechanical bots everywhere in
nooks and crannies of the great structure. Many had only one
purpose, they saw to that function and nothing else. There were
bots to check the other bots, take care of them, repair them, and
replace them when needed. There was even a retirement center for
the more sentient bots. They were only reprocessed when their
final battery pack expired.
The men boarded
the train and started the return journey. Everyone sat around
having refreshments and talking. Basil and Brett Jones didn’t
speak much, but the cowboys didn’t try to drag them into their
conversations. They could see from the way the men looked at each
other they were falling in love. No one wanted to disturb that
possibility. There was none of the rowdy ‘well-met’ teasing or
congratulations which usually accompanied two of their group when
bonding. While Basil was a dedicated and respected member of the
colonies, Brett Jones wasn’t and was shown the respect of a visiting
dignitary. On the other hand, they considered Commander Hawkins
an anointed member and his relationship with Sam Stamper was open
season. Sam took their joking with his usual aplomb and stood up
for his handsome, mature suitor. Sam’s genuine friendship and
good humor only endeared him to the commander all the more.
* * * * * * *
Brett and Basil
stayed to themselves and when invited to a private cabin they quietly
agreed to once again let Nonno lead the way. They spent most of
the return trip in the private room. The were just enjoying each
others company and getting to know one another.
“What did you
have in mind about getting to know my ‘guys’ better?” Jones asked
Basil.
“Now that we
know what to expect, I wonder what would happen if I ignored their
persistence, and they were faced with a dead end? What if I gave
them an option of either cooperating or being flushed out manually by
masturbation.”
“They would
probably accept the challenge, make themselves free particles, then
seek me out and conjoin with me again.”
“What if I just
endured them and allowed them to be absorbed?”
“I don’t know,
but I don’t think I want to take the chance until we’ve talked with
Jesse Watkins. Right now, he’s busy with the others and enjoying
the excitement of their findings. We were lucky last time.
I don’t want to be a threat you. I have to find an answer or
solution, if you will,” Brett chuckled, “that will work for both of us
before I return to the Holy City. If I’m expected to perform for
the holy father and something like that happens, I’ll have a lot of
‘splainin’ to do.” Brett said like Ricky Ricardo. Basil giggled.
“Do you think
the Steele kids could help? I noticed some older Evanescent
children who looked to be about puberty age. Perhaps they might
know something about it.” Basil suggested.
“I hadn’t
thought of that, but it’s a good idea. Let’s talk with Jessie
first.”
As the trip
progressed there came a ring on the intercom from Nonno. Brett
answered.
“Pardon my
intrusion, Sir, but Jesse Watkins asked if he and his companion might
visit you and Mr. Troubadour in your cabin?”
“Yes, of course,
Nonno. We’re not doing anything but relaxing. Ask him to
give us a few minutes to dress.” Jones told him.
“I don’t think
your nudity would bother Master Watkins or Utah, Sir.”
“No, I don’t
suppose it would. Thanks, Nonno, tell them to come right away,
then.”
“Thank you,
Sir. I’ll tell them immediately.”
Brett looked at
Basil and smiled. “Okay with you, Son?” he asked.
“You’re in
charge, Sir. Of course it’s all right with me. One of the
first things I learned when I came to the colonies is, no one is shy
about nudity. If you want to be considered an insider, you can’t
be shy either. I’ll admit, it took me a while to keep from
staring at some of the drop-dead handsome cowboys, but everyone was
patient with me, and I soon got over the novelty of it. How do
you think I could be around you all day yesterday on the savanna
without drooling out the corners of my mouth like an idiot?” Basil
laughed.
“You like me
that much, Son?” Jones grinned and blushed.
“Pert-damn much,
Sir.” Basil used cowboy lingo he’d heard so many times.
“I think you’re
pert-damn special too, kiddo.” Jones grabbed Basil and stole a
kiss as a knock came on the cabin door.
“Come in, it’s
open.” Jones stated in a loud voice.
Jesse Watkins
and his faithful companion Utah came into the room. Jones and
Basil were still holding each other sitting on the edge of the
bed. They were completely nude and didn’t bother to rush around
to cover themselves. Jesse and Utah didn’t bat an eye. They
just looked at each other and smiled.
“Have a seat,
Sir and you too, Utah.” Jones motioned for them to sit
down. “What can we do for you gentlemen?” Jones realized he
included Utah in that and felt funny for a moment. He winked at
the handsome dog.
“That’s all
right, Mr. Jones. I’m sometimes a gentleman, although I much
prefer to be known as my master’s companion.”
“I think I
understand, but sometime I’d like to talk with you more about why you
feel that way, Utah.”
“Be happy too,
Sir. At your convenience.” Utah urged, then turned his
attention to his master.
“We came to see
if there’s anything we can do for you men. We picked up some
vibrations on the winds that things might be more complicated for you
than necessary. We heard you might like to discuss it with us.”
“Yes, Sir, I
think we would.” Jones turned to Basil like he was expecting him
to join in.
“I think I
understand Utah’s position a little better than you might, Sir.”
Basil smiled at Jones, “I agreed, where you lead I will follow.”
“Good for you,
Mr. Troubadour. You do understand.” commented Utah.
Jones explained
what happened when they tried oral sex, and they were afraid to try
anything else because of Basil’s initial reaction.
“It’s a minor
problem Utah and I can handle, but you have to realize if you find you
like each other enough to continue to bond, there might be other
considerations necessary.”
“What sort of
consideration, Mr. Watkins?” Jones asked suspiciously taking Basil’s
hand in his.
“We’ve analyzed
your change and while you’ve taken on most of the characteristics of
the Evanescents you still retain about forty percent human
characteristics. We hope to have you stabilized by the end of the
week and you should only have a possible change factor of another five
to ten percent; then, hopefully, everything will be stabilized.
Your change should be complete. What you two need to consider is,
if you choose Basil and he accepts you for a mate, there is the
possibility of him changing to become compatible with you, and by that,
we don’t mean just male/male compatible. With all the variables
we’re dealing with, anything is possible.”
“What about
returning to the Holy City and my relationship with the Holy Father?”
“By that time,
you should be fully stabilized. We won’t release you to return
until we’re comfortable you can handle your situation. We
understand you’ll be under some scrutiny for a while. We’ll train
you in your new abilities you’re not aware of yet. Norman can’t
get pregnant anyway, because I didn’t given him any more than the basic
female plumbing. Right now, you shouldn’t have to be worrying
about snuffing your warriors while entertaining someone of your
choice.” Utah laughed at his master’s joke. Jesse looked down at
the beautiful dog and petted him. “God love him, he’s my best
audience, gentlemen.” he smiled at Brett and Basil.
“Basil suggested
a couple of the older Evanescent males might be able to help me.” Jones
said.
“Wouldn’t do no
harm to ask ‘em. They’re all curious. They know what
happened to you. They might want to crawl inside and take a look
around. They wouldn’t hurt chu’ none. In the meantime you
can take care of most of your problems. Just remember, you have
hundreds of thousands of tiny individual critters who make up the sum
of your parts. Your wavy navy ain’t the only ones with a say in
your makeup. You can make your own checks and balances and
regulate them accordingly with your other cells. You’re the
sheriff. Deputize a number of them and form a posse to ride herd
on them upstart outlaw cowboys of yours.”
“Then
you’re telling me... us.... it’s all right for us to experiment with
each
other?”
“I think it’s
safe enough. Just remember, if you get into trouble you can
always send for help. We can be there in minutes. If
nothing else we can throw a bucket of cold water on you.” everyone
shared a laugh. Even Brett Jones thought that was funny.
“What a
comfort!” Jones said still laughing, “I still feel unsure about my
control of things.” said Jones with some reticence.
“There are some
things you might want to think about and discuss with each other if you
wish to continue seeing one another on a regular basis.
Otherwise, there might be unexpected consequences for Basil.”
“What kind of
consequences?” Jones asked.
“We’re not sure
but we foresee a possible blending of species to create a mate for you
which could possibly become a compromise between species and
sexes. Beyond that, I can’t be more definite. You ain’t
dealing with your average boy meets boy or boy meets girl situation
where you have the luxury of playing patty-cakes together for a while,
and if it don’t work out, move to the next flower. We’re talking
serious consequences here. You’ve made your decision, Officer
Jones, but Basil hasn’t been given that option. In the last forty
years folks have had to contend with a passel of sexually transmitted
diseases. Most have been cured and vaccines created. As you
know, Brett, there is no chance for specie change. Mother Nature
plays for keeps.
But it ain’t as
dire as it sounds. Just make damn sure both of you know what you
want. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific, but once you make a
decision, nature will take care of the rest. It’s like when you
made your choice to become a separate specie, once initiated, it
will be taken out of your hands. There’s no turning back, and
like Humpty-Dumpty, no one can put either of you back the way you
were. I could’ve changed you back in the very first stages,
Brett, and I can change Basil if something major begins to change with
him, but after a couple more sessions with you, I probably won’t
be able to.
“What about the
Holy Prophet? Will I have some effect on him I might have to
explain?” Jones asked.
“None we can
foresee. You will quickly learn to control cause and effect of
your body with him. Like I say, we’ll make sure you’re fully
stabilized before we release you to go back to the holy city. He
will expect nothing, but with his new expanded powers, he will be
suspicious. You must act normal and show more of a concerted
effort to control your religious displays with a little more thought to
inspiration. You will find yourself changing in all directions,
not just physically.”
“He’s noticing
changes already, Sir.” Basil chimed in, “I’ve noticed changes in him
since we’ve been together, but whatever’s effecting him is beginning to
effect me, too. Some of my ideas are changing. My mind
seems to be flooded with bits and pieces of arcane drivel that come to
me out of the blue. I don’t know where it comes from. At
first it seemed to make no sense l and then, the next minute, it all
fits together like the parts of a surreal puzzle. I mean it’s
some bat-shit crazy thoughts. It feels like part of my self that
has been damaged by my time in the Cheney camp and the trauma of a near
death experience is being healed inside my head.”
“It may be,
Son. It’s almost to be expected. The reason Officer Jones
can heal folks is because of his mutated DNA. Anytime he touches
another person they’re affected by his genetic makeup. We just
don’t know how all this is working out as far as his specie
change. Undoubtedly Brett’s hormones may be affected and could
cause a psychedelic reaction within your mind, much like a fever will
cause you to have weird dreams. Sometimes it don’t take no
special talent— love alone can do that to a body. We just can’t
know all the variables. You may be highly influenced by him
physically and mentally. Certainly, it must seem somewhat bizarre
or surreal to you. What’s happening to him is beyond the realm of
your ordinary reality. You’re like Alice who just popped down the
rabbit hole and found herself in another universe where nothing makes
sense. In fact, what makes sense to you will actually work in
your universe, but won’t when you return. It doesn’t matter,
you’ll have an operating knowledge of both, but also a greater overall
understanding of everything. It’s one thing to live and work
among the colonies and be exposed to new and unusual things almost
daily, yet it’s quite another to find yourself befriending a man who is
becoming another specie. Surely you’ve discussed this with each
other?” Jesse questioned. He watched Jones and Basil look
at each other with blank looks. “Maybe not.” he conceded.
“Not as
thoroughly as you’ve suggested, but we discussed what’s happening in
regard to our adjusting to each other. I’ve agreed to see Officer
Jones through his change and be his friend. I told him if he
needed me, I want to help. I agree to go along for the
ride. I’m not afraid of his changes, but after listening to your
conversation I’m beginning to think he’s more concerned about that
tyrant Scudder than he is me.” Basil sounded a bit hurt.
“No, no!
You can’t think that, Son. I won’t let you think that, Basil.”
Brett interjected in a demanding voice, “It’s because of you I’m
concerned about his reaction. I want to see you again. I
want to be with you again, but the only way I’m gonna’ be able to do it
is to know how to get around him without him discovering what or how
much I know. He’s a much greater threat to us than any changes
that might be occurring with me or you. You have to believe me,
Basil. Please believe me, Son.”
“I believe you,
Brett. I’m sorry I doubted you.” Basil said.
Jones pulled the
young man into his arms, held him tightly and stole a kiss. Utah
looked at his master, grinned and wagged his tail.
“You both
would do well to spend some time with Sonny and Vivian Steele when we
return.” said Jesse, “Talk with them about the adjustments they had to
make taking on two alien children as their own. They are two of
the most remarkable people we’ve run across in a long time. They
have taken the experience and allowed themselves to grow and learn from
it. Adam and Eve couldn’t have better parents even if they were
the same specie. Also talk with Warren Steele and his mate
Horse. Talk with Indigo/Blue and Keekepata. They will have
some revelations for you. Talk with Captain Vinceeth and
Waco. They’ve had to make some adjustments. Your suggestion
of talking with a couple of the older male or even female Evanescent
children is an excellent idea, but most of all, after tonight, by the
time we return through the gate tomorrow morning to the colonies, you
two must know what you want for the future or you must break off any
further attempts at seeing each other for a while, otherwise it might
be disastrous for Basil.” Jesse saw the surprised look on the
men’s faces and paused to let his words sink in.
“I don’t ever
want any harm to come to Basil, Sir.” Jones said almost with
tears in his eyes.
“We know you
don’t, Brett. It’s the furthest thing from our minds. It
ain’t our intention to alarm you either, but it’s just the way things
are right now. After tonight, if you withdraw from each other,
wait until Brett’s changes are complete, he has full control of himself
and his new abilities, then you may begin to see each other
again. Until then, it could be dangerous for you to continuing
seeing each other. Just like I told you when you chose to accept
the change, I couldn’t guarantee the outcome because there were too
many variables. It’s the same with Basil now. We can’t
guarantee the outcome once Mother Nature gets her hands on you
two. Her first thought is to preserve, protect and guarantee a
new specie’s survival and she will go to great lengths to make sure she
does. Just like our situation now on Earth. Do you think
it’s by chance this world is here, ready and available right at the
moment we need it most?”
“What are the
chances I was saved from death to insure Brett’s and my linage
survive?” Basil spoke the words he heard being said in his head.
Jesse looked at
Utah and grinned real big. “Are you ever wrong?” he asked
the beautiful dog. Utah just smiled and wagged his tail. “We
discussed it, Basil. There’s a good possibility that just may be
the case. My companion and I argued that very point this
morning. I’ve come to believe he was right, and I was
wrong. What told you to ask?” Jesse smiled at the young man.
“I don’t
know. A voice in my head. I’ve been getting input ever
since I’ve been with Officer Jones. I told you about it. It
just comes to me out of left field. I don’t know where it’s
coming from. I have no idea, but I ain’t afraid of it. It
seems to be directing me. It’s the same voice that came to me as
I lay dying in that awful Cheney camp.”
“Okay, maybe
there’s another dimension we ain’t considered. Too many damn
variables are happening too quickly for me. I’m just getting too
damn old to keep up with all of it, especially now when the state of
the universe is in such flux. Thank the voices and the Ancients I
got my companion to help me remember the details more clearly than I
can by myself. Don’t know what I’d do without him. I
wouldn’t wanna’ find out. When we get back to the Bandersnatch
I’ll have Cable run a complete blood workup on you Basil. By
comparing your blood to Officer Jones’ we might be able to make a
better prediction or give you a better explanation why you’re having
weird thoughts. We don’t expect to find any health problems,
because Brett’s DNA will have taken care of any anomalies you might
have had. So when you return tomorrow morning, you and Brett go
right to sickbay and tell Cable what I want. In the meantime,
unless you learn something or come up with a better idea, you might
want to consider what we’ve talked about here this afternoon.”
“We will,
Sir. I don’t want no harm to come to Basil.”
The intercom
bell rang and a voice came over the speaker.
“Sorry for the
intrusion, gentlemen, but we will be arriving at the Lodge station in
fifteen minutes. We thought you might like to know.”
“Thanks, Nonno.
We’ll be ready.” replied Jones.
“We’ll leave you
gentlemen to get dressed. Come little brother.” Jesse spoke to
his companion.
“Thanks for
dropping by, Mr. Watkins. Thank you, Utah. We appreciate
your help.” Jones said. “You’ve given us a lot to think about.”
* * * * * * *
Jones and Basil
joined the other men. Commander Hawkins hugged both men
like he approved of their being together. Sam, the ever
consummate gentleman cowboy, shook their hands and just grinned real
big.
“We’ll be
arriving soon, gentlemen.” Del told them, “There’s some kind of
emergency on the savannah among Ping and Pong’s tribe. Jesse and
Utah requested you to join them immediately upon returning.
They’re hoping you might be able to do something to help the small
critters.”
“We’ll do our
best, Sir.” replied Jones looking at Basil. Basil blushed because
Brett included him. It was his first sign the big man was
beginning to think of them as a couple. They sat with Jesse and
Utah for a while on the train. Jesse explained a couple of the
youngest kits were suffering from growing problems. Their best
guess was the limited diets for several generations were beginning to
take its toll on the latest generation of young and while the adults
were receiving proper nourishment on Mars it was not soon enough to be
transferred to the young.
After removing
their clothes, Basil and Brett walked immediately to the bullet
train with Captain Waco, Captain Vinceeth, the Admiral, Captain Jones,
Charlie Goodnight and most of the cowboys. Where one went, they
all went, besides it was always something new to learn and no one
wanted to miss a thing. They arrived and walked a good way to the
area the ring-tails founded their small village. There was much
gracious bowing and ritual friendship greetings, but they were only
done by the recognized leaders of the group or they would’ve been there
all afternoon. Ping and Pong introduced the humans to the clan
and they welcomed everyone warmly. Brett and Basil
were directed to sit together on some very comfortable rocks that
seemed to be heated internally and made their butts warm and
cozy. It was a remarkable sensation. The parents of the
young sick ring-tails came forward with their babies. The first
was no more than a handful. It was an infant no more than a
couple of weeks old. It didn’t have its eyes open. The
second was a little older but he was just a toddler and clung to his
mother’s back. He was thin, drawn and emaciated.
The mother
reluctantly handed the huge man her baby. The larger of the two
crawled up into Basil’s lap and threw his small arms around his
neck. Basil smiled but didn’t know what to do. He decided
to just hold it and pet it until Jones finished with the baby. He
stroked and petted the little tyke and cradled it in his arms as he
watched Jones go to work. Brett was trying desperately to get his
DNA onto the baby, but it was covered with so much hair he was having a
difficult time. Finally he wet his finger with his saliva and
gently touched the delicate nose of the tiny female ring-tail. A
faint smile crossed her little face, she grabbed Jones’ finger in both
hands and started sucking on it like it was the best thing she’d ever
had in her mouth.
“She knows best
what’s good for her.” Jesse whispered to Brett.
“Oh, my God!”
exclaimed Jones quietly.
“What is it,
Son?” Jesse asked.
“Look at my
right teat, Sir.” Jones motioned his head in that
direction. Jesse saw and laughed at the bright, white bead of
milk oozing from the big man’s teat. Jesse took his finger and
captured the drop. He put it to his mouth and tasted.
“How the hell
can you replicate lummox milk?”
“Hell if I know,
Sir. I just thunk about it and how good it might taste for her
right now. You think it’s meant for her?” Brett was almost
laughing.
“I’d bet my ass
on it.” Jesse laughed. “Why not let her decide?”
Brett slowly
removed his finger from the little one’s mouth. She sputtered and
looked like she was going to cry. Jones moved her quickly to his
teat. She seemed confused. Brett took his teat between two
fingers and gently milked it. A little squirted out onto his
finger. He gently wiped it across the baby’s lips. He
almost dropped her, she was going crazy squirming in his hand looking
for more of the wonderful stuff. She could smell it.
She wanted more. He placed her right on his huge teat, and she
started sucking. She couldn’t drink fast enough. Her little
belly began to swell. Her parents were wide eyed and Jones
invited them to sit on his lap to get a better view. The father
sat on his left leg and the mother on his right. They both were
shedding tears as they watched their baby eat for the first time.
They knew she was going to be all right. The baby drank until she
could hold no more. Brett returned her to her parents, and they
took turns bowing and rubbing his hand with their scent glands.
They officially made him one of their family.
By the time
Jones was ready for the little male kit he was climbing all over Basil
like he was his personal jungle-gym. Basil was playing with him,
tickling him and chasing him with his hands around his neck and
shoulder. The kit was having a ball. His parents looked on
in awe. He seemed so sick before when they brought him in and had
little interest in living. Basil never related to animals much,
but he found a close communion with the little male kit. He
didn’t want to give him up to Brett, but he reluctantly obliged.
Brett offered him some teat and the kit took advantage of the sweet
tasting milk. He gorged himself on it. His parents looked
on in amazement as the other parents had. When he finished they,
too, made Jones an official member of their family, only this time the
parents included Basil. Basil didn’t know why but graciously
accepted their sentiment. Jesse closely watched everything and
was bemused at Basil’s reaction. Utah wasn’t. He leaned
into his master and whispered,
“I would urge my
master not to wait until tomorrow for the blood test of young
Basil. The Banshee has a full lab on board or you could send an
android back through the gate with Basil’s blood samples for
Cable. I would humbly remind my master of his promise to
immediately check everyone’s DNA.”
“Thank you, my
beloved companion. It must be done. Once again, I hadn’t
considered Basil’s DNA. Don’t know what I’d do without you, my
love.” Jesse answered.
“I’m sure you
would do just fine, Master. I have faith in you. You look
no older than the day I became your slave. If anything, you have
mellowed and become more human than you would like to admit.” Utah
replied.
“Perhaps you’re
right. I won’t argue that point with you. You would know
better than I about such things.”
* * * * * * *
There were
several other critters came to Jones and Basil and Brett helped
everyone. Two Evanescent adolescents came to them. They
heard Jones and Basil were having some coupling problems and needed
advice. They melted right in front of everyone and melded into
Basil and Brett’s bodies. It was a strange feeling. They
were sitting on the warm rocks and holding hands. They could feel
the Evanescent young moving back and forth from body to body as they
checked out everything. It only took a minute or two and everyone
watched as they reformed in front of the men. The were laughing
and giggling like they shared a secret.
“You are almost
as close as we are only young Basil is like a beautiful flower who has
not yet bloomed.” The older one spoke, then they both fell out
laughing at their rather cryptic words, “You only had a temporary
problem with some renegade cells, Officer Jones. They hadn’t
completed transition and were caught between. We have taken care
of them. You will have no further problems. Learn to use
your changeling abilities. Exercise them everyday like you do
your
muscles. If you need a routine we can help you with it. You
must also exercise your human attributes as well so you don’t lose
them. There are a few other secrets you must know about we
haven’t shared with the others because they might not understand, but
we will with you because you are becoming first cousins to our
race. You need to know these things. Basil wondered what
they meant as they thanked them and returned with the cowboys to the
bullet shuttle to return to the lodge and supper. After the
shuttle train arrived at the Lodge station all passengers disembarked
to go their way. They were told there would be a couple of hours
to relax and clean up before supper was served. Before they left
the savanna Jesse, Admiral Long, Waco and Captain Vinceeth approached
Basil and Brett.
“We’ve decided
not to wait to test young Basil’s blood, gentlemen. We’ll take
you directly to the Banshee when we return to the lodge station and our
medical staff will draw his blood. It will take several hours for
analysis.”
Brett was a bit
concerned, but Basil wasn’t.
“They’re only
concerned for you and me, Sir. I would trust these men with my
life and have. They’re the only reason I’m alive today. I’d
like to know. There’s something going on in my body I can’t
explain. I’m beginning to feel a little light in my heels, but it
ain’t the way you might think.” Basil smiled.
“I know what you
mean. I feel that way just before I’m about to levitate.” Brett
responded.
It took little
time to draw four small tubes of Basil’s blood. The Visallian
medical team said they should have a complete workup and DNA analysis
in a couple of hours. They would notify the Admiral and Jesse
Watkins immediately. The men went their separate ways and Brett
and Basil returned to their quarters to cleanup and prepare themselves
for their last supper on Mars. They would have an early breakfast
and then walk through the gate back to the colonies. They had a fine
supper. It was a more relaxed and convivial time than previous
meals. People were laughing and talking about their day.
The kids of all ages were going from person to person to crawl up in
their laps and steal a choice bit of food or talk someone out of their
dessert. Adam and Eve Steele were having a ball. They loved
visiting their relatives, but they were ready to go home with their
parents. The men were telling the women and children about the
incredible new scientific finds on the planet and what it meant for
their future. Lazarus was asked to give a brief speech at the end
of the meal.
“Friends and
neighbors, what we found here today will mean the difference between
success and possible failure of our mission to leave the Earth as
planned. Not only will it insure our success, but we will be able
to take so much more with us. My mate and his collection of life
forms and plants from the Amazon is just about to capacity. Even
with microminiaturization things can get out of hand when compacted too
tightly. We can fly the Raven to Mars and unload in one of the
tropical caverns and he can return to fill it up again. It will
provide a greater bio-diversity than we ever anticipated. I’ve been asked
by my companions to speak with you about their new found family who
until now we have been content to refer to as our ring-tailed brethren
or Ping and Pong’s family. I never called them by their specie
name or the name they call themselves because they were always just
family to me, but they come from a planet in the Andromeda
system known as Langeria and they refer to themselves as Langers or if
you wish to be formal, Langerians. Either is correct with
them. I would like to see a greater introduction of them into our
system here on Mars as engineers and administrators. There is no
more intelligent and forward thinking race of folks than the
Langers. Our present group has been a bit handicapped by forced
stagnation, but they are coming back quickly. I think they will
be a great help and I personally look forward to working with them in
the near future. In the meantime, enjoy your evening. Some
will be returning to the colonies in the morning after breakfast, but a
group of us will be taking the Banshee to Venus for a brief state
visit. It is necessary and important we keep up a close
friendship with the Venerians.”
Everyone
applauded the Admiral for his speech and agreed with him the Langers
should become involved with the running of Mars and integrated into the
shuttle ships to help with navigation and keeping the ships running
smoothly. Supper was over and Jesse invited Basil and Brett to go
with the group of men to the Banshee. Basil’s blood analysis was
finished. When they arrived they were surprised to find Cable,
David and Jonathan waiting for them.
“We took the
liberty of coming though the gate Admiral. We didn’t think you’d
mind if we hand delivered Officer Jones’ blood chart for
comparison. At first we thought there might have been some
mistake in Basil’s analysis, when compared to Brett Jones. My
apologies to the medical crew of the Banshee. There was no
mistake. Here, we’ll put it up on the holo-vid and you can see
for yourself.” Cable explained. The two charts appeared on
the screen side by side. There was a hush fell over the
room. Jones and Basil had no idea what might be
happening. They couldn’t read the charts. They didn’t have
a clue. Utah started laughing and got his master to laughing.
“Would you
please?” Jesse mockingly scolded his faithful
companion. “Of course, you were right all along.” Jesse then turned to
Jones, “What state were you originally from,
Officer Jones?”
“Wyoming, Sir.”
“And you, Basil?”
“Wyoming, Sir.”
“What was your
real last name, Son?” Jesse spoke directly to Basil.
“Do I really
have to say, Sir? You won’t believe me. You’ll just think
I’m lying.” Basil seemed frustrated and almost frightened.
“No, Son, you
don’t have to say. I know what it was.” Jesse answered
quietly as if to soothe the young man’s feelings. He took a pen
and paper and wrote something on it. He showed it only to Basil.
“Is that your original last name?”
“Yes Sir, but
how did you know?”
“DNA don’t lie,
Son.” Jesse replied.
End Chapter 48 ~
Waco’s Lummox
Copyright
2007/2008 ~ Waddie Greywolf
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Reserved ~
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