The Gathering Storm

by Marshall Miller

  Kat continued, “Now I want and need you–not in a sexual way. I need your help to ensure Adam succeeds.”

  Mary gently pushed herself away from Kat, and stood up. “Kat, please stand up.” Kat did, then stood so close to Mary that their naked bodies brushed each other. Mary shivered a bit. “Damnit, you know all the moves, know how to use sex to get everything. I don’t want to be manipulated. If you really believe in Adam, then I need to trust you.”

  Kat met Mary’s eyes “That depends. Can you share Adam?”

  “With you, yes. As long as you share ‘you’ with me. I need to know what you are thinking.”

  Kat began to gently stroke Mary’s hair. “You can have a personal part of me anytime you want. You and I need a formal relationship that includes Adam. The two of us together can make this work. As long as Adam does what he does so well... somehow keep us all from being just slabs of meat, give us a future beyond Earth. If we are stuck here with the Squids left behind when their ships move on, we are screwed. Eventually it will degenerate into a small group of humans watching the rest get eaten.

  “Lord Neptune won’t live forever; he could lose his position tomorrow. Having to depend on someone who may decide to cook you and eat you tomorrow is no future.”

  Mary put her arms around Kat, pulled her closer. Kat felt the strength in her arms. Mary leaned over, and whispered softly into her ear, “I hate Squids. They killed my family.”

  Kat whispered back, “I hate them too. They killed my fiancé, and my chances of a normal life.”

  “So, we both have a secret,” Mary whispered. “Us versus them, which has gotten a lot of ‘us’ killed.”

  “Yes, that’s true. How about a talk in the shower, as we may be wired for sound?”

  “We might be. Good idea.” She kissed Kat, took her hand and led her to the shower.

  Kat pulled back a bit. “Mary, do you want Adam’s children?”

  Mary paused, started to stiffen, and then relaxed.“Yes,” She whispered. “And you?”

  “As of today, yes,” Kat whispered back. “Are you thinking what I think you are thinking? You and I are about to become what certain Mormons called ‘sister wives’. That is, if you really want kids to survive. Adam must succeed, but we need a plan between the two of us for survival, also. In the tradition of many past ruling families, the wives are a power behind the throne. Adam’s offspring may be allowed to carry on his survival plan if things take longer than he plans. Squids believe in generational family empires, so to speak.”

  “The…Crèches?”

  “Yes, Mary. That’s what they are. Super generational families. Children are everything.”

  “Let me get this straight. We once tried to kill each other, and now you want to be pregnant together?”

  “Yes. If you will have me.”

  “And If Adam won’t agree?”

  “He will have no choice. He couldn’t possibly resist both of us.”

  The Tschaaa surveillance program and sensors that were tracking Mary and Kat had shut down once there appeared to be sexual relations involved. The program was based on an artificial intelligence that did not understand human sexuality any more than a live Tschaaa did. As far as it was concerned, humans were a bunch of nasty primates that screwed whenever and whomever they could, gender be damned. Adam himself had suspicions that he was monitored sometimes, but had no real idea of the capabilities of Tschaaa technology. It probably wouldn’t have done him much good regardless. He knew he lived at the sufferance of his Lord Neptune. He kept many thoughts to himself, but his honesty with the Tschaaa Lord had been a source of humor rather than fear or anger. A master can be very forgiving of a pet he adores, as long as his pet does not bite him badly.

  It had been a week since The Fight. Everyone knew about it–although not the specific details–but no one broached the subject in front of the Director or his immediate staff. The work of the Base was completed on a timely basis. Mary and Kat showed up for work, now friendly, almost sisterly.

  Kat made a special broadcast on Tschaaa interpersonal relations–including the concepts of limited physical conflict between individuals, limited dueling, no wars, everything for the survival of the species by complete protection of all the young. Could humans emulate it?

  Adam shared a bed with Jamey and Jeanie, to feel the comfort of a warm human body, intimacy rather than sex. They seemed to sense this need, foregoing the games they might have otherwise tried to play to cuddle instead. Adam was somewhat surprised by their instinctive grasp of the situation. He had written them off as possible airheads, but he finally realized how wrong he was. Exactly one week to the day from The Fight, Kathy and Mary respectively requested his presence after work at the suite the women now shared. Adam completed his normal duties, took a shower, put on some casual slacks and shirt. He had two identical bouquets of flowers, as a peace offering.

  He knocked on the door. Two voices as one beckoned him inside the dimly lit suite.

  “Come to the bedroom, please, Director,” instructed Mary. He walked into the bedroom, where two visions of sat on the end of the bed. Kat and Mary. Both in identical sheer silk robes, and nothing else. They let the silk robes fall, and Adam felt a rush of passion he had not experienced for quite some time. Maybe sex had become too mechanical to him, too much about stress relief. Tonight, it was all passion.

  “I want you, Adam.” Kat said.

  “I want you Adam.” Mary repeated.

  Suddenly, the two women turned toward each other.

  “I love you Kat.”

  “I love you Mary.”

  “Can you share Adam with me?”

  “Yes. I love him as I love you.”

  “And I love him as I love you also.”

  They both turned to Adam. In unison, they said, “Come, Adam. We need you. We need you to make the love work.”

  Adam went to them, and both women grabbed his hand. “We want you, we want your seed. We need your complete love.”

  Both women stood up and kissed opposite sides of his neck and throat. In unison, they spoke, “It is time.” Both women together pulled him to the bed.

  Adam woke after a relatively short sleep between two of the most beautiful women in the world. He slowly, gently unwrapped their arms from him. He managed to climb out of bed, and stood up, though he felt almost lightheaded. He knew from experience certain muscles would be sore, but he did not care. He had never felt so good, so loved.

  As he started to pull his pants on, Kat and Mary opened their eyes, smiled at him, and then slid close together, gently hugging. Adam had no idea of the plan behind the smiles. He made it back to his office suite and showered. The nice, long, warm shower, helped to soothe tired parts of his body. He exited, to find Jamey and Jeanie, laying out clean underwear and a clean pair of pants and shirt. In sheer nightgowns, they walked up, kissed him on each cheek, giggled, winked at him with knowing smiles, and then went back to the suite bedroom.

  Now he was beginning to wonder. Just who really ran the show?

  Adam was drinking a cup of coffee, when his phone rang. It was about 7:30am, so it was not that early. But with no Mary, he was his own receptionist. “Hello. Director here.”

  “Herr Director, Guten Morgan. I hope you had a good night’s rest.” It was Doctor Fredericks.

  He laughed. “You don't know the half of it. What can I do for you Doctor?”

  “I was wondering, if I may be so bold to ask, could you meet me at the Sportsplatz, the sports field, please?”

  “Couldn’t you come here, Doctor?”

  “I have something I need to show you here, please.”

  “Show me there? What...”

  “Please, Herr Director. Here at the sports field.” There was a sense of urgency, of concern he had not heard before in the Doctor’s voice. Something was up.

  “Okay, Doctor. I’ll be right there.”

  Ten minutes later, he saw Doctor Fredericks circling on the running track wearing a wide brimmed h
at. Adam walked quickly out to meet her.

  “Please, Herr Director, please keep walking with me. I need the exercise. And please do not mind that I am looking down. The ground is very interesting.” Adam knew she wanted to shield something she was holding from the eye in the sky, and was hoping this area was not wired for sound. “Here, please, look at this nanite in this small glass tube.”

  Adam took it, holding it low. “This is one of the newer ones that we just used to fix up the two women, correct?”

  “Correct, Herr Director. Now, as I was reviewing the containers of nanites, I found some that had been infused, shall we say, contaminated with this.” Adam looked at the second container. This small almost pill sized object looked more like a chemical pill or capsule than a nanite.

  “That, Herr Director, is a highly sophisticated time release capsule with organic, literally living properties. There seems to be a form of virus also. The Tschaaa nanites are like our cruder nanites. Almost little robots designed to repair, to clean, and to make better, with little organic chemical compounds thrown in to speed and help the process. This capsule seems to contain living organisms that eventually wash out of our systems.”

  “What do they do?” Adam asked.

  The Doctor walked a little faster. “As they say, the devil is in the details. We Germans had our devils, the most notorious was Mengele. He experimented with genetics and chemicals to influence the reproduction of the human race, to produce a superior race. He set back trust in German science at least twenty-five years. I think it took until the fall of the Berlin Wall before people began to trust German scientists again.”

  “And Doctor, the connection is....?”

  Doctor Fredericks stopped short. “That and other capsules directly interferes with our reproductive system and its controlling DNA, genes and hormones. It produces ninety-nine percent fertility in all females, speeds up the development of the baby in the womb. Seven months will become the standard gestation period instead of nine. Maybe even quicker. Once born, I believe children will develop faster, age faster. A full grown adult at ten years of age, if a women and the child are given a large dose. A smaller dose, everyone gets pregnant, more normal development.”

  She shivered. “A large dose, massive growth in and out of the womb. Gigantism but without the crippling side effects. Seven feet tall supermen at twelve years of age.”

  Adam stared at her. “Brain development?”

  “There, I am unsure.” She chewed her lip. “Overstimulated brain development may cause psychological problems, psychosis. Humans need time to grow and process the worlds around them. Or, we may have geniuses all over the place. Right now, it is a crapshoot.”

  Adam stood in contemplation before he continued. “You have found this already in a human, haven’t you?”

  The Doctor paused, her brow furrowed with concern. “Six women are pregnant with signs of developing fetuses at a faster rate. After finding these capsules in with the nanites, I did a chemical and physical analysis. I used this as a basis to test the women. They have been infused with the materials in the capsule. Concentrations are hard to judge.”

  Adam stood stock still for so long the Doctor was beginning to worry that he had slipped into a fugue state. “Director Lloyd?” She finally said softly.

  “Doctor, have you ever felt totally used, lied to?”

  “Well, many of my relatives were used totally by the Nazis. By the time they realized that they were being used for the Final Solution, it was either too late or, they decided they did not really care. After all, they were not Jews, were they?”

  “Can you keep this quiet, Doctor?”

  “Of course. We are here, in the middle of a running track. Is not this secret enough?”

  “Thank you.” He started to walk away.

  “Oh, Director, there is one important side effects in females I believe will show up.”

  “What is that?”

  “They become very aggressive in seeking mates and mating, much more than normal. I believe the substances cause a rise in sexual desire as well as physical aggressiveness toward competitors. That is with even low doses, I believe. I also think in may cause a change in the natural scent of a woman, pheromones, that in men, when they get a whiff, seems to add to the normal randiness, nothing more. After all, women in civilized society limit their sexual availability. Now, their inhibitions have been reduced to a very, very low level.”

  Adam stopped. He was squeezing his hands in fists so tight his knuckles were white.

  “Thank you, Doctor. You are a treasure to the human species.” He strode off.

  Doctor Fredericks sighed, and mumbled to herself. “My duty is done.”

  Adam strode back to his office a bit in a daze. He was still trying to process the ramifications of a modified human race along the lines the Doctor had told him. What if people were seven feet tall but so lacking in intelligence that they were easily controlled by the Tschaaa? Would they then be used to wipe out all but the Cattle? What if super intelligence evolved? Would the new oversized humans look on normal humans and even the Tschaaa as inferior beings to be disposed of? Did his Lordship and the other Lordships realize they may have created a Frankenstein monster that may turn on them?

  He put his face in his hands. What a complete, horrible mess.

  Who to tell? The Chief, of course. Then Kat and Mary. Hopefully they would help him figure this out before it became general knowledge. Adam hoped that anything Kat and Mary had in their bodies would not affect their ability to reason this out. He had no idea if nanites, the genetic and the organic material introduced into women’s bodies had any mind control properties. But, he had to tell them, as he was sure, based the way they had been acting, they had some dosage of the, what he would call, the Sex Pill. He started by calling Kat and Mary.

  Kat, Mary and the Chief stood together on the track at the athletic and parade field. All were in shock after he told them what the good Doctor had discovered. All four humans were wearing wide brimmed hats to help hide their faces from prying eyes form the sky. Adam waited for the information to sink in. Mary began to cry. Kat reached over and put her right arm around her and hugged her close. Kat’s own eyes were beginning to tear up. The Chief had a look of stone cold anger.

  “Well, friends, now what?” Adam asked.

  “Someone owes us an explanation,” the Chief finally said.

  “Yes, I will be contacting his Lordship soonest. But, you have to remember that, down deep, we are like trained dogs to him. And we screwed with the genealogy of dogs for thousands of years. So, are we morally superior in any way?”

  “But they are not sentient beings like us,” Kat blurted out.

  “From our standpoint, yes. But from the Tschaaa, not necessarily so. At least not at the same level of the Tscahaa. We can get as mad as we like. However, if we bite the hand, or in this case the tentacle, we could be put down.”

  Mary produced a tissue and dabbed her eyes. “Well, I am pretty sure I am now pregnant. Kat?”

  “Ditto, Sister. Don’t give me that look, Boss. Yes, we planned on a polygamist relationship with you. And do not tell me you hadn’t given it a thought after last night. Sorry to bring this up in front of you, Chief.”

  “I’m just jealous that I don’t have two beautiful wives to take care of me.”

  Adam harrumphed. “Well, if we are all finished with working over my mind and manipulating me, the question remains. What next?”

  Kat answered first. “We get a complete checkup by Frau Doktor, and see if she can determine any side effects. If there is anything negative, I think I will be going Squid hunting.”

  Mary looked hard at Adam. “I will have to second that notion, Director.”

  “Chief? Any other suggestions?”

  The Chief paused in thought. He sighed, and shook his head.

  Adam addressed Kat and Mary, “Ladies, although I believe it is early for you to be certain you are pregnant, but go ahead and contact Frau Doktor
in private. At the very least she can determine how much of a dose you both have received.”

  “In the meantime, I will have Andrew set up a secure video connection with our Lordship so I can talk to him without being there.”

  The Chief gave him a worried look. “You want to bring Andrew in on this? Now?”

  “Yes, Chief. I am curious as to just how much of his humanity and ability for independent thought remains in him.”

  It took Adam a while to get back to his office. He pinged Andrew. Thirty seconds later, Andrew called back. “I seemed to remember, Director, a character in a television program that used to answer with, ‘You rang?’”

  Adam smiled. “Lurch, from The Addams Family. I think the actor who played him was taller than you are. He was one big man.”

  “So, how may I be of service, Director?”

  “I need a secure video hookup with His Lordship, if you could, please.”

  “I will be in your office in ten minutes.”

  “Thank you, Andrew.”

  In exactly ten minutes, Andrew walked into his office. “I am here as you requested, Director.” He removed the communicator from a hidden recess on his body and connected it with Adam’s computer monitor to give an enhanced image. He made the connection, communicated silently thru his cyber connections, then handed the communicator to Adam. Lord Neptune appeared on the computer monitor.

  “My Director. Andrew says you have some serious matters to discuss. I hope you are not distressed?”

  Adam took a breath and exhaled. “Your Lordship, in the name of the continued truthfulness we have always shared, yes, I am distressed.”

  “How so, Adam?” The Tschaaa moved his tentacles in a gesture of concern.

  “Lordship, just what modifications have you been making to our human females?”Adam held up the organic object Dr. Hendericks had found mixed in with the medical repair nanites.

  The Tschaaa Lord paused. Then he answered. “My Director, I have been providing specially designed organic, genetic, and hormonal substances, including specialized nanites, to improve your species. They have been primarily aimed at your breeders, your women. These substances were introduced into your populace to help your species by making your offspring, your young, stronger, smarter, larger and more numerous. That is why these actions were taken. Not to harm you. To make your species better.”