“It’s okay, Zane. If it helps. You weren’t the only one who was scared and needed support.” Janis shifted position and kissed him before snuggling back into his warm embrace.
“In a way it does. I’m glad you weren’t alone. Though I don’t want details.”
“We’re only human.”
Zane nodded. “With Richard and I spotting weakness in the Darmuk bio-forms our guys were able to stall them in the mountains.
“Candy just gravitated into a position as Richard’s secretary. She also knew how to work a camera and started joining Richard and I when we went to the front to eyeball the new bio-forms the Darmuks kept coming up with.
“Accidents happen. Candy got knocked up, we got married. It was four months later that we were in a trench on the Nevada border with Richard. Candy always looked cute in camouflage, though she hated it.”
“No need for added commentary,” said Janis.
“She could never hold a candle to you. You look cute in nothing at all.”
“Feeling ready to play. Finish the story first.” Janis stroked his human cheek.
“I’d begged General Flanders to keep her behind the lines, but this was still early days for the war. The research division was short staffed. We were shooting footage of a battle-grizzly. You ever seen one of them?”
“No.”
“They didn’t function too long. Very susceptible to a modified brain parasite. They pulled them off the front pretty quick after we worked out a counter measure. They had a tendency of going mad and slaughtering their own side. Big suckers, bipedal with paws modified into hands. Otherwise they look like a grizzly bear and are almost as pleasant to be around. They dressed in Kevlar jumpers that made them bullet proof.”
“Sounds nasty.”
“They are. A mixed company was attacking. Bullets were taking out the battle-apes. We were using gas grenades against the Scoripine; you know how weak the respiratory systems of those six-foot bug types are. A battle-grizzly pushed through the line. Nothing was stopping it. It had a captured flamethrower and took aim at Candy. She didn’t see it, I did. I leapt, knocked her out of the way and took the flames myself. She grabbed a fire extinguisher from our ATV and put me out, but it was a little late.”
“I don’t remember what happened next. I’ve been told Richard smeared crazy glue onto a grenade and threw it at the battle-grizzly. It caught the grenade and tried to throw it back, couldn’t then boom.
“Anyway, they rushed me to the medevac and they managed to keep me alive. When Candy saw me it was too much. She demanded I resign my commission and we use my disability status to go to Australia. I couldn’t. Richard and General Flanders had already offered to build me a cybernetic left side. I couldn’t live as half a man if I had the chance to be whole. She used my injured status to get into Australia then served the divorce papers over the internet.
“I’ve never even seen my son. She’s sent me a couple of pictures. She’s remarried. A Hydrologist. Little Zane calls him daddy. She hasn’t told him any different. In a way I don’t want her to.”
“What a selfish bitch!” said Janis.
“Would you have raised Betty in a war zone with a man you couldn’t bear to look at?”
Janis held him closer, hearing the sorrow in his voice. “You’re a lot more generous to her than I am.”
“Hey, I think someone wants to play now.”
“You.” Janis kissed him and pushed him gently onto his back. His penis was still flaccid but there were the beginnings of an erection. She trailed kisses down his right side, pausing to run her tongue over his nipple. He ran the fingers of his good hand through her hair.
“Janis.”
“Hmm.” She looked up from where she was running her tongue around his navel while she ticked his scrotum.
“She could never have been half of what you are to me. You are the greatest love I have ever known.”
“What happened to the boy who always said the wrong thing with girls?” she asked.
“He saw too much and lived too long to ever be a boy again. A man needs a woman, not a girl. You’re everything to me.”
Janis moved up his body and kissed him. Her hand stroked the left side of his face as lovingly as it ever stroked the right. She stared into his eye and saw the love there. Her body pressed against his. His erection grew between them. She lifted off him just enough to caress it.
His fingers played through her hair. His tongue licked the edge of the scar on her jaw. His left hand stroked over her back, abrasive yet stimulating. He rolled her onto her back then kissed down her body to her breasts, suckling each. He kissed and licked the skin around the scars on her chest.
Janis sighed, his touch made her feel young. His loving caress made her forget the marks that her battles had brought.
Zane positioned himself and entered her. She was his and his alone. He moved slowly, savoring every second. The creases by her eyes intrigued him. So much living, so much learning. He kissed her eyelids. She opened her eyes and stared into his face. He faltered. He’d seen the image in the mirror and Janis usually kept her eyes closed. He’d come to expect it.
He gazed into her face and saw only love, acceptance, and respect. A tear gathered at the corner of his eye and she brushed it away with a fingertip.
“My husband, my love,” she whispered.
Zane’s heart filled. He continued to love her but more as an excuse to hold her than from a sense of passion. He wanted to be as close to her as he could and this was it. He lay his torso over hers and kissed her.
They orgasmed together; a long slow release that filled them with warmth.
Zane lay on his love, holding her, staring into her face.
Janis smiled at him then she laughed.
“What?” Zane looked confounded.
“I just thought. Could you have imagined Betty’s reaction to us being married?”
Zane let his jaw drop and made a choking sound followed by “Like, Mom, find your own leftovers.”
They both laughed then sobered.
“She would have wanted us to keep living,” said Janis.
“We have. This proves it.” Zane kissed her shifted to her side and held her close.
“Darling?”
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to say it.”
Chapter Sixteen
Bad Choices
“So, back to see your lady love,” said Carol, sarcasm staining her lovely voice.
“Ha ha. See if I ever confide in you again?” Ben settled on the interface couch.
“Come on it is pretty weird. The upload is a cyber ghost. Data, just data.” She brushed straight the lab coat she wore over her uniform wishing it would conform to her figure just a little.
“I know that. It’s just. Carol, I don’t know how to explain it.” He tugged his shirt down to get rid of the rumpled effect sitting had given it.
“Try, I’m listening.” The nurse moved to his side and prepped the IV.
“It’s the most intimate thing there is. When you spot-check the feed you literally become the person. Feel what they feel, know what they know, and think what they think. It’s like you were a passive observer in someone else’s life. You lose yourself becoming the memory until you come out of it. I know I’m Ben, but when I’m in there I’m Ashley. When I come out a part of her is still with me, as real as any memory of my own.”
“Doesn’t that freak you out? I mean, Ashley liked men. Unless you’re…”
“No way. I’m as straight as the day is long.”
“What about the nights?” She inserted the IV and started the feed.
“I like women. I just don’t sweat it when I link into Ashley and her boyfriend. It’s kinda’ novel really. I like sex as a man, but there’s a spice that yo
u women have that’s very different.”
“You thinking of shifting sides?”
“Hell no! It’s not being with a man that gives the spice, it’s being a woman. Damn. I don’t know how to explain it. Hell, unless you’ve been through it I don’t think you can understand it. I know Mary from the Zane downloads is having problems. She called me up to talk about it. Oh, this is silly. I should jack in. By the way, that outfit you wore when you came in this morning looked really nice.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Ben stared at the calendar and spoke. “It is March 8th twenty-thirty-seven.” as he slipped the interface home.
* * * *
Upload monitoring/ Ashley Hinkly /Index 07:33/ 8/9/2032
* * * *
“We talked all evening. He’s so intelligent. Did you know he speaks four human languages in addition to his own,” enthused Ashley, the breakfast in front of her nearly forgotten.
“Sounds remarkable.” Richard listlessly pulled his fork over his scrambled eggs.
“He is. We talked about the stars. This is his first interstellar mission.”
“Really.” Richard put his fork down and tried to sip at his coffee. He looked tired and he was almost scowling.
“He thinks Earth looks pretty. It seems odd to him that we build in stone. They grow their buildings so they supply their own internal temperature controls and produce edibles for the people that live in them.”
Richard sat up, his ire vanishing. “Really. What else did he say about his home world?”
“Oh well, not much. We mostly talked about my work. He’s very impressed with our computer technology. He said it’s quite advanced for a culture at our level of development.”
“I’m sure.”
“What was your evening like?” Ashley smiled at him. She was surprised to see his weariness vanish and a silly smile touch his lips.
“Bloody awful. The committee has all the cohesiveness of dysentery and is about as useful.”
“Too bad. I think the Darmuks are just what they appear to be.”
“I hope. I guess we should be getting to the airport. Flight leaves in three hours.”
“I’m staying for a few days. Tannal asked me to escort him to some of the official functions. Then there’s the ball at the white house next Friday.”
“Your experiments?”
“I’ve told Zane what to check. Don’t worry. I won’t blow my doctoral research over a man. Even if he is the hunk of all time.”
“I need to go. I have to catch my flight.” Richard stood.
“Bye. Thanks for bringing me to the party.”
“Don’t mention it.” He turned his back and headed towards the door. “Please don’t mention it,” she barely heard his second whisper.
* * * *
Upload monitoring/ Ashley Hinkly /Index 15:13/ 29/10/2032
* * * *
“That won’t work.” Ashley looked over Richard’s shoulder into the computer screen. They were both standing in his lab.
“The micro-manufacturing isn’t that difficult,” he countered.
“The chemical chain will be unstable. I discussed what your trying to do with Tannal last night and.”
Richard swiveled his chair and glared at her. “You discussed our work with Tannal!”
Ashley stepped back from the anger in his eyes. “It is their technology. And yes, I talk to him, he is my boyfriend.”
“Bo…bo…boyfriend?”
“He’s very interested in how we do things on Earth. His people don’t pair up like we do, but, well…we really hit it off.”
“Oh…Ashley, your work is your work, but I’d rather you didn’t discuss mine with him.”
“Fine. What is your problem?” Ashley felt her temper rising.
“Tannal, he’s. Never mind.”
“No, I mind. It’s because he’s an alien isn’t it. Mister liberal stretched past his comfort zone.”
“It isn’t that.” Richard rubbed the back of his neck.
“What then?”
“Ashley, you don’t want to hear it.”
“No I do!” She practically screamed at him.
“Fine. I don’t like him! He’s arrogant, self-centered, pompous, overbearing and a know-all. None of that has anything to do with the planet he was born on. I haven’t liked him since I met him at the landing ceremony, and nothing he’s done since has given me any reason to change my opinion of him.” Richard jerked his chair back so he faced his workstation.
“He’s from a more advanced society.” Ashley felt shocked and oddly conflicted.
“So they evolved to sentiency a few centuries before we did. Do we have to kiss their assess?”
“I can’t believe you feel that way.” Ashley stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Well I do!”
“Fine, Doctor Green. Waste your time pursuing a dead end for all I care.” Ashley turned on her heel and moved towards the door.
“Ash! Please,” called Richard.
“What!” she demanded without turning around.
Richard’s voice softened. “Be careful. Take…Precautions.”
“Precautions? You mean. That’s crazy, he’s another species. The chances of cross infection are.” She turned to face her mentor.
Richard once more turned his chair and stared at her with a pleading expression. “If I have ever done anything that would cause you to consider me a friend, do this for me, please.”
“Oh, all right. I’ll stop by the drug store. Happy now?”
“No, slightly relieved.”
Ashley stormed from the room.
* * * *
Upload monitoring/ Ashley Hinkly /Index 14:00/ 16/12/2032
* * * *
Ashley could feel Richard staring over her shoulder at the computer screen. On it a diagram of a human brain covered with a network of fine wires glowed. “Fantastic,” said Richard.
“I’m almost ready to start work on the prototype.” Ashley looked at him and smiled.
“This will change the world, Ash. Word of advice. Add an electro transmitter boost. Otherwise the nerves could overload.”
“Tannal says…”
“Trust a human who’s studied the biology of Earth life for his entire career. The feed rate will exhaust the neurons, unless you bump them up. Remember the problems we had with the cybernetic limb interface?”
“Okay, can you give me a hand with the design? The bio-chem is your side of things after all.”
“Sure. Since my Parkinson’s research became redundant I have some time.”
“The Darmuk cure is being fast tracked through the FDA. It’s wonderful. No more Parkinson’s. They’ve started work on a cure for Alzheimer.”
“Yes, wonderful. I only wish they were a little more forthcoming about how things worked. Reverse engineering gets boring after a while.” Richard sat on a lab stool facing Ashley.
“They need to protect their patents. Tannal says they want to build a permanent embassy, complete with laboratory facilities, so they can help advance our technology. The money from the patents will do that for them.”
* * * *
Upload monitoring/ Ashley Hinkly /Index 20:33/ 19/12/2032
* * * *
Tannal jerked up beneath her groaning then collapsed onto the bed. She sighed and slid off him before removing the condom she insisted he wear.
“That is a foolish affectation,” stated Tannal.
“It’s a safety precaution. Who knows what types of cross infection could occur.”
“I have assured you of your safety.”
“You aren’t infallible.”
Tannal huffed. Ashley settled down besid
e him. Tannal’s suite in the new embassy was huge and luxuriantly draped with sateen curtains that covered everything but the biological computer interfaces against the wall.
“I had a breakthrough in the lab today. Richard and I broke the feed rate problem for the cerebral bio-mechanical interface.”
“Yes, yes. You’re research. How interesting.” Tannal rubbed at the excess flesh that was accumulating over his abdomen.
“It is interesting. It holds out the real possibility of mating human and machine intellects. Osa is interested in the idea of being able to connect the human computer network directly with the Darmuk systems, allowing two way interfacing. The advantages are mind-boggling.”
“A biological mind is vastly superior to any machine. Mating one biologic system with another is a thing we will teach you when you are ready.”
“Of course a biological mind is superior, but the ability to control a device remotely. The medical advantages of allowing a doctor to control a miniature robot that could do incision-less surgery. The potentials are limitless.”
“Yes yes. I’m hungry. Prepare a sandwich for me.”
Ashley stared at the alien. “Tannal, I’m a doctoral candidate in biology. I am your girlfriend. I am not your servant.”
Tannal snorted. “I am a Darmuk. You are human. I think a measure of respect is due us considering what we are giving your people.”
“That may be true outside our relationship, but here we’re Tannal and Ashley. I’m not your slave.”
“Bring me the food!” Tannal picked up the remote and turned on the television at the foot of his bed.
“Look, Tannal. I am not jumping up and getting you a sandwich. Now stop ignoring me and turn off the television.”
Tannal turned up the volume. Ashley stood and pulled the plug.
“I was watching that,” snapped Tannal.
“You know Zane was right, you are an arrogant prat,” snapped Ashley.
War of the Worlds 2030 Page 13
