“Ja, bror, vart nya hem, our new home, and for your new niece or nephew.” She smiled. She wanted to tell everyone now.
“Vad? I’m to be an uncle?” He pushed back so his face was floating in front of hers. He embraced her awkwardly in the zero-g and kissed her cheek. “Grattis syster. I promise I will be a good uncle.”
Li Li squinted as she looked up. Small cumulus clouds floated by. They were all looking, necks straining, their hands across their brows to block the glare.
“There!” exclaimed David, pointing to a small, silver dot shimmering from reflected sunlight.
They watched as the dot grew larger and resolved into the familiar shape of a small jet, complete with Drukh Air markings. But it did not fly like an ordinary jet. It fell, slowly, until finally, it settled softly in a small, prepared clearing.
They all ran up to the door. There was a moment’s hesitation and Constance yelled, “come on, hurry up.”
The door opened and Prosperous and Akoi reached for the ladder to pull it down quicker. Eva appeared at the door, squinted and waved. They cheered and clapped. Freja was the first to descend. She stood for a moment, trying to get her bearings, shocked by the sensory overload.
“Come on,” said someone playfully behind her.
She still couldn’t move. She couldn’t make sense of the wild display of colour: red and yellow trees, purple grass and fluorescent blue flowers, along with the tropical humidity and heady scent of strange new fragrances. She took a tentative step down and looked for Li Li, only to be greeted by Anne and Constance placing lei of large, fragrant, white four-petal flowers around her neck. She bowed her head to accept it and to kiss them on the cheek. When she looked toward the back, there Li Li was with David: tiny, naked, tanned and lean, her stomach protruding slightly because of her pregnancy, her neck and one ankle decorated with colourful shell and seed beadwork. It was too much. Tears flowed and she rushed, almost missing a step and tripping.
“Take it easy people,” Eva barked.
She hurried into Li Li’s arms and could not hold back. She stroked Li Li’s belly. “I’m pregnant too Li,” she said through tears.
Anaïs had a different plan. She was ready to fully embrace her new home in a far more dramatic way. It had occurred to her that this moment was a rebirth and the jumper was a symbolic womb. She decided that, like all newborn children, she would emerge naked. So she stripped in the plane, divesting herself of everything from Earth (she had deliberately avoided wearing makeup or perfume of any kind, or underwear). Some were surprised by her actions and some cheered her and joined her, like Tehani, and surprisingly, Sarakit. When she emerged into the full golden sunlight of Eden she took a deep breath and threw up her hands. Her old life was over. She searched the waiting faces for Prosperous, found him and raced into his arms.
Freja heard the pop of a champagne bottle and looked back to see Eva spraying them from the top of the gantry. A loud cheer went up and Anaïs joined her, along with Prosperous, hugging them and jumping up and down with excitement.
Eva threw out cold bottles of the finest Veuve Clicquot champagne to waiting hands. “A gift from Akash.”
“Hey, don’t waste it,” complained Archi. “This stuff costs a fortune.”
“As if that matters here,” said Junji shaking a bottle and spraying it over everyone.
“Don’t worry. He’s sent two cases. There are other delicacies too. He figured everyone would want to party,” Eva yelled.
Akoi gave a wild ululation and people began to dance and jump as the group grew steadily larger.
Freja felt a rush of energy. It was so hot she finally stripped and tossed all her clothes to the side, abandoning herself to her new reality. Suddenly a weight lifted off her back. Surely she had no more worries, she was in paradise? She closed her eyes and tilted her face to get the full effect of this new sun’s rays.
“Ola,” said a voice. She opened her eyes and turned to find its source. “So, you are the famous Li Li. I have heard much about you. I’m Paloma.” She leant forward to kiss Li Li. Like most of them, she had also stripped to the waist in the heat, revealing a Celtic tattoo on her upper left arm and perfect breasts swaying gently and hypnotically as she moved. Freja noticed that even Li Li looked at them with open admiration - everyone did, perhaps the women more so than the men. There was just something about Paloma; something wild and dangerous, something that appealed to both sexes. Of course Freja knew exactly what Paloma was doing – ingratiating herself with one of the key personalities. Perhaps that was why she was dangerous, because she was so instinctively political.
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you too. Your introduction to this project was somewhat dramatic.”
“Si, perhaps fated, as was yours, for different reasons.”
Li Li tilted her head, her curiosity piqued.
“I think we are not too different, politically,” said Paloma to explain a little too conspiratorially. “But there is plenty of time for such discussions.” She smiled and walked away to introduce herself to the other Firsts. Li Li couldn’t help but follow her with her eyes.
Li Li looked at Freja for some sort of explanation. “Don’t look at me, I haven’t had time to get to know her,” she said, equally mystified.
“Might she be trouble?”
Freja shrugged her shoulders. “Speak to Anaïs, she was the one who made the call.”
Li Li watched Paloma introduce herself to Akoi. Had she already worked out who the key personalities were? And had Anaïs and Eva followed up with a thorough background check? She didn’t think Paloma was a spy, although it was something that had to be considered. It was more likely that she might be an advocate for a different political agenda, one not necessarily in accord with her own vision – perhaps a political rival?
She found herself standing back, watching the unfolding dynamics of the group. Little cliques had already formed, mostly around areas of common interest. Junji and Archi were talking to the Papuan geologist, Solomon, the tall Ukrainian engineer, Sascha and the Mongolian mineralogist, Tommo. Anne had found Eva and the Hawaiian Tehani; Constance had taken the Thai forester Sarakit and the Burmese Somaly under her wing; and David was joking with the islanders, Grace and Put Put. Most hadn’t hesitated to go native – they had all expected it; some had even brought sarongs in anticipation.
The Ethiopian, Adey Ashenafi, was standing back, looking overwhelmed and uncomfortable. She had taken off her shirt in sympathy with everyone else, but she seemed unhappy about it. Li Li felt the immediate pull to go and reassure her.
“Vous regardez solitaire?” said Li Li smiling as she gave Adey a welcoming, formal kiss to the cheek.
“Oui, il est trop beau. A little too overwhelming. I hadn’t expected… The colour… It’s beautiful and yet terrifying. And the instantaneous jump… I feel as if we needed to take time to travel. It’s not right.”
“I understand. I was exactly the same. It is hard to focus. I was all over the place.”
“I am also not used to… I’m more of an introvert…”
“Ah oui, there are some strong personalities, and I suppose you didn’t quite expect to see that we had all gone so thoroughly native so quickly?”
Adey blushed and dropped her head. “I understood and expected it. I have worked with tribal communities in southern Ethiopia – secretly I admired them. But yes, it will take some getting used to. It is my issue. I do not expect people to modify their behaviour on my account. I guess one cannot really know how one will react until it has happened.”
“Each person reacts differently. Perhaps those who react with initial excitement will have their moment of shock in a few days. Perhaps they will wake at night and see the light of two moons and then the reality will sink in.”
Adey nodded. “Of course. I know this, theoretically… You seem to have settled in?”
“Yes, it is funny. This feels like our real home now. The place humanity really belongs.”
“Eve in her Para
dise?”
Li Li nodded her agreement quietly.
“I have heard stories that my part of Africa was once like this. During the Neolithic, when the Sahara was green. Many people believe it was a paradise of plenty, before we angered the gods with our arrogance and they turned it into a desert.”
“It is a powerful story found in many cultures, but perhaps we can learn the lesson, non?”
Adey sighed. “Yes, perhaps, at least, that’s why I am here on a new Eden. So perhaps I should get on with it?” She looked at Li Li’s stomach. “How has your pregnancy progressed so far? Any morning sickness?”
Li Li gave a small laugh. “Luckily, no, but unfortunately I have cravings for blue cheese, most especially a little cheese called Fourme d”Ambert, a rather pungent, traditional goat’s cheese, and sadly there are no goats or cows on Eden.”
“And no bacteria for the culture either…”
“No, the bacterial ecology is quite different…”
“Yes, I was most interested in your reports. A colony would have been impossible without a benign bacterial ecology. Digestion alone requires…”
“Oh, it is more than that. I am thinking it might not be just benign, but beneficial. Everyone has noticed an improvement in overall vitality. If I were a superstitious person I might think this planet was designed especially for us. But come, let me show you to your hut, we will have plenty of time for microbiology…”
“Indeed, but first I need to do this.” Adey began to disrobe completely. “I must admit I secretly envied the tribes of the south. They wear their naked bodies with pride. I was just never brave enough.”
When she had finished she took a deep breath. She was lean and athletic: a perfect long distance runner’s body.
“In a few days you will no longer notice. In fact you will wonder what all the fuss was about,” Li Li laughed.
The initial excitement and celebration had calmed down and the First took on the duty of showing the Second around. The priorities for this phase of colonisation were different. The First had done the task of securing the site. Now they could afford to be relaxed and allow a period of orientation and adjustment before getting down to work. There was time for celebration and socialising. In that spirit some had been keen to head to the beach to wash off the stickiness of the champagne and escape the tropical heat. The jumper still had to be unloaded and gradually dismembered and reconfigured to create a small surgery and biomedical lab, but that would take time. It could wait.
At the end of a long day and after a delicious meal containing a mix of native foods, swimmers and Earth staples (mainly non-perishables such as rice and pasta), they relaxed around a small bonfire (although it was still humid). Eros was full and bright and fireflies darted about in the nearby forest. Many had commented that the mood was one of enchantment, as if Eden were infusing them with her erotic energy. Li Li was wrapped in David’s arms with Prosperous and Anaïs similarly engaged nearby. They were watching Tehani, Put Put and Grace teach each other their traditional dances, expertly accompanied by David and Solomon on makeshift percussion - which, encouraged by alcohol, hashish (care of Akash - another special treat) and much laughter, had moved to the more erotic gestures and moves: earlier Tehani had entertained them with a very raucous and erotic hula. Grace had loudly announced that Eden reminded her a great deal of her home and life in a small Yap village, observing that far from being futuristic, space travel had turned out to be a return to the past.
“Who said the future had to be futuristic anyway?” Rafael had shouted to laughs of appreciation, and it seemed to become the motto of the evening.
As some of the other women got up to learn the dances, Paloma joined Li Li and David. She was completely naked now, decorated in tribal paint by Anne and Akoi, her skin glistening in the flickering light.
“Mind if I join you?” she asked, standing directly before Li Li, as if she assumed they would say yes.
Li Li adjusted her position to give her room and in that small moment looked at her body directly. She was indeed beautiful, but not by any conventional measure, she was an eccentric, slightly wild beauty. She was small by European standards: curvy, well-proportioned with strong limbs, and those breasts: disproportionate on her small frame, but firm with a nice curve upwards and small, smooth, light brown nipples. Li Li found herself blushing. Had Paloma sensed she was assessing her? She tried to look away but she had become fixated on her pudenda, shaved and decorated with an elaborate Celtic tattoo, with perfectly even and generous, external labia minora. She felt a strong pang of primitive desire. It was clear Paloma was a very sexual and sensuous woman; confident, totally unashamed, comfortable with being admired, sexually extrovert.
“My family can trace their heritage back to a Celtic tribe called the Aquitani. They are related to the modern Basque.” She sat close to Li Li and grabbed her hand reassuringly, as if she were a close friend.
Li Li was confused; a rush of ill-defined emotion clouded her thoughts.
“The tattoo. It’s connected to one of the Celtic goddesses, a fertility symbol.” Paloma explained. “You were admiring it.”
“Yes, oh, I see… If I recall Alice mentioned you carried a sequence found predominantly amongst the Basque,” Li Li said to deflect the conversation away from the fact that she had been admiring something else.
“That’s right, who knows how far back we go, Palaeolithic perhaps. I think it’s the fact that I belong to a rare haplogroup that finally persuaded the Korean that I was a worthwhile addition.” She spoke softly in her heavy accent. “I know I have not yet earned your trust Li. I sense you are a strong woman. A leader. But you need not be concerned about my motives.”
“I hardly know you, it’s too early to…” Li Li said defensively, put off guard by her directness.
Paloma squeezed her hand gently. “Please. You are an intelligent woman, very intelligent. You have considered every aspect of this project. I have spoken to Anaïs and Eva. We had plenty of time on the trip to Bhutan to get to know each other.”
The way she said it suggested a sexual encounter. “Anaïs did not say…”
“Well, she could not have easily summarised everything we shared. The sexual intimacy was necessary to build a stronger connection, no? And I was testing them. You can tell a lot about someone by the way they fuck. Anaïs is complex, interesting. Eva is bold, almost dominating. I will be straightforward with you about this. I have strong ideas on the issue of sexual politics. I am a sexual radical, a provocateur, theoretically and in practice. I follow the tradition of the psychoanalytic pioneers, Otto Gross, Wilhelm Reich, those who understood how repression is used as a political tool. Huxley understood these things too.”
“I knew some hippies in Darwin who were into that sort of thing. Free love,” said David, trying to make light of what had suddenly become an intense conversation. “Bit over my head.”
“It is an intuitive thing,” said Paloma to deflect his self-effacing comment. “The intellect can often miss the point. It involves a different part of the brain, connected to here, para el coño.” She grabbed her crotch.
“Yes, you are right. It is true Huxley belonged to the World League for Sexual Reform. He knew these people,” said Li Li. “The transhumanist message also believes in the transformation of human sexuality.”
“I have been interested in this idea ever since I read Huxley’s Island, in my opinion his best book. I longed to be a part of a society like that. I have always had a strong utopian instinct. I wanted you to understand where I am coming from. Perhaps in this sense, I am a Huxley too, but from a slightly different angle. From a very early age I could not understand or accept the taboos. I was always asking, por qué, pero por qué? We have a chance on Eden to create a genuinely sex-positive polity, like the island societies that inspired Huxley. I will be paying careful attention to the sexual culture we create here on Eden. I will not tolerate irrationality and pointless taboos. I want you to be my ally in this, because you und
erstand Huxley. I propose we begin by becoming lovers…”
“Sorry, did you just…” objected David, confused by Paloma’s suggestion.
“Si, but that includes you David. The Korean girl told me you are a good genetic match. I am poly, bisexual. I am suggesting an open triad, although I plan to fuck everyone eventually. We will have to get to know each other of course, but I already know Li is curious. I have a high emotional and sexual intelligence – if I may allow myself some arrogance. Her resistance to me is because she is attracted. Her cunt whispers to her, but her mind refuses to listen. As for me, I knew as soon as I saw her that I would have her.” She leant forward and kissed Li Li aggressively on the mouth. Li Li did not resist. “See David, now it is up to you. Will you kiss me too?”
David looked at Li Li, who was too stunned to object. Paloma leant across Li Li to kiss David. His reaction was immediate and impossible to hide.
“The point for you to say no is now,” said Paloma as she leant back, giving a mischievous smile of satisfaction and looking at both of them for any sign of objection or resistance.
Li Li looked at David and blushed. “Are you okay babe?”
He nodded, still shocked by the bluntness of the proposition.
Li Li leant forward and kissed Paloma and did what she had wanted to from the beginning, place her hands on her breasts. She felt a rush of passion and kissed Paloma harder. Then she sat back and watched as Paloma kissed David and adjusted her position to straddle him so that she was facing Li Li.
“Shouldn’t we take this somewhere else?” David suggested.
Paloma lifted her hips. “No, here is perfect. I can assure you we are not the only ones who will be fucking tonight.”
Li Li watched as Paloma spat on her fingers, coated his erection with saliva and without a second thought, slowly and expertly guided it into her anus, thus allowing Li Li full access to her vulva. It was a sexual variation she had not yet dared to try but in which Paloma seemed very experienced. It was the most arousing thing she had ever seen. She kissed Paloma again. “I want to watch you orgasm, so I understand who you are,” she said softly as her pulse began to race. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Anaïs straddling a prone Prosperous, her hips grinding back and forth gently; and through the flames she thought she could see Eva and Tehani kissing.
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