by Nathan Wolf
While she talked, Lisa moved from one window to the next as she pointed out the different aspects of the underground complex. Her enthusiasm was catching.
"We produce far more electricity than we need. The excess capacity doesn't go to waste because we use it to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. We use the hydrogen to power fuel cells and as stored potential energy. We’ve gut enough surplus hydrogen we could go into the Zeplin business,” Lisa said with a chuckle.
“Our location is so remote that it's impractical to import gasoline. That's why we've converted all our vehicles to run on hydrogen. The cabin is steam heated. We keep the fireplaces going for their psychological benefits rather than for heating value. Our relationship with fire is both a primal and tribal thing. There's something about fire and an open hearth that makes a house a home," Lisa said, as she tapped the ash off her cigarette into an empty water glass which doubled as an ashtray.
"Let's take a walk. I've got a few things to show you guys," Lisa motioned for us to follow her as she exited the control room.
I couldn't help smiling. Lisa was beginning to sound like one of those infomercials on late night television. Just as she gilds the lily with more features than you could possibly imagine, she opens the next chapter with the words, "Wait! There's more..." or in this case, 'I've got a few things to show you."
We followed the trail down to a winding passageway leading to another cavern deep under the mountain. After several hundred feet, the corridor emptied into an illuminated grotto. The air in the open space was thick with humidity and the rich scent of growing things. Spread out before us was an expansive underground hydroponic garden roughly the size of a football field.
The garden's computerized hydroponic system automatically operated with a minimum of human intervention. Row upon row of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and other vegetables thrived under a full spectrum array of an artificial lighting system. There was a patch reserved for Cannabis production. Forty or fifty dark green marijuana plants added a pungent fragrance to the air.
"Our Colony is nearly 100% self-sufficient in the production of food. We hunt deer and elk and take one or two a week. We also have a herd of 35 or 40 free-range cattle and two-dozen swine, to say nothing of our flocks of free-range chickens. The only foods that we still import are wheat for flour, coffee, and sugar.
We could grow winter wheat in the valley, but the fields would stand out like a neon sign on satellite imagery. Speaking of food, it's time for lunch," Lisa said.
The Colony leader led us to an elevator shaft dug out of one side of the hydroponics room instead of following the route we had taken to the cavern. We emerged in the grand kitchen of the main cabin a few minutes later.
Several sisters, a few dressed in aprons and nothing else, were busy fixing the Colony's midday meal. Lunch consisted of the remainder of last night's venison stew, freshly baked bread, and a garden salad. The food looked and smelled as delicious as the naked backsides of the kitchen crew.
I didn't realize how hungry I was until I took a bite of the warm bread. The next ten minutes passed without conversation as we consumed lunch in blissful silence. I tried to process what I had seen on Lisa's tour of the Colony. What she and her family of sisters had constructed defied description, and was Goddamned close to defying imagination. I wouldn't have believed such a thing was possible if I wasn't a witness.
"How did you find this place, and how did this community come to be?" I asked Lisa as I spread a pat of freshly churned butter on a new slice of warm bread.
"My father and I found this place by accident about thirty-five years ago. We were hunting on horseback and came up over a ridge, and we saw this spectacular valley below. The cabin was in ruins, but it was still beautiful. My dad knew these mountains like the back of his hand, but he had no idea this place existed until the day we stumbled on it," Lisa's eyes were closed as she shared her memories.
Several of the sisters took seats near us and listened intently to the conversation while the Colony leader told the story of the valley's discovery.
Most of the lunchtime crowd was dressed in work clothes, although a couple of the women were nude. The mixture of dressed and undressed females was oddly erotic and distracting, and I had to force myself not to stare.
"We explored the cabin's wreckage. I was the one who found the old safe filled with stock certificates for the Liberty Mountain Mining Company - 345,000 shares total. The original owners cleared out when the gold ran out, and the mine went bust."
Lisa paused and chuckled before she continued, "They even left a note which described the gold mining venture as a 'fool's dream' and anyone stupid enough to try to make a go of it was welcome to the company and all its worthless holdings. We researched the enterprise when we returned to Denver. Apparently, no one had filed paperwork to dissolve the company. Although dormant, it was still a legally valid entity."
"We had to settle nearly 160 years worth of back taxes, fines, and fees to the tune of $240,000 to get on the right side of the law. It was worth every cent," Lisa said with a grin that would put the Cheshire cat to shame.
"Dad and I fixed the cabin up enough to be useful as a family hunting lodge. We came up to the mountains every year before he died and I became the sole owner of the Liberty Mountain Mining Company."
"I continued to visit the cabin with friends and lovers after my dad died. We fancied ourselves a 'Society of Sisters' and often daydreamed of starting an all-women commune. We pooled our money and purchased lottery tickets. We planned to split any winnings among the players. We used to daydream about winning and held many discussions on what to do with our good fortune if we ever won. Then it happened. We found out that we held the winning lottery ticket to a huge jackpot," Lisa said
The word about Lisa's history lesson spread and a dozen or more sisters joined the others at the table.
"Each sister could have cashed out with $1.5 million before taxes if we had split the money evenly, but the windfall would have been the end of our group. We decided, after much discussion, to pool our money and build a state of the art survival colony instead. The vote was unanimous," she said.
"I remember the vote well. I wasn't ready to live away from civilization, and turning my back on that kind of cash in my pocket was a tough choice. I considered the money as an alternative retirement account," Darlene said.
The attention to detail and planning which went into the Colony's creation was impressive. Lisa and her group spent a year creating a shell company to redeem the $75 million winning lottery ticket to avoid the public attention associated with winning a large jackpot. The Society drafted a charter and a set of bylaws governing the community's operation.
Everything was open and democratic according to Darlene's remarks, and comments from several sisters, at least as open as a secret society could be. Free and open elections for Colony leadership resulted in Lisa's selection as leader, a post she had held without visible opposition for the last 15 years. Members of the family of sisters were fiercely loyal to each other and to their leader. The fact that I was accepted, or at least tolerated, by Lisa did much to improve my standing as a 'guest.'
"I love what you've done to the place."
"The only thing missing is children," one of the women said to Lisa.
The comment about children hung like a pregnant pause in the air. Looking around, I was startled to see all eyes were on me as the phrase 'founding father' took on a potentially new meaning.
"Children might be a nice addition," Lisa said.
Chapter 10 – (Return to index)
The tour of the Liberty Mountain camp consumed most of the day, and I welcomed the chance to sit down and collect my thoughts. We were back in the cabin with about twenty minutes to spare before dinner service, and I wanted to use the time to clean up before supper. Darlene had left me on my own for the evening to rekindle a long lost friendship or love affair. Her parting words for the evening were, "Don't get into too many beds and if yo
u do, save a spot for me." I had a real affection for Darlene. She was unusual in that she was emotionally loyal while also a free spirit when it came to sex. We were as much fellow travelers as we were lovers. Ever try to force a cat to sit on your lap against their will? It never ends well for either the cat or your lap. The night belonged to me. I frankly welcomed a few solitary moments.
I went to our room, changed out of my clothes, grabbed a towel, a bar of soap, and visited one of the four community showers. Any hope of sneaking in for a quick scrub down without company ended when I entered the room. The hour prior to the evening meal apparently was rush hour. I spotted the naked bodies of several females of various ages amid billowing clouds of steam. The way the light glistened off the women's skin sent a jolt of lust through me. The 'slippery when wet' sensuality of water on naked flesh is a major turn-on.
I waited my turn by the sinks lining one wall. I glanced around for a urinal to use out of instinct. The designers of the woman's restroom neglected to install plumbing for men, of course. Situational awareness demanded that I be more mindful of my surroundings until I learned the practices and customs of my new home. Looking for urinals in a women's bathroom equaled a major brain fart.
My voyeuristic presence in the shower room remained unnoticed by the ladies, so I took the opportunity to watch and relax as the sisters frolicked under the streams of steaming water. Each of the sisters shared a common physical trait with the others. In fantastic shape, the naked bodies displayed the lean and well-toned appearance of women who worked and played hard. The clothing optional dress code produced deep, bronze-colored natural tans. Even the most expensive tanning booths couldn't duplicate the deep golden hue of a sunshine tan.
The unlimited supply of hot water didn't lend itself to short showers. A person could spend the entire day in the shower without hitting cold water if they wanted to. Voyeurism soon gave way to impatience. I would be likely to die of old age before I got a chance to take a shower at the rate things were going. Finally, I left my towel on the sink and entered the clouds of steam with a bar of soap in hand in search of hot water.
My appearance at the center of the group elicited a short 'eek!' of surprise from Charlotte, who made an instinctive and half-assed attempt to cover herself with her hands. One of the women called out, "What are you doing in here Dennis?"
"I'm here to clean up like you guys before dinner," I said.
"Well, come on in. The water's fine," Charlotte beckoned to me as she regained her composure.
She was by far the tallest woman in the colony and towered over me by six inches or more. I might just as well be standing in a hole when I stood next to her. I measured in at five feet, eleven inches tall. She possessed a hefty and muscular body without a trace of fat. Her lovely tanned breasts weren't perfectly symmetrical like many women's. Her right boob appeared to be a half-cup size larger than her left side. Charlotte didn't shave her pubic hair or apparently anything else unlike most of the women in the colony.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to alarm anyone. Maybe I could schedule my shower for a time when no else is around," I offered.
"No, no, you're welcome to bathe with us. You just startled me. I forgot that there's a male visitor in our midst. I'm not going to start wearing clothes because you're here. Besides, it feels kinda sexy to prance around naked in the company of a man," Charlotte giggled. Her breasts jiggled as she bounced up and down on the tips of her toes.
"OK, would you rather I wear clothing when I'm around in the evening, or is it alright with you if I'm as naked as everyone else?" I asked.
"Nudity is the norm around here, and you'll need to bare your backside like the rest of us if you want to fit in," Charlotte said with a grin. Something in her voice belied her smile. She meant every word.
I found the whole nudity thing to be kinda weird and erotic. I enjoyed looking at the wide variety of body types in the female landscape provided by the sisters. Heck, the exhibitionist in me got a thrill at the chance to strut my stuff. The objective critic in me realized that I was a certifiable old fart. I had grown a bit too comfortable in my old age. I'm not overweight, but I tend toward the flabby side. My stomach and legs were as pale as a fish's belly. A box of rubber bands displayed better muscle tone than I did. I at least wanted to look sexy if I had to run around unclad.
The evening dinner, like all meals in the commune, is served buffet style. Tonight's offering was Beef Wellington. The sisters in the kitchen displayed some serious cooking skills. Wrapped in homemade puff pastry, and an aroma of pure delight, the filet of beef tenderloin, assembled with liver pate, mushrooms, and onions truly was fine dining worthy of a five-star eatery.
I worked my way through the serving line and took a seat at the far end of the community table. I sat down in a social twilight zone; halfway between sitting close enough to be 'next' to someone, yet far enough away to be 'by myself.'
The last 24 hours had buried me under an avalanche of new experiences, people, sights, and sounds as I tried to adjust to my new environment. My senses were on edge from operating at a level of hyper-alerted awareness. I was suffering from information overload, which felt like a major case of jet lag in my situation. I took long, slow, cleansing breaths, and forced myself to relax as I centered myself on the here and now. I moved my mind to a place where there was neither a past nor a future, only the moment of 'now' was real.
I could sense the tension draining away from my body like an outgoing tide with each breath I took. I had dabbled in Zen, self-hypnosis, and meditation when I was much younger. I closed my eyes and recited my personal mantra to help me relax and center in the moment.
Seek not the storm's fury.
Nor it's jagged light.
Search instead for the quiet center,
and from there, stand against the night.
A voice asked, "Is this seat taken?" on the third or fourth recitation. I opened my eyes as Lisa wedged her nude body into space next to me.
"Please sit down," I said after the fact.
"What are you doing?" Lisa wanted to know.
"I was meditating and trying to settle down and reduce tension. The last 24 hours have been hectic and eventful, and I'm creating a space to relax and process recent experiences," I responded.
The warmth of our bodies wedged together, and the sensual heat of skin-to-skin contact had its effect on me. The tension I had been trying to drive out of my body returned as sexual arousal. Nothing I could do would hide my rising interest. If Lisa was trying to get my attention, she was doing an excellent job.
"Christ almighty; you're as tense as shit, Dennis. A back rub will calm you down. Let's go up to my bedroom where we can relax and get to know each other better," Lisa suggested, as she took my hand and led me up the stairs to her quarters.
The dimly lit bedroom appeared much as it had the night before. The embers smoldering in the fireplace provided scant illumination - enough to see shapes, but little detail. Lisa instructed me to lie down on her bed, and as I got comfortable, she fetched two glasses of the delicious homemade brandy that she served me on the previous evening.
I rested on my back with my head propped up on her pillow, while Lisa positioned herself next to me. We sipped our spirits in silence together for several minutes. Alcohol is as effective as meditation when it comes to reducing stress. My body was relaxed and as horny as hell within a short time.
"So, what did you think of your tour of our Colony?" Lisa inquired, as she absentmindedly fondled my thigh with her right hand.
"You've built an extraordinary place. I can't believe how lucky I am to be here," I answered.
"Do you think it was luck that brought you here?" Lisa asked.
"Well, it sure wasn't planning," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
Most of Lisa's body was in shadow except for the curves of her breasts which were highlighted by the glow from the fireplace.
A soft, warm hand rubbed my inner thigh. "This may be a stupid question, but are you tryi
ng to seduce me?" I asked with a slight grin as I realized that I sounded like Dustin Hoffman in the movie 'The Graduate.'
"Maybe, what do you think?" Lisa replied, as her fingers stroked my scrotum. My growing erection twitched in response to her touch.
"What about the upper and lower case L for lesbian?" I said in reference to Lisa's comments from the night before.
"I'm also a capital 'L' leader, and I've made love to everyone who calls Liberty Mountain their home. It's my way of getting to know people. I can only trust a person if I've made love to them. Words lie, but the human body tells the truth if you take the time to listen," Lisa explained, while her fingers tenderly caressed my shaft.
"You're a lesbian. I thought you didn't like men," I said to Lisa as she continued to fondle me. My erection was now at full mast. I was so hard that it was almost painful.
"It's not that I dislike men; I prefer women. There have been a few male lovers in my past," Lisa replied, as the tip of her finger played with the clear drop of precum leaking from my urethra. My level of sexual arousal increased as she smeared the clear, colorless, viscous fluid over the head of my prick.
"Darlene has told me all about your lovemaking skills. Shit! She made more noise than a brass band last night. Everyone in the cabin heard you two going at it," Lisa told me as she traced the veins on my dick with her finger.
I watched as she played with me. Her face glowed in the light of the fire, and she was studying my trouser-snake with the intensity of a mongoose studying a cobra. She was playing me like a fiddle, and I could feel the pleasure building within me. Fuck! Premature ejaculation is a real buzz-kill. I needed to give Lisa her share of tender loving care, just to buy time.
"Enough. Lay back and take my place. Turnabout is fair play," I said, as I climbed to my feet and guided Lisa back into the spot I had previously occupied.
