Voyage

by C. Paul Lockman

  I wondered quite what he meant by that, and the broad smile which accompanied it, while Velis gathered herself and pushed on.

  "Your general physical condition appears to be excellent. There are few areas of concern which we will address shortly. Your heart is in good health, although there is a degree of arterial blockage caused by the tar from commercial smoking materials. Liver functions are at 96% normalcy, a decrease attributable to the metabolism of large quantities of alcohol. The cilia in your lungs and oesophagus have begun to regrow but will need several more months to reach normal length and effectiveness. And you have a malignant, cancerous region in your stomach. Other than that, you are in excellent health".

  Malignant, cancerous region.

  She had said it so quickly, in so off-hand a way, like "oh, you missed the bus, but there's another one in five minutes". Casual, routine, like it was nothing. But it wasn't.

  "I have fucking stomach cancer!?" I blurted loudly. The three medics shuddered in unison.

  Carpash came straight forward and took my shoulders firmly in both hands. "If you will forgive me, Sir, don't be a bloody fool. You think that a race like ours, with the technology we have developed, can't handle a few cancerous cells? This will be as simple as cutting your toenails. Perhaps simpler, because no-one will even have to touch you to right this problem. You will not believe how routine such things are for us, particularly as we know this disease carries off millions of your fellow humans each decade. Please... relax." His grip softened and my heart rate began to drop back to normal.

  "Sorry, Doctors. Let me rephrase. So, my arteries are a bit blocked, my liver could use a vacation and I have a pretty mundane stomach tumor. Anything else I need to worry about?"

  They smiled at my more relaxed state. "Thank you. We are very used to dealing with subjects who take the dimmest possible view of results such as those, interpreting our findings as a portent of doom. I assure you this is not the case. And, to answer your question, yes. Your bones are showing signs of early-onset arthritis and we are concerned about the pre-disposition in your genetic make-up for several mental disorders, including alcoholism, addictive behaviour, Parkinson's disease, depression and anxiety." Carpash read down the list. "Your eyes are suffering from a disorder which you would characterise as requiring one dioptre of correction. Three of your toes are mildly deformed - I can only assume that this stems from inappropriate footwear very early in life. You have a number of scars, the most obvious relating to your quite recent appendectomy. The inside of your left index finger shows tar discolouration, from your smoking habit."

  Christ.

  He continued. "You are approximately three kilograms overweight for a human of your size and build. There are a large number of dead follicle areas above your forehead, where your fringe has risen. Your lower back shows signs of easily-treatable spondylosis.” Should have listened to the ergonomics geeks at work, buddy. “You have three diseases in your gut that will never affect you, but we’ll remove them anyway."

  I grinned at him. "Anything else?"

  He checked the results once more. "Yes, I think you have what you call 'athlete's foot'. And you could usefully evacuate your bowels."

  I stared at him. I was getting used to doing that. "I need a shit?"

  Deadpan. "Yes."

  I roared with laughter so loudly that a doctor from the neighbouring facility popped her head around the door to make sure her colleagues weren't torturing me. She rolled her eyes with a facial expression that said, 'huh, aliens!' and left.

  Carpash continued to type animatedly into his lectern. There must be a small book full of information on my cancerous, diseased, blocked-up system on there by now. "I wonder if I can see some of that?" I asked, nodding to his fingers as they swirled and tapped among the characters and symbols on the screen.

  "Certainly", he said kindly, swinging the lectern around. The most impenetrable jumble of information, almost all of it in languages I couldn't begin to understand, had filled the screen.

  "Alright, I give up. What the hell does all that mean?" Carpash smiled once more. For people who claimed to lack emotional responses, they were effusively polite and empathetic. They just couldn't fall in love or become truly sad. What a loss.

  He motioned, somewhat distracted, at a block of colourful triangular and cylindrical symbols in the upper right portion of the screen. They were connected by varying patterns which appeared to show flow of something, perhaps blood or electrical activity, from one unit to the other. "These represent your basic organic systems. These lines generate thought patterns in the mind of the reader which communicate very exactly the rate and function of the exchange. In this example", he added, tapping one of the red cylinders, "your heart function is described in some detail, without the need for a lengthy essay."

  Each tap on the lectern brought us to a new level of detail until a pictographic analysis of my entire heart, every cell, was brought to life on the screen. "The emphasis is functional", he continued. "Our interest is, of course, both in the biological and the psychological realms, but we increasingly find a strong correlation between the two. Your state of mind will influence your heart muscles. We find this extremely interesting. This is an important respect in which our two species differ".

  I continued to look closely at the mass of information on the screen. "You mean that your hearts don't accelerate when you're excited?"

  Carpash shook his head steadily. "No", he said simply.

  I thought back over my encounters with the three ministry girls, and the gorgeous Falik, who had been creating a masterpiece of mind-mapping on her own lectern in the corner. The level of detail on her screen was, if anything, even greater than this one. "But", I began, "surely during moments of excitement, of... heightened pleasure, for example, your heart rates must sky-rocket, just like mine?"

  He shook his head again. "A simulated response", was his only reply.

  So, when I had given those lovely girls all their orgasms, and shot torrents of sperm inside them, all I was witnessing was a robotic action, merely an enhanced version of some truly boring people? Surely not. They couldn't be as technologically developed as this, and yet lack the basics of an emotional system?

  But they were finishing before I had the chance to ask. "We will require several hours of study in order to formulate results useful to us both. I suggest that we break for the day and reconvene here in the labs tomorrow, if that would suit you?"

  I nodded and both Carpash and Velis packed up their lecterns and, with a polite shake of my hand and more kind smiles, left. Falik wrapped up her own essay, which must have been mind-blowingly complex, and approached me.

  "Did any of that cause you discomfort?" she asked mildly, her hand on my arm.

  I smiled. She was unbelievably cute. "Well, today was the day I found out that I had cancer. And that it can be cured in a snap. You people really are something".

  Falik shut down her lectern and brushed her hair with an amazing device which resembled the metal detector wand used at airports. Without coming within a foot of her hair, the wand managed to brush it all through until it was smooth and shining. "I will finish work now. You are welcome to join us".

  My curiosity peaked instantly. "Join you? What does one do on this planet for fun?"

  Her face fell slightly. "As you've been learning, we have a concept of fun which is very different from your own. However, we have long since predicted the day when a technology or philosophy would arrive to provide us with this ability, and have spent decades designing festivals, performances and other events with which to experiment once this ability arrives. Think of it as advanced practice, like a dress rehearsal for the main event. How would we know, for example, what wonderful sex would feel like, without the experience of sex under our current hormonal conditions?"

  I pondered this, but I didn't have long. Falik was quickly on her knees in front of me, her eyes raised in a beautifully supplicant, appealing way. No telepathy required. I brought out my
penis and she admired it for a second before opening her mouth and sliding it deep inside.

  Marvelling at the enthusiasm and skill of her probing, soothing tongue, I let her do as she wanted. Below, her hand had entered her white gown and she was clearly enjoying herself. Her face flushed with as much pleasure as her limited, embryonic hormonal system allowed. No such limitations for me. Within moments, encouraged by her consistent sucking of my glans and steady, rhythmical pumping of her hand on my shaft, I threw my head back and simply let myself go.

  Chapter VIII: Takanli

  I learned much on the way over. The city's name was Takanli, the name also given to the planet itself. We orbited evenly around their star, fourth in a large family of planets. Takanli City was part of a network of heavily urbanized areas on this planet which, I also learned, was about the size of the earth but was almost entirely covered with massive continents. The ramifications of this were enormous, particularly for weather, but with technology like theirs, the inhabitants had long-since tamed dust storms and other dangers, just as they had tamed disease and death. Falik was in the middle of finishing another wonderful blowjob as we came into land. As the thrusters eased and landing struts locked into place, I emptied another gallon of cum down her throat.

  Many of the city's open spaces, and they were many, were dedicated to evening performances. There was almost a perverse interest in The Preparation, as they called it - the sequence of events which would ready this massive populace for the day when they might actually have some fun. Or, might actually get seriously depressed about how long they'd spent not having fun. I felt sure a team of dedicated psychologists were addressing that question as we spoke.

  Takanli’s Meta-Park area, which was a fourth the size of Delaware, was filled with the largest throng of living beings I'd ever seen. Even Falik was impressed. "Three million people come here most nights, although ten million live in the immediate vicinity." The numbers blew my mind while she finished blowing my cock. A gentle suck to clean me off, and a quick cuddle before we disembarked amid a flurry of landing and departing vehicles of all shapes and sizes. The transport system was of a magnitude I'd never thought possible. And never a traffic jam in sight.

  We followed several tens of thousands of people through a large exit door in the terminal and flooded into the green, spacious park. Dotted throughout this massive area were trees nearly a mile tall and five thousand years old. Their branches grew so complex that entire communities were living up there, half a million people in this park alone, living what Falik called the 'feral' lifestyle, growing their own food and engaging in barter economics. Babies were born, art was created, books were written, entirely in buildings shackled to massive, ancient branches. At the base of each tree was an electromagnetic elevator - damaging the tree with cables would have been unthinkable. Indeed, large shrines and monasteries were arrayed around the base, filled with people praying to the tree, bringing it offerings of food and water, kissing the bark. The medicinal properties of some barks and saps encouraged buying and selling, with colossal sums of cash changing hands, carefully controlled by the authorities.

  But the main event this evening was a performance on a stage in the centre of the park. Falik had arranged some kind of VIP pass and we were whisked past the long, snaking queues to a special entrance, where a brief security search by some sexy, leather-clad officers of the law gave the female cops a great chance to grab my ass.

  "Falik?" I asked loudly above the din as we filtered into a massive glass enclosure near the main stage. She turned and I asked, "why does everyone here find me so interesting?" She laughed.

  "You're exotic! We've never seen anything quite like you. People know already that you know all about providing pleasure, and we've never had anyone like that visit us before." We pushed through the throng to a row of front-row seats made from some odd kind of plastic which moulded itself to your body. The levels of comfort these people had achieved were astounding.

  "But I'm just a normal guy, right?" I called. She had somehow found two glasses and handed me one.

  "Wrong! The whole Net has seen your encounters with the Science Ministry girls. Your blowjob episode in the vehicle on the way to the labs is the most popular download today! People love you!" I laughed myself silly and then took a look around.

  The scale of virtually everything beggared description. I felt that my eyes would shortly pop right out of my head. The stage, if it could be called that, was a massive white platform like an IPod on its back, adorned by enormously tall poles, each of which flying a flag with symbols so complex I couldn't begin to guess their meaning. There was what seemed at first glance to be a pretty conventional orchestra set up, perhaps 200 people altogether, but their instruments were like watching the LSO on LSD. Seventy or so played a kind of electronic dulcimer performed using the hairs on one's forearms. This took the place of the conventional violin and led the ensemble. There seemed to be a wind section, but with eight bells, a startling array of buttons and a mouthpiece so large it required three players blowing through funnels, I expected a serious amount of noise. "Drink up!", Falik shouted.

  All around us, people were taking their seats and clinking glasses of this amber liquid. "What the hell is this?" I asked, eyeing the stuff curiously.

  "It is produced from the vaginal glands of a large mammal on a distant planet. Today is a festival in celebration of our relationship with that planet, which is where the orchestra has travelled from. It has taken them two of your centuries to be here, but they live for over a hundred thousand years, so this is only one stop on their tour."

  They were humanoid, and mostly nine feet tall. I had seen some of them in the intergalactic arrivals hall when I first checked in. "What are they going to play?" I asked above the increasing din.

  Falik tapped a small lectern on a metal rail in front of us - the only thing separating us from the orchestra, in fact - and it produced the program in seven thousand languages. Mine was not one of them, so Falik translated. "It is a new symphonic work by their leading composer, commissioned specifically for this occasion. It integrates symbolism, planetary alignment, ritual and drama. We must drink this before they begin". I eyed the liquid again and, after more prodding from Falik, downed it.

  The liquefied essence of a faraway mammal's pussy. Spicy, slightly sweet, a bit like my first try of whisky when I was eleven. But, unlike that occasion, I had the strongest erection of my life ninety seconds later.

  "Jesus, this stuff is quite something. They want us all to drink this?"

  Falik didn't answer. Her right hand was already inside her shorts and she was masturbating, eyes closed, head back, mouth open. She came almost at once, relaxed, and came again. Regaining her composure, she explained, "they have discovered a substance which enlivens every sexual receptor in our brains. Your glass was mixed with rainwater from your planet, to avoid its fullest effects. Water destroys much of the active ingredient, which is found only in this one mammal. Its drinking is the most powerful sexual emotion we are able to experience. Excuse me". Her hand went below again and she circled her clit until a string of orgasms kept her quiet for a while.

  My erection refused to subside. All around me, as the orchestra began its symphony with low, almost subsonic notes from the eight-belled wind section, two million women were coming, in synch, some very loudly. The din was unbelievable. Most of the men had their cocks out and some were already coming, splashing partners and neighbours with torrents of sperm.

  "This is going to get messy", I offered. Falik, pausing to take in the sound of the ensemble - and I now realised why it had to be so loud - assured me that this is a red-letter day in their calendar.

  "We very rarely get to experience this. Perhaps this is as close as we can come to being happy. It is a real joy that you are here to witness this." Her hand disappeared once more, and then she simply gave up and stripped off. All around us, clothes were flying into the air as people got naked and just went at it. "Would you mind if we mov
ed through the audience? There might be some people I know, and I'm desperate to be penetrated. You may choose anyone you wish, although I warn you", she paused to come once again, two fingers in her increasingly moist pussy, "once word gets out that you are who you are, I anticipate that you will be totally fucking mobbed."

  With that, she stood and waved to a friend of hers a few yards away, who was having his dick sucked by a luscious blonde. "Oh well", I muttered to my flagpole cock, "when in Rome..."

  Falik was right. Word spread instantly and, even above the bellows of the wind section, who were now getting into full stride and using all six hands, I could hear the excited, lustful yells of hundreds of incredibly beautiful women approaching me, stark naked and high as kites on interplanetary pussy juice. I grabbed my cock and dove in.

  It wasn't until I was up to my aching balls in one girl from behind, licking the pussy of another who straddled her, and enthusiastically fingering one with each of my hands, that I considered myself to be in heaven. The orchestra continued its lengthy symphony with alternating soft dulcimer sections and raucous barks from the winds. One group, at the front near the stage in a special enclosure, were clearly taking part in the symphony,. They were drinking litres of the juice and using the hand-held fluid enhancer I had so enjoyed in the hotel room. Most of them were simply coated in semen. The jets of come, the positions and the howls of pleasure were all integrated into the score, which made them performers as well as members of the audience. The rest of us just fucked anything which didn't get out of the way fast enough.

  Falik was bouncing up and down on her friend's lap while he sucked a guy who was fingering his girlfriend who had a guy in her ass, and his mouth was wrapped around the breast of a girl who's pussy was being pounded by the guy who was licking the anus of the girl I was balling. And something nice was going on behind me, but I wasn't terribly sure who was doing it. It might have been more than one tongue. It sure felt great.