So you see Jake, no mater how much we might wish it wasn't so. We simply can not grant an extended life to everyone. Which may be why some of us try to help the leaders of the many civilizations we encounter in our travels. To understand ways to improve the general well being of their people.”
“Just a second Steve!” Jake interrupted. “You keep saying things like ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘some of us’. Just who is ‘we’?”
“Well for the most part ‘we’ are elite members of an interstellar trade organization known as ‘The Cosmic Sailor's Guild’,” Steve replied. “We have trading privileges on most inhabited worlds. Of course this world is too xenophobic for us to openly make our presence known. But the guild's been here, off and on, for centuries. And I myself have maintained a strong personal presence here a lot longer than that.”
Steve pulled something that looked similar to Jake's old refillable butane lighter from his pocket.
“This replacement for your old lighter has a few enhancements you should know about,” Steve said as he set it on the desk. “For starters it includes a small advanced microfusion reactor which your nanites can tap into when they need more energy. The lighter itself can be used to light candles, or even smoking material. It can also be used like a welding torch. It can, for example, generate enough usable energy to power a first class defense shield.”
Jake picked up the lighter, casually slipping it into his pocket.
“OK Steve, somehow I not only believe you when you said you built a nuclear reactor into the lighter but I'm not actually worried about keeping such a thing in my pocket,” Jake admitted. “That fact alone should bother me almost as much as the fact that I believe you when you tell me it's nuclear... Why doesn't that bother me?”
“Most likely that's because it's the first of several external tools and weapons that your own nanites will build for you,” Steve replied. “Since your nanites built it, they know it's safe for you to carry around. Incidentally it's also the last such device for which your nanites will accept construction guidance from my nanites. So if you want or need them to build anything else before that personal communication interface I mentioned evolves. You will need to use one of the computer terminals here at Hillside. Just log in as Jake and look for the nano interface demo which will work for you until you and your nanites settle on a personal interface.”
“OK,” Jake said. “Lets say for the moment, that I believe everything you've told me. There's a couple things I can't quite figure out.”
“Like what?” Steve prompted.
“Well for starters,” Jake began. “The attitude everyone here seams to have about sexual morality. I mean it's not quite like some religious cult where everyone has to partake of some ritualistic orgy. And yet it seams like everyone I've met here seems to think there's nothing wrong with adults acting like they were part of some college fraternal organization that still believed in all that ‘Free Love’ stuff the ‘Hippies’ were pushing in 60s. I know you explained that, thanks to those nanites rebuilding my body, I can expect to have to deal with pseudo hormonal effects that would make the average American teenager look like a prude. But not only does it seam like your entire staff just expects me to become some kind of sex maniac who can somehow make everyone else want to have an orgy and yet none of them seem to mind very much. Not even the ones that say they don't usually want to play.
How could you possibly have so many employees who seem to think it's normal for random orgies to happen at work, without this place winding up plastered all over the news or at least some of the tabloids?”
Steve shook his head.
“Well some of that is hard to explain,” he began. “To do so I'm going to have to explain some things you haven't asked yet. The answer starts with the ‘guild’ itself. Did I mention that it's an interstellar organization?”
“Sort of,” Jake confirmed.
“Well the guild does have it's own set of moral codes to uphold,” Steve continued. “Though for the most part they differ greatly from the ‘Earth norm’ for that sort of thing. You need to understand that guild culture is based on very long lives. Even our lowest ranking personnel tend to live long enough to put an enormous strain on the kind of exclusive relationship such as is expected of people in most ‘Earthly societies’. And the ‘Power Elite’ are for all practical purposes immortal. But, as I said, we do have a moral code to follow. Mostly it's about not forcing anyone to want to do anything they really don't want to.”
“You mean like the kind of thing you said I'll wind up doing to people whether I mean to or not?” Jake interrupted.
“Exactly that kind of thing!” Steve confirmed. “And/or having rules or laws that require people to conform to someone else's will in such matters. Including cramming an institution like marriage down peoples throats. The way we see it, your ‘Hippies’ almost got it right. But getting back to using nano-pheromones to influence people's right to make up their own minds about what they want to do. We believe that such power should never be used lightly. And certainly not the way new nanosymbionts, such as yourself, almost always wind up using it while they adapt to having such new found powers. Everyone in our society expects some such misbehavior from new nanosymbionts however. At least for a while. But you will be expected to get a handle on it eventually...”
Steve paused briefly.
“Now, about my staff,” he resumed speaking. “For starters I screen my employees thoroughly before I hire them. Some of them are imports from guild civilization. The rest are all at least tolerant of what ‘guild mores’ their exposed to. Especially the idea of choosing for oneself. And by the way, not all of my staff are tolerant of the idea that you might accidentally take control of their sexual behavior.
I had to give several of them paid leave or extended assignments elsewhere. Especially the ones who aren't even aware that I have that kind of ability. Not all of them know all that much about what really goes on here. Though to be sure they all know that we're affiliated with a top notch international biotech company that's working on nano-technology. They also know that we take a strong stand against allowing our biotech to be used for military purposes. Most of them believe that that is why we can't share some of our best medical advances with the world. They rightly think that we spend a large portion of our budget to ensure that our employee's and guests stay healthy. Though most of them think that the protection we offer them has more to do with advanced screening technology than anything else. And that we only resort to medical nanites when we detect something vile, such as a sexually transmitted disease. The fact is, most of them don't have a clue that our nanotech is all that much more advanced than the assorted governments have been led to believe.
Speaking of which, our affiliate really does manufacture a surprisingly advanced form of nanotech. The two biggest deceptions about which is that we've led them to think that the process of configuring the nanites for any specific task requires absolute isolation from all electromagnetic energy sources. And the fact that they don't know that they can be configured for more than one specific task at a time.
Like I said, they also think that the nanites must be contained in a fully shielded lab to be so programmed. This, of course would make the practical application of them cumbersome. And even more exorbitantly expensive than they really are. But we can't let them have anything more advanced than that without giving them access to certain horrific military applications that we simply can not allow them to have.
As far as keeping all this out of the news goes. Well one of the acceptable uses for the power to alter the thinking processes of others among our kind. Is to provide those who would attack us with an alternate perception of reality. Sort of the ultimate camouflage. And in certain extreme cases we can and will alter the memories of those who would otherwise attack us. I'm not sure it's completely ethical of me to cause the local tax adjuster to see our waterfall as a cheap plastic imitation. But it really wouldn't do to let the local municipality, have accurat
e plans of all the secret tunnels under the hill. And if I can pull the wool over the taxman's eyes, you gotta figure that most reporters are easily fooled.”
“So you just routinely invade peoples minds,” Jake suddenly interrupted. “And then edit any inconvenient thoughts? Surely you know what I think of that!”
“Not exactly Jake,” Steve replied. “Oh to be sure, I can sense your emotional state easily enough. That, added to the context of our conversation is enough to make for some fairly accurate assumptions on my part. But the operative word for it is ‘assumption’. You see Jake, while it's not difficult to alter what most people think they see, hear, or even smell, by altering the input of of their senses. Nor even to add a few false memories to the memory centers of their brains. It's also fairly easy to non-selectively suppress their memories of recent events.
That is to say, using the taxman example, if I ever forgot to prevent him from seeing how impressive our waterfall is. I couldn't just edit that piece of information from his brain. I'd probably have to wipe his memory of the whole day. And for the most part if I waited until the next day, it would be too late to suppress his memory of the event.
Now actual mind reading is another matter entirely. Our nanites don't actually make us psychics. And for them to forcefully extract detailed information directly from someones mind, would violate one of the limits on their use imposed by the nanites themselves. That is to say, they simply won't do it.”
Jake shook his head.
“Wait a minute,” he argued, “You can't possibly expect me to believe that a bunch of microscopic machines actually care about the privacy of a man's thoughts...”
“Not exactly his privacy Jake,” Steve explained. “But you see, it takes a very specialized kind of nanite to safely extract a ‘report’ of what's in somebody else's brain without literally ripping apart the synaptic circuitry that is needed to think it. Which is so terrible a way to kill a brain that the very idea terrified the host-minds in which our nano-networks first became sentient. Which was long before we learned how to build the specialized nanites that can do so safely.
Back then the first true nanosymbionts inherited their host-mind's horror of it. They saw the danger of becoming such a monstrosity even more clearly than their original hosts did. So when we wanted to modify their innermost firmware to the point where there were certain safeguards on what they could or would do. In order to insure that we didn't become something we couldn't live with. The nanosymbionts themselves insisted on a few specific limits. That was one of them.
Incidentally, even those specialized nanites that can safely extract memories from someone's brain, will only do so if the brain in question is willing. Does that explain it well enough for you Jake?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jake replied. “Well enough for now anyway.”
Then Steve spent another ten minutes explaining a few more details and answering a few more questions, before he made the best job offer Jake had ever heard.
Chapter 5 Back to camp
It was just about 7am when Jake quietly pulled into Dave's campsite, driving one of Steve's modified Jeeps. As soon as the Jeep came to a stop, he nearly leaped out of it and walked over to Dave's old VW and without bothering to knock he stepped inside. Most of the interior was taken up by the bed on which the naked pair had been sleeping until he opened the door. Cindy looked up with a start as a look of horror spread across her face. Dave looked up at his old buddy and was the first to speak.
“I'd say I was sorry buddy but I won't lie to you,” Dave said. “I've been dreaming of getting into Cindy's pants since you first introduced me to her 3 years ago. But I never would have thought you'd be dumb enough to leave her here, alone, all night last night.”
“I hope you had fun,” Jake said directly to Cindy, ignoring his friend. “Cause things are going to be a bit different from now on.” He paused long enough to notice the tears starting to flow from her eyes, then he continued speaking. “This doesn't have to mean we're all done Cindy. At least, not if you still love me?”
Cindy wasn't sure what to do or say but she really didn't want to lose Jake.
“Yes Jake, I do still love you...” Her voice faded out for a second as she started to realize just what he had said. “What do you mean different?”
“For one thing this is a game both of us can play,” Jake replied. “And believe me, I am gonna play it a lot! But I guess that means I can't get mad at you if you do too. Who knows, we might even help each other realize a few fantasies.” As he said that he stepped out of his pants and climbed on to the bed. “Stay put Dave, it's been a long time since we tag teamed one of those hot chicks we used to party with, back in high school, hasn't it Dave?”
It hadn't been hard to talk the others into the orgy. Which began that afternoon and lasted the rest of the week. In fact it kept going strong until Jake and Cindy left the following Tuesday. Of course, there were times when everybody except Jake was too worn out to do anything. Everyone including Jake himself was amazed at how fast he recovered and was ready for more. He thought it must have something to do with the nanites.
There was Suzy, a very petite dark skinned beauty with black hair and eyes, who had been Cindy's friend for years, and who was usually up for casual sex anyway. Then there was Karen who had apparently until now only ever had sex with her husband Arnie. Then there was Arnie himself who had always been the possessive type. So it was a bit surprising how quickly he not only accepted the idea of sharing his part time girlfriend Suzy, with the other guys but that he soon even seemed to enjoy watching his wife having sex with them.
Jake had told them all a little bit about how he had wrecked his pickup. He also told them he was thinking of accepting a job offer from the man he'd almost run over. He didn't tell them about the nanites. Or how severely he had actually been injured. What he did tell them was that the place was some kind of ‘retreat’ for the executives of a high tech company. He showed them the borrowed jeep's turbine engine. Though he didn't mention that it was actually burning hydrogen. Then he showed them some of the fancy electronics it had been fitted with.
He decided that he really should call the store and tell them he wasn't coming back. He was sure that even if he didn't take the job Steve had offered him, he was done dealing with the headaches of managing the store. The battery was dead on his cell phone. So he decided to use the com-unit built into the jeep's dash. Accordingly he punched the phone number into the keypad.
“Relay dialing call now,” the voice of Hillside's computer sounded over the com-unit's speaker, then Jake heard the sound of a phone ringing.
“Hello?” Jill's voice answered.
“Jake here Jill,” He began. “I'm afraid I totaled my truck trying not to run over some idiot who fell down into the road in front of me. Don't worry I'm OK. But the man was so impressed, that he made a job offer I don't want to refuse. He want's me to help him manage his exclusive corporate retreat. You wouldn't believe how much he's willing to pay me just to learn the job.”
“Does that mean your not coming back?” Jill's voice sounded a little shell shocked as she interrupted him.
“I know it's short notice,” Jake added. “But I'll be faxing in a letter of resignation to them. Do you want me to include a recommendation for you to get promoted to manager? Or do you think they'll be too mad at me for quitting on them for it to help?”
“Oh they will be ticked off alright,” Jill's voice sounded more sure of herself. “But go ahead and recommend me. I mean who else are they going to get on such short notice? Besides, if they think I'm going to do it all for them like a good little dobe while they train someone new to step in and be my boss...” She left the rest unsaid.
Jake spent another five minutes making sure that Jill would be able to manage the store before he disconnected.
Chapter 6 Hillside
Neither Jake nor Cindy found much to talk about on the way to the place Steve had called ‘Hillside’. That is not until he drove throu
gh the gate in the iron picket fence. It was mid afternoon when they got there on Tuesday. The gate had opened automatically at the approach of the company jeep. The gravel private way behind it forked almost immediately. To the left it wound it's way up and around the side of the hill and to the right it gently sloped down towards what looked like a large multi-doored garage.
“Steve said to use the front door,” Jake broke the silence as he took the left fork.
As the road wound it's way up the hill Cindy noticed that it passed behind the garage she'd had a glimpse of from the fork. Or rather, she thought, it passed behind its roof. Which appeared to be anchored to the side of the hill just below them. Except, she noted, for the center where the peak of the roof extended high enough above the ground for a doorway to offer access to a short path leading to the road. Jake interrupted her thoughts by stopping in front of the door, to point out that the path leading from it continued up the hill on the left side of the road.
“That's the short cut to the house we'd be using if we'd parked by the garage,” he said.
“No way you'd get me to walk up that,” Cindy said as she looked at the steep path.
“Who said anything about walking?” Jake said. “They have some modified golf carts for that.” Then he gestured ahead to where the road started to curve to the left, away from the garage. “Did you notice the shed over there near the curve? That's where they charge them.”
Jake was still a little amazed at how much about Hillside he had learned in the few short hours he'd had before borrowing the jeep. Cindy hadn't noticed the shed as it was partially hidden by a few trees but now that she was looking she could see that it was on a slight angle to the road. It was about 20 ft long and about 6 ft wide. It's roof, she noticed, had an overhang that projected out another 6 ft on the side nearest to the garage. That overhang ran down the entire length of the shed. Then she noticed that under the roofs overhang, there were 4 odd looking vehicles, each with some kind of rack on the back.
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