Humanity 2.0, Year 001, Day 022

It was a short flight, and then I had to get a cab again back into town. I thought long and hard about where to go first – to meet Bethany and get told how stupid I was, to meet Emily and get told how stupid I was, or to go back to my own place and tell myself how stupid I was.

I eventually made up my mind, and had the driver drop me off instead at the hotel Emily was staying at. Family had to come first, I guess. She had been living here, missing school, just to make sure that I was okay, so I owed her that much at least.

First order of business was to get her out of Obstinate Stubborn Emily Mode and back in law school. I hadn't called her when I got in to shore or when I landed, figuring I'd just surprise her and hopefully press that tiny advantage into helping her think I wasn't insane. I hadn't been in the hotel before, and it took me a moment to find the front desk. Like any hotel, the main lobby looked nice; all cut grey stone and trickling fountains. Even the cheap ones back then had nice lobbies.

"I'm looking for a guest here, Emily Stanton?"

The desk clerk, my age and probably also enrolled in school, looked up from her computer as I said it. She had the look of infinite patience that you only see on people trained well to talk politely to idiots all day. "I'm sorry, I can't share guest information or room numbers, but..." Even while she said it, she had been typing something into her computer. She seemed to notice something on the screen and paused for a moment, then looked back up with a smile. "Sorry – what was your name?"

"I'm Ben Stanton."

She nodded. "Can I see a photo ID?"

I prepared the half-ass color printed version the TSA had finally, and reluctantly, given me after my hare-brained attempt to board a plane without my wallet, along with the paperwork that assured the viewer it wasn't bullshit. I guess if I had had a functioning neuron or two at the time, I would have stopped by my apartment first, grabbed my wallet, and then come to the hotel. Oh well.

"Your wife left your name on the room as well, Mr. Stanton. I can issue you a key if you would like."

"Uh, she's my sister... but great, I won't call the room; I'll just go on up." Ten seconds later I had her room key and was listening to elevator music.

At the door, I stopped and took a deep breath, centering and focusing myself. I needed to be on point, to bowl over Emily's inevitable fury and overwhelm her with my positive outlook and stable, manly demeanor. It was my only strategy to hopefully convince her I shouldn't be in the loony bin. I summoned a huge smile and puffed out my chest as I barged in suddenly. "Helllloooo Emily!"

The room was empty except for her opened bag, with a few things strewn around and the bed unmade. I frowned. There went my big surprise. She must have gone out for the day, I guess, or maybe she went to get something to eat. It was five in the afternoon. I let myself collapse onto the bed. I had slept on the plane some, and I wasn't ready to sleep at all... then I remembered.

The boat's shower hadn't been quite so great, more of a glorified faucet near the ceiling – and there had been no real washing machine for my handful of outfits on the boat either. I'd only even brought one change of clothes with me, which I was wearing. Anyone who got too close might think I was a bum; in hindsight, it was a wonder I didn't get tossed out of the hotel.

I could go down the street back to my place and get changed and dressed, but I didn't feel like doing all that work right then. I stripped down and put my clothes in the laundry bag, and called down to have the hotel pick it up and clean them. I jumped in the shower and finally felt real, hot water, for the first time in weeks - not the lukewarm stuff the boat could produce, despite its countless other amenities. It was refreshing, particularly on my overstressed muscles that I'd been working out constantly on the boat.

I toweled off and took a look at myself in the mirror. In many ways, I was just another modern, middle-low class American guy you'd see on the street; blackish wavy hair, brown eyes, dark-ish skin from my impossibly over-mixed background. Weeks on the boat had tanned me a shade or two darker, yet somehow I hadn't burned; I had to probably credit the Experimenter, yet another 'enhancement' on the endless list of minor upgrades she'd made to me. To us. After a few days on the boat I'd taken to going around with no shirt, or occasionally I would lie in the sun naked. I hated tan lines.

Of course, part of going about in the buff was also to satisfy my new ego – back then, I still couldn't get over having a bigger tool. It hung down low between my legs, a pleasantly meaty, masculine weight... what an idiot I was sometimes. I looked like a true surfer now, and I could tell I'd filled out my muscles some – not much, but the rest was still to come. My hair was short, mainly due to the low maintenance involved, and I'd managed to stay clean-shaven on the yacht, but right then I considered whether I should grow my hair out into dreadlocks. I had the body and look to make it work now, I thought.

I was about five foot nine at the time, and while I never considered myself handsome, I'll let the girls judge that. I wrapped the towel around my waist, feeling pretty satisfied with the new Benedict Stanton at that moment. Maybe I would order room service. I'd go back downstairs later and cover Emily's room bill, I figured; I owed her that much. I opened the bathroom door, stepping back out into the room and thinking I would maybe watch some TV until my clothes were back.

Emily was right there, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms folded. She was glowering at me. I hadn't heard her come in, but she might have heard me showering outside and kept quiet. I froze for a time, probably looking like a terrified animal caught in the headlights; all the great one-liners I'd been trying to think up to greet Emily with suddenly fled. I said nothing for a few seconds.

My sister had always been pretty; like me, she had straight brown hair and eyes, but her skin was a shade darker than mine. Her hair was down just below her shoulders, and tied back into a ponytail at the moment. She was about five feet and three inches, kept herself in good shape, and had delicate yet sharp features that had attracted a whole army of men in her life.

At that moment, she was wearing just some jeans and a light, orange-colored blouse. She'd had many boyfriends through high school and early college, then something happened in her junior year of undergrad that I'd never gotten her to talk about. There'd not been a single one since then, so far as I knew.

"The desk girl said you showed up when I went by. You didn't call me."

"I did."

"Three weeks ago!" Her small fist slammed against the wall beside her. "I meant when you got back into town, you stupid fuck!"

I grimaced, already worried that the hotel's security might show up and try to break up some domestic dispute. I summoned my broad smile again. "I was going to surprise you. I'm not nuts, Em. I'm not Mom."

"Oh. Really." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. This wasn't working.

"Em – just relax. There's nothing to worry about. I'm here, I'm fine, I'm not in an institution or jail. Nobody's pressing any charges on me. I didn't even do anything illegal. Taking off like that wasn't even my idea." Already I was throwing 15226 under the bus. I wanted to curse myself for my lack of creativity... why hadn't I thought up a better reason?

"Whose was it, then? Your new doctor girlfriend's?"

"That – forget about that. That was once. I don't have some secret life you don't know about. I'm still Ben, your shut-in loser brother. I just had a weird night, and then went on vacation at a, uh, admittedly odd time."

"Right after getting out of the hospital!" She threw her arms up and stormed back into the room. I followed behind her a few feet. She turned back to me, looking me up and down. "And where are your fucking clothes!"

"The hotel is running them through the wash for me. There wasn't a machine on my yacht. They were kind of rank."

"On your what? You know what... forget it. I'm not even going to ask." She sighed, and was quiet for a few moments. An eyebrow raised on her face as she looked back at me, seeming confused for a moment. "What's with you? I expected you to look like hell. I've never seen you this... I don't know. Healthy."

"I said I was on the ocean. I got some sun, and was working out a lot. Not much else to do." I gave a mock flexing motion, curling my arms and hunching forward. "It felt great, really. I'm going to keep at it."

"You needed it. I always thought you could've looked damn good if you just put in the effort." She slowly walked up to me, and put a hand on my bare chest. I suddenly noticed all over again how small and delicate her hands were. "I was really worried about you. I couldn't stop thinking about that time we got stuck in that shed. You aren't allowed to go and do crazy or stupid stuff anymore, okay? Not after Mom lost it."

I let out some inward sigh of relief. Emily's fury seemed to be melting. "The shed? But we were together that whole time. I never went anywhere then."

"Ben..." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I guess you were too young... I was old enough then to see things a little more clearly. I knew Mom had snapped and she wasn't coming back to the real world. I guess I also realized before you did that something was fucked up about Dad. When we were stuck in that shed while Mom had her big episode, Ben... I swore I would be the one who took care of you, even if neither of those two psychos did." Her hand stroked up and down my chest, touching me in a surprisingly intimate and loving way. It felt pretty good. It felt...

Oh hell. I froze. 16225 had said my power would work on any woman I was attracted to, provided she felt 'even a speck' of that back toward me – and Emily was my first crush. I had always been a little attracted to her, but I'd gotten so used to just sitting on that knowledge that I didn't even really think about it anymore, save for a few dark fantasies when I was alone, stroking myself off to a video of some porno queen or another who vaguely resembled her. Imagining Emily's lips sliding over my cock... stuff of midnight half-dreams, not reality.

Emily slid toward me, pressing her head to my chest and bringing her hands together behind my back. She made a low purring sound as she hugged me tight, leaning the side of her face into the small of my neck; she began to rock from side to side, ignoring my wet skin. I could sense her happiness, yet this was far more affection than she had ever shown me before – and I could also sense something familiar happening with regard to my manhood. It was covered solely by the towel I wore.

I never finished the thought as Emily's smallish nipples, now themselves erect, poked through her blouse. The water on my skin was soaking through it, and soon I could see and feel the hard nubbins against my bare chest. My damn erection was rising fast, in order to meet a young, beautiful female body - such as the one I was holding.

The fact that she was my sister wasn't going to just make my erection stand down instantly. There was even a part of me that relished that forbidden kind of scene - well, that sort of thing was forbidden back then, anyway. My mind raced. My hard-on was already too big to hide; in seconds it would be pressing out of the towel and against her body. Thinking about baseball or whatever was for shit; Emily was right here, right now, in the flesh, my sister that I'd wanted for my whole life was practically caressing me. Her fury had apparently already vanished, faster than I had ever known it to.

I couldn't be sure; was my power affecting her, or had she just been that worried about me? I frowned. Worried enough to stiffen her nipples? Was that even a thing? My power had only affected Bethany when she'd seen my penis, but some logical voice in the back of my head butted in and explained that that didn't really make sense. One couldn't make a pheromone that only took effect when someone saw a specific part of your body, unless my - admittedly poor - understanding of these things was just totally off. It had to work more generally than that, by attracting women to me on a basic level, and only once they laid eyes on my cock would it be sealed.

I never came up with any kind of answer or plan. Anxiety, and so on... even if I was more focused than I would have been a few weeks ago, I still hadn't gotten the hang of this whole 'thinking in terms of action' thing. My mind was still fumbling for an excuse when she suddenly pulled her head back, and gave me a perplexed look. She pulled away and looked down. I felt my face redden; my dick was trying hard to push its way straight out of the towel, making a clearly visible tent. She looked up and me again, and suddenly snorted.

"Ben!" She gave a small giggle. "The fuck? Is that wood? For me?"

"It is – um, sorry, it isn't, I mean. I saw this girl on the way up here, and I was just thinking of her." I lied, holding out both hands with a smile - and widely framing my slowly hardening cock. "My buddy here doesn't know you're my sister, give him a break."

"You didn't have that when I came in, though..." She raised an eyebrow at me as she led me into the room proper, sitting herself down on the edge of the bed as I leaned my ass against the small table nearby. This was a little uncomfortable; Emily and I never talked about our sex lives.

In my case, it was due to my 'sex life' being - until recently - more aptly described as a lack thereof, and I never asked her about hers because I somehow always felt like I shouldn't be so audacious. She'd never offered any information, so it had remained verboten. She looked down again at the tent pitching in the towel, peering at it for a few moments, then folded her arms.

"Did you get surgery or something? I saw you naked once or twice. You were always pretty, uh, medium before."

"Grower, not a shower, like they say." I held my breath, giving as legit a fake grin I could manage. Maybe she would buy it.

"I mean I saw you hard, too, Ben. You were..." – she made an unmistakable gesture with one hand – "... a few times, to some completely tasteless porn, when you thought I wasn't home." She sighed as she said it, looking away with some memory of exasperation occupying her thoughts for a moment.

Wow. I'd never have expected Emily to leap so far past the boundary of what we had shared with each other in the past. "I didn't get surgery. I just grew. Men do that."

"I'm not stupid, Ben. That would have wrapped up years ago for you. What's up with this thing?" She let her arms drop to her hips, looking deep into my eyes. I stood there, trying to keep my face still for a while as our eyes met. The stare just seemed to keep going; her eyes were mysterious pools. I wondered if she thought I really had gone nuts and was wearing a paper towel tube under there or something.

Her expression suddenly softened. "Ben, umm..." She looked away suddenly. I could see the barest hint of red on her face, as if she just realized she'd said something she didn't mean to. It stayed there, oddly, and I began to wonder if it was some other idea bouncing around behind those eyes.

"What?"

"I can't believe I'm even asking this. I only had one drink while I was out." She sighed, closed her eyes, then suddenly opened them again and stared right at me. "I'm only asking you this because you're my brother."

Now this was weird. "Em, don't take all day, just ask."

"All of my exes have been, well, medium... um, size. Or small. As small as you. Were. I mean as small as I apparently thought – you are. Were. Before." She gestured toward my equipment. Her hand came within a few inches of the tip, which was unashamedly forming the round peak of the tent, and she took a breath to gather herself before continuing. "I've seen big ones like that in porn my boyfriends showed me sometimes, but I've never seen one like, uh, that... in real life."

"You're asking – wow." I paused. "Wait. Really?"

"You owe me, okay? I've been holed up in this hotel room for three weeks now!" She didn't sound furious anymore at all. I figured my power had to be affecting her; there was no way Emily would normally be talking about this with me. I didn't want to ruin the mood and ask her about those ex-boyfriends, and why the sequence of them had so abruptly stopped. I wondered; would the power affect her to the full extent?

My thoughts touched upon something else 15226 had mentioned to me, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes from bulging out as I thought it through. She'd clearly stated to me that she'd removed incest as a concern in her new kind of humans. To allow the species to propagate - my children would all be brothers and sisters, I guess - she had to add in some customized DNA that somehow eliminated the genetic problems caused by incest.

She'd also done it for some other reason she mentioned, which I had forgotten at the moment – all I could think right then was that it meant that Emily can and would be affected by my power like any other female, and I, too, felt no real resistance inside myself to crossing that line with her... provided she was willing. Or at least as willing as any woman exposed to my power could be said to be. I loved Emily, now as much as ever, and the absolute last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

My eyes took another quick sweep of her body, and I imagined her naked, in the bed with me, wet with desire for her brother. My erection surged to genuine fullness this time, and I knew it wouldn't lower itself until it had ravaged her wet pussy. The decision was made, then. Here, in this room, I would push my cock into my own willing sister and claim her as my lover.

I shook my head. "Are you really up for this? Let's get this straight - you're asking your flesh and blood sibling to show you his penis. We're not in grade school anymore, we can't just say we were playing doctor." I grinned, this time managing to make it a lot less fake. "I'm not saying I won't do it, just trying to be clear."

"Oh, shut up. Nobody has to know, okay? You're just giving me an example. It's not like I haven't seen dicks before. Hurry up."

"All right, but don't complain to me when other men don't compare." I grinned. I thought for one more moment – thank God I'd begun to think at least a little by then. It would change her, I already knew, but I wasn't clear on the specifics at the time. I just wanted to be together with her, and never lose her, and I'll be honest – I really just wanted to fuck her, too. The whole save-the-human-race thing stood in as a decent rationalization. She giggled, and I yanked off the towel with a flourish.

Her eyes went wide, and soon an odd grin was on her face. It was the same expression Bethany had had when she saw my prick before. My cock stood straight out, bouncing a little as it was freed from the towel. I was a hair under nine inches long now, and thick - if you think I didn't measure, several times, on the boat trip, well, then you're obviously not a man. Now was the moment of truth – would she simply nod and tell me to go home, or would it go further?

She stared at me for a few moments more, than got down on one knee and got up fairly close to me. I could hear her take a deep breath. Whatever pheromones I was producing, she just got a huge dose of them at point-blank range. If it would work at all, it certainly would now.