Henrich's World Ch. 05

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Once the five young convicts climbed aboard the transport that would return them to the Nest, corrupt Senior Deputy Perkins climbed in and made them an offer. "You know that with your suppressors on, drugs and sex won't give you pleasure anymore. You'll have no sex drive, no erections or orgasms, and smoking or even eating Krok or Zeezee will only make you feel sick.

If you each entertain me once a week, I might forget to turn the suppressors back on." He smiled conspiratorially. "Normally you don't get them until you're 25, but if you sign releases and let me record us fucking, I'll even have a friend approve you getting butt buttons and gender assignments, too. I doubt you all want to stay hermaphrodites, right?"

The five looked at each other and thought silently. He asked, "Do you really want to be impotent and immune to fun? If I decide I don't like you it might take me years to find a destination, and decades more to get you there." He paused to let them think a while. "Would you rather do porn with me a dozen times, enjoy some sex with each other if you want, and have some fun drugs once in a while?

Or do you want to stay herms and have the love life of a rock until you reach the New Frontier in a few decades?" He looked over the group, then asked, "Rachel?"

The tall redhead nodded and said, "I guess I'll do it. I want to be a woman. When can I get the surgery?"

"I like variety, so how about after five times? You'll get the butt button then, too, since it's cheaper to do both at the same time. Do you agree?"

Rachel sighed. "Okay."

He asked, "The rest of you? Erinna? Teri? Marie? Lashawna?"

Lashawna objected, "Call me Pudgey!"

"Whatever. Let me fuck you and record it, to get what you want?"

Pudgey made a counter-offer, "I'll do it if I can fuck you instead. Ever ridden a cock and played with a pair like these?" She lifted her shirt and bra, showing him her massive pair of caramel-colored boobs with small purple areolas and nipples. Each was a little larger than his head.

"Uh... I... ah..." His eyes were practically on stalks as he stared at them and agreed. "Sure!" After she covered herself and he calmed down, he asked, "You want to stay a herm, Pudgey, or..."

"Futa. I love having huge tits and a cock. The rest can go."

Teri pleaded, "But Pudgey, we were going to have kids!"

She let out a long sigh and reluctantly said, "I promised, and I owe you, Stick. Okay. I'll stay a herm until we have a baby."

Perkins asked curiously, "Stick?"

Ebony-skinned Teri explained, "My nickname, long story. I want to be male again."

"And the rest of you? Do you agree?"

They nodded and mumbled, "Okay."

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Jonas Henrich, on Henrich-4

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After eating two apples for breakfast, I surveyed the horrible damage wrought by the quakes. The mine entrance had collapsed, burying all but one of the minerbots. Rain had pooled there and I knew the sticky mud it made would eventually dry, requiring me to dig through something hard as limestone to get the other five out. Ordering the remaining bot to dig the others out before it dried would probably trap it in the swampy muck with the others.

Both mass drivers and the three refinerbots that hadn't been totally destroyed would need major repairs. My medbed was wrecked beyond salvage when the house's main roof beam and a brick wall had fallen on it. The machine shed collapsing had squashed my flyer and the transporter flat as pancakes, too. Two agbots had been on Goat Island and Pig Island looking after my livestock, so I'd have no idea about their status until I could go check them. One near the orchard had been crushed by a large pine tree, but thankfully the two in the garden still worked.

I was conflicted when I saw the two dormitories were intact. They had far, far more living space than I needed, but reminded me of the crowd of scientists and explorers who would be there in two years. I moved my mattress and my few other intact belongings to the dorm closer to the mud bog which used to be a mine.

I used the crawler's crane to move large pieces of the repair shop's roof and walls. I was happy to see my sat-terminal had survived and was showing new images from the satellite in orbit high above. Minutes later I was deeply saddened to notice Pig Island was missing! Apparently the powerful quakes had caused it to sink into the sea. I felt serious loss for the cute little piglets I'd put there only a few weeks before.

The worst discoveries of all were seeing my fusion mini-reactor and Ansible were down. With no Ansible, there was no way for me to let anyone know what had happened, or even send a distress signal! Without fusion power, I'd only have half a dozen solar panels for electricity. I could either keep my lovebot going and use a few small devices, or produce enough hydrogen to run a single agbot. I would either have entertainment and a companion, or food. The choice was painful but obvious. I was no farmer and starving wasn't an option. I set up the solar panels and plugged in the hydrolyzer. Once it started to refill the hydrogen tank, I rebuilt a smaller version of the poultry barn and moved the birds out of the land crawler.

After a simple supper, I discussed the situation with DeeDee. She said, "I have nine hours of battery power left, Daddy. Since you won't be able to recharge me, maybe you want to make love to me before I go. My programming makes me naive and innocent, so I can't ask for anything sexual. But I'll do whatever you ask, Daddy. I love you."

I thought about her household task programs and wondered about times when I might need her to repair clothing or do other things I was unskilled at. "That's sweet, Deedee, but I need to save you for more important things. I'll see you soon." I hugged her and pressed her power button, then sat her in a corner of my new dorm room home.

I decided I should try learning by watching the agbot and help it. Once I had a decent amount of food stockpiled, I'd try to repair the reactor and Ansible.

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Teri / Stick, on Egalitaria B, remembering his past

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Eating an unappetizing meal bar reminded me of how bad but precious I thought my first one was. All the way back then I was only a little boy of 6. I'd been terrified, hungry, and confused. I didn't understand what famine, disease, or toxins were at the time. I just knew a woman in a gray uniform had picked me up and taken me from my home, leaving my dead parents in their bed.

I still have a tattoo behind my left ear from that week, "LOR-3-NE2". It stands for where I was born, planet Lorent-3, continent Nibo, eastern half of sector 2. I could get it removed if I wanted, but I wear it proudly as a badge of honor. Most of the sector's population had succumbed to starvation, illness, or polluted water by the time my parents did. It was the first area of the planet struck by environmental tragedy. Now, less than twenty years later, the whole planet is barren and uninhabitable. Seemingly, impatient greed was more important to those in charge, than preserving our home world so people could keep living there. That extreme level of idiocy boggles my mind every time I think about it.

The lady in gray carried me to the back of a big vehicle and sat me in her lap. I got some peanut butter crackers and water, once I ran out of tears and quit sobbing. I hadn't eaten in a long time, days, so the crackers and the intensely sweet candies she gave me meant a lot. Other than her being the first person I'd ever seen with blue eyes or pale skin, I don't recall much of her appearance. Emotionally, I still remember her as some sort of angel from the old legends. Without her, I would have perished within days.

I soon believed the next female I met was pure evil. A man at the Refugee Center led me to a tent with only a mattress, a few blankets, and two other kids. When he left, I did what I thought was a very grown-up thing by offering my hand and politely saying, "Hello. My name is Terry."

The caramel-skinned and dark-haired girl sitting near the door stood and loomed over me, being a head taller and plump instead of nearly emaciated like I was. She scoffed and rudely said, "You look like a burnt stick. Stay away from me, understand? Get away!" She shoved my chest and I stumbled backward into a much smaller girl.

I held my hands up in self-defense and hurriedly replied, "Understand! I understand!"

The little one and I helped each other to our feet and she frightfully said, "Sorry! I'm sorry. I'm Marie. Please don't hurt me!" I saw the redhaired and pale-skinned girl had a split lip. Her dirty and torn clothes resembled the other girl's, and mine. I was quite surprised, since I'd never seen or even heard of red hair before.

"I'm Terry. Can you be my friend?"

"Please! I have nobody!" We sat on the bed as far from the big girl as we could. Marie and I quietly introduced ourselves and talked about our dead families, then hugged and cried together.

A while later the door opened and a big man said, "You all arrived too late for supper. Lashawna?" The chunky girl grabbed something out of his hand and said, "Pudgey! Call me Pudgey!" She sat on the far end of the bed and turned away from us.

He reached toward the other girl. "Marie?" My new friend stood and said, "Thank you" then took something small and brown from his hand.

"Terry?"

"Yes?"

"Here." He pushed a very hard and dry... something... into my palm. It was a rectangle partly split into four triangular sections, and strongly resembled a block of wood. I thought wood might be softer, though. He told us, "Restrooms and drinking water are at the end of the row. Use them when you need but don't make a mess. Some of the older kids might cause problems, so stay in your tent most of the time. Lights out in an hour."

Marie bit down on her bar and struggled to eat a piece. After a lot of chewing she swallowed and told me, "It's food. Eat it."

I dubiously bit down on mine but nothing happened. I made a major effort to bite harder and one of the triangles finally broke off the bar with a 'SNAP!' It tasted like burnt bread, fruit, and fish; all mixed together. After a lot of saliva and much more chewing I was able to swallow it eventually. Despite the poor taste, it was food. I was happy to eat it and soothe my desperate stomach.

Pudgey demanded, "Gimme half of yours, both of you!"

I was very hungry and told her, "No, it's mine."

She made a fist and threatened, "I could break you like a stick! Just give it to me!"

Marie put a finger to her injured lip, then handed over two triangles and advised me, "It's not worth getting hurt. Just give it to her."

I sighed and gave in. "Okay." I broke off a triangle and passed the rest to the scary seven-year-old girl. When I finished what I had left, I was hungry instead of starving.

In the morning I refused to give Pudgey any of my bar, so she punched me in the nose and took the whole thing as I cried from the pain. At lunchtime I was extremely hungry. I quickly bit off a piece and tried to keep it all again. She elbowed me right in the solar plexus! In addition to losing most of a meal and falling to the floor in agony, my nearly empty stomach dry heaved and I tasted harsh bile in the back of my mouth. Marie started to help me up again but Pudgey ordered, "Leave him alone, Mite. He needs to know how stuff works here!"

I learned my lesson and started giving the little girl bully half of every life-sustaining but unappealing bar. Thankfully, after the first two days we ate breakfast and lunch in a cafeteria with grown-ups watching, so Pudgey couldn't steal our regular food. Our simple breakfast of rice with raisins and milk seemed like a banquet! The pear and cheese sandwich I ate for lunch were wonderful! We each got a meal bar for supper and just before bed, too. With Pudgey taking a whole bar from each of us daily, she grew much faster than we did, making it even less likely we would resist.

Marie or 'Mite' was a month younger than I. The day she turned seven years old the three of us were transferred from the Refugee Center to an orphanage on another planet. Though Mite and I feared and hated Pudgey, the adults treated the three of us like we were family and made us share a room.

I never could have imagined that when we were twenty, Mite and I would save our tormentor's life and the three of us would become lovers.

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