It's My Party

"You do? From where?"

"From that strange tunnel place right before the Christmas parties. A bunch of us frat boys were prospecting the line for new chicks to pick up. I don't know what the hell I was doing. Frida was there with me and she was the nicest girl anybody could ever hope to have. But I just didn't realize it at the time. I tried picking up a fresh chick. Her name was Cindy. I guess I was just looking for novelty."

"Just that?" Jessica asked doubtfully.

"Well, no, you're right. I was trying to impress my compadres with my abilities to score in the open field. But Cindy's body, wow…" The image of her came flooding back into his mind, very cute legs under a skirt a little too short for winter, full hips and ass, an hour-glass waist, and a very well endowed front. And Doug thought her face was beyond beautiful. She was gorgeous.

"Hey, slow down tiger!" Jessica laughed inside their link as she recalled sharing her memories with Amber. "I believe Cindy might still be alive. She might still be with Eugene. How did she react to your pickup attempt?"

"She was horrified." Doug paused for a moment and then sighed within the link. "And I was horrible. I used to carry around a tennis ball in my pocket. I had it then. I pulled it out and showed it to Cindy and said, Hi! My name is Diego! You wanna ball?"

Jessica project the mental construct of puking. "You didn't?!"

"I did. I was that horrible. But you want to know something? It never worked for me, but the compadre that taught me this was Fidel. He used to go to college mixers and use the same line on unattended women at the beginning of each party. It would only take a few seconds to say, and usually before his tenth try…"

"You're not serious!"

"So help me God, I am! A girl would accept the ball! And Fidel would have found a sleeping partner for the night. He never left a mixer without one. He'd score every time."

"My God," thought Jessica to Doug, thinking of college women in general. "How dumb can you get? I'm going to have to lower my esteem of the human female."

Doug shrugged "Well… Uh, getting back to Cindy, her boyfriend saw what I had done and he came over immediately. I moved on before he could do anything. I guess that was Eugene. Shit. What a first impression." Doug reflected for a moment. "Do you know what my core problem was? Back on Earth, I didn't see value in the people around me. I was treating Cindy as a potential fuck toy, nothing more. I didn't see her value Jessica. I didn't see the value in Frida either, and now I've lost her forever."

"Yes. I failed there too." Jessica was quiet for a long moment, lost in her own thoughts. She finally continued. "Not counting the pregnancies, there are eighty-one people left, that's the human species, five men and seventy-six women."

Neither of them verbalized their next thoughts. They shared their sorrows and fears and guilt without need of words. At the end, Doug didn't want to end their link on a depressing note. He tried to recapture some of their earlier playfulness. "Five guys and seventy-six gals, huh? And are the gals horny?"

"Yes, I think so," Jessica thought back playfully. "If you treat us nicely and respect us and see value in us, we'll get horny for you Doug. Fifteen horny females for each guy," she concluded, "And you say you're worried?"

Doug hiccupped in embarrassment and broke the link, but inwardly he finally seemed to relax. He gave Jessica's small breast an affectionate squeeze and they whispered good night to each other. Doug returned to his sleep spot and fell asleep almost immediately. Jessica went back to her own couch adjacent to the lobby windows. She stayed up and watched the stars for a long time.

"Such hard cold points of light," she thought and she gazed through the window. "Are Doug's fears justified? I told him no, but maybe he was right. Am I deceiving myself? Am I hiding behind my desires to be a little girl who's too cute to have her butt spanked? I have to accept what I did! Amber and Whitney, at least I never violated them. But Kiyoko!"

Jessica grimaced as she lay. "My God! How many times did I probe her rectum? And she treats me with kindness now. How? Why? And how can I every repay her? How can I repay the others? What can I offer?" Jessica stared at the stars and searched for answers that would not come. By the time she fell asleep, the eastern horizon was pink with the promise of a new day.

Jessica felt very tired a few hours later when Whitney gently woke her for breakfast. During the meal the five quickly agreed that Amber would be the leader of their extended group. And so began their time exploring the buildings of Black Mall. As autumn progressed and the days shortened, they spent more and more time after sundown chatting by Leophones with their friends and giving and getting small gifts and affectionate letters via the balloons. And during the daylight hours, they worked as a team, searching for the best facilities for where to take shelter from the coming winter. Their wanderings revealed several adequate choices.

Chapter 103.

Time: Thursday evening, October 14, 2019 10:29 PM GHT, eleven days after the death of Ricardo

It was late, six hours after sundown, and Fatima felt as if she were floating on her bed. It was her first night to sleep with Mark and they had just finished a very energetic coupling. Mark was lying on his back and sighing and Fatima was by his side, her hand lazily playing with his nipples. A thin sheet of sweat covered them both. "Wow," she whispered with a kiss.

Mark turned slightly and grinned at Fatima in the darkness. The stars and the red moon outside were their only illumination. Mark told her he loved her and his hand lovingly cupped her pubis. "Does it still hurt?" he whispered. Fatima gave her head a small shake no. Earlier they had linked their boosted minds before linking bodies. Mark knew about the pain of the virgin tear of Fatima's hymen as fully as if he had his own vagina.

Mark kissed her. "What are you thinking?"

"Oh, lots of things I guess. Our marriage, our future, having children. Holly's and Toshi's sons! They will be my children too. And sex! I'm thinking of lots and lots of sexy images! It's even better than I imagined!" Fatima laughed. "I've got this crazy phrase running in my mind, over and over again. Today I am a woman!"

Her Leophone rang before Mark could reply. Fatima blinked and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi Fatima," replied Amber. "Whitney and Kiyoko are here with me. Got time for a little chat?"

Fatima sighed as her mind switched gears. "Yes, I suppose. Mark is here with me. Okay to put you guys on speakerphone?"

"Sure, that's be fine… Hi Mark!"

"Hi yourself. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, nothing too urgent. Say Fatima! You're with Mark?! Is this your wedding night?! OH MY GOSH!!! I'm so sorry!"

Yesterday early Wednesday morning in what people were playfully calling seven brides for one brother, Mark had married Aggie, Ashley, Emily, Fatima, Hannah, Holly, and Jada, with Mark and Jada exchanging their vows over Leophones. Toshi and Frida acted as bridesmaids. Mark now had nine wives, and of course they were keeping their sleeping arrangements private.

Fatima laughed good naturedly. "No, we were finished."

Mark leaned over and whispered playfully in her ear, "Don't be so sure!"

Amber meanwhile was still apologetic. "Uh… I should call back later."

"Amber, it really is okay. I'm assuming you have a reason for calling so late."

"Well… Yes, the reason I called now, and I know how late it is and I really hate taking up your wedding night, but Jessica and Doug asked permission to go off and sleep together. They're not here now. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to call you."

Fatima paused. "That's interesting. Are Jessica and Doug are becoming a couple?"

"Yes, I think so. Not that I blame them. I'm sure you remember what it's like to be unboosted and be around boosted people. In terms of mental abilities, Kiyoko, Whitney and I are almost another species to them. And to us they seem like small children. It's only natural Jessica and Doug relate to each other more."

Fatima sat up in bed and nodded while gentle hands were lightly caressing her calves and ankles. "Yes, I remember. The gulf is vast. Is it putting a stress on your team?"

"Oh no, not at all. Jessica and Doug, I couldn't ask for nicer people. I called you to talk about something more fundamental. Fatima, both Doug and Jessica are worried about their past crimes at Black Mall. Kiyoko, Whitney and I can all see it clearly when we link with them. Fatima, how can I reassure them?

Fatima sighed. "I'd like to say there's an easy answer, but I don't want to rule by decree on this. There's quite a bit of opposition, and not just from the victims of Black Mall either. Doug raped a large number of women, and Jessica even more."

Fatima paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "The women from White, Green, and Yellow Malls didn't have the struggle we went through to accept Tom and Charles.
A lot of these people feel a price needs to be paid for what Doug and Jessica did. I know the two helping us now, but there's a general feeling they need to be punished."

Amber replied, "Oh hell. You're saying there's a real risk they'll be banished?"

"Yes, I am."

Amber gave a deep sigh. "I wish you could link and see their minds. Doug and Jessica would agree with you completely that they deserve punishment." She paused. "It's interesting that you talked about price. Ever since we've been here, we have had such an infinite amount of goods at our disposal…"

Fatima also paused to reflect. "Yes, I know what you mean. I haven't thought about money for so long, it's almost a foreign concept." She sighed. "How can we punish them? Fines don't exist, and I don't want to get us into the business of running jails. I suppose in some future year that might become… unavoidable. But boy, I sure don't want to start now, especially with the primitive government we have. Where is our judicial system?"

Amber nodded. "Yes, I agree. Fatima? Kiyoko and Whitney want to talk too. I'll let Kiyoko go first."

"Hi Mark, hi Fatima. I've been doing therapy linking with Doug. Whitney has been working with Jessica. At their requests, we were showing them their actions from their victims' perspectives."

Fatima blinked as she realized what Kiyoko was saying. "You shared your memories of Doug raping you?"

"Yes. He willingly accepted the perspective of my body and mind. He's lived through the experiences in our dreams, my despair during the rapes, the violation of by body, my anger and depression afterwards. Fatima, it was a horrible thing for him to go through but he wanted to be punished. He will never, ever desire to rape again. Just link with his mind. His sincerity is an open book."

Fatima sighed. "I've talked with his other victims. They describe him as an overeager sex fiend. He was just so hot to copulate with anyone wearing a skirt. What drove him to it?"

"From what I got from our dreams, it was combination of immaturity and a willful disregard of his morals. He knew better! But perhaps unlike a classic rapist, he doesn't hate women. Yes, there was a desire for sexual domination but it was a mostly a basic animalistic desire to fuck. His sex drive was not based on cruelty."

Kiyoko paused in thought for a moment before continuing. "Doug was a pure beach-master driven to copulate with as many females as possible. It almost didn't matter whom he mounted. I dreamed him through each of his rapes. Except for his memories with me, we had to use his male perspective." Kiyoko gave a mirthless laugh. "I am very familiar now with the feeling of being a male and mounting a female who doesn't want me."

"Oh Kiyoko! Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thank you Fatima, I'm okay. His first attempt at rape is especially interesting. Allison was the first girl he checked out. This was at the very beginning, just a few days after Christmas when the frat boys were just setting up the pussy barn system. Diego and Frida had a big fight over what was happening earlier in the day. And then later that evening Diego picked Allison for his evening's entertainment."

Fatima paused. "We've had frank discussions about Doug. Allison never mentioned Diego raped her."

"He never did. I saw the memory. He brought Allie to his bedroom and tried to kiss her and she slapped him. Diego did not get violent back. He just checked her back into the pussy barn. A half hour later Santos and Fidel took her for a double rape. Allie talked about her experience later that night. What they did was absolutely brutal."

Kiyoko sighed. "My memories of life in the pussy barn are so vivid. The word quickly spread among the women slaves. If you're picked by Diego, your choice is to endure a simple rape while being petted or risk something far worse. Allison was the only women who physically resisted him. I did not. It was still absolute coercion of course. We both knew it was rape. But I did not physically resist, and that's all Diego asked of me."

"It's still a hell of a problem," Fatima commented darkly.

Kiyoko continued. "Doug and I explored his childhood. Did you know as a boy he used to stutter badly when he was around girls, especially those near his age? He did it even in high school, a great pubescent eagerness for sex but socially very inept. But he was a top student, and when he was a freshman at Burlington his academic excellence caught the eye of Frida. They started studying together, and eventually they started dating"

Kiyoko took a moment to reflect. "From his memories, they started off okay. They had a lot of tenderness for each other and Doug was thrilled about having Frida as his girlfriend. But then he got involved with Beta Sigma Rho, and soon afterwards Doug became Diego. That damn frat was a really bad influence on him. Fatima, he's not trying to excuse his actions. These are my opinions, not his."

Another voice spoke up. "Fatima, this is Whitney. I'd like to talk about Jessica. She is one complicated case. I find it confusing to link with her. I'm no psychiatrist, but I have a feeling Ricardo somehow fractured Jessica's mind during the time he was alone with her. After she escaped from him, she put her self-identity back together again by using a lot of her child persona. Her cruelty with the insane contraband inspections is like a bad dream to her now. Believe me, Jessica alone with Ricardo was far more than any person should have to bear. She's been punished already, more than enough!"

Fatima replied, "People, I trust your instincts, but I still don't want to rule by decree on this. We need broad support for accepting new members, maybe not consensus, but certainly a clear majority. And right now we don't have it!"

Amber spoke up. "Okay, we understand that. Jessica and Doug do too. Doug even suggested denying him the Bee Park as punishment. I'd really, really hate for us to do that. It would create a vulnerable second class of citizen for us. People might be tempted to abuse their boosted power. Remember how we struggled with the incident with Toshi?"

Fatima shuddered. "Of course. And she's my sister wife now. She would be horrified if we went down that path again. Amber, do you have any suggestions?"

"Yes, that's why we're calling you. How about a public ceremony when we eventually get out of here? Whitney, Kiyoko, and I are thinking of a ritual punishment where people can publicly express their disgust for what Doug and Jessica did. It would be a time where people can say Doug and Jessica should be ostracized from our Society. It would also be a time to express forgiveness."

Mark's hands travel up Fatima's legs and across her hips, eventually settling to stroke her around her navel. She briefly touched his hand to ask him to wait and then replied, "Sounds intriguing. Tell me more." The phone conversation lasted another five minutes. The petting resumed afterwards and delightfully lasted a lot longer.

Three weeks later.

Time: Thursday, December 7, 2019 10:45 AM GHT

Mark sat alone at his all-time favorite work area, the library console at Red Mall on the eastern side of the room. He was enjoying a delightful morning of solitude after an incredibly hectic three weeks. Through the windows the sky outside was almost as dark as night, but it wasn't purely the seasonal progression. Mark grinned and pulled up a table on his display to satisfy his curiosity. Today the sun was scheduled to set at 1:24 PM and theoretically it had risen ten minutes ago. He never could have guessed that by looking out the windows. The scene was of a fierce pre-winter blizzard, a view of wild chaotic motion with the sky as dark as late twilight.

So fast! It seemed like such a short time ago that the world was a world full of light with little peaceful darkness. Now they were down to less that three precious hours of sunlight a day, and even that was fast disappearing. In a mere eight days they would be at the winter solstice where the sun would not break the horizon. Mark leaned back and enjoyed the raw violence of the storm. It had moved fast and according to his weather display would leave just as quickly. There was a flash of lightning with the associated thunder completely absent in the soundproof room.

"Executive override," Mark commanded his console on a whim. "Cancel room soundproofing, these coordinates, for… uh, twenty minutes. And execute." An instant later he could hear distant rumbles of the blizzard's thunder and the fury of the wind. Nice! Mark wondered if he should bring up the issue of soundproofing with the Society at some future meeting. It was great for privacy and sleeping but it also isolated them from the outdoors and the beauty of nature's sounds. Mark made a mental note to speak to Fatima about it.

And then he gave a small frown. He was the only person that had the authority to cancel room or building soundproofing status. Even the janitors couldn't do it, and Mark couldn't delegate his authority. His ability now took his mind back to the time when it all began. "Almost twenty days now," he thought, "almost twenty days of being a mini-god." On Friday November 1st, Mark had been in this room and in this every chair. His new wife Emily was with him and she was working at the other console across the room. They were often pausing to smile at each other. Tonight would be their wedding night.

At 2 PM that Friday afternoon, Mark was startled to see a short message from the interface appear on his screen. He was being requested to click an accept box. He read for a moment and then yelled for his wife to come over.

With absolutely no fanfare or comment, the interface had just offered him employment as Acting Director of Astronomy. Mark and Emily were dumbfounded. Could this possibly mean what they thought it meant?! Mark clicked accept and then the first thing he tested was his access to internal interface logs. Yes! He had executive authority to read them all. Mark could now see into the interface's core decision loops. Emily whooped with delight and ran to her console to tell the others.

Soon the library was filled with people. Lucia was the first to point out an issue with celestial time. Mark had been offered his employment at 2 PM Friday, November 1, 2019. Lucia's Citizen ID was 16. She was third from the last of eighteen people to take the first elevator ride at 1:57 PM, December 21, 2018. With her boosted memory, she also knew she was the first to walk out at 2 PM, exactly 168 days before Mark was offered his employment. Mark's employment offer came exactly one sidereal year after the first human set foot in their new world.