Lost Colony Ch. 11

Sparr fell back, trying to keep in motion, unpredictable. The spear more than negated his advantage in reach, and Lachi was plenty fast. He could slash as well as stab, but that would require getting close enough, and his opponent was well versed in keeping her distance.

"Does your stick make you feel strong?" he taunted. "More like a man?"

"Maybe I'll cut yours off," Lachi countered. "Make you a woman." Again she lunged with lightning speed, forcing Sparr to parry and leap away. She laughed. "Yes, dance for me! Dance like a little boy." She twirled and flicked her spear.

Something didn't make sense. Without question, Lachi held the advantage. She was younger, faster, and an expert with her weapon. Sparr hadn't trained for months, was tired, and partially hobbled by his twisted ankle. She could have cut him easily, but hadn't. Why? The answer came to him in a flash when Lachi lunged at his side, twisting her spear and yanking it back as he parried. The barb scraped against the saber's broad blade. With her strength, if Lachi could catch his blade in the spear's barb, she could wrench it from his grasp. She was trying to disarm him. Lachi didn't just want to cut Sparr, ending the match. She wanted to hurt him. If she could disarm him she would get a free shot, which she would no doubt use to cripple or gut him. Her status among her fellow hunters would be enshrined.

But the strategy was also her weakness. His gladiator training had taught him to look for patterns. Lachi always tried the disarming move after a flurry of thrusts. Next time she did so, Sparr fell back as if dazed. On her final, twisting lunge, Sparr allowed her to catch his blade under the barb. Lachi grinned triumphantly, putting all of her strength into yanking the blade from his hand. But Sparr drove his weight down, lodging the tip of the saber into the tundra while he held the grip with both hands. Lachi pulled, expecting to tear the saber from his grasp. Instead she grunted, almost losing her grip as the immovable sword refused to yield.

Abandoning the saber, Sparr flung himself forward. He crashed into Lachi, knocking her to the ground. He punched her, his fist cracking against her nose, then again, cutting her lip open in a spray of blood, and knocking her senseless. He raised his hand.

"Is this enough blood?" he howled to the circle. "Is it?"

***

Miah herself woke him before dawn, calling Sparr from the mens' tent where he had passed a fitful night. Bogg waited beside her, his pack stuffed with smoked elk meat and root vegetables. The sky had cleared.

"I suppose I don't need to tell you that it's best to move on?" Miah asked. In the pre-dawn light she looked more rested than she had the night before, less ambivalent.

Sparr chuckled. "I kind of figured." His triumph the previous evening had given him fleeting respect among the hunters, while the men had discreetly clapped his back and toasted him with the thick spirit they favored. But Sparr had no illusion that he would be safe among them for long, and no desire to remain, regardless. His path had already been decided. He called Bogg to his side, rubbed the beast's grey muzzle, and fixed his bearings.

"Wait!" Sparr had turned to leave before Miah was quite ready. "I have something for you," she said.

Two men had held back, but now rushed forward with a bundle. One held the top while the other unrolled it. Sparr gaped in astonishment, his mouth hanging open stupidly. They must have worked all night to skin the bear and scrape the flesh from its thick pelt. The head was astonishingly intact, including the whiskers and ears. The front legs, where the hunters had slit the fur, had been stitched loosely back together like sleeves. The back and hindquarters, which originally would have been much too long, had been neatly trimmed.

"Animal," Sparr whispered, more to himself than the others. It was the nickname which he had been given in the gladiator arena a lifetime ago. As the men draped him in the fur, the word had never fit better.

"Indeed," Miah said, ignorant of his history, but not the parallel between man and beast. "I don't know where your story is taking you Alain, but I hope the spirit of the bear will accompany you there. You've more than earned it."

Once again, Sparr set out across the bleak tundra.

***

He reached the outpost in less than one day, this time being careful to attempt open-water crossings only when the air car's power level was over fifty percent. Even on sunny days, flying so far south could border on miserable. Sparr had been unable to fabricate the car's windows. He had lashed salvaged glass across the front and back, but frigid air swept around the sides relentlessly. Bogg, laying on the floor, avoided the worst of it, but even the polar bear coat couldn't keep Sparr comfortable for more than an hour at a time. When the cold became unbearable, he would land, stretch his legs, and look to see what Bogg discovered to eat. It was just before he needed to take one such break that he spotted the outpost.

The outpost itself was modest, a cluster of low-slung buildings dug into opposite sides of a narrow, mostly dry canyon. A feeble tendril of smoke wafted from one of the buildings, and Sparr thought he saw a figure walking toward the shore, but there was little other activity.

He had no business at the place. Miah had sent him from the hunting camp loaded with food, and there seemed little other reason to visit. If anything, the arrival of a solo traveler might cause a disturbance. And the air car, if spotted, would be problematic.

But if the outpost was of limited interest, its setting was not. The canyon must at one point have been gouged out by a glacier, then left dry as the ice retreated. Only a trickle of water now flowed. Farther up the canyon widened substantially, but instead of flattening gradually to merge with the plateau, it ended in a massive cave. Sparr turned the air car toward it to get a better look.

The cave was unlike any Sparr had seen, either on Kaybe or Earth. The opening was oddly circular, and rimmed with ice. There was no visible rock, no sign of irregularities, and no trace of stalagmites or stalactites. It was as if the cave had been bored with a massive drill, or a gusher of pressurized water. Sunlight reached in, revealing more of the same, smooth, tunnel sloping down. The air pouring out was humid.

Curious, Sparr steered the air car up the canyon, then lowered it onto the shallowly sloping canyon floor just short of the cave. He moved to step out, but the car immediately began to slide down the ice. He tried elsewhere, but again the car slid. The outer surface was impossibly slippery. Sparr flew the vehicle to safety, abandoning his plan to investigate. Once more, he was teased by one of Kaybe's countless mysteries, but unable to resolve it.

***

"Are you sure this is safe? Didn't someone get their implant dissolved at one of these places?"

Sparr and Calista had exited the autonomous shuttle at Florida's only NanoLuv franchise. A garish door stood at odds with the otherwise nondescript business park offered the following inducement:

Be swarmed with delight!

"That was the one in Oklahoma City," Calista explained. "They weren't purging the collective memory between sessions and one of the previous customers had, what, an ear fetish? The reviews here are fine!"

Sparr followed her through the door into a surprisingly subdued lobby. Calista flashed her ID. "Brandt," she said crisply. "We have the couple's tank booked at three."

"It's all set for you, Ms. Brandt." The receptionist, who identified herself as Haylee, was a dangerously attractive young woman in a skin-tight bodysuit. Tresses of copper and auburn tossed and danced around her shoulders, while the bodysuit did nothing to disguise her ripe figure. Sparr could barely keep his eyes away as he and Calista were led back.

The couple's tank was housed in a compact room barely larger than the tank. Neutral colors characterized the decor, while the tank itself was the color of putty. Nothing about the room suggested being swarmed with delight.

"I'll give you two a moment to undress and slip into the tank," Haylee said. She flashed a perfect smile. "Then I'll return with the nanoswarm. Remember, you need to stay on opposite sides of the tank. Any contact will result in a feedback loop." She closed the door behind her.

Winking at him, Calista quickly wriggled out of her shorts and tight t-shirt, then peeled off her bra and panties. She and Sparr had made love many times, and the pair had showered together on several occasions. Each time he was no less captivated by her fit, leggy build. Sparr soaked up the sight before tugging off his own, equally casual, clothes.

"There's that butt!" Calista slapped Sparr hard on the ass then quickly slipped into the tub before he could retaliate. "Whaaaaat?"

Rolling his eyes, Sparr joined her, the warm water tickling first his feet, then privates, then chest. "This is nice," he groaned. The water had been heated to body temperature, and was quite salty. Even before he had slipped all the way in, Sparr could feel the buoyancy pulling at him. Fully submerged, he would float. The tank was divided down the middle by a transparent, perforated barrier, allowing the water to circulate easily, but preventing the occupants from accidentally touching one another.

"You two both have such low body fat, we had to put in extra salt just for this session." The receptionist had returned, holding two transparent bags and a small sphere. She knelt by Calista, again flashing her bright smile. "We have some of the boy ones for you," she said, submerging the bag. Immediately the contents, which had initially looked like a brown sludge, turned a bright blue. As Sparr watched, intrigued, the sludge slipped out of the bag in a cohesive, but malleable blob.

The nanoswarm didn't have an actual gender. It did, however, have a set of fundamental, pre-programmed behaviors, in this case, to provide stimulation consistent with what most heterosexual women favored. Sparr's would be programmed for a straight male.

Haylee slunk to Sparr's side of the tank, her hazel eyes freely traveling over his submerged body. When she knelt to release the second swarm, her lips practically brushed his ear. She whispered. "You'll be with her, but I bet you'll be fucking me."

Sparr flushed, but otherwise managed to conceal his surprise. The swarm that the receptionist released quickly turned a bright lavender as it slipped into the welcoming water of the tank.

The receptionist stood, raising the little sphere so both occupants of the tank could see it. It was mostly opaque, with just enough light penetrating the amber surface to reveal what looked like glitter suspended within. "And a game?" she asked. "Whose idea was this?"

"Might have been me," Calista said, waving her hand playfully. "I thought maybe a surprise-"

"What game?" Sparr asked, suddenly alert.

"Ah, she's a naughty one," Haylee said, with a wink toward Calista. She tossed the sphere into the water on Sparr's side of the tank. "It'll pop in about twenty minutes. And don't worry," she added, turning to him, "the game just throws in a challenge, you'll still be swarmed with bliss."

Finally, she handed both Sparr and Calista their extended-reality goggles. As Sparr slipped his on, Calista, the receptionist, and the little room disappeared, replaced by a featureless plain stretching in all directions. Meanwhile his implant synched with the sound already being produced by the simulation. Haylee slipped quietly out of the room. The session had begun.

Obscured by the goggles, the nanoswarm, tens of thousands of tiny machines operating with collective programming, found his bare skin. With only the faintest tickle they spread across him in a thin layer, clustering in greater densities around sensitive areas. Sparr's genitals, neck, lips, ears, and chest would receive particular attention, as would the insides of his elbows and knees, his ass, and in between his toes. In less than a minute the entire surface of his skin tingled.

"Find me, Alain." Calista's voice reached him, not from where she floated in the tank just a few inches away, but from inside his head. He would have to locate her in the simulation.

The empty plain morphed, becoming a sprawling landscape of every conceivable natural environment, neatly stitched together. Towering mountain peaks sloped down to jungles dripping with rain and heavy with mist. Jungle gave way to a frozen lake, which at its far edge melted and poured over rock to birth a towering waterfall filling a dark pool. Deserts faded to savannah, which gave way to dense forest. It was all of Earth blended into a single, impossible mural.

Sparr's eyes noticed a bleak desert. What an awful place to make love, he thought. Just as quickly, the desert portion of the mural disappeared, the neighboring environments expanding to fill the void. The same process occurred with the frozen lake. No sooner had Sparr given a moment's thought to how unpleasant it would be to lay naked on the ice, that scene disappeared. His choices were quickly being narrowed.

The swarm quickly learned to read his slightest reaction. The waterfall was beautiful, but as soon as Sparr noticed how rocky the shore was, that environment slipped away. The vineyard seemed like it would be too steep, the swamp too swampy, and the beach... for a moment he recalled how when he had made love to Calista on the beach, waves had caught them at the very end. The beach was gone.

Soon he was left with two choices. A forest glen, its floor softened with pine needles and dappled sunlight from the towering redwoods beckoned him. Its only competitor, an alpine meadow, offered similar softness, but wrapped in a sweeping panorama of snow-crested mountains. Both were enticing, but a fond memory suddenly found him. He and a friend had visited the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, hiking for hours on trails covered with pine needles redolent with sap. The meadow disappeared.

Somewhere, just inches away from him, Calista would be making the same, almost subliminal decisions. Her preferences, biases, and memories would surface only long enough to discard or preserve an option. Where would she end up? Had she once visited the desert, kissing a boy at sunset while the winds turned from warm to cold?

Did he even want to know?

The forest surrounded him now. Needles tickled his bare feet, yielding gently as he walked across them. The effect, he knew, was entirely manufactured, the nanoswarm directing its members layered across the soles of his feet to create the sensation. Floating as he was in the salt tank, no other sensations present, the distinction was meaningless. It was delightful.

A crowd awaited him. As the sharp scent of pine wafted around Sparr, a ring of women emerged from the trees, their faces indistinct, but offering a wildly varied choice of body types. Just as with the natural environments, Sparr's immediate response either dismissed or preserved them. Women too tall for his taste, too thin, or too heavy graciously retreated back to the shadows. Those with grotesquely exaggerated breasts or odd proportions similarly faded from view, while those more to Sparr's liking sauntered closer.

Faces and hairstyles became clearer. A woman with short, spiky hair faded back as soon as Sparr saw her, as did a female figure with such preposterously long hair that it defied explanation. The simulation threw everything at him, but worked just as quickly to narrow the selection. The same was true for facial features. He almost laughed at a comically hooked nose which made one imaginary woman look like a cartoon character. Next to her an adorable, pixie-like creature made the cut, taking another step forward.

A few of the creations merged. Two imposing women of comparable height merged, keeping the facial features that Sparr was most attracted to. A striking, green-eyed woman merged with a dark-skinned beauty, creating a combination which might not exist in nature, but was deliciously compelling nonetheless. He pivoted, mesmerized, as an increasingly selective, and increasingly beautiful, circle of women closed in.

"Am I near you, Alain?" Calista's voice cut through the sound of wind whispering through the pine boughs. "Have you chosen me yet?"

"There's still so many of you," he replied. One of the phantoms passed by, trailing her hand across his side, a brief spark of warmth. Sparr realized that, just as in real life, he was naked in the simulation.

"Find one you like," her voice echoed. "But hurry."

A seductive figure caught his eye. The receptionist Haylee, in the simulation, was unchanged from reality. Just shorter than Calista, she was slimmer as well. Copper hair spilled across her shoulders, accenting the hollows of her neck, without concealing her buoyant breasts. She wiggled her hips playfully, and as she approached Sparr, reached out to stroke his cock. The nanoswarm stimulated his organ, but just like everything else in the simulation, it was indistinguishable from reality. He was getting hard.

Finally, he had two options.. One had started out as the receptionist, but now with deliciously tanned skin and a round ass. The other was a slightly shorter woman with a hint of Asian features and perky breasts. As Sparr stared with surging arousal, the two began to make out. Lips met and tongues slid together as computer-generated hands caressed perfect bodies. Meanwhile the swarm drank in each subliminal response from Sparr. Which set of lips was more enticing? Was he drawn to a taut, athletic body, or one with a hint of feminine softness? Bright eyes, or dark?

With a flash, the two simulations merged, leaving one perfect lover, a snapshot of Sparr's collective impulses. Calista's virtual body was a touch shorter than she was in life, but just as leggy, with a sweet, round ass. Her breasts were smaller, but perky. They jiggled enticingly as the avatar, still under the control of the simulation, smiled and did a little dance. Straight, black hair of medium length, a willowy neck, and the hint of Asian features had survived. Only bright blue eyes offered a hint of the real Calista, striking against the avatar's dark hair and richly tanned skin.

I can never, thought Sparr, tell Calista.

The Avatar twitched briefly as Calista took control. Her nanoswarm would sense her slightest movements, translating them into motion, while his would do the same. They could touch without touching, and though only inches apart, make love on different continents, even different worlds.

Calista smiled, moving toward him, swinging her hips suggestively. Sparr reached out to embrace her, but she stepped aside, only trailing her hands across his body. "I wonder where you are," she said, circling him, warm hands brushing against his skin. "The beach? Or maybe that little moss-covered cave lit by the moon?"

"Do you want me to tell you?" Sparr turned to his other side as Calista came around. He reached for her, but once again she danced away.

"No," she said airily. "You'll tell me later, and it's more fun not knowing." The now black-haired beauty took a step away before dropping to her knees. "Come here," she said. "Apparently, I've learned a new trick."

Calista lifted Sparr's cock and, not breaking eye contact, licked him from balls to tip. For a fleeting moment, he thought about the nanoswarm, and the miracle of cooperation and collective programming that allowed them to simulate wetness, pressure, and heat along his shaft. But only for a moment. The sensation was as blissful as any human caress. Sparr let the illusion surround him.

More warmth found him as Calista slipped her lips around the head. Still keeping eye contact, she took first the head, then the thickest part of the shaft, and finally to the base. She had engulfed him.