Spark the Runner Ch. 05

That is truly amazing, Spark noted. I cannot imagine how beings of pure energy could interact with the world of the Cresco, so strongly oriented towards both physical and metaphysical pleasure.

Can you not? Themos asked. Do you not already, in your Triad, effect the same kinds of sharing, using your connection to the metasphere? We have heard quite a number of stories about your prowess with metaphysics. That is one reason we so very much wanted to meet you.

Okay, there it is, Spark thought to Tonya on their implants, hoping Okami was riding the channel. We use energy to create pleasure. They are energy. What can we do with, or for, them?

Follow my lead, Tonya answered.

To answer your question, Themos, Tonya told the group, we are very connected to the metasphere in our symbiotic form. Actually, individually as well, but much more so when linked. However, our knowledge of how to share pleasure is generally based on finding and stimulating the pleasure centers of the peoples we are interacting with. We have never encountered a situation where there may not be sensory centers to stimulate. We are used to electrochemical nervous systems and physical organs which respond to metaphysical energy in ways which create pleasure.

We are very good at identifying those constructs and exploiting them, for beneficial purposes. We would not know where to begin with creatures such as yourselves.

Would you like to find out? Chromos' question hung out there for what seemed like an eternity.

Spark, Tonya and Okami looked at each other. It was definitely time for a Fuck It moment.

Sure, Spark drawled telepathically. We are presuming you have enough experience with creatures of matter that we need not worry about surviving...

You will survive, Chromos assured him. You will probably see the Universe a bit differently afterwards, but I have been told that is not a bad thing.

Then... how do we do this? Spark asked, probably as nervous as he had ever been.

When the party begins to wind down, we will find you, Themos told them. You can accompany us back to our quarters, which we can make safe for you. Will you be joining us, Leeanni?

Spark suddenly realized that again, he had completely forgotten about the young Crescian.

As much as I would like to, Leeanni answered him, I am under orders not to interfere with the Solarians' opportunities to interact with and learn about the other Peoples. I am not sure if their Majesties would consider my presence interference or not, so I will have to politely, and more regretfully than you can know, decline.

So be it, Themos acknowledged. Perhaps we can prevail upon Gimloff and Ibsonna to allow you to experience our type of pleasure sharing at a future date.

That would be wonderful, Leeanni told them, and the Solarians knew it was heartfelt.

There are others we must spend time with before the end of the evening, Chromos told the group, and others who wish to spend time with you. We will take our leave for now and reconnect later. It has truly been a pleasure to meet you. We hope we can keep developing a strong friendship. As the Crescians say, may Good Fortune lead your way and Happiness surround you.

Live long and prosper, Spark answered. This was becoming second nature.

Spark, Tonya, Okami and Leeanni watched as the Vegans drifted off among the crowd. Almost immediately, their space was taken up by a large, three-legged, three-tentacled egg.

Greetings, Deetz, Leeanni thought to the egg. Are you solo tonight? Oh! Manners!... Deetz, I'd like you to meet Mr. Jamie McLeod, Solarian Human male, Mrs. Elizabeth McLeod, Solarian Human female, and Ms. Okami, Solarian Canilupe female. All are Solarian Trade Representatives. Jamie, Lizzie, Okami, I would like you to meet Deetz, one of the Betelite Trade Representatives, from the Betelgeuse system in the constellation Orion. Like the Vegans, they aren't gender specific. In fact, they're hermaphroditic...

* * * * *

"Three penises?" Spark was commenting as the Solarians moved towards the door where they were to meet the Vegans. "Three?"

"And three vaginas, husband," Tonya answered. "Do not overlook that."

"I'm not sure I'm up for banging three of anything," Spark came back. "Or having it bang me. And Deetz was only one of them. How can you handle more than one of them at a time, for Pete's sake..."

"Very easily, thank you," Tonya replied. "Provided actual intercourse is not required. Much like we are about to do with the Vegans."

From time to time, Spark forgot who, exactly, he had as a partner. Tonya was as close to a goddess as any creature he knew. Her abilities to work in both the physical and metaphysical realms, and even simultaneously, were astounding. He should have just thrown out the rulebook when she demonstrated her ability to alter her DNA on the flight from the Moon to Mars. That, and their realization that she had crossed the threshold from construct to metahuman.

Now, he realized her ability to connect sexually and sensually with any creature with a basic life energy would make it possible for her to trade in the Crescian scrip of libido with anyone they would develop as trade partners. Or friends. Or both. All he had to do was cooperate and stay the hell out of her way.

Pretty much what the Al'yans Krovi had expected to have happen. Except, they expected to be in control.

"So when it comes to Deetz and the Betelites, you just tell us what to do and you blow them away," Spark decided. "I can live with that."

"I prefer you living with me," Tonya told him. "For now, though, we have a meeting with beings of pure energy which promises to alter our perspectives of the Universe."

"No pressure," Okami muttered from beside her.

"Actually, quite a bit of pressure," Tonya responded, taking her literally. "My understanding of their homeworld includes pressures in the range of hundreds of Gigapascals and temperatures in the millions of degrees Kelvin. Perhaps more."

"I meant no pressure on us, to survive and adapt to their environment," Okami clarified. "I was being sarcastic. I don't expect it to be easy."

"I suspect it will be easier than we anticipate," Tonya told her. "The Vegans will have had experience sharing their natural environment with other peoples, similarly as vulnerable to damage as we. In truth, I have no idea what we are about to experience."

"That's comforting," Spark mumbled.

"And that would be another example of sarcasm, correct?"

"Oh, yeah, it is..." Spark answered Tonya.

The three fell quiet as they approached the door where the floating orbs of Chromos and Themos waited for them.

* * * * *

This is... amazing... Spark was in absolute awe of the world around him.

The Master of Understatement, Okami thought to the group. This is way beyond amazing.

I am finding the manipulation of the force fields quite intriguing, Tonya commented. A subtle variant on the Crescian Ch'hupa field, with the generator small enough to be worn by a humanoid, powered by a controlled deuterium-tritium fusion reaction stabilized to be harmless to the organics nearby. The resultant field being capable of containing a one million Kelvin, four hundred Gigapascal environment -- home, to you Vegans -- while simultaneously protecting we Solarians from instant disintegration. The possible applications appear limitless.

They were standing in the middle of a sun. Effectively, anyway.

Prior to entering the energy-lock which gave access to the Vegans' living quarters, Spark, Tonya and Okami were given circlets to wear as headbands. Once in place and activated, they appeared to melt into the skin without discomfort. No worries about them coming loose at a bad time. They were then invited to enter the energy-lock and wait for it to cycle.

After thirty seconds or so, the chamber was flooding with a brilliant light, which the Solarians found themselves automatically adjusting to, while the Vegans appeared to shed the E-suits which simply remained floating there while amorphous blobs of coruscating rainbow-like light emerged from them.

The "wall" on the living quarters side of the entryway disappeared and the Solarians found themselves floating into a brilliant nothing. They could discern the general forms of Chromos and Themos, as well as some number of other cohesions of light which they presumed were other Vegans, but generally they were in a big blob of light.

Welcome to our home environment, Chromos had told them. The same energy which protects the Crescians from us is now protecting you, as well. It is also buffering some of your exposure so that your various sensory organs are not damaged.

We believe you are the first Solarians to visit us thus, Themos added. We are very pleased to be able to share with you.

That is when Spark said, this is... amazing...

If I may ask, Tonya followed on to her observations about the force field, about how many Vegans live with you in these quarters? I ask because I sense about two dozen... but my perceptions may be off.

You perceive well, Themos answered. Including Chromos and myself, there are twenty-three of us here, as part of this mission.

Are you all part of the same family? Okami asked, not getting the same sense that Tonya was.

We do not have family units as Solarians do, Chromos answered. Each new Vegan is 'born' fully formed. It only takes a brief time to infuse our collective experience into our newest member, so that they have the same set of experiences from which to operate. Similarly, the experiences of our Elders when they reach Dissolution are not lost. They remain part of our collective consciousness.

So as individual entities, you do have a lifespan, Tonya commented, the question implied.

Yes, we do. Very similar in nature to stars.

So, do you experience pleasure as individuals, or as a collective?

The pleasure of which you speak, and which our Crescian hosts value so highly, is experienced individually... but afterwards, the experiences become part of the collective.

Spark thought he knew where Tonya was going with this.

Then we would not need to be familiar with the sensory centers of your entire mission, Tonya concluded. Only those of the one or ones with whom we would interact.

Correct, Themos answered.

So... Tonya smiled. With whom should we interact first? And... will we three Solarians be able to touch each other physically?

Physical interaction between you is possible, Chromos told them, although it is a bit complicated. Is contact necessary?

Not precisely, Tonya told him. It simply makes our synergistic melding simpler. If we have some lead time, we can meld our psyches without physical contact, as long as we do it before we initiate contact with an outside party.

Then may I suggest you take that path? You may certainly have whatever time you need.

Tonya was hoping the microband transceivers worked in this massive energy field.

Husband? she asked... and got no response. She allowed herself an impolite expletive.

Okay, here's where I force things, she thought to herself. I will need to hijack Spark's wiring to force a connection. With luck, I can drag Okami into it as well. Bringing her prodigious mind to bear on the problem, Tonya focused her energy through her fourth and first chakras and attempted a direct link to Spark's neuronet.

Whoa! she got back. What are you doing?... and how are you doing it?

Bridging a gap, husband, Tonya told him. You and I and Okami need to at least appear to be connected for our subterfuge to work. And I needed to know that I could penetrate and analyze this field in which we are floating.

Whatever you're doing, it's working, Okami broke in. I'm reading you loud and clear.

Then try to purposefully bring our physical selves close to each other, Tonya thought. Try to stay connected with me on this band. I am using Jamie's neuronet as an amplifier and antenna.

As evidence of their absolute trust in Tonya, Spark and Okami tried to move in her direction. They both found that physical motion, as in trying to walk or swim, availed them little. However, concentrating their minds on moving in her direction appeared to make the bubbles they were in actually move towards her. When they were as near as practicable, they simply floated nearby.

Chromos, may I presume to take a close look at your patterns? Tonya asked. I do not wish to seem invasive. Of the three of us, my meta connection will probably make scanning you easiest. I would also ask permission to stimulate an energy center, should I find one, to see if it is the kind of center we would be looking for.

You may, Chromos replied. Tonya was fairly sure she knew which blob of energy was Chromos. Now she just needed to figure him/her/it out.

Tonya projected her mind into the radiant energy spectrums she would normally use to enter the datamesh back on Earth or Mars. It was unlikely that the biochemical energies would be similar, if present at all, but given their likeness to a star, she calculated that the patterns which generated and controlled nuclear power systems could possibly be. And she got her first major surprise.

Their radiant energy seemed color coded, just like a Runner's perception of chakra lines. That is, extending through a spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - Roy-G-Biv in the shorthand. A few attempts at prodding the different colored centers yielded similar responses... red seemed to be base cohesion, orange the sensual/sexual, yellow the state of equilibrium, green the control of action, blue was communications, indigo the connection to the metasphere and violet the overall system purpose or intent - the supervisor of all the others. Which told her exactly what she needed to know.

Team, she thought to Spark and Okami, they are for all intents and purposes chakra based. We are after the red and orange centers.

Oh, this ought to get interesting, Spark thought back.

Ditto, Okami added.

Stay connected with me, try to ride my perceptions as if you were doing a run, husband. The landscape will look very familiar. Stick with Jamie, Okami. Again, it will look familiar. When we have breached the orange center, I will push what libido I can from my second to theirs. If you will allow me to draw from yours, we may be able to make a sizeable impression.

The tick's gonna pop, Okami commented.

The what? Tonya thought back.

Never mind, Okami backpedaled. I just mean, it's gonna get intense.

Okay, well, are we ready? Tonya thought.

As we'll ever be, Spark thought back. Everybody remember where we parked the exit.

Very funny, husband... now, cooperate. Tony turned her attention back to Chromos.

Are you in a position comfortable enough to experience what pleasure we can provide? she asked him.

I believe so, he answered and Spark almost felt a smile.

Then we will begin, Tonya told him and began the "Om Mani Padme Hum" chant. Spark and Okami joined in.

From Spark's point of view, Tonya was diving through a standard biologic's datamesh, the variant colored streams swirling around, yet centered around a core of scintillating orbs of the usual chakra colors. He saw Tonya head for the intersection of the red and orange orbs and begin to worm her way in. He felt the tremendous rush of libidinous energy pour in as she breached the orange orb, yet oddly enough, he didn't seem to be getting erect or ejaculating. It was if experiencing the orgasm in its purest energy sense.

Now let us see what we can do, Tonya told the others.

Spark could tell she was pushing raw second chakra energy into Chromos, and drawing some of it from him, to do it. He was sure she was drawing on Okami's as well. He felt the area around Tonya's projection point beginning to swell.

Okami hadn't been far off.

Chromos' second chakra point rapidly swelled until it popped, like the overfull tick, and they were inundated with a confetti-like shower of energy shards.

God, I hope you didn't kill him, Spark thought to the others.

They watched in fascination as the shards swirled and coalesced, in a much more compact form than they had been in, and with much less kinetic energy.

Impressive, Themos thought to them. I believe my friend will be rendered inoperable for some time.

Tonya brought her mind back to her own group of Solarians, then asked, he will be alright, yes?

He will be alright, yes, Themos answered. I do not believe he has experienced pure sensual pleasure at such a level for a very long time. Spark let out the breath he'd been holding. So did Okami.

Are you in a comfortable position, to receive similar pleasure? Tonya asked.

I believe I will take a pass, Themos told them. The massive influx of experiential data has nearly overwhelmed our entire constellation. I believe I will remain cohesive, so that I may see you safely back to your environs. Perhaps I may enjoy your very unique talents individually at some time in the future.

You are certainly welcome to do so, at any time, Spark asserted himself for the group. You have given us an invaluable look at your world and your lives within it. We look forward to many future interactions.

Well done, husband, Tonya told him as Themos escorted them back the way they came, going through the reverse process in the energy lock such that they came out the other side back in their corporeal, human selves with Themos floating in his e-suit and wishing them a fond farewell.

I didn't do anything, Spark thought to her on their private channel. I'm starting to feel like I should be falling prostrate at your feet, begging to be found worthy of such a goddess.

Actually, he mused... I've sort of felt like that since the first time I jacked into you.

* * * * *

Good morning, gentle creatures, Leeanni's voice blasted through Spark's subconscious mind. May I join you?

"Huh?" was Spark's less than elegant response as he struggled to wake up.

Of course, Tonya told the young Crescian. There is plenty of room in this bed for all of us. Move over, husband.

"Huh?" was Spark's less than elegant response. Again. But he moved, if only out of reflex.

"I thought today was Wheel and Deal Day," he groused as Leeanni settled in between him and Tonya. "We were supposed to be able to sleep in."

Arcasians, Leeanni thought. They want a piece of you.

"They what?" he asked aloud. "What did I do?"

Leeanni chuckled. They want a piece of each of you. Well, Jamie and Okami only, actually. They need tissue samples for the treatment they're building. I was asked to bring you around before the free-for-all starts.

Your use of our idioms is improving daily, Tonya told her.

"Ow..." Okami moaned and slid out of bed, padding in the direction of the kitchen. "Here, coffee, coffee, coffee..."