The Strangeness Within Pt. 07

"I'm just too distracted," she said. "I keep worrying about Mark and Raj, and then my mind flies over there, and of course they're fine. But I can't turn it off, and it's preventing me from focusing on new things closer to hand."

"Would it help if I held you?"

"The only thing I'm sure would help is an orgasm," joked Esther.

Except it wasn't a joke. But it was kind of funny, really. Javier smiled, and then he kissed her on the neck just so.

"What? No, we can't do that here," Esther giggled. "It's not right. And Kat will be back in sixteen minutes."

"Exactly sixteen? We better hurry, then." Javier slipped his hands under her shirt. She sighed when he started rubbing her back.

He sat on the desk chair and she straddled him, groaning when she felt his hard dick press against her through their clothes.

"We have to stop before she gets here," Esther said. But she quickly pulled her shirt over her head.

Javier nuzzled her chest and undid her bra, popping a stiff blue nipple in his mouth. It was so risky, but that only added to his excitement. Besides, Esther would stop them in time. Could he get her off fast enough?

She shuddered and sighed, but after a few short minutes later she quickly stood up and grabbed her clothes.

"Two minutes early," she said with a wry grin.

Sure enough, Kat opened the door, guzzling a huge coffee and sighing happily. Javier put a relaxed look on his face, or so he thought. It didn't matter, though, because Esther's face was all flushed, as though she'd been interrupted doing exactly what they'd been doing.

"Everything OK?" Kat asked, looking back and forth. They both nodded vigorously, and Esther practically ran to the computer, closing her eyes and breathing carefully.

A minute later she opened them, and grabbed a sheet of paper.

They all stared for a while at the short list of numbers she wrote down.

"Those aren't primes," said Javier.

"No, it had something to do with the program," said Esther. "I looked for the numbers that were being displayed, and then ... I don't know. It's hard to explain. This is all I got."

"Wait," said Kat. "They're all under 256. Could these be hexadecimal codes? Hang on a second."

She found an old manual on the shelf and flipped to a well-worn page with an odd table.

"There," said Esther, pointing out the hexadecimal equivalents. Kat broke into a grin.

"Esther, you just sensed a bit of assembler code running. That's the low-level code my program got turned into. That's tremendous. Stunning. I'm trying to think of what kind of hacking I could do if I could sample running code that way, and — wow. Can you do it again?"

Esther sighed and closed her eyes, but Javier saw she'd lost her concentration.

"What's wrong?" Kat asked. "You want some coffee?"

Esther and Javier looked at each other nervously. Javier knew what full well what she needed, but they could hardly tell Kat.

Of course, Javier wasn't Esther.

* * *

"These abilities take a lot of concentration," said Esther. "But more than that, I have to be properly relaxed. I'm nervous because we're away from Raj and Mark, and I keep checking on them, in addition to everything in our vicinity. Plus, listening to a computer is a totally new activity. The only way I've found to reliably relax and push myself into new skills is with an orgasm, or at least something close."

Kat coughed, spilling some of her coffee. Javier rushed to help her clean it up.

"Tell me I heard that right," Kat said. "You really just said you need to have an orgasm to use your abilities?"

"Not for everything," said Esther. "But for something new like this, yes. Abuela said maybe I'd grow out of it, but —"

"Well, hell, what an excuse," said Kat. "What do you need then? Oh, damn, that was why you wanted to be alone for a bit. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hurried back. Seriously, I can go out again —"

"No," said Esther. "I can't send you out every time I need to do anything with computers. Maybe I've been pushing too hard. Someday I'll be able to do this without what Javier calls heroic measures."

"OK," said Kat. "But it doesn't bother me. I can go hang out on the bed and read or whatever. And I'm sure Javier told you I have a tremendous vibrator collection, in case that would help."

"What? No, I didn't," said Javier, turning red.

"Vibrators," Esther said. "You mean, like sex toys?"

Kat laughed. "Don't tell me you've never tried one. I can barely come without them sometimes."

Esther nodded slowly. "I never thought of that," she said. "Is that normal?"

"Not being able to come without a toy? Not unusual. We women have tricky bodies. Oh, I know Javier said you had a weirder body than most of us, but that might just mean toys are even more useful. Hey, Javier, want to give the two of us girls some time alone? You look like your head's going to explode.

"I think it is," said Javier. "Esther, you want some time with this maniac? Maybe I should have warned you."

Esther nodded slowly. She found Kat's frank manner refreshing. It made her think of Nicola in her more patient moments.

"I don't mind if he's here, but I guess it could be a little awkward given whatever you two had together?"

Kat started to laugh. "She's a keeper, Javier. None of the bullshit I'm so used to from my partners. So, yeah, why don't you give us a solid two hours. Here, take this assembler reference and start thinking about what Esther's abilities might let us do. See you in a bit."

* * *

Javier knocked on the door with some trepidation. What had those two been up to all this time? No doubt they'd been talking about him. Had Esther actually been trying out Kat's vibrators? He wasn't quite sure how he felt about all this.

Kat was fully dressed when she opened the door, but there was something about her, something in her smile, or maybe even a subtle smell —

He swallowed and closed the door.

Esther was crouched by the Apple II, her eyes closed and brows furrowed. After a few seconds she shook her head, blinked, and focused on Javier. She blushed slightly.

"A little more success," she said. "But it's going to take practice."

Javier looked nervously at Kat, who sighed.

"I know that look. Stop worrying, Javier. I didn't seduce Esther. But she did ask me to demonstrate one or two of the toys."

"It was helpful," said Esther quickly. "I know it's a little strange, but the thing is, I already knew what her body looked like. I made a mistake earlier, when I was trying to focus my senses on the computer. I try to avoid doing things like that, but it happens sometimes."

"Wait," said Javier slowly. "I didn't realize that. You mean you could see anyone naked whenever you wanted?"

Esther nodded uncomfortably. "I try not to, though. Mostly I succeed."

Kat patted Javier on the shoulder. "She's a better person than I am, that's for sure. But I gave Esther her privacy when she was trying out the vibrator. I guess it was kind of a success?"

Esther smiled. "Sort of. It's not as good as Javier's tongue, though."

"Oh?" Kat said, giving Javier an achingly familiar naughty smile.

Javier turned beet red. This was exactly the sort of gossip he didn't want these two to share. Even if it was complimentary. He tried to change the subject.

"Uh, what's the plan, then?"

"I ordered Chinese," said Kat. "From the place you like. So we have dinner, we brainstorm, and we go from there."

Kat went to pick up the food, and Javier gave Esther a kiss.

"I hope you're not upset," said Esther. "It's just, I don't even really know how this stuff works for an ordinary woman. I thought maybe — well, I guess it was pretty useful. It was strange, though. I think watching Kat might have been as useful as the vibrator. I did eventually have an orgasm, but it wasn't particularly easy. Maybe I got the wrong one?"

She pulled out the tiny green thing to show Javier, who nodded sagely. He was no vibrator expert. But the rest of what she said was interesting.

"You said that Nicola and Mark would have sex right across from you," said Javier. "Did that excite you?"

Esther nodded slowly. "Yes, you're right. Do you think this a fetish, then?"

Javier hugged her again. "Maybe," he said. "And it's turning me on to hear you talk about it. But this whole situation with Kat is a little strange."

Esther smiled. "I know you like her. It turns out I like her, too. She gave me all sorts of suggestions, you know, about things we might do sexually. Have you ever thought about anal sex?"

Javier coughed.

"I hadn't gotten around to suggesting it," he said. "I've never done it. But maybe —"

"It makes such sense," said Esther. "I don't know why I hadn't put it together. But Kat said it needed some preparation, and a lot of lubrication."

"Which I'm sure she has a ready supply of," said Javier, and they both laughed.

* * *

Dinner was by necessity a pretty intimate affair. Javier kept bumping Kat at the tiny table, then edging away. Finally, she put her arm around his shoulders.

"It's OK, Javier," she said. "We're still friends. Now, let's talk about how to make use of Esther's gifts."

"I don't know how to program," said Esther. "Not yet. I can learn, but I doubt I'll be any faster at that than you, Javier."

Javier doubted that, but she was right it would take time. And Kat was the expert.

"So, Kat, what could you do if Esther were telling you things about the code running on a computer?"

"It's hard to be sure. I'm not used to thinking this way. But a lot of tricks I exploit to hack into systems exploit little tricks about the running environment. Maybe Esther's comments could direct me faster to what would work. But usually I'm trying that remotely. That InfoCorp raid was totally new territory for me."

"Isn't the whole point of the Internet that you can transfer information perfectly, though?" Esther asked.

Javier shook his head. "Not the kind of information you're digging up from this machine. That's all happening locally, and it doesn't get sent along."

The three of them sat in thought.

"Well," said Esther. "I guess I should find out what I can sense remotely."

Kat quickly set up the test machine and the three of them crowded around a terminal across the room.

"Go for it," Kat said. Esther closed her eyes and touched the terminal. Javier held her loosely, stroking her stomach.

A minute later Esther sighed and shook her head.

"You need a turbo boost?" Kat asked, waggling her eyebrows and pointing at Javier.

Javier's mouth dropped open.

"I'm OK with it, if you are," Esther said nervously. "But I know, you and Kat —"

The three of them stood awkwardly, not quite looking at each other.

"This is stupid," said Kat with a frustrated sigh. "We all like each other, don't we? And Esther is trying to do something important. Esther, do you mind that Javier and I find each other attractive?"

Esther shook her head.

"OK, then," said Kat. "So we're all horny and nervous. Could we solve this by trying not to worry for a bit and letting what happens, happen? Because I'm getting a headache thinking about it all."

Slowly Javier and Esther both nodded. And then Kat quickly pulled her shirt over her head and reached behind to fiddle with her bra. Soon Javier was gaping at her bare breasts. He looked guiltily over at Esther, but she was looking at Kat, too.

"Like what you see?" Kat asked, only a hint of nerves in her voice.

Javier nodded and tried to put on an easy smile. He only got halfway there, but he could tell Kat appreciated it.

They were definitely big breasts. As big as Clara's, but sagging slightly and turned a little outwards. Her brown nipples tipped upward prominently, as though begging for someone to kiss them. Seeing them harden before his eyes was unbelievably erotic. This was Kat, with her short hair and her glasses and all their never-quite-resolved sexual tension. Old and new fantasies began whirling through Javier's head.

Maybe Esther had already seen those breasts with her X-ray vision, but given her interest now, Javier supposed it wasn't the same. Javier put his arm around her, and she smiled back at him.

"I'm OK if you are," said Esther, rubbing his ass gently. His dick strained uncomfortably against his jeans, and he slipped his hands under her shirt.

There was a hyper-real tinge to everything. He felt Esther's touch at his zipper. A button broke under his hands. Esther giggled nervously and switched to helping him, and none of it was fast enough. He briefly locked eyes with Kat, who was shamelessly watching both of them. She smiled, and then began to take off her own pants.

Kat made some very appreciative sounds when Javier got his shirt off. But when Esther's tiny breasts and strange colors were revealed, Kat let out a gasp of amazement.

"He told me you were beautiful," she said. "I had no idea. I'm totally jealous."

Esther shook her head, never one to easily accept compliments. But Javier was suddenly feeling bold, and he distracted her by yanking down her pants and underwear. Then he helped her up on the edge of the table, not two feet from where Kat sat at the keyboard.

Esther was flushed, the skin of her chest slightly pink against the bright blue freckles. She opened her legs to him and he knelt to taste her sweetness, just the way they'd done so frequently these last weeks. And not at all like it, because Kat had swiveled her chair towards them, and now she was slipping her hand under the band of her panties, her thighs jiggling lightly with her motions.

In the quiet of the room, Javier's tongue sounded obscenely loud as he slid it in and out of Esther's tiny hole. But he could also hear the squelching of Kat's fingers, a sound he knew from a few times late at night while they'd shared a bed. He tried to keep his attention on Esther, but then he realized Esther herself was watching Kat avidly.

"Use a toy if you want," Esther whispered to Kat.

It was obvious that was what she wanted to watch, and Kat smiled and stood up, briefly touching Javier's bare shoulder. She left a sticky spot and a wonderfully familiar smell.

When Kat returned, she had a fair-sized vibrating dildo with a clit attachment. Javier knew theoretically how these worked, and Samantha admitted she had a few toys, but he'd never seen a woman actually use one.

Kat simply shoved her underwear aside and slowly thrust the vibrator into her dripping pussy. She'd trimmed her hair everywhere, but didn't seem to have shaved otherwise.

Esther moaned, and Javier shifted uncomfortably. He'd been too nervous to take off his pants, but now he undid the snap and gave himself some breathing room. Then he held Esther tighter and ran his fingernails along the edge of one of the rough patches on her back. Throughout he kept his simple rhythm: in, out, in, out, the tip of his tongue pressing each time against the exquisitely sensitive nerves inside her odd vagina.

Kat adjusted the vibrator higher, and after a minute she suddenly grunted and put her hand over her mouth.

Javier had heard Kat have an orgasm, a handful of times while they slept together. But watching her was a completely different matter. Kat's entire body started to shake, and her muffled moans and grunts kept getting louder. Finally went so red in the face Javier started to worry for her, but at the last minute her eyes popped open. She stared at him with a deep hunger as her orgasm finally subsided. She closed her eyes and turned off her vibrator, but she kept lightly fucking herself with it.

Javier could feel Esther's frustration. They'd gone at this rather quickly compared to their usual, and maybe she was feeling upset to see how easily Kat had managed it. But Javier thought she was still on the way. Gently, he brushed her asshole with his thumb, and she gasped.

When Kat finally opened her eyes, Esther shocked both of them.

"Can I try one of your butt plugs?"

Kat laughed and gently removed the vibrator from her pussy.

"One sweet little butt plug coming right up," she said. A minute later she was returning, with a small plug and a big bottle of lube.

"Don't underdo the lube," said Kat as she covered the plug. "And don't be shy about putting more on. Now, here you go."

At its widest it was barely thicker than Javier's middle finger. But it was several inches long. Esther accepted it reverently, and Javier helped her off the table.

She was so eager to put it in that he didn't even manage to see the process. But the expression on her face told him everything. She loved the feeling of it going inside. She hopped back up on the table and moaned. Then she reached for Javier and finished undoing his zipper.

He knew what she wanted. Not looking at Kat, he struggled out of his pants and underwear, and then pressed his naked body against hers and stroked her back. A little shifting, and then he began to rub his rock-hard dick back and forth along her tiny vagina and the ring of sensitive skin around it. She whimpered and kissed his chest, and he knew she was finally getting close.

Kat was typing something on the terminal right next to them, and she smiled at him when he caught her look. But then Esther made that last little gasp, right before her orgasm started, and he had no attention for anything but holding her tight and murmuring his love in her ear.

* * *

"My sweet Esther," she vaguely heard, and then her nerves exploded, as powerfully as any time she could remember.

She was prepared, but even so she nearly got lost in the first instant. The dark space of connections filled her nostrils, her mouth, her quivering anus, and her body fell aside, all that sensitive flesh simply a familiar bundle of glowing correlations. As always she felt a pang for the lost sensations, but she had a purpose and precious little time.

There. She caught sight of the high-level structure she'd been looking for. Its lines were so stark and it was almost childish amidst the chaos, but that was the hook she needed. Humans had invented these patterns, and even the encodings were simple mathematical ones that matched her thoughts like a well-worn glove. She reached towards the encoded bitstream and swallowed as much as her mind could encompass in these few seconds, before it all began to fade.

There was a pen and paper waiting beneath her hands, and she began to sketch, not the data itself, but a pattern. And when she was finished she opened her eyes, and she had it all in her mind.

"There is a lot to write," she said, beginning to lay down the digits. Hexadecimal this time, the computer's native encoding.

Distantly she felt the oddness of the situation, the three of them utterly naked, the room smelling of sex and continued excitement. Javier needed a release, and she wondered why he wasn't masturbating or even asking Kat for help. But part of her brain knew there were complications. She could think about it when she was done with all this data.

Finally she looked up. The others were staring at the page of dense numbers she'd written.

"What is that?" Kat asked. She'd gotten a towel to sit on and had partially covered herself.

"The data stream," said Esther. "This is everything passing through those cables over a few seconds."

Kat stared at the page. "Hmm. Two bytes per digit, so about two thousand bytes? Yes, that could be a couple seconds of data. I wasn't sending very much."

Kat got up abruptly and left the towel behind. Poor Javier watched her butt the whole way.

"It's fine, Javier," Esther said. "You should get yourself off now."

He shook his head swiftly, and maybe he was right. She'd really broken the mood. But it didn't seem fair.

"Here," said Kat, dropping a heavy book and opening to a set of appendices. "TCP/IP protocols. I suspect it'll be more efficient for you to just learn the encoding so you can decode it in your head. My mind doesn't really work like this. I'll see if I can whip up a program to spit something out so we can compare."