The Time War Ch. 09&10

"And so they will," said Maria.

Several minutes later, they were in a boarding house filled with subdued Quakers, and Maria was talking to a Quaker leader named William Tell. The Quakers were persecuted in England as much as the Puritans were. Maria told Tell about a wonderful land in the New World called Pennsylvania, where his people could live in peace.

"Pennsylvania," said Tell, struggling with the unfamiliar word. "Is that near Massachusetts?"

"Yes, right next door to it, in fact," said Maria.

"And... we will be able to live in peace?" William Tell asked.

"I promise you, you will never need resort to violence," said Maria, putting his hand over his heart.

William Tell slowly nodded, and smiled. "Then I think we will join you. Peace be with you, my friend."

"Peace be with you," Maria responded with a gentle smile.

As William Tell went to spread the exciting news to his fellow Quakers, a young woman caught Maria's eyes. She was young, and blonde, and in her 20's, with a prominent bosom, and she was tending to an equally blonde child, perhaps ten years of age.

Maria went over to her. "What is your name, sweet one?"

"Betsy," said the woman, blushing shyly. "And this is Samuel."

"Nice to meet you, Samuel," said Maria, shaking Samuel's hand.

"Is it true that you are to be our instrument of deliverance?" Betsy asked.

Instrument of deliverance. Maria liked the sound of that very much.

"Yes," Maria smiled, as he pat Samuel on the head. "You might say I am your savior."

Betsy's eyes grew almost as round as her melon shaped breasts. "I cannot tell you how much joy that puts in my heart," she said, putting a hand to her bosom.

"And I would love to see that joy," Maria smiled back at her.

He left the boarding house with Chloe and Dana, neither of whom looked very pleased.

********

They acquired three sailing ships, the Brighton, the Portsmouth, and the Devonshire, which Maria promptly renamed the Malcolm X, Malcolm Y, and Malcolm Z. The debtors, Puritans, and Quakers were each put on separate ships, a necessity since they were each told different stories of where they were going. All the ships were piloted by Maria's people, and a crew they hired in Cornwall, specially screened drunkards who would follow commands without question.

Maria rode on the Malcolm Z, which had the Quakers, partially because he admired their peaceful ethic, but mostly because Betsy, the blonde Quaker woman with big breasts, had caught his fancy. Not that he would be able to do anything with her on the ship; of course not! That would alert the other Quakers.

So Maria contented himself with befriending her instead. Betsy thought Maria was a white man named Michael, which Maria accepted, given that this entire effort was a deception. How surprised Betsy would have looked upon learning that Maria was actually a Spanish black trisexual woman of color! But in the name of progress, some joys must be sacrificed, and this was one of them.

Maria visited with Betsy every day of their ocean voyage. He read to Samuel and told him stories, and how he would grow big and strong in the New World. He charmed Betsy by befriending Samuel... which was exactly his intent.

Soon they were having meals together and giving each other secret smiles. Maria learned that Betsy's husband died from Consumption four years earlier, and now she was a penniless widow. Well, soon her situation would improve markedly; she would have bread and board and be sustained for life. Maria would make sure she was well taken care of.

One day they were both on the main deck, watching the sunset, with a gentle breeze causing Betsy's hair to flutter most attractively. "Tell me again, Michael, what is this New World like?" Betsy asked.

"It's truly wonderful," said Maria. "A land of trees and forests and babbling brooks and streams. It's a place for quiet introspection, and you have complete freedom to do anything, anything your heart desires."

"Oh, that sounds so wonderful!" and Betsy gave Maria a warm hug. Maria felt so good making people happy.

When she pulled back, she smiled at him and said, "Will you... will you be staying at this colony with us, Michael?"

"For a time," said Maria, and his smile flickered, but only for a moment. "For a time."

"Oh," said Betsy, suddenly turning away to look out at the ocean.

********

Somehow, some of the Quakers started to get the idea that they were going south, instead of west. They may have noticed the movements of the sun, or perhaps they were clued in that the weather was getting warmer. William Tell even got what looked like a suspicious glint in his eye when he asked Maria about it.

Maria, in fact, confirmed they were going south--southwest. This was the standard route to the New World. It was not quite as direct, but the tides of the ocean went this way, which meant they could move even faster.

William Tell, it seemed, accepted his explanation, and Maria's subterfuge was accepted until they actually arrived at the shores of Africa.

********

The Quakers were bewildered as Chief Osinbajo's tribesmen herded them off the boat at spearpoint. They were led to a large platform by the beach. The same scene was being repeated twice over as the occupants of the Malcolm X and the Malcolm Y were similarly encouraged to disembark with haste.

"What... what is happening here?" William Tell asked as he saw Maria, standing by the stage.

"You're being sold."

"Sold?" said William Tell.

"As slaves," said Maria, with a big smile.

"What?" said William Tell.

"Accept your racial destiny," Maria advised. "Don't reject it."

And then the slave auction began. But almost immediately, Maria began to frown. His frown only grew deeper as, one by one, the Quakers were sold to different tribal chiefs.

The tribal chiefs were bidding in manillas, the local currency there. Almost every Quaker was being sold for the same price, four manillas. This was utter nonsense. Maria made his way over to Chief Osinbajo to try to educate him. "You're paying the same price for every slave!"

"So?" Osinbajo shrugged. "A white man is a white man."

"That's not so," said Maria. "Look at the buttocks on that man there! Look at the chest muscles on that other man over there!"

"So?"

"So, men with bigger buttocks can pull plows more easily. Men with bigger arms can lift hoes more often. They are much more valuable than a typical skinny man."

Recognition slowly started to dawn on Osinbajo's face.

"And the women, look at the women," said Maria, pointing to two modest Quaker women on the stage. "See those two? The one on the left is almost flat chested. Narrow hips. Not good for reproduction. But the one on the right has big juicy breasts and wide hips. She should be worth twice as much."

Osinbajo thought about it, and nodded. Maria was right. A grin slowly spread across his features. He whispered to his subchieftans who were in charge of the bidding, and soon Quaker men with bigger muscles and Quaker women with bigger breasts started to command higher prices, bringing a smile to Maria's face.

But then Betsy came on the stage, clutching Samuel in her arms. She saw Maria in the crowd. "Michael, help me!" she cried.

Maria took pity on her. He spoke to Osinbajo. "You should bid on that one."

"Why?" Osinbajo asked. "She does not look like she can work in the fields."

"Exactly," Maria grinned. "Look at those breasts, and those wide hips. She was practically made for reproduction. And she's already has a child. She's guaranteed to be fertile, just plant a seed in her and watch it grow. " Maria's smile must have been contagious, because a moment later Osinbajo was wearing it as well. He whispered something to his subordinate, and a few seconds later, it was done.

********

Maria jumped ahead a year in time to see how his friend Osinbajo was doing. He arrived at an enormous plantation where Quakers, Puritans, and debtors wearing ragged clothing were picking cotton in the fields. He came across James Oglethorpe, who looked exhausted as he lifted a hoe. "You!" Oglethorpe cried. "You promised us a living wage."

"You're living, aren't you?" Maria asked. "And all your debtors have gainful employment."

"As slaves!"

Maria cocked his head. "One man's slavery is another man's justice." He continued walking. He came across Robert Browne, the Puritan leader, who glared at him as he toiled under the hot sun.

"I don't see why you are unhappy," said Maria. "I promised you there would be no religious coercion here. Was I right?"

Browne merely continued to stare angrily at him. When he stopped moving, however, he felt the lash of the supervisor's whip, and he hastily returned to work picking cotton.

"Someone's got to pick da cotton," Maria said, with a grin.

Lastly Maria came to William Tell. He was shirtless, and tied to a tree. There were lash marks on his back.

"You!" said William Tell, in a weak voice. "You promised us peace."

"I did," said Maria. "You know, I've had an epiphany about peace. Would you like me to share it with you?"

Tell didn't respond, which Maria took for an assent.

"When one group of people are alone on their own, they can live in peace. But while this is a big world, it's not that big of a world," said Maria. "Eventually, wherever you go, another group of people will come to where your group of people are, and demand whatever they have. Do you know what happens then?"

William Tell still didn't respond.

"The two groups can fight, in which case there is no peace. Or the first group can give into the other group, in which case there is peace. That is your situation here. You are a peaceful, non-violent group, the perfect candidates for a life of slavery." Maria smiled at Tell as he saw realization dawn on his face.

"You are wicked!" Tell rasped.

"I am righteous," said Maria, correcting him. "I am as virtuous as an angel and as light as the clouds in the sky." He touched Tell on the arm. "I wish you good fortune, my friend."

********

Maria sauntered into the Chief's Palace, announced himself, and shortly thereafter was brought before the Chief.

"It is as you say," said Osinbajo. "The white man will pay much for the furry crop. I am becoming a rich man. The other tribal chiefs see this, and they want slaves of their own."

"I'm going to provide you with a steady supply," Maria promised.

Osinbajo clapped his hands. "Tea, for our British guest!"

An extremely pregnant blonde woman entered the room a moment later, carrying a tray filled with a tea service. She was careful to keep her eyes down at all times.

"Betsy? Is that you?"

Betsy nodded, without saying a word.

"She was as pneumatic in bed as you promised, Englishman," said Osinbajo. "I have filled her with my son or daughter. If the babe is dark enough, I may even permit him to be a house servant, rather than work in the fields."

"What an equitable system you have here," Maria marveled. He looked at Betsy. "And how do you like it here, sweet thing? Are you happy?"

Betsy, trembling looked towards Osinbajo, who nodded. "You have been asked a question. Answer it."

Betsy turned to Maria and said, in a flat voice. "Yes, I am very happy."

"I'm glad," said Maria, smiling. "And where is Samuel?" He turned to Osinbajo. "The boy?"

Osinbajo waved a hand dismissively. "The fields, I think. It is hard to keep track of all these whites, they all look alike."

"So they do," said Maria, and they both laughed.

"You promised me more slaves," said Osinbajo. "When will they arrive?"

It was not difficult to set up. Maria invested all the profits from the sale of the first three boatloads of slaves into hiring even more ships. He also hired more sailors, and even recruiters to go out and find others who wanted an exciting life in the New World. By the time the third wave of slaves arrived, the white slave trade had taken on a life of its own, and Maria and his people no longer needed to be involved.

Maria watched with satisfaction as hundreds of white people toiled in the hot fields, paying reparations for what their kind had done. Finally his fellow blacks were getting the justice that had been long denied to them. The enslavers had becomed the enslaved. It didn't matter that these particular whites hadn't enslaved anyone; all whites were guilty; guilt was embedded in their DNA.

As he watched the hundreds of slaves toiling under the hot sun, Maria realized this was only the beginning. Before long there would be thousands, and then millions.

********

Maria was in a very happy mood when he returned to the control room. He saw Marsha Kalinsky there, at the controls, looking very glum. Marsha always looked glum. She was a dark haired woman in her 40's, and not very attractive, to Maria's discerning eyes. But the silver circlet around her neck containing four grams of explosive was something Maria found very, very attractive.

"Marsha, my dear, how are you?" Maria asked, putting his arms around her shoulders.

"Fine," said Marsha in a monotone voice.

"Marsha, you are one of my women. How did I teach you to greet me?"

And then Marsha got up, and, still expressionless, put her arms around Maria's back and kissed him on the lips.

"There, that's better, isn't it?" Maria said.

Marsha sat down wordlessly at the controls. Above her were 20 holoscreens.

"Admiring my handiwork?" said Maria.

"Yes," said Marsha flatly.

"It's not often that I get to enslave thousands of your own kind," said Maria. He thought for a moment. "I want to see how it will look in... about two hundred years. Will they still be toiling in the fields then? Show me, show me how Nigeria looks two hundred years later."

Marsha obediently started working the controls. It involved focusing the Binochi Corridor to that time and place, and then using remote sensors to feed images to the holomonitors. In moments, it was done.

Maria stared at the images on the screen, and his jaw dropped. "No... it can't be."

Maria looked at the screens. He didn't see any slaves, but he saw golf courses, bowling alleys, tanning salons, shopping centers, just like in America. And the people! One monitor showed people walking down the street in downtown Lagos. They were black, yes, but light-skinned blacks, with narrow noses. Their hair had been straightened, and their skin... it looked like they used skin lightening products!

And then another monitor showed advertisements, picked up from the local television signals. There was an advertisement for nose-thinning procedures! Following that was a commercial for hair straightening. And after that was an ad for a Nigerian film, featuring light skinned black men named Fred and Bob!

Maria swung Marsha's chair around. "Are you deceiving me?" he roared.

Marsha raised her hands instinctively to protect her face. "No!"

"Is this really what Nigeria looks like in the 20th century?"

"Yes, yes it is," said Marsha.

Maria looked at Marsha, and then back at the screens. This had all turned out terribly, terribly wrong.

********

Maria was about to meet with Chief Osinbajo for the first time, to sell him on the idea of growing cotton using white slave labor. He was waiting in a small anteroom for the Chief's summons. As he waited, he heard the distinct sound of a gateway opening.

Suddenly, all around him, he saw time artifacts, small black lines in the fabric of space/time, like someone had taken a knife and sliced raw cuts in the air.

Maria felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw himself, shaking his head.

Chapter 10: Marion

Two years and three months earlier....

It was Fall at Mohonk. Suddenly, the forest had become a whirlwind of colors--red, gold, yellow, orange, and all the colors in between.

All the gazebos were decorated in festive colors of whatever tree leaves happened to be draped around them. It gave them a festive holiday glow. The Labyrinth was decorated in bright green and red and orange and yellow colors. The trails were covered in wonderful red and yellow and orange colors, the fallen leaves looking like bright carpets on the forest floor. The fallen leaves smelled wonderful in the crisp November air, and the swish swish crunch sounds they made as they were stepped on was a joy for the ear to behold.

The lobby in the hotel was decorated with bales of hay and pumpkins. The fireplaces were stocked with crackling logs.

And the outdoor granary was holding its final barbecues of the season above the swimming area of the lake.

It was once again the season of Fall at Mohonk.

********

After hugging and kissing Marion, Calle handed her a big, bright red leaf. "For you, my love."

She smiled and took her hand from behind her back. In it she held a giant yellow leaf.

"Great minds think alike," said Calle. They hugged and kissed again, and it felt good.

********

"I love how the fire lights up your chest hairs," Marion said dreamily that night, as Calle pounded into her tight vagina.

"Uh... uh... uh...." Calle's face was a mask of concentration; his body was like a machine, carrying out a preprogrammed purpose.

"Is that all you can say?" Marion teased.

"I... I love this," Calle gasped, as he poled in and out of his lover.

"Is that all?" she insisted.

"I love you," said Calle.

And she leaned upwards and kissed him passionately, and he exploded inside of her.

********

"Oh, I don't know about this."

After they had rested, Calle found he wanted to take her again. Marion was willing, but perhaps not in the way he wanted. He asked Marion to get on her hands and knees in front of the big wooden framed mirror by their bed. She looked hesitant.

"Why not? Don't you want to try different positions?" Calle asked.

"Sure," said Marion. "But... in front of the mirror?"

He reached over and kissed her, pressing his chest against her breasts. "What's wrong, are you afraid I'll see something I haven't seen before?"

"I... I don't know," said Marion.

He kissed her again, and fondled her breasts. "Please?"

"Oh... all right," she said.

Calle smiled as Marion obediently got down on her hands and knees. In the dim firelight her ass looked so round and juicy, so spankable. But perhaps another time. He sensed she wasn't ready for that yet.

His smile grew broader as he moved the mirror in just the right position right next to her and Marion groaned audibly.

And then Calle joyfully mounted her from behind.

"Ooooh," Marion said, her back stiffening as he inserted himself into her. As he started thrusting, she said, "It... it feels different."

"Yes, it does," said Calle. "Do you like it?"

"Yeaaaaah," said Marion, in a voice like a purring cat which made Calle terribly excited.

As Calle moved in and out of her, he looked to the mirror which was on their right side. Marion's breasts bounced forwards and backwards with every thrust. Her breasts looked even larger when they hung down from her like that. The sight of them moving in response to his lovemaking was the most erotic sight Calle had ever seen. He felt his penis tingling with increasing urgency as he watched her big jugs move back and forth. The firelight illuminated them in totally erotic colors, dancing on the surface of her titties as they bounced in every conceivable direction.

Calle felt himself rapidly crossing a line that couldn't be uncrossed. "Ah... ah... aaaaahhh!" he cried. He gasped as he felt himself emptying the contents of his balls deep inside of her. Life-giving fluid transferred from Calle into Marion, the ultimate act of love. To feel himself filling Marion like this, to see her in the mirror obediently on her hands and knees, eagerly accepting everything he was putting inside of her, was easily the greatest moment of Calle's entire life.