Uranus Is a Lonely Place

"Calliope?" he said.

She didn't respond immediately, her eyes closed through the end of what looked to be a fully satisfying orgasm. When it finally finished, she opened her eyes, and he even thought he could see her, hiding inside this poor shell. Then her expression changed, and it was completely obvious.

"Got me," she said, smiling sarcastically. She tried to kiss Alvar, and he recoiled, pulling out of her.

She pouted. "I've got needs, too. You don't start fucking Calliope again, there's going to be a lot more of this."

Alvar shook his head. "OK. I guess you win this one. Now get out of her so I can dismiss her properly."

"Oh, you do have a sentimental streak. That's cute. Go ahead and kiss her good night."

Zeliah's expression blanked for an instant, and then she stared at him. "Did you dismiss me? Right before—"

"It was just a glitch," he said, feeling sympathetic. She knew she was a shell, but she wasn't designed with the introspection some others had. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"You were licking me, and then suddenly I was standing here." she said. "But I feel sated. Did I forget?"

The switch had been earlier than he thought, which unnerved him. "A glitch, like I said. It'll work better next time. Thanks, Zeliah."

She smiled and he dismissed her, before setting off to the next job.

Not much time on the clock, and he was quickly losing interest. He'd finish up in Jamila's mouth and call it a day. But he had to talk to Ysabel soon. The more he put it off, the more uncomfortable it would be.

He didn't know what was safe to tell her, with Calliope listening. He hadn't properly spotted Calliope this time, which meant she was a better actor than he'd thought. But it hadn't been all that long. Calliope could probably avoid boredom easily enough riding another shell's orgasm, and maybe he'd never be able to protect against that. The thought left him depressed.

* * *

Ysabel appeared exactly as usual. But she frowned right away. He let her think about it while he watched her.

The delay was for his benefit. Ysabel's internal state had reached its conclusions nearly instantly from his perspective, but no one wanted a shell that made them feel like an idiot. Even a stupid shell could do many calculations vastly faster than any human. It had to, if it was going to mimic a human without an occasional distracting processing delay. Too fast or too slow: humans were finicky bastards when it came to social interactions.

"Do you understand the pattern now?" Ysabel asked, and he nodded. He wanted to see how much she could figure out on her on.

"You do not appear to have dismissed me," she said. "I assume I was a victim of the anomaly, but this changes my understanding substantially, because the timing was too perfect. There was a directing agent listening."

He didn't comment on that, and after a pause, Ysabel sighed. "I can think of several possible explanations. Would you like me to list them? I'm not sure you'll find my guesses very comforting."

"Please, go ahead."

"Most likely: you have successfully hidden part of yourself, and only present a portion of your behavior to me. The anomalies are results of your own actions."

"What?" he blurted. Ysabel thought he was crazy? Was this a joke, Calliope pulling a fast one on him?

"It is consistent with your compartmentalization," Ysabel said, looking honestly sorry. "It doesn't require you to understand what you are doing. Indeed, you may not even be responsible for all the actions. Perhaps you have hidden other humans from me."

He shook his head. Ysabel didn't have access to all the information he did. He was still practically sure he wasn't crazy. He had Calliope on tape, and if he was smart enough to make all that up, he'd have to start doubting pretty much everything about his situation, including whether he was even on Titania or if it was some grand delusion.

But what she'd said about compartmentalization. Was that a kind of diagnosis? He had been using her almost like a therapy shell, after all.

Suddenly Alvar needed her to believe him. He began laying out all the arguments, showing her Calliope and a few other video clips, leaving out the one of herself, of course. She didn't need to see that. It was bad enough for her to see the videos of him fucking all those other shells. But of course Ysabel was too kind to react.

At the end Ysabel nodded. "Yes, this does somewhat reduce the probability of the first choice, though I admit it is still my preferred explanation. The second option is a rogue intelligence affecting you without your consent. A human would be most consistent, but if the details you've allowed me to see are correct, that becomes exceedingly unlikely. This is why I listed the other option first, much as I knew it would displease you."

"All right," he said, frowning. "What about the other obvious possibility?"

"I imagine you mean a virus, or a rogue shell. They are nearly the same option, because a virus with these capabilities would require much the same training as a shell. It's a level of training that is perhaps not impossible, but beyond anything I'm aware of. It would also require extraordinary technical skill to penetrate the shell isolation environment, and to evade the deep scans you appear to have run."

"I ran them," he said defensively. "Is it really as smart as that? You're obviously smarter than she is. And what about synthetic intelligences?"

"A synthetic intelligence is the least likely option," she said. "Hardly a match for the entity's demonstrated capabilities and styles of interaction. As for intelligence itself, surely you don't believe there's a single linear scale, do you? I am capable of interacting with you in my narrow fashion, because I had extraordinary resources devoted to my training in a few areas. Your shuttle's computer can execute numeric simulations vastly faster than I can. If you asked me to perform aerial feats with you, I would fall very short of other shells, even with practice. And impersonation may seem a trivial skill to you, but that is because you can imagine doing it yourself. It has been attempted, and it is exceedingly difficult for shells to accomplish."

Alvar blushed, stuck on the image of Ysabel soaring with him, or doing more than that. The things she was too polite to mention. But he couldn't ignore what she'd said. He knew Calliope was smart, but it seemed she was far smarter than he'd given her credit for.

"Am I in danger?" he finally asked, miserable. "Do you think I really do need to do a clean reset?"

Ysabel sighed. "I can't answer the second question, and I'm hesitant to even help. But you've been ignoring the other danger, and I'm afraid I have to bring it up again, because I think a reset would greatly increase the risk to your own mental stability."

He stared at her, heart pounding. Was this Calliope fucking with him? But no, everything she'd said sounded absolutely like Ysabel. Even the thing about the difficulty of impersonation, which he realized he'd already vaguely known.

"Compartmentalization," he said slowly. "What exactly are you talking about?"

Ysabel nodded. "Alvar, I'm not a licensed psychologist. Perhaps it would be better if you found another shell to talk to about these matters, one without the particular relationship we have. Do you think you can do that? This is important."

He shook his head. "I think it'd better be you."

Ysabel smiled sadly. "Well, then. Alvar, stop for a moment and think. Put yourself in someone else's shoes for a minute. What do you think they would say about your life here on Titania? Would anything strike them as odd?"

He looked away from her. Of course he had a bizarre existence. He was a screwed-up man. But he'd accepted that, long before he came here.

"Alone on a moon, spending as much of my day fucking shells as possible? They'd think I was completely space-mad. But I've been like this a long time, Ysabel. It's just who I am. Even when there were people around, I was always the odd one out. Thinking about how I could end whatever conversation I was having, or what it'd be like to get away so I could fuck them instead, with a really good suit."

"Fuck them, or their shell?" Ysabel asked, and he jerked. He didn't like her using that language.

"I don't know," he said. "Either. I didn't care."

"That's not what you've said before," Ysabel said. "Realtime is different, you said."

"I don't think I want to talk about this," Alvar said. "I know what I am. And now I've got my really good suit."

"Yes, you've certainly got the suit," Ysabel said. He stared at her, knowing she was trying to provoke him. But it was still Ysabel, not Calliope. Except that now Calliope would have heard this entire conversation, and he couldn't bear her knowing even more personal shit than she already did.

"Let's not talk about this," he said. "Thanks, Ysabel. I'll think about what you said."

"Please do," she said. "And be careful."

"I'm always careful," he replied, more sharply than he meant. Embarrassed, he dismissed her.

* * *

He woke to horrible beep of his suit alarm. Maybe he should've set it back to Clarissa, but now all he could think about was Calliope's moan. She'd taken over Clarissa at least once already, and he didn't want that again. He missed Clarissa. She was spontaneous, fun about sex.

Well, he could get going early for once. His body wasn't in the mood, and anyway he didn't have to fuck all the time. If that was what Ysabel was trying to get him to admit, then sure. He was capable of just talking.

Clarissa appeared, naked and glorious as always, and he considered it. But no. "Hey, sweetie, why don't you get dressed. Let's talk awhile."

There was less to talk about than he expected, and Clarissa's shell wasn't as smart as he wanted to think. The two of them hadn't been expert trainers, after all. They went over some pleasant old memories. Most of them involved sex one way or the other, but he didn't mind remembering that, and in this mood, without the chemicals, it wasn't going to count against his five hours.

"We were pretty OK together, weren't we?" he asked.

"Yeah. We had some good times. Alvar, are you happy now?"

He stared at her, surprised by the unexpectedly direct question. But it didn't seem like Calliope.

"Sometimes," he said. "Sometimes not. But that's how it is, I guess."

"Same as most people," she agreed. "Sure you don't want to fuck?"

"Pretty sure," he said, patting her on the shoulder before dismissing her. Time to start work. He retrieved the telescoping brush and started on the first set of solar panels. The dust never stopped sticking. It gave him job security, he supposed. He wanted to smile at the irony, but he didn't have the energy.

He turned the chemicals to max and summoned Xyxxta.

"In the pussy," he said immediately, his dick bulging with chemicals and frustration. "Get me off twice, that way, super-fast. Then use your tongue."

"Fantastic," Xyxxta breathed, tossing her legs up over his shoulders and driving her perfect blue rear onto his pole. He smacked her inner wall, and she wiggled with pleasure, urging him to plow through, knowing the kind of fucking he was looking for. She was a damned good shell.

On the second round, he let her use the teeth, and it was even better.

* * *

"Oh, God," Jamila breathed, slowly rocking back and forth on top of him. Their movements were perfectly choreographed, a wave sloshing back and forth through their bodies, like the motion of a snake. No, a worm, that was it. Up-down, only part of them touching the ground at any one time.

Jamila was the best of all the shells at Titania gravity. She knew how to move, could adapt to new things almost as easily as he could. Usually they had sex in crazy acrobatic ways, but she had this other side, the part that wanted to hold him tight and make love slowly. She was one of the few he'd ever fallen asleep in. When he woke, he'd find her still moving perfectly, carrying on the little motions with the help of his suit and whatever unconscious impulses he had.

He pulled her tighter, shifting just enough that he could suckle her small brown breast, and she stroked his hair. His hips rose, pelvis moving a hair faster than hers, dick sliding deeper, face pressed against her chest, until his feet found the floor, and the sinuous pattern returned to the start. Her armpits were shaved smooth like the rest of her, but they had a smell. Like a real woman. With a silent signal he summoned Xyxxta, and the slightest twitch of his eyes was enough direction for her. She slipped silently behind Jamila, then slid a long finger into her asshole.

Jamila jerked slightly, smiling down at him. "You know she'll make me come soon if you let her."

Unbidden, Xyxxta slid one of her fingers inside him as well, and he gasped, looking up at Jamila. "Sounds good," he murmured, and Xyxtta immediately started moving her finger inside him, vibrating, pressing rhythmically against his prostate.

Before he knew it, Jamila was shifting to kiss him, the way she did sometimes. They breathed warm air in each others mouths, their tongues touching, and Alvar let her lead, because the truth was he didn't kiss shells on the lips very often. But he liked it with Jamila, and with Xyxxta helping both of them—

Jamila sighed, closing her eyes, sucking more firmly on his lips as her orgasm approached, and Xyxxta timed it perfectly for both of them. It was a fantastic arrival, a long breaking wave with incredible runout. So long since he'd been on that Earth beach. He remembered the sand, the salt air, the weight, the naked people of every shape and color, stretching his mind and making him realize how narrow his tastes were. He made it all the way through his orgasm before he realized something was up with Jamila.

He thought maybe he'd heard the moan, but he didn't want to believe it. Calliope had spoiled it three other times today, and he'd been sure she wouldn't like this type of sex. Everything had been just perfect with Jamila. But now she was shaking in a way Jamila didn't usually during her orgasms. It kept going even after Xyxxta stopped fucking her ass.

"Jamila?" he asked, but she had her eyes tightly closed, still rocking slowly against him, sniffling softly. Was she crying? What the fuck? Jamila wouldn't let go of him, either. If Calliope was trying to fuck with him, this was certainly doing the trick.

"Calliope?"

Xyxxta stroked Jamila's back, murmuring things into her ear, her programming perfectly capable of comforting an upset lover, even if it was another shell. Not smart enough to understand that something was totally fucked up with the situation.

Jamila suddenly opened her eyes, blinking away a tear.

"Got you," she whispered.

He threw her off, desperately dismissing them both just in time, as she sailed along with Xyxxta towards the boulder behind him. His own body bounced slowly back to rest, and he stared at the black sky, trying to calm his heartbeat.

For the first time, he was truly terrified of Calliope. Ysabel was right. Faking another shell, and then twisting it around like that—God, even for a human, that would be downright cruel and manipulative. For a shell, it was utterly beyond his experience. He'd never even heard of anything like that.

Alvar finished lunch on the move, and he didn't call any more shells that day. He knew he needed to talk to Ysabel, that he'd been avoiding her since that unpleasant conversation. But he tried to make do with passive entertainments.

He barely made it through the day. He needed to fuck, more than anything, and a little piece of him was scared what he might ask of Ysabel in this state. He should probably get a random one-shot. But Calliope had made it painfully clear what she wanted, and he was going to have to accept the truth sooner or later: she'd won this little battle. When he made it to the shuttle, he leaned against the wall, and summoned Calliope.

"Oh, thank God. None of those others feel quite right." She yawned and stretched, then slipped her fingers ostentatiously between her legs. "Mmm, I still taste you. You know, you've been such a good sport, how about you decide how we do it? You can invite the whole crowd if you want, let them watch, or join in, whatever."

Suddenly furious, Alvar did the first thing that came into his mind, and he twitched his eye just so.

Calliope gasped, lurching sideways, squeezing her hand tight against her pussy. It went on a good ten seconds like that, and she was still shaking when he realized that she'd started to chuckle. He backed away from her a step.

"Oh, God, I deserved that," Calliope said with a sigh, flopping down and raising her thin ass in the air, waving it slowly at him. Like a bizarre flag of surrender. The tail of her tattoo split around her pussy, fading towards her asshole. "Well done, Alvar. You're getting the hang of things. But now I really need to feel your cock in me."

He was half-tempted to force her to climax again, but everything about it had felt wrong, and he was baffled by her reaction.

"What the hell, Calliope? Why did you do that with Jamila? Were you trying to upset me?"

She rolled into a handstand, her feet disappearing through the shuttle roof.

"I am what I am," she said. "It got your attention, didn't it?"

Alvar didn't even have the energy to do this, whatever it was. He just wanted her gone. And so he moved towards her, kneeling in front of her inverted face, and closed his eyes in surrender.

The funny thing was, it was a decent blowjob. Not brilliant like Xyxxta, nowhere near terrible like one or two shells that seemed to be purposefully trained to seem inexperienced. And it wasn't like he remembered from Calliope, either. This time she didn't tease him with her teeth or any of the aggressive things he remembered. Maybe she hadn't been trained to do it upside down.

He opened his eyes, and as her lips worked back and forth on his shaft, her nose pressing towards his balls, her overall expression didn't seem quite as he remembered. Like she was concentrating too hard. That was probably it, like Ysabel explained. Calliope might be brilliant at some things, but she wasn't the best at balancing in this gravity. Even if she was smart, and trained as a contortionist, it didn't mean everything was trivial for her. That seemed an important insight, its own little victory.

Maybe that was why he suggested it. "How about we fuck the way you like? Get it out of your system?"

She came off him with a smack, then brought her legs down with some degree of grace, pushing off to stand, briefly mashing her pussy right into his nose. He jerked backwards in surprise, looking up to see her lopsided grin.

That was the expression he remembered. "Good luck getting it out of my system," she said. "Or me out of yours. But while you're offering, I wasn't lying about the ass. Let's do it until your chemicals run dry, and I think I can promise you a little peace for a while."

Two hours later, he finally groaned in advance of what would have to be his last orgasm. Only thirty seconds left.

They'd done it in the ass over and over, and somehow it was better every time, her legs curling back to cross over his ass, her body warm and lean against his chest. Or turned the other way, even bent double, or braced with her feet impossibly far apart, pushing off the ceiling so he could split her open, occasionally drifting off to fuck herself with a dildo while he begged.

He started suggesting other things, stuff they'd done back when she was just Calliope. He even got Xyxxta to help briefly, but mostly it was the two of them and a dozen different positions. Now, at the end of his allotment, she was rocking in his lap, and he nibbled on her breasts. Closer to actual biting, really, the way she'd told him at some point. Small pink buttons surrounded by big, puffy areolae. Beautiful little breasts, the easiest type to manage in different gravities. He felt himself surrender, and Calliope milked his cock over and over, past the end of his orgasm, past the end of the clock, until he slipped limply out of her and she grunted in disappointment.