Knowing Dr Karen Blander would be joining him very soon, Dr Vic Garven had moved quickly into the viewing room, switched off the lights so that they could see clearly through the mirror, into the room where Peter and Sara would meet. He turned on the recording unit. It was essential that they were able to review events later in their own time. He had only just .completed that task when Karen came in, all flushed and alert..
"It's finally here," she said clutching at one of his hands.
"Excited?"
"Excited, hopeful, fearful, uncertain. God, Vic, two young people who have never encountered a member of the opposite sex. How amazing is that? There are so many things that might happen." Karen looked down into the introduction room. A bed in the far corner, a table with two chairs, a small sofa, and a wardrobe were they only furnishings in the room, except for the large mirror, through which their observations would take place.
"This time will be better, I'm sure of it," Karen said, looking at the worried look on Vic's face. Dr Vic Garven, eminent sociologist and sexologist, was on the verge of seeing years of preparation come to fruition. "The other couple Sid and Vera were just not compatible."
"And I think we expected too much, too quickly."
"Where did they go?" Karen asked.
All he said in reply was, "They were well taken care of."
He moved to the door, saying, "I'll go and get Peter." Karen was left with just a little chill of concern.
Exciting as the project was, there were elements that worried her, but she was so involved now, she had accepted all the dubious aspects. It was just these recent developments that suggested that Vic might be becoming too hardened in his intentions.
Thirteen years ago they had met at a human development seminar where Karen was one of the speakers. Having degrees in Biology, Social Development and Human Development, she was in a position to talk with some authority. She had been just twenty six and was lecturing at the local university. At the end Dr Garven had approached her, and commended her on her topic. Karen had been most flattered, having known about Dr Garven only by reputation.
They had sipped wine, and he had casually asked if she was happy lecturing. She admitted that she would have preferred some kind of research work. That had caused his eyebrows to rise, and he asked her if they could meet on the following evening for dinner when he would like to outline a proposition to her.
The following evening when the meal was cleared away, and they sat sipping their coffees, Dr Garven had smiled across the table at her, and said, "Time to tell you my secrets."
Karen estimated that he was at least ten years her senior. He was a darkly handsome man, greying at the temples, with an intense look, which could be quickly dispensed with his ready smile.
"My father, Graham Garven was an entrepreneur, with fingers in so many pies. He himself told me, in later life, that he might have been called Midas, he was so successful. When he died, twenty years ago, he left a great deal of his wealth to me. Just as importantly, he left me the mansion he had built in the heart of the forest. He had many dwellings across the globe, most of them in well hidden locations. "
Serious, dark eyes looked at Karen , "But the mansion in the forest was an ideal site for what I wanted to do."
"Which was?" Karen, asked, longing for him to get to the point.
He gave an enigmatic smile, "What I have called my Adam and Eve project."
Karen could not avoid a little chuckle, "Adam and Eve?"
Dr Garven nodded, "I'm a sexologist, so naturally, I've always been interested in the development of sexual attitudes."
"I'm not sure I understand."
Dr Garven drew in a deep breath, "I intend to study what happens when a young man who does not know of the existence of women, meets a young woman, who has never encountered any member of the male sex."
Karen knew the frown of doubt had not left her face, but she had to admit, "It sounds fascinating."
"You are interested?" Dr Garven asked, before going on. "I must advise you that there are some aspects of my plan which could be called into question."
Karen raised an eyebrow, "There are?"
"Our group are taken from a nearby home for abandoned children when they are just two years old. Not exactly a legal process. But the home cooperates when they become overloaded. Of course we have to ensure complete security. If the word ever got out about what we are doing ---Phew." And he threw his arms up in the air indicating an explosion.
Karen nodded, "I can see that difficulty. But from two years old? How do you get to your Adam and Eve situation?"
"From the time they arrive as toddlers, they are segregated. Boys in one sector, girls in another. Completely separated, and the mansion is ideally structured for this. They never encounter each other."
"So you cannot see the fruits of your study until these infants mature?" Karen said, her voice, she feared, probably mirrored her disbelief.
"That's the frustration of it. Starting from infancy is the only way to ensure there is no memory of either sex. And really, I have a highly supportive staff, but I've been in need of a close assistant for a while. When I heard you speak, I knew you would be ideal, both in these early stages, and in the future mature programme when the Adam and Eve project really takes off."
"But that must be several years away."
Dr Garven nodded sadly, "Patience is the key word. I've been in operation for nearly three years. My first group are now five years old. Progressing well, but still thirteen years from their eighteenth birthday"
"Eighteen? Isn't there a theory that Adam and Eve may have been younger than that?"
"I know of that. But for my purposes, I needed to ensure a certain level of maturity.. Can I just add that you will be well satisfied with the remuneration?"
Finding the man himself attractive, and the notion of the project absorbing, Karen had agreed to become his second in command. Her first visit to the mansion, hidden deep in the forest, had impressed her. The large building was split into several compartments, half for boys, half for girls, with sections where standard education was carried out depending on the sex of the children.
Karen was delighted to find that all the children were kept well dressed, and well fed. They had lots of social and physical activities within the restrictions of the overall premise. She was particularly interested in the study of development in infancy, when there was only one sex. Part of that study observed how they reacted to various toys---guns, soldiers, dolls, cars---In other words, what does a girl choose to play with, without any social influences? Many girls she observed chose cars and railway engines.
There were ample grounds all around the mansion to give access for play. But again, high walls, kept one half of these facilities for boys and the other for girls. She was deeply impressed by the way the facilities were set to the needs of the process.
She soon became involved with the progress of the younger girls, because, the boys could not be allowed to see her. There were many mentors of both sexes, who were restricted to the children of there own sex. All the incoming children, by the time they were four or five years old, started on a very guarded education. All literature had to be chosen with much care, so that any suggestion of an opposite sex was played down. But so many books had to be 'adjusted' as Vic Garven called it, to eradicate female characters or male characters, or where possible, give them a sex change. For the younger ones it was easier to change.
Biology lessons needed to be organised so that there was no sex education. Even history was difficult and Kings and Queens were introduced as far as possible as Monarchs or Rulers rendering them as sexless entities. The important thing was that the children were kept happy and that pleased Karen.
What also pleased Karen, after just two years in her post, was the fact that she and Dr Garven, who by now was simply 'Vic', had a mutual desire for each other. They had occasionally finished the evening by sharing a glass of wine in his upstairs private apartment. On one particular evening, as their glasses emptied, Vic had placed a hand on her knee. Their kiss was almost automatic, their tongues finding instant compatibility. But beyond that, Karen discovered that she was in the hands of a man who knew his way around a woman's body with consummate skill.