Dr. Piper Wingate and Dr. Ben Valentine were part of the initial human expedition to the planet of Perwithia. As xenobiologists their job was to act as liaisons to the Perwithi scholars, learning about their biology and culture, and in return also teaching them about human biology and culture.
It was a difficult task because Perwithia was very different from Earth. The Perwithi were asexual; they reproduced by budding. The Perwithi had a hard time understanding that men and women were both human, and not two separate species.
Dr. Wingate once spent a very frustrating afternoon trying to explain the concept of sex to Professor Xu, her Perwithi counterpart.
"I don't understand," Xu had said to her. "You and Dr. Valentine are so different from each other! Ben is much taller than you, and your body proportions are completely different. I find it hard to believe that you're both human."
"Not only are we both human," Dr. Wingate said. "But men and women--as the two varieties are called--are essential to our survival as a species."
Xu rubbed their cranium with their grippers, clearly straining to understand.
"How so?" Xu asked.
"Let me start by explaining the basics of human reproduction," Dr. Wingate said. "I'm what's called a 'female' and Dr. Valentine is what's called a 'male'. The human contact team contains a mix of males and females. For example, Captain Stark who you've met, is a female like me, and Commander Ramsey, the head of security, is a male like Dr. Valentine.
"Mating between males and females involves merging genetic material from both individuals to create a new genetic code for their offspring. The mating process consists of a sequence of instinctual courtship behaviors that culminate with the male inserting his reproductive organ in a special cavity in the female's body, and squirting his genetic material inside her.
"It all sounds very haphazard and messy," Xu said. "it's hard to believe the survival of your species depends upon such a complicated process.
"I think I'm starting to grasp the essentials," Professor Xu said. "I wonder if it would be possible to arrange a demonstration."
"You ... uh... want to watch a man and a woman breeding?" Dr. Wingate said.
Xu nodded. "If such a thing would be possible ... yes. Purely in the interest of science."
"I might be able to arrange something," Dr. Wingate said. "Captain Stark would have to authorize it, of course."
* * *
The next day when Dr. Wingate floated the idea to her commanding officer, Captain Stark was aghast.
"So, they want to watch us fuck, do they?"
Dr. Wingate didn't allow herself to be cowed.
"It's not Professor Xu's fault. They didn't realize how improper their request was," she responded. That's kind of the point. There's so much that the Perwithi don't understand about us. They don't even know what we might consider taboo. Putting on a demonstration like this would go a long way toward building the sort of long-term understanding between our species that will make coexistence possible."
"Ok, you've convinced me," the captain said. "But keep it discreet, ok. If word of this gets back to fleet, Admiral Morgan will have my head!
"The only question now, is who?"
"I was thinking the woman would be me, of course," Dr. Wingate said. "It only seems fair since I'm the one advocating for it."
"And the man ...?" Captain Stark asked.
"I think Ben Valentine would do it. The Perwithi already know him and ... ahem ... he's not bad looking."
"Good choice," the captain said. "From what I know of Dr. Valentine's reputation among the female members of my crew, he's certainly capable in that regard. And apparently rather generously endowed. The two of you should put on a good show. And do humanity proud."
"I'll make the arrangements with Professor Xu," Dr. Wingate said. "And keep it hush-hush."
A few days later, Dr. Wingate and Dr. Valentine met Professor Xu as arranged in the common room. The two xenobiologists looked at each other sheepishly, a little embarrassed by what they knew was coming.
"We probably should have tried a dry run," Dr. Wingate thought ruefully. "What will we do if we don't hit it off? I guess in that case, we'll just have to trust our instincts."
It was only a short walk from the common room to the auditorium.
Professor Xu led them in.
The auditorium was a large domed room with tiers of concentric platforms surrounding a flat circular space in the middle. The platforms were crowded with at least a hundred Perwithi. They were all chattering excitedly among themselves, but they quickly fell silent as the two humans came into view. Dr. Wingate recognized a handful of faces from the contact team, but most of the crowd was unfamiliar to her. Xu had mentioned they were assembling researchers from all over the western continent, but Dr. Wingate hadn't expected there to be quite so many of them. She felt a sudden flutter of butterflies in her stomach. It was a little late in the game to have an attack of modesty, wasn't it? Twelve or two hundred, what did it matter?
The Perwithi had laid out a pallet just as she'd requested. Several thick sleeping mats had been pushed together in the middle of the circular floor and covered with a smooth sheet of white fabric. Several days earlier she'd explained to Professor Xu that the human reproductive act often required the participants to be lying down, and clearly, the professor had paid close attention. Half a dozen small pillows were scattered on top of the pallet, and a jug of water with two drinking bowls had been placed nearby.
There were also cameras. Three film recorders were arranged around the perimeter of the circle, their large lenses aimed directly at the pallet to capture the details of the breeding demonstration from every angle. In addition, two Perwithi scribes with hand-held still-image devices stood waiting off to one side. This was clearly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Perwithi scientists. Forget about having a few hundred spectators--the recordings of the two humans having sex would undoubtedly be analyzed frame-by-frame for years or even decades to come.
No pressure, Dr. Wingate thought.
Xu raised two grippers to gain the crowd's attention.
"Please welcome our kind visitors. The smaller human is Dr. Wingate, who many of you have already read about in the reports from the contact team, while the larger human is Dr. Valentine, one of Dr. Wingate's colleagues who has generously volunteered to assist us with this demonstration."
Dr. Wingate stepped forward. "Thank you for your generous greeting. Dr. Valentine and I are both pleased to be here. The openness and honesty with which your people have greeted us as guests from another world has been truly remarkable. And it is in the spirit of that openness and honesty that the two of us have consented to this demonstration today."
The audience hummed and waved their grippers.
