I thought about incorporating the idea of Ben Bova's "Duelling Machine" with a variation of the Sex Education proposed in Jean M. Auel's "Earth Children" series and the following is the result.
Chapter 1: Sex Education β The Head-Teacher
My fingers shook as I unwrapped the package. Finally. My own duelling machine.
Actually
, I thought as I skimmed the instruction manual,
"Duelling Machine" is a misnomer, it should be called a Dream Machine but the wrong name stuck. Unlike Bova's conception which was brought to life in the DM-90 model and allowed two people to share a dream as a virtual battle, the more advanced DM-92 allows the sharing of a dream without violence and this one, the DM-100, allows one person to control a dream on their own
.
"An extended fantasy, as subjectively real as the chair you are sitting on" the manual proclaimed.
According to the manual, the machine would monitor my blood pressure and heart rate, taking me out of the dream if they reached dangerous levels. However, it also stated that the danger levels were set at a default minimum to start with and, by the end of the second use, would have automatically adjusted to take into account my own physical capacity which, according to the manual, was usually a lot higher. The timer did the same and could be set for up to six hours in each twenty-four hour period to start with, increasing to a maximum of twelve, and the option to include a clock and stress level monitor into the dream was available. I would be told the maximum allowable stress level compared to the default and the maximum duration before the start of the dream.
Although the Dream Machine could be used to experience any activity in complete safety and, according to the manual, was originally intended for those involving an element of extreme danger like mountaineering, racecar driving, surfing or even space travel it was usually used to live out fantasies which, for most people, meant six or more hours of sexual ecstacy before returning to the real world.
Hey
, I thought,
space travel...sex in zero g. That could be good.
The actual device didn't quite "blend right in with my home entertainment centre" as the ads had promised because the chassis was a different colour, but if it lived up to expectations, who cares? Still, it was fairly innocuous in appearance being a black metal control box the size of a vcr with an LCD display showing the safe stress level as a percentage of the default minimum and the time available, a skull cap with blindfold and an arm band for the blood pressure monitor connected to the control box by a long coiled lead. The box had a cartridge slot for the pre-packaged fantasies the company planned to release and another slot for me to insert the Personal ID card on which my own physical data was recorded.
It was fairly straightforward, according to the manual, and I decided I just had to give it a try straight away. First, power on, insert PID and set the timer - I'd give it half an hour for now. Then don the arm band to monitor my blood pressure and the skull cap with its sensors, ensuring the short, needle-like electrodes were in contact with my skin β a bit uncomfortable but no problem. Seated comfortably; press start...
I was standing on a featureless grey plain that receded into mist. After a moment of disorientation, I remembered the instructions.
"The initial environment is chosen to be as neutral as possible. The first few times of use the Dream Machine will quickly discover your most secret desires and give them reality. Do not try to influence the course of the first dreams until the Dream Machine has finished calculating your unique physical capacity, just let the dreams develop on their own. After that you will have full control over the development of the dreams."
I wonder what the first dream will be about
, I thought,
will it be sex in orbit?
The featureless grey plain resolved into a carpark in front of a three storey building in a park surrounded by trees.
I felt a twinge of anticipation as I left my car and walked past a large signboard proclaiming that this was "Miss Leonora's Finishing School for Girls", getting a vague idea of what the dream would be about.
The path towards an imposing arched entrance went along a beside a high wall over which I could hear the sound of girls voices raised in laughter. These, along with the splashes and screams, told me there must be a swimming pool the other side of the wall.
I carried on along the path and went up the steps to the front door of the large brick building.
I knocked and a woman answered.
'Ah, Dr Richards I presume. I'm the Principal, Miss Leonora. Do come in, quickly please, you're late. You just wouldn't believe how keen the girls are for your lessons so we must hurry and get started with them as soon as possible.'
I glanced at my watch and saw it was less than three minutes past the hour...they must be enthusiastic.
I studied her as she yanked me in through the doorway and pulled me down the hall with her, running all the way. She was slim, about thirty and beautiful enough to be a porn star, with long blonde hair and a very small halter-neck mini-dress. The front part of the dress consisted of two narrow elongated triangles only just wider than her nipples, so that much of her full breasts were visible, and I wondered if she was wearing knickers as I couldn't see a panty line through the thin material of the short skirt.
I suddenly realised that the dream would be about demonstrating sexual activity by screwing this superb woman in front of a class of horny 18-year-old girls; I could tell from the lumps of her erect nipples that she knew I would ask her to be my assistant today and had selected just the right clothes for it.
We came to a door with a room number 04 stencilled on the frosted glass and paused. The voices of young girls could be heard through it, talking quietly and somehow sounding both nervous and excited at the same time.
Miss Leonora turned to me, slightly out of breath, and said, 'I'm so glad you could take time out of your busy schedule to join us, Dr Richards. The girls are ecstatic to have an expert such as you teach this course...'