INTRODUCTION:
Several people have been kind enough to e-mail me to tell me how much they've enjoyed the stories about Arky, and to ask when the next one would be available. There has been a long wait for the next story in the series, but seeing it brings back all the regular characters from the previous stories I hope you think it was worth the wait. Enjoy!
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Arky Del was relaxing, propped up in bed with a good book. She turned a page and began the next chapter.
A piercing shriek rent the air. It came from somewhere close at hand, perhaps in that very apartment.
Arky didn't even look up. She knew quite well what it was. Her room-mate was masturbating again.
It wasn't that Arky had anything against auto-eroticism, but she considered the quality of her orgasms was at least as important as their quantity. Petal Smith, on the other hand, seemed to have been wired to need sex every 36 hours and Arky had become used to the series of noisy climaxes in the next room.
What was the technical term for it? It wasn't onanism for girls, it was -- tamarism, was it? Arky couldn't remember. There were a lot more expressions for male masturbation than for female -- which probably said something about guys.
Petal would probably have been happier with a lesbian as a room-mate, thought Arky as she turned another page. Someone who could have gone down on her every morning with a Saturday strap-on matinée thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately Arky was 99% heterosexual and wasn't interested in relieving Petal's frustrations.
There was a final sobbing groan that died away into a gasping moan of relief. After a few moments of silence, Petal strolled in from her bedroom as though nothing had happened. She was wearing a sheer robe that concealed almost nothing of her lush figure but only a practised observer would have noted the little smile and the flush in her cheeks that marked a newly satisfied woman.
"I don't know why you don't just get a vibrator and be done with it," said Arky conversationally without looking up from her book.
The brunette gave a little frown as she sat in front of the mirror and began the very precise task of making-up her face. "They're so impersonal. It's different to fingers and tongues and .. other things. I don't feel that it's genuine if I have to resort to some machine".
"Suit yourself," said Arky. "You know where mine is if you need it."
"You won't be using it. Not since the lovely young Paul came along."
Arky pursed her lips. She glanced up as Petal began work on her eyes, causing her bosom to wobble about in a most diverting manner.
Arky sighed. Sometimes it didn't seem fair that one woman could have such a voluptuous body and still have the brains to pass Astro-Navigation 101. The only thing she took comfort in was that Petal would undoubtedly get awful back pains if she didn't have a breast reduction in later life, something that Arky's tomboyish physique was probably safe from.
It would have made life much simpler if she disliked Petal, but in fact she thought of her as one of the best friends she'd made in the crazy business of interstellar pilotage. The two worked together on a regular basis, though they'd only started sharing an apartment since they'd returned to Earth. (Rents were absurdly high on this overpopulated planet.)
Petal grunted as she slipped on industrial-strength underwear that made it more likely she could go out into public without waiters dropping their trays and cab-drivers running into poles. She finished dressing and spun in front of the mirror.
"Not too shabby," she purred. Her dress was a shifting aurora of colors that changed its hue as she moved. Even breathing made it shimmer. Petal had paid an awful lot of money for this dress and was pleased to have an opportunity to show it off in public.
Arky slid off the bed, having been ready for some time. She had contented herself with the dress uniform of a galaxy-standard pilot, her one concession to glamor being the Arborian hell-gem that she wore as a necklace. Hell-gems were notoriously difficult to buy; Arky had been given this one as a gift from a grateful client when she was working there.
The two of them made a duo that turned heads when they entered the great hall of the university. Petal the epitome of feminine allure, Arky clad in a uniform almost as severe as one of the Lensmen of the Galactic Patrol, her fair hair cropped in a military style. But compared to the guest of honor, they were almost boringly conventional.
Arky slid through the crowd, Petal following along with a string of "Excuse me.. pardon me... can I just get through?" The throng became thicker the closer they got to the center of attention.
"Arky!" said a deep voice. "Good to see you." It was easy for Eve to spot her friends approaching; at nearly eight feet tall she towered over everybody else in the hall. Under the subdued lighting, the green skin was almost unnoticable until you got close to her.
"Eve, you look wonderful," said Arky. The city's leading dress-maker had spent weeks working on a formal outfit for this unique client. It wasn't often you were commissioned to make a ball gown for an android.
The company that had created Eve to explore marginally-habitable planets had made the mistake of bringing her back to Earth. They had immediately been slapped with a writ by the ACLU, leading to a high-profile court battle that was being celebrated as the most significant piece of law since the Dred Scott decision. Eve was now a person, just as much as any human being or any visitor from the outer planets.
The reception proceeded in the way of such things. Academics and politicians stood up to say "a few words" and finally the woman everyone had been waiting to hear got to her feet. An involuntary stir went through the audience as she towered over them.
Eve was not an orator. Elocution training had made her voice more normal and pleasing to the ear but it had not turned her into a public speaker. That made what she had to say all the more moving.
In a few words she outlined her origins as a tool of a giant corporation, then with admirable conciseness skipped over a legal battle that had absorbed the finest minds of a generation for a year. She thanked the many people who had selflessly devoted themselves to winning her freedom, and ended with a hope that she would be able to do something for the community in return.
It was a simple speech, but Eve's obvious sincerity had the audience applauding loudly when she concluded. She gave a shy smile of gratitude.
Later when all the captains and the kings had departed, the three women sat around a table and caught up. Eve had become a freelance "consultant" which meant that she would be doing the sort of work she had been genetically engineered for, but now she would be in business for herself. Arky and Petal were on leave, waiting to see if their employers were willing to let them go back into space without tiresome re-training.
Eve sipped a glass of white wine, something that she was slowly getting used to. The green hue of her fingers made the wine look rather odd in her glass. She seemed glad that the civic reception was over.
"I see so many people now. In the past I would go a day and speak only to one or two technicians. Now everybody wants to talk to me." She frowned. "But I see so many people for short times. Not many people really.... know me."
Arky sighed. She had been afraid of this happening. Eve was one of a kind and almost inevitably found human society hard to bond with.
Petal however had a much more direct angle. "So, no guy in your life, Eve?" she queried. "I thought you'd have a better chance of finding a guy now you were out of the clutches of those dusty old professors."
"No, nobody really," said Eve. "It's not easy finding a boyfriend when you're a head taller than any man and can bend steel in your bare hands." This was a slight exaggeration - but only slight. She paused. "Romance is usually out of the question."
"You mean you aren't getting any ... male companionship?" said Petal with unusual diplomacy.
Eve sighed. "Petal, I would not say this to anyone else, but I have only ever had one sexual climax in my life." Petal looked horrified.
Arky winced, remembering that day. It had taken two able-bodied men half an hour to bring Eve to orgasm and nearly ruined their health in the process. She could understand why not many guys were game to bed the statuesque android. Maybe an Olympic athlete could accept the challenge, but few others would dare.
Eve didn't feel it necessary to describe the humiliation of her last sexual encounter. A young man at the laboratory had been more than friendly. He was plainly intrigued by Eve and made it clear he would like to take things further.
It was obvious to Eve that copulation was out of the question; at the very least she would have broken one of his arms or legs. But his suggestion they try oral sex seemed worth a try.
The night had been a fiasco. He had been so excited that after just a couple of minutes he had climaxed, showering cum all over Eve's cheek and throat. His attempt at returning the favor had been futile; oh, it was pleasant enough, but after a while it became obvious that his tongue was not going to be enough to satisfy her no matter how long he tried.
Eve had been thoroughly embarrassed by the whole business and could not bring herself to mention it even to her two friends.
It was a subdued duo that dropped Eve at her hotel and drove on into the city. "I feel so sorry for Eve," said Petal. "She's so alone. If only there was somebody she felt close to."
