Author's Notes:
I always make a disclaimer that I don't make a huge effort to explain earlier events and characters in my story. There was a comment on chapter 12 that requested one. Since I don't have a clear picture of just how long this series will go, I thought that might be a good idea. I'll try and remember to post some sort of recap periodically. Maybe every 10 chapters. My writing time is limited as-is; I don't need to be spending even more time re-writing stuff. So it'll be more of a reminder than anything.
Standard disclaimer: Please, if you like the story, or if you don't like the story, take a moment to comment. It's especially helpful if you have something constructive to add. It helps me quite a bit to see the story through others' eyes.
Finally, as always, all sexual activity takes place between adults.
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This is a kind of character sheet/recap that will cover events through chapter 12.
This story is set in a not-so-distant future, alternative world. In this world, technology is ascendant. The world survives through influence and power, not so differently from our world. But there is a group of people who desire to make a difference in the future of mankind. Their approach is perhaps fanciful, their ideals far-fetched. Nevertheless, they seek to create a generation of leaders who will usher in a new age of peace and prosperity for society.
Updated 2/20:
I inadvertently cut a few characters when this was posted. An astute anonymous reader noted the omissions and let me know. Thank you, whoever you are. The additions have been annotated with an asterisk.
Characters
Eisenfaust
Salvatore Clemonte (Atropos): Patriarch of the Clemonte clan, father of Aria and Emiliano. Now deceased, his primary occupation was shipping, but his part in Eisenfaust was mostly a result of having connections to people who can get things done outside of normal channels. He had ties to shady business characters. Before his passing he was beginning to have second thoughts about his role in Eisenfaust, and he'd begun feeling resentful for being treated only like a tool of Lachesis and Clothos instead of an equal partner.
Helga Lund (Lachesis): Matriarch of the Lund family, mother of Iver, grandmother of Elsa. Her husband (Matthias, deceased) was heavily involved in defense and armaments, but saw the possible benefits of genetic research and opened his own lab, NeoGenesys. He was a hard man to live with, and when he died, Helga assumed the reins of control of the family. Her resentment towards his unquestioned control as a result of being a man has caused her to rebel against some of the basic tenets of the project. She is currently on the run from authorities, along with her son, for the role that her company played in the virus that causes sterility in man.
Jozef van Heuval (Clothos): Patriarch of the van Heuval clan, father of Isana and Jordan, husband of Gianna. A venture capitalist and entrepreneur, he has designs on controlling the Orriri Project through his son. A modern Teutonic chieftain, he views his wife and children as tools for the furtherance of his goals. Much of his fortune has been stolen from him by Carson's band of guerrillas. His son is estranged, having fled for his life for learning of Eisenfaust's plans. His daughter is ostensibly on friendly terms, but she secretly grates at his dismissal of her for her gender.
The Lion and His Pride
Carson Jayne
: Main Character and Protagonist. 29 years old when the series began, Carson was drawn into the world of the Orriri Project. At the time, he'd feared his wife of 3 years, Mara (Livingstone), was having an affair. Through a rapid-fire transition, he finds himself a junior partner at his law firm with three wives (Mara, Mila, and Samantha, a mother-in-law/live-in lover (Helena), three other live-in lovers (Elsa Lund, Quinn Pruitt, and Tilda Grimaldi), and a father-in-law (Thurston) who is the beta of his clan.
Carson is the golden boy, and initially he's reluctant to participate in the project. Circumstances have convinced him that he can participate in the change, or he can watch from the sidelines as the change happens; he chooses to be a part of the change. As part of the project, he's been given a nanite injection, allowing him to access network information at a thought, human pheromone control, and control of his reproductive system; his semen reservoir has been enlarged as well. He was already well-endowed, and no further modification to his genitalia has been made.
Between the seven women in his life, he's fathered 8 children; he's fathered many more through casual hookups with at the behest of his wives and lovers. He also has 5 children on the way between Aria, Sam, Cara, and Corinne, with plans to soon impregnate Orisa and Isana.
As the series has unfolded, Carson has developed additional powers not part of the project's treatment. He has blindingly fast quickness in limited bursts, as well as enhanced strength. Most importantly, his mental capabilities have increased. He can read and communicate with women using only his mind, and in the midst of sexual experiences, he has the ability to go deeper, to interact with his partner at a much, much deeper level.
To his surprise, Carson finds that efforts behind the scenes at Orriri are working to put him in the Director's chair sooner, rather than later.
Mara Jayne
: Carson's first wife, they met in college. He was in law school while she was an undergrad. 5'10", with an athletic build and large breasts. She has green eyes and light brown hair. Lioness.
Mila Jayne
: Carson's second wife and twin sister to Mara. She loved Carson from afar before he joined the project, and she was overjoyed to become his wife. More submissive than her sister from the outside, she is fiercely loyal to and proud of Carson. She is kind of the housewife to the rest of the clan, and under Helena's tutelage, is learning to run a large house and staff. Lioness.
Samantha (Sam) Cross
: Carson's third wife, she is the daughter of geneticist Alexander Cross. Sam is about five and half feet tall, with deep red hair, fair skin, and dark blue eyes. She has large breasts, and she physically is the embodiment of Carson's ideal woman. The Cross family has a long lineage from Scotland, and their efforts at personal improvement pre-date the project. The family believes that humans are capable of mental, perhaps even magical, powers, and their research through the years has led them to a recent breakthrough. Carson's mental abilities are believed to be the result of a gene therapy that Samantha secretly (to Carson) applied to her husband. She and her father are anxious to conduct additional research on Carson to see what else they can develop. She has a high libido, and she's very frank about sex, to the point of vulgarity. Lioness. She recently experienced a bonding with Carson, tying them together at a deep spiritual and emotional level. She is in the very early stages of a pregnancy with a daughter. Lioness.
Elsa Lund
: 26 years old when she met Carson, Elsa looked the party girl to everyone on the outside. Inside, though, she was more interested in finding the right man to father her children than partying; she did that to keep up appearances as a spoiled rich girl. Carson met her at a social club and essentially takes her away from Jordan van Heuval, whose father had arranged to impregnate her. She was the first to experience Carson's mental powers. Blonde and blue-eyed, she is the epitome of the Nordic milk maid. She's playful, but less vulgar than Sam. She likes to tease Carson, calling him "Big Daddy." Lioness.
Quinn Pruitt
: Quinn came to Carson's attention through her father, Gabriel. Mr. Pruitt was under threat from Eisenfaust to let Jordan impregnate Quinn or risk losing his business. She was just 23 years old when he approached Carson at the project's council meeting and asks if he wouldn't consider impregnating his daughter to keep her away from Jordan. Carson is taken aback by this casual treatment of the young woman, but after she saves his life, she is invited to come for dinner. His Pride convinces him to take her into the clan. Physically smaller than the other women, she is petite, with dark, dark brown hair and eyes. She recently departed the clan, taking up with Dr. Mason Tharp. Her split from Carson was amicable, despite her pseudo-betrayal of him by having a sort-of affair behind his back. Carson realized that there wasn't a spark between them and wished her luck. Ex-Lioness, though she still has her ring.
Tilda Grimaldi
: Tilda was a 29-year old agent of the Schattensicherheit (SSH) or "shadow security," a covert branch of the project when she met Carson. Her team investigated the attack on Carson at the project social. She approaches him at his office with the theory that there is a cabal at work within the project that threatens its goals. She offers to become his head of security, and she and her team move into a bunkhouse on the Livingstone estate, overseeing the physical security upgrades. At 6'3", she is an inch taller than Carson, with red-gold hair, a large frame, and mammoth breasts. Despite her size, she is still athletic and strong. Her call sign is "Valkyrie," a moniker that fits her in so many ways. When a second attempt on Carson's life takes place and a security team member is killed, but she manages to kill the assailant and save Carson. She donates blood to Carson in the hospital, which may be the source of the changes in his musculature, strength and reflexes.
Tilda teased Carson from day one about not being the one who would father her children. Secretly, she wanted a man who would dominate her physically while loving her emotionally. Carson eventually figures it out, even without using his mind reading ability. When he finally claims her, it's only because of his rapid improvement in strength and coordination that he can do so. Lioness.
Helena Livingstone
: At 44 years of age, Helena is reaching the end of her reproductive lifetime. The template for her daughters, she is Carson's matriarch. She is his wife in all but name, a role that her husband Thurston has accepted, even expected. It is Helena that first realizes that Carson could very easily qualify to become the director of the project, and as the Chief Lioness, she begins to lay the groundwork to make that happen. She loved Carson for her daughters' sakes but found herself falling in love with him as a woman in her own right. When Carson finally discards his reservations about taking her for his own (out of respect for Thurston), she pledges herself to him body, mind, and soul. Lioness.
Other Women in Carson's Life
Orisa Okafor