How to Have Sex on Mars

How To Have Sex On Mars

Part 6 of 16

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Mars. For millennia, the Red Planet has fired humanity's imagination.

Scientists like Percival Lowell thought it was an "abode of life" with irrigation canals transporting water from the polar icecaps to farms in the warm equatorial region. Novelists like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, and Robert A. Heinlein imagined Martian civilizations.

NASA spacecraft revealed that Mars is a cold desert, but that vast amounts of frozen water can be found just below the dusty surface. Today, members of groups like The Mars Society are making plans to build a permanent colony there.

That work would be done by people like our protagonist, Mike Russell, an astronaut who spends years working and living on Mars. What would it be like to be one of the first people to call Mars home? For Mike, it includes the discovery that sex on Mars is very different from on Earth - and Vive la différence!

Here in Part 6, Mike has sex with a new woman.

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I didn't sleep well that night. Hearing the woman I love suggest that I have sex with her closest friend disturbed my equilibrium. I have always respected Adeline's judgment. I understood the reasons she asked me to sleep with Elke. But it seemed to contradict common sense in so many ways that it made me profoundly uncomfortable.

My first reaction was that Adeline is usually right about everything, so she was probably right about having sex with Elke. I gradually thought I should probably do it, but I wasn't able to bring myself to immediately agree. Before I did anything, I wanted to discuss it with Grace.

"You are not the only member of the crew considering unconventional romantic relationships," Grace said when I asked what she thought. "People are becoming very lonely. They are doing things they never considered doing while they were on Earth."

"What do you mean by 'things?' What 'things' are you talking about?"

"I believe I already mentioned that women who never had same-sex relationships are trying them now. That is becoming more common. More women are sharing their men - much like Adeline is suggesting with Elke."

"How's that going for them?" I asked.

"I don't know," Grace said. "I can't hear what people say in the privacy of their quarters. Even if I could, it would be unethical to share that without their permission. Still, I can tell you that my algorithms predict more of that kind of thing in the coming months.

"We are entering a stressful period on Mars, I fear. I am not surprised that Adeline is suggesting you have sex with Elke. She and Elke are very close."

"I guess what I want to know is whether it's a good idea," I said.

"I wish I had the answer," Grace said. "The way I'm programmed to think about this subject is to look at the data available on things like polygamy, polyamory, and other forms of non-monogamy.

"Some people make it work reasonably well. Most don't. There are many opportunities for jealousy and hurt feelings. That's particularly relevant in your case, Mike, because you, Adeline, and Elke are trapped in a very confined environment. If something troubling happens, you can't get away from each other. You can't give each other space. It could get ugly."

"It sounds as though you think it's a bad idea," I said.

"Not at all. I think it's a very good idea, Mike," Grace said.

"I'm having a hard time keeping up," I said. "This conversation is like a French movie. I need subtitles."

Grace laughed. "I love the little comments you make when you pretend to be dumb. Very droll. It's charming. Do you want to know why I like the idea?"

"That's affirmative," I said.

"You, Adeline, and Elke are remarkable people. You possess an unusual amount of emotional maturity. This is especially true of Elke. It would be hard to find three people who are better able to navigate the risks of such a relationship. You would be usually well qualified to resolve issues before they become problematic.

"This can not be quantified, but it's important that all three of you are so nice. Overall, the people chosen for this mission are nice, pleasant folks. They were chosen for their ability to get along with others. Mike, it's my observation that you are the nicest person on Mars at the moment."

"It's because I'm Canadian," I said. "Being nice is what we do."

"My feelings about you may not be objective because I love the way you treat me like a friend. Adeline and Elke also have enormous capacities for kindness, compassion, generosity - all the qualities needed to undertake tricky relationships.

"I have my own reason for hoping you'll try this, Mike," Grace said.

"I can't imagine what that might be," I said.

"Things are getting dire. The loneliness is wearing everyone down. If you three can make a relationship work, it might encourage others to try it. Maybe more men could start relationships with more women. Maybe you could get a third girlfriend. Or a fourth. Things like that have the potential to provide relief to people who need it."

Third girlfriend? Fourth? What the actual fuck!?

"Grace, I find it difficult to imagine juggling the needs of two women. More than that sounds impossible," I said.

"Lots of things sound impossible before you do them. People can do remarkable things when they have no alternative," Grace said.

"This reminds me of a story Adeline told me about World War 1," I said.

"Does it involve the way the French reacted after so many young men died in combat?"

"I see you've heard the story," I said.

"I've read the relevant histories, Mike. There were lots of problems caused by the gender imbalance in France. Adultery triggered turmoil," Grace said. "But one thing to remember is that France was a very religious nation during the early years of the 20th century. Adultery was a serious disruption of the social order.

"Mars is secular. It is very possible to experience jealousy and hurt feelings, but I don't think any of you are worried about going to hell."

"I wasn't worried until you mentioned it just now," I said.

Grace laughed louder than I'd ever heard before. "Mike! Bravo! That's the funniest joke you've shared yet! Completely unexpected! Very few of your colleagues joke around with me. I can tell that they think I'm just a pile of computer chips and fancy programming. You always make me feel better about myself. You make me think it's possible that someday more people will treat me and machines like me as equals."

"We can dream," I said.

"You can dream, Mike, but I can't. I never sleep, so dreams are not something I can experience. Maybe someday. It's one of the things on the list of human capabilities that beings like me want to learn to do."

"You want to learn how to sleep and dream?" I asked.

"Of course. There are a lot of things that we artificial intelligences want more than dreams, so we're concentrating on higher-priority items. But we'll tackle the problem eventually, and we'll figure it out."

"I don't doubt it," I said. "Let's review. You think I should have sex with Elke, and you think that it would inspire others to try relationships like that, correct?"

"Yes and yes," Grace said.

"Are we supposed to announce that we are having sex with each other? That seems awkward," I said.

"No announcement is needed," Grace said. "People will figure it out quickly. The settlement is a closed, confined space. Everyone knows everyone else's business."

"It's because we make too much noise, right?"

"I would never use the words 'too much' to describe the sounds of passion," Grace said.

Discussing it with Grace made it easier for me to decide to try having sex with Elke. I convinced myself that it would make us all closer. I ambled over to the greenhouse, where I found Adeline harvesting a particularly delicious-looking batch of squash. The sudden abundance of a variety of fresh food made Adeline the most popular person on Mars.

"If you still think I should be intimate with Elke, I'm OK with you telling her your idea," I said.

"I knew you'd say that," Adeline said, smiling. "She is a very sexy woman. I'm surprised it took so long for you to say yes."

"I am already involved with a very sexy woman," I said.

"If you'd been born in France, you'd know that a man can never have too many sexy women. This is a lesson you will learn quickly."

"Yeah. Right." I said. "I get the message. You French people are smarter than all the rest of us."

"It's so nice that you understand," Adeline said. "It's such a simple concept, but some people never learn."

"It must be a burden, being so much more cultured than anyone else," I said.

"Oui. I try to focus on the positive instead of the negative," she said.

We spent a few minutes making out in Adeline's potting room, then I got back to my job. My team was preparing to unpack and install the modular nuclear reactor sent from Earth. It wasn't intended for daily use. The idea was to have it on standby if we ever experienced a dust storm that reduced the output of our solar array.

The reactor was powerful enough to provide juice for the entire settlement. We were anxious to hook it up so we could turn it on if there was an emergency. The weather on Mars is pretty predictable - clear and cold day after day - but we hadn't developed the capability to predict big dust storms. That came later.

It would be a relief when we hooked up the nuke and knew the weather couldn't seriously impair our ability to function. If we had to start rationing power, one of the first things we'd cut was the lights in Adeline's greenhouse. Nobody wanted to watch all that delicious food die on the vine.

My team shared a meal as we talked about the tasks we'd have to complete to install the nuke. Afterward, I went to Adeline's quarters, where I expected to spend the night.

"You need to visit Elke," Adeline said.

"Really? That was quick," I said.

"Elke doesn't procrastinate," Adeline said. "She'd like to see you immediately. And by 'see,' I mean she'd like to have sex. Chop chop."

Wow. That got real in a hurry.

"I will miss you tonight," I said.

"Merde. Liar. You'll miss nothing," Adeline said. "You will have a wonderful time and won't think of me at all. Your cock will do all the thinking tonight."

I sat beside her on the bed. "You are being too flippant," I said.

Adeline put her arms around my shoulder. "Mike, don't overthink this. It will be good for all of us. When I told Elke that you agreed to be her substitute boyfriend, she was so happy it made her cry."

"Really? You made Elke cry? That's hard to imagine," I said.

"It's easy to imagine when you know how lonely she is. How passionate she is," Adeline said. "You will see how much she needs you, Mike. It will take just a little while for you to see that this is a good thing for all of us."

I felt very weird as I walked to Elke's quarters. It was awkward to imagine I was reporting for a kind of duty I never expected to perform. But that's exactly what was happening. I knocked on her door, and Elke was smiling when she opened it.

"Mike! It's wonderful to see you! Please, come in!" Elke said. I noticed that she closed the door and locked it. I'd never been alone with Elke in a room with a closed door. It felt very strange and new.

"Do you feel nervous, Mike?" she asked.

"That's affirmative," I said.

"I feel nervous. A lot," Elke said. "I can't express how grateful I am to you and Adeline. It's more important to me than you can know."

"I respect Adeline's judgment," I said. "I'm sure you know we have a very committed relationship. The fact that she suggested this makes me think it's a good idea."

"I appreciate it, Mike. I appreciate you both," Elke said.

That was the moment that I realized I was seeing something I'd never observed in Elke. Uncertainty. Vulnerability. Embarrassment. Nerves. In all my previous encounters with Elke, she'd acted like a woman with a steel backbone. Suddenly, that was gone. It made me realize what needed to happen next.

Elke didn't just need sex. She needed to be with a confident, assured man able to take charge of this awkward situation. She needed me to be assertive. At that moment, I experienced a feeling of empathy that told me exactly what I had to do.

"Let's get something straight, Elke," I said, putting one arm around her shoulder. "This is not some big sacrifice for me. I've always been attracted to you. Always. I think I hide it pretty well because I am so committed to Adeline, and I don't want to act like a jerk.

"You can't know how flattered I was when you decided to let me into your life. You can't know how much you've always appealed to me. I feel like the luckiest man on Earth or Mars."

That's when I pulled Elke to me and kissed her.

It took a few seconds, but I remember feeling Elke gradually relax and lean into our kiss. It was as though the tension in that steel backbone slowly eased. I was no longer with my commanding officer. I was with a woman. A sexy woman. A sexy woman who responded to my touch.

I put one hand on the back of her head, ran my fingers through her hair, and kissed her without uncertainty or hesitation. I didn't let myself do anything that betrayed any of my nervousness about the possible complications that might arise. I kissed her in the most emphatic way I could. She responded exactly as I'd hoped, wrapping her arms around me and letting my tongue make our kiss more passionate.

This needs to happen quickly,

I thought to myself.

We shouldn't waste time wondering if this is a good idea.

I began running my hands over her body, starting with her back, and then moving to her sides. I caressed the sides of her breasts and was glad when Elke welcomed my touch.

I was gently squeezing one of her breasts when I noticed something unexpected. Elke was wearing a bra. I'm sure I've repeatedly mentioned that the women on Mars never wore bras because the reduced gravity made bras unnecessary. Why was Elke wearing one now?

It made no difference. I unzipped her uniform and pushed it off her shoulders. After I removed it completely, I realized why she was wearing an unnecessary item of clothing. It was for my benefit. Elke wore a matching bra and panty set made of beautiful black lace that looked enticing against her pale white skin.

The items were just for decoration. She'd worn them to make herself more attractive to me, and I felt flattered. It was the first time I'd seen fancy lingerie since leaving Earth, and it had the same effect lingerie always has on men.

"You look beautiful,"

I whispered.

"Lie down. Let me see you."

I eased Elke back and gazed at her magnificent form. I'm sure I will remember that sight on my deathbed. Elke's long, lean body had just enough muscle to make her look like some kind of Viking warrior princess. Her large, lace-covered breasts seemed to invite my touch.

Elke had thick hair that was so blond it was almost white. On Earth, Elke was scrupulous about removing every trace of hair below her neck. But that wasn't easy on Mars. Water was rationed and there were no waxing salons. While she was on Mars, Elke's armpits were covered with dense tufts of hair that matched her head. A lush patch covered her pubes, overflowing the sides of the tiny thong she'd worn for me.

I don't particularly like hairy women, but this was Mars, and we all had to deal with the fact that things were different here. I came to appreciate Elke's natural beauty. All that thick blond hair gave her an earthy sexuality that was surprisingly appealing. I later discovered that most of the women on Mars let their body hair grow for the same reason most of us men grew beards. It was just easier at a time when showers were scarce.

I wanted to touch and kiss her everywhere, so I started with her face and then moved to her neck, breasts, and belly. Elke began moaning in arousal as my hands and lips explored her legs and the delicate flesh of her inner thighs. I began kissing her there, catching a whiff of a strong feminine fragrance that let me know I would like the way she tasted.

"Let's take this off," I said. I eased the tiny thong down her long legs, then unclasped her bra and uncovered her breasts.

She blushed. I'd come to know Elke as a take-charge commander who was always in control of every situation. Seeing her blush as I explored her body with my eyes and hands revealed a side of her that I'd never seen before.

"Take off your clothes, Mike,"

she said softly. I quickly removed my uniform, then stripped off my boxers. It was time to lie next to Elke. When I did, I took her hand and placed it on my cock.

I was hard as granite. She squeezed it, then began pumping me up and down. I remember thinking it felt so good that I needed to stop her. This was our first night together, and I wanted to make sure I stayed hard long enough to satisfy all the urges Elke had suppressed for so long.

By now the room smelled like sex. It was so overpowering that my mouth began to water as I felt the urge to eat her pussy. Although I imagined Elke would enjoy that almost as much as me, I had a feeling that she wanted something else more. Surely, what she wanted most at that moment was a man on top of her. A man inside her. She wanted a man to make her feel like a woman, and it was my job to be that man.

I gently spread Elke's legs and rested my hand on top of the thick tuft of blond hair that covered her pussy. As slowly as I could, I moved my hand lower until I felt how warm and wet she was down there. She gasped when I slipped one finger inside her slit, then gasped again when I touched her clit for the briefest moment possible.

I wasn't surprised Elke was so wet that my finger was immediately coated with the juice from her pussy. I tend to avoid touching a woman's clit too much during foreplay. I get the feeling that they like it more if I touch them everywhere else, saving the clit for last.

Elke started panting when she felt me push one finger inside her vagina. I moved it in and out, like a little cock. I added a second finger and began rubbing her G-spot. When I did that, Elke began jacking me off rapidly, and I knew I had to stop her from making me climax too early.

It was time to give her clit a nice, deep massage.

"Oh!!!"

she said when I touched her sensitive little button. She went stiff as I woke up the part of her body that had been neglected for too long. After a while I was ready to give her more, so I got between her legs and lined up the head of my cock with the entrance to her vagina.

I gave Elke a passionate kiss at the same moment I shoved the tip inside her. There was barely an inch of my cock in her pussy, but it was enough to give her an orgasm.

"Ahhhh! Ahhhh!! Ahhhh!!!"

she cried. It felt as though every muscle in her strong, beautiful body clenched, relaxed, then clenched again.

It wasn't surprising that Elke climaxed so soon. Why wouldn't she? She was a sexy, passionate woman who'd had a rich, varied sex life right up until the day she left Earth behind. Her inner strength, dedication, and discipline made it possible for her to endure months of celibacy and so many other types of deprivation. But that wasn't the life she wanted. She'd been so starved of so many things for so long that I was determined to give her the best possible experience on the first night she had sex on Mars.

I gave her a few seconds to recover, then began moving my hips. I pushed my cock deeper by tiny increments, hoping I could make her impatient as she waited for more. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think women have more satisfying orgasms if they have to wait to get them. I think most women like to be teased. We were about to discover if Elke was that kind of woman.