Offspring

I had not seen Feng since we had watched the masturbation movie. It was time we had a talk.

I rang him first thing in the morning and asked if he would like to have breakfast with me at my hotel. He said he would love to. I suggested we should have breakfast in my room, it would be more private. He liked that idea.

Over breakfast I told him of the events over the last three days. When I told him about Mara, her life and her difficulties he stared at me open mouthed.

"Fuck me dead Frank. You've hit the fucking jackpot!" Feng normally does not use language like that. It surprised me.

"Yes," I admitted, "she is quite a woman."

"Will you get your head out of your cock for a fucking minute, that's not what I'm talking about."

By now I was totally confused.

"Look," he said, "you've told me about that academy of theirs. Senior lecturers, graduates, research labs, the whole shooting match. Let's say there is a total human population of about a hundred thousand on the mainland. How many institutions of that calibre do you reckon they have?"

"Not many, I admit."

"Crap. They wouldn't have enough top class talent for more than one. Where you've been that's it! It's the top of the tree."

"Possibly, but where does that get us?"

"You're still not thinking. Remember that gunk the Oktonian ladies put on their cunts to send us off? If it's a manufactured compound, as I suspect, and not the sap of some exotic plant, that's where it comes from. And your lady, being in charge of the most sophisticated pharmaceutical lab on the planet, is making the shit."

"That fits. Mara's sex drive is way out of control. If, as you say, she is making the drug the Oktonians use on us this comes as no surprise. She needs these wild masturbation sessions just to maintain equilibrium. You know what the stuff does to us if we only get to smell it briefly."

I had the feeling we were missing something of importance. I said so. Then it hit me.

"They know, Feng," I said. "They know all about Mara and her wanking sessions."

"What makes you say that?"

"Mara lives in a well ordered society. They must have law enforcement agencies who keep the lid on criminal and anti social behaviour. We know they administer corporal punishment and send undesirables to the mines. One thing they monitor with fervour is the sexual behaviour of their citizens. There is no way Mara could have carried on with her sexual escapades for so long without them finding out about it. They would also know the effect the manufacturing of the drug has on Mara's sex drive. They are turning a blind eye."

"Why would they do this?" Feng didn't get it.

"Because they have no choice. If they act on it they will either have to send her to the mines or control her sexual urges in some other way, with floggings or around the clock supervision for instance. In either case she is lost to them. To deprive her of her safety valve would send her insane in a very short time. With her gone they'd have the same problem with whoever is making the stuff from then on.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they deliberately made her barren. She couldn't function in a marriage with her sex drive so much out of whack without making waves. They'd be forced to act. By making her a sexual outcast the side effects of the drug making can be kept quiet. It's a rather neat solution from their point of view."

"That's very interesting. Why do you think it's so important?"

"Look at the scenario. Here we have a fairly enlightened society with one exception. The draconian regulation of people's sex life, which is vigorously enforced. In one case they have to make an exception, for practical reasons. They'd want to keep that very quiet. I bet only very few people right at the helm of their society know about it. To keep their secret they have to make her off limits to any policing authority in case some ambitious jerk wants to make a name for himself by exposing her. They would not be allowed to go anywhere near her. As long as she is discrete she can do anything she wants when she is on her own. I wonder if she knows that."

"You are assuming the drug can be manufactured by a single person in the quantities they need," said Feng. "I consider that extremely unlikely. If more people are involved they would have to make the same kind of exception for them too."

"Not if they are using Oktonians as lab technicians. The drug doesn't affect them. With some automation in the manufacturing process you could perhaps run the show with Mara and some of the smarter Oktonians."

"That would mean a separate facility with access for only a handful of people. They wouldn't want this sort of shit going on in the main research lab. You have to level with her. Mara doesn't know that time travel is connected to the drug she makes. With her brain and the facilities she commands who knows what she can come up with once she is aware of that aspect. It's a big opportunity for her as well as us. You simply must tell her everything."

"That's a very dangerous thing to do. What if she informs on us? We'll be finished then. No, it's way too early for that."

"Bullshit. I bet she is the best they have in her field. In spite of that they treat her like shit. They won't even let her masturbate. Do you seriously think she is loyal to a bunch of people who would send her to a forced labour camp for life if it became known what you two have been up to? She wants to get away from there and you are her only chance."

"No, Feng. When it comes to where her loyalties lie I don't think it's as cut and dried as you make out. From my observations, and from the little she said, she seems to live in a fairly decent society, except for that sex thing. These people do not live under an oppressive totalitarian regime. There is no fear in their faces, nor are there masters standing over them with guns or whips. The draconian rules on sex appear to be quite out of character. There must be a reason for it. I need to find out what that is.

"She knows little about me. For the time being she trusts me as far as sex is concerned, she might even leave the planet with me, if I had the means. But that is as far as it goes. To help me develop a drug that would potentially allow a foreign invader to take over her home world would be an entirely different matter. She would not be part of that. We need to develop a plan that not only benefits us, but also her world. I have to convince her that we mean to help her people and the Oktonians. Then, and only then will she become our ally. This might include finding a way to deal with whatever floats around in those space ships above."

"So what do you intend to do next?"

"We have to find out the actual situation on Okton4. So far we've been guessing. By the look of it we've come pretty close, but we need to know more. The most important thing is to find out the role of the humans and the nature of their relationship with what we assume are their masters in the ships. For that I have to get to know her better. Ideally I need to get her away and for myself for a couple of days or so. These one hour fucking sessions aren't conducive to get into anything meaningful and even an afternoon isn't enough. I'll just have to play it by ear and be patient."

We left it at that.