The following is a follow-up to my story, "The Plant," and picks up about three and a half years after the end of that story. While you can read this as a standalone story, it may help to read that story first to understand the full context of what is happening here.
As always, constructive comments are always welcome and appreciated. Please see my profile for more on my policy regarding comments, feedback, etc.
As a final note, I would like to thank UltimateHomeBody, whose comment on "The Plant" gave me some food for thought.
Remember, this is a work of fiction and not a docu-drama. No plants were harmed in the writing of this story...
Our story begins with the ending of "The Plant."
...
"Okay," Theresa said, smiling as she brushed the leaf with her hand. "Thanks. But tell me, Margaret, what are those?" Margaret looked at the basket before answering.
"The future," she said. "A future without war, without poverty, hunger, disease or pestilence, a future without strife and division. That's a future worth working for, is it not?"
"Yeah, it is," Theresa said. Margaret nodded her head.
"Good. Now, get some sleep, dear," she said before leaving.
Theresa laid down and kissed the leaf on her forehead.
"I love you, Bernie," she whispered softly. The plant reached out and covered her body with several warm leaves. She smiled, then closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Margaret smiled as she left the apartment. After 200 years, the Gingravik invasion of Earth had just begun, and whether she knew it or not, that simple woman in her simple apartment would one day be hailed as the queen mother of a new race, a race made up of the best that two worlds have to offer.
...
Three and a half years later:
Margaret was pleased with the progress Theresa Hemmings had made with the plant she named Bernie. Since that day in her apartment, the young girl had become even closer to Bernie, and thanks to her tender loving care, the plant had thrived more than Margaret could have ever hoped.
The plant was much taller, fuller and more vibrant than any male Gingravik she had ever seen. Thanks to Theresa's care, his stalks had become thicker and more supple than normal and, when used together, could even hold the girl as his penis-like pustules copulated with her.
The pustules, twelve in all, had also grown and were now anywhere from eight to eleven inches when fully erect. The plant, whose real name was unpronounceable by humans, had even developed a strong central stalk upon which Theresa could hold as he coupled with her.
This, Margaret reasoned, was a good thing, as Theresa's mattress had to be replaced with something more rubberized, since the plant's dew had practically destroyed the old mattress, which was largely made of cotton. Much of her bedding had also been destroyed by the plant's dew. After much experimentation, Theresa found that silk sheets seemed to be the most resistant to Bernie's dew.
Additionally, the plant's leaves had grown larger and more adaptable, and coupled with the stronger stalks, could be used as a seat for the girl to use during their special time together. The plant had also learned how to stimulate her with his leaves as they coupled, and he often used the larger leaves to cover her at night.
Her days and nights were now spent either tending to Bernie's needs or copulating with the plant, reveling in what seemed like a near-constant state of orgasmic delight. She no longer had need for clothing in her apartment so she remained naked and the plant provided for all of her nutritional needs.
Margaret also noticed the two had been able to form a rudimentary mental link, allowing them to communicate simple ideas between each other. The Gingravik race usually communicated with each other using what humans might call telepathy, but this was the first time she knew of a Gingravik communicating with someone of a different species.
The plant had also probed and analyzed Theresa's physiology and realized that in time, the human female's body would age and deteriorate --far faster than his. This concerned the plant greatly. His race was fiercely monogamous and the idea of existing without her was sad, even abhorrent. The bond formed between Gingravik was so strong that it was not unusual for one to die shortly after his or her mate.
So he carefully adjusted his proteins and synthesized new ones to help keep the female nubile, strong and supple. As an added benefit, she would be free of the diseases that crippled so many of her fellow humans. Once he made his adjustments, the girl had not even had so much as a sniffle or a headache.
Since that day in her apartment more than three years ago, Theresa had also produced about 100 pods. Delivery had become much easier for her and it seemed that the more she produced, the more she wanted to produce. Of the 100 pods she produced, 80 of them had resulted in successful human replacements.
Theresa, of course, was oblivious to the true nature of the pods, but was so enraptured with Bernie that she simply saw them as the logical result of their mutual love. At some point, Margaret thought, she would educate Theresa, but that could wait.
While this was all good news, the Gingravik High Council had hoped for more. While they had patiently waited for someone like Theresa to come along, there was a limit to their patience. So far, they had waited 200 of Earth's years, but were anxious to see the replacement process expedited.
The Council expressed their concerns to Margaret and patiently listened to what the woman had to say.
"It is not as simple as you might understand," Margaret said, using the homebrew device she had modified to facilitate communication with the High Council, located many light years away. The device did not use a microphone and speaker combination as one might think, but rather modulated mental impressions, or thoughts, onto a frequency capable of breaking the light barrier. This allowed near-instantaneous communication between her and the Council.
Additionally, the device was equipped with special translation software to facilitate communication, since the humanoid brain was incapable of translating the Gingravik language, a rather complex combination of mental telepathy and gestures. Even Margaret's artificially-enhanced brain was not capable of processing their native language. Using the device, their messages sounded like English while hers sounded to the Council like native Gingravik.
"We have seen the moving images on the planet's network, Facilitator," the Councilor said. "We have seen many females consume their male partner's ejaculate. Are you telling us the human female does not feed on the male as we do?"
"No, Councilor," Margaret said. "For many reasons. First, there is nothing of any real nutritional value in the human male's emissions. Second, even if there was, it is not produced in sufficient quantity to provide the necessary nutrition. Third, a number of human females find the consumption of male semen distasteful."
"So you are saying that the human female does not get her nutritional requirements met from the male?" the Councilor asked. "This does not make sense. We have reviewed many of the writings on the planet's erotic sites and they indicate the males often produce copious amounts of ejaculate. Please explain."
"My research suggests that for the females who do consume the male ejaculate, it is simply part of the mating ritual," Margaret said. "Plus, the human male, on average, only produces about 1.25 to 5 of their milliliters of fluid -- a mere fraction of what our males produce. Unfortunately, most of what you see posted is often exaggerated for entertainment value."
"We will need to explore this further," the Councilor said. "The Council has made its decision. A female test volunteer is on her way to you now and should be there in a few rotations. Prepare her for contact with a male human and report back to us."
"As you wish, Councilor," Margaret said. "However, it is quite possible the female may not survive the encounter. And it is even more likely the human male will not survive."
"A necessary risk, Facilitator," the Councilor said. "You have done well so far and we know you will do everything in your power to protect her and if possible, the human male. You will not be held responsible if, as you suggest, the subjects do not survive the encounter."
"Marsook's will be done," Margaret said. "I eagerly await the female's arrival."
The connection ended, Margaret sat back and contemplated the ramifications of what the Council had said. Gingravik females were far more demanding and aggressive than the males. Not only did they take what they wanted, they would sometimes take even more than necessary, leaving their males drained almost to the point of death. She shuddered to think what a Gingravik female might do to a human male.
Worse yet, the monogamous nature of the Gingravik precluded the notion of the female later mating with a male of her own species. Once a Gingravik mated, it was for life.
She had a lot of preparation ahead of her, so she began. Making her way to the roof of the building where she lived and worked, she turned on the homing beacon and prepared the landing plate for the female's arrival.
She then began preparing the mixture she would need for the female's growth. Once she had the initial mixture prepared, she set it aside so it could properly cure.
The next task was even more difficult. She had to find a suitable male for the new arrival. She could recruit any one of the many homeless males who often occupied the sidewalk outside her shop during the night, she thought. Unfortunately, most of them were alcoholics or drug abusers and were certainly in no shape to survive the encounter. Plus, she didn't want any foreign substance like alcohol to interfere with the result of any mating. She had to look elsewhere. But where?
She put out her mental feelers for potential mates and waited patiently.
