The Symbiotic Travelers Ch 03

The symbiotic Travelers

La Nouvelle-Orléans

BADSAM

The two syngeneic aliens were not aware that the war was over. England had had enough. After the Battle of Yorktown in the American War for independence from Great Britain, so too did Yaphet and Zlatex. After discussing it between themselves, they decided to leave the Boston area and go somewhere where no one was fighting. They are going to help a fur trader get his goods down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

They purchased a mule and acquired a small four wheeled farm wagon. It was missing some planking on one of its sides and the seat bench was cracked. But since they were only going to use it once, they didn't worry about it. At first, James offered to buy the cart. But then the owner gave it to James after he helped him fix his fence.

They knew that they wouldn't have enough room on the flatboat, so they sold their furniture to their landlord. Then they loaded their clothing, some cooking utensils and their personal belongings into one trunk and SAM, the Simplified Automatic Mainframe computer processor in another locked chest. Next, they joined with a fur trader who was going overland from Boston to the Allegheny River, which flows into the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He was going down the Mississippi River to New Orleans on a flatboat with a load of beaver and racoon furs and deer skins to sell. The fur trader needed someone to help him get from Boston to the river and then help him navigate the river. After they loaded everything onto the flatbed, the two aliens dismantled the cart and used it for firewood. They gave the mule to a local farmer.

They made numerous stops along the way for supplies, whenever they piloted near the shore in the evenings and when the weather forced them to do so. Julia slept in a tent each evening, while James slept on the deck with the fur trader. It was the second time in their lives since reaching puberty that they didn't sleep naked together and have sex throughout the night - the first being when Zlatex got shot. When they got to the ports in Louisville, Memphis, Vicksburg and Natchez, James and Julia went ashore and spent the night in a boardinghouse. There they stripped off all their clothing and made passionate love all night long. Two months after beginning their adventurous journey, they were in New Orleans; it was December 18, 1781, Christmas was only a week away.

When they finished helping the fur trader unload his pelts and hides, they rented a room in a boardinghouse on Chartres Street, between the Ursuline Convent and the Place d' Armes, a military parade ground and the central square in the French Quarter. The two syngeneic aliens stripped off each other's clothes. Next, she knelt on the bed with her head on a pillow and he spanked her ass, as a form of foreplay, until her flesh was red and raw and she was crying profusely. Then while she remained on her knees, he entered her. After, they performed oral sex on each other. Finally, they coupled together and stayed that way until morning, both receiving numerous orgasms until the sun came up.

After celebrating Christmas and New Year's Day in

La Nouvelle-Orléans

, they decided travel to Cuba. Since they had been telling everyone that is where they were originally from, they thought it would be a good idea if they got to know something about the island. They used the money they got from the fur trader to purchase tickets to Santiago, Cuba. What they had left over, they hid inside SAM with the rest of their savings.

But their ship was not scheduled to leave the port of New Orleans until January 19th. They decided to set aside their worries and indulge in the music, food, and merriment in the city's unique atmosphere and carefree,

laissez-faire

outlook and high spirits in the face of challenges and hardships. Then they boarded their ship and went to Cuba.

But after living in Cuba for four years, they decided to go to Florida. They figured that they knew enough about the island and could now read, write and speak Spanish, so that they could answer any questions someone might have about where they said they came from. They sold the few pieces of furniture they had acquired, along with most of their pots and pans, to their landlord. Then they packed up their blankets and some clothes in the chest in which they kept SAM. The rest of their clothes, their personal items and the remainder of their kitchen utensils they placed in another trunk.

While living in Cuba, they debated between themselves whether or not to add Spanish to SAM. But it was SAM that helped them make the final decision. The computer processor informed each of them that the more information they gave to it then, the more it would be able to help them. So, while inputting information about what they learned about the Earth, its inhabitants, their mannerisms and their beliefs, they also "taught" SAM how to read, write and speak Spanish.

At first, they lived in Saint Augustine, Florida. They stayed there for six years and then moved to Pensacola after some residents questioned why they were not aging. They both still looked as though they were in their early twenties, not a married couple in their middle thirties.

While the two syngeneic beings lived in Saint Augustine, James got another job working as a bartender. It was easy work, and he didn't have to possess any special skills. But more importantly, no one questioned where he came from. Yaphet stayed home and took care of the two room house they rented; it had one large fireplace in the main room. They bought a couch, a bed, a table and chairs and a few more cooking utensils. That was the only thing they could afford at the time. They promised themselves that they would purchase more and better furniture when they saved enough money.

Together they planted a small garden of potatoes, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, cabbage and corn. They also raised a few chickens. They were both happy. They had a comfortable place to live, and no one was talking about war.

Then one evening two drunken patrons got in brawl. James was hit with a beer mug when he attempted to break up the clash. His left eye was blackened, and he had a small cut near his left cheek bone. But the next morning he was completely healed. There was no sign of him ever having been beaten. He was able to explain to everyone that ever since he was a boy his body recovered from injuries rather quickly. Everyone seemed to accept his explanation and both he and his counterpart thought that would be the end of it.

However, an elderly "medicine healer and soothsayer" claimed that Julia was a wicked witch. She said that Julia healed her husband with black magic. She also said that that was the reason the two of them never aged. Although the two extraterrestrials said that they were in their early thirties, they both looked like they were no older than someone in their early twenties. Further, their explanation to everyone that they lived in Cuba before coming to Florida was a lie. Neither of them had Spanish or French names. They were English names.

That was enough for the symbiotic equivalents. Zlatex and Yaphet knew what the American colonists did to witches. Neither of them wanted her to be burned at the stake. They didn't know if her body could recover from such a conflagration. They purchased another mule and a small four wheeled farmer's cart, loaded SAM and a few of their belongings and their chests onto it and rode out into the night, leaving behind most of their possessions.

In the middle of a furious afternoon thunderstorm on May 3, 1792, they settled in a deserted cottage they found situated between a small cove and a shallow creek north of Pensacola. Luckily, there was some kindling already in the fireplace. Yaphet lit a fire while Zlatex unloaded their two trunks. Then they both stripped down and, after hanging their wet clothes on a line near the hearth, they got in the bed and made passionate love until the following morning.

The hut was close to a wooden footbridge over the small stream; there was a one lane dirt road leading into the city. Their new home was far enough away from the town so that they wouldn't be bothered by noisy neighbors, and it was close enough that they wouldn't have too far to travel to purchase anything that they might need.

They soon learned that the previous owners of the house abandoned it about a year ago to live with the wife's mother somewhere in Georgia. Other than a few loose boards on the porch, the two room house was relatively stable. It had two fireplaces, a large centrally located one dividing the living and kitchen areas and a smaller one in the bedroom and the roof didn't leak. The furniture was solid, the bed was firm and there was plenty of firewood that could be easily gathered from the nearby forest. Most of all, the two alien beings like living there. It was away from everybody; they could live in privacy.

Zlatex did not want to be a bartender any longer. He had grown weary with putting up with drunks, barroom brawls and listening to the boring grievances and sad tirade of others. James got a job working in a butcher shop, after convincing the proprietor that he knew how to properly skin and prepare small mammals, piglets, chickens and other fowls. Every morning, he would climb onto their mule and trudge across the ramp-less footbridge to the butcher shop located on the edge of the metropolis.

His job was to pluck the feathers off the chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry that the owner bought from local farmers. First, he chopped the bird's head off; the owner sold the heads to local fishermen, who used them for bait in their crab nets and traps. Next, he dipped the animal in sizzling hot water, letting it sit there for several minutes. Then he would pull all the feathers off the bird, putting the plumage on a sheet in another room of the shop. As soon as the feathers dried, the miserly owner of the shop sold them to a man who used them for stuffing in the mattresses and pillows he sold.

After he finished cutting up these animals, James butchered any piglets that needed to be slaughtered. The proprietor of the shop reserved butchering cows, calves and hogs for himself. Until James got more experience, he didn't trust his hired help to do it. Although he wore an apron while working, James always came home stinking of blood.

But then his extraterrestrial consort would make him strip down and the two of them would bathe in the stone bottom creek that flowed behind the little cottage they lived in. Neither of them was overly worried about anyone seeing them bathing naked together. The adobelike hut where they resided was surrounded by tall grass and shrubbery and it was the only building in the area. The closest other dwelling was on the other side of the cove nearer Pensacola.

While James was at work, Yaphet washed his clothes and tended another garden of just potatoes, carrots, green beans and tomatoes. After feeding the few chickens they have, she went fishing in the cove. She would then walk to the butcher shop and sell what she caught to the owner. James would scrape off the scales and gut them. His penny-pinching boss sold the fish heads and guts to local fishermen.

The two symbiotic travelers continued to live this way for two years. Not unexpectedly, James eventually came to dislike his job. He told his symbiotic partner that he could still smell the blood from the animals he butchered, even though Yaphet said that she couldn't. But they didn't have much money and only a few articles of clothes, having left most of their belongings in Saint Augustine. So, they decided to stay just long enough to save some money, purchase some more clothing and stock up a few supplies. Then, Zlatex could look for work that wasn't so disheartening. They would also move into better lodgings.

On morning, just after Zlatex left for the butcher shop, Yaphet was bitten by a water moccasin. While she was quietly fishing, it just slithered by her, heading for the pond. She hit the pit viper with a stick, but it coiled up and bit her on her right forearm, leaving two fang marks on her skin. There was very little bleeding. However, within a few minutes the area surrounding the bite swelled. Within an hour, she had a slight fever.

At that point, she decided to consult SAM if either she or Zlatex were immune to snake bites. She wasn't worried about anyone hearing her talk to her personal mobile communicator, "a small black box," because she was all alone in the cottage. After asking the computer if she and Zlatex were also immune to poisonous snake bites, the processor confirmed that yes, they were probably both immune to disease and injury from venomous snake bites. Yaphet then figured she ought to ask Zlatex what he thought she should do.

She put on a shawl to cover her arms and walked to the butcher shop. Luckily, by the time she got there, both the swelling of her forearm, and her fever had abated. The only visible sign she had were two small puncture marks on her arm. James took a break from his work and the two aliens walked to a nearby park. While sitting on a bench, she told him what SAM had said. He examined her arm and advised her not to worry about it. He then asked her what happened to the snake. She informed him that it slid into the water and disappeared amongst the Lily pads floating on the water. He then went back to work and she went home.

By the time they were both ready for bed that evening, the bite marks had completely disappeared. After they made love, Zlatex "celebrated" Yaphet's invulnerability by performing cunnilingus on her. Next, she returned the favor and performed fellatio on him. Then they both went to sleep, cuddled up naked next to each other with Zlatex deep inside her.

Although the incident confirmed that they were both immune to sickness, injury and death, after this, they both decided to be more diligent when near the pond. The event was also a deciding factor in their desire to move to some place less hostile.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

It is Monday afternoon July 14, 1794, the syngeneic consorts have just arrived in Mobile. Zlatex is pulling their four wheeled farmer's cart through the city, while Yaphet pushes from behind. They arrived at a little village on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay late Sunday afternoon and decided to wait until morning to board the ferryboat in order to cross the cove. While crossing the waterway on the ferry, their mule became frightened and jumped overboard. The animal immediately began to swim away from the commuter boat but after a few moments, it sank into the murky waters.

Zlatex is cursing the animal, but Yaphet keeps telling him to be thankful that they unhitched the cart from it when they boarded the ferryboat. Had they not done so then, they would then have lost everything, their money, their supplies, their extra clothes and SAM.

The flatboat handler told them that they could get something to eat in a tavern and café in which they could also rent a room for the night. He told them that it was owned and managed by his sister and brother-in-law; he added that he frequently sleeps and eats there. What the commuter boat operator didn't tell them was that the bistro was on the western side of Mobile.

After trudging through the streets for nearly an hour, they located the eatery. James went inside and paid for three night's accommodation and asked if there was a livery stable nearby or somewhere where he could purchase a mule or horse. After helping Julia unload their wagon, he went to the stable and bought a horse. Next, he hitched the animal to their cart and returned to the barn. Then he paid the stable hand HH

to house the animal and the wagon for three days.

They had not planned on staying in Mobile for more than a few days, but while they were eating, Yaphet sang a song in order to cheer up Zlatex. When she finished, all the other patrons in the café clapped their hands and asked her to sing another song; one man bought those present another glass of ale. While she was singing several customers entered the tavern, each buying a glass of ale. The owner of the establishment offered Julia a job waiting on tables, and if she sang, he would pay her double.

At first, she declined until her male counterpart told her that they could use the money. He then asked the owner if he needed any help in the kitchen. The man also hired James to help his cook. While Julia waited on tables and sang, James learned how to cook; he also cleaned the tables after the guests finished eating and moped the floor when the place closed for the evening. It was easy work for both of them. They lived in Mobile for thirteen years. They finally left after the owner's nineteen year old son, believing Julia was the type of wife who would cheat on her husband, had made several amorous advances towards her.

They had already been talking about moving, as they both believed that they could no longer pass themselves off for a young married couple. The young man's attempts to get her to have sex with him just helped them make the decision.

It is Friday January 2, 1807. While they were loading their wagon with their belongings, Zlatex asks Yaphet, his female equivalent, where she thought they should go. Without any hesitation, she answered, "Let's go back to New Orleans. We didn't get to see much of the city the few days we were there the last time. I want to go back. Besides, I understand that it has a large population; large enough that we can move to different neighborhoods if someone questions us about our age."

"Ok, then that's where we will go," he answers her.

The two aliens from the planet Herth, more than four light years away, have been living on planet Earth for forty years. They have completely acclimated to life among the Earthlings. Neither considers themself to be a Herthian anymore; they are Earthlings now. Although they both miss their family and friends, they have moved on and accepted their new life.

According to SAM, they are now immune to disease and injury; they heal within a few hours. This was confirmed when Zlatex got shot in his chest; when his eye was blackened after getting hit with a beer mug; when Yaphet was bitten by a water moccasin and when she cut her finger one day while slicing carrots for their meal. In every instance, they were healed within a very short time.

However, the computer is unable to tell them how long they will live. Further, since they now do not have to be near to each other all the time, the computer is also unable to tell them if they will die together; the way life was on Herth. Nor is SAM able to give them any information on why they are now immune. It is only able to give them some probability figures based on the differences in the atmosphere of Earth, the sun's radiation and the food and water they consume when compared to that of Herth and its red burning star. Finally, the computer processor tells them that there is just a low probability that their hyper-sleep had any influence on the chemistry of their bodies that would affect their immune system. The scientists of Herth had performed numerous experiments on mice, guinea pigs, monkeys and chimpanzees and proved that hyper-sleep does not hurt anyone.

The only "problem" of Zlatex and Yaphet is that they don't age. They both still look like, feel like and have the health of someone who is only 23 years old; the age they were when they left the planet, Herth. It is a problem because they can no longer continue to tell everyone that they were married over 40 years ago while living in Cuba in 1766, the date they first landed on Earth.