This is the third installment of the series "Where Few Men have Gone Before". This chapter, as the others, is not intended to stand alone so you should probably start with the first chapter. Besides which, there is some hot sex in the earlier chapters :-)
Sorry for the long wait on this installment. I've been busy with tax-time etc. but now I'm "sheltering in place" so, here we go.
At the end of the last chapter, Rick, our protagonist, is abducted by two men who throw him into a van that speeds away.
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I had never seen these guys before. They were human. They were not trying to conceal their identities.
I shouted as they pushed me onto a bench-seat that ran the length of the van as the driverless vehicle sped off. The guy on my left put his hand over my mouth and I bit it a hard as I could.
"Shit! He bit me!" The guy yelled.
I was still struggling when I heard "STOP! Take your hands off him."
My abductors quickly let go. I looked at where the voice came from. Sitting on a bench-seat on the other side of the van was a Selurian wearing a standard jumpsuit.
"Andi, what the hell is going on?" exclaimed.
"I'm not Andi."
That brought me up short. I looked more closely and I could see the hair color and skin tone were a bit darker and the face was a bit thinner.
"My name is Karn."
"What the hell? What is this about? Why the strong-arm tactics?"
"I needed to get your attention. I know Andi has been recruiting you and she has gotten pretty deep into your head, Connie's too. It's not hard to fall for her and lose perspective, fall under her spell, so to speak. I have a pretty good idea of what she has told you but I have to make sure you understand how important secrecy is and that you have understood what you are being offered. You won't be harmed."
At that point the van came to a stop outside a warehouse. My two abductors opened the door and hopped out heading to a door into the warehouse, holding it open.
I heard Karn in my head
'Please, let's go inside where we can talk more privately'
I reluctantly exited the van and looked around the immediate area. There was no fence, just a parking lot. Based on the short drive, we must still be relatively close to the park. I could run but figured I really wanted to know what was going on. I went through the open door into the warehouse with Karn behind me. Inside it looked like a reception area, and beyond, a glass door to an office. Karn turned to watch the outside door close. The two guys stayed outside, guarding the door, I assumed. Whether it was to keep others out or me in, I didn't know.
'Please follow me.'
We went into the office. I followed and looked around the room. Typical office; a desk and a credenza behind the desk, a couple of chairs facing the desk, and a couch to the right side. A second door at the far left side of the room was closed and looked to be metal.
Karn moved over to the couch and sat at the far end motioning for me to sit on the couch. I sat at the far end, at an angle so we could more easily look at each other.
I looked closely from head to toe for the first time expecting to see a woman. The similarity to Andi was there but there was something different. It wasn't appearance so much as something else. I had seen Andi in a jumpsuit before so it wasn't that. I stared a while longer trying to figure it out.
'It is my aura. I project myself as neither man nor woman, ambisexual, if you will. Andi, largely for the purposes of her recruitment, projects herself as female. You might be surprised at how attuned we become to perceiving others how they want to be perceived, even for non-empaths. Some of it is physical clues but much is in how the other looks at themselves. On our planet, male and female has no real meaning except at the level of the natural fauna. I project a neutral or genderless aura as do most of us. It is our normal state. When there is a reason to project a gender, we can, at will, and not just the male/female binary choices.'
I had no response. I needed to think about this.
'Forgive my tactics earlier. Like I said, you will not be harmed but my people need some assurances.'
"Please, can we just talk? I find it easier to organize my thoughts when I speak."
"Of course, although, if you do travel to Seluria, you will need to get used to communicating via telepathy. Most there prefer it."
"So what Andi proposed is true; Connie and I are being given the choice to go to your planet?"
"Provided your training goes as she expects, yes."
"And your government will fully support us there?"
"Yes, provided you agree to undergo genetic transformation and you agree to try to have children, many children."
"So, you want me to keep Connie poppin' 'em out?"
"Not just Connie, you as well. After your genetic transformation you will have a uterus and be able to carry babies."
I just stared. My mouth was probably hanging open because Karn had a bit of a grin. I didn't like it.
"You're enjoying shocking me, aren't you?"
"A bit." the grin still there.
"Well, you're going to have to work on your sales pitch. Andi was doing a much better job."
"I'm not trying to sell you anything. If you aren't interested, say so and we'll forget the whole thing. Or, more specifically, you will."
"What? Are you going to wipe my memory or something?" this was getting really weird.
"You and Connie will remember your interludes with Andi but nothing about the offer that has been made. Andi will move on to other prospects. You'll never see her again."
"But before that, I will give you a virtual tour of our planet and society and answer any questions you have about what you experience. Andi has told you that sex between Selurians is much more intense that what you have experienced with her, correct?"
I nodded my head.
"We will make some temporary enhancements to your senses including giving you much enhanced empathy. This is only temporary. Afterwards you will still have to go through the training with Andi to achieve permanent empathic and telepathic abilities. Actually, what will happen is much like the time Andi projected to you the feeling of being penetrated in a vagina you don't have. It will take several of us working together to simulate the experience."
"You will also be able to experience our planet and society. You will see what it looks like, be able to communicate with other Selurians, ask them questions. This will be accomplished by myself and two others, essentially channeling our planet to you. It is very difficult to maintain for an extended time but we will be able to give you experiences that will seem like you were there for a couple of days. In actuality, it will be no more than a couple of hours."