Chapter 4

“Something odd happened to me, out in the wilds of Sutherland, and it resulted in you, Phyllis and me suddenly bonding as a family; as soulmates, spouses, call it what you will. It hit all three of us, and I thought that was it concluded, but it appears it can effect others like Linda. Possibly she was emotionally ready for us; I don’t know, but she is exhibiting the same bonding behaviour that we started with yesterday. God, was it only yesterday?”

“Yes, dear, It was yesterday. Life can change so rapidly, as Linda found to her cost. Poor girl: she needs us in her life.”

Jenny did not seem to view her own sudden change in outlook as anything other than welcome, but she hadn’t experienced an alien lifeform inside her head, discussing life, the universe and everything. I had that to recall and it put everything else into perspective. I had effectively been manipulated, albeit with good intentions. The girls had been also manipulated into regarding themselves as my mates for life, and for some reason Linda now seemed to have that same change of viewpoint.

The alien mind saw it as a reward, if you could call it that, for allowing the alien to collect data about my world from my brain. However, I was now unsure of the detailed intent behind that reward. Where did it end? At first I saw it as purely me and the two girls, but now Linda seems to have been added to the mix, and I have no idea if it stops there.

“Enjoy your mates” I now saw as a rather vague injunction to me. The ‘enjoy’ part was clear enough, but what exactly was mean by the words ‘mates’? As a plural it might be indeterminate, or it might be construed as those women/girls who fitted into my family unit. That would exclude most women in the world, but it remained an open-ended suggestion, leaving me with no means of determining what constituted a mate for me. I was not in control of my life from this point, and it appeared unlikely that I would meet the alien again. I was left to fend for myself.

Despite an enjoyable night with Jenny, I was left unsure of myself, and next morning I asked my pair to take Linda out and buy whatever apparel was deemed appropriate for her, and also kit her out with other items that women needed to have to feel womanly. I took myself along to Thurso library, to sit and read for a while and let my mind settle a bit.

I wandered in and took a seat at an inviting table beside the reference section. Looking around, my eye was caught by the two dozen volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, an it occurred to me that I had never done anything more than dip into that wealth of learning. I went to the shelves and pulled out the first volume, carried the hefty tome to the table, and started reading the first article. I was fascinated by what I found in these pages, and quickly found myself skimming through page after page, unknowingly speed reading at a prodigious pace.

I was so intent on my reading that it was not until there was a tap on my shoulder that I tore my gaze away. It was one of the library assistants, worried about me.

“Sir, what are you doing there? You seem to be flipping over pages faster than you could possibly read. Do you have a reading difficulty called hyperlexia?”

I blinked at her words and exclaimed, “Hyperlexia? What’s that?”

“An ability to read at a very fast speed. It is sometimes associated with autism.”

I shrugged. “As far as I am aware, I have never experienced either. In fact, I could never do this before. It just came to me while I was having fun with Britannica.”

“As long as you are all right, sir. We were concerned for you; that is all. You are quite welcome to read as much as you want. That is what the library is here for, after all.” She smiled to reassure me.

“Fine. Just leave me to it, but give me a nudge if you are near closing time. In fact, I may forget it is lunchtime, so give me a nudge if it is time I went and got some food.”

I was left alone after that, and within an hour I had completed scanning volume one. Rather than starting volume two, I got up, returned the volume to the shelves, and went home, carefully thanking the library assistants for their polite concern for me. It was only as I walked home that it struck me how outlandish my behaviour had been; and then at last, how astonishing it was that I could actually scan pages that fast!

Up until today, I could never do such a thing. It was not within my power or capabilities, and I normally would have never envisaged doing what I had just done. However by the same token it was not within my power to get three women to fall for me in less than one day!

My mind went back to the chat with the alien mind. Just as I misinterpreted its reference to ‘mates’, perhaps I had also misunderstood what it took from my invitation to collect data about Earth from my brain. I had assumed I was talking about what information I had at the time of our discussion, but perhaps it had pushed this idea to whatever my brain absorbed? Today I had been able to absorb massive amounts of data from Britannica. Did the alien install some app in my brain that encouraged and enabled me to collect more data than I originally knew?

Frightening as that concept was, it also suggested that it intended to collect more data from me later. How would it go about doing that? How could it do that? Was it still around, despite not being visible? It surely cannot be invisible, but must be using its camouflage abilities again; or that may be its intention when it wants more from my brain.

At a guess, it will wait until I have amassed more knowledge to the extent that it is worth coming back to me.

On the same consideration, it has to have the ability to locate me among al the other humans on the planet. That suggest that the link between it and my brain was not totally severed when it departed. On the basis that there is no ongoing linkage, it must have the capacity to find me at some future time and restore the linkage at that point. That was probably possible by the technique of sending a signal whereby my brain will respond, allowing the linkage to be set up again. This means that mental connections are possible in a similar way to electrical and radio connections. Weird thought, but if it is familiar with nanotechnology, perhaps it uses quantum mechanics in the form of two identical particles that remain linked no matter how far apart they are physically. That would in theory work, if it held one particle and the other was held in my brain.

My brain was becoming dazzled by such complicated thinking, so I gave up on it for now. Arriving home, the girls were still out, so I made myself a snack lunch and a cup of fresh tea. I was halfway through my meal when I heard female voices outside, and then they clattered in, carrying bags and boxes. Shopping!

“Hi, girls. Have fun in town?”

Linda came up and kissed me. “Great fun, Bob. Your wives forced me into all kinds of clothes at the Highland Hospice shop, and we found plenty in my size. Great! And the prices were quite good, I thought.”

“Glad to hear it, Linda. Have you three had lunch yet?”

Phyllis explained, “We popped into that cafe on the main street, and had coffees and cakes; several cakes. Linda has never had so many cakes on display at one sitting, so we indulged her. She can work it off tonight, I told her.”

“So my credit card took a hit?” I asked with a smile.

“Yes, a bit, but the clothes were the greater part of the amount we spent. Did we do wrong, my love?”

I shrugged, “No, my bank balance can cope, I think. I made myself toasted cheese on toast, with some Worcester sauce among the Red Leicester cheese; lovely taste. There’s a little bit left, if you want to try it.”

Phyllis helped herself, and agreed, saying, “Any chance of doing some more? I fancy it.”

“I can manage that. What about Jenny and Linda? You girls want a bit for yourselves? By a bit, I mean toasted cheese, not sex!”

Jenny replied jokingly “I am up for a bit of both, if you are in the mood.”

“Not at this time, Jenny dear; too busy. Food comes first, every time.”

Linda came over to me. “Thank you so much for paying for all these clothes and things, Bob. I am grateful now, and I can be grateful later.”

“Linda, it was my card, but it all came from this family. If you want to be part of this family, you will also be included in the financial side of our life. That is not a promise; merely a statement of facts. Nor is it a condition; there are no conditions for joining this family other than love.”

“Love? But I don’t...” she tailed off and whispered to herself, “Dammit, I do ... how did that happen?”

She whirled to stare at Phyllis and Jenny.

“Jenny? What is happening to me?”

Jenny smiled serenely back. “Surprised? We were surprised when it happened to us, but what is there to worry about? Loving that wonderful man of ours? What’s not to like? Think about it, Linda. He is in love with us just as much as we are in love with him. Doesn’t see us as anything other than perfect spouses. Look at him and you will see for yourself.”

Linda slowly swivelled back to stare at me in bewilderment.

“Is this so, Bob? You suddenly found yourself in love with them, and they with you?

I grinned at her and nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what happened a couple of days ago: we met and fell in love shortly afterwards. Amazing, isn’t it?”

“But why? ... I mean, that should be impossible, only happens in romantic stories sort of thing. It seems to be happening to me as well, so maybe it is some infection affecting us.”

Phyllis chipped in, “Is it a problem for you, Linda? Instead of being alone and frightened, you have the warm arms of Bob and us to welcome you, a family to be part of, and love all round. Now tell me that is not what you wanted to happen all your life.”

Linda was startled as she thought his over and found it was true.

“Well, yes, it is truly great; what every girl dreams of, but not so quickly and so all-encompassing.”

Phyllis urged, “So it is all about speed: love at first sight is a shock to you, so you have to query its cause? Name me one downside about it, dear. I’d be delighted to know what it is.”

“Uhh ... No, I don’t know of any downside; it is just the shock of it happening to me.”

“It happened to us three a couple of days ago, and we haven’t found any way of complaining about the experience. We were all shocked, but shocked in a nice way, like winning the lottery would be a shock, but nice. Think about it like that, and you’ll be happy, Linda.”

“That’s it, I do feel happy about it, but I have had so many recent disasters in my life that this sudden turnaround knocked me for six. You ladies are really happy about this, aren’t you?”

Phyllis confessed, “I got Bob in bed the other night, and had a wonderful experience of sex, better than I had in my life before. Then last night Jenny lost her virginity to Bob, and that went very well for her, she tells me. It is not just Bob that has benefitted from having the two of us fall for him. He fell for us too, and that led to great sex. Something to look forward to, Linda, if you stay with us.”

I listened to this conversation with amazement, for it encapsulated what the alien machine/entity had achieved: bonded us more closely than any normal marriage. My two girls were fully committed to our future together, and were hoping, expecting, that Linda would be part of it. I found that my heart was equally committed, both to them and now to Linda, I realised. Linda was going to be part of us, despite her misgivings at first. I knew that she would feel welcome, would be made welcome, and would blossom inside this welcoming fold of love.

Linda looked thoughtful, and a trifle excited, when she said, “I am willing to go ahead on that understanding. I want love to be behind everything from now on. Are you willing to commit to loving me, Bob? And not just for a short time either.”

I gladly gave her what she asked. “Linda, if you want our love, and you can give your love, then I and we will promise our undying commitment to loving you. Right, ladies?”

Phyllis and Jenny rushed to hug Linda and promise that she would get the loving kindness she needed and wanted. There were tears all round with the girls after that, and I even shed a tear or two myself, despite intending not to. When she was released, Linda came to hug me as well, and offer her lips for a kiss. I gave her that kiss, slow but tender, and she responded with even more alacrity, crushing herself to me.

“Oh, Bob! Can you be mine for ever?”

“I’ll do my best to do that, Linda. I’ll be yours, and Jenny’s and Phyllis’s man for ever. You know it is all of us, together?”

“I know, Bob, and I don’t have any difficulty with that. Phyllis and Jenny are like real sisters, the sisters I never had, and we will be true wives to you, and even give you children if that proves possible. I am still a virgin like Jenny ... like Jenny was, just so you know. She told me you were wonderful last night, making her your wife in reality, in every way.”

“Thank you, Linda. We can’t have an official marriage, due to the laws of this country, but we can still be married in practical terms.”

Her face lit up. “Married? As in staying with you permanently, like you talked about?”

“Always, if you don’t mind sharing me with Phyllis and Jenny.”

“Oh, they’re lovely. I don’t mind sharing with them.”

“Then consider it settled. You can start your wifely bed duties at a time to suit you. I am in no rush to deflower you, Linda; it is all up to what you want and when you want it.”

“But I have to fit in with Phyllis and Jenny?”

“That would be best, but if you want to bed me alongside one of them, that is also fine with me. Everything is your choice.”

“Oh, my God! I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’ll need to discuss it with them, for I know nothing about such complications. Please kiss me first, so I’ll know what I am looking forward to.”

I obliged, and she sank into my arms while pressing her lips to mine. Her body language said she was all in, that she was part of us now. I reciprocated, running my hands up and down her back,

I fed the girls my concoction labelled cheese on toast, and they devoured it with considerable relish for the taste. Afterwards, I explained my desire to do some more ‘research’ at the local library, leaving out what was involved, and they decided to tidy up the house and do some cleaning where they felt that my standards were less acceptable than theirs.

I willingly agreed to let them do what they wanted, and took myself back to the library for its opening time. I resumed my perusal of Britannica and found I could still manage this speed reading technique, yet I could remember all I had read. I reckoned that providing this encyclopedia drop into my memory was worth the addition of the girls to my life, and it would be even better if I ended with the data remaining in my memory. Knowledge is power, to some extent, and I expected to possess a lot of knowledge at the end of it.

The library staff carefully ignored my antics this time, and apart from some gratuitous coughs from other users disturbed by my actions I was able to get through volume two much faster, and with more time available in the afternoon I managed to go through part of volume three as well.

On the same basis I worked my way through the other volumes of Britannica, taking a fortnight or so do get to the final page. I similarly introduced Linda to the joy of lovemaking within a few days of her arrival. I found the way to Linda changing her legal name as an individual through the deed poll route, and she changed her surname to Jenkins in the process. This would allow her to appear to be my wife in public, on the assumption that no-one would ask to see a marriage certificate.