Prologue

It is the year 2235. I am Steve Beck, first officer aboard the Penetrator, an exploratory starship of the Human Commonwealth spacefleet. It is a very different milieu from the Past Days of a couple of centuries ago. It has long since been established that the best way for a crew to function in long space voyages is in a culture of total nudity and constant sex (force fields are used for protection when needed). Biological adjustments have been made so males are permanently erect. Sex is a constant part of our lives, between men and women, women and women, and men and men. All interactions and conversations are accompanied by sexual acts.