Chapter 12

"Perfectly right, darling. Just as you did with me, only I was too drunk to feel the pain. Penny gets the whole shebang, lucky girl."

"You wanted this to happen, the pair of you?"

"Yes, dear", said Gloria; "Yes, dear," said Penny. Gloria added, "I made sure Penny got protection, as she is not ready for a baby, so you can give her the works, John."

"You really want this, Penny? Sex with this old man?"

Gloria was incensed. "Old man? You are younger than my mother, John, and she is still having your babies!"

Penny said from above him, "You don 't FEEL like an old man, John. Can you start pushing up, please?"

Hasan was having similar problems at home. When they got undressed for bed, Tracy insisted they all went commando, and she put Hasan in the middle. The bed was not wide enough for three to sleep apart, so they were pushed together, and Roxanne took the opportunity to rub herself against Hasan.

He became aware of this intrusion, and turned to put his arm round Tracy. However, she turned to face him, and told him to turn over, so she could cuddle him from behind. When he did so, he was facing Roxanne, and she kissed his face, pushing up against his front. Hasan became very aware of Roxane's breasts against him, and his body sprouted a hard penis. Tracy's arm went down his body and grasped his penis, pointing it out towards Roxanne, using her body to push his lower half towards the girl.

Roxanne now lifted a leg over him, opening her crotch to his stiff member. He whined, "Tracy?", but she whispered, "Go ahead, my love. She needs you."

So Hasan entered Roxanne, and John entered Penny, at approximately the same time. Neither man was unhappy, but both felt they had been pushed into this coupling, as part of some manoeuvring by his wife.

Penny and Roxanne both were delighted with their night's efforts, and in the morning the wives were thanked vociferously by the girls.

Penny saw it as another step in her aim of becoming a wife to John, and Roxanne saw it as a major step towards her heart's desire of a life with Hasan. As yet, she was not thinking of marriage, being unaware of the marriage laws of New Eden. She thought of herself as a concubine to Hasan, as the Christian Tracy would not favour the Muslim style of up to four wives, she was sure, having worked for Tracy for several years.

So she thanked Tracy for her night's tryst with Hasan, saying to her "I hope that Madam will be good to me again in the future."

"Roxanne, I told Hasan we would need to get another bed. I did not actually mean a bed for you; I meant a bed for US!"

Roxanne was flabbergasted. Her mistress was proposing allowing Roxanne to sleep with them regularly? Such a thought had never been contemplated by the girl. She was even more surprised by Tracy's next question.

"Roxanne, am I correct in assuming that you have a desire for Hasan, as a lover?"

"Madam, if I have done wrong, I apologise profusely; I abase myself."

"No, you have it wrong, Roxanne. It is not an accusation; it is a request for confirmation only. I have no bad feelings towards you."

"Madam, I am confused. I am a mere child compared to you, and I do not have your learning. I harbour nothing but high regard for both of you, and if Hasan wishes to make use of my unworthy body in future, I will not refuse him, ever!"

"I thought that might be the case. Allow me to inform you of what I have discovered of the marriage laws here. It seems that anyone may marry anyone, as long as they are not closely related between the sexes. All that is required is for existing spouses to grant their approval of the adding of a new spouse.

"Accordingly, I see you as a second spouse to Hasan, if we can persuade him to love you as he loves me. Do you think we could achieve that goal?"

"Madam Tracy, I will do anything that is possible for such a prize. You really think I might become a second wife to Hasan? Me, a mere nanny, from a lowly family background?"

"This colony, Roxanne, has NO class or social barriers. You are what you can do, not where you come from or who your family is. If you have the capability of learning, you should take up your learning."

"But I cannot afford such education, Madam Tracy."

"If Hasan wants you as a wife, we shall have to educate you so that you can become a good wife and mother, Roxanne. Education will be funded by the family, if you wish to become one of the family." She halted, and asked, "Were you provided with birth control, Roxanne? The matter has just come to mind."

"No, madam. I assumed that if the doctor wanted a child from me, that would be fine."

Tracy laughed, delightedly. "Roxanne, if you end up pregnant, Hasan will want to marry you, for that reason alone, never mind loving you. He has a streak of moral responsibility a mile wide, so he would not abandon a pregnant woman with a child of his in her belly. We must make sure this situation comes about my dear girl."

"You are pleased that I might be with child, Madam Tracy?"

"Indeed so, Roxanne. Please make a note for addressing me, from now.

"In future, for all time coming, I am NOT Madam Tracy; I am TRACY, full stop. You are not a servant here, you are a friend who at present is being paid to look after the children. Is that clear, Roxanne, my friend?"

"Yes, Ma ... Tracy, my true friend. I love you, Tracy, nearly as much as I love Hasan. Thank you for putting your trust in me. I shall not fail you."

"It is not a matter of failing me. From now on, it is a matter of not failing YOURSELF. You have a duty in life to be a good woman, and hopefully a good wife to Hasan. Concentrate on that task, my girl. Now say, 'yes, Tracy.'

"Yes, ... Tracy." She burst into tears. "I am so happy. May I hug you, ma ... I mean, Tracy?"

Tracy opened her arms, and the two hugged each other.

In the forest beyond the mountains, a small predator began to feast on other young beasts not long hatched and not so wary of strangers. These beasts, when grown up, would be difficult to kill, but as hatchlings, they were predator snacks, and there were enough to satisfy a bunch of young predators. With every kill, these young beasts grew larger and more ferocious. It was a world of kill or be killed, and the predators intended to survive.

The mechanoids took no notice, as they were not what they were programmed to regard as megabeasts. Anyway, the megabeasts had all been chased away, hadn't they?

The cable car supports were nearing completion, and the wheel mechanisms on which the cables ran were also being installed at relevant spots. The cables were a more audacious effort. On Earth, they would be hauled by heavy lifting gear which was not present here, so The Personalia worked in their own fashion.

Each cable loop was measured and jointed, then laid out in orbit, with quick-release fastenings for Landerships to grip the cable. Each loop would be flown down by several Landerships flying as a team, keeping station with each other for the entire flight from orbit to landfall.

This formation flying was added to, in that the antigravity employed was much more powerful, so that the ships could hover a hundred feet off the ground – or in this case, rock. Mechanoids were poised at the wheels at both ends, and at the top of each support, ready to place the loop in the places where it had to go. Both ends were emplaced first, then each support stanchion in turn, with the cable getting tighter each time. The last was the most difficult, for while each section was now in place at each support, if released it would sag and pull the remainder tight. The Landerships had to maintain their pull until the last section of cable was in place. Only then could the quick-release fixings be disconnected, and the cable loop was then ready for its cable cars to be added.

The apparently simple cable car system was proving more problematical than expected, but The Personalia were never short of solutions for technical challenges facing them. They were already building the double cable cars which would carry logs as well. The calculations of loads fascinated them; having to allow for wind pressure, bounce in the cable, extra dense or extra thick logs which might not sit in the U-shape well, and have to be set aside until the rail tunnel was available; and also adequate separation between one pair of cable cars with log and the next, to avoid extra load on the cable.

Their timetable for completion had, if anything, improved, and they planned to construct cabin shelters at each switch point, so that if there was a breakdown, the passengers would have a refuge to stay in until rescue came. These cabins would also be stocked with military ration packs for emergency use.

The tunnel was progressing as fast as could be expected, given the variable rock density and friability. The occasional strike of water pockets did not help, for the tunnel design involved a slow line of descent to reduce the remaining drop at the outer side. The water thus did not drain away, and had to be collected and removed. This required a line of mechanoids loading water in containers and transporting the containers back for dumping. Eventually one ship pointed to the fissures that had been filled in. "Surely they could act as a soakaway?"

The point was taken, and water was poured into the debris-filed fissures, until no more could be absorbed. This total turned out to be much less than might have been expected, for the nano-sized particles that filled the fissures left little space for the water to be held. So it was back to the tunnel entrance with the remainder, until such time as the tunnel exited at the far side of the massif.

The rock debris in places turned out to include a small percentage of radioactives, so these were extracted as nuclear fuel, and sent up on the first available Landership that was scheduled for orbit.

The calculations for length of cable required for the cable car system had allowed for a modicum of sub-standard quality, but the manufacturers had proved exceptional in their standards, and so there was a fair amount spare. That was added as extra strengthening to the almost complete fence.

As far as they were concerned, The Personalia had expelled all the megabeasts from the fenced-in area, so they proceeded with filling in the central gap in the fence, and prepared to inform the Governor that the ground was now ready for the installation of rail track to the forests.

At this point, they got a shock when one of the mechanoids was attacked in a forest by a small megabeast. They had trouble working out where the animal had come from, and contacted the Governor to ask him.

John was at first confused by what they were asking him.

"You say that you expelled all the megabeasts, but now your mechanoids are being attacked by megabeasts – that are not supposed to be there? Did they go round your fence, perhaps?"

"No, Governor. Both ends finish at steep rock faces."

"Okay. Give me a better description of these beasts. Perhaps they are beasts that were not affected by your frequencies."

The Personalia offered the data, and one thing immediately struck John.

"Excuse me, but these all seem to be much smaller that the usual megabeasts."

"That is so. Does that mean anything to you, Governor?"

"Young ones. How do these megabeasts procreate? Are they livebearers or egg-layers. I will take a guess at egg-layers."

"One moment while we check. It seems you are correct. These facts were gathered, but their method of procreation was not highlighted in our database. You contend that these beasts have arisen from eggs. Surely eggs would have cooled and died before hatching?"

"Not if they were like dinosaurs, and present-day alligators. These beasts built nests and the eggs were buried inside the nest. The nest kept them warm until they hatched. I expect that is what happened here.