Chapter 25: Trouble

The next town meeting was a big one.

For one thing, we had an extra eighty citizens to account for. I’d made some big decisions that week and they were going to learn about them. During the week, I’d watched carefully how the refugees interacted with my people and vice-versa.

Kathy, Toby and I also hadn’t mentioned our change of status to anyone outside of my four girls. I didn’t have much choice in telling them. I had to ask Gale if she wouldn’t mind if Jina joining and me and her on Tuesday night.

Poor Gale just couldn’t get me to come, and I was bloody frustrated. She was buggered after the first hour of me screwing her in every position we could think off to get me to come. I happily fucked Jina for a while, but I still couldn’t get the release I needed.

She’d gotten me to come a lot sooner the night before. I end up getting them to change form and screw me together. It reminded me of when Pete, Grunt and I had done it. It was kinda amusing as we had never had a threesome in all the years I’ve been screwed them.

They said they were game and changed. Gale could form a real nice thick cock, and I happily climbed on her. I then got Jina to enter me, and I told her what to do. Jina then had a lot of fun direction the action like Pete had, and when I came, the relief was well worth the effort. I shook like a vibrating machine when I did. The magic flooding my system was mind blowing.

After Jina had pulled out of me, she staggered to the bed and flopped on it. “Bloody hell Mikal are you in season?” she asked me.

“Oh shit!” I said. “If I’m this bad now what am going to be like when I am?”

They looked at me. I turned my bling on so they could see it. To say they were speechless would be an understatement. Gale finally said, “Well looks like we’re going to have to double duty from now on.”

Jina made me hug her when she said, “Oh, how sad. We’re probably going to have to fuck like that most times to get him to come. It is a hell of a way to finish the warm-ups.”

“Oh, I agree, my love. Next time you get to be underneath. I want to see your face when comes on you like he did on me,” Gale said.

Jina giggled and said, “Trust me, my love; it was pretty damn good from where I was standing. You wait until you’re trying to keep hold of him when his arse is pulsating on your cock so fast all you can do is blow.”

We all end up laughing. My girls stayed a bit longer. I got a double cuddle, which I enjoyed very much and then they fucked me again before they left with their arms wrapped around each other and big grins.

I warned Hail and Effie, and I think Jina and Gale did too. I got a strange look from Indi on Friday when I asked her if she were to spend a night with someone else and me, whom she would prefer. I was a little surprised when she blushed and said, to be honest, she found me a bit much to be with all the time.

She told me that had also been seeing one of the Genteli females from the ship. When I asked her if she had stayed female for me most of the time on Mia was because she thought that, that was what I preferred, she had said yes.

I scolded her and informed her that sex was the only time I really enjoyed being in female form. I loved coming in either form. They both have their benefits. Indi had hugged me as she laughed, “Now you tell me,” she said.

She did cry off, so I let it be known I was free on Saturday. As it turned out the twins from Group Four approached me Saturday afternoon. Vera and Ulla said that they had been talking to Kathy and she had mentioned that I’d taken a liking to multi-partner sex.

They had been trying to get pregnant and their season was almost finished, would I mind. I didn’t really want any more kids, but it had been six years and I’d not gotten any of the girls from this group pregnant. After all over a third of the naturally born kids were mine.

Us Paragons currently total one hundred eighteen. Only thirty-six of us are over seventeen. We do have two hundred zoetics, but I have half of them in the outposts, and I’d sent an extra ten to Able. I had found when I asked around that others were then happy to move to new digs.

I’d noticed some interesting interaction with the zoetics and refugees. The refugees were going to learn a few home truths at the meeting. Many of these people were not endearing themselves to me the longer I interacted with them.

Anyway, suffice to say I gave in. It was a fun night, and the twins were bloody enthusiastic even if I did wear them out. Hail and Effie’s marvellous efforts the two nights before had taken the edge off, so I was able to tone it down a bit.

The two girls have three gem medallions, so that helped, but I suspect I mostly got off because they were in season. The only thing that bothers me is that I’m bloody sure the twins are going to have twins. Shit! That’s twenty-one friggin kids.

I need a vasectomy.

We normally held the meetings in the café.

With eighty extra people, it was a going to be a full house. It was just as well the seating side could expand out towards the street. We had already expanded it to seat an extra forty people. Cheffy had said he had made the kitchen big enough to feed one hundred and fifty at a sitting, so he wasn’t worried.

Tory sent him some extra androids to help. He added an extra row of serving warmers and chillers and just kept the food coming. Able and the families with her had popped through the Ring and joined us so that all of us Paragons attended.

The zoetics that were at the outposts didn’t come, but there were enough of them present that it didn’t matter as the rest would all have vid access by tapping into their controller and could relay any questions to the ones who were here.

Once the majority were fed, I started the meeting. I gave the refugees a little bit of background on how we came to be here. I then gave my people a little bit of background on how the refugees got here. There had been some funny rumours running around on both sides of the fence, so I hoped my little narration cleared most of them up.

I addressed the refugees with my next part. It wouldn’t hurt for our younger kids to take notice as well. “One thing that has been distressing me since we acquired the new members of our population is the treatment of the members of the Zoetic Race and their parents the Controllers.”

“As I mentioned, they are not androids nor are they dumb machines. They are sentient beings. They have names, personalities and can think for themselves. They have feelings as those new members who have bothered to get to know some of them, have learnt.”

“For those few people, I thank you very much for your efforts. As for the majority, however, I am appalled, by both your attitudes and behaviour,” I said in an angry tone. I looked at the new members, calculating their reactions to my statement. I knew I had their attention at the very least.

Then I continued, “According to the teachings of the Keltrian people before a potential magician can accept a magical item, they must say a pledge, ‘I promise that I will learn to serve, and act in the best interests of the One People, to the best of my abilities’.”

I paused to let this sink in. “One People, for those who are not sure, means all people. ALL sentient life forms that live in this community are part of my people. I will not have my parents, and the other zoetics treated like second class citizens because here, we don’t have classes, we are One People.” I glared at Tannin in particular.

“If you can’t accept us for who we are, you do not belong here. I have learnt something new about myself since you people were let out of stasis and allowed to join us,” I said as surveyed the room and picked out certain individuals so they I was referring to them. “I hate bigotry.”

“I’ve learnt that since one of your suns started to die the Keltrian races learnt what fear was. Fear is good; reacting to fear can save your life. However, turning your fear into hatred is not good. Hatred begets, even more, hatred. Hatred turns one person against another.”

“That is not the Keltrian way, and it is not our way. I hate that I found something in you people that I don’t like about you. It is something I must deal with so that I don’t let it lead to more hate,” I let them see my sorrow in having to deal with this facet of myself.

“The pledge had two other very important parts, ‘Learn to serve’ and ‘Act in the best interests of’. So what does the word ‘serve’, mean to you? To me it means to render assistance, be of use, to help. It doesn’t mean to attend to your ever whim or be at your beck and call or put your wants ahead of my needs or the needs of others.”

“So what about, ‘Best interests’? Who’s best interest? This one is easy; the pledge clearly states the One People. It’s why societies have rules to protect not only the individual but also everyone as a whole.”

“Comments and actions that are designed to hurt one person can also hurt those who care about that person. For example, comments to my parents calling them useless bloody androids have also hurt me, and every child that they have raised. I wish all of you could have Cee and Dee as your parents.”

“They are two of the finest people I’ve ever met,” I smiled at Cee and Dee, and they nodded at me indulgently. They knew damn well I loved them. I had learnt as much from them as they had me, as I grew up.

“Comments and actions that hurt Tory, Rusty, Cheffy and Cookie just will not be tolerated. There is not a member of my race or theirs in this community, who will tolerate that, as they have helped raise us all.”

“The controllers and zoetics are not machines; they are not second class citizens. They are members of our families and our community. Do I make myself very clear on this point?” I finished with force in my voice.

I was met with stunned silence at my tirade. Having a lot of kids make up your community and being a parent to as many I have, teaches you tolerance. It is very rare that others get to witness my anger. More often than not only Tory has ever seen me truly anger.

I took a deep breath and continued, “So we have several choices in how to solve my problem. I could put the malcontents back in stasis until the community is large enough for their pettiness to be overlooked and ignored. Be warned, if I do this, it may be for a very long time.”

“I could send the malcontents to an outpost in Rusha and let them get on with their lives and let them live however they damn please as long as they stay there and don’t annoy the rest of us. This option is still high on my list.”

“I could give them the option to redeem themselves and let them learn to live with us now that I have pointed out the error of their ways. I am delighted to say that I have seen several take this option already and I’m very proud of them for trying. This is my preferred option.”

I looked at Heidi, and she smiled at me. Tiana and Davis both touched her gently. I don’t think Heidi was a problem anymore. She had people to love her and a job she enjoyed.

“I have one last option, and I consider this a last resort option. I can coerce you to conform,” I said. The Keltrians looked at me in horror. This was the punishment, which Heidi had feared I’d do to her.

I’d read in Queen Tanisha’s books that she’d had to put down riots by using coercion. She had found it particularly distasteful. There were too many people to cuff or put in the correction chambers. I hadn’t found how to make the cuffs or chambers yet, but I knew the information was there.

I’d like to think I’d never need them but this community was still very young. Only time would tell, and I’d be around a very long time according to what I had read. Queens and even Lord Wizards don’t tend to die unless either they want to, lose their magical items for misdeeds or a sun blows them up.

I probably won’t look any older than the twenty-odd years I look now when I die. My small amount of vanity wasn’t that displeased when I read this. The girls all said I was a handsome man and a hot chick when I want to be one, but what do I know.

I returned to the discussion, “To put a few other records straight. I’ve discussed barter with the older girls and Tory. We are happy that if you have a talent to offer and wish to exchange an item you produce for another, then that is acceptable.”

“If you want something that someone owns or makes, you can offer a service for it if you have nothing else to exchange. We may in the future decide on a set value for labour and items, but up to now we haven’t had that need.”

“However, we consider food and shelter are needs not wants. Producing food and building materials, assisting with building and maintaining dwellings and storage faculties and machines are a benefit to the community.”

“We have always chipped in and done our bit when assistance is required in these endeavours, Tory and I do not want to see that change. It is part of what makes us a community and one people.”

“For the newcomers. I’m going to give you a week to decide on your options. I will be open to short meetings if you wish to discuss them with me. If you choose to stay here, abide by our rules and join us in building our community, we are more than happy to accommodate you.”