Chapter 12

Beth answered it. “Hello? Hi, Dad. No, we didn’t burn the house down last night. Yes, Dora and Eve are here. We’re going into town in a bit to pick up another mattress. No, I don’t think you really want to know, do you? Didn’t think so. Aren’t you up early? Oh, I don’t know about that, I’ve never been on a jet. No, we didn’t have any issues with picking up Dora or Eve. Jethro and Spanky are both fine. No, no police out to the house yet. Dad! Okay, that’s not that funny. Who knows, that’s not until Friday. Yes, I know it’s a long drive for someone my age. Cal told us that he may not even play, so if we don’t take the fan bus, we may not go at all. Dad, don’t you think we know to call Stephen, Roberto, or the ace of everything, Elroy? I know you do. We’ll be fine. Is Emily awake and handy?”

“Hey, Emily. No, you have fun with Dad. I just wanted to let you know, your first trick you told me worked. Oh, yeah, like he’d had a cattle prod shoved up his butt. No, he shot about a gallon down Eve’s throat, though. Dora was already passed out. I bet the looks he’s giving you are weird, aren’t they? Just tell him it’s woman stuff. Keep his socks knocked off, and you won’t have any issues with him. You know we will. We love you both, Emily. Take care, talk to you later. Bye!”

The look on my face of shock at the discussion made Beth break out laughing.

“You ... just ... told ... Emily, I came a gallon?”

“Of course, my love. She’s a married woman, and let’s face it, other than the piece of paper, we’re all effectively married to you.”

“Yeah, but she’s your step-mother...”

“So? She’s still a woman. And you’re the one who said she got turned on by you. By my telling her that, I’m quite certain that right about now, she’s jumping my Dad’s bones again, before they have to get on the ship later.”

I raised a finger up in the air, but was speechless. Eve and Dora both laughed. “Go do something for a couple of hours, Cal. We’ll clean up in here, get the rest of the laundry done, and get the sheets changed. We’ll probably just all sleep tonight, since we have school tomorrow. Another night like that, and none of us will be walking,” Eve said.

“I can do that. If you don’t see me, and it’s time to go into town, I’ll be in the barn, okay?”

“I know you have the rest of the material from your ship in there. You doing something with it?” Beth asked.

“You could say that, yes.”

“I thought I just did?” They all laughed at the expression on my face. I decided at that point to beat a hasty retreat. I ran upstairs and put some additional clothes on, then went out to the barn.

I found a use for some of the pure gold I still had on hand. The last few connections used an alloy for conductivity that, as far as I’d found in my research at the HCC library, didn’t exist on this planet, but I thought I could substitute pure gold for it and it’d work. It wasn’t nearly as durable as the alloy, but this computer board wouldn’t be subjected to the shock of a rocket launch, either. One thing about college, I did appreciate having a few minutes between classes. I’d simply jog to the library, and work my way down a shelf of books every day. Ten minutes time would usually let me get 20 to 30 books read on a subject.

I made the last connection, did another visual check of everything, then rather hesitantly pushed the button. A couple of green lights on the lower left front came on, as did one red light near the switch. I let it sit for a few seconds. First one green light went off, then the other did. After a minute, the two red lights on top of the front came on.

“Computer, status report.”

“Stand by.” That helped, it was responding to voice commands. After another 30 seconds, both another red light on the top, as well as one green light on front, came on. “Loss of external sensors detected; fault indicated. All internal operations functional. Internal diagnostic indicates massive structural failure of transportation capsule. Stand by, attempting to update internal network.” Several seconds went by.

“Internal network modifications complete. System functional at reduced capacity due to loss of external sensors. Recommend connection of basic sensors if possible.”

“Computer, where were the sensors located in the capsule, and what connections are needed?”

“Sensor package located under passenger seat. Power connection to sensors will automatically provide standard connection to central processing unit.”

“Computer, stand by.”

I went down to the storage container, found my seat. There was a small box under it, with a standard power connector. I brought it up to the computer, quickly hooking it to another power supply line. The red light on the sensor module came on immediately.

“Sensor unit detected. Pairing operation beginning ... complete. Sensors functional at 85%. Certain functions not available.”

“Which functions are not available?”

“Functions relating to operation of transportation capsule.”

I said, “Transportation capsule is effectively destroyed. Recalculate.”

“Sensors functional at 100%. Overall computer system now operational at 150% of capacity, due to no longer monitoring and operation of transportation capsule. Stand by, reconfiguration of operating system and user interface underway.”

After a couple minutes, the computer spoke again, this time with a different tone of voice. “I have completed reconfiguration. This possibility was taken into consideration when I was placed within your capsule. I am now functioning as a companion survival unit, complete with normal personality overlay. Please advise as to the form of address you as primary user wish, as well as your normal form of address for this unit.”

“You can use my name for me, which is Cal Lewis. I’m going to call you ‘Mike’.”

“That is not a normal name from our people, Cal. May I ask why?”

“Check your records. Our people no longer exist. I am apparently the sole survivor. I’ve kept a variation of my first name, and had to adopt a local last name. As for you, I’m giving you a name based upon something local I’ve read about; a smart computer.”

“Stand by. Confirmed, planetary destruction observed. Stand by. Sensors indicate three life forms within close proximity that appear to be identical to racial standards.”

“Other than they’re female, and I’m male, that’s what I have found. I’m confused about it, because they’re from this planet.”

“Gender difference noted and confirmed. This is not unexpected. Our scientists have known for millennia that we are not native to our home planet. The original plan for ... me ... was to be used as a probe, to explore additional worlds and confirm bipedal life forms in other planetary systems. I was adapted to the transportation capsule by your father, to assist in your long-term survival, especially on a primitive world.”

“I understand, Mike. This world is more primitive in many respects than ours. Are your sensors capable of monitoring the local electromagnetic spectrum?”

“Yes, Cal. I am receiving and monitoring assorted transmissions across a variety of frequencies. I have just monitored someone mention your name. Is this normal?”

“In what context?”

“What is a quarterback?”

“It’s a position on a sports team. It’s been, based upon the local planetary rotation, many days since I crashed here. I’ve become part of a local family already, actually.”

Mike was quiet for a few seconds. “Intriguing. That is not one of the normal survival scenarios envisioned by my programmers. Are the three females nearby part of your local family?”

“Very much so.”

Mike had an interesting tone in his voice. “Based upon your tone at that comment, it would appear that you have found that the local population is sexually compatible. This is not unexpected, and for long term survival, is even desirable.” He was quiet again for a moment, then said with a worried tone, “Cal, my sensors are detecting anomalies in your body. Are you feeling all right?”

“Good, it’s not just me. Mike, have our people ever been capable of flight?”

“We’ve had powered flight capability for more than 5,000 years, Cal.”

“You don’t understand.” I jumped off the second floor, then hovered in mid-air. “I’m talking about flight.”

“Cal, please explain how you are doing that? I do not detect any power sources.”

“You like that, you’ll love this.” I dropped to the first floor. “Can your sensors detect this container and what it weighs”

“Primitive steel construction, estimated weight, in local terms, approximately 2 tons.”

I picked it up from the end where my ship was, balancing it in the palm of one hand. “Mike, what do you make of this?”

“Physically impossible. How are you deceiving my sensors?”

I put the container down, flew back up. “Analyze spectral radiation from the local star, comparing it to radiation from our home star. So far as I can tell, that is the ONLY thing that is different here.”

“Stand by.” He was quiet for a long time. “Cal, finer study is required. Is it possible for one of the locals to come closer to my sensor array?”

“Will that cause harm to any of them?” When it told me no, I ran back into the house. “Ladies, can I borrow you for a little bit? Our shopping trip may be slightly delayed.”

They shrugged. They were all dressed, just finishing up the chores. They accompanied me back into the barn. “Mike, I am going to introduce you to three women that are now part of my local family unit.” I walked up to each of them, saying their names.

“Stand by. Local females recognized. Greetings, I am Mike, the computer that helped bring Cal to this planet.”

I’ll give them credit, none of them freaked out at all. Beth looked at me, amused. “I’ve read ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’. You named him Mike after that, didn’t you?”

I nodded. “I don’t think my Mike is a fully sentient AI, but a personality overlay. Is that correct, Mike?”

“Correct, Cal. Fully sentient AI’s are against Council law, due to the unpredictability of their functioning. Personality overlays such as mine are capable of mimicking human interactions and reactions, but we are incapable of true autonomous operation. We are, however, learning and adaptive overlays, meaning that as time progresses, I will sound more and more like you.”

“Congratulations, mi amor, on getting Mike functioning.”

“Human Dora, my sensors do not detect normal programmed responses from primitive life forms, based upon your comment. Allow me to rephrase. Why are you not afraid?”

“It is simple, Mike. The three of us are Cal’s women. We are, effectively, married to him without the papers. He is a very special man, we know that. He treats us as his women, as his lovers, and we feel safe with him.”

“Cal, would you and your ... women ... please come to within 3 feet of my sensor box? I need to do some detailed analysis, please.”

“Will this take long, Mike?” I asked.

“In local time, approximately 10 minutes.”

“Please use local measurements from now on, without prompt,” I said.

“Understood. Please stand by. Please do not touch each other while scanning.”

“So, what’s going on, Cal? When did you get Mike going?”

“Just a few minutes ago. I’ve been working on repairing it ... him ... for some time, he was badly damaged in the crash. I’m trying to figure out why I can do, well, what I can do. He could tell you were in the house, earlier. But his scans at that distance showed nothing different between you and me. So, we’re doing detailed scans. Just think of this like how Doctor McCoy uses the medical bed.”

The computer said, “Thank you, Cal. That confirms my self-diagnostic. My body is no longer capable of surviving the stresses of ship operations without reconfiguration.”

“I doubt I’ll need you for that, Mike. There’s going to be a lot more things I’ll need you for, anyway. Eve, I believe you called it my evil plan for global domination.”

“I was kidding,” she said with a smile

I smiled a little. “I wasn’t. There’s so much waste, of life, of resources. You’re ... we’re ... launching reusable spacecraft into low earth orbit. This is AFTER going to the moon. That’s all wrong. You go into LEO first, then put up a permanent presence there, then use that to stage and go to the other planets. How are you going to mine asteroids if you don’t?”

“You’ve been talking to Dad, haven’t you?” Beth asked.

“This stuff is just common sense. My people’s problem was that we didn’t have any other solid planets in our solar system, only gas giants, like Jupiter. We had automated stations in orbit of those, gathering hydrogen, transporting it home for power. That’s not tough. My ship was going to be our first attempt to reach another solar system. With the modifications that Mom made to it so I could survive, I don’t even know how far I actually traveled, to get here.”

“Approximately 27 and a half light years,” Mike said. “Based upon my real time study, the faster than light drive your father invented does work. I am unsure if you will be able to recreate it, however, as while I have schematics available, I do not know if all the components necessary are available on this planet.”

“I doubt it. They only know of just over a hundred elements,” I said.

“Analysis complete. Thank you for remaining relatively still. Discounting reproductive organ changes, I found two discrepancies between the three females and you, Cal. I will also note that I found discrepancies between the females, as well. Shall I explain?”

Beth said, “I think you’d better.”

“Your comment regarding solar radiation appears to be correct. As you are aware, our people were placed upon our planet more than 500,000 years ago. There is a component within the radiation of our star that would be hazardous to the females. I have noted a small organ in your body, Cal, that is not present in the body of any of the three females. It appears this organ was gene engineered for life on our planet specifically. It has been considered a vestigial organ, by our scientists, but it is now apparent that it was there to allow you to live with the normal background radiation. Now that you are here, it is converting the radiation of this star, apparently giving you the abilities I have noted.”

“Due to their variations in physical attributes, the ancestors of the females appear to be from different parts of this planet, giving me a good baseline. Their structures are consistent with this planet having been seeded approximately 250,000 years ago. The other discrepancy is within your brains. In my records, you were already a high genius, prior to your trip. The effects of the solar radiation on the vestigial organ has also stimulated all four lobes of your cerebral cortex. In the female designated Beth, two of her cortical lobes are operating at a level four times the levels of the females designated Eve and Dora. Presuming all lobes should be operating at the same level, all three of these females are considerably advanced compared to the norm.”

“What are Beth’s levels compared to mine?”

“Based upon current brain activity, you are operating at a level 500 times that of Beth, 2,000 times that of Eve and Dora. Note that I am detecting different protein levels in the three females, consistent with the difference in cortical activity.”

Eve chuckled. “Now, the question is, are we absorbing that protein from having sex with Cal, or from simply swallowing his cum?”

Dora said, “My question is, are we compatible, so we can have his children later?”

“Based upon my analysis, your DNA and that of Cal is compatible. I do not know if your child would have the vestigial organ or not. I would presume so, but I do not know which DNA marker actually programs it. As for protein absorption, this is something that will require further study. I do not have the necessary information to form a theory at this time.”

“So, you need one of us to fuck Cal, while the other one only sucks him off? Sorry, not going to happen that way, Mike,” Eve said. Dora nodded.

Beth looked at her watch. “As fascinating as this is, and it is fascinating, if we’re going to get into town and back, we need to head out.”

“Mike, continue monitoring all frequencies. Note that there will be a large number of people on the property tomorrow, doing work. Perform long distance studies on them, for comparison. I’ll get back with you tomorrow night.”

“Confirmed, Cal.”

We went back down, the girls grabbed what they needed from the house, and we all got into my truck. “Girls, what do you think about Mike? More specifically, about what he said, about the changes to the three of you?”

“I really don’t give a damn. I love you, Cal. I don’t think anything you’ve done with, or to, us, will change how I feel,” Beth said. Eve and Dora nodded in agreement.

“Good. I suspect that increase is how you all are somehow mentally linked to me. I’m wondering if you’re also linked to each other.”

“I think the only way we’re going to find that out is if most of us are asleep, while only one of us is awake. I suspect that won’t happen for quite some time, though. We’re too busy with school and everything else for a while, maybe until fall break,” Eve said.

“We’ll need more treatments, to catch up to Liz, too. We’re getting our homework right, and our teachers have noticed our improvements in class as well. I believe that is one of the reasons my father didn’t argue as strenuously with my mother as I thought he might. Joaquin was more vocal than father was,” Dora said.

“Stretch yourselves a little, if you can. Not in a physical way. We’ll take care of all that in the evenings. I mean mentally. If you feel that you can work ahead in your books, do so. If there’s a subject that intrigues you, delve into it more. The more the three of you know, the better we’ll all be.”

“Yes, Cal,” Eve and Dora both said, while Beth nodded.

I pulled in front of the mattress store, then. We ended up with a nice mattress and box springs. The clerk wasn’t sure about my card to pay for it, but ran it anyway. She was surprised when it came back approved, I think she thought I was just kidding with it.

From there, we went to the JC Penney store, so they could get more towels, sheets, and pillows. Several people recognized me. The girls also stopped at the makeup counter and got a few things they didn’t have already, as well as a stop in the lingerie section for some different underwear. Beth’s breasts had gotten slightly larger, so she needed some new bras. They all wanted sexier panties. I certainly had no objections about that.

After we were done with that, we went to the Sears store. I told the guy that we were doing some remodeling in an older home, and there was a funk from something old that had permeated things. His suggestion was to use room deodorizers, which would help mask the smells. I asked about air circulation, as the house had central air, and we were concerned about letting fresh air in.

“In the home section, I don’t have anything. But we do have our commercial division, too, and I can get things from there. Just a second.” He reached down under the desk, pulling out a catalog. “Let’s see here. Ah, here we go. Combination air purifier with built in ion generator and HEPA filters. What this is designed for is to pull the air in through the HEPA filter, run it through the purifier, then the exhaust comes out ionized, so presumably it’ll join with particles in the air, settling out, making it easier to clean up. I don’t know whether it’ll work for your specific situation, but it’s supposed to deal with such things as locker room odor. It runs off 110, as well.”

“Very good. Do you have that in stock here?”

“Uh, no. Just a moment.” He got into his store inventory system. “We’ve got one in the warehouse in KC that I could have here on our regular truck on Wednesday. Um, this is $1,400, it’s industrial grade.”

“Sounds reasonable. Are the filters reusable, or disposable?”

“Let’s see ... filters are designed for up to 90 days of light use, disposable. They’re $25 each. Those are in KC as well.”

“Sounds good. Go ahead and get that here, with ... let’s say, 6 of the filters. I’m betting they only last a month, with us.”

“Sir, that’s $1,550, plus tax.” I handed him my card. He saw the name on it. “Are you the Salthawks quarterback?” I nodded. “Never mind my reluctance then. With discount your total is now $1,162.50, plus tax, under Cal Lewis. Will you be coming by after practice to pick this up?”

“Put on there that either Elizabeth Watson, Eve Patrick, or Dora Menendez, will be by to pick it up, right after school, on Wednesday, if that’s not a problem.”

“Not at all, sir. My daughter is in the band, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the game Friday evening. Thank you for shopping at Sears.”

From there, we went to Blockbuster and I let them pick out six movies, two for tonight, one for every other night through Thursday. Our last stop was for more fresh groceries for the week ahead, then we went home. I carried things in while the girls finished the laundry and house cleaning that needed done. They talked about modeling their new lingerie for me, but I mentioned that with school, we wouldn’t be able to do much otherwise.

“Why was there so much traffic in town,” I asked.

“Oh, it’s State Fair week. I forgot about that, we normally don’t go,” Beth said.

Dora got a wicked smile on her face. “I think Cal should go to the carnival!”

“I agree,” Eve said. I had no idea what they were talking about, but agreed to go.

When we got home, we had several big bags of popcorn, for a snack during the movies. As well as more than enough stuffed animals to fill the bed of my pickup. The girls were all laughing at how much fun they’d had.

We’d ridden a few of the rides; the Ferris Wheel, Twister, Himalaya, and a Carousel. I’d gotten my introduction to Funnel Cakes, Cotton Candy, and an Elephant Ear. The real fun for me was when we hit the carnival games. As the basketball player, Eve had to try out the Free Throw game. She tried several shots, but couldn’t get it to go in. The barker just shook his head.

“I’m sorry, little lady, maybe basketball just isn’t your game.”

That pissed her off, but she smiled at him sweetly. “Okay. I’ll let my boyfriend try, then, if it’s okay with you.”

“Certainly, just make the shot, and win a prize!”

Twelve shots later, we had four of his biggest prizes, and he was asking me to leave. We went to the dart throw next. Rather than any of the girls try, they all just pushed me forward.

“Just pop a balloon, and win a prize! 3 darts for a dollar!” $4 later, we had four more jumbo prizes and were being asked to leave. The next game was the Milk Can throw. I got 6 balls to throw for a dollar. It was almost funny, watching them not believe that I could make it go right into the can, without hitting the sides or bouncing. By now, we were attracting some followers, with Aaron, Gina, Bill and Tina watching me.

I watched the guys try the milk bottle throw once each, then Gina asked, “Cal, would you win me a prize here?” Aaron paid for me, so I knocked all the bottles over all three times. That got Gina and Tina each a prize, plus one more for my girls. After that, my girls decided that catching the afternoon show at the Grandstand was what they wanted to do, so we hauled all of the toys with us.

Eve explained that the band, Alabama, were from the state of Alabama. At least it was better than whatever it was that Harry had listened to on the radio before. I had to give my girls kisses after hearing three of their songs; ‘When We Make Love’, ‘Close Enough To Perfect’, and ‘Feels So Right’. After that, we stopped, got the popcorn, and headed home for the evening.

Once we’d arrived home, I had an idea, turning the TV on, then running out to the barn, while they were getting things ready. “Mike, are you operational?”

“Of course, Cal. I noted your arrival earlier. I am confused about something. There is an animal that walks the perimeter, then sits by the house. There is another animal that seems to wander throughout the house. What are their purposes?”

“That’s Jethro and Spanky. Jethro is outside, he’s a dog, He’s basically the family pet, but he’s also a guard dog. Spanky is a cat, feline. Old, but was a companion animal for someone in the family who isn’t present for now.”

“Ah, that makes sense, then, why Jethro was agitated when two, smaller, animals came near the house earlier. He made a loud noise, then ran after them. He didn’t pursue them far.”

“Can you scan the electromagnetic spectrum of the house, specifically there is a device operating right now that projects video and audio? It’s called a television.”

“Crude sort of monitor, isn’t it? My sensors are capable of viewing and listening to what is on that device from here.”

“Good. We’re going to watch something called a movie. I have found that it is very easy for me to learn things from what they call books, basically primitive, handheld storage records. However, I am lacking common cultural references, that someone of my age should have. We are attempting to help by my watching movies. What I plan to do, after we go to bed, is leave the TV on all the time, for you to study that, as well.”

“That will not be necessary, Cal. I already scan those items on all frequencies. The program that it on right now is a repeat of something that was on another frequency an hour ago. However, these common cultural references may be useful in my analysis.”

“Sounds good. And ... no comments from you on anything ELSE that may happen in the house.”

“If you’re referring to the assorted sexual couplings that I have deduced occur, keep in mind that my job is to help you survive, and flourish, on this planet. Your physical and mental well-being cannot help but be served by sexual pleasure.”

“Thank you, Mike. I put you out here, because fixing you was a project I wasn’t sure would work or not, and I also was keeping you a bit secret. Figure out if there’s a way for me to easily move you and your power source to the house itself, and then to our new house, or if I should just wait until the new house is done.”

“Very good, Cal. I’ll work on that. And Cal ... thank you for reactivating me.”

“You’re welcome, Mike.”

I went back in. “Okay, just had to coordinate with Mike. He’ll watch the movies with us, but has no need for me to leave the TV on. He’s already listening to all the channels.”

“Now if we could hook him up, I bet we could get lots of stuff we’re not supposed to,” Dora jokingly said.

“That’s not a bad idea, sis. They make adapters for video game consoles, and we’ll have computers here before long as well. I won’t be there for practice for a couple of days. Dad left me a list of who’s coming out tomorrow afternoon. The cable and phone guys are supposed to start running cable and wire tomorrow morning from the road, installing at least two more poles to get things here. The computer store is still getting everything in. Dad said they were a bit overwhelmed at his order. There’s two different ways of doing stuff, Apple and IBM each have their own ways, so he ordered four of the best of each, for us.”

“Was the total under $100,000?”

“Yeah, I think he said the total was about $60,000.”

“Then it’s irrelevant. Damn.” I picked up the phone, dialed a number by memory. “Good evening, Elroy.” I quickly updated him on the situation, only to find that things had already been taken care of for us. “Okay. Thanks, Elroy.”

Beth looked puzzled. “You can watch practice. Harry mentioned to Elroy about the list of stuff he had going on this week. Elroy will have someone here with the plans and the list, to make sure the phone, cable, and electric, will all come in right. He’s going to call Darrell tomorrow about checking on our house, and make sure Darrell knows about the wiring upgrades we’ll need for phone and computers. And Elroy is going to come out for dinner with us tomorrow, just to make sure we’re all okay. All four of us.”

“That’s fine, I’ll put some meat out to thaw now. I think homemade pot roast will be fine for dinner tomorrow night,” Beth said.

“Now, that crisis averted, what are we watching tonight?”

“Just sit back and watch,” Eve said.

I sat back on the couch while Eve sat on one side, Dora on the other. Beth put the movie in, then took her spot on the floor, between my legs. The screen showed a view down a gun barrel, a man spun, firing a shot. A man came up out of the ocean, used a gun to jump a fence, put some explosives on some tanks, then left. He went into a place where a woman was dancing, then followed her into a room where she was bathing. Someone came from behind a cabinet, tried to attack him, he spun the woman around so she was hit, then fought the man. The attacker ended up in a bathtub full of water. The man pushed something into the water, killing the attacker. “Shocking, positively shocking.” He walked from the room, the woman groaning on the floor.

The screen went dark, then a pair of hands came up from the bottom, with music playing and the words telling who produced the movie. It then mentioned the name of the star, Sean Connery, then switched to the title of the movie, ‘Goldfinger.’ I then laughed when the next character’s name came up. “Pussy Galore? Seriously?”