Chapter 21

“Sorry about that, I thought I heard you say something about trying to buy four square MILES of land, for less than a million dollars,” Adrienne said after she’d picked the phone up.

“I did. Here’s something else that you can pass on to Bill. If he wants to put a value on the price of the program I gave him, tell him to consider it worth fifteen million. I had put into my budget forty million to spend to buy into Microsoft. That means I quite literally have fifteen million sitting around, not doing anything except earning interest. I can get a single-story commercial building, concrete walls and engineered to withstand an F5 tornado at forty-five dollars per square foot. I can get single story steel buildings, complete with foundation and installed, for twenty dollars per square foot. Do you think he might like a couple of hundred thousand square feet of computer facilities?”

She didn’t know that I literally could hear her heartbeat race over the phone line. Her voice was calm and cool, though. “I’ll, um, pass that on. I’m sure it’s getting late out there. Do you have a problem with us calling you back on this tomorrow?”

“Depending upon what time. We’re having all the families out tomorrow, a bit of a house warming, since our new house is complete. They helped us move in, but haven’t had the formal tour.”

“I’ll talk to Bill. We’ll ... figure something out. Thank you, Cal, and good night.”

I hung the phone up, then looked around the room. “Okay, switching tracks a little bit, now that the game is over and I’m home, I believe something was mentioned before about Wednesday night?”

Margie looked at Marcia, who suddenly looked flustered. Finally, Marcia said, “That night, after the two of you left. I finished things up at work, then went home. I felt, I wasn’t sure why, but a little overwhelmed by everything. I had a small glass of wine to calm myself down, then had some pasta. I felt drained, almost exhausted, from what I thought was the stress of the day. I didn’t even turn my TV on or pick up a book, I just kicked my shoes off and stretched out to rest for a bit on my couch, figuring I’d hit my exercise bike after I woke up.”

“So, I fell asleep a little before 9 PM, our time. At some point, I started having a weird dream. I was riding in the cab of a pickup truck, with you. It was bright, we were on roads I didn’t recognize, then you pulled onto a side road, turning the lights off. You made a joke, ‘Make sure your seatbelt is fastened, your tray table in the upright position, you didn’t want to wait three hours, thank you for flying Cal Air, and to enjoy the flight.’ Then you got out, picked the truck up, and I was sitting in the truck, flying. I felt so aroused at your power that I couldn’t help myself, I pulled my panties off, and started masturbating.”

“When I came, it was ... incredible. The most wonderful orgasm I’d ever had, strictly from masturbation. It’s always better with someone else, but this was fantastic. I had this feeling inside, like you were the most important man in the world to me, and how lucky I was to be pregnant with your baby. Then I woke up, alone, in my apartment, my couch was soaked because I’d had multiple orgasms while asleep, and I just spent the rest of the night crying from the feeling I’d lost something special. I had no idea why I felt that way; after all, we’d just met.”

“The next day, I was tired at work, but I did my job, coordinating with Miss Lerner on a call with Mister Gates, figuring out what I’d need to do at the office, to make things here easier for you with our time difference. That, and worked with accounting and legal, to do the fund transfers. I was exhausted when I got home. I had been asleep for a while when I started dreaming again. I was kissing a young girl, much younger than I am. I was watching you make love to two other girls, one darker skin, one much lighter, but I wasn’t jealous. I was proud of you, proud of our family. I had more orgasms than the last night, but they weren’t as intense. The girl I was making love to was gentle and caring. I remembered calling her Beth, while one of the other girls called her Liz.”

I looked at Margie, who had an amused look on her face. Margie said, “When I got the call from Marcia that she was going to fly out here, briefly, to take our pictures and get our badges made, I could hear something wrong in her voice. I asked her, and she said if I wouldn’t get mad, she’d tell me. I told her, of course not. When she told me what she just told you ... I thought back through our conversations, and realized we’d never said the names of the girls, or what they looked like. While it was possible that she’d seen a tape of the check presentation, she didn’t know what we called Beth. That she knew our conversation in the truck blew me away. I told her to get out here as soon as possible, and to just plan on staying at least the whole weekend.”

“Okay, you’ve officially got me confused. Give me a minute here, to think about this.” I went into a bit of overdrive. Based upon what she’d said, I saw only one solution, but I had to have some confirmation, first. I turned to the other girls. “It’s getting chilly, go slip some sweats on. We’re going for a short walk.” They nodded, and were quickly back in the living room, shoes on and ready.

“Come on.” Marcia wasn’t sure what was going on, but she followed us without asking questions. The only thing that I was really concerned about was what might happen if she didn’t fit in, once this was revealed. It wasn’t like I couldn’t dispose of the body, but what that might do to my relationship with the others could be a disaster.

There were two other lights outside, so it wasn’t an issue walking over to the barn. I flipped the switch inside that turned on the light in the main area. “You’re a city girl, it sounds like. Have you ever been up in a barn hayloft?”

“Um, no. That’s normally where the bad guy stashes his bodies, though,” she said with a bit of jest in her voice.

“We’ve got too many old salt mines around here, no need to keep them above ground.”

Beth hit me on the shoulder. “He’s kidding about disposing of bodies in the old mines. Too many hog farms around, you just pull the teeth out because they can’t digest those, and shave the head first. Hair burns, with a wicked smell, and of course, teeth can be pitched just about anywhere.”

At her horrified look, Beth started laughing. “Marcia, did you ever read the Truman Capote novel, ‘In Cold Blood’?” At her nod, she said, “That’s a true story. My dad is from Holcomb. He knew the Clutter family, was friends with their kids. If it had been up to the people of the town ... well, let’s just say they’d all already figured out what to do with those assholes, if they’d had the chance.”

She continued. “But, that’s not why Cal brought you out here. It’s been almost two weeks anyway, we probably should get measured again.” Beth grabbed the ladder and started climbing, Dora and Eve right behind her. Marcia wasn’t sure, but she went up next. Margie followed, and I came up at the same time as Margie.

Marcia didn’t notice that, she was looking at the soft glow of the lights on Mike’s front panel. “What’s this? It looks like a self contained cabinet of some kind.”

“Mike, did we take enough time downstairs for you to get accurate measurements?”

“Yes, Beth, you did. Eve now measures at 11.4, with the fourth lobe now operating at 1.8 times base norm. Dora is at 11.5, with the fourth lobe at 1.8. You are now at 27.6, with the fourth lobe at 2.4. Margie is at 34.8, with her fourth lobe at 4.2. Cal, you show effectively no change, 9,840, and 2,640. I suspect that I am incapable of any further refinements regarding you. Of course, you wish to know about Marcia. Hello, Marcia, I am Mike, an active personality overlay. Based upon my initial measurements of you, and my previous baseline studies of normal humans, you are an aberration similar to Margie. You measure at 31.8, with a fourth lobe function at 3.6. This would be consistent with you already being well above the normal genius level for humans.”

Marcia didn’t run away in fright, anyway. “Well above is probably right, based upon what I know about myself. Let’s see ... measurements of lobe activity, meaning the four lobes of the brain, assuming standard human norms of 1 for both numbers. With the phrasing stated, that would indicate these are not the first measurements for any of you. Again, knowing what I do about myself, that would indicate that Dora and Eve are both geniuses, Beth considerably smarter than them, while Margie and I rank at the super genius level. Presuming the cortical activity is indicative of intelligence, that would ... I don’t even think there’s words to describe how intelligent that makes you, Cal.”

“What I’m curious about is the fourth lobe mentioned. I would have thought our brain activity was equal in all four lobes,” she said after a very short pause.

Mike said, “Based upon my research into the files of all universities conducting brain function research, as well as assorted laboratories doing the same, it appears that you are correct for normal humans. A baseline human would be at 1 in all four lobes. Certain highly gifted people have had slightly elevated levels in one of three lobes, with the brain studies on several genius level subjects being elevated in all three lobes. I have found a total of five individuals in all files who had elevated levels in the fourth lobe. Those levels were during testing for what are called in those studies, extra-sensory powers, such as telekinesis and telepathy. The data indicate that the highest level in the fourth lobe for any of these individuals would equal a reading of 1.6. Given that Dora, Eve, Beth, Margie, and Cal have already experienced various levels of telepathic communication and have for some time, it stands to reason that the fourth lobe governs that. Based upon your comments to Margie and your levels, this is additional evidence this theory is correct. Further study after seminal fluid absorption is indicated, as well as detailed analysis of the fetal development changes upon Margie.”

“Time out. You heard my comments to Cal and Margie?”

“Due to security requirements, I monitor all portions of this property to the best of my ability. As the houses have physical connections to my peripherals, I am able to utilize electronic devices to monitor them. In the event of an emergency, I have multiple options available to me, depending upon the level of threat or danger.”

“Jesus Christ, Cal, if you built Mike, no wonder you were able to write those programs for Mister Gates.”

I sighed. “I didn’t build him, I simply repaired him.”

She snorted. “Why’d you have to do that? Was your ship damaged when you crash landed on Earth from some alien world, or something?” She was chuckling when she said that.

“Yeah, pretty much. What’s left of it is in the garage, on the workshop side, so we can figure out what to do with it later.”

She started laughing. After a few seconds, she stopped. “Okay, wait. That’s funny. Why aren’t you laughing?”

“Um, because right now, you’re only the eighth person on this planet that knows the truth about me. The ladies here, Emily and Harry, and Elroy. That’s it. The only reason you know about it now is because of your telepathic link to Margie.”

Her face showed her disbelief. “No way. What are you, some kind of tentacled freak from another world?”

Beth laughed at that. “No, he’s only got one of those, it’s about this long, and about this big around. Feels wonderful when it’s going in and out of your pussy, too, and his cum has a great taste, if you keep some in your mouth, before you swallow.”

Marcia was quiet for several moments, then her eyes got incredibly big. “You’re the Messenger from Above. The one that was on the news, sent here to bring peace to the world.”

“Guilty as charged to the first, completely innocent of the second. Marcia, I’m literally a 16 year old ... well, 17, due to the difference in planetary rotations ... sole survivor of a planet that blew up in another solar system, 27 light years from here. My ... moral code, if you will ... isn’t that of someone from the US, or anywhere else local. You saw SJ on the football field tonight. He’s Eve’s brother. He was injured by a suicide bomber, that nearly killed him, in Beirut. That bomber was sponsored by Iran. By my code, as a part of Eve’s family, he’s now a part of my family, and as the head of my family, I am free to take whatever action I deem necessary against those who injured him.”

“Thus, I destroyed the building where the terrorists trained, and the Mehrabad airport at Tehran, two weeks ago. As I’ve also discovered a few more things about myself and how I fit in here, I found that one of the root causes of that violence against my family is due to the religious war between Iran and Iraq. That’s why I destroyed a good chunk of both their air forces, and their navies, and made my appearance at the United Nations.”

“My dad fought in Korea, he met my mom at a hospital recovering from a war wound. Dad had come home, both he and Mom got jobs with some of the film production companies. She was medical staff during filming and at the studios; he was a gaffer, one of the electricians, and also did pyrotechnics. They said I was conceived during filming of some war movie scenes in Italy, which wouldn’t surprise me; he did a bunch of those. I was born in ‘62. My first real memories were as a little girl on the movie set, watching Dad move wires and making things blow up. I grew up ... in an unreal world, really.”

“My childhood playgrounds were movie sets. I’ve so many pictures of me at home, with John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret ... Dad taught me everything he knew about doing electrical work and pyrotechnics, Mom taught me all about medicine ... I got taught to ride horses on all those westerns ... my heroes from the movies were so divided by the times; because Dad did so much work with The Duke, I think his pro-military attitude rubbed off on me.”

“When John Wayne died, literally on my 17^th birthday, it was like something died inside of Dad, too. He and Mom were killed in a car crash barely four months later. I already was at Cal-Tech then. I just threw myself into my studies. I couldn’t stand the liberal bullshit and the phony life of Hollywood. I think that long and rather rambling story is why when I met you, I knew you were ... real. That you were going to change the world and make it a better place, somehow. And that I had to be a part of your life, even if it was just as an assistant. Now I know you’re ... more. So much more than even I could have imagined, dreamed about and hoped for ... can I ... join ... your life?”

“You know I can’t marry you, not until I can marry all of you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t care. I know I’m not from here, from Kansas like the rest of you, so I’ll be the stranger in a strange land ... hang on. Mycroft Holmes. Of course. A talking, intelligent computer named Mike. Excellent choice.”

Eve blew out a big sigh. “Okay. Now that this is all over, can we go back inside, and have Cal fuck the shit out of you now? I’m tired, it’s been a long day, and we’ve got all our families coming over later. Welcome to the family, our newest sister.” She walked over to Marcia, gave her a kiss on the cheek, then headed for the ladder. “Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m having a big case of PMS right now, so if I piss you off, sorry. We all know that feeling.”

That seemed to be the best advice, so that’s pretty much what happened.

The phone rang at 9, waking me up. “This is Cal.”

“Good morning, this is Bill. I didn’t wake you up, did I? I know there’s a two hour time difference.”

“I had a game last night, so yes, but it’s not a big deal, we were up late doing some rearranging of things and long term planning. What can I help you with?”

“Adrienne said you’re going to buy four square MILES of land out there for us?”

“I’m going to see if I can, yes. Note that it’s not just for Microsoft, specifically. I want to create a business and industrial park. I’ve already called Sandy about doing physical production of the Cisco equipment here. I’m in the initial stages of trying to get a wind turbine factory here. I figured that, since the price of land here is cheap, as are actual construction prices, I ought to be able to get something developed that you might be interested in. We would have rail, highway, and air access, literally right next door.”

“Well, partner, I know you have more than one business going, with your financial group. Let’s just say that I’m incredibly interested, and want to be kept very closely in the loop on things. I could’ve got another fifteen million from you, huh?”

“I was ready to go that high, yes. I already had placed a minimum value on the program I wrote, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that our operating system is going to become the one that dominates. 80% of 500 million computers running Microsoft operating systems at fifty bucks per copy is twenty billion dollars. That’s where we’ll be in probably 5 years or so. That doesn’t count the office program in there. Or the other advances that will happen in computer gaming. Or networking. Hell, yes, putting forty million into something that will return ten billion or more is worth it. That’s my share, for CEDEM. Your share will be ... five times that, or more.”

There was silence on the phone. I could hear that he was breathing. “Bill? Hello!”

I heard a big sigh. “Sorry. Adrienne said I did something like that on the phone last night, too. What’d she say, you broke me? Yeah. This is ridiculous. We’re talking about numbers that are more than the gross domestic product of some countries.”

“Yep. And if that doesn’t make you personally wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, then I’m not sure what will. Me? My goal is king of the world.” I laughed, so he’d get that I wasn’t serious, even though I felt Margie slap me, because she knew how serious I really was.

Bill laughed. “Your majesty, keep your subjects in mind. Okay, have Marcia coordinate with your people on everything.”

“Uh, minor detail. She quit Microsoft last night. She now works for CEDEM, sort of. Probably instead of being your coordinator with me, she’ll be my coordinator with you. I’ll have her working on computer modeling of real world physics applications as well. Of course, I have a benefit package you can’t match.”

“Oh, really?” There was disbelief in his voice.

She spoke up. “Yeah, the benefit is that I get Cal’s package.”

Bill heard that and just started laughing. “I’m just going to leave that alone. Let’s talk on Monday.” He was still laughing when he hung up the phone.

“I hope you have appropriate clothes for a family cookout. If not, Margie will run you into town and back ... quickly.”

Marcia shook her head. “I’ll need something, so I probably ought to ... what the heck? Why are my legs stuck?”

“Are you stuck to the bed, or are they just stuck together?”, Beth asked.

“Stuck together. What’s going on?”

“I thought we had washrags and such to clean up with last night?” I asked.

“We did. It may have drained back out of her, while she was asleep. We didn’t take showers or go pee,” Beth said. “Pick her up, get her in the shower, and go pee on her legs. We’ve got too much to do for her to be stuck like that.”

“Um, excuse me?”

I picked her up. “It’s okay, Marcia. You don’t ever want to let my cum dry on you. It’s like a serious glue. The good news is, it comes off easily with proper application of an agent that dissolves it. The bad news is, that agent is my urine. That’s one reason we have so many showers here. You should have seen Margie’s pantyhose up in the hayloft. Stuck out straight, and crinkly.”

She wasn’t amused, until she realized that I was quite serious. And that it worked. “I’d almost like to get a chemical analysis of that done. Why does your dry semen do that?”

“That’s what normally happens to semen, it dries hard. Since I’m special, mine behaves like that, only it dries ... harder. As for why pee works better than just warm water, we’ve just ignored trying to do other experimentation.”

“That makes sense.” She stopped, realizing something. “You know, I feel like I’ve known you for years now. I should be somewhat uncomfortable, but ... I’m not. That’s not how relationships normally go.”

“Talk to Margie about that. We’ll see you soon, sweets!” I gave her a quick, but good, kiss, then went in where the younger girls were getting things ready. “Just a quick check that we’re all okay.”

Dora laughed. “Worry about something serious, mi amor. We love you. We love our life, wherever it takes us.” The other two nodded in agreement.

Margie and Marcia were back within an hour. They’d also picked up lawn chairs and some toys for the younger kids to play with in the pool. Harry and Emily came over with the grill and a couple of portable tables.

“Hi! We met at the game last night. I’m Emily, Margie’s older sister, this is Harry, Beth’s dad and my husband. You came out early this morning to help with this. Is that part of your duties with Microsoft?”

“Um, no. But I don’t work for Microsoft now, I work for CEDEM. I didn’t come out early, I, um, spent the night.”

“CAL!”

“What?” Margie and I were getting things set up at another table.

“Dammit! Now you’re corrupting women from other states! I mean, come on!”

“Uh, sis, he didn’t do anything. And last time I looked, you’re not his mother. So, it’s not like he has to ask permission. Mother, look, this cute looking girl followed me home, can I keep her? She’s over 21, white, and free. She can make her own decisions, about what she wants to do with her own life.”

Emily shook her head. “Okay, I’ve got that out of my system now. Sorry, I think that was just an involuntary reflex on my part. Stephen is going to blow his cork, though. So will our mother.”

“You’re forgiven,” I said. “I thought your Mom and Dad spent the night with you last night.”

“They did. They went to bed early, then Dad said something about needing to run into town this morning, so he and Mom went in and had breakfast with Elroy. I don’t know what it was all about, honestly. Oh, Dad did say you had a great game.”

We spent another hour getting things set up and ready, with three vehicles showing up a little early. Elroy was in the lead car, Jane and Jill were in the second, Marianne and Allen were in the third. I welcomed everyone.

“We can’t stay,” Jill said. She looked at her sister.

Jane looked ... not as upset, and calmer than I’d seen her in a while. “No, we can’t. Before we head back to Wichita, I needed to apologize to you. Jill has been explaining a lot of facts of life to me, and we met with Dad ... Elroy ... dammit.”

Jill put her arm on her sister’s, nodding her head. That seemed to give Jane strength. “Thanks, sis. It’s tough, you know. I knew my husband was a son of a bitch, but I never knew how much of one he was. I’m sorry that there was such a scene at dinner that night. I’m NOT sorry that I know the truth, and I can only hope that you’ll forgive me at some point for my actions. I know that we’re not family, now, but ... I hope we can be friends.” She was crying pretty hard when she finished.

Jill pulled some tissues out of a pocket, like she’d been prepared. “I did my crying last night. It’s funny, finding out the house you grew up in really isn’t your home. You had a good game last night, Cal, and I wish you and your ladies the best of luck in your future. I really do mean that. Jane and I are both filing for divorce. Les will take over running the dealership, Don’s brother will take over running the tractor dealership. But you own them, both of them. We set things up with Elroy last night. He was half owner anyway. Do with them what you will. I’m not sure what we’re going to do.”

“I’m guessing that the two of you would just like to get the hell out of Kansas now, maybe start your lives all over again. I take it we’re going to take care of you from a financial perspective.” They both nodded. “Do either of you have an issue actually working for a living? I mean, real jobs and such?” They both shook their heads.

“Marcia, you’ll have to go back to Seattle on Monday, anyway, to get our badges done. Talk to Adrienne and see if she has a couple of jobs for people who are decent middle management types. They’re not computer programmers, but they’d be good in human resources, maybe the supply chain and such.”

Jill blinked. “You’d do that, for us? Get us jobs in Seattle? Who’d we be working for, that you can just do that?”

“Amusingly enough, sort of me. CEDEM owns 20% of Microsoft. It’s effectively a clean break from Kansas, and you’ll be right in the middle of a big city, working for a multi-billion dollar company. As for why I’d do it ... even though you’re biologically not family, I know that Elroy has feelings for both of you. Family looks out for family, no matter what.”

Once they were both done crying after that, they left to start getting things in Wichita settled for their upcoming move. Elroy came over to me. “I’m really not sure what to make of that. They came up last night to let me know what they were planning on doing. I think they may have both just finished growing up. It was ... different ... with them in the house last night.”

Marianne came over and joined us. “Elroy, did you tell Cal to do that?”

He shook his head. “I’ve given the running of the business to him. That was totally his idea. I tried to tell you last night that he would do right by everyone.”

“That’s what Allen has been telling me. It’s ... difficult, you know. Losing nieces I was almost as close to as sisters. Going from raising and worrying about my kids to finding out that I’m going to be a grandmother. Damn it, I’m too young for that.”

“Well, at least you’ll be able to bounce them on your knee, spoil them rotten, and then give them back, like a good grandmother does,” Elroy said.

“That’s my job, after all. Wait a minute. Them? Is Emily expecting twins?”

Margie heard her rising voice and came running over. “Yeah, about that ... you know how I never thought I’d find a man? I wasn’t taking birth control pills, and ... um ... from a male perspective, I was still a virgin. Actually, until I met Cal, I was halfway convinced I was probably a lesbian. The good news is, I’m not a lesbian. The other good news is, I’m going to be a mommy.”

Allen was watching his wife carefully, ready to intervene if she did something. When she did move, it wasn’t what he was expecting. She stepped forward, taking Margie in her arms, then reaching a hand out to me as well. “Congratulations! I love you, dear. I’ve been talking to Allen, so I know Cal can’t marry you. But, you’re with a good man, and he just showed me that family is all that matters to him.”

After several more minutes of not saying much and some blubbering, we broke up in time to see the Menendez family pulling in, with the Patrick family right behind them. Dora was ready, having opened one of the front garage doors. “Okay, kids! Bea, Patty, Toby. If you want to do some swimming before we eat...” That was all she got out, before they were stripping down to their swimsuits.

Stephen asked, “Won’t it be too cold?”

Dora said, “Enclosed and heated. Come on, guys. Remember, an absolute rule for you guys, NO swimming without me, Eve, or someone else watching! And no going beyond the rope, so stay in the shallow end.”

Stephen still wasn’t sure, but he followed them in. Everyone else ended up tagging along, as they hadn’t seen the pool or the garage. “Damn,” he said. “This is ... huge. You’ve got room to park half a dozen cars in here.”

“Yep. And we can either work on one or the other side ... I’ve a bunch of scrap metal over there right now ... or do woodworking or something else, too. Of course, we’ve got the pool heater, pump, and everything in here as well, plus a bathroom and shower. And it’s insulated, air conditioned, and heated.”

Dora opened the door to the pool. The cover was still in place. There were towels set out. “80 foot lap pool. Remember, kids, that end, on the other side of the rope, is off limits to you. At least on this end, you should all be able to stand up and your feet will touch the bottom.”

The kids carefully got into the pool, then started being kids, playing and having fun. I led the adults outside. “No doubt you all wondered what’s going on with the fence and the guards at the driveway. That’s not on me, that’s on Microsoft. And perfect timing, folks, this is the new security head for the Hutchinson, Kansas, branch of Microsoft, Mike Douglas.”

“Not related, and I’ve heard all the comments about the name. Seriously, folks, this’ll only take me just a minute. Do all of you have your drivers licenses on you? I just need to take pictures of those, plus your cars, so we’ll be able to make sure you’re allowed to enter after we get the fence the rest of the way up.”

“That seems rather extreme, don’t you think?” Stephen asked.

“It doesn’t really matter what I think, sir. It’s what Mister Gates ordered to protect his partner and their immediate family. Considering ... Mister Lewis, may I?” I nodded.