Chapter 5

John laughed. “You still don’t see, Brando. Once the process is up and running, you will have less work to do. The workers will make their parts, the apprentices will check them and later put them together, and most likely the apprentices will take over the teaching of making a part. All you will end up doing is examining the completed bicycle or other item, to make sure you are happy with the end product.”

Brando’s mouth opened and closed, while Raka giggled at the sight of her mentor lost for words. She spoke to John, “I think he finally gets it, dear.”

“I think so too, Raka. Take him to the cook-fire and feed him. He needs some body fuel; he is so busy all the time. You and your baby must be in need of food as well.”

She grinned, took Brando by the arm and said, “Food, Brando. We can talk when your belly is full.”

They went off to eat, leaving John to sit on a simple wooden 3-legged stool and ruminate for a while on the vagaries of nanite technology. He reckoned that no human had really understood what they were getting into with this cleverness. It was yet another example of mankind developing something new and having no idea where it would end up.

These ideas were many; a gunpowder firework for fun becoming the intercontinental ballistic missile; the curious emanations from radium leading to the atomic bomb, the block ink stamp of ancient China producing modern printing with books and periodicals; the mud bricks of ancient Mesopotamia developing into fired brick and breeze-block construction, as well as the Pozzolanic volcanic ash of Roman concrete becoming immensely tall steel-reinforced concrete towers in his time.

Some time later, Raka wandered back to John, laying a hand on his shoulder from behind.

“John, love? Over our meal, Brando asked me a question he did not want to bring up with you, as he thought it might look bad for him.”

“Okay, Raka. Come and sit on my knees, and tell me while I fondle your tits.”

She gladly did so, reinforcing their bond as husband and wife.

“That feels nice, John, but to get back to the subject, Brando noted that the workers would get a reward, as would his apprentices. He wondered if he would get any reward for running this proposed enterprise, or was he to do it for enjoyment only?”

John chuckled, “I should have thought of this. Any entrepreneur is going to look for a profit, naturally enough. Let me see how we can do this ... how about we allow him to personally own every twentieth copy of a product, for him to trade for his own benefit? This means that the more copies produced, the more benefit he gains? Of course, there are costs involved in the production of goods: more and more good wood needed, for example. Someone has to provide payment for that wood to be gathered and prepared. I wonder if the wood suppliers could be rewarded the same as the workers making parts?”

Raka looked up at the sky as she thought.

“My love, the more you look into this, the more you have to consider everyone else who contributes to the tribe’s ability to make products: the hunters who provide meat, the ladies who gather herbs, vegetables and fruit, the cooks who prepare the meals, the guards and warriors who protect the tribe and all the people making things, and so in goes on. Even the mothers who are producing children, and those who help to look after the children; everyone adds to this scheme. Do all get a reward?”

“Raka, that is a question that has existed throughout history; my history and your history. It gets back to matters of hierarchy, where some members of the community are in positions of power and are rewarded more on that single basis, no matter whether they deserve the reward or not. The reward goes with the position. Is it fair? Certainly not. Is it just? Again, no; but it remains a fact of life as humans.

If the person in the highest position got there by acting bravely on behalf of the community, then he deserves a reward. If he got there by the fact that his father was in charge previously, then he is not deserving but may still gain that reward if the community sees the descent basis as honorable.

If he gained the position by conquest, then there is no-one to prevent him taking the rewards – which might include raping women or killing men on a whim. The only way to prevent this is to act in a similar way – to kill him in turn.”

Raka asked, “So how should we act, my husband?”

John accepted, “We have made decisions on equality, have we not? We should take that farther, applying it to as many aspect of community life as is practical.”

“So how do we spread that reward principle? Not all rewards will be the same, as some might prefer objects like tools and equipment, while others might prefer a goodly supply of nutritious food over and above what we get through our communal meals.”

“Eventually, this reward system will settle into the community making standard tokens that can be exchanged for other things; perhaps more than one token for the more sought-after things. It is what happened in my home land.”

“What do you mean by tokens, my love?”

“In my time, it was metal discs with images impressed on them, and a number to indicate a value of one or more basic tokens, to save you having to hold many tokens of the single-token value. Many people will want to amass lots of tokens to make them feel important; others will see that as unimportant for a good life.”

Raka pushed again, “What is wrong with real things? Why use tokens, indicators of value?”

John explained patiently, “The tokens make it easier to exchange value. If you have moccasins to trade and the trader only has soap, and you don’t need soap, how can you do a deal? If you sell your moccasins for tokens, then wait until another trader arrives with things you want, then you hand the tokens to him in exchange for what you want. That way, you can get what you need without a long wait until you find a trader with the goods you want to trade for.

Moccasins will wait, but if you have new-baked bread, it will go stale in a few days and not be any good for trading. I know bread is not a good example, but then neither is fish, and the fisher village needs to trade its fish quickly. We have stuff they want, so it works for us. With tokens, it becomes easier to negotiate deals. You just settle on the number of tokens for each of your goods, and it should be the same number next time as well.”

Raka nodded, as she thought it over. “That should work. You may have to work out your reward system for payments to workers. Might you use the tokens for that reward use?”

“We may very well come to that, Raka, but it will take time to set up that token system. We have to determine how many tokens will be made, as too many tokens in use will cause them to have a lower value, see?”

“My head is starting to spin with all these complications, John. I have had enough for now. Can we go over it all later, such as tomorrow? Just take me to bed and fuck me now, please?”

“As always, my beauty. Do you want to be on top, to avoid disturbing our baby in there?” He pointed to her swelling belly.

“That’s thoughtful of you, John, but on my back is fine, as long as you keep your weight off my baby. It gives you more freedom to move that big member of yours. I am sure it has grown larger since your unconsciousness episode.”

“It may be so, Raka. I haven’t noticed, but I never bother with how long or wide my pecker is, just whether it works properly with my girls.”

“Oh, it works fine, dear. I have no complaints, and neither do any of your other women. This was just an observation of an apparent change, and I wondered if it was your little ninites again.”

John automatically corrected her, “Nannites, not ninites, but you may be right at that. I still don’t know everything they did while I was comatose. I expect I’ll find out eventually. I hope my face is still the same!”

They went to Raka’s bedding place and made happy passionate love, until Chief Numa came up to them.

“John? You have two women to satisfy this evening, so why are you cavorting with Raka now?”

Raka immediately told her, “Numa, it was me diverting him. I wanted a fucking and took my chance. Blame it on my pregnancy making me more needy. I am sure you felt the same at this stage.”

“Hmm ... well, I suppose I did, but it still mucks up my schedule, unless John feels able to fuck both of them tonight after doing you just now.”

John declared, “Numa my darling woman, I will do my best tonight. The change in me means I produce more man seed more often than before, so the chances are that I will be fine. I just love fucking every one of you girls, as I am sure you know.”

Numa rolled her eyes. “Yes, and every one of us girls enjoys it too. Okay, you are forgiven, Raka, but try not to disrupt my fucking rota.”

“I will obey my Chief,” she said, contritely. Neither of them understood why John giggled at Numa’s words, which he saw with an unintended double meaning. This swear word did not exist in their local vocabulary.

Next day, John was at the cave entrance, seated on a wooden stool, on self-appointed observation duty; looking into the distance for anything untoward. He spotted dark clouds which appeared to be coming in this direction; probably bringing heavy rain. He was toying with warning the outside guards, when someone cleared their throat behind him. Without looking back, he asked, “Yes?”

“Kekona said I would probably get pregnant from your rut with me. Is that what you expect and want?”

He recognised the voice. “Oh, it’s Agreya. Yes, I would anticipate your becoming pregnant, either from that or our later sex bouts.”

“Later sex bouts? What later sex bouts?”

“The ones you want, that’s what I mean. As the nanites got you to have sex with me, they most certainly have boosted your body’s sex demands, so that you will want more and more sex in order to start a baby. Due to your previous status inclinations, that would suggest it be with me as High Chief. Right?”

“Uhh, I suppose so. That would make sense, even though I don’t see how it will benefit me. It is odd. I find myself really looking forward to getting fucked by you again. The demand is coming from within me, not a conscious want; I just need you to fuck me again, to relieve that demand. Can we do it today, or does the Chief have you on a busy schedule that prevents it?”

“Come round here, to my front, Agreya. I still have to keep an eye out for additional problems on the far horizon, so you are going to cling onto my upper body while you fuck yourself on my boner. A do-it-yourself fuck. Get the idea?”

“Just fucking? No lovemaking?”

“For now, just fucking. The idea is to get you pregnant. Later, if you show yourself as something more than a haughty nuisance, you might end up being loved, but it is up to you to prove yourself. Now get round here and fuck, woman!”

She was unclear why she was doing what he so peremptorily instructed, but she came round and positioned herself on his lap, facing him, legs wide open and slowly eased John’s hard penis into her own vagina. She sighed happily at the feeling, but went on to complain, “What am I, if I get pregnant? Just a pregnant woman having your baby, or something more?”

She started thrusting, almost automatically, but this time with her inherent inclination to seek satisfaction for herself, going beyond the mere physical practicalities of the act.

“As I said earlier, that is up to you,” John told her. “You learn to become a member of this tribe, acting under its rules and customs, or you remain simply a woman expecting my baby.”

“And I will be expecting your baby, no matter what?”

“That’s it in a small shell, Agreya. You will have a baby, sooner or later, as part of your assimilation. You have been added to this tribe, at the request of your father, and what you get out of it, you first have to put into it. What you should first expect to get out of it is a baby. Other than that, it is your call as to what you put into the tribe, to gain respect as well as your own offspring.”

Agreya was only half paying attention, as her body took over the fucking of John’s member. She grunted her animal pleasure, and only after she orgasmed and relaxed did she take most of it in. A word had caught her interest.

“Uhhh, you were saying something about respect.”

“Yes. To repeat, you will likely have a baby, but to gain respect from the tribe, you must act as a good tribeswoman should, all through the following nine moons. On the other hand, act as you did when you first arrived, and you will get kicked out once the baby arrives, and we’ll keep the child for the tribe’s benefit. Are you clear on that?”

She was conscious that his penis was still hard, despite her own completion. She answered his question and also posed her own, “Yes, I am clear. It appears I am a fucking slut to you until I have your baby, and I must behave myself throughout. Do you want to shoot your seed into me before I get off you?”

He seemed unaware that he had not cum yet, and said, “Oh, yes. Hold yourself there, Agreya, tight against me, and I’ll finish. You don’t want to miss a chance to get pregnant.”

He hammered up into her vagina, over and over until his rod performed like a fountain up the tunnel that led to her womb. He grunted his own pleasure at that, while she continued to rub her sensitive tits against his chest.

“Great Mother!” she exclaimed. “I have to have more of this; my body says this is what my life is all about until I get a baby on the way. I am going to have to learn from Kekona the ways of this tribe, for she is already a respected woman here for some reason.”

John held her tight until his penis relaxed and slid out of her. “That sounds as if you are starting to accept your place here, Agreya, as my slut.”

“Damn it, yes! I don’t really have many options, do I? Will I be able to become another wife to you, John? At least eventually?”

“Hmm ... that is a possibility, if you are prepared to have a number of my children, to join all the other children I expect to have. Think it over, for there will be no quick decision; probably only once I see your first baby in my hands will I be able to decide if the baby’s mother should be a wife to me.”

After Agreya had gone back inside to discuss with Kekona her position as John’s slut, John got the entrance guard to go down and warn the perimeter guard that rain was expected soon.

Around an hour later the claps of thunder indicated the imminent arrival of the downpour. Before the rain arrived, a trader hurried towards the cave, already dripping from an encounter with the cloudburst a mile or two away.

Pushing his laden bicycle to the cave entrance, he asked for sanctuary from the incoming water.

“Trader Pondoro, seeking shelter, Chief,” he said to John, making an assumption about the imposing man seated at the cave mouth.

John corrected him. “I am not the Chief, Trader Pondoro. You want Chief Numa for permission. She is about somewhere, possibly breastfeeding her baby.”

The man blinked his surprise and shock, then recovered. “Is this the tribe that has soap and moccasins for trading?”

John shrugged. “Usually. Soap is fairly plentiful at the moment, but we are in between moccasin making at the moment: switching from soft leather to tough hide leather for stronger moccasins. I see you already have a bicycle.”

“Yes. It is great. I bought it from another trader a while back. Cost me a lot, so I am not selling it.”

“Calm down, man. This and another local tribe are the ones who make the bicycles, so we won’t ask for yours. You like it, I gather.”

“Yeah, great for carrying loads. That leads to more trades, so life is good, unless you get caught in the rain.”

“Oh?” John was interested. “Rain is a bother, is it?”

“It is that. Not so much me getting wet, but some of my goods can be ruined if they get badly wet. I have to use my body to shield them from the worst of the rain.”

“In that case, if we were to make weatherproof hats and capes; possibly even a cape for your bicycle, you would be interested?”

“Would I? You can be sure of that!” Then he sobered enough to think in business mode. “Mind you, the price would be a factor to consider. Too high and I would stick to laying leaves over the goods, or something. The covers would have to be affordable; that is my normal approach to business and it would apply here.”