Chapter 2

Julia gazed up at Vivian’s smiling eyes, looking blissfully content.

“Vivian,” she said.

“Yes, dear?” Vivian replied.

“You said something before. To Mark, I think, that I didn’t really understand. You said ‘We aren’t quite like you.’”

Vivian’s look became serious.

“Sweetie, let’s wait till Charles gets back. Then we can talk, all right?”

“Of course,” Julia said.

Charles appeared in the doorway, robes hanging off each arm, holding a tray with more glasses and a carafe.

“Would anyone like some water?” he said, putting the tray on the table.

“Oh, sure. Here, let me get it,” said Mark.

Charles gently draped a robe over Julia’s curled body.

“Oh, thank you, Charles,” she said, snuggling against Vivian.

“And for you, Mark” he said, handing him a robe.

“And you, my love,” he said, holding the robe open. Vivian slipped her arm into the sleeve, and Charles pulled the robe around her.

Mark poured the water and put on his robe.

Vivian turned to Charles, who had sat back down next to Julia on the couch.

“So, Charles,” Vivian said. “Julia was asking about us. About our differences.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, yes,” Charles said. “This seems a good time to discuss the subject.”

“But let me suggest this,” he continued. “Let’s introduce the topic and discuss it for a bit tonight with the idea that we will have a more robust discussion tomorrow, when everybody’s well-rested.”

Mark and Julia looked at him curiously.

“Does that sound all right?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, sure,” Mark said. “But, I guess, that would mean we’re spending the night?”

“Oh, I think so at this point, sweetie, if you don’t mind,” Vivian said. “It’s late, and everyone’s tired. And we have a lovely guest room, with the bed all made up. I’ll show you as soon as we’ve talked.”

Charles sipped from his water glass.

“What I’m about to tell you – or we are about to tell you, as I hope Vivian will assist me with this – will surprise you, at a minimum, and probably shock you. It will be very challenging, indeed, at first, to believe any of it, trained as you are to take things like this with a healthy dose of skepticism.”

As he talked, Julia pulled her robe tighter around her, her eyes fixated on Charles.

“Be that as it may. What I am about to tell you is the absolute truth, a truth Vivian and I have lived with for much of our lives. We are part of a people known as The Elysians.”

“The who?” asked Julia.

“The Elysians – a name undoubtedly derived from Greek mythology in which Elysium or the Elysian plains were where some humans gained special powers, including immortality. We are not immortal, but we differ from ordinary humans in significant ways. We have capabilities humans don’t have. We are somewhat stronger and faster and have enhanced sexual capabilities. We also have significantly higher intellectual capacity.”

“Intellectual capacity?” said Mark. “In what way?”

“Well, if you were to use a basic test of general intelligence, Elysians would consistently score high in the genius classification. We also have the advantage of being able to read much more quickly. So, for example, a book that would take you four hours to read, Vivian and I could read in about thirty minutes. Our retention is also far better. By no means photographic, but of a very high order on the substance of the text.”

“For example,” Vivian said. “Julia, if you had us read a page from any book – say any of those over there,” she added, gesturing to a bookcase, “it would take less than a minute and we’d remember everything it said. Not word-for-word, but all of the substance.”

“Okay,” said Julia, jumping up from the couch, her eyes shining. She went over to the bookcase and scanned the titles. She picked one out and selected a page.

“Okay, how about this one?” she said, handing it to Vivian.

They watched Vivian scan the page, her eyes barely seeming to move.

“All done,” said Vivian, handing the book back to Julia. It hadn’t been more than 15 seconds.

“Okay,” said Julia. “What was she wearing?”

“A black multi-flora maxi-length dress in a satiny fabric with a red, orange, and green rose pattern, a cowl neckline and an open back with a tie closure.”

Julia gaped at her and then looked down at the page. “I thought you didn’t remember it word-for-word!”

Vivian smiled. “I happened to remember that!”

Julia scanned the page. “What did Justin say after she said ‘How do you account for that?’”

“He said he didn’t know whether it was because they didn’t plan properly or whether they had a perfect plan and just didn’t execute it correctly.”

Julia stared at the page, nodding. She looked at Mark. “It’s amazing! Here!” She handed him the book.

He read the relevant parts. Vivian’s recall was exact. He looked up. “Perfect.”

Julia gazed at Vivian. “But how?”

“Our short-term memory has significantly greater capacity – perhaps a dozen times greater than regular humans,” Charles said. “It is, indeed, remarkable. But Vivian will have forgotten most of it by tomorrow, except such parts as she chooses to retain through rehearsal.”

There was a moment of silence as Julia and Mark processed what they had just seen.

Then Mark spoke. “And you said, stronger and faster?” said Mark.

“Well, nothing otherworldly,” Charles replied. “But we are generally above most measures of athletic performance and physical coordination.”

“So, do you win all the Olympic medals or sports trophies?” Mark asked.

Charles laughed. “No, because we don’t want to – it would hardly be fair or a source of pride. But, more significantly, because it would identify us as materially different and, for reasons I’ll get into later, we decided long ago to avoid that to the maximum extent possible.”

“All of these abilities,” Charles continued, “are made possible through ingestion of a substance, with other details I’ll fill you in on. The substance is called Amrita, probably after the elixir of life described in ancient Vedic texts.”

“Amrita,” Mark repeated. “Where does it ... come from?”

“Amrita can only be made using a crystal of which there is only one to our knowledge, called the Karav. The location of the Karav is the most closely guarded secret of all those held by the Elysians. There are only a handful – no one know how many – who have any information about this. And for all but one of those, called The Guardian, the information is incomplete. Those who have the discrete components of knowledge must separately provide it to the one chosen to obtain more of the Amrita, and that individual’s memory of the location is erased once the Amrita has been obtained.

“It may seem ludicrously complicated – the stuff of fiction – but there it is. To cause someone to become an Elysian, both the human and an Elysian of the opposite sex must drink the Amrita. Then, they must have sexual intercourse.”

“You said the memory of the person is erased. How is that done,” Mark asked.

“Ah yes,” Charles replied. “We do that through administration of a drug that effectively obliterates the memory of recent events.”

“How does it work?” asked Julia.

“Well, as you know, the brain synthesizes new proteins to establish neural connections to form memories. One such protein is PKMzeta. To delete the memory, we administer a drug, a type of zeta inhibitory peptide that blocks the production of PKMzeta so when the person tries to recall the event, the key protein is absent and the memory ceases to exist. That’s because even a brief interruption of PKMzeta activity can dismantle the function of an established neural circuit.”

Vivian smiled at the baffled looks on the young couples’ faces.

“Let’s get to the fun part,” she said. “Female Elysians have capabilities that ordinary women lack. We can give orgasms to men or women at will, given the right circumstances.”

“You did that to me,” Julia exclaimed. “To both of us. But ... you said the mucous membranes, I think?”

“Yes. Through stimulation of nerve pathways that lead to the brain. Orgasms originate in the brain, as of course you know. Almost all happen through direct stimulation of sexual organs, though a few people can reach orgasm with no stimulation. Female Elysians can generate those orgasms, as long as they’re in contact with parts of your body that have a strong neural connection with the brain. And mucous membranes fit the bill.”

“The mouth?” said Julia.

“Well, that’s one,” Charles said. “But they are found throughout the body – they line the insides of organs and cavities, including the genital and anal areas.”

“Have you ever felt the tingling sensation when you touch a 9-volt battery to your tongue?” Vivian looked at Mark. “Something every boy has surely done at some point.”

Mark nodded.

“Oh, sure, I have, too.” said Julia.

“But you can’t feel anything if you touch it to your finger, or your arm or your leg. Well, it’s a bit like that, although not exactly. A female Elysian in contact with areas of your body having mucous membranes can generate an orgasm by sending an electrical impulse directly to the brain – an extra spark. But she can’t simply by touching your arm, for example.”

“So, when you said ‘an extra spark’...” Julia began.

“Yes – all it takes is a tiny, tiny spark to send your synapses off like a Roman candle!”

“And It sure does!” said Julia.

“But it also works in reverse,” Vivian added. “If, for example, Mark is inside me or in my mouth, I can do the same thing and, in fact, did that to Mark.”

“Can male Elysians do it, too?” Julia asked.

“No!” said Vivian, glancing at Charles with a sly smile.

“Although,” she added, “as I you’ve experienced, Julia, they have other ways of achieving the same thing. In fact, better than the same thing, as I can’t give you a cervical orgasm. That requires direct contact – and my fingers aren’t long enough!”

“A what orgasm?” Julia said.