Chapter 18

Tommy and Consti didn't make it to work for three days. The three women and I could see into the bio-dome and could see that Tommy though young was performing like a man. His puberty had started many years early then interrupted so he would not be continuously horny. The block was now off and his little testicles were getting a workout. Small pills were put beside his bed and they seemed to help along with the med unit.

My work on the computer started again but this time everything was much clearer. Even clearer than what Margaret had first seen. When I brought Sandra and Megan in to help our three minds worked in unison to make everything even more simplistic.

The girls abandoned their old job and assisted me. In one day we got a half of a cycles work done. Odava was amazed and we tried to get him to join us. I think that we had been a family long enough that he consented the next day. The productivity of my wives and I stayed the same but Odava's more than tripled. The next day Ichom assisted too and she was able to do much more than before.

Tom came out of the tank much like his wife. I could easily see his heightened intelligence. His performance was more than his wife's but less than ours. Part of this was that I had pushed the limits just a bit more to get more abilities. Before this new race of ours grew much more we would have to have everybody go back into the tanks to get upgraded or maybe even downgraded if things didn't work. Tom's aura now matched his wife's as much as my wives matched mine. I now knew what the instructions had been that were given to Max.

We built the second portion of the keel now that Tom, Tommy and Consti were back. The various families were never far apart now and everything seemed to be working as it should.

When the forth and last portion of the keel was complete we began to align all four portions and fuse them together. Ceramic was very light especially here on the moon but the mass we had to deal with was anything but.

Forms were made and then the four portions were bonded to these to hold them in position. Some of us worked on this task while others continued to gather raw materials or manufacture billets or parts.

With this last effort well underway Tommy came to me, "Leif, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure you can. You know I always have time for you. What is it that's bothering you?" I knew what the problem was but wanted to be polite.

"I want to marry Consti. I know without reading her mind that she wants me too."

"Well, let's take this one step at a time. First you have to get improved like your dad was. This time Consti will be the one doing most of the work. Eleven to fifteen days after the procedure we will talk again but we should really let it go for the full seventy two days. A cycle will let you learn how far your abilities will take you."

He didn't like waiting but I added, "There is no difference whether you two are wedded or not. You will be together the same way. When the two of you are used to one another I want you to consider joining us with the second improvement. I think you will agree but I do not know about your future wife."

Tommy liked the term and said, "I want to be like you guys too. Consti is so very smart already but you guys are even smarter. She hides things from me but I can see things even if I can't read minds. She wants to be like you guys too."

"Let's hope so. Do you want to start just after our work period?"

His eyes grew bright. He had waited for this for over two years now and he said verbally, "Ya!"

All of us met hours later in what used to be Consti's home. It was now the home of the pair even if we didn't legitimise it. Tommy was naked as was Consti they couldn't quite wait for us but this would probably work the same. Nakedness was common here as it was on my old ship and there was never a mention made of it. Tom gave his son one of the pills and in a moment the tired boy was ready again.

Odava and Ichom had come to this because it was more of a ceremony in a way and besides they liked Tommy for many reasons.

Young Tom had to lay on the bed now and Consti with excited movements started her foreplay. She kissed his face and sucked the lobes of his ears. Tommy wanted to hold her but kept his hands still. An agonising half hour later she was at his little erection that had been keeping her happy and she sucked him quickly into her mouth. Tommy's hands came out but Consti's words in his mind kept him from doing so.

Sandra and Megan brought soft bindings and began to attach them to their brother's wrists before securing them above his head. They then did the same thing to his legs but his legs were parted.

Consti put the block in and Margaret told her that she had done it perfectly. I saw that not only Consti was horny but Margaret too. In a moment so were my wives. This produced a bit of feedback and Consti had to be guided. I was not immune to my wives but I worked hard to put up a barrier to their influence. This was hard to do but it was very necessary.

Tommy was young and just like me when I found my first woman. He though was helped along in his sexual development. I saw a lot of me in the boy and it was easy to empathises with his predicament. He was now approaching the animal state and so was Consti. Margaret had to brace her then so did my wives. This didn't help me for now all four women felt what was happening to Consti's vagina. When it looked like it would fail, Ichom for the first time stepped in to assist the women. They all calmed down under her quiet influence.

All five females now worked on Tommy's mind. It was adequately prepared and Consti was given the instruction to remove the block quickly. Tommy screamed in a high thin voice to be heard in harmony with Consti.

The three Humans barely managed to control themselves. They and the one Gossna now worked to put the mind of the boy in the proper form. Consti came around and when she felt ready she too stepped in to assist. Tommy was done in my opinion but the girls wanted just a bit more.

The poor boy was untied and the women started putting in the necessary information that he could use if he wanted to make rational decisions. The couple were allowed to sleep and we went to our respective homes. It felt good to see not only Margaret pulling her husband but Ichom was doing the same thing to hers.

My wives had plans for me but I had my own too. We pleased each other for three hours and then cut it short to go back to see Tommy.

When we walked in we found Tommy tied once more and Consti happily tantalising him but not letting him orgasm. I could already see that Tommy was working already with his increased powers.

Consti greeted us much better, almost like very close family now. In moments she began the next orgasm in sympathy with her husband. Tommy was soon back to his old state with his reasoning mind hiding in fear. This time the event destroyed part of the recent structure but we put it back into place quickly and did what we could for fine tuning.

Consti was out of it and the girls took this time to tinker ever so minutely with their brother's innermost thinking processes to make the lessons taught find the best home possible.

We untied Tommy once more and put the bindings beside the bed. Consti was moved into position beside her young mate and we left to return to our own pursuits.

Tommy improved in the next cycle. I said to him, "If the Seffra had first met with you this way I think my people would welcome you with open arms. You know what duty is and do not pay it lip service. Your mind is very organised now and when I once waved a small ship in front of your nose I think I now have to wave a much larger one."

Tommy's eyes grew big but before he got the wrong idea I said, "Your family may not hold the captaincy but it would certainly hold important positions. I see nothing wrong with the way the Seffra have managed their ships. A single captain may be necessary in times of great stress but it is usually held by a group. The smaller ships though have only one captain. We have to start gathering a crew now that you are ready for the task. You have quite a lead now on the rest of humanity and in a few cycles you may have even more."

He asked but not with such a meek tinge to his words, "The ones I find will be my wives?"

"Yes they will but you and Consti will not start to increase your family until you both are comfortable with the next step."

"When will that happen Captain?"

"Let the cycle complete itself. This time I want to make an additional tank and put both of you in at the same time. From personal experience I know that this is best."

For the next part of our shipbuilding efforts the keel had to go into orbit. There were a great many small stresses on the large structure that would be nullified if it were not near a large gravitational body. All the contra-gravity units were used and more produced to take most of the weight. Seventeen small motors pushed the heavy body twelve thousand kilometres from the moon's surface. We were very careful to keep the moon between us and Earth so that Humans would not eventually see a huge ship taking shape.

Tommy now flew with a much greater ability and even a bit of panache with the way he bypassed the computer and made perfect adjustments to his flight. He was not impetuous but he was a bit flamboyant because of his newfound confidence in his abilities. He was very young and his father was very proud of him and in reality all of us were. He had sprouted from a young boy with his puberty artificially advanced to a young man secure in the knowledge that he was now going somewhere.

Production of parts picked up for Consti was now happy and confident herself. Though it wasn't proper, I continued to keep her monitored. She was a Seffra first and through customs and conditioning she would stay that way. I was shocked that I could break out of the mould I had been put into. When and if she were elevated, we would have to work on producing some small cracks in her complacency to allow her to see that the Seffra were not always right. I was quite sure she wanted to get on the ship we were presently building and one day go out and search for our race and our home ship.

Tommy didn't mind this because he would be with her and be continuing his own education at the same time. He still had his own preconceptions of how a large ship should work and even when he knew to the contrary, he still wanted to be the 'captain'.

When the cycle was finished the two came to me. Consti asked, "We would like to move up to the level you are now on. Tommy has convinced me that this is the way our family should go."

I said, "Are you sure? You will not be a Seffra anymore. You won't be anything but a new race that we have made ourselves. Our own ancestors were the same way at one time. When we find the Seffra we will have problems with them. They will be angry with what we have done to ourselves. They will see our children as superior but also see them as what should have been Seffra."

"Why are you saying this?" She said.

"I don't want you to change your mind at a later date. Though you make this choice as a family, I don't want you to regret it in the future. Your prospective family demand this of you. Either stay Seffra or be our advanced hybrid of both races."

"I want this Leefstic."

"Then let's do it."

The two were put into separate tanks and close to each other. Max was more than capable of handling two tanks. His limit would be in the thousands of because he would just go from one tank to the next before getting back to the first. It was just that a precision fabricator was ever so much more complicated.

My wives arrived a while later and altered some of the programming. Tommy would find himself now drawn to Consti in a new way as their father and mother were now drawn. I wondered how our families would now work. Would all families be now held this close? It promoted loyalty and duty but I didn't know how the small pool of the second generation would find enough to make similar families.

Sandra and Megan worked with me to get the next computer ready. Ribs were made but they remained for Tommy to take to the ship. He enjoyed this job and it was left for him. The girls monitored the tanks from time to time to make sure the processes they instigated would be adequately followed. Margaret and Ichom were now happily pregnant too and this seemed to give them extra energy.

All of us had discussed possible upgrades for the two Gossna but they were just naturally cautious and not against the idea. They would wait to see how we make out before considering what they wanted to do. They could see some of their race's own failings and what could be done to correct it.

When Tommy and Consti came out of the tanks they went immediately to each other. We helped them get clean then gave them food. It was easy to see that Tommy was even more in love with his wife and Consti just adored her husband for it. As yet they didn't think too much about what had happened to all the other married couples. The instructions given to Max had been gone over quite a few times by all of us. They just didn't know of the overriding mental commands.

We resumed our construction but now we were just getting used to each other all over again. It was better to find out now rather than in a hectic environment like Earth's if something was not right.

The only remaining ribs were close to the skeleton of our ship ready to attach after the large components were built and installed. Without the largest size precision fabricator it would take much longer.

Zolanda had not returned and hope was running thin if she ever would. She had paid us well with her help but I knew that all the old loyalty in an AI could not be glossed over that easily. She would now be searching for her makers and perhaps one day if she found them we would still meet again.

Max was the first computer made completely of our own materials. The second one was called Cordo. This was a Seffra name meaning strong but unassuming. The recently completed third computer was called Pat'uch. This was a Gossna name meaning both aggressive and protective.

Pat'uch was able to almost run a seventh class precision fabricator. Again this was disappointing for we tried hard to make her powerful enough for the ninth. We had even given an extra leeway by building more robustly than what we thought we would need. It now appeared that this progression was even more steep than the geometric curve we had been following.

Pat'uch was not only running the precision fabricator, she ran the large fabricator too when her duties demanded it. She was fairly bright as an AI went but she was not a Soldoy or a Zolanda for that matter. One of her failings was that she didn't have all the data that Soldoy had. She controlled all of the probes now in the spherical volume of space that extended out twenty six lights. This was as far as what the Humans called Vega. Eight other stars were about the same distance and formed our present outer perimeter. With enough probes and repeaters we would have a good idea of what was happening in our neighbourhood.

From time to time ships flew through this area but none had been our enemies or even the Seffra. With our present state of readiness it was advisable to just ignore everybody unless they were aggressive towards us.

The reason we were loading up Pat'uch was because we would all be going to Earth to find recruits. Odava and Ichom would go too but stay in remote areas as a sort of vacation for them and as a backup for us.

The rest of us would go in great Earth style. We manufactured an odd looking boat It actually mimicked an Earth style motorhome. Some equipment had to get moved around so the vehicle would resemble the vehicle we wanted to impersonate. It was a lot of fun to make the vehicle as functional as it should be but still remain incognito when others would view it. Tom and his son spent some time devising methods of hiding some things that were really ingenious. Margaret got into the act and made the interior comfortable for all three couples.

I did my part and made a good computer but it was not even as good as what Borin originally had been. It was not really needed in this instance. The shield had an invisibility capability and the engines could not push it anywhere near as fast as a standard boat.

Pat'uch had taken all of Borin's information and actually listed us in various databases on the planet Earth. Serial numbers, body colour and licence plates would be automatically changed when needed for the vehicle. Tom or Margaret were listed as the owners but under various assumed names They had documentation for each identity if it was necessary. They had opted for new faces and this took a great deal of apparent age from them but there was still clues to their longer life. This was actually necessary for people would believe their eyes before a piece of paper.

The only thing left to do was to choose a place to start. Tom said, "The best place to informally meet people at this time is on the south east coast of the United States. That is where I met a woman once that hasn't left my side since then." Margaret was close and hugged her husband from the back.

She said, "That's right. There are lots of drunk students. They're in a party mood and it is easy to strike up conversations. There was an impetuous young man once that swept me off my feet."

"It sounds like a good place to start. When does this party begin?"

Tom said verbally, "March 7 to the 27 this year. We even have a few days to get there ahead of the rush. Many visitors will fly but most will drive. The roads will be crowded and our 'motorhome' will have to go slow because of the congested traffic. Either we fly between deserted areas and drive the rest of the way but it is still better to get there before everything starts."

"Lead the way. You're the driver of record at the moment. Pick out one of your personas." I had to don my own disguise but this had to be made of flesh. After looking in the mirror I knew I looked much like I had when I first came to Earth though a few years older now.

Tom thought for a moment and the boat changed minutely. The colour scheme altered. A new licence plate appeared. Even the curtains on the functional windows altered.

Behind the motorhome a towed vehicle changed too. Tommy insisted that we pull a vehicle that would be easy to move through traffic. He had built a very small boat with little of the abilities to move in space. It did have room for all of us but still looked like a common General Motors minivan. It was safe for atmospheric flights and short trips into space. It didn't have many of the necessary things needed for longer flights.

We all got into the motorhome. Odava and Ichom would take the ship to South America with them. They didn't need its protection but it did make a handy place to store things they wanted to bring back with them. Their home now looked like a jungle even on the inside.

Tom flew us to Earth with the minivan flying empty and to one side of us. We landed in early morning outside a town by the name of Conway, South Carolina. There the minivan attached itself to the back of the motorhome. In a spot under a large overhang of boughs we became visible.

Moments later we were underway. Just twenty two kilometres to the south east was our first destination. The girls were all dressed to fit in with the locals and tourists alike. The four girls excitedly chatted to each other as if they were simple Humans with simpler minds but I still loved them.

We found a parking lot for the motorhome and we all rode in the van. The windows were open and the cool salt laden air rushed in. This felt wrong mainly because air was not meant to do this in a space craft even if it was altered to resemble an Earth vehicle.

Tom and Margaret had to stop for a coffee and soon I remembered why I disliked Human food. Always too salty and some of the food was just saturated in unhealthy substances. Though our bodies would protect us not everybody around could do this. Some Humans were putting the poisons away with much gusto too. I was still aware of all the problems they would be taking on.

There were only a few early arrivals like us. Most would be arriving in two days. We began our search immediately. This hunt was made much more difficult by my reluctance to force people to change their auras. Now we would have to find those that already matched ours or at least very closely.

We didn't restrict ourselves to the young. If the person was alive she was fair game. With an aura that matched any of the three groups it was unnecessary to be biassed once they were able to rejuvenate themselves. The women were actively helping for the auras would match their own and make any new crew members much closer than sisters.

Megan said, "Let's split up now and increase our chances of finding somebody?"

"Fair enough with me. Everybody has money. Unless you feel that there is something interesting I would like to move on in a few hours."

Seven people moved in seven directions looking at everyone they came across. With our improved brains it was easier to see auras now without all the staining we had to do before. Instruments were not able to do this with as much accuracy.

There were not that many people yet and we got to the edge of the built up area without finding any good prospects. Our return course proved just as fruitful.

Back in the motorhome Tom said, "A lot of Canadians come here this time of year. I have to say that there were some pretty good pickings some years." He squeezed his wife's waist to let her know that she was still good pickings.

Margaret said, "School is not yet out. Let's come back here while the party time is in full swing to see if we can find more. Let's just treat this as a two day holiday until the rush comes."

We drove down highway 17 to Charleston stopping on the way to continue our hunt but to enjoy ourselves with a great many other living beings. Our trips away from the moon had been short. This time we were actually going to mix.

That night we parked in a large trailer court to be ready in the morning for the next part of our search. Here too we did a bit of searching and then just talked to the neighbours. This park had a large common room and a square dance was planned to make things interesting for the guests. The men were pulled to the dance but it was not difficult to do. We had learned that we had to do certain things to keep the family happy.

Some of the dancers had country costumes but we still fit in. Various people were scanned and the information shared amongst us to know more about how to do this activity.

The ring of dancers widened to accommodate the increased numbers. Sandra was quickly accompanied by a man of about her father's age to keep the numbers even. We danced for an hour taking very few breaks. The musicians seemed to get a good workout too for they liked the way the dancing was being done. Some couples dropped out once in a while for a rest and rejoined later.

The dancing got very intricate and the caller even tried to get us to stumble but he didn't do this for malicious reasons. The number of spectators increased. I made sure that our women knew that the increased people were here to see them. Foolish thing for me to do for the women knew exactly why the newcomers arrived. Again, women are much more social animals and know what is going on in a situation more than a mere male.