Chapter 46: SM03-Tau, Day 7

Steve woke that morning with his wives Anna and Lorraine lying on top of him, one on each side. For a change, he was able to get untangled without assistance, because Priya and Sarah were cuddled up behind Anna, lying in each other's arms instead of snuggling against Anna and pinning his arm down.

Since his bladder wasn't complaining yet, Steve refrained from exercising his freedom of movement, and lay there reviewing his new life. It was hard to imagine it was only a week since he'd first awakened in this room. He'd acquired ten devoted women, some of them nearly slaves (and one who apparently really wanted the title, which he was still resisting.) He had ten children on the way, eight of them of his own blood, and the other two by men now dead, who would be raised as if they were his own. And it looked more and more like there would be one more child getting started in a few weeks, when Alexandra's next fertile period started.

Sarah's 'restored' vision was still more of a promise than a reality, but it seemed to improve every day. She still couldn't consciously recognize shapes, but at some level she could perceive the world, because she no longer needed the room voice to warn her about furniture or people that were in her way as she walked around. She could also distinguish faces from non-faces, even if she couldn't tell one face from another until the owner spoke to her.

The only fly in the ointment was Theresa. After several of Steve's wives had talked to her the first day, things had settled into a truce of sorts. Steve used her sexually when he felt like it, and without asking her consent or opinion, and he had 'forced' her to perform several different deviant and degrading acts over the past few days. The only thing he didn't do was call her his slave. The problem was that being called 'slave' was apparently the entire point for Theresa, and she was getting downright grumpy about it.

Thinking of Theresa brought up the question of where she was; he glanced at the foot of the bed, but didn't see her. Usually she and her fellow concubines would be kneeling there by now, waiting to serve him.

His bladder finally beginning to ask for attention, Steve slithered out from between his wives and got out of bed, careful to avoid waking anyone. A glance at the floor at the foot of the bed showed Erica, Alexandra, and Theresa still snuggled up in what he thought of as their doggy bed; he was careful to call it a futon when he spoke out loud, not wanting to insult Erica or Alexandra, or encourage Theresa to think of herself as a pet.

Steve took care of his business in the bathroom, and returned to his bedroom. Finding everyone still asleep, he quietly left the room, entering the hallway and walking down to the common area. Gretchen, Patricia, and Marie were nowhere to be seen, so they were probably still sleeping as well. Nobody had ever gotten around to asking for clocks, and their 'hosts' had never offered them, so Steve had no idea if he was up early, or if everyone else was sleeping in.

Steve settled down in the living room with a cup of coffee for a little quiet thinking time, but it was not to be, because as soon as he settled himself, the room monitor spoke up.

"Zookeeper wishes to speak to you on an important matter," said the room monitor. "He specified that he wished you to be informed as soon as you had awakened. Will you take the call?"

Steve considered refusing, but sipped his coffee and said, "Yes, I'll talk to him. Put him through."

Zookeeper's voice spoke next, and there was an odd tone to his voice, almost like regret. "There have been a number of unfortunate incidents among your people during the past few days, and our efforts to correct them have been uniformly poor; we have failed to act in time, or when we have acted, we have acted poorly in too many cases.

"The authorities that will judge our case predicted that we would fail, and placed many limits on us, but we find that even those limits allowed us enough room to make matters worse. Accordingly, we have decided to allow your species complete control of its destiny.

"Since most of your people have little or no information about the current state of affairs beyond their own household, we will give a few selected humans complete authority, and allow you to choose how and when to educate your fellows as to their position in the broader world.

"You already know that there are several other individuals with your memories under our care. What you do not know is that every single one of them who has become involved in a problematic situation has resolved it successfully. You yourself resolved the issue of your mate's pregnancy, and successfully impregnated all but one of your other mates.

"Accordingly, we have determined that those individuals with your memories will be in charge of the dissemination of knowledge to the rest of your species. You will decide what they are to be told, what options they will be given, and how best to solve any problems they have."

Steve nearly dropped his coffee cup as the impact of Zookeeper's speech sank in. He set the cup carefully on the table in front of him, and gathered his wits. Against his expectations, his voice was steady as he replied.

"You mean to tell me that I'm the best you can do?" he asked. "There isn't anyone smarter out there, or better trained?"

"The data are admittedly somewhat scant, but the information we do have is quite clear. Every single individual copied from the original 'Steve Miller' is living in harmony with all or most of his women. With one exception, every one has impregnated all or most of his women. Without exception, when presented with an opportunity to help another household, your 'brothers' have accepted the challenge and resolved the issues promptly and completely."

Steve was stunned. He picked up his coffee and sat back, sipping it while he thought. After a moment, he asked in a bemused voice, "What exactly are the duties and responsibilities I'm being given? And what limits are there on my actions when I try to fulfill those duties?"

Zookeeper responded, "You are responsible for teaching your fellow humans how to make the best use of the opportunities of their new environment, how to take advantage of the educational resources available to them, and how to make the best possible life for themselves and their offspring.

"As to limits, there are none that are not imposed by the limits of our knowledge and resources, and you will have the authority to order any actions necessary to increase those resources if you choose to do so.

"While we do not presume to instruct you, we suggest that a prudent course would be to inform your 'brothers' of the facts of the situation, and begin to organize them to lead their respective meta-groups as you will lead the species as a whole. You should also begin reviewing the information available about the other males in your meta-group so that you can choose a deputy to administer your meta-group in the way that your 'brothers' will administer theirs.

"The room monitors have a great deal of information about the members of your species under their care, which will be completely accessible to you, even though we were not permitted direct access to it. We believe you will find it quite helpful.

"We thank you for the help you and your peers have given to us, and we await your instructions as to your next step. Good-bye."

Steve sat motionless for a long time, wondering how exactly he'd gotten into this mess, and trying to recall any word or action that could have given Zookeeper the impression he was agreeing to be the new Emperor of Humanity. As near as he could remember, the only indication of acceptance he'd made was not screaming 'Hell, No!' as soon as he realized what he was being told.

Steve's bemusement was interrupted by a quiet voice asking, "Master?" He jumped as he realized that Gretchen, Marie, and Patricia were kneeling in front of him, and had been for some time. The three of them had concerned looks on their faces; they apparently wondered what had him so distracted, and worried that it was something bad.

"Sorry about that," Steve said, "but I got some rather startling news and I'm afraid I got rather lost in the implications." He was still rather distracted, but he had a plan to fix that. His expression hardened, and he said in a firm voice, "Gretchen. Blow me."

Her face flushing, Gretchen quickly moved to kneel between his legs, and she fished his dick out of his pants, taking him into her mouth and sucking gently, then licking the head and shaft. Steve quickly hardened in her mouth, and her talented action soon had taken his mind completely off his problems. His balls drew up, and he filled her mouth with a moan.

Gretchen swallowed his sperm, then licked him clean and settled back on her heels, waiting for new instructions. She was panting slightly, obviously aroused by his actions, and he decided she deserved a reward for a job well done.

"If you want me to take you," he told her, "strip and suck me hard. When I'm erect, stand up and bend over the back of that couch, facing away from me."

Gretchen leaped to do as she was told, and was soon naked and back on her knees, licking and sucking his cock. When he was hard enough, he touched her shoulder, and she climbed to her feet, and bent over the couch as instructed. He took her from behind, the way she liked it: rough and fast, his hands on her hips as he pulled back slowly and thrust forward quickly. Gretchen was soon moaning her arousal, and when she came, Steve came with her.

Gretchen collapsed across the back of the couch, and Steve staggered back. Marie quickly guided him to a seat in a convenient chair, and applied her mouth to his crotch, cleaning his cock and the surrounding area of his sperm and Gretchen's lubricants. Patricia was cleaning Gretchen, her mild lesbian tendencies coming to the fore.

Once Steve was clean, he pushed Marie away, before she could get him hard again, which would inevitably lead to an embarrassing display when the rest of the household woke up. Patricia had finished cleaning Gretchen and was helping her to her feet. Steve gestured, and she brought Gretchen to him. Steve took her in his arms, and thanked her for letting him use her.

Patricia and Marie settled on the floor at his feet as he cuddled Gretchen, and started thinking about what he was going to do about Zookeeper's pronouncement. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a way out of the responsibility, but he vowed he was going to keep his interference with the lives of the rest of humanity to a minimum. He'd have to work out a set of educational plans of various depth for people to choose from, and maybe set up a few minimalist rules, but there was no way he was going to go all paternalistic on anyone.