Chapter 8

"It's actually rather pleasant having all of you about us just now," Jenny said. "If you had told me three days ago that four of the closest people in my life would watch me orgasm and, more, that their presence would comfort me, I would have thought you daft."

Gail said, "You said we weren't in Kansas anymore, Elizabeth. I'm afraid that none of us has begun to grasp how profoundly our lives have been changed." There were murmurs of general agreement.

"I for one remain quite daunted," sighed Elizabeth. "I can tell off any number of issues that demand our understanding and agreement, even before we leave our pod and try to make sense of our lives in the community."

"You were right, of course," said Mandy. "We need to prevent hurting each other, and do our best to fix the problems if they do occur. I hope we can devote this entire day towards mapping out some 'ground rules, ' if you will. I don't think we can, or should, sit in a circle all day, thrashing out one issue after another. I think we ought to convene, spend a decent amount of time working together, and then take breaks and do something else. Sometimes we should have the children with us. Sometimes we should have only Amy, or maybe Amy and Janice. Sometimes we should work alone. How does that sound?" There was agreement all around.

"Then let's get the children up and around, get breakfast served and eaten, do our morning bath routines, and then we can reconvene," said Tracy. With that, they all got up. Gail and Mandy headed upstairs to wake the children. Jenny earned the teasing laughter of the others when she had to cup her crotch and race to the bathroom to clean up. She blushed but smiled brightly.

Nearly two hours later, all had been fed and four showers were completed. During that time, the AI had been used as a secretary: when someone thought of an item for discussion, merely mentioning it aloud was sufficient. Finally, Tracy and Gail herded everyone into the living room. Seats were found for most. The smallest ones found themselves on someone's lap.

Gail turned her gaze from one child to the next as she began to speak. "Our entire family is in this room. We have been in this pod for nearly an entire day. For my own part before this event, I was only ever undressed for the time it took to bathe. Now, all of us will be spending most or all of our time undressed.

"Before yesterday, sex and sexuality were forbidden subjects, never seen and talked about only in whispers. In our new life, with so many adults in one space, we are going to have to be open and honest about it. We're going to have some show-and-tell right now. I want you to get up and look, really look, at all of the bodies. I want you to touch anyone you want. I want you to explore the similarities and the differences in our bodies. I want you to ask all the questions you have. When you have finished, we will talk about the new rules. I would like one adult to act as a guide for each youngster. Now, go ahead."

Mandy drew her daughter Amy close. After a quiet exchange, Mandy brought one of Amy's hands to her breast and the other to Amy's own breast. The murmured explanations continued. Next, Amy was encouraged to examine and touch her mother's sex. Next, Mandy had Amy go round the room, hefting breasts and examining labia, noting similarities and differences.

The other adults had a slower start. That turned out to be beneficial, as they saw how Mandy managed Amy. Soon, each of the children was paired off with an adult and the explorations were well under way. The adult leaders of the small children were far more circumspect. All of the explanations were age-appropriate, and the body examinations by the younger children far more cursory. Jenny had her Stephanie; Tracy was coaching Janice; Gail was with both Jeremy and Michael; Martin, only two years old, wandered round the room trailed by his mother, Heather. Gail had Elizabeth join in her own exploration.

Gail finished the boys in a brief circuit of the women and brought them in front of John. She patiently showed them the body parts of a mature male. That done, she placed a boy on each of John's knees. She brought the girls forward and explained how boys develop. Finally, she posed Elizabeth and Amy, both blushing furiously, and allowed John and the boys to examine the two intact hymens.