Chapter 5

When I awoke, Teel was asleep on her back and snoring softly. Her chest regularly rose and fell, the nipples pointed and erect. I reached over to caress her, feeling the firm nub beneath my fingertip. She moaned in her sleep, so I retreated so as not to disturb her slumber.

Sitting up, I admired her voluptuous form stretched out naked. Memories of the previous night remained strong, and I found it incredible that she had no prior experience. Her body had responded instinctively, providing me with more pleasure than I'd ever predicted possible.

I swivelled around and crawled closer to inspect her sex, spotting signs of her arousal seeping from its delicate petals. I blew gently over her apex and her legs parted to grant me access. Unable to resist the invitation, I nuzzled her labia then extended my tongue into her wetness. Soft fingers gently encircled my cock and I glanced back along her body to observe her smiling contentedly as she claimed her prize.

"You're awake," I announced.

"I have been for some time. I was waiting to see what you'd do."

I'd occasionally sixty-nined with Jenny, but it had never truly compared with taking turns on one another. We did it just to say that we had, much like many of the other kinky activities that we nevertheless indulged. The morning suddenly seemed ripe for experimentation. As I straddled her body and lapped at her sex, my cock felt the warmth of her mouth surround it. We fit together like two pieces of a jigsaw, feasting on one another without a care in the world. I tongued her clit, whilst thrusting into her face, driving my cock as deep as it would go.

Teel gulped with each stroke, drawing breath as and when she could. Her hands reached around to caress my buttocks, pulling me urgently into her. I lavished attention on her smooth labia, running my tongue along the full length of her slit, and then teasing the tiny bud, making her wriggle deliciously. I concentrated on delivering her pleasure to the detriment of my own relief, as it became increasingly difficult to do both.

Reluctantly accepting the compromise, Teel groaned around a mouthful of my cock as she sped towards climax, thrusting her hips into my face to maximise the contact. I parted her lips with my fingers and gazed inside her. Her pea-shaped clit stood erect and glistening with her juices, begging for the return of my tongue. Her vagina nestled nearby, offering the prospect of the delights still to come. I resumed my foray, fluttering my tongue over her sensitive spot, and feeling her body quiver in response. The pressure built slowly until she could contain it no longer.

Teel stiffened as her body finally welcomed its release. I rolled off her onto my back to allow her time to recover, but she was eager to resume. She crawled between my legs and engulfed my cock, taking over half the length in one fell swoop, and then bobbing up and down with relish.

"Gently," I urged as the discomfort of her actions distracted from the pleasure.

She smiled and kissed along the shaft, then returned to the head; laving it with her tongue before taking me back into her mouth. I groaned as her lips encircled my shaft, her nose nuzzling amongst my pubes.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked as she quickly retreated.

"No, that felt wonderful."

She beamed and swallowed me again, the tight confinement providing incredible sensations. I took hold of her head, guiding her slowly up and down, relishing every moment. Teel gulped and gurgled, deluging my crotch with thick translucent mucus. Only at the point of climax did I withdraw until just the head was inside, discharging copiously onto her tongue.

I sat up and looked down upon the gorgeous girl, who smiled back at me, proud of her achievement. Semen coated her lips that took several attempts for her to clear. Her throat pulsed as she swallowed the glutinous mass. Pulling her into my arms, I hugged her tightly, whispering glowing endearments into her ear.

We kissed, and then scrambled into the bath to rinse off. I traced a finger along the length of her labia, leaving it poised over her tiny opening. She nodded, understanding exactly what I would desire next.

"Whenever you feel ready," I reassured her. "I don't want to rush you."

After drying ourselves, we dressed in fresh gowns, leaving the soiled garments hanging over a rail by the door. When I returned later, someone would doubtless have collected them and left fresh ones in their place, such was the quiet efficiency of the citadel.

Sarek and Nella were just finishing breakfast. Nella cast us both a curious look when we arrived together. They both remained with us whilst we ate, chatting innocently and obviously unaware of how we'd spent the night. Teel caught my eye from time to time, smiling shyly.

"I thought I'd show you parts of the citadel that most others don't get to see," Sarek said.

I put myself at his disposal and followed. Nella drew Teel off to one side, conferring urgently with her.

The first port of call was located at the centre of the citadel's level. He opened a tiny door and we stepped onto a metal gantry that ran around the edge of a vast circular duct that rose up through the middle of the structure, from top to bottom. Metal rungs provided an arduous means of ascent, other than that of the elevator. Never good with heights, I peered tentatively over the railing into the abyss, feeling a sense of deep trepidation.

With hundreds of floors above and even more below, it was engineering on a grand scale. Threaded through the centre of the duct was a brightly glowing ribbon of light from which spurs emerged at regular intervals.

"This is the power distribution grid," Sarek explained. "Both solar and geothermal energy are concentrated beneath the citadel, and then funnelled through these stasis conduits to wherever it's required. The system has operated for generations without maintenance."

"It's incredible," I admitted.

We returned to the concourse and took an elevator up to the council level. A corridor led to a sealed doorway. Sarek entered a code into a recessed panel, whereupon the door slid into a recess, allowing us ingress into a well-equipped laboratory that would have made even the richest corporation of my day envious.

"This is where life itself is created," Sarek stated reverently.

Banks of equipment lined the walls that Sarek identified as gene-splicers, machines that took the raw DNA of past and present generations, tore them apart and recombined them in carefully engineered ways. A large column in the centre of the room held the genetic material itself, tiny samples of each individual ever born. From this, future citizens would be meticulously constructed. I quietly watched life in the making, seeing God's handiwork reduced to a complex mass of wires, tubes and flashing lights.

"From this machine comes a single fertilised egg that will subsequently be implanted into a surrogate. When the foetus is viable, it will be surgically removed from the mother. After a further few weeks, the child will transfer to the nursery, where eventually the nurturers will teach it all it needs to know, before being released into society. In the last ten years, we have not had a single death due to childbirth and, barring the occasional unfortunate accident, no child has ever failed to reach maturity."

"It's an enviable record," I admitted, unable to shake the conviction that something was decidedly unnatural about it all.

We left the room and proceeded down the hall to the nursery. Dozens of children, both boys and girls, sat at consoles interacting with visual images displayed before them. Two severe-looking men walked up and down between the rows, ensuring that they stuck to their given tasks.

"Doesn't look much like fun," I opined.

"Every child achieves his or her maximum potential, and emerges as a model citizen, ready to form part of the most stable society that has ever existed."

Talk about a cog in a wheel, I thought, but just nodded my understanding for Sarek's benefit. We descended to ground level, and toured the cultivation troughs, as I'd done with Nella several days earlier.

"Not only do we produce food for the citadel," Sarek boasted, "but we also grow seed that we send to the neighbouring settlements, enabling them to provide for themselves."

"Why don't they just live in the citadel?"

"Some find life here a little restrictive, and prefer the more spacious life outdoors."

"How is life different in the villages? How do they sustain their numbers if they cannot bear young?"

"Life is much more physical, to be sure. As people die, volunteers from the citadel replace them. Village life is certainly not for everybody, but for some it is a challenge that they strive towards from an early age."

I took my first tentative steps into the grounds of the citadel, witnessing a training session of Guardian cadets. A line of man-shaped targets was arranged against a far wall. Each took his turn aiming a small handheld weapon, and then firing a beam of brilliant light. On contact, the target burst into flames and was consumed within seconds.

"Nice," I opined cynically as the cadet strutted back to his place in line, and another took his turn on the firing range. "How many Guardians do you have?"

"I'm not sure of the exact numbers, somewhere in the region of five hundred I believe," Sarek revealed.

"A small army," I observed. "Who is your enemy?"

Sarek looked at me strangely, and then moved on. "I've arranged for you to accompany a Guardian patrol tomorrow. You'll see first-hand what they have to deal with."

Nella joined us for lunch and seemed quieter than usual. Sarek departed as soon as we'd eaten, leaving the two of us together.

"You and Teel seemed to be forming a close friendship," she noted tactfully.

"She's lovely," I replied cautiously. "I'm really glad that you introduced us."

"If you're looking for a relationship, I'm afraid you'll be very disappointed. Partnerships are more to do with companionship, rather than as a basis for carnal satisfaction."

"Maybe if you gave it a go," I suggested.

"Even if it was desirable, natural procreation is no longer possible. The Calamity and the fallout from the wars that followed, robbed us of the capability to produce healthy offspring."

"Surely with all your scientific knowledge, you could remedy the situation?"

"Maybe we don't want to," Nella argued. "We are finally set free from our animal roots, and can pursue life without being slaves to our biology."

After we'd finished eating, Nella took me to the library where I finally had the opportunity to learn the full extent of the events that followed the world's greatest natural disaster.

In the aftermath of the sun's violent emission, an even greater terror was unleashed. What remained of the world's superpowers vied for control over what little remained. With no solution in sight, they unleashed their weapons of mass destruction upon each other, rendering much of the world's surface uninhabitable for thousands of years. Russia, China and much of North America crumbled under a barrage of nuclear fury. Africa, the Middle and Far East all descended into barbarism. Only Europe, Canada, Australia and parts of South America maintained any semblance of civilisation.

From the isolated pockets of survivors, small bands of dedicated scientists developed the technology that brought humanity back from the brink of extinction, and constructed the citadels that now dotted the globe. Each remained fiercely independent of one another, jealously protecting their boundaries. All adopted a similar organisational structure, with a High Council presiding over the citizenry, supported by the Guardians: an armed elite that maintained order, and prevented the slide into decline.

During the first decades of the New Beginning, communication between citadels traded emerging scientific ideas. Due to the slowdown in progress, the rate of these exchanges had now become a rarity. Each citadel represented as island oasis, content to manage itself without risking conflict by interfering in the affairs of others.

I returned to my room to rest before dinner. My life seemed to revolve around filling in time between meals. The last time I'd felt this way was when Julia forced me to take two weeks leave from work. I pottered around the house, performed the occasional chore, all the time thinking about what constructive activities I could be involved with at the lab.

My boredom disappeared instantly when I entered my room. Teel lay naked on the bed, eagerly awaiting my return. She smiled as I sat down upon the edge and coursed my fingers over her smooth skin.

"Nella suspects something," she said as I ran my fingers through her cleft, wondering how best to achieve my objective.

"Let her suspect," I replied. "What can she do about it?"

"I hate deceiving her. She's been my best friend since nurturing."

"Friends are friends," I told her. "Lovers are something else entirely."

"Is that what we are?"

"I hope so. I really enjoy being with you, more than anything."

She settled back to savour my touch, rotating her hips as she sought fulfilment. Her juices saturated my fingers and the smell intoxicated me with lust. I breathed in her powerful pheromones, much preferring her natural perfume to any artificial scent.

I've always enjoyed bringing women pleasure, watching their eyes stare off into the distance as their bodies succumb to their primal prerogatives. There is nothing more wonderful to me than the sight of a beautiful girl in the throes of orgasm, writhing as her passion rises up and possesses her completely. Teel gasped as her moment arrived, closing her eyes to welcome oblivion.