Chapter 27

Erica said, “Okay. This will be quick as I’m getting antsy.” Many laughed. “First, we ask that if you want to wander around that you do so in at least pairs. If you think you will go out of sight of the buildings, then take a radio with you. They are available at the registration desk, as are trail maps. This resort is pretty isolated as it at the end of a long peninsula that extends from a fairly large island. The road from here to the island is on a narrow strip of land with swampy terrain on both sides. One side is more like a marsh while the other has more dense thorny brush. The road leads to the island’s principal town which is also the closest. As to the marsh, it supposedly is possible to traverse the swamp on foot, but very few are known to have been successful. The ocean side is the beach. It was this isolation that we found attractive. This aspect also makes it a popular nudist resort although there is a lot of passing small boat traffic.

“Security is of prime importance to us. Even though I told you of the barriers, the perimeter is being patrolled by a unique security force. It is probably the most unique security force on Earth. I am going to ask them to join us so they can meet you. Please don’t scream when you see them as they are friendly.”

“Okay you can come in now.” With that the door opened and four pairs of lions walked into the room. Several gasps were heard as the lions entered.

“To you, they are as friendly as a house cat. They are not predatory toward those who are supposed to be here.” One walked over to Siobhan then carefully licked her cheek. Not to be out done, Siobhan turned and kissed the lioness as she wrapped her arms around the lioness’ neck in a tight embrace. When they broke the kiss, the lioness remained next to her with her head on Siobhan’s shoulder. “They will be looking for uninvited guests. They can be your guides if you decide to go on a walk. You will need to indicate that you want them to join you. They can also assist you if you get lost or have a problem. I know some of the scary stories told about domesticated lions on Earth going wild. However, these are not Earth’s lions. They only go ‘wild’ toward an intruder. If you will be kind enough to let them sniff you, it will help them know you. Oh, you can pet them if you would like too, but you don’t have to go as far Siobhan is unless you want too.” Several chuckled. The lioness Siobhan was cuddling, gave Conan a wet cheek before going to check out the rest of the group.

“That takes care of my piece and I see it is very late. Jim, Amy, Rusty, Sarah would you come back up to take questions.”

“Before we begin with questions,” said Sarah, “this has lasted quite a bit longer than we anticipated. We know you are excited to be here and tomorrow you will wonder exactly what you heard. Well, we have a solution. Thankfully we thought ahead and recorded the presentations. If you want to watch them again, just let us know or ask Donna. I believe you can also access them at the same terminals used to access our library. OK. Questions?”

A woman in the back raised her hand. “If I wanted to go home, when can I go?”

“Just tell us and you can be on our way in less than an hour. We do hope no one wants to leave. If any do, please see us when this is over.”

Another woman stood up, “Why are you giving us all physicals?”

“It is a way to say, ‘thank you’ for taking the time to consider the opportunity we are offering. We know that most of you are looking for jobs and this visit is keeping you from that effort. In terms of thoroughness, it exceeds anything currently offered on Earth.”

A man stood up, “When can we see the ship?”

“We had thought about starting tomorrow around noon. Each visit will take about four hours plus travel time. We would like to limit the number to around ten or twelve on each trip. We recommend you take the physical before you go to the ship. If you do not, you will have to stay with the tour group.”

Sensing a change in attitude Sarah said, “The reason is safety, in particular your safety. The environment in space is dangerous. There is a saying that space is a harsh mistress. It is very true. A momentary lapse in respect for your surroundings is an opportunity for disaster. Our safety procedures depend on telepathic communication. If you are not telepathic then we need to know where you are at all times so if need be we can assist you. Now, as we mentioned earlier, we believe all of you can hear telepathically. During the physical this will be determined. If you have the attribute we will offer to assist in activating it. Even if you are telepathic, you will have to sit through a safety orientation before you can have more freedom to look around.”

“Thanks,” said Conan. “I didn’t think I had groaned that loud.” Many laughed as Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “The reason I stood was that I wanted to thank all of you for this opportunity. Siobhan knew I had some reservations when we agreed to come. I now have no doubt that coming on this trip was a smart decision. I hope the rest feel the same way Siobhan and I do. The openness with which you told us of the issues of working in this society is refreshing. Now it is just coming to a decision that feels comfortable.”

“Take your time deciding, while from our stand point a decision this week would be nice, however it is not a necessity. You have all worked in small groups while at school. I would suggest that besides considering this by yourself you also discuss it within your group and perhaps between groups. Please do not hesitate to ask questions or voice concerns. While we would like for you all to join us, we will try to answer your questions in a neutral manor. You can either ask Donna, or ask her to find one of us.”

“How do we do that?”

“In most areas you can just say ‘Donna’ and she will respond.”

“Does that mean all of our rooms are bugged?”

“You could look at it that way, but that is not the reason for the monitoring. Donna is responsible for ensuring the site functions as it is supposed to. This includes our welfare and security. The sensors listen for signs of distress or violence besides someone saying, “Donna.” If you are uncomfortable with this, then ask her to secure your room. This will turn off any oversight until a door or window is opened or there is movement through them.”

“That is an interesting concern,” said Sally. Rusty nodded agreement. “Since we have been with this society, we have known Donna was available to us at a moment’s notice. During that time, we have never felt she was intrusive. Having lived in Earth’s society I can understand your concern, but having been active in this society for some five months, I don’t have the same concern.”

“Speaking for someone else, which is always dangerous,” said Brandan. “I think the comment sounded harsher than it was meant to be.”

“He is right,” responded the previous voice. “I did my normal foot in mouth routine.” Several laughed at the comment. “Sounds like, I have company.” Prompting more laughter.

“Okay, it is nearly midnight and I think all of us are tired,” said Amy. “Breakfast buffet starts at six thirty and runs till eight. There are snacks available in the dining area at all times. At eight we will all be here for an hour, or however long you want to stay to answer general questions. So I propose we go to bed for some rest and whatever.”

Maureen stood and started clapping. She was quickly joined by all the guests. Before they left for the room everyone personally thanked one of the hosts for giving them this opportunity. A lion tagged along with each group when they left. The one with Siobhan was nuzzling her leg as they walked away.

Several women came up to Rusty and Sarah with concerned looks on their faces. Nancy and Julia saw them and came over as the women looked very nervous and ill at ease.

“I don’t know about the others as we just met,” said Aoife uncertainly, “but, I think I would like to go back.” The others nodded indicating their agreement with her comments.

Sarah looked at them thoughtfully, “That is not a problem, but can I ask you a couple of questions first?” They nodded yes. “Whether you answer is up to you? Okay?” To this they nodded a bit more firmly.

“I suspect none of you are really part of any group.”

They nodded yes.

“Does the nudity bother you?”

“Well yes and no,” replied Aoife. “Seeing any of you naked doesn’t bother me at all.” The others nodded their agreement with her. “But, me being nude with others around is something I don’t think I can do.”

“So, don’t do it.”

“But, we will stand out and be shunned like we were in school.”

“Not to make light of your concerns or what happened at school, but do you think you would stand out more than us with our exceptional height?” said Sally grinning. The rest slowly matched her grin and chuckled

“Well, I guess not,” replied Aoife slowly.

“I can remember a few times in school when I was referred to as the ‘red headed amazon’ and I was considerably shorter then. I wonder what the idiots would say now.” The group laughed along with her.

Joyce had come up between two of them and placed her arms on their shoulders. “We will take you back now if you really want to go, but would you consider giving it a try for a little longer. I can sense that all of you are shy and perhaps intimidated by the way we look.” Several nodded. “Believe it or not, but our ages are not much different. I grew up in a clothing optional house, but at school I think I could out-shy any of you.” They chuckled. “I think if you go back now, in a couple of years you will be bothered by the question of ‘What if I had stayed?’ So why not try it for one day, or even a few days, then if you still want to go back it will be for firmer reasons rather than just reacting. Okay?”

They nodded yes.

“Good. Let’s meet after breakfast and we can figure out what we can do together.”

“Okay,” said Aoife. “What you say makes a lot of sense and I can’t fault your logical reasoning.”

“She said I was logical,” said Joyce to Rusty, Sally and Sarah and then stuck her tongue. Everyone laughed, their antics lightening the mood.

“I will be looking forward seeing you at breakfast,” said Aoife with a grin. The others nodded their agreement and started toward their rooms, with a lion trailing behind them.

“I hope Aoife stays,” said Sarah. The rest of her clan voiced their agreement too.

“She is a strong telepath and appears to have considerable psionic capability,” said Rusty and Sarah. “She has sensed and used her telepathic ability from time to time but it scares her. She also thinks that there is more than just telepathy.”

“How did you come on all this information?” asked Sally.

“It was kind of strange. She told us but doesn’t realize it.”

“Interesting,” said his spouses. With that they looked around and realized they were the last ones there.

“Let’s go back to our room as I’m tired. Tonight will be a short night for us.”

They walked back to their rooms arm in arm, sharing their individual observations. They were quite pleased at how smoothly today’s plans had worked even with the two surprises when picking up the groups of candidates. Nancy and Julia, with Donna’s assistance, had done a superb job in finding excellent candidates. They made a note to make sure they found time to thank them for the effort. They knew the night at Siobhan’s had really stressed Nancy. Reaching their room they quickly got ready for bed and they were soon cuddled together sound asleep.

Just as dawn broke, Joyce opened her eyes then heard Donna softly say that if they wanted to be in the dining room by the time breakfast started, they needed to get up. Joyce slowly tried to extract herself but just that slight move triggered the others to begin waking. She felt a kiss on her neck and shoulder. It made her shiver at the love it conveyed. Knowing they were waking she kissed every one of her spouses on the neck. As they woke, their mind-link became more active and they all felt the expression of love with each kiss.

They reached the dining room just in time to assist Ann’s Clan in setting up the last parts of the buffet. Sarah thanked them for the fine meal the previous evening and relayed the comments she’d heard. Hearing the positive comments had the whole group smiling.

Sally said, “Why don’t you hang out in the dining room if you can? It would give our visitors an opportunity to meet you.”

“We can do that to some extent,” replied Ann.

Amy’s Clan arrived and once everyone had either juice or coffee they began to review the details of the trips to the ship. The plan was to have an excursion that gave their guests four hours on the ship. When travel time was included, it amounted to a five hour cycle. They decided to use one shuttle today and make just one trip which would leave right after lunch. The group would be limited to sixteen people plus two staff members on each trip. Sally and several others thought they should increase the time on the ship. Since they had not limited the number of trips a person could take, they decided not to make any more changes.

While waiting for their guest to arrive for breakfast Sarah’s and Amy’s Clans reviewed the activities of the previous two days. All were pleased with the smoothness of the overall effort to bring the guests to the resort. Sally, Terry and Erica wondered about the significance yesterday’s events. After a short discussion, they agreed that if it had been only one instance, then it could be a coincidence. Two made a coincidence unlikely and if you added Briana, it made coincidence even less likely.

Sarah said, “What if the same group is behind the disappearance of Briana’s friends, the surveillance of Siobhan’s group and the woman who joined Maureen’s group? Those at Sylvia’s farm, and Briana’s friends, were good fits for some parameters we used to select candidates as possible crew members.”

“Sure makes sense, but it seems to be a bit tenuous,” responded Terry. “What would be the motive or purpose? We know why Briana’s friends were abducted. Was that the plan for the others?”

“Yes, it is tenuous,” responded Erica. “However, we should definitely take some precautions because there are too many coincidences. I don’t like the thought of losing any of them because we weren’t cautious enough. Donna, do we have sufficient drones to cover all the groups we’ve contacted?”

“Not unless we reduce coverage of some areas. Those would be Comrie and here.”

“Star, do we have more surveillance craft on the ship that we can use for this?”

“Yes, but they are in storage. It is fairly straight forward to activate them, but to do that we would need to pull crew off other projects.”

“Let’s have the ship’s crew make this their top priority for today,” said Sarah. “They should be placed into service as they become available. This may complicate our plans for the guests touring the ship. We should tell our them that the crew is responding to an urgent project so we would prefer to delay the visits till tomorrow.” Everyone agreed with her.

While they were conferring several groups of guests had arrived. Some were going through the serving line. Others had sat down after getting juice or coffee. They went to get some breakfast and sit with their guests. Sarah’s and Amy’s Clans listened to the conversations surrounding them. By the time they were done eating, they were fairly certain that all of this group would join them. Some were apprehensive, however their reasons were similar to those they would have had. They thought these would diminish quickly once they became better acquainted. They were surprised that none were concerned with nudity and that most them had come to breakfast naked. Several looked a little uncertain at first but quickly relaxed when they saw how many others were naked too. Many of those wearing clothes weren’t wearing very much.

Joyce met Aoife in the serving line and then went with her to a table. Jill and Janet joined them as did the other women wanting to leave with Aoife last night. Joyce was pleased to see that all of them were quite a bit more relaxed this morning. Donna quietly confirmed her observation. They both noted that while the women were wearing a wrap, that was all they were wearing, as their ‘head lights’ were clearly showing.

When everyone had finished breakfast, Rusty and Sarah went to the front of the room and stood by the podium. The room quickly quieted down. “Good morning,” they said. “I hope everyone slept well. We did but it wasn’t for long enough.” Many laughed. “We noticed quite a few of you have opted to take advantage of clothes optional feature. That’s great. For those that haven’t, please don’t feel it is something you have to do. IT IS NOT something you have to do. ONLY do it if you want to. If this is your first time, we can guarantee you will feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but those feelings usually quickly disappear.” Everyone nodded their head.

“Before we ask for questions, we would like to thank everyone for picking up your dishes and cleaning off the tables. So THANKS. Now, any questions?”

Carine said, “Although you said, it wasn’t a requirement, Betsy’s presentation of the differences between us and your species almost sounded like a sales pitch to change our bodies.”

“It definitely wasn’t. We wanted you to know the differences between the different groups. Some of you may decide to join us, which leads to the possibility of becoming involved with either someone or a clan. We think a clear knowledge of the differences between species up front is much better than misunderstanding or suspicion due to a lack of knowledge.

“I think I just misused the term ‘species’, but maybe not. As we saw last evening, there are several distinct differences in our physical structure and physiology. Whether that amounts to a divergent species or not, someone else will need to answer.

“Now let me complicate my response. If you join us and wish to receive treatments altering your body to be more like us or the crew then that is YOUR choice. It is a choice for YOU to make, not US. We will not push you to make it. Now, there are some operations on the ship that will be difficult or impossible to do without the physical changes. IF that becomes a problem, we will address it then. I hope I was clear in spite of my stumbling around.”

“Yes. I guess my fundamental problem is that I have never been around people who are as open as you are.” Several nodded their agreement. “From what you have just said, my understanding is that we have choices and those are our choices to make. However, those choices could limit our contributions to this society. If that is the case, I can live with that and be very glad I decided to come!”

“You are correct in your understanding. We have secrets, but it is a fundamental part of this society to not have or use secrets to take advantage of another. If you do that, or try to do it here, you will quickly become an outcast or worse.”

“I stand by what I just said, I am very glad to be here. It appears so good; I feel it must be a dream.” Several nodded their agreement with her comments.

“Can we visit your island this week?”

“Hmm, we hadn’t thought about that.”

“Yes,” responded their spouses.

“I was just told we can do that as well.”

“Why did you pause?”

“We were waiting for a response from our spouses. Didn’t you hear them?” Several looked puzzled, but Maureen, Siobhan and Aoife nodded. “As was indicated last night, we are mind-linked essentially all the time. Some aspects of it are more obvious than others. We, Rusty and Sarah, are currently tightly linked, that means that the two of us are functioning as one intellectually and vocally. The rest of our spouses are loosely connected with us, even so they feel our emotions along with understanding our words.”

“Wow,” came several voices.

“Sarah, are you sure that you are carrying four babies? You don’t look big enough to be carrying that many at five months.”