Chapter 21

Ron and Barbara spent almost three months of real-time in the cubes talking with Steve at leisure about physics. An hour or two at a time, of course. Barbara found herself willingly seduced by him. She downloaded herself into both cubes so that Ron would have a lover too when he visited. Cindy added herself to the fold of both cubes. She enjoyed Steve's conversation and intellect as much as Ron and Susan. She also very much enjoyed his lovemaking.

The cubes had a profound effect upon the leadership of the Sisterhood. The overwork and stress levels dropped dramatically. They found themselves spending an hour a day each morning inside the cubes as therapy.

The new amulets became symbols of honor around the necks of the Sisterhood. Each was capable of inducing one level below that which it's owner held. For some reason the amulets would not induce a first level from a first level inductee. This worked out well. As most first level inductees lacked the judgment to select a candidate for the Sisterhood.

Steve continued his production of the amulets to cover the growth of the Sisterhood. He shipped the first batch in the containers for the rods. The rod didn't like the containers. Full time, that is. When sealed inside the rod was cut off from the constant barrage of questions that it now received from the Sisterhood. It was also cut off from recharging itself. But, it could open the lid itself, or close it. It spent most it's time with the lid poised open over the container. Ready to slam shut if need be to protect itself. The lid seemed to hover in space over the container with no apparent connection.

After the first three months, Ron and Barbara began their preparations to produce the Rod of Aphrodite. They began by batching a crucible of Silicon Quartz glass with the original amulets they had produced. Cindy was hesitant to give hers up, as it had saved -now- many lives. She was pleased when her new amulet felt identical, only better. She renamed it in honor of the first one.

All the new amulets were thus named. The transference of the bias between the old and new amulets was at times profound. Sometimes a bolt of Sapphire blue energy would leap across the gap between them as they were brought into proximity with each other. This was startling, but never harmed anyone. After the two amulets spent a night in contact with each other, the old amulet was lifeless and veined with cracks. These were gathered and forwarded to Ron and Barbara for their work.

The refining process for the glass took Ron and Barbara six months. In the meantime they made Bucky-Balls for Cindy. Using different formulations as electrode material. Cindy was in seventh heaven as a master locksmith, trying to find the key that fit the lock of the characteristic divot on a cancerous cell.

Ron and Barbara talked it over with Steve and Cindy at times in their Cube sessions. They took to meeting in one cube after work. Talking with themselves at times. Or even ... The cubes did have their seductive appeal.

Ron and Barbara witnessed a momentary setback. The machine needed to micro-polish the surface of the mold for the new rod was part of a highly controlled technology. It was capable of producing nuclear weapons given the right materials. Nobody wanted to sell them one. While this was comforting in it's limiting of the growth of nuclear weapons, it was a setback.

Susan made a special trip to France and was able to persuade the government to let them borrow a machine. It came with a trained operator, who, while he didn't understand the purpose of the mold, certainly realized that it wasn't for nuclear weapons. The mold was completed, as well as a few spares. The machine and the operator returned to France.

Ron had a hole drilled down to the bedrock beneath the physics building. Then they sank a lone caisson all the way down. Wrapped in packing to isolate it from the surrounding earth. Atop it rested a massive granite slab. It floated freely from the surrounding area. Seismologists from the Geology department were thrilled as they would use it as a reference for the worlds most sensitive seismograph, eventually. For now Ron didn't even let them know of it's existence.

All was in readiness.

Almost a year after Jane's trip to California, the remainder of all thirty of the Sisterhood who had witnessed Aphrodite's words flew in on separate planes. One of the Sisterhood had ingratiated herself with the governments of both countries. She accompanied the Diplomatic pouch between the countries, which was in reality a large crate. In it was a small glass box contained in it's own locked, padded aluminum case. It contained the Rod of Sappho. With her diplomatic Passport the woman breezed through customs in Austria. Receiving her case from the American Ambassador.

"I don't know what this is all about, or even why I am doing this. But none of our detectors could detect any drugs or explosives from your case. So I guess it's alright." the Ambassador told the woman, handing her the case.

"The case only contains a priceless art object which our school of art here will study. It contains no information of concern to either government. I will show you the object, but I cannot open the inner box. It contains an inert gas to protect the object." said the woman.

In a private room at the Embassy she opened the outer case and showed the clear inner case to the Ambassador. He could clearly see the object inside. It was lovely.

"It appears to be a phallic symbol." he said.

"Yes. It would seem so." said the woman, closing the case and locking it.

"You will allow a similar examination when it returns?" inquired the Ambassador.

"Yes, of course. We only wished secrecy over it's transportation. It is priceless and we only sought to protect it from theft or damage." said the woman.

"Yes, I can see that. Alright. I am satisfied. You will return when?" he asked.

"I expect to remain resident with it here for at least a year, perhaps longer. May I count on you to personally handle the safe, secret return?" she asked.

"Yes, of course. Your institution is a source of immeasurable good will between the two countries." replied the Ambassador.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. We appreciate your efforts in our behalf." said the woman.

"Quite welcome, quite welcome. I'll see you when you wish to return." replied the Ambassador, fully enchanted by the woman.

He would not even recall the incident in an hour. But would facilitate it's return the next year just as helpfully. The woman was Jane.

It was an odd ceremony that took place in the basement of the physics building. Thirty-two nude women stood in a solemn circle surrounding the massive granite slab as Ron carefully poured the white hot liquid into it's equally as hot form. Inside the form was a fine mesh of Platinum wire supporting a Diamond substrated LED. Mounted on the back of the substrate, was a seed crystal of the original Sapphire from the original Rod of Sappho. The Silicon Quartz glass itself was an interesting alloyed mixture. Even in it's present state it called upon the Sisterhood assembled. Jane held the Rod of Sappho before her, presiding over the solemn ceremony.

"We witness here a moment of great joy; the conception of the birth of a new rod upon the face of the earth. The Rod of Aphrodite. May she watch over it and guide it's growth within it's fiery womb." Jane said.

Everybody assembled had tears pouring down their faces. Not the least of them the only other man present besides Ron, which was Steve. The two other women besides the thirty, were Barbara and Judy.

After the pouring, Jane turned to Susan and bid her hands to the rod. Together holding the rod between them, they kissed.

"We also witness the first step in the birth of my sister High Priestess. Susan, the purest heart I have ever known." Jane said.

Susan was overwhelmed, but nodded in acceptance.

Afterwards Jane took the rod and completed the circle, jointly holding the rod and softly kissing each of the assembled Sisterhood.

At the end of the circle she jointly held it with the makers of the rods; Ron, Steve and Barbara. Susan found herself bidden into the circle. She touched the rod with them and Aphrodite shed her grace upon their hearts. Each feeling her touch of thanks.

"I will watch over my child and nurture it's growth." she informed them.

After the congregation was dismissed. Ron took up his watch. He and Barbara would alternate watching over the rod as it cooked, always one of them in attendance. Others of the Sisterhood took to keeping them company in their watch.

First the rod had to be further refined. Maintained at a constant temperature while it was bathed in ultra-sonics to prod the tiniest bubble to it's surface and out. This lasted a full four months. The time unknown to the makers. They were informed through Barbara by the Rod of Sappho when it was time to start the critical second phase.

Ron and Barbara jointly pressed the button to start the automatic controls that would reduce the temperature a maximum of two degrees Celsius per day. When they stepped off the granite slab, no further contact would be made with it for some seven-hundred-fifty days as the rod cooled from it's sixteen-hundred degree temperature down to it's future constant ambient of fifty two degrees Celsius. Somewhere in there around fifteen-hundred degrees Celsius the crystalline structure would be born. It would be a nerve wracking wait of almost two months.

Ron notified the power utilities that they planned to take their reactor off line for normal maintenance. They switched the rest of the university over to the public power source. It was a good thing.

As the time approached more and more of the Sisterhood began to congregate in the physics basement. About a week before the expected time, Jane handed down an edict that everyone who went there should prepare themselves to be in the presence of a rod. This hardly phased them.

Ron found himself -also nude- surrounded by from fifty to over a hundred nude women at a time. Sitting around talking quietly as they waited. Ron bumped the thermostat for the area up five degrees. Not for the rod's sake, it had it's own devoted temperature controller. Instead it was for his sake. It was bothersome to be surrounded by over a hundred pair of erect nipples. The energy needed wasn't a lot as it was now mid-June.

The atmosphere was reverent. Conversations were whispered and short. Jane and the other thirty joined in the vigil on the day before the predicted event. The tension grew thick in the large area.

Ron ordered the reactor up to standby status. Just ten percent off it's normally safe full output range. The waste heat pumped out to the rest of the university, the power generators feeding only the physics building ran basically at idle.

The rod's power source for it's heaters was a pair of cubes that Steve had contributed. One as standby in case one failed. Daily the equipment switch between them to insure both worked. They worked at maximum efficiency. Drawing the waste heat from the crucible as it cooled and feeding it back as electricity to feed the tungsten heaters. The whole assembly was surrounded by ceramic tiles like those used on the space shuttle. They could be heated to white hot on one side while remaining cool to a child's soft skin on the other. Their efficiency as insulators was superb. Should the heating mechanism fail completely, the rod would still only cool at a maximum rate of four degrees per day.

The predicted time approached. Nervousness was a heady scent in the air. Jane bid whoever assembled to re-bathe every two hours. She set the example herself. The time arrived ... and passed. With every moment Ron and Barbara got more anxious.

Jane held the rod to her breast as she remained as calm as she possibly could. Passing it to Susan's custody when she went to shower again. The rod was comforting. Susan began to make the rounds sharing the rod with all assembled and kissing them softly in reassurance. Jane felt a bit shamed she hadn't thought of it herself.

Suddenly the place went totally dark. There was a concerted gasp among the assembled. The only light sources were the digital display on the new rod's temperature controller, and the Sapphire blue LED within the Rod of Sappho.

Jane held the Rod of Sappho high above her for all to see and take as comfort.

In the control room of the reactor startled technicians were also trying desperately to deal with the dark. Flashlights didn't work. They had no idea of the state of the reactor. The electric cooling pumps would not be working either. Their greatest fear was a reactor meltdown. The phones didn't work.

Some enterprising soul showed up with candles. But all the instrumentation was dead. All the needles read zero. They technicians sat watching the dark reactor with fear climbing in their hearts.

Beyond the dark physics building the rest of the campus dimmed a bit, then recovered as the power utility dealt with the overload. There would be hell to pay over that one.

Ron took a proffered candle and made his way to the transformer room for the building. Shivering in his nakedness. He manually threw the switch that connected the building to the public utility and light returned.

In the reactor control room there was an initial sigh of relief as everything started working once more. Then there was pandemonium over the readings on the gauges. The technicians could not make themselves believe the readings. Finally a brave soul took a working Geiger counter that someone had retrieved from the geology building and personally went to check the reactor. Removing a single fuel rod, fearing for his life over the possible undetected radiation. There was none! The Geiger counter responded to it's test source on the side of it, but not to the fuel rods. The technician pulled another at random and checked it. It was dead too. In fact, the entire reactor was dead, totally inert. There was even a noticeable decrease in the amount of background radiation the counter measured.

In the hospital, the massive super-conducting magnets on the three NMR machines went dead too. Radiation sources used for conventional cancer treatments became inert. Barium solutions used to trace the digestive tract became inert. Radio-active sugar solutions used to trace the flow of blood through the veins and uptake of sugars by body tissues went totally inert.

Back in the basement of the physics building Jane had tears rolling down out of her eyes over what the rod had informed her. It had a sister!

Jane shared the rod with Susan, who was visibly upset. She drew Barbara into the circle and she got tears in her eyes too. Just then Ron returned to the basement. He spotted the group around the rod and stopped, looking at their joyous expressions curiously.

Susan turned to him and bid him to the rod.

"It's a girl!" she announced loudly.

Ron winced over the sudden cheer that emerged from over two-hundred nude women assembled in the basement.

Fearing the shock of the vibration would shatter the delicate matrix that was growing he quickly held his finger to his lips and the cheer cut off abruptly. He grinned and nodded to them all.

"Hmm A Gemini. That's appropriate." Barbara mused.

Later Susan walked up to Ron and handed him a cigar.

"Congratulations, Daddy. Have a cigar?" she asked.

"I never smoked one in my life ... but I do believe I will." he said, grinning and accepting it.

Susan hugged him tightly.

"It's a present from Juanita. She searched for months all over Cuba till she was sure she had the very best one available." she said.

"I'm honored over her efforts." Ron said.

"It is us, who are honored by yours." Susan said, softly.

"We aren't out of the woods yet. It still has to cool almost two years." he said.

"I know. But we are honored anyway by your efforts, even if it failed, which I don't think it will." she said.

"Thank you. Why didn't Juanita give me this herself?" Ron asked, examining the Cigar in it's crystal case.

"She's kind of shy. I know she really likes you. She's coming up on her sixth session and hasn't had the nerve to ask you if you'd like to spend some time with her the day after it's concluded. I think it would be a nice gesture -if you wouldn't mind- if you were there for the start of the last night too ... Like you were for me and Barbara?" Susan asked.

"Sure. Be glad to. Where'd the glass case come from?" Ron asked. Examining the case.

"A present from Steve... Daddy." Susan said, giggling, "He said it would preserve the cigar indefinitely if you didn't want to smoke it, or make a hell of a pencil box if you did."

"You'd better lay off the Daddy stuff or I might just be forced to spank that cute bare little tush of yours." he chuckled back.

"Ooh. It's been a long time since you were rough with me. I think I like the idea... Daddy." she giggled alluringly, moving into his arms.

She kissed him passionately. He felt himself starting to respond and pulled away.

It's embarrassing getting an erection in front of two-hundred nude women. Perhaps it would be more embarrassing not to.

Ron took Susan by the hand and first checked with Jane that someone would watch over the oven while he celebrated with Susan and Barbara. She smiled at his chagrin and nodded. Ron moved quickly to drag them to a small bedroom he had set up nearby in conjunction with the rod vigil. They were giggling at his discomfort. No one else seemed to notice, as they all seemed to be going off hand in hand to celebrate in groups of two or more.

A nuclear technician came running down the halls in search of Ron. He got near the basement room and was suddenly met by in impenetrable force. He could go no farther. His legs wouldn't work.

He was standing there looking in bewilderment at his legs when Jane came by, now dressed.

"Yes?" Jane asked him.

"I can't move my legs. I've got to find Ron! " he said.

"Ron is not to be disturbed. What's the trouble?" she asked, knowing from his mind the answer.

"The Reactor! It's acting funny! The gauges all say it's dead!" he said, still looking at his legs...

"Everything is fine. Ron said so. He will check it himself tomorrow. Go back and tell the others. When I touch you, you will be able to move. You will remember only that Ron said it was safe and that you should tell the others. " Jane said.

The man looked at her and nodded. Jane touched him lightly on the shoulder.

"I've got to tell the others!" the man said, turning and running up the hall.

Jane grinned after him. Cindy at her elbow.

"Care to do a little celebrating yourself?" she asked.

"Yes, I'd like that very much." Jane said, taking her offered arm.

The next day, Ron and Barbara personally checked out the reactor. There was no hint of radiation anywhere. Not in the double containment vessel, not in the coolant, not in the fuel rods themselves. It was as if the reactor had been newly assembled and awaited it's first fuel rod.

"Hungry little baby." Barbara chuckled.

"This is no joke. How do we explain when we order a complete new set of fuel rods?" he asked.

Barbara kissed him softly.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Daddy." she said, giggling.

"I would have thought you would have learned your lesson last night." he said.

"I quite enjoyed myself last night, all of it." Barbara said, smiling distantly.

"So did I ... it was kind of fun paddling you two." he smirked.

"I'm back on watch now." she concluded, kissing him again -passionately- before leaving.

Ron watched her go and turned back to the fuel rods and frowned. It didn't last long as the smile returned to his face.

Over the next few months, Ron ordered new fuel rods from several sources. When asked about the return of his old ones he told his suppliers that they had built their own deep disposal facility beneath the University. The suppliers were dubious, but didn't argue as it saved them a considerable amount of hassle disposing the depleted fuel. It took almost a year to get the reactor back up to full power. The old fuel rods were kept and stored, safely isolated from each other in case their radio-activity should suddenly return. Ron didn't get around to checking their other physical characteristics for some time.

He explained the continuance on public power -and the sudden power surge- by saying that their generators had suddenly gone out of phase during the shut down, bucking the incoming power and damaging the generators. They would be down for almost a year for repairs. They would take the time to overhaul and inspect their reactor. This seemed prudent to the utilities.

The wait continued. Jane, Susan, Anne, Cindy and Jill passed the time using the pressence of the rod to induce the upper orders of the Sisterhood. This was not really necessary as the amulets would serve for up to the tenth order -eleventh from Jane- except the sixth. The amulets would not take a woman's virginity. There were enough sixth order initiations that the rod and the women were kept fairly occupied. There were also requests for the rod to be used on other higher orders. The women of the Sisterhood felt it an honor for the Rod of Sappho itself to be used for their inductions.

The vigil around the new rod continued. It was not uncommon for a dozen or more nude women to be seen sitting around the basement as if waiting for something to happen. Ron and Barbara's explanation that nothing would happen till the thermometer dropped to forty Celsius did not deter their presence. They seemed to like watching the display drop one more degree. Ron and Barbara accepted this. In fact, quite often at the end of their shifts they would go off to the small bedroom with one or more of the women in tow. Many of the others would go off hand in hand back to their dorms or apartments.

Between sessions on the rod, Cindy returned to her research. Ron and Barbara induced her back into the nightly sessions with the cubes, just for enjoyment sake. One of the Sisterhood would stand the third watch over the new rod while they spent time in the cube. She was seldom without company.

Ron was present at Juanita's final night of the sixth level. He held her tenderly in his arms as the rod took her maidenhead, inducing her into the sixth order of Gongyla. He also spent the next two days making love to her. They got along more than just a little bit. Susan had arranged for someone else to cover his vigil over the rod. It was she who had suggested he spend two days with the young woman.

Ron and Susan got together later in Susan's bedroom. One of Steve's panels replaced the picture window. The current feed was a real-time picture from the University's own telescope over a crystal pair link. Susan could and did use the panel as a communications link between her department heads and through the other secure link to the old University when need be.

"How come you're so good to me?" Ron asked her, after they had made love, but in reference to Juanita.

"It's 'acuse I love ya." she giggled, her head laying upon his shoulder as he caressed her back.

"I guess so ... seems an odd way of showing it. It's almost like you were trying to get me married off or something." he said, distantly.

Susan sobered a bit.

"My love. You have complete freedom to marry anybody you want, if you wish. I have no holds upon you. You know my destiny." she said.

"And what if I only wish to marry you, anyway. Knowing your destiny?" he asked.

"Are you asking?" she asked.

"Yes, I am." he said, softly.

Susan found her eyes full of tears. She sat up hugging her knees, looking out into space. Quite literally, looking at the star field.

"If, after I take the twelfth level of Aphrodite, you still feel the same way. Then I will accept. I will not hold you to your offer. I will understand if you do not feel the same then." Susan said, not looking at him.

"Alright. I will wait. I'm not about to change my mind though. I've loved you from the first moment we met." Ron said.

"As I have love you, my dearest heart. Since that very moment." Susan said, returning to his arms. Tears flowing down her cheeks.

The vigil continued. The temperature dropping two scant degrees a day. When it dropped below two-hundred degrees Celsius the phenomena of the watchers increased. Each day there were more women in the basement chamber. They spent their off time between classes after study several hours each day just sitting and waiting nude on the padded seats. It became a sort of meditation time for those who attended. There was now almost no conversation. They just sat and looked at the tile cube containing the crucible and mold of the Rod of Aphrodite. Ron hardly noticed them. As he sat vigil himself. If any of the women noticed him, it was with a sort of honored reverence for what he might have accomplished. Barbara felt the same thing from them.

They discussed it on a skiing trip with Steve and Cindy inside the cube. The four of them riding together up the mountain in a warm gondola.

"Does it surprise you?" Cindy asked.

"A bit, I guess. I'm just a man, same as any other." Ron replied.

"No, unlike most others. I find myself in the presence of the only two men on earth who have produced the rods. I feel honored to be with you. You too Barbara." Cindy replied.

"Thank you. But I haven't produced mine yet." Ron said, distantly.

"You doubt that it will turn out well?" Cindy asked.

"No. But I will not really believe it until it is fully completed and works." Ron said.

Cindy looked at him a moment.

"Barbara, would you object if I borrowed this man for a bit after this run? I think he needs a little appreciation therapy." Cindy half chuckled.

"Suits me fine. I think I'll be thanking this other one while your at it." Barbara said, taking Steve's hand.

"How about sending the other cube back to my double in the real world. We all seem to share this one. I know he'd dearly love to spend time with you folks too." Steve said.

"Consider it done." Barbara said, "I'll send mine back. This one is Ron's."

"Don't forget to update them by placing them together first." Steve said.

"Last time we did that, I spent the whole day making love to myself." Barbara said, blushing brightly.

"Must be a girl thing, cause I've never felt the urge. I do find myself fascinating though." Steve mused.

"You two ought to try it sometime. It does have it's appeal." Cindy commented, distantly.

Ron looked out the window at the landscape, kind of shaking his head.

Male homosexuality had never held an attraction for Ron. He didn't object to others, but he himself felt no such inclination. He well knew it's history with the Greeks during Sappho's time. While the women were practicing on each other, most often the men were indulging in pedantry with young boys.

Ron shuddered over that concept. He was a modern man, with all the cultural phobia's of his time. He didn't object to homosexuality between adults, but firmly believed that children should be permitted to grow up at their own pace. They didn't have the understanding to freely make sexual decisions that would affect their adult life. That's what parents were for. To protect them from having to face those questions that they were not yet prepared to face. Involving them in sexual acts forced them into a set that would seriously affect their adult lives. It robbed them of making the choice themselves. It was evil for that reason alone.

Relationships between adult women were different, Ron thought. Women were freer with their sexuality than most men felt comfortable with. Perhaps because they didn't feel the pressure of obtaining and maintaining an erection during intercourse. Perhaps because of some kind of sisterhood they felt because they all shared the experience of their monthly periods. Perhaps because they shared the experience of being the ones who carried a baby to term and then the agony and joy of giving birth. Perhaps because of their inherent softness or their hormonal based emotional swings. Perhaps it was a combination of all these things. Ron didn't know, but he sensed they felt much differently about each other than men did. It was not at all uncommon for women to go off to the bathroom together. Men on the other hand would never dream of doing that.

"Awh. We've gone and made you uncomfortable. " Cindy teased.

Steve kind of looked at Ron and nodded in understanding.

"Does it ever bother you when us girls kiss?" Barbara asked.

"No, not at all. I think it's quite sexy actually." Ron said.