Thistledown Chapter 9

Thistledown

Jay: Haven

They led me away from Nella’s side, and I felt a great sense of unease. I wanted to turn around and go back to her; but could not for a large crowd of bio males surrounded me and pushed me along.

“Where will they take my mate?” I asked of them.

“They will take her to the House of Testing,” said Boreus. “Which is also known as Maisie’s Rooming House for Gentle Women. I’m hoping the Reverend Jaleb will pick my name out of the selection box first for testing my dedication to the Spirit.”

“I’m wishing the same thing, Bo,” said one of the men walking alongside us. “She looks like one who will really try ones mettle. That blue coloring is quite something!”

“I’m growing hard just thinking about that sweet privy spot between her legs,” said another. “And the way she walks about with not a stitch of clothing on, showing everything off for a man to see… that one will try any man’s dedication to the Spirit.”

“Don’t let the Reverend see you in that state,” said Boreus. “Or you’ll be providing a feast for those nasty little beasts of his, and that is one horrible way to die.”

They were talking about my Nella and I was not at all certain that I liked what they were talking about. They all wanted to link with her. I felt disturbed by that and wanted to lash out at them all. I pictured Boreus on top of her, moving inside her, giving her pleasure, and I wanted to hit him, to kill him. Almost I changed into my killing form, but I controlled myself and walked at his side still in my man form and he lived for a while longer. More pictures formed in my mind of the other men, who walked alongside me, thrusting their bio linking rods in and out of my Nella, and it near drove me to another bout of madness. I decided to find out more about this testing Boreus spoke of.

“What is this testing you speak of?” I asked Boreus. “I would like to know more about it.”

“The Testing is to find out how much a person is in the Spirit,” said Boreus. “When we feel no pleasure in the things of the Flesh, then we know that we are deeply in the Spirit and acceptable to the Great Sky Father and his Most Holy Ones. However, if we feel pleasure while engaged in the things of the Flesh, then we face only death in the end.”

“The things of the flesh,” I said. “What are they?”

“The things of the Flesh are eating: we should get no enjoyment out of the food we eat. The things of the Flesh are comfort: our clothing shouldn’t be soft, nor should our beds or chairs be soft. The things of the Flesh are intimate relations with a woman: we should feel no pleasure while engaged in the act.”

“Why have intimate relations with a woman at all, if you do not want to have the related pleasure? This is not making sense to me.”

“We need to have intimate relations to make babies, else our people will die out. The Great Sky Father doesn’t want the people who worship him to pass from the world. He wants us to learn how to procreate without becoming immersed in the pleasures of the Flesh.”

“Have you learned how to do that?”

“Some better than others. But none of us have perfected the technique of feeling no pleasure during the act.”

“And the female?”

“It’s preferred that she show no signs of feeling pleasure, but it matters not that she does. Woman is of the weaker, fleshly sex and must be excused from reaching the higher levels of life in the Spirit. During the Testing she must do nothing that would allow the man with her to feel any sort of pleasure.”

Is someone with you to watch while you have sex with a female? To make certain that you have not gotten any pleasure out of the act. You could lie about it, couldn’t you?”

“No, the act is too private for that. The Great Sky Father knows and sees all, and He tells the Reverend Jaleb what has occurred while one of us has engaged in sexual congress with a woman. Therefore, we can never lie about having felt pleasure. Those who attempted to lie had their tongues ripped out and their male organs cut off; after which they were cast out into the wilderness. I doubt that they lived very long for the Black Hunters would have found them and killed them, as they kill all bios that are not in the Havens.”

From all I had heard, I had a good idea as to whom the Great Sky Father was: he was the River Sphere Controller, and The Most Holy Ones were synths under his control, as were the Hunters. Nella and I were in danger in this place. I had to find a way to get us out of here without letting the Controller know I knew about his possible trap. For now I would bide my time, and wait for an opportunity to make my way to Nella’s side.

We arrived at a very large, three-story brick house, and were led into a large room crowded with men of all ages. On a raised platform at one end of the room stood, a large man dressed in a long, half-white and half-black, robe. A large box stood on a tall table at his side. He watched my progress toward him with cold icy eyes. I stopped in front of him; rather, Boreus gave up on pushing me, allowing me to come to a halt.

“I am the Reverend Jaleb,” said the big man in a loud, booming voice. “And we have come together to choose the man who will be first to test himself on this one’s woman.” He pointed a thick finger at me. “See how he walks about shamelessly with his manhood bared for all to see. Moreover, we have all seen his woman. “ Murmurs of assent come from all around. “She is as shameless as he is. I am sure that she’ll not mind engaging in the most intimate of acts with a few of you. Or perhaps she could easily handle all of you?” He looked me straight in the eye as he said this.

Could Nella link in quick succession with all the male bios in the room? I had not counted them, but estimated that there were at least two hundred and fifty present. She was a synth, and we were physically strong and had great endurance, but there was the danger of overload, as the pleasure centers would be stimulated repeatedly. Overload could mean permanent shutdown. I had to stop this Reverend Jaleb right now! I began the change into my killing shape… and a metallic net fell over me, and somehow prevented me from completing the change.

“The Great Sky Father has warned me about you,” said the Reverend Jaleb. “He gave me this special net in which to snare you and hold you prisoner. Now, on to the choosing.”

He opened the box and stirred the papers inside it with his hands. He closed his eyes, picked up one piece of paper, and dropped it. A sigh passed through the crowd of men. He fingered another paper, and another. He stirred the papers again. I could sense the tension building around me. Each man hoped that his name would be read out, and that he would be the one to have sex with my Nella. I struggled in vain against the bonds of the net that held me. He picked up another paper and held it up for all to see. He opened his eyes, unfolded the paper, and called out the name: “Grishame.”

A small, thin man, with bulging watery eyes and a bobbling lump in his neck made his way forward and bowed his head before the Reverend Jaleb.

“As I test myself upon the chosen woman,” he said in a squeaky voice. “I will remember at all times to be in the Spirit, and that the flesh is nothing.”

“The Great Sky Father gives you his blessing,” said the Reverend. “Be in the Spirit and return to us with word of how it was to lie with this woman.”

Grishame left, and I sat down on the floor. Most of the men left the room and in the end only Boreus, a man called Sephro and the Reverend Jaleb remained in the room with me. I placed my hands on the floor to either side of me. Slowly I inched one hand near to the bottom edge of the net. Seeing what I was doing, Sephro kicked hard against my arm and stomped on my fingers with his hard-soled boots. I withdrew my hand back to my side. Pulses of pain passed through it and into my body. We waited in silence.

After a very long time, Grishame returned. His face was flushed and the lump in his neck bobbled frantically up and down. His black trousers were unbuttoned and I could see the pink shape of his limp linking rod. He remained silent until all the men were reassembled in the room. Reverend Jaleb invited Grishame to stand beside him on the platform. Suddenly Grishame gave out a soft squeak and buttoned his trousers with shaking fingers.

“I think that we are all here,” said the Reverend Jaleb. “So if you would be kind enough to tell us in detail all that happened?”

“I walked over to the House for Gentle Women, “ Grishame began. “Once there, Mistress Maisie gave me a drink of her fine berry vinegar, and then led me up to the room in which the woman was ensconced. I followed all the proper forms and begged her pardon. I asked if she would be willing to let me test myself on her, and she seemed most eager to please for she asked what she should do to help me pass the test. I listed all the rules for her. Could I have a drink of water, please? My throat is very dry, I fear.” Someone came with water and he drank a large gulp before continuing with his tale.

“When I asked if she were ready for the test, she lay back with her legs spread wide open. But she readily complied when I told her she must lie straight. I put her into the position for intercourse in the way that you have taught us, and looked upon her for a long while. Great Sky Father forgive me, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and I felt twinges of pleasure just looking at her. I… I… undid my trousers, crawled on top of her and put my manhood inside her. I have never felt such pleasure as that which I felt during the act with her. I can’t speak more of it. I have failed the Spirit. I’m impure and await my punishment.”

“I will go and pay a visit to this woman,” said the Reverend Jaleb. “I will test myself on her and pronounce her doom. Tell this man what is the doom of those who revel in the pleasures of the flesh."

“The doom is death!” Shouted out all the men.

“No.” I said. “No. Not death. Not for her. Let her live and set us free to leave.”

The Reverend Jaleb stepped down from his platform and squatted in front of me. “Yes! Death for her and later for you; that is what the Great Sky Father has decreed.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Now I must go and have my pleasure of your woman before I send her to her doom. I do wish I dared to give you one last time with her. But that foolish I’m not.”

He left and most everyone but my two guards followed him. I imagined him on top of Nella, his large buttocks moving up and down as he pumped inside her. He was so large that I imagined only her legs visible. She would cry out in pleasure at every thrust of his and would doom herself to death. I struggled and got a few hard kicks from Sephro as a warning not to do so. I sat still and went back in memory to the short time I had with Nella. I had failed and the Controllers had won. I could only hope that both our deaths would be swift and painless.

“What is the way of the flesh?” Boomed out the Reverend’s voice in the distance.

“Death!” Answered the crowd.

After a moment of silence, the crowd groaned, and then, Nella screamed. Sephro ran out the door, leaving Boreus to watch me. Nella screamed again.

“Help me, please,” I begged of Boreus. “We have done you and the citizens of this Haven no harm. I know that you are a good man. Please?”

“I can’t help you in any physical way,” said Boreus. “I can look aside and pretend I do not see what you do. I’m sorry that I can’t do more.”

“It is enough,” I said as I worked my right hand under the edge of the net, and then the left one. I increased the power and strength in both arms and pushed upwards. Slowly, so very slowly, the net moved upwards. I became frantic as Nella screamed and screamed. The net sapped my strength and began to sag downward again. Then Boreus was there and pulled the net off me.

“Take me with you when you leave,” he said. “There is no life for me here after this.”

“You have my thanks,” I said, “and you are welcome to come with us when we leave this place.” I ran out the door, changing into my killing form as I did so. The crowd parted before me as I made my way to the center of the square. The Reverend Jaleb ran off in the direction of the River when he saw me. I did not care what he did or where he went. I cared only for Nella, who was chained in the center of the Town Square. A dozen small grey skinned beasts were busy ripping pieces out of her with long sharp teeth. I reduced them to small, bloody pieces. I flowed back into my man form and knelt beside my Nella.

She looked to be in terrible shape. Her lower left arm had been chewed down to the silver metal skeleton; fingers were missing from both hands, as were the toes from her feet. On the right, the breast and a large patch of skin were gone. Large areas of her silver skeleton showed through in both her legs. Her machines needed help to repair such extensive damage. Lifting her carefully and gently onto my lap, I entered her and spewed my machines into her repeatedly, as fast as my body could manufacture them. She touched my face in wonder, as if she did not believe I was there with her. The people standing around us asked if we were Holy Ones. We told them no and that they should go home. Most did as we said, but some remained to watch us.

Hours passed, and the worst of the damage was repaired. I lifted her from my lap and helped her to her feet –the people around us murmured in displeasure when they saw that we had been locked together all that long while. I helped her over to the dock. We sat down at the end of it, and gazed out over the River. We would stay on the dock and in a nearby shed until the day the Raven arrived. We used the shed whenever we wanted to link, which was often, for there was much that needed to be repaired in her and my machines provided the building materials. Men came from the Haven wanting to link with her: some were sent away, and others she took into the shed with her. Sometimes I would stay on the dock at those times; sometimes I would follow her and the bio male into the shed: I would watch them link and instantly link with her afterward.

The people came one by one and in small groups and told us about the Reverend Jaleb and the terrible things he had done to them. Since the Reverend was no longer around to harm him, Boreus decided to stay in the Haven with his young wife and son.

Nella and I stood, arm in arm, at the end of the dock when a small riverboat steamed up and made fast to the side. She looked intently at a dark haired man, and dug her nails into my arm. I knew then that she had experienced the same electric shock I had felt upon seeing her for the first time, upon seeing the dark haired man. What had just happened would complicate things and change the dynamic between us. I told her about feeling the same shock on my first sight of her, and that I had hoped she would feel the same thing on seeing me. She told me that she could not imagine life without me. I felt content with that.

The female captain, Gina by name, welcomed us aboard and took us to a neat cabin. She requested that we visit the boat’s common room as soon as we were settled in and the boat was underway.

Thistledown Chapter 10  (XGC) Nella watches the bio Piper #738065 by Petronella60 -on hiatus