Every Man's Fantasy Ch. 22

Author's note:

Thank you for your patience and sticking with my story. There has been a huge gap due to work commitments and slight problems with the structure of the story, which has demanded another chapter. As I see it, there are now two chapters left.

Alert readers will do me a favour by not looking too closely at chronology, nor wondering how some events can appear to be contemporaneous when they are clearly aren't.

For this chapter, recall that Ezra, Annela, Yael, Freya and Madam Gloria are on Celetaris attending a conference on the future of Samothea, which has just ended with Outworld Ventures (the settler company) making a claim for full ownership of Samothea, rejecting its own favourable compromise with the population of Samothea.

Also recall that Annela has been cured of a brain-tumour and that Freya's favourite word is 'norgasm'.

There isn't much sex in this chapter.

1 After the conference

On the morning after the Samothea Conference, the core members of the Samothea Project Team currently on Celetaris gathered for a meeting in the office of Joan Mayfield, Vice-Principal of the Celetaris Institute for Science.

Doctor Mayfield sat behind her large cluttered desk in her office in The Needle, the faculty tower on the Institute campus. A petite busy middle-aged woman with a short bob of dirty-blonde hair, she wore one of her trademark blue business suits, whose expensive cut subtly showcased her slim trim figure and good legs. Joan made a final scribble on a computer tab before attending to her guests, who sat around her in a semi-circle on uncomfortable office chairs.

Her guests were Danielle Goldrick, Rosa Silverstein, Herman, the mathematician (and Rosa's boyfriend), Paul Kessler, the lawyer, and Danielle's husband, Roger Harcourt, the historian. Delayed videocasts were going out to two physicists on Earth: Jonathan Wright and Li Qu Yuan.

It was a warm spring morning. With a command to the office computer, Joan set the plasti-glass windows to a porous setting, to allow a fresh breeze to infiltrate the spacious office. She sat back and invited Danielle to address the meeting.

"I have a report from Oakshott Industries and HyperStar Japan on the latest versions of the hyperspace drive, beacons, communication satellites and shuttlecrafts," Danielle said.

"HyperStar Japan has a factory tooled up and almost ready for full production of the drives. Oakshott Industries has engineers and space-riggers fully trained to configure the beacons. Four-seat, eight-seat and twelve-seat versions of the shuttlecraft designed by Rosa are being tested. It won't be that long until they're ready to be sold on the open market."

"Of the new hyperspace links planned, the link from Earth to the Beltway system will make the biggest profits, I think, but the one from the Beltway to Celetaris will be easiest. To convert the whole Beltway to the new hyperdrive technology is the goal, but it is a logistical problem for the future and for a huge consortium of businesses, maybe every hyperspace engineering firm in the Anglosphere."

"This is good news," Joan said, not being a woman to baulk before the enormity of a problem, "but how much pressure does it put on us to commit to full production of the hyperspace technology?"

"I feel the obligation keenly," Danielle answered. "I want my friends and partners to benefit from their work but I also want to know that the people of Samothea will be safe."

In fact, it was only Danielle's power of persuasion over the team, supported by an indulgent Stephen Oakshott, that so far prevented the partners from pursuing the commercial opportunities of the hyperdrive system, regardless what consequences it would have for the population of Samothea.

"I understand your concerns, Danielle, and I agree with them somewhat," Joan said; "yet I think it's time to change our approach toward the colony of Samothea. The people of Samothea just rejected a perfectly good compromise with Outworld Ventures, leaving the status of the planet to be decided by a court-case."

"Paul, do you know when will that be?" Danielle asked.

"Not for six months, at least," Paul replied. "The clerk of the Beltway circuit court told me there's a long backlog of cases."

"We must wait for Stephen Oakshott's reply, of course," Joan said, "but I'm guessing our commercial partners will want to start selling the technology as soon as possible."

Danielle acknowledged that this was true but she repeated the argument she had used so often:

"If we open hyperspace pathways to Samothea," Danielle said, "then the population there will be vulnerable to all the chancers, claim-jumpers, illegal miners and other undesirables who want to exploit the uninhabited parts of the planet, or even the inhabited part. The women of Samothea are not equipped to protect themselves, nor do they have any money to pay an outside agency to protect them."

"Under the compromise just rejected," Joan replied, "it would have been the settler company's problem - and financial incentive - to police the hyperspace pathways and protect the planet from exploitation."

Danielle was not convinced.

"If Outworld Ventures wins the court-case and sells land on Samothea willy-nilly," she said, "then the exploitation of the planet (and, perhaps, also the women on the planet) would happen anyway."

"True, Danielle," Joan agreed, "and if the women of Samothea win the court-case, then they would be in the same position. So why should the Samothea Project and its commercial partners lose out on huge dividends in a hopeless attempt to defend a doomed society on Samothea?"

This question was the heart of the matter. Danielle felt the need to protect the women of Samothea, thirty-five of whom (and counting) were her nieces; but she also wanted the commercial partners of the Samothea Project to reap their justly-earned profits. It was a matter of striking the right balance.

A lively discussion naturally followed, evenly matched between Joan and Danielle, respectively for and against selling the hyperdrive technology on the open market. Soon, however, the argument was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," Joan invited.

Madam Gloria, Prefect of Samothea, modestly entered. The men politely stood.

"Please excuse my intrusion," Gloria said, "but I have something to say to you all. May I have five minutes to address the meeting?"

There were no objections. Roger offered Gloria his chair, but she preferred to stand.

"I understand that you must be blaming the women of Samothea for the failure of the conference to reach an agreement," Gloria said. "You have all worked so hard on our behalf, it must seem to you that we are very foolish and ungrateful."

"We don't blame you," said Roger.

"I do," said Joan. "I understand how important the principle of self-determination is, Gloria; but you have rejected the only compromise that was available. You may end up in a worse position."

"I know it," Gloria admitted. "I've come here to say that I understand if you abandon us to the fate we seem to have chosen for ourselves. I have no right to ask you to support the colony of Samothea any further, but I have been overwhelmed by your great kindness to us and amazed at your ingenuity. I feel sure that, if there is an answer, you could find it. And I promise that, if we are offered another good compromise, I will do everything in my power to see that we accept it."

"Thank you, Gloria," Danielle said. "We've made no decision yet. There are complex matters of commercial interests, technology and logistics to decide."

"Then I will leave you to your discussion. Thank you for listening to me."

Roger escorted Gloria to the door and gave her a smile, meaning: Don't worry. Danielle and I will never abandon the women of Samothea.

"You know," Roger said to the meeting as he re-took his seat, "that Madam Gloria voted for the compromise deal?"

They considered this for a minute. Unfortunately, it was not a reason to change anyone's mind, so the argument carried on as before. The committee reached no satisfactory conclusion after half-an-hour, and everyone had other work to do, so they agreed to meet again when the date for the court-case was known.

******

Back in her office, Danielle sent a message to Stephen Oakshott, updating him on the meeting and giving him the latest news.

She enjoyed their daily video chats, in which short bursts of information were neatly choreographed to fit in with her office duties, meetings and lectures.

Stephen Oakshott's reply arrived in thirty minutes. Previously, he'd always supported Danielle, but now he said:

"I'm sorry I can't back you, Goldrick, but the women of Samothea have done you no favours. All they have achieved is a delay. I'm sorry to be so heartless."

"You're not heartless, Stephen," Danielle sent back. "It's a nuisance and I'm frustrated myself, especially about the financial loss to you and HyperStar, but I want to wait for the judgment of the court-case."

It was midday when she saw Stephen's reply:

"You've been too long in the academy, Goldrick, and forgotten how to think like a businessman. We're already two years into our fifteen-year patent. I can't justify waiting any longer."

"I understand, Stephen," Danielle replied in a resigned tone. "I'll speak to you tomorrow."

2 Hot and horny Annela

The day after the conference, Annela asked Ezra to stay in the apartment with her.

She arranged for Mariotta and Nathan Goldrick to look after Freya. They collected their granddaughter in the morning and took her for breakfast. It was their last day on Celetaris. Nathan had to go back to work and Mariotta, acting the role of a dutiful wife, was to go with him.

Her grandparents had a day of treats planned for Freya, including her regular hour with Charlie-dog in the park and tea with Mr Fanshaw afterward. Meanwhile, Annela planned to spend all day in bed with Ezra. There was lots she had to talk to him about and one thing in particular she needed to do over and again.

Annela was loving her life on Celetaris, making friends with Ezra's family and their friends, making novel discoveries every day. It was like being a child again, when the whole world is fresh and new.

Despite the novelty, Annela's life was also comfortably settled. She had a routine that began with a run around the Science Park with Dr. Cassie Leighton, who was a keen athlete. Yael often stayed overnight in Joan Mayfield's house with her boyfriend, Ryan; but when she stayed with Ezra and Annela, she joined Annela on her morning run. So did Danielle, when she had the time. The women sprinted hard to build up a sweat.

After a shower at the medical centre, Annela would spend until lunchtime in Cassie's laboratory, enduring medical tests and treatments. As always, she was patient and good-humoured, however invasive and tedious the tests were. Annela lay relaxed on an ultrasound bed or sat with her head under a brain scanner. She patiently allowed herself to be probed and swabbed, contentedly gave blood samples, skin samples and hair samples, or gamely blew into tubes.

The results were extremely good. Cassie was delighted and, because Annela had the magical power of getting anyone to tell her anything, even a medical professional, Cassie found herself explaining in intricate detail all the medical procedures she and the doctors were performing. Indeed, Cassie gave Annela a crash-course on human biology. Annela soaked up all the new information and investigated further herself in the university library.

Today, she planned to tell Ezra everything she had learned, but before she could relax enough to talk, she had sexual urges to meet, stronger urges than she had ever felt, even when she was a teenager. Her daily medical sessions ended with an injection and, ten or twelve hours later (happily timed by Cassie to coincide with when Annela could be alone with Ezra), she would be burning up with heat and so horny she thought she would explode.

Cassie told Annela that her response to the treatment exceeded anything the medical team had ever seen before. It was an abnormal reaction but, so far as anyone could judge, completely healthy. However, Cassie began to neglect her other work to concentrate on making a close study of Annela's physiology and hormones, with emphasis on her sex-life.

Annela was loving her sex-life on Celetaris with Ezra. She had never felt so lustful and eager. She was happy to describe her experiences in detail to Cassie. Annela had no shame about her sexual urges, nor any modesty on Ezra's behalf. Rather, she was proud that he tried so hard to satisfy her. Cassie smiled every morning when she read Annela's naive glowing reports of Ezra's prowess.

There were other changes to Annela's body besides her sex-drive. She felt an increase in energy and a larger appetite; her muscles were toned; her flat stomach and thin waist showed the underlying muscles; her small tits were bigger and perkier; and although she felt hot all the time, she also strongly craved heat.

After dinner at Danielle's apartment or with Mariotta and Nathan at their hotel, while Ezra returned with Gloria to her hotel room to talk by videolink to the Advisory Council on Samothea, Annela would bring Freya home and they would take a hot shower together before bed. The shower could be turned into a steam room or sauna, depending on whether Annela preferred wet heat or dry heat. Freya liked both. They liked when the heat soaked right through their bodies into their bones, like a hot day in the forest at home.

After drying off with a hot air blast, Annela would cuddle up in bed with Freya, but she wouldn't stay dry for long. When Freya was contentedly asleep, Annela would escape from under the covers and lie on the blanket.

Beads of sweat would gather on her top lip, on her breasts, her belly and the small of her back. There was other dampness as well, as her reaction to the medical treatment kicked in. When it came close to the time for Ezra to return, Annela would wait in the corridor, naked, leaning her back against the cool wall, her arms pressed flat by her sides, panting from built-up lust.

The door latch would click and even before Ezra was all the way into the apartment, Annela would leap on him and latch her mouth onto his.

She would be so eager and insistent that she wouldn't let him bundle her into bedroom but Ezra would have to stuff his hard cock into her where they stood, slamming her roughly against the wall, bringing her off quickly. Then, while Annela clung to him in melting satisfaction, he would carry her into the bedroom and fuck her until he was exhausted.

For the last three weeks, since her memory had come back, Annela had made Ezra do his duty to her every night. For the last week, though, since she began the medication and felt endlessly hot and horny, she had seduced him three or four times every night and at least once again each morning.

Sometimes they had time for a quickie in the afternoon, when the conference took an extended lunch-break and Mariotta or Yael took Freya to the park to play with Charlie-dog. This extra hour with Ezra was fun but barely enough to keep Annela satisfied until bedtime.

Now it was early afternoon on the day after the conference and Ezra had performed heroically all day, having given Annela more orgasms than she could remember. They had fucked, then showered, then fucked, then showered, then fucked again - slept a little - fucked and showered and finally, with his tongue aching, his fingers exhausted, his well-used cock sore, Ezra had satisfied Annela enough to win him some peace for an hour or two. She lay on him and put her head on his chest to rest.

"All right, Madam," Ezra said, "tell me why your eyes sparkle, why your hair shines, why your complexion is perfect, why you are so hot? You're sparking with energy and insanely lustful (not that I'm complaining, of course): so what's going on?"

Ezra caressed her back, stroking gently from her shapely bottom, over the dip of her arched spine, to her shoulders and down again. She was hot to the touch and, however relaxed she seemed, he could feel ever-twitching muscles under her sweat-damp skin.

"That's the second thing I wanted to say to you," Annela said, snuggling comfortably against him.

"What's the first?"

"I asked Cassie Leighton to tell me who sponsored my cancer treatment."

"And she told you, did she, just like that?"

"Well, I had to ask a couple of times."

"You're a witch, Annela. You can get anyone to tell you anything. Is it someone I know?"

"It was Danielle."

"Oh, good."

"Good?"

"Yes. I know you, Annela. You'd want to pay the sponsor back. But now we know it was Danielle, we don't need to. She did it for me."

"Don't you want to pay Danielle back?"

"Yes, but I can't until I collect on the insurance for my spaceship. An assessor downloaded the record from the escape pod and he's approved the pay-out. Pretty soon, I'll have some funds in the bank and can pay off my bank-loans and my parents. Then Danielle and I will have a big argument because she won't accept anything from me."

"But you'll win?"

"Not against Danielle, I won't. Which is a good thing because, if I pay her back, I won't be able to return my investors' stakes."

"Oh, do you owe them a lot?"

"Technically, I don't owe them anything because they are entitled only to a percentage of the bounty from Outworld Ventures for finding Samothea."

"Which you refused."

"Just so."

"Hmm. So why do you want to pay them back?"

"If ever I want them - or anyone else - to lend me money again, I'll need a good record of keeping my promises. My backers could say I had no right to refuse the bounty."

"So why don't you accept the bounty? It's not as if it will make any difference to Samothea now."

"I'm not sure it's on offer any more."

"You should ask Outworld Ventures."

"Yes, I will. ... Meanwhile, what was the second thing you wanted to tell me?"

"It's the reason I'm so hot and randy at the moment. It's the medical treatment Cassie has been giving me."

"What is it?"

"Rejuvenation therapy. Not the full rejuvenation therapy. There is no plastic surgery to make me look younger. Just the nano technology treatment to revitalise my cells."

Annela explained what Cassie had told her and what she had researched for herself.

"Cells age," she said, "because they lose their telomeres, which also makes them vulnerable to cancer."

"What are 'telomeres'?" Ezra asked.

"They're lengths of spare DNA at the end of the chromosomes that act as buffers. But every time a cell copies itself, it loses some of the buffer material. Eventually the telomeres shrink until there's no buffer at all, so the next time the cell divides, some working DNA is lost. This can make the cell malfunction. If the damaged part controls the mechanism to prevent bad cells multiplying, then the cells can become cancerous and can't be stopped replicating. That's when they grow into a tumour, which is what I had and what I'm still vulnerable to because of how I was cloned."

"I see. So what does the treatment do?"

"The nanobots they inject into me slowly work their way into the nucleus of every cell to rebuild the telomeres. Then they self-destruct. That's why I need a new injection every day. And the job they're doing is what's making me so hot. Cassie says she's never seen anyone react so well to the treatment. She thinks all my cells will be mended in months rather than years. Cassie hopes that every woman on Samothea will react this well."

"That's excellent news. Is that why you're so horny?"

"Yes, from both the nanobots and human growth hormone."

"Eh?"

"Cassie also injects me with human growth hormone. It powers the nanobots and helps repaired cells replace older cells. The combination gives me a buzz like I've never felt before. Originally, Cassie was going to stop the treatment because of my reaction to it but I told her I'm fine, just so long as you're here to give me what I need. ... Talking of which, I'm ready to go again."