The Girl Ch. 5

Then he fell forward onto her back, after he had come back, and she collapsed forward, causing him to disengage involuntarily as he fell with her.

"Oof," she said when his weight hit her. Her hands were at her sides.

"That was very strange," she said after a moment.

"What was?" He asked. He could tell his legs had born the brunt of the orgasmic muscle contractions, and he knew he would have difficulty walking for a while.

"That orgasm," she said. "It felt... different. More intense than usual. More focused... and I came so fast!"

"You know, that's odd, because my first orgasm was strange too, only it felt less focused and not as intense as usual," he said, contemplatively.

"What does it mean?", she asked,

"I'm not sure. We both had orgasms simultaneously, though... and we did it twice in a row... we never did that before."

"Maybe you felt my orgasm and I felt yours," she offered.

"But... that's not possible," he replied. He was confused.

"There's a way we could see," said Desiree.

"What's that?"

"Well, if one of us was to achieve orgasm without sex, and the other felt it, then we'd know."

"I suppose," he said. "How about you make yourself come, then? Multiple orgasms are a woman's prerogative, but not so easy for a man."

"OK," she replied. "Let me turn over so I can do it,"

Johnathan rolled off of her. Their slightly sweaty bodies made a sound as they came apart. He lay next to her regaining his breath, and waiting for his legs to recover. She spread her legs a little, putting her bent right knee over his left hip in the process, and reached down to touch herself. To her surprise, she was much less sensitive than she had expected to be after her last orgasm. She slipped her middle finger into herself, and then slid it back up to her clit, which she began to rub softly in tight circles. Her body began to respond at once.

It only took her a few minutes to achieve her goal, and it poured down through her as if someone had dumped a five gallon bucket of the sensation on her hips. Johnathan gasped.

"I felt it!" he cried. "Holy shit, I feltyour orgasm!"

She smiled and drifted back to normal.

"So we just experienced each others' orgasms," he continued. "Holy shit!"

"Johnathan, I know you are surprised, but what is 'shit'?"

"Oh, uh..." he laughed. "It's a slang expression that... uh... well, it's kind of hard to explain. Just don't say that word to anyone, OK? In the wrong usage it can be very offensive to people."

"OK, but I still am curious about what it is," she said. "I know what 'holy' is, even though the definition for 'holy' seems to make little sense on it's own. 'Holy' is defined as being separated from the mundane world by dedication to the praise or worship of God, but I do not understand what God is either. If shit is holy, and I understand what praise and worship mean, then God must be someone or something very special, and shit must be a good thing. Yet you say it can be offensive. I do not understand."

"Woman, how can you be so technical after what we just discovered?!" Johnathan said somewhat incredulously. "We just felt one another's orgasms! That last one I felt much less strongly than I did when I was inside you, but I felt it regardless,"

"Are feelings supposed to be confined to only the self?" she asked.

"Well, mostly, yeah... I mean, if I was sitting a few feet away from you and there was a sound proof concrete wall between us, and you were crying because someone died, I would expect to have no idea that you were upset. If I was in the same room, I might start to feel bad because I could see you and hear you, but that's not feeling your emotions, that's responding to something."

"I am confused," she said. "I wish to understand what 'shit', 'God' and 'died' are. I have no definitions for these."

"Oh boy. I opened up a can of worms this time," he said.

"You did? When? I did not see you do that,"

He laughed. She smiled, remembering that he had told her that his laughter meant she had pleased him with her desire to learn.

"Opening up a can of worms is a slang expression that means things are getting complicated."

"OK, so you made things complicated by mentioning shit, died and God?" she asked.

"Yes, most definitely. Strange that they would give you the knowledge of what 'holy' means without defining God. I guess it was just too complicated for them to bother with," he said.

"So God is, in part of it's definition, complex. I understand. What else?"

"Well, God is different things to different people," he began. He turned and looked at his alarm clock: 4:47 A.M.Great. Late night philosophy with Johnathan Mazrick, he thought.I'll never get back to sleep now.

"That doesn't make sense, Johnathan. How can God be different things to different people?"

"See the alarm clock?" he asked. She nodded. "What color are those lighted numbers on it?"

"They're... red," she said.

"But the red you see, and the red I see, while they are both red, are not the same red."

"How is that possible?!" she exclaimed.

"Because your eyes and my eyes are slightly different. And God is different things to different people for the same reason,"

"So God will look a different color to you than it will to me?"

He laughed again, and she was encouraged.

"Not quite, love. God is not visible."

"That makes no sense! How can God look different to each of us if it can't be seen?" she lamented.

"Well, first of all, God is not a thing. God is... hmmm," he said, thinking about how to explain this. "To me, God is the living love that created everything there is."

"Now I understand, because you cannot see love!" she said triumphantly. "But everything was created by God, and God is love?"

"First of all, Desiree, you're trying to understand something with logic alone that cannot be comprehended with logic. I told you, this is complex."

"How can there be things that cannot he comprehended with logic, Johnathan?"

"How can there be any such thing as a monopole? All things come in pairs of opposites, have you noticed that? There is light, and darkness. Up and down. Left and right. Cold and hot. Male and female. Wet and dry. And the list goes on and on."

"So a monopole would be one without the other? Like wetness without dryness?" she asked.

"Right. And monopoles are very unusual. God may be the only monopole in existence, but we don't know. Some say even God has his opposite."

"So you're saying that logic is one part of a pair? What is the opposite of logic?", she asked.

"Emotion, of course!" he said.

"Oh, I see now. There is no way to describe the way you make me feel with colors and shapes and dimensions, and that is an emotion!"

"Exactly!" he said, pleased at her progress.

"So since God is love, God cannot be understood with logic and cannot be described quantitatively, either. You referred to God as being a 'him'. How can God be love and be a 'him' at the same time, if love is an emotion?"

"Well you're forgetting something, first of all, Desiree," he said. "I told you that,to me, God is love and the source of all things. But remember that to different people, God is something different. Each person comes to understand what God is through their own personal experiences and through their understanding of what everyone else thinks. To my grandmother, God was an old man with a long gray beard who acted as a stern father figure, and he sat on his throne in heaven."

"This is very confusing, Johnathan. Your grandmother saw God being an old man? How can a feeling be a man? And where is 'heaven'?" she asked.

"Well, like I said, each person comes to understand what God is because of their experiences and how they understand other people's interpretations of God. She had been taught that he was an old man who lived in heaven and watched everything she did. I don't believe that God can be confined to the image of a body like I have because God is, in my understanding, too vast and too great in scope. So, for me, it makes more sense that God would exist as the energy representation of the highest of positive energies, which I believe is love. And heaven is a place that cannot be located in a physical sense, because it is not physical."

"If it is not physical," she responded, "then it cannot be a place, either."

"You're trying to understand using logic. Heaven is the figurative 'where' in which God exists. Can you tell me where your feelings are in your body?"

"I feel them... here," she said, putting her hand on her chest.

OK, now imagine the universe as a body, and imagine that heaven is there for that body. That's about the best way I can think of to describe where heaven is," he said. "Personally, I think heaven exists everywhere and nowhere because I think of heaven as more a state of mind than a place."

"A state of mind? I get it! When I feel my love for you, I am experiencing God and heaven, because of how it makes me feel!" she cried out in triumph. Johnathan was overcome with pride in his grow-ling for comprehending that.

"That's about how I would put it, love. You make me so proud understanding that. So few born people ever understand that. If they did, perhaps we would have less hate and violence in the world."

"So there are people who – wait, would hate be the opposite of love?" she asked, excitedly. It was plainly evident that feeding her hunger for knowledge and understanding was exciting her.

"Well, you'd think so at first glance, wouldn't you? But I think it's actually fear that is the opposite of love."

"I don't understand," she said. "How can that be?"

"Well, fear is what makes people hate, I think. Fear leads to several other negative emotions, such as depression, anger, prejudice and hate, depending on how it's experienced and expressed. There are people who would disagree with me, just like lost of people adamantly would insist that my concept of God is wrong. But, for me, these answers are what makes sense as answers to those questions."

"Can I disagree with you?" she asked tentatively.

"You sure can. If you don't agree with how I see things, you're welcome to come to your own conclusions. I would enjoy discussing it with you if you did see things differently than me at some point," replied Johnathan.

"But what if I'm wrong?" she asked.

"Being wrong is not always possible, or bad. For instance, nobody can prove that my concept of God is wrong, because we have no way of proving what God is, or even if God exists. There have been books written about what and who God is, but they were all written by people, and people will always cone to their own conclusion about what God is because each of us has a unique experience in life, and therefore a unique understanding of each thing, just like the red you see is not the same one I see. So technically, even though there are people out there who insist that my ideas about God are dead wrong, and they have different versions of ideas about what God is, neither of us can be wrong because we each experience God in our own unique way, based on our awareness of the world around us and how we have come to understand everything through our experiences in life."

"Wow, Johnathan, you know so much! Will I ever get to meet other people and ask them about God?" she asked.

"There is a time for all things, love. But you aren't ready for that just yet. You must understand more before you can begin to interact with others on such complex topics and not risk getting hurt. Human ways are very complex, and there are many more questions I must answer for you before you can understand enough to be safe."

"OK," she smiled. "So what is 'shit' and 'died'?"

Johnathan groaned.

"How about I explain those later? Just remember that 'shit' is not a word you are allowed to say without my permission. You can get into a lot of trouble if you don't understand how people use that word."

He was not looking forward to explaining death.

**************************

Monday came quickly, and they got in the car and returned to the grow-ling shop at the mall. On Monday at noon, the mall was pretty quiet. There was a woman talking with the geeky man Johnathan remembered, and he was explaining something to her about what must have been her grow-ling, a man taller than she was, and appearing to be in his mid forties, with male pattern baldness and a chin that was too big to seem normal.

Desiree walked right up to Lorinda and repeated the performance she had gone through last time. She assumed the anatomical pose and said, "Grow-ling, Paragon Enterprises model 1733-20WFS, serial number P-00098-F6J3 presenting."

"And right on time, too," said Lorinda with a great big smile. "You can relax, Desiree."

Desiree relaxed and resumed a normal posture.

"Well, Mr. Mazrick, we have some wonderful news for you! Let's go into the back and discuss it in private." All the technicians in the store were looking at Desiree and Johnathan, and so was the woman and her male grow-ling. The three headed back into the break room.

In the break room was a man wearing a business suit and tie, reading a newspaper. His right leg was crossed over his left leg, revealing expensive-looking black leather loafers, polished to a deep, lustrous shine. His gray sports coat was draped over the back of the cheap, blue plastic chair he was sitting in, which looked ridiculous in contrast to him. He looked up as they entered.

"Mister Woolsey, sir, this is Mister Johnathan Mazrick and his growling, Desiree. Johnathan, Desiree, this is our Chief Research Officer, Mister James Woolsey," said Lorinda.

James stood up, and reached out to shake Johnathan's hand, clasping it with his other hand when they shook. The smile on his smallish, oval face told Johnathan that the man was very pleased he had arrived. Johnathan saw that he looked like he was about fifty years old, and his hair had disappeared on the top of his head. Rather odd, considering that hair regrowth technology had been around and perfected for almost a decade. The man's eyes were a rich, chocolate brown, and belied a high intelligence.

"Welcome to Paragon Enterprises outlet shop twenty-four thirty-two, Mister Mazrick! I understand this is where you ordered the creation of your lovely Desiree," said Woolsey.

"Yes, it is," said Johnathan.

"Excellent," said Woolsey with a smile. "Now I have reviewed the preliminary data from last week's visit, and I must say it is rather extraordinary. The whole research department is buzzing with excitement at what we may find when we do a few more tests.

"Lorinda tells me she gave you a brief description of what we want to do for our initial testing?"

"Yes, but please refresh my memory, if you would." replied Johnathan.

"Of course, of course. Please, let's sit down and get comfortable. Would you care for some coffee or anything, Mister Mazrick?" said Woolsey.

"Um, no thank you," Johnathan replied.

"Well then we'll just get down to the matter at hand," Woolsey said with a smile. They all sat down at the table.

"The first series of tests will simply allow us to monitor Desiree's basic functions. Heart rate, breathing rate, blink rate, integumentary galvanic response -"

"Er, forgive me for interrupting, but what's that last one?" asked Johnathan. He really already knew what it was, but he wanted to see how Woolsey would respond.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's a test we use to monitor some of the subconscious functions in grow-lings. They used to use it in the old lie detector tests to reveal the subconscious resistance we all have to lying, but now it's more useful for secondary monitoring on grow-lings."

"Thank you for explaining that, Mister Woolsey," said Johnathan.

"If I start talking technobabble again, just let me know. I practically live in a lab, and it gets to be the only language we speak," Woolsey said with a friendly chuckle. "But continuing on, we would initially be monitoring her essential system functions to determine if there are any unusual baseline responses, and of course everything we find that is unusual will be noted and examined further. Our goal is to determine why and how your grow-ling became so different from what we usually see.

"The next stage is to connect her to a machine that will monitor her nervous system, and then we'll ask her a series of questions to make sure that her nervous system is functioning the same way other grow-lings' nervous systems do. If there's a difference there, it will enable us to focus on that difference and explore how it's different, so we can see why she has these unusual abilities.

"From there, depending on what we find, we would determine if any other tests would be useful, and then we'll discuss it with you and see about any other things that could be of use. As you can see, there's nothing invasive, and of course we do not attempt to retrieve her memories, so your privacy is assured. In fact we have a couple of people from the Worldwide Privacy Assurance Commission on staff there who oversee every stage of these tests." Woolsey smiled warmly now. Johnathan felt Desiree take his hand and she began nervously fidgeting with it, driving her thumbnail into his finger. It was enough to show that she was very nervous.

"Will I be able to accompany her during these tests?" said Johnathan.

"Well, we had planned to do the first round of tests here with you present, since the machinery for that is small and light. If anything comes up that would require more advanced machines to examine, we would have to take her to our laboratory for those tests, and while you could come with her to the lab, you would have to wait outside in the lobby during the actual testing. The lab is a strict clean room environment, and we absolutely do not allow anyone who hasn't undergone the required three years of rigorous training to even enter the working lab. It's a highly restricted place for both security and cleanliness reasons. We obviously are responsible for a lot of growing grow-lings, and most of them do not receive their immunizations until after they have been prepared for the customers. In fact, Desiree would have to go through a thorough decontamination, just as the entire staff does each morning."

"What do you think, Desiree?" asked Johnathan. She was looking down.

"I... want to be with you, Johnathan," she said quietly, looking down.

"Would you be comfortable with the first round of tests if I was there?"

"I think so," she said, looking up with doe eyes at him.

"There there, Desiree," said Lorinda. "There's nothing to be worried about. Johnathan will be there with you all the time, and we are the people who created you. You are in the best of care with us."

"OK," said Desiree, still sounding a little down.

Lorinda turned to Johnathan to explain Desiree's response.

"Grow-lings commonly exhibit anxiety at the thought of being separated from their bonded owners. I see you haven't gone through this yet. In cases where the owner works and leaves the grow-ling alone at home, this would be the same response, and it usually passes after a couple weeks. She's just programmed to do that for self preservation purposes, until she has enough experience with the world around her to be safer being alone."

Johnathan nodded. "That makes sense."

"Mister Mazrick, we are all very excited about your grow-ling's abilities. In fact, the President of our company himself is interested in meeting the two of you. He'll be returning to headquarters next week, and if I know him, he'll probably invite you and Desiree to spend a day with him on the golf course." said Woolsey, smiling as always.

"Well, I'm not exactly a golfer, but it does sound interesting. Is Desiree really that special?"

"By the looks of it, she could be more special than anyone ever dreamed," said Woolsey, wide eyed and serious. "But we have to make sure the results we got before are for real. There's the small possibility that the results we got before are due to a bug in a program we use, and if that's the case, we would be thrilled to have you help us find it so we can maintain the highest levels of excellence.