Every Man's Fantasy Ch. 04

Three of the five students did the task the hard way, cautiously sending their virtual space-ship on many short jumps through hyperspace, mechanically cross-referencing their computers' results with the star-maps and records of actual jumps in the region before re-calculating for the next jump: a tedious, routine and, for the most part, entirely reliable process. It was surely what Ezra himself had done.

She did not bother to check these competent but pedestrian results against the star-map because, if the method was sound, then she could assume the calculations would also be right.

One of the two star pupils managed to surprise her, however. Not content with taking baby-steps across the galaxy, Rosa Silverstein wrote a nested sequence of programs to navigate through hyperspace to Samothea in a single leap. This was an absurdly dangerous thing to do because, though a space-ship in hyperspace was invulnerable to impacts from matter, the location at which the ship emerged from hyperspace was minutely sensitive to the matter it by-passed on the way.

Rosa's program began with the main calculation and as soon as an anomaly was encountered, launched a cut-down version of the program to solve the problem quickly and adjust the main program in real time. Then, if the correcting program itself met an anomaly, it would also split off another, even smaller, correcting algorithm. Meanwhile, the original program might meet a second anomaly, so another sequence of corrections would start, running faster than the original. Ultimately, there would be a swarm of programs plotting the trajectory and issuing corrections (and correcting the corrections), each competing to produce the quickest result.

Fifty iterations of the program were necessary to produce the final calculation and when the result was matched with the star-map, Rosa's virtual space-ship was only half a light-year out of place.

Danielle was enchanted with her work.

"It's truly brilliant, Rosa!" she declared. "It's a real innovation, and it has only one problem: ... it won't work. You've posited a micro-ship of only one-hundred tonnes; but the more massive the ship, the quicker the calculations lose accuracy and need correcting. For a thousand-tonne mass, the system would be bogged down by so many corrections that the ship would arrive (and who knows where, precisely?) long before the calculation finished. My guess is that a hundred-tonne space-ship would have fuel enough to go less than a fiftieth of the way there."

Rosa was an earnest girl who had the habit of hooking strands of her dark-brown hair behind her ears when she concentrated hard or was nervous. She did so now.

"Is my program useless, then?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure. It has certainly given me something to think about," Danielle replied. "For example, if it were possible to exchange energy while in hyperspace, then your micro-ship can take on fuel and make course corrections in mid-jump...." Danielle trailed off, frowning as she sat back to think hard.

The class remained silent, waiting. A few minutes later Danielle emerged from her trance, quickly jotted down a few notes on her computer pad, looked around and asked:

"Who's next?"

Only Li Qu Yuan was left to present his solution and he was strangely reticent, bowed over his computer, whispering commands and moving formulas around with a pen.

"Li?" Danielle prompted him.

The boy looked up, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Doctor Goldrick, I've not finished," he mumbled.

"Well, that's all right," she said, "we've run out of time anyway. You can send me your work later."

She stood to walk around the class, collecting the students' projects on data cubes in case she wanted to double-check their work later.

"Well, this brings the lesson and the term to an end. Next term, Professor Jenkins will be taking an advanced study-group on exotic matter, which I recommend to you all. Thank you for being such good company and working so hard."

There was a murmur of thanks in response and then the class broke up. Only Li remained, locked onto his computer, frowning in an ever-more puzzled way at the display.

Danielle turned to her own computer and started to make notes on her copy of Rosa's program. When she finished, she noticed Li was still there.

"Aren't you going to lunch?" she asked him.

"Er, yes Doctor, presently. May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"You gave us the star-map co-ordinates but have you seen the latest data from nearby Samothea yourself?"

"As it happens, I looked at the star map for Samothea just four days ago."

"Oh, then it must be a problem with my calculations. ... I'm sorry I didn't complete the task in time."

"That's quite all right. It wasn't an exam and you have done outstanding work this term, more than enough to earn a credit for the course. Please don't worry."

Li wasn't worried about the credit but about the error in his calculations. His virtual ship never reached the Samothean system because some nearby anomaly made the hyperspace pathways impossible to navigate. As Doctor Goldrick said she had checked the star-map four days ago, when the delayed signal from an old probe had last updated it, he assumed she knew of the anomaly and had taken it into account for her's and the others' calculations. It was only Li's original and untested method that failed to calculate the correct route; but he had no idea why.

Unfortunately, Li had been concentrating on his apparent error when Rosa presented her method and he did not pay much attention. It was a shame because, had he understood her work, then, combined with his own, a rescue mission to Samothea might have been possible within the year. As it was, what prevented Li's discovery from coming to the attention of Danielle was love. Danielle's shy and lonely young student was desperately in love with her - as she was desperately in love with her boyfriend, Roger.

Danielle had not seen Roger since that night in her apartment with the ritual of Ezra's letter. He had been visiting another university: she had been busy at her job. They did not live together and they were at that 'honeymoon' stage of the relationship when they ached constantly for each others' touch. Now she was equally excited by Rosa's work and horny for her boyfriend. Sex won. What she wanted more than anything was for Roger to be here, holding her, kissing her, driving his hard cock deep into her.

With Li now gone, Danielle sent Roger a message. His communicator flashed while he was studying in the university library, his blond head a human cupola over a castle of books.

--- I've got an itch --- it read.

--- Where? --- he typed in reply.

--- Where do you think? ---

--- I mean, where are you? ---

--- Trinity College, Astronomy dept., room 4 ---

--- On my way ---

--- Be quick, or I'll take matters into my own hands ---

Roger packed his communicator and reading glasses into his case but left the open books on the table. He hurried out of the library and into the cold wind that blew rain and hail from the North Sea across the fens and into the unprotected faces of hapless Cambridge folk on a dank winter's day. He made his way quickly to Trinity College, passing through the Great Gate with its statue of Henry VIII.

A benefit of the scouring wind, in Roger's opinion, was that it was gradually eroding the face of the gross monarch. He called his ritual greeting to the statue:

"Another hundred years and your face will just be a memory, you syphilitic old bastard!"

A point made for the Good Old Cause, Roger's long legs brought him swiftly to the entrance of the science building, where he caught up with a student. It was Li Qu Yuan, who politely held the door for him. Roger ran inside and sprinted up the stairs, three at a time, finding Danielle's classroom by lust-filled instinct. From the door to her arms was only five good steps, then his mouth was on hers, his arms around her waist.

"I have an itch as well now," he said, his voice rasping. "Where can we go?"

"The broom cupboard, if we're quiet" she whispered.

Roger threw his coat and jacket aside and, kissing wildly, they bundled themselves into the storage room with the quaint anachronistic name. He pushed her against the door, his hard cock upright against her belly. They breathed heavily as they fumbled to loosen their clothes without breaking the kiss. Her skirt soon dropped to the floor, followed by his trousers. The buttons of her blouse were quickly undone and she released her bra. He cupped a warm breast and held its erect nipple between his finger and thumb. With his other hand, he grasped a perfect buttock.

She lifted her leg over his hip and began pushing her pelvis against his, her hands under his shirt, holding his shoulders.

Roger broke the kiss to pull her bra down and take a mouthful of bountiful tit. He suckled joyfully while she moaned with her head held back. He put a hand between her legs and dipped a finger-tip into her slit to feel her moisture. She closed her eyes and dug her nails into his shoulders as he teasingly ran his finger-tip along her labia.

With his fingers nicely lubricated, he began to rub circles on her clitoris to match the circles he was licking on her nipple. She moaned deep in her throat, making pelvic thrusts in a slow rhythm. He started sucking on her other tit and sped up rubbing her clit, now dragging his fingers across from side to side.

She closed her eyes and held him tightly.

"Oh, God! Roger. I need your cock," she whispered.

What she got was his finger pushed all the way into her vagina, his thumb still diddling her clitoris.

"Oh, God!"

He turned up his finger-tip and thrust at double speed. Danielle had been horny for days but not sought any relief. It was no wonder she came so quickly. "Oh! Fuck!" she cried and went weak at the knee. Roger didn't stop working on her pussy, however, and pretty soon she had the electrical sensation again on her clit and in her vagina. She collapsed, juddering. Roger had to let her breast go to hold her up.

She recovered quickly and they kissed again. He hooked her leg back over his hip. She helped him position his taut cock against her soaking vulva. They pushed together and she sighed with the pleasure of being filled up at last.

They fucked standing, trying but failing to remain silent. He thrust deeply into her and she met his every thrust. Her tight muscles massaged his cock, giving her the delightful sensation of being stretched. His heavy breathing and her sweet moans filled the cupboard as they rose toward their peaks. He thrust faster, pushing Danielle's back hard against the door with every long energetic stroke.

They didn't care now who heard them but it was a race to the finish line. The door rattled on its hinges in the final frenzied minute of fucking, as they banged each other hard to reach a shuddering moment of climax together. His cock throbbed as he squirted his juice deep into her pulsating snatch. Breathing heavily in unison, their hearts thumped in their chests.

Winding down from their peaks was sweet and tender. He held her tightly and whispered the same words of love he had grunted incoherently while they screwed.

They dressed each other slowly and did their best to straighten Danielle's hair before peaking out from the slightly-opened door to see if they could leave the broom cupboard unobserved.

In the classroom, she collected her books and he picked up his coat and jacket. Danielle noticed a data cube next to her computer. Thinking she must have forgotten to put it away before, she flung it into her bag and, taking Roger's arm, they left the classroom, hoping no one would notice the glow of satisfaction on their faces. Outside, on the steps of the college entrance, they kissed chastely and Roger returned to the library while Danielle went back to her job.

The data cube was not Danielle's but belonged to her student, Li. After the class, he had gone to the refectory to think about his program over a cup of coffee. He was convinced his program worked but knew it was unlikely that both Rosa and Dr. Goldrick had the wrong results. The small part of Rosa's presentation he had heard was the fact that her ship emerged from hyperspace about half-a-light-year from Samothea. Given his method and data, that was impossible.

Li struggled with the problem, running the program over and again on his computer and then gave it up. He decided he would hand Dr. Goldrick his project complete with its errors. Maybe she could tell him where he had gone wrong. He left the refectory and crossed the quad back to the science building, holding the door open for a tall man in a rain-coat, who rushed into the building and ran up the stairs. Li followed at a slower pace, going over in his mind what he was going to say to Dr. Goldrick.

The one thing really he wanted to say was "I love you" but he didn't know how. It was not that he feared rejection or even being laughed at. He knew she wouldn't laugh at him, comical though his love might seem to her. What he feared was that she would be kind and understanding; that she would pat his cheek and say "You're very sweet, but ..." as though he were only an infatuated teenager. If only he could make her see what he was like inside, then she would know he was worthy of adoring her; that he, more than anyone, understood her brilliance, worshipped her perfection and fully deserved her.

When he got to the classroom, it was empty, except for her coat, bag, books and computer out on a desk. There was also a man's coat and jacket idly discarded on another desk. This worried him. Li was too shy to call out her name but he thought it would be polite to wait for her to come back. He placed his data cube beside her computer on the desk and sat on a stool.

Presently he thought he heard noises: high-pitched moans and low-pitched grunts. It was coming from behind the door at the end of the room. Despite his shyness, Li approached the door and listened. He heard Danielle's ecstatic cry "Oh! Fuck!" and a man's voice as well. In embarrassment, shame and anger, he grabbed his coat and bag and ran along the corridor, down the stairs and into the quad, where cold wind and rain soothed his boiling face. Nothing, however, would lift the stone he felt crushing his heart.

********

Next morning, Ezra awoke with his usual erection. This time Annela was in the hut, waiting for him to rise.

"Good morning," she said brightly. "Would you like to go for a walk this morning?"

"Yes, I'd like that," he murmured sleepily. Ezra had not yet regained all his strength and was still drowsy in the mornings.

"Good. I'm going to delegate my chores and fetch us some food. I'll be back soon."

Ezra dozed for a few minutes, then swung himself out of bed and struggled on with his trousers.

Annela had at last decided to obey Mirselene and get Wildchild and Tamar to do her work while she spent her time with Ezra. The girls agreed because they liked Annela and because she nursed Ezra so well: they had a proprietary interest in Ezra and approved of anyone who cared for him. They made short work of helping Erin clear the ash from the camp-fire and lay new logs for the next night.

Ezra managed a private moment at the crapper and was ready for his walk when Annela returned with a basket of provisions, which he insisted on carrying. He bent down for her to hook the basket over his shoulders and they wandered off into the forest.

They walked in silence at first, enjoying the sounds of the forest as the birds woke up and announced their importance. When Annela began to talk, it was simply to make conversation. She wondered if the plants and animals on Samothea had the same names as on Earth. Ezra knew something about wildlife and thought the names were the same, though there was a greater variety of wildlife on Earth.

One major difference between an Earth forest and a Samothean one, he added, was the age of the trees. Here, there were no trees older than one-hundred and twenty years and the forest looked like a plantation, with trees evenly-spaced in rows. He described the forests of Earth, some of them so thick with trees they were impenetrable, and the forest giants: ancient trees hundreds of feet high and dozens of feet in girth. It amazed Annela, who found it hard to imagine trees so great.

As they walked, they passed trees that the Woodlanders has felled, many of which were now slowly-rotting moss-covered corpses. Others had lost only their bark and a few of them were still-fresh victims of a strange butchery that left most of the trunk intact but robbed them of their branches. After an hour, they decided they were hungry, so they sat on a convenient tree-trunk and fished seed-filled biscuits, apples and salted pigeon wrapped in leaves from the basket for a hearty breakfast.

Comfortable on the log, Ezra waited for Annela to tell him the reason she had brought him on this walk. It must be something important and probably delicate, he thought, because otherwise why not tell him when they were alone in her hut?

Annela also realised it was time to speak but she hadn't the faintest idea how to carry out her plan to seduce Ezra. Were he a woman, it would be simple for her to know if there was any attraction between them. Maybe they would sit and work together. The conversation would become intimate and she would know by what they revealed to each other whether they could be more than friends. Or they would brush each others' hair at the bathing place and she could tell by how she was touched what the other woman felt about her. But with a man, it was a complete mystery. There were no guide-lines, no shared code.

Ezra seemed happy to help her weave but he clearly did not want to share intimate details of his personal life. As for touching each other: it was strictly as nurse and patient. She could not read anything into it and wondered if men do not respond to subtle signals. Or maybe the signals the Woodlander women were giving to Ezra were not subtle enough.

It was a puzzle; but, as it was Mirselene's plan, Annela intended to use that devious woman's method and approach the subject from an oblique direction, rather than head-on as her own honest nature would normally have counselled. She started speaking.

"Ezra, do you know what bedmates are?"

"No."

"It's when two people share a bed at night. It's mostly for warmth but many bedmates are also lovers."

Light dawned on Ezra: he leapt to the obvious conclusion.

"Oh, God! Annela. I had no idea I had displaced your lover. I'll move out, of course. Wildchild and Tamar have a tent. I can borrow that and sleep under one of the awnings."

"Oh, Ezra! I didn't mean that at all! I have no bedmate. I was only trying to tell you about the customs of Samothea."

She smiled ruefully to herself and thought it would be the last time she tried to use Mirselene's roundabout methods.

"I understand," he said, not understanding. "Sorry to jump to the wrong conclusion."

Now Annela was in a fix. She had planned to lead up to the question of whom Ezra would choose as his bedmate and then tell him that all the Woodlanders would gladly accept him, herself especially; but now she did not know what to say. Luckily, Ezra filled the silence, saying:

"I'm surprised you don't have a bedmate."

Having failed with Mirselene's method, Annela reverted to her usual simple honesty.

"I've had bedmates before. I don't have one at the moment."

"I see. So tell me more about bedmates."

"Well, a girl usually stays with her mother until she is eighteen, then she can choose a bedmate. I stayed with my mother until I was nineteen, when Dipti invited me to join her. I had always liked Dipti and I was curious. My mother encouraged me and so Dipti and I became bedmates. We were bedmates for about a year."