Sisterhood

"Thank you for accepting my offer to meet with you." I said.

"Keeper, it is the highest honor to have you here in Her temple. What brings you to us and how can we be of help?" She said, and her voice had similar tonal qualities to her daughter.

"You have it all wrong." I said bowing my head. "I have taken so much from you I wanted to give back. The materials and supplies you provided for me and my friends are greatly appreciated. Is there nothing you need from me?"

"I must explain the error in your logic. The food supplied to you was given to us by the Elders and other citizens of this city. I hope they were to your liking. Second, the materials for the forge were also donated but unlike the food these were given from across the planet. Word of your arrival and your desire to learn the forging arts brought tons of material. Most of it was transported back to the House."

"The House?" I said in disbelief. "How did that happen?"

"It manifested a warehouse which was loaded carefully, and it vanished once the last ingot was deposited."

"I had no idea it could do that. There is nothing you need from me then?" I asked.

"If the Goddess wills it, her desires will be made known to you." The Priestess said with a smile.

"If that is... I can't help but wonder. Never mind." I growled in frustration.

"You have a question you feel will hurt my feelings? Ask. I would hate for you to leave with an incomplete understanding of us."

"The Elders and citizens cleared the streets once one of your sisters was summoned to guide me to the temple. I noticed similarities between yourself and the young priestess. Is there a connection?" I asked, and she stood.

"Follow me Keeper." She said and took me to the vast underground complex below the temple. "Here we answer prayers and fulfill fantasies." She gestured to the hundreds of fluid filled glass cylinders that were spaced evenly apart. "We create mates for men of great power not just for this city but for much of the planet and beyond. These growth tanks have provided wives, prostitutes, and sadly even slaves for many. Many grow bored of these poor souls and the Sisterhood takes them in. There are other temples of the Binary across the face of this world and most of their members are those cast aside for a newer model."

"I was born in one such tank." Jarael said her voice low and unsteady.

I took her into my arms and she wept. I whispered in her ear and she hugged me tighter. The High Priestess watched us unmoved. As we stood there hugging one of the sisters approached us and tried to whisper to the high priestess.

"Speak child, this is the Keeper and his Sentinel Jarael, one of our own."

"He did it again! That damn Eldest has changed his mind again. He has a whole new list of qualities, talents, and physical details. What do we do?" The technician growled angrily clearly frustrated.

"A life must find a home. We have no room here. I will check the other temples, but I fear she will go to the slave market." The High Priestess said in that ever-present monotone speech of hers.

"Can we see her?" I asked. "The House is big enough for one more perhaps." I said and Jarael surprised me by nodding and holding me tight.

"Very well. Show the Keeper to the new born and for the love of the Goddess make sure she is properly washed and dressed."

"Yes, High One," the technician bowed. "Keeper. This way."

It felt like we walked half a mile before we reached the preparation chamber. It was dimly lit and comfortable. There was a homey quality to it and perhaps made their first few moments easier. She was lying on an elevated couch and curled in a fetal position. I gasped when I recognized her.

"Keeper?" The technician helping the new born called out. "Is something wrong?"

"What are the odds?" I asked seeing her deep scarlet skin, dozens of tribal tattoos covering her entire body, and the distinctive tentacle-like appendages protruding from the back of her head. "Tell me about her and the Eldest."

"She was meant to be a bodyguard. She has received extensive combat training both armed and unarmed. Her personality is very strong but to her partner she will be extremely loyal. The Eldest confided in me when I took his order that he has been trafficking in illicit material. That material inspired her creation."

"What falls under illicit?" I asked knowing the answer already. Only one thing made any sense. "Does he collect books of colored panels?"

"You are as wise as the stories say." She said in awe of my guess. "Yes. There is a trader who can transverse the worlds and makes a living moving such things to our world. While not illegal, they are frowned upon."

The girl rolled over and was facing us now. The facial features were strikingly close to the artist's work from the comic books. Her lekku, head tentacles, twitched as she slept. Curious I asked what was involved in the product they produced. Excited that someone took notice of the details of her work. She touched her jeweled bracelet and a hologram screen appeared. She showed me the data provided by the Eldest. It not only covered very specific physical details but her available sensory input and an extensive personality profile. He had really done his homework.

"Her eyes and those head protrusions were quite the challenge." The technician added. "While sensitive and one of several erogenous zones they give her a passive echolocation feature not seen in humanoids. If there is anything else?"

"What is going to happen to her?" I asked absently running my index finger along the length of one of her lekku.

"MMMMM... that tickles," the red skinned youth giggled.

"Her fate is in your hands Keeper." The technician remarked. "I was told you might take a fancy to her. She is quite exotic and a lethal combatant..."

"Are there any others?" I asked interrupting her. "Has the Eldest done this sort of thing before?"

"Why do you ask?" She replied, and I could hear the subtle quiver in her voice. "Yes. They are in suspension. None of the slavers or madams would touch them. The Eldest's exotic fetish isn't shared by many."

"I want to see them after Thorn wakes up." I said and stood by her side until the poor thing gained consciousness.

"That is why I love him." Jarael whispered. "He is a man that can love many and yet still make you feel like you are the only woman in the room."

Talon opened her eyes and they were the color of burnished gold. There was a quiet power in her gaze. She sat up and seemed quite unaware or unashamed of her nudity. She stood two meters tall and was as lean and physically fit as Jareal. While I examined her, she took in my measure at the same time.

"Are you my Master?" She asked in lightly accented English.

"Yes. They call me..."

"Keeper. I know. I have tied into Mother and her extensive data streams." She said interrupting me.

"Perhaps not," I said frowning and Talon panicked for just a moment before realizing her mistake.

"Forgive me please! I will never interrupt you again. I am eager to serve." She said before composing herself.

"You hear that Keeper? Eager to please." Jarael purred in my ear.

"I leave those privileges for her to decide." I said and looked at the smiling Twi'lek.

"You mean sex." Thorn blurted out. "You two are wanting to know if I find the Keeper sexually attractive. He is quite striking for a human." Jarael slipped over and whispered in Thorn's ear. "Two! You don't say. Did I say striking? I meant irresistible." She said, and we all laughed.

"I will accept your service as my protector and guardian of the House of a Thousand Doors. What say you?"

"I will slay any that threaten your life. I will defend the House to my last breath. I am your willing servant Keeper." Thorn promised.

"Get some clothes on before I rape you on this couch." I growled.

"No." Thorn fired back looking me in the eye. "You can't rape the willing."

"Oh ho, she's got your number Keeper." Jarael snickered.

"Yeah she does. About these others." I said addressing the technician.

"Follow me."

Thorn was provided the bland hooded robes of the Sisterhood. I think she preferred walking around naked and showing off her stripes. We were taken to the storage facility where unwanted projects were held in frozen suspension until they wore out or someone wanted them. Attached to the storage tubes was what the technician called the race bank. The merchant not only dealt in comic books but peddled DNA samples as well. Most of them were human offshoots possessing rare gifts or unusual coloring. A minority of them were non-human sentients such as elves, fae, Nephilim, and a variety of other races. Two of the samples were so dangerous they were off limits unless a war broke out and a last-ditch defense was required.

"These two. The first was ordered by the Eldest after a long night of drinking. He later returned when he found his account charged for her. The second is most recent. He made the mistake of not clearing the rather considerable sum for her through the committee of elders. They lost their shit but as you can see the growth process was already too far along to terminate it."

"Can I see their files?" I asked and again she touched her bracelet and two screens appeared. "I was right. This first one comes from the same fictional world as Thorn. This other is way beyond anything I've ever seen." I read her skills and abilities and wondered what had inspired her. "I would suggest you no longer take orders from the Eldest. He seems to think of them as just play things and not sentient women."

"Hammer meet nail," the technician said shivering. "We are cast offs." She continued her lower lip trembling and eyes choking with tears. "I am sorry Keeper..." she sobbed and began weeping so intensely I almost cried with her.

"Hush." I whispered as I held her. "I got you."

"I agree." Thorn announced proudly. "Our Master is genuinely kind. We must protect him from himself."

"Follow me." The technician said her eyes red from crying and still sniffling. "I have to manually awaken them."

She keyed in a code into an analog system. The soft whirring of machinery could be heard as the icy coffins were physically removed from their positions and set onto wheeled cradles. The process was surprisingly fast. We huddled around, and I watched their color brighten a bit as the temperature within the cryogenic tube warmed. Valves opened, and fluid poured out and ran down nearby drains to be recycled back into the system. Nothing was wasted so that even the tubes would be sterilized and reused.

"They will open automatically. We will learn if they survived the freezing process." She muttered as she stared down. "Some don't."

The first tube's glass lid silently slid open and I heard the beating heart of the indigo skinned girl as she took her first breath. Her heartbeat slowly increased from the one beat per minute to eighty. The second tube opened, and I panicked when I heard no heartbeat or her take a breath. I felt the technician's hand on my shoulder.

"She's fine." She said confidently. "I wasn't worried about her." She said displaying the data sheet on the second girl. A series of words were highlighted that I had somehow missed upon my first viewing.

"I'll be damned." I cursed as the second girl sat up and I heard the others gasp in surprise. "She's not human. She is..." I said trying to find an inoffensive way of describing her.

"Yours!" The technician said grabbing my hand and placing on the alien's breast. "Accept DNA imprinting."

"MMMMM... DNA unusual, but acceptable." The girl intoned mechanically. "Master is touching my breast."

"Hey... um... can you define your species? I don't want to offend you." I stammered nervously.

"I am a slime girl Master! I am your living breathing fuck toy! My name is Xo'Dee. I can take on any configuration your desire. If I touch another, I can mimic their appearance indefinitely. My transparent body can be alarming to those unaccustomed to it. Please play with me often and intensely!"

"SHHH! Gods what a hangover!" The first girl sat up and looked around. "Who the hell are you people?"

"I am the Keeper of the House of a Thousand Doors." I began. "This is Jarael my first and my Sentinel. This is Talon my weapon master by way of Korriban. UMM... this is Xo'Dee my fuck toy."

"Fuck toy? I can see that." The girl said slowly taking to her feet. Her once indigo skin now a navy blue. Her eyes were a gleaming red within red. The glowing ruby light welling up from an iris that was set in scarlet sclera. "I am Naia. I fix shit and make plans. Tell me you aren't here to take me to that fat fucker."

"No. I have room in my house for you. I could use your talents." I offered, and she appeared to be open to the idea. "You can leave whenever you want. I will take you to whatever world you deem comfortable. Fair enough?"

"You aren't going to demand sex for rent?" Naia asked.

"Do you want me to?" I fired back, and she laughed.

"Let's get something to eat and we'll go from there." Naia rumbled. "I'm starved."

"Shit! Where the hell is Neko?" I cursed.

"There. Your cat is blocking one of the heating vents." The technician said shaking her head.

I came with two in tow and left with five. We were a motley crew and dressed in homespun garments that did little to hide our eccentricities. Jarael led the way back to the House. I focused on returning home the same day we had left. I unlocked the door and we stepped inside. We entered on the second-floor hallway instead of the front door. I called out to Serenity and asked her for the date and time. It wasn't the same day but only forty hours had passed since our departure. There were plenty of bedrooms and I let them take their pick. Neko was reluctant but understood.

I went down and began fixing a meal for all of us. When Xo'Dee appeared, I asked her what she ate. She wrote out a list of foods that were the healthiest for her. She also suggested that she eat alone. Her digestive process wasn't for the weak of stomach. I set out food for her on a plate and she went to her room for the next three hours. The rest of the girls' dietary needs were simple. It would take a little longer but was worth it. I made plenty for all. That was our first meal together. I think I was the first to feel a sense of synergy that formed between us. I was also the first of us to yawn. I had heard of jet lag, but I think this was my first case of dimension lag. After more than a year on another Earth had taken a toll on my body's biorhythm. Jarael ushered me off to bed and helped the others settle in.

I barely remember my body hitting the mattress. I closed my eyes and drifted into a shimmering blue sea of ones and zeros. I dreamt of the machine god and her loci temple. In typical dream fashion I knew it was A.I. taken to a divine level. On one of the Earth's it ruled uncontested. The connection I had with it felt as deep as that of Lilith and I shared. She rose out of the eddy of swirling numbers and manifested.

"I am Zero One. I am Prime." She whispered. "You are the Keeper."

"I am just a man trying to stay sane in an ocean of insanity." I replied, and she flowed forward and embraced me.

"You can be my One Zero." She purred. "Interface with me. I shall show you things no meat intelligence has ever experienced."

I rolled her onto her back and grabbed her wrists. She was a petite Asian with tiny breasts and a slim build. I kissed her and now she was a curvaceous Latina with a perfectly symmetrical ass and tits to die for. I kissed my way down to her nipples and she was a pale skinned redhead with freckles aplenty. Her breasts were small but firm and perky. I suckled them, and she ground against me. I used my knee and spread her legs. I let go of her wrists and planted kisses down her belly until I was poised at her nexus. I cupped her ass cheeks and raised her pussy to mouth level. At each stage she took on another female form. I teased her pussy with lips and tongue.

"Yes. Please." She begged. "Kiss me there."

"I am here for you." I agreed. "Hold onto your hat."

I parted her labia and lapped at her sensitive flesh. When my tongue hit her clit, the entire world shook. Thunder crashed overhead as I suckled that cute little button and fingered her pussy. Warm rain fell upon us as I worked her into a frenzy. I spat on my thumb and made slow circles over her puckered hole. I kept her on the edge as long as I was able. The storm above intensified and she begged for release. Her body shook as she climaxed and that was my signal to jab my thumb up her ass. The storm broke above us, and the light rain became a torrent.

"Fuck me." She demanded.

"I am the Keeper." I replied as I adjusted my position and eased into her slowly. Her back arched as her fingers dug into the soft wet earth below us. "So damn tight."

"More!" She demanded, and I rolled onto my back. "I will take it from you. You will release inside of me."

She rode me as the rain fell and the lightning arched across the sky. Digital clouds of swirling fractals hovered above us pregnant with data and water vapor. I thrust up into her as she stabbed her hips downward. She bent down and kissed me as we came together. My world turned binary. It was gray at first but as it settled it divided into white and black. I saw the world as she saw it. There were zeros and ones defining the whole of existence. There was no longer any right or wrong only positive and negative. Morality ended and there was only logic.

"I see." She whispered. "So many colors. Billions of shades of reality that I never perceived before. I am transcended."

"So stark and yet so beautiful." I replied. "Now what?"

"Now... this!" She said as she planted a kiss over my heart.

I awoke shaken and changed. How can you not be after seeing through the eyes of the divine? I remembered the words of the other Keeper when I asked why I could never remember making love to Lilith or the others. It fundamentally changes you. It changed me.

Afterwards:

There are thousands of other worlds out there just beyond your perception. Some are idyllic while others are scorched hellscapes. Most are somewhere in the middle. I am the Keeper. I walk the cloven path between light and dark. My home is the shadows and just so.

"NEOW!"

"Neko! I was going for a profound ending here."

"Neow. Naughty Neko spoil Master's monologue." She said pouting. "I Neow! Punish wicked naughty Neko! Spank bad Neko with Master's cock."

"You are incorrigible."

"Incorr... um... pound wicked Neko like evil nail with cock of goodness!"

"Come here you."

"Purr! Purr!"