Fantasy Journey to Year 1,000,000,000

[Note: This is a Science Fiction story with some erotic scenes. It is not a story with erotic scenes in every chapter. Some chapters have incredible sex scenes, but many others have none.]

"Where is Captain Taylor?"

They were in a large, circular room. Elizabeth had noticed immediately that she didn't see any signs of the regular crew. Everyone here was a scientist. That couldn't be by accident.

"Captain Taylor is not your concern right now," said a new voice, a female voice. "Let us become acquainted with each other. I am Almoxin."

"And I am Terratin," said another female voice. "We are fourth keepers of the circle of Vesputa."

"How nice for you," said Elizabeth. She looked up, and from a second story window above them, could see three of the Ascended. They had giant foreheads and big eyes.

"Should we also introduce Teldoc?" Almoxin asked.

"He's barely worth the trouble," said Vesputa.

"I am Teldoc," said a young, male voice. "I am an apprentice to-"

"Yes, that's enough," said Almoxin. "Doctor Elizabeth Shaw. You are the leader of your group, are you not?"

"I am head scientist," said Elizabeth. She glanced around at her fellow scientists. She saw Vincent staring at her, from a cell across the way.

"You also hold a military rank... that of Commander?'

"Yes," said Elizabeth. "I am senior, in terms of scientific and military rank. But Captain Taylor-"

"Is not here. You are," said Almoxin. "We have many questions."

"I'll be happy to answer them, once I know where we are and--owww!"

Elizabeth dropped to her knees as she felt a pain stabbing in her chest.

"Defiance is not permitted. That was the lowest pain setting. Would you like to see the next level up?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Then answer some questions for us."

The questioning started simply. They wanted to know Elizabeth's full name, where she was from, the names of her parents, her brother, her sister, and where they lived on Earth.

Elizabeth saw no harm in answering their questions. They asked about her education, her schooling, and career. She answered truthfully.

"And as you have said, you are a Commander in the Survey Service."

"The scientific branch, yes," said Elizabeth.

"What is the mission of the Survey Service?"

"To explore. To protect the space lanes."

"And to protect your planet?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth.

"How many ships does the Survey Service have, Doctor Shaw?"

Elizabeth paused.

"How many ships?"

"I... I don't know."

"An estimate, then."

"Perhaps... 100."

"And how many of these are warships?" Almoxin asked.

Elizabeth paused again. She felt a brief stab of pain. "Doctor Shaw."

"Maybe... maybe 50."

The nature of the questioning gradually changed. Almoxin and Terratin wanted to know how many warships, how many destroyers, frigates, and battle cruisers. They wanted to know what their weaponry were, and their capabilities. They also wanted to know where the Survey Service bases were on Earth.

Elizabeth saw where this line of questioning was headed, and she started to refuse to answer.

At first they accepted that, and started to question other scientists. They questioned each scientist one by one, asking them questions about their personal history first, and then once again asking questions of military value.

"And how many pulse cannons does a command cruiser have, Doctor Tanner?" Almoxin asked.

"Wade, don't answer that," said Elizabeth sharply.

"I won't," said Wade grimly.

Thus established a pattern. None of them would answer questions of military significance.

That's when the pain started.

"Doctor Anderson, why won't you tell me where the Survey Service main base is?"

"You have no need to know," said Anderson. He gasped as he felt a sudden stab of pain.

"Doctor Watson, perhaps you can tell us. Where is the Survey Service main base?"

Midge Watson was a short, thin woman. She wasn't very brave. "I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't, Doctor Watson?" Terratin asked, her big egg yolk eyes blazing into Midge.

Midge felt a stab of pain and cried out. There was something about her cry that stimulated Terratin to probe further.

"Surely you realize that we can get his information if we want to. Surely it is in the databanks of your spaceship?"

"Yes... yes," said Midge. "It's Perth. Perth, Australia."

"Thank you, Doctor Watson," said Terratin.

That set a precedent. Some of the scientists started to answer more questions, while some didn't. Of the twelve scientists in the group room, Elizabeth, Wade Tanner, Susan McClure, and Bruce Anderson were the least cooperative. But Carl Parker, Midge Watson, and Barbara Wells started to cooperate.

"And how many ships does the Survey Service typically have in orbit around Earth, Doctor Parker?" Almoxin asked.

"Don't tell them," Elizabeth cried.

"About a dozen," said Carl Parker, sounding defeated.

Doctor Parker had been jabbed repeatedly with the pain stimulus until he had broken. After the fourth jab, he had cooperated, but then something unusual happened. Teldoc, the apprentice, tried to intervene.

"Terratin, do we really need to apply such force?" everyone heard him say, after Doctor Parker was on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Are you running these experiments, Teldoc?" Terratin asked.

"No," said Teldoc. Victor, on the ground, looked up at Teldoc, and his eyebrows furled.

"Are you qualified to guide us on the conduct of these experiments, Teldoc?"

"No," said Teldoc again.

"Then perhaps it would be best if you remained quiet and learned."

"Yes, Keeper," said Teldoc.

"Thank you, Teldoc. Now let us turn to Doctor Anderson again--"

Soon it was Victor's turn to be interrogated. "Professor Bergman, what are the Survey Service's plans for the defense of Earth?"

"Tell them nothing, Victor!" said Elizabeth. She cried out as she felt a small jab of pain.

"Oh, I'd love to tell you all about the Survey Services defenses," said Victor. "But that would take some time."

"We have the time, Professor," said Almoxin. Her big bug eyes were glaring at him.

"Yes, but... could we do it in a more private setting? If we were just one on one, say? I'd be happy to tell you anything and everything you want to know about the Survey Service's military capabilities... if I could meet privately with Teldoc."

"Teldoc?" Almoxin's voice was filled with suspicion. "He is just an apprentice. Why would you want to tell Teldoc?"

"He seems nicer and gentler than you. Some of us respond better to positive stimuli than negative ones," said Victor.

"If you will tell Teldoc, you can also tell us."

"If it's only information you want, what does it matter to you who I tell it to?" said Victor. "Let me talk privately to Teldoc, and I will tell you everything you want to know."

There was silence for a moment as the Ascended conferred on their own. Then Almoxin spoke again, but her voice was grudging, suspicious. "We will allow this, Professor Bergman. But you will be punished if you do not reveal all your military secrets."

"Oh, rest assured, I will," said Victor.

"Victor, don't!" said Elizabeth.

There was a flash of light, and Victor was gone.

"And now, without further interruption, let us resume our discussions," said Almoxin.

"So now we can begin my torture," said Victor, with a smile.

Those words startled Teldoc more than anything.

He was a young apprentice to the Third Keepers of the Circle of Trilesta. He was very interested in behavioral science and the Earthoanthropology of Lower Organisms. He had participated in several experiments on Lowers.

But... he hadn't thought it would be like this. The pain. The detachment. The cruelty. The Keepers, who had no empathy for the Lowers, didn't view it as cruelty, of course; they merely called it scientific research.

But that's not how it seemed to Teldoc.

And now here was another Lower, standing before him, asking to be tortured.

This Victor Berman was quite an enigma. Never before had a subject volunteered to cooperate specifically with one of the Keepers, especially an apprentice. There was something very unusual about him.

"You want... to be tortured?" Teldoc asked. They were in a private room, in the study complex.

"A joke. Humor. Do you still have that, or have you evolved out of it?" Victor asked.

"We still have humor," said Teldoc. "Why did you ask me here?"

"Because there's no point in my playing your game with the others," said Victor, sitting down in a chair.

"Game?"

"You're not really interested in our military secrets, are you? Information you could get from our ship's computer quite easily, I imagine," said Victor. "Nor do you have any interest in invading Earth in the past."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it makes no sense, and I'm a scientist, and in science, things have to make sense." He gave Teldoc a wry smile.

"You call yourself a scientist! Now that is a joke!" said Teldoc. He gave a high pitched laugh, but stopped short when he saw the hurt look on Victor's face. "But... you are just a Lower. Surely you know that."

"What does it mean to be a Lower?" Victor asked.

"You... you have no Xetan," said Teldoc.

"Xetan?"

"You see? You do not even have a word for it," said Teldoc.

"Just because I don't know the meaning of one of your words doesn't make me an idiot," said Victor.

"It means... it is hard to explain in your language... it means... the ability to restrain one's self."

"Why is restraint important?" Victor asked.

"Restraint is everything," said Teldoc, sitting down in a chair with eagerness written all over his face. He loved a good philosophical hair splitting. "In order for there to be scientific advancement, there must be restraint. One has to restrain oneself from all distraction, all sorts of entertainment, all sorts of consumerism."

"Which the Lowers cannot do," said Victor.

"Exactly," Teldoc smiled. "The Lowers have no restraint, no Xetan at all. They seek out what they want, when they want it. Theirs is a purely consumeristic parasitical culture which produces nothing. We here in the clouds resist the impulse to live life at play, so to speak. By resisting, by restraining our impulses for pleasure, we direct energy into the research of science. We say that Xetan is restraint, but that is only part of it. It is also the ability to focus, the discipline to direct your mental energy where needed. It is what separates us from the Lowers."

"And you think we are just like these Lowers."

"You seem very much so. You have no Xetan."

"But we have developed space travel and other technologies."

"In their infancy," said Teldoc.

"From the perspective of eight million years in the future, yes," said Victor. "But imagine if you started with the science of eight million years in the past. With that as a starting point, wouldn't you need incredible Xetan to produce a spaceship like the Devonshire?"

Teldoc opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. "I don't know."

"It's an interesting thought to consider, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Teldoc admitted. "But I really should be getting you back to the other test subjects."

"Why?"

"Almoxin and Terratin will come to investigate if we are here too long."

Victor sprawled back in his chair. "What do you want, Teldoc?

"What do I want?" Teldoc looked confused. "For the experiment to be a success, I suppose."

"No," said Victor, leaning forward again. "What do you want?"

"To advance in my technical circle. To show success in my studies so that I may reproduce," said Teldoc.

"Well, suppose I could help you with that. Let's say I can help you show Almoxin and Terratin that you are having incredible success breaking me. That is what you're here to do, to break me, is that right?"

Teldoc paused. He wasn't supposed to reveal this. But--

"Yes," he said reluctantly. "We are testing your level of Xetan, to see how focused you are to the ideals of your Survey Service."

"Of course," said Victor. "It was obvious."

"It was?"

"Yes," said Victor. "Now suppose you can show Almoxin and Terratin that you have broken me instantly. That I have revealed more than any other prisoner. I would be a model test subject. Would they let you keep working with me?"

"They... they might," said Teldoc. "But how would we show them that?"

"Tap into the database on the Devonshire. That has more information about the Survey Service than I or anyone on the ship will ever know. Present that to them in interview form, and show them how thoroughly you've broken me, and gotten me to betray the Survey Service."

"It... it might work," said Teldoc. "But... what would we do then?"

"Talk," said Victor. "More talk. And food would be nice. Do you have any?"

Taylor dreamed.

He was making love to Suki Tanaka.

When he had apologized for hurting her, there had been something, something in her face, not merely understanding, but something else, something that hadn't quite registered in his conscious mind. A need, a longing, that had made an impression on him, however subconsciously.

And it came out in his sleep with a vengeance.

Taylor was on top of Suki, making love to her, in the center chamber. Both were completely naked, and Taylor was thrusting inside of her.

"We shouldn't be doing this... not in front of the others," Suki whispered in his ear. But even as she said it, she was spreading her legs even further, inviting him inwards. "Oh! Oh my Captain... my dear Captain... yes... oh yes...."

As Taylor thrusted inside of her, he looked at her face. Suki had wide eyes for a Japanese woman, and large, pear shaped breasts. She looked at him and smiled. "I'm the Captain's girl... the Captain's girl...." she repeated, over and over, quite smugly now.

Taylor felt himself reaching a climax but as he exploded inside of her, Suki had changed. She was no longer dark haired but blonde; her brown eyes had turned green, her nose had become narrower, her lips had become fuller, and her breasts longer. As he pumped her full of his essence, Taylor found himself releasing into Pam.

"Pamela... my dearest Pam..." he said dreamily, as he happily released into his loved one.

"Wake up, Captain." He felt a hand on him.

Taylor suddenly became awake. He was in that in-between state where he wasn't quite sure what was real and what wasn't. But he saw that he was fully clothed, and Suki Tanaka was still in the cell opposite his.

But something had changed.

There were now two people in every cell.

Jennifer Hale was in Suki's cell. Babangida was in Doctor McCrae's cell. And Bill Carey was in his cell.

"What's going on, Bill?" said Taylor, as Bill gave him a hand getting up.

"We are going to study the concept of aggression," said Senderock's voice, coming from somewhere. "Aggression is one of the primary characteristics that differentiates animals and civilized people. It is a great measure of Xetan when a lifeform can avoid showing aggression."

"Is that what you want us to do? To not fight each other?" said Taylor. "That will be easy."

"Too easy," Senderock agreed. "But what if we stimulated your minds? Could we persuade you to fight each other?"

Taylor looked at Bill, and suddenly understood what this was all about. "No... we can't. We won't."

"You will," said Senderock. "And my success in this experiment will earn me some quality time with Prelnick."

"Fuck that and fuck-" Taylor's voice was suddenly cut off. He heard voices, in his head.

Bill hates you. He hates you. Bill hates you. You hate Bill. Kill him. Kill Bill. Kill Bill before he kills you.

"No... no," said Taylor, putting his hands over his ears, as if they were spoken voices he could block. "No!"

Meanwhile, Bill was hearing voices of his own, voices he couldn't drown out.

Look at Taylor. He is a pretender. He is too weak to be Captain. He got you into this. His weakness got you imprisoned. His weakness got you tortured. He is arrogant. He is responsible for all your torture. You hate him!

In the opposite cell, Suki was having thoughts put in her head as she stared at Jennifer. Jennifer wants the Captain. Jennifer wants him, and won't let anyone else have him. You can never have him because she won't let you. She hates you because you are younger and prettier than she is.

"No!" Suki cried, grabbing her head.

Meanwhile, Jennifer was getting a different message.

She is an alien. An alien in disguise. She is not Suki. She is one of your interrogators. She is here to study your reaction to torture. She is a sadist! You hate her!

Jennifer grabbed her head and stared at Suki with immense dislike.

In another cell, Babangida heard a voice in his head as he stared at Doctor McCrae. He is racist. He hates all blacks. He thinks blacks should be slaves. He thinks blacks are stupid and smell like bananas. He thinks you want to sleep with white women. That makes him so angry!

Babangida felt rage rising up within him.

Taylor saw Bill struggling with the thoughts in his head. "Bill... try to fight it," Taylor said, through gritted teeth. "Try to fight-" his voice was cut off as Bill smacked him in the face. Taylor staggered backwards, and Bill charged him. In moments they were rolling around on the ground, wrestling with each other.

Suki tried to stop herself from listening to the voices in her head. She felt an intense jealousy towards Jennifer. But she could see that Jennifer was more affected than she was. She saw the rage in Jennifer's eyes.

"Jennifer, try to resist," said Suki.

"You traitorous alien!" Jennifer snarled. She lunged for Suki. Suki dodged her, and gave her a karate chop to the back of the neck. Jennifer went down like a sack of potatoes. Suki got on top of her and pinned her down.

Doctor McCrae was not so lucky. He was an older man, in his 50's, while Babangida was big, very muscular, and in his prime.

"You lousy racist!" he roared. He slammed fist after fist into McCrae's body. McCrae cried out and fell down, but Babangida did not stop. He lunged for McCrae's throat, and squeezed. McCrae choked as he tried to breathe.

The violence went on for a long moment.. and then, like a switch was flipped, it stopped.

Bill and Taylor, who were locked in hand to hand combat, looked at each other with confusion.

Jennifer stopped trying to punch Suki in the face.

And Babangida looked down at McCrae's lifeless body underneath him, who he had just strangled.

"Fascinating," came the voice of Prelnick. "And in record time! This was much quicker than the crew of the Aurora, wasn't it?"

"Yes," said Senderock. "I used a new technique. These Lowers gave into their passion nearly twice as quickly."

"Oh, you're so wonderful," said Prelnick. "Come to my stimulation chamber later tonight and I will show you something special."

"I would love to," said Senderock. "Did you see the look of animal rage on the one called Carey? The facial expressions of all of them should be catalogued and displayed. Such vivid expressions of animal anger-"

"What is going on here?" came Arnack's voice. "You were told not to experiment without my presence."

"You were late," said Senderock. "The results broke all records."

"One of the Lowers is dead."

"So? We have plenty more."

"We ran through the ones from the Aurora too quickly. We have many tests to perform. Revive him."

"I will try," said Senderock, with a resigned tone in his voice. A blue light appeared over the body of Doctor McCrae.

"Captain Taylor, I apologize for the... excessive enthusiasm of my colleague during this last test," said Arnack.

"Apology not accepted," said Taylor.

Suddenly, Doctor McCrae gasped, choked, and took a breath.

"Doctor McCrae, are you all right?" said Babangida.

It took McCrae a long moment and several more gasps to answer. "No, of course not, you fool!"

Everyone could see that Doctor McCrae had taken the worst beating of them all. Bill Carey and Captain Taylor had some cuts and bruises, and Jennifer had a sore neck, but McCrae's face and neck were purple with bruises.

"I think I busted a rib or two." McCrae rubbed his chest.

"You're lucky," said Taylor.

"Lucky?" said McCrae.

"You were... dead," said Taylor.

"Dead?" said McCrae.

"Doctor McCrae, I'm so sorry... I... I thought you were a racist," said Babangida.

McCrae said nothing, just glaring at him.

There was a flash, and they were returned to their own cells.

"Fascinating," said Senderock again. "When it comes to matters of aggression, you have little more Xetan than the Lowers on the planet surface. In this area, we have evolved far beyond you."

"Of course you're more evolved," said Taylor. "You don't fight each other. You just make other people fight. That's much more civilized."

Senderock responded with a dry chuckle.

Taylor looked over at Bill in his cell. "Bill, are you all right? Did I hurt you?"

"No, sir, I'm fine. Sir... I'm so sorry...."

"No need to apologize," said Taylor. "We're all under duress here."

Bill looked at Taylor with newfound respect. This was more than he had expected of his Captain.

"I think I do need to apologize, sir," said Carey. "These aliens magnified our aggressive instincts. But they had to come from somewhere, they had to have something to work with. I resented that you took command away from Commander Gorsky. I resented that I was demoted to second officer. But... whatever my previous thoughts, I'm beginning to see that the Survey Service was right. You're at least as tough as the old man. Maybe tougher."

"Thank you, Bill," said Taylor, and they exchanged glances for a moment.

Meanwhile, Suki was worried about Jennifer Hale. "Jennifer, are you all right? I'm sorry I had to hit you," said Suki.

"No need to apologize," said Jennifer. "You kept your cool, and were able to restrain me. I'm grateful," she said, rubbing her neck.

"Grateful? Well, I'm not grateful!" This came from crewman Rudy Garrett, who was sporting a black eye and a scratched cheek. "You got us into this mess, Lieutenant! If you hadn't let them break you, the crew would never have been captured-"

"Hey, you're out of line, mister!" said Bill Carey. "The Lieutenant was tortured. How long would you have stood up under torture, Mr. Garrett? Not as long as her, I would expect."

Jennifer gave Carey an appreciative but weak smile. She did blame herself for what had happened. But she had done it all to save Taylor. To save him again.

"If you don't mind my saying so, you are very easy to talk to, for a Lower."

Victor smiled at Teldoc. "And you are very easy to talk to, for an evolved lifeform."

Victor's plan had worked. Almoxin and Terratin had been astonished by the elaborate information that Teldoc claimed to have extracted from Victor, which in reality had come from the Devonshire's database.

Almoxin looked over the information. "You got all this from the human... and he didn't resist?"

"Not at all," said Teldoc.

"How did you break him so easily?" Terratin asked.

"We just... talked," said Teldoc.

"Talked?" Terratin said.

"I tried a new interrogation technique," said Teldoc.

"And what was that?" Almoxin asked.

"Kindness," said Teldoc.

Almoxin frowned. "Kindness has never worked before. Where did you get the idea to try kindness?"

"I... I just thought of it, myself," said Teldoc.

Almoxin's frown deepened. "Your methods are unorthodox, Teldoc. Still... one cannot deny the results." She reviewed more of the data.

"So... may I continue to train him?"

Almoxin looked at Terratin. Their big eyes met for a long moment. Then Terratin's eyebrows lifted, and so did Almoxin's. "Very well. I suppose it could make an interesting side experiment. Perhaps a notable footnote to the overall effort."

"Thank you, Keeper," said Teldoc.

"But," Almoxin looked at Teldoc. "We must see signs of further progress. If you have not turned this... Victor Bergman into an obedient slave in a suitable time, he will be returned to the main experiment."

"I understand," said Teldoc.

And so Teldoc gained custody over Victor. They spent time every day talking about each others' cultures.

"You say you are schooled for fifteen or twenty years? And yet you learn so little!" said Teldoc.

"It's a gradual process, Teldoc. Remember, you are eight million years ahead of us. From our perspective, human knowledge is only 200,000 years old. We are still in scientific infancy, so to speak," said Victor.

"Yes, I see." Teldoc found talking to Victor very easy. Easier, ironically, than talking to other Ascended. Especially Sithro.

"And this Survey Service... you are travelers?"

"Explorers. The best our people have to offer," said Victor. "There is the military branch, of course. I and my colleagues here are in the scientific branch. We have some of the scientists on our planet."

"We value science too," said Teldoc. "On Chanda, science is everything."

"What do you mean by everything?"

"Just as I have said," said Teldoc. "Everything. Our position in society is determined by our proficiency in science. We have 73 fields of scientific study. Nothing as simple as what you call medicine, physics, or chemistry, of course. Our fields of study explore the true nature of the universe."

"Can you explain one of them?"

Teldoc paused. "It is hard... you do not have the words for it... but one of the fields explores the rightness of life."

"The rightness?"

Teldoc shook his head. "I cannot find the word for it. We explore the biology of life, to find what is right, and what is not."

"We don't view life as right or wrong. It simply is," said Victor.

"It is hard to explain," said Teldoc. "But ultimately that is what these experiments are all about. To find out what was right about the past, so we can determine what is right for the future."

"You mean by planned genetic evolution?"

"Of course," said Teldoc.

"Fascinating," said Victor. "But tell me-"

They were interrupted by the arrival of another Ascended. The newcomer was taller than Teldoc, and had a deeper voice.

"Teldoc! I heard you were training a new slave," said the newcomer.

"Y-yes, Sithro. This is-"

"Names of Lowers do not matter," said Sithro. "What have you trained it to do?"

"I... I am still extracting information."

Sithro looked around. "How? I see no restraints. I see no coercive stimuli."

"I am trying a new approach," said Teldoc.

"And what is that?" Sithro asked.

"Just asking questions."

Sithro gave a big laugh. "No wonder you are always behind those from your own launch group. You always try to do things the hard way! Well, suit yourself. By the way, Celesta was asking for you."

"She was?" Victor noted the interest in Teldoc's face.

"Yes. I told her that you were busy with these... experiments," said Sithro. "Don't worry, I kept her well stimulated in your absence."

"How understanding of you," said Teldoc.

Sithro stared at him with big bug eyes. "Teldoc, would you like to play a quick game of mindpower?"

"No, I don't think so," said Teldoc.

"Come on!" said Sithro.

"No, Sithro. It always gives me a headache."

"How do you expect to reproduce if you won't play mindpower?"

"Perhaps I'll solve Celesta's equation."

Sithro laughed. "That's not very likely." He gave Victor a long stare for a moment. Victor shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I'll leave you to your experiment... or whatever it is you're really doing." He turned and left.

Victor didn't have to see the frown on Teldoc's face or his balled up hand to know that he was unhappy. "What was that all about?" Victor asked.

"It is what I was telling you. Scientific status is everything. You must attain a high enough position in a scientific circle to find a female who will mate with you," said Teldoc.

"That is the only way to attract a mate?" Victor asked.

"No. There is also mindpower." Teldoc waved a hand, and a holographic image appeared. It showed two men, with a floating ball between their heads, and their faces wrapped in concentration. Inside the ball were two floating energies, battling with each other. To the side stood a woman, watching.

"This is mindpower. Two men battle each other in the mindsphere. The one with the stronger mental energies wins."

"Wins what?"

"An encounter with a female," said Teldoc.

Victor smiled. "It reminds me of deer."

"Deer?"

"When deer compete for mates, they press their antlers against each other. The ones with the biggest, strongest antlers win." He saw the confused look on Teldoc's face. "Antlers are kind of like... bones."

"Yes. The ones with the biggest bones win. I understand. Our system is like that, except it is brainpower, not bone size, which attracts the females."

"Yours is truly a unique culture," said Victor.

"Thank you," said Teldoc.

"Do you like this girl? The one called Celesta?"

"Yes," said Teldoc, and at that moment Victor learned that the Ascended were capable of blushing. "But I cannot solve her equation."

"Her equation?"

"Another way of earning the right to mate. Females promulgate an equation or theorem which has to be solved or proved. Celesta has given me several equations, but thus far I have been unable to solve them." Teldoc hung his head.

"Several equations?" said Victor. "It sounds like she is interested in you."

"I think so," said Teldoc. "But thus far, Sithro has monopolized her time. He has... solved her equations several times."

"Oh. I see," said Victor.

And he did.

The interrogations of the scientists continued. Of the eleven remaining scientists, five were pressured into breaking down easily. All it took was a few jabs of pain stimulus. They cooperated, answering any questions put to them by their interrogators. The other six, lead by Elizabeth, were more resistant. They endured the pain jabs, and refused to answer questions of strategic or military significance.

And then the interrogation ended and the forcefield came down, and they were free to mingle with each other in the center chamber.

Elizabeth worried for Victor. It had been several hours and he still had not returned yet. She had asked Almoxin about him, but had been told that Victor "was no longer her concern." That brought a chill down her spine. Had Victor been killed?

He had said he was going to cooperate, but Elizabeth knew Victor better than that. He had something planned. Probably to try and pump information from Teldoc. She only hoped that Victor was not harmed.

She sensed tension beginning to form among the scientists, among the ones who had cooperated more than the others. She heard Wade Tanner and Barbara Wells arguing.

"What's the point?" Barbara Wells said. "Everything I'm telling them is old news. Eight million years old. What are they going to do with it?"

"They could be planning an invasion," said Wade Tanner.

"An invasion of the past?" Barbara Wells snorted. "Wouldn't changing the timeline wipe themselves out?"

"Yes, if these really are evolved humans," said Wade. "But what if they're not? What if they're aliens from another planet? We shouldn't be cooperating with them."

"You make your choice Wade, and I'll make mine. I'm a scientist, not a soldier," said Wells.

"Technically, as a member of the Survey Service, you're both," said Elizabeth sharply. "And I gave you a direct order, Barbara, not to cooperate with them."

"Maybe you like pain, Elizabeth, but I don't," said Barbara. "You can play the hero. Not me."

Elizabeth looked at Vincent Roman, who looked away.

When Vincent's turn had come, he had cooperated quickly, joining the ranks of the collaborators. He saw the look of disappointment in Elizabeth's eyes. He knew he had let her down. But he wasn't a soldier. All it took was a single pain jab for him to fold. He answered their questions readily, and felt like he had let her down.

Tensions between the two camps got worse when their food arrived. Cups of red cubes appeared in front of each of them. But it quickly became apparent that those who cooperated got twice as much food as those who didn't. At first, this merely annoyed those who resisted.

But after several days of this, the resistors started to go hungry. People who cooperated got 12 food cubes, twice a day, which was barely enough to keep hunger in check. Resistors got six.

One day, food cups appeared in front of them. Wade Tanner quickly swallowed down his six cubes. He still felt hungry. He looked over at Vincent Roman, who had twelve, and was just starting on his first one. "Vincent, give me some of your cubes."

"No," said Vincent.

"Give me!" Wade yelled. He grabbed for his cup, and the food cubes went scattering to the floor. Everyone scrambled for them. Scientists started to kick and push each other out of the way for a measly food cube. Above them, on the second story, Elizabeth could see the Ascended looking down on them, watching.

"Stop!" Elizabeth yelled, at the top of her lungs.

Everyone froze.

"Look at you! Just look at you!" said Elizabeth. "On your hands and knees. Pushing and shoving like animals! Are you Survey Service scientists, or are you cattle?"

Her words shamed them, at least some of them.

"They have more food than we do, Elizabeth. It's not fair," said Wade Tanner. But he knew his words sounded whining even to his own ears.

"Life isn't fair, Wade," said Elizabeth.

"But they got more food for collaborating. It's not right," said Wade.

"No, it isn't," said Elizabeth.

"So let us take their excess, and redistribute it," said Wade.

"No, we won't," said Elizabeth.

"Why not?" Wade cried.
​