Fantasy Sex Culture in the 23rd Century

Something about this whole scene struck Fredrik as odd. But he could no longer explain to himself why it was odd. It had been reduced to a feeling, divorced from facts, as if someone had gone into his mind and partially erased his thoughts on the matter.

"I even got five virtue points!" said Manu, looking very pleased with himself.

"Virtue points?" said Rowenka. "What are those?"

"Virtue points are awarded by the Community, for doing good deeds," said Janet.

"And so Manu was literally rewarded, for doing...."

"His good deed, yes," said Janet, smiling broadly.

"What can these virtue points be used for?" said Laura.

"Anything," said Janet. "They're as good as Malcolm X dollars and Vladimir Lenin cents. Or, of course, you could donate them back to the Community."

"Give up my virtue points? Nevar!" said Manu.

Janet just smiled, as if she knew something that he didn't. She was starting to like Manu, but didn't find him nearly as sensual as Fredrik. She eyed the way Laura sat next to him. Once she gave him up, he would become available to a much wider segment of the Community. It was really for the best.

Fredrik, unaware of her plans, still had questions about the restroom. "And why is there an American flag in the toilet?" said Fredrik.

"Oh, you noticed that," said Janet, as if that was a minor detail that most people didn't take notice of.

"It was kind of hard to miss," said Fredrik. The others, realizing he had made an unintentional pun, laughed. "What?" said Fredrik. "What?"

When the laughter died down, Janet spoke again. "The old American flag was a symbol of oppression. The white stripes, of course, stood for the white race, which practiced shameful racial supremacy for centuries against every shade of person on the planet from black to medium beige. Remember, inequality isn't fair until we're all equal."

"And what about the red stripes?" Rowenka asked.

"The red stripes stand for the blood of black slaves who died at the hand of evil white men," said Janet solemnly.

"I learned in school that the red and white stripes stood for the 13 colonies," said Manu.

"No, that's fake history, invented by the racist capitalists. Purge your mind of false history," said Janet.

"What about the blue field, and the stars?" Fredrik asked.

"The blue field symbolized the black and blue marks that evil, lustful men inflicted on their female partners when they beat them, as was common in those times. Did you know that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were not only slave owners, but also wife beaters who molested young boys, and didn't recycle or believe in Temperature Change?"

"No," said Fredrik, not understanding half of what she said. He was still focused on his own questions. "And the white stars, what do they stand for?"

"The white stars symbolize the crony capitalist states, whose main function was to protect the ill gotten wealth of the rich who had stolen it all from the poor. It was a truly evil flag."

"And so you have it in the toilets because...."

"So every day, we can give it a two minute make."

"A two minute make?"

"An actual physical expression, a beautiful statement from the human body itself, one that is rejecting sexism, racism, and capitalism."

"By shitting on the flag?" said Fredrik.

"I wouldn't use those words, but..." said Janet.

"We're shitting on the flag," said Manu, with a goofy grin.

"So what does the current flag look like now?" Laura asked.

"Flag!" said Janet Taco Bell, seemingly speaking to no one. Instantly a holographic flag appeared in front of them. They saw a series of smiling faces.

"You see?" said Janet. "There's every kind of face imaginable: from black to brown to olive, with all three genders represented."

"All three?" said Rowenka, looking closely at the faces, trying to discern who was what or what was who.

"And in the upper left hand corner, we have a red star, to symbolize Community, and togetherness," said Janet sweetly. "Flag off," she said, to forestall further questions, and the flag disappeared. "So what would you like to do today?" she asked.

"Well...."

"How would you like a tour of the city?"

"That sounds great!" said Laura.

Janet Taco Bell took them around to show them the sights, but the main sights that Janet Taco Bell was focused on was Fredrik. She felt jealous that someone else had been selected to break him. She had personally appealed to Maoina, saying that she felt up for the job.

But Maoina had only put a hand on her shoulder and said, "He's going to be difficult. We need our best specialist to work on him. When she's done with him, you'll have your turn, I promise."

It was frustrating to have to wait in a Community that prided itself on rewarding citizens with instant gratification.

Janet's gaze turned to Laura. She could see that Laura had the advantage of relative youth, but she was entirely unremarkable in appearance. Fredrik could do much better. And would.

As they walked, Janet casually let her hand graze Fredrik's, from time to time. He didn't always seem to notice, but one time he did, and he made eye contact, and she smiled at him.

He reddened, and looked away.

Oh, he was going to be such fun, once he had finished processing!

The New Caledonians had a great time looking at the tall buildings and amazing wonders of downtown OrgyFree. The biggest city they had ever seen before this was Nouma, and Nouma was nothing compared to OrgyFree.

And then Janet took them to the Aquarium of Virtuous Sperm.

There were tanks, giant ones, and inside them were swarms of what looked like white tadpoles.

Laura's mouth dropped open. "Those can't be-"

"They are," said Janet.

"Knauw!" said Rowenka.

"Yes," said Janet. "This is the Aquarium of Virtuous Sperm."

"But... they're so big," said Laura, shivering slightly as she stared at the enormous schools of sperm, if they were sperm, swimming around. The sperm seemed as big as her forearm.

"An optical illusion," said Janet. "It only looks like glass in front of you. In reality it's an enormously powerful magnifying lens."

"So they are... real?" Laura asked.

"Yes," said Janet. "This is the sperm of virtuous black men."

"Black men?" said Fredrik."

"Yes," said Janet. "Each tank has different varieties. The tank to our left holds Hispanic sperm," she said, pointing to a large tank to the side. "The tank to our right holds Asian sperm. Behind us is Arabic sperm, and-"

"Where is the sperm of white people?" Manu asked.

Janet made a face. "No one wants to see that."

"Why not?" Manu asked.

"White people are racist," said Janet. "Would you go to an aquarium to see the sperm of racist people?"

"I, I guess not," said Manu. "But... are all white people are racist?'

"Of course. It's encoded in their DNA," said Janet. Her expression eased. "Look how happy people are here."

Janet was right. The acquarium was filled with people eagerly pointing at the sperm and giggling excitedly.

No, not merely people.

Women.

Most of the visitors to the Sperm Aquarium were women. The women were cuddling with each other and whispering excitedly.

"Look what a strong swimmer that one is!"

"They roam around in packs! Can you imagine a school of those inside me?"

"Come on! I want to get one from the gift shop for our tank at home!"

Fredrik held Laura protectively in his arms, as she trembled slightly in the presence of all this large, manly sperm. "Don't worry, I'll protect yew," he murmured.

"Aye knauw yew will," Laura grinned.

Their time at the aquarium was the talk of lunch. Janet simply grinned and let them enjoy themselves. After lunch, Janet suggested they go to a relaxing spa. They all agreed. She took them to the famous No Class Struggle Sanitarium.

"A Sanitarium?" said Fredrik, looking at the sign above the building as they entered.

"Their masseuses are reputed to be among the very best in OrgyFree," said Janet, winking at him.

When they got to the reception desk, they saw the metallic hand of Ted.

"Identify," said Ted.

"Janet Taco Bell. Party of Five. Administrative Account Theta 440," said Janet. She reached over and shook Ted's 'hand'.

"Authorizing Janet Taco Bell. Let your tired flesh be renewed and stimulated under our caring touch," said Ted.

"It still strikes me as creepy," Laura whispered to Fredrik. He smiled and nodded.

Janet led them to another room filled with Manipulator Booths.

" Ok, time to change," said Janet. "You all need to get into your Manipulators." She said it casually, but watched them for any sign of hesitation. They all went obediently, although Fredrik paused for a moment. He's still processing, when obedience should be automatic. That will be remedied, soon enough.

When Fredrik entered the booth, his clothes were whisked off with typical efficiency and he found himself wrapped only in a towel.

When he emerged, the others were similarly dressed.

Janet, looking stunning in a towel herself, led them to another room where attendants stood obediently in front of a series of massage tables.

"We are here to serve," said a young woman, who couldn't have been more than 20 years old.

"Yes yew are," Manu smiled at her, and received a punch in his arm from Rowenka for his efforts.

Janet bade them to lie down on the padded benches and watched carefully as each did so without question. She then gestured for the masseuses to attend them.

Soon Fredrik and his friends were all experiencing the tender ministrations of the young women.

"Oh, this is wonderful," said Fredrik, feeling his back being rubbed.

"You're telling me," said Manu, feeling an attractive blonde with large breasts working on the backs of his legs.

"Yeah," said Rowenka emphatically. She was the only man with a male masseur, a large man with a big hairy chest who Rowenka secretly found quite attractive.

"Are you having fun, Laura?" Janet asked, casually.

"Um hm, I mean, yes," said Laura, as the masseuse, a very attractive young woman with brown hair and green eyes, who Janet had personally selected, rubbed her back. She had lowered the towel so that the masseuse could rub her back, and lay topless, face down on the bench.

Janet gave the slightest of nods, and the masseuse attempted to turn Laura over onto her back.

"What... what are yew doing?" Laura asked.

"She wants to massage your front," said Janet. "It's entirely routine."

"No... no," said Laura, wrapping the towel around herself. She looked at Fredrik and reddened. "Just the back, please. Sorry."

"There's no need for apologies," said Janet sweetly. She nodded slightly to the masseuse, who resumed rubbing Laura's back.

Later, while Fredrik and his companions were enjoying dinner, Janet made a discrete holocall.

"Hi, how are you, I'm fine," said Janet.

"Hi, how are you, I'm fine too," said the image on the other end. It was none other than the First Deputy Controller for Northern California herself, Maoina Bin Laden.

"They are all performing as scheduled. They are starting to accept what they see without question. They have only had two exposures to SleepTalk, but it is already showing its efficacy. Acceptance medication is at 20% of normal dosage, and increasing."

"Very good," said Maoina. "But there's something else, isn't there?"

Had she been watching? Janet Taco Bell knew that this was Maoina's personal project, but Maoina Bin Laden was a busy Controller with a lot of responsibilities. "A minor one. The female, Laura Ngo, refused to reveal her breasts to the masseuse I selected."

"A local taboo?"

"That's what I thought. But I checked the psychographics, and I think part of it was the presence of Fredrik. She felt inhibited being unclothed around him and another woman at the same time."

"These primitives surely have their convoluted ways," Maoina chuckled. She thought for a moment, and then said, "Increase her programming for accepting public nudity around other females into her SleepTalk schedule."

"Her SleepTalk schedule is already full of acceptance of Community norms, as well as the beginnings of rejection for Fredrik Diem. Any more and she risks waking up sleepy and less coordinated."

"So much the better," said Maoina. "We need her to be a little confused right now. More importantly, we need her to accept nudity around other women if she has to walk the path we have prepared for her."

"I will do my best," said Janet.

"For the Community. Remember, Community is you and me, us and we." said Maoina, giving her a knowing look, before breaking contact.

Over the next five days, Janet continued to show them the wonders of the modern world. One evening, after a full day of activities, she took them to a holographic laser show at the Worker Built and Worker Inspired Equality Planetarium. She had them lay down on the couches in the dim light, as other visitors were doing. Each couch had a mask.

"What is this?" said Fredrik, pointing to the mask.

This was a crucial testing point. Janet tried to be as casual as possible. "It's your Weed mask."

"Weed mask?"

"To see the laser show."

"Why do we need a mask to see the laser show?" Fredrik was questioning. Too questioning. Knowledge was a burden for others. This should have been handled by last night's SleepTalk.

"So you can breathe in the Weed," said Janet.

"Weed. That's a word I've heard before," said Manu. "What is it?"

"Originally, Weed was a plant that people used to relax, for recreation," said Janet. "Over the centuries we've improved upon it, producing synthetic Weed."

"Synthetic Weed?"

"In many different forms: pills, liquid, chewables, suppositories, ear inserts-"

"Ear inserts?"

"Oh, it gives you quite a buzz in the ear," said Janet. "What you see here are the mask dispensers for the gas form. It helps you appreciate experiences like this one."

The room darkened measurably. "They're about to start," said Janet, sitting back on her own couch. "Put your mask over your face. It's for your own good!"

The laser show began, with yellow lasers darting out over the ceilings of the planetarium. Janet saw Manu put the mask over his face tentatively. He breathed in, and his expression changed. He slumped back on the couch, watching the lasers contently.

One.

Rowenka, seeing Manu do it, put the mask on her own face and gave it a tentative inhale. A dazed smile broke out over her face, and she lay back with it as well.

Two.

Laura, seeing the other two do it, looked at Fredrik, who hadn't yet done it, and seemed to struggle for a moment. She looked at the outlines of the mask. Try it, it will feel good, she heard something inside herself tell her. She seemed to remember a dream (or was it several dreams?) where she tried it and it did feel good. Laura tentatively put the mask on. She breathed in. Suddenly, she didn't have a care in the world. She lay back and watch the lasers.

Three.

Fredrik, seeing what Laura had done, put the mask over his own face. He took a breath and then relaxed.

Four!

But then Fredrik reached up, weakly, it seemed, and took the mask off.

Janet got up and went over to him. "Fredrik, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Fredrik. "I just want to enjoy the show without the mask."

"But the mask makes things better."

"I don't want to use the mask," said Fredrik.

"All right," said Janet. "After all, the choice is always yours." The key phrase caused Fredrik to relax.

Janet retreated to her couch.

The laser show was spectacular, with lasers in yellow, orange, green, red, purple, blue, and every other color imaginable sparkling in three dimensions. Laura, Manu, and Rowenka enjoyed it immensely, as they began to get hooked on their first dose of Weed.

Fredrik, though, could be a problem.

Rowenka was having a great time. But she also started to feel like something was nagging at her, and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. One night she and Manu made love, and it felt good, like it always did, but something was... missing. It was as if Rowenka had discovered that there was a new emptiness within her, something that needed to be filled. She didn't know what it was, not exactly, but she sensed Manu was not capable of filling it.

Manu felt the same way. He always was passionate when making love to Rowenka. But while he felt the same physical sensations, he also felt that it could be something... more. It was as if their lovemaking, between the two of them, was the ingredients in a stew, and they needed something else to spice it up, but weren't quite sure what what missing.

Still, Manu smiled at Rowenka, and Rowenka smiled at Manu, as he mounted her and stared into her eyes as he made love to her, in tender, sweet New Caledonia style.

When they had finished, and they lay sweaty against each other, Rowenka spoke, in a small voice. "What about birth control?"

"What about it?" said Manu.

"What if I get pregnant?" she said.

Manu looked at her. "Honey, this would be the most wonderful place to have a baby."

Rowenka felt love in her heart for Manu.

He stared into her eyes and ground his lips passionately against hers, stifling all further debate on the matter.

Fredrik and his friends saw more sights over the next few days. Each day, as the dosages in their food was increased, and there was more and more opportunity for SleepTalk, they started to fit in better and better.

"Time for lunch, anyone?" Janet said.

By the end of the sixth day, they were exhausted, and awestruck. They had seen more amazing things in a week than they had in their entire lives.

That night Laura was lying in bed with Fredrik. It was good. It was always good. But something nagged at her.

"Did yew tell Nana... before you left?" she asked.

Fredrik shook his head. "I left her a note."

"I did the same with Ma and Pa. I never got a chance to say goodbye to my sistars, neither." Laura had two younger sisters.

"What are yew thinking?" Fredrik asked.

"I'd lyke to write them a lettar, or something. Just to let them knauw I'm okay," said Laura. "No, more than that, to let them knauw how wonderful it is hear. Maybe they'll want to come. Wouldn't that be nyce?"

"Nana would nevar come," said Fredrik, fondling the outlines of Laura's small, Southeast Asian breasts with his hands absentmindedly. They weren't huge, but he liked them, because they were a part of Laura.

Fredrik remembered how Nana had violently warned him off coming here. He couldn't understand why. OrgyFree and the United States of the Americas was a paradise. He could never go back to living a primitive life in New Cal after spending a week here.

Laura looked up at him, mindful of his hand on her breasts. "But wouldn't it be nice to let her know that you're ok, that we all are?"

"Yes, it would," said Fredrik. "But I don't see how we can get a message out."

"Janet tells me tomorrow after we're done touring, that we're going to see Maoina," said Laura. "She's important. She'll find a way, if we ask her." She looked more intently at him. "Promise me you'll ask."

Fredrik looked down, and kissed her.

"Promise me?"

He kissed her again. "I promise."

The next day, their seventh in OrgyFree, they had their last day of exhaustive touring, visiting the Giant Trees of Diversity in the United We Stand Forum, and then had a relaxing afternoon at the Exemplary Workers' Pleasure Palace. That evening, Janet Taco Bell brought them back to see Maoina Bin Laden.

"Why hello, how are you? I'm fine," said Maoina. She smiled broadly. "It's so good to see you again, my young friends. So now that you've been here a week, how have you all been fairing?"

"It's been great!" said Fredrik.

"Extraordinary!" said Laura

"Simply wonderful!" said Rowenka.

"The advenchar of a lifetime!" said Manu.

"Not an entire lifetime, I hope, Mr. Enterami," Maoina smiled. "This week has been an adjustment period for you, but next week will be different." She paused to let that sink in. Their SleepTalk had already started preparing them, but she wanted to see their reactions.

"We're going to start our jobs," said Fredrik.

"Yes. I'm sure you must be apprehensive. Don't be," said Maoina. "And calling them jobs is not precisely accurate. We don't subscribe to the outdated capitalist system of worker and employer. Here everyone has a purpose, a purpose which serve the Community. We feel satisfaction not by making money, but by serving the Community."

"So... we don't get paid?" Fredrik asked.

Maoina laughed. "Oh, of course you do, Mr. Diem. Even in a Marxist paradise, one could not do without currency. You will earn quite handsome salaries, by the way. Madison?"

Maoina's assistant, a young blonde woman named Madison Alibaba, read from a datapad. "200,000 Malcolm X Dollars, and 40 Lenin cents, on an annual basis."

"Two hundred thousand dollars?" said Fredrik. "Which of us gets that?"

"Each of you will," said Maoina.

"We oll perform different... roles, and we oll make the same money?"

"Of course," said Maoina. "Society values you all equally. Inequality isn't fair until we're all equal. In our time, salaries have been largely equalized. Oh, there are some minor pay grade increases and some truly minor additional benefits for a few, like someone in my position as First Deputy Controller for the Northern District of California, for example. But, by and large, most people make nearly the same sum of money."

"How can you afford to pay so much?" said Fredrik.

Maoina put an arm around Fredrik and laughed. "Oh, Mr. Diem. May I call you Fredrik?"

"Yes," said Fredrik.

"Fredrik, I like that," said Maoina, and for a moment Fredrik felt like it was Nana putting an arm around him. "Fredrik, society has advanced so far technologically that very few of us are required to work to produce the means of production. We are all materially quite wealthy. With material needs completely removed from the equation, we are free to expend whatever resources we want on the real challenge of life, building a more virtuous and socially evolved Community."

"It seems like you've done that," said Fredrik.

"And we have," said Maoina. "But our work is never done. We want our Community to achieve higher and higher levels of social consciousness and group self-awareness through Oneness and the Global Flesh. We want social justice to reach new levels, to break new barriers in the field of group achievement, so the Community may achieve levels of aggregate self-actualization not even conceived of."

"You speak of the Community like it's alive, a thinking living organism," said Rowenka.

"That's very astute, Ms. Javanka," said Maoina, purposefully using her maiden name. "That is exactly how we think of the Community. We are in the process of further subprioritizing our individuality to achieve greater Community consciousness. Eventually, when we get close to a state of perfection, there will only be the Community."

"But what of the individual?" Fredrik asked.

Maoina laughed, rubbing his shoulders playfully as Janet watched, biting her lip, and as Laura also watched, frowning slightly. "Fredrik, the individual will have a remarkably rich life, by subsuming his consciousness within the Community. You strike me as a rugged individual, Fredrik. Tell me, did you feel the loss of any of your individualism when you lived with your parents? Or your Nana?"

Fredrik flinched involuntarily at the mention of Nana. "Noah."

"It is precisely the same here. Nothing is lost. Everything is gained, by submerging your individual desires and wants and choices into the desires and wants and choices of the whole," said Maoina.

"On the subject of family, we were wondering if we myght be able to get a message to our families," said Laura. "I have a Mom and Dad and two sistars. I'd just lyke to write them to let them know Ay'm ok."

"I'd lyke to write my Nana too," said Fredrik, remembering too late that he had promised Laura to raise the subject first.

"Me too," said Rowenka. "I'd lyke to let my Ma and Pa know how I'm doing."

"How quaint! You actually feel a strong connection to your biological parents!" said Maoina.

"Don't children love their parents hear?" Laura asked.

"Well of course they do," said Maoina. "What do you think we are, monsters? Did you think we take children away from their parents?"

Evasive gazes gave Maoina all the answers she needed. She gave a hearty laugh. "Of course children love their parents here. And parents love their children too. But here, the Community takes a broader role in raising and shaping the experiences of children. Children raised narrowly by one pair of random individuals could turn out to be very poorly adjusted for the needs of the Community."

"Do children live with their parents?"

"Of course they do, up until the age of 16, when they begin to Connect on the adult level," said Maoina. "Then they move out on their own. They can still talk to or even see their biological parents any time they want to. But they seldom feel the need. The bonds between the child and the Community are much stronger than those between the child and the parents. The child feels affection for the parents, of course, but it's more akin to the affection that a child might feel in passing for... a teacher in school, or a sports coach."

Laura and Fredrik exchanged looks. "We'd still lyke to taulk to our parents, if we could."

"Of course," said Maoina. "The choice is always yours." There was that phrase again. "Simply record a message, and direct that it be sent to your parents."

"How will they get the message?" Fredrik asked.

"We will send a beacon to Voh," said Maoina, smiling to show them that she remembered where they came from.

"Will they be able to send us messages back?"

"Of course," said Maoina. "All they will need to do is tap the beacon thrice, and it will record and transmit whatever they say. You will be instantly notified when they respond."

"That's... that's really great," said Laura nervously. "Thank yew... Thank yew so much."

"You're quite welcome," said Maoina. "Oh, and one more thing before you go. It's so minor that I hesitate to even mention it. But for the past week your profile jackets have been on training mode. That means there have been certain... relaxations in the rules. This week things will change. The system will gradually integrate you and require you to conform completely." She looked at their faces. "Oh, don't worry. If I hadn't said anything, you probably wouldn't have even noticed."

"What are these rules?" Manu asked.

"Almost nothing at all to worry about," Maoina assured them. "Leave it to your Manipulators. They'll handle all the heavy work. You won't even notice what's happening in the background. As we like to say, there are no rules, except the rules."​