Fantasy Sex Culture in the 23rd Century

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The Conditioning Intensifies​

Dale Mastercard was flirting with Rowenka again. He seemed to drop by every day now. Rowenka still didn't quite understand what he did for a living. He was some kind of character witness? It was unclear why he was still there, in the Beverly Rectum Institute for the Study of the Global Human Infestation in which she worked, but there he was.

One day she went out to lunch with him. She ended up telling him some of her life story. Dale was such a good listener! And handsome, too, but she tried not to notice that.

"You were so brave to take the leap and leave New Cal to come here," said Dale. "I don't know if I could have been as courageous as you."

"Oh, you olways say the nicest things to me," said Rowenka, smiling as she instinctively rubbed her hands between her legs.

"That's because there are a lot of nice things to say about you," said Dale. "I hope your partner... you said his name is Manu? I hope Manu appreciates you too."

"He does," said Rowenka, with a smile. But it was a small smile. Things were good with Manu, but lately, she had been thinking that she was more and more dissatisfied, and she didn't know why. Manu was attentive, and he was a good lover, and he listened to her problems, but something else was missing. A small voice inside of her told her that maybe she needed more friends. That's why being out with Dale was good.

"But... " she continued.

"But what?"

She really shouldn't be telling Dale this. But who else could she tell? Laura? It might get back to Manu.

"I sometimes feel like something is missing, yew know? That I'm not getting everything I need," said Rowenka. She was almost whispering, as if afraid that Manu could hear her.

"Well, how many men had you been with before Manu?"

"Before Manu?" It struck her as an odd question. "None. Oh, I dated one guy for a few weeks, but that went nowhere fast."

"Well, maybe your problem is that you just haven't had enough experiences with men, to know exactly what you're missing."

"Well, it's too late for that now," Rowenka grinned. "I'm married!"

"So?" said Dale, giving her a rugged smile. "Many people are partnered here, but still enjoy Connections with others."

"Adultery? Hear?"

"We don't use that word. There's no pejorative attached to it in the Community," said Dale. "It is simply Connections. The more Connections we make, the closer we get to achieving true Oneness, and the more we feel part of the Global Flesh."

"But doesn't the husband or wife being cheated on get angry?"

"Very often they participate."

"They do?"

Dale nodded. "As I said, it's all about achieving Oneness with the Global Flesh. When you Connect with Manu, I'm sure it's wonderful. But you're only Connecting with one person, and he's only Connecting back to one person--you. But when you Connect with others, Manu can Connect with them as well, through the Global Flesh. By Connecting with more and more people, you both get closer to Oneness, and help build Self-Actualized Higher Group Consciousness."

"I don't knauw if I understand all that," said Rowenka. "And I don't knauw if Manu would go for that."

Dale was pleased how the discussion had evolved. They were no longer talking about whether or not Rowenka was interested in Connecting with other men; that no longer seemed to be a stumbling block. Now it was all about whether Manu would accept it. Progress had been made. Maoina would be pleased.

"You'll never know if you don't ask him," Dale smiled at her, and was pleased to see her shiver. Yes, the programming was working. She had been shown images of him every night, images of her and him Connecting. She wasn't consciously aware of it, but she was reacting to it.

"Oh, I couldn't do that," said Rowenka shyly.

"Or maybe he'll ask you to do it," said Dale.

"Manu? Asking me to sleep with othar men? I doubt it."

"You never know," said Dale. He saw, with satisfaction, that he had already planted the first seeds of doubt.

Rowenka shifted uncomfortably in her seat and changed the subject. "What about yew? Do yew have a wyfe, or a partnar?"

"No partner," said Dale, giving a small smile.

"Why not? You're so... handsome! And nice!" And handsome? Had Rowenka said that emphatically enough? She found him simply gorgeous. She wanted to rub her hands all over his big chest, to press her lips against his, to rifle her hands over his thick, brown hair.

"Thank you," said Dale, giving her a larger smile now. "I don't know what it is. I make Connections, and they're good, but whenever I try to go deeper, the women I'm with decide to move on."

"Well, it just sounds like you haven't found the right woman," said Rowenka, relieved to discover that Dale wasn't gay. She looked at his beefy chest. She imagined that any woman would love to run her hands over that. She herself had been having dreams lately, erotic ones, of being naked and pressing her breasts against a man with a big chest, bigger than Manu's, a man who maybe looked a little like Dale. And the oddest thing about her dreams was that in every one, Manu was also there, watching approvingly. Was this simply wish fulfillment, or would Manu actually be accepting of it? And if he would be willing, how could Rowenka even ask him? Suddenly, her mind opened to new possibilities.

"We're very pleased with your progress, Manu," said Roark Diversity Funnel approvingly. "Your last three designs have been great. There has barely been any trace of originality in any of your designs."

"Thank you, Roark," said Manu. He still wished he could have more latitude in what he created, but at least schematics he drew were being approved. Things were being built! Right now a new water tower was being built in western OrgyFree based on one of his designs. Of course, the design was actually one from the central database that had already been used before, but Manu had been able to change a few minor details, enough to be able to call the project his own, but not too many that they changed any of the functional or visual aspects of the basic design.

Roark smiled at him. "Are you ready for more of a challenge? I want you to join a team which is creating a new air terminal. It is to be grand!"

An airport terminal? That sounded tremendous! Eagerly, he thanked Roark for the opportunity. Roark told him to work with Leilani Demand Justice and Haruto Queer Straight on the design.

Leilani and Haruto welcomed him into their workgroup. Haruto was a very friendly guy. Leilani had a bit of a chip on her shoulder but so far Manu hadn't had any problems with her. As a member of The Happy Prime Ethnic Architecture Institute, specifically The Vertically Challenged Africans, Satisfied Pacific Islanders, and Bisexual Japanese Workgroup, Manu had encountered all kinds of people. Roark was a short African man. Leilani was a Pacific Islander, like himself, (though she didn't seem so satisfied all the time). And Haruto was a bisexual Japanese man. There were all different workgroups within the The Happy Prime Ethnic Architecture Institute, all a careful balance of races, sexes, genders, and a mix of the fourteen basic sexual orientations and the thirty seven secondary ones.

Manu was given the important assignment of designing the entry hall for the air terminal. That was the first room that people would see when they entered the building. He was delighted to be given such an important assignment.

He got to work. Every so often he was distracted by holovideos of two men and a woman in a bar. It was always the same thing now. When he looked closely at it for a while, though, he thought he saw something else.

He saw Rowenka at a bar. Kissing another man. And he was there too, but he was just smiling and watching.

Manu had seen this before, in his dreams, he thought. At first, it really bothered him. He didn't want Rowenka kissing another guy! But over time, he focused on Rowenka's expression. When Manu wasn't kissing her, when he was watching someone else do it, he was free to watch her without distraction. In his dream, he watched her become sexually aroused, he watched someone else sexually arouse her, and that started to make him sexually aroused too. Manu's mind started to be open to the possibility of making it happen. Part of him didn't want it, but part did, and the part that did was growing in strength every day.

It was all so ridiculous. Rowenka was so conventional she would never agree to such a thing. It would be better just to keep these dirty thoughts where they were now, in the world of fantasy.

Manu got back to work. He spent all afternoon working on the entrance to the terminal. At the end of the day Roark came by to check up on him.

"What do you think?" Manu asked.

"Hm...." Roark studied the design. He spent a full minute on it. Then he said, "No, this won't do at all."

"Why not?" said Manu.

"Your arches are too thin. Your ceiling is too low. Your walls are also too low. This feels intimate, like someone's home, not a grand terminal."

"Precisely," said Manu. "Terminals always give people an impersonal feeling. I wanted to make this one feel more like home, more personalized."

"By more personalized, you mean more individualized, don't you?"

"Well, I suppose so."

"But this is being built by the Community, for the Community. It should represent Community values, don't you agree?" Roark asked.

"Yes, when you put it that way..."

"We need giant arches. We need large ceilings. We need big, five story walls."

"Why?"

"Because we want the individual to feel small and insignificant," said Roark. "Architecture, like every other endeavor, must serve Community interests. And the Community interest in architecture is one in which the individual is crushed by the awesome power of the Community. When you go into this terminal you shouldn't feel like you are at home. You should feel like a bug, a speck of dust, under the chilling might of the Community. Just think, if we made architecture cater to the whims of individualism, what would we have?"

"I don't knauw."

"Well, we would have unchecked free thinkers, and challenges to the very legitimacy of the Community," said Roark. "We need architecture to work for us, not against us. It needs to be an obvious warning to all, of the immense power of the Community, that individual resistance is not only unwelcome but simply futile. We need, in short, a glorious architecture of oppression, oppression so powerful that the thought of individual resistance won't even occur. Can you do that?"

Manu took a deep breath. "I can try."

"Good. Keep up the good work. Be seeing you." And he was gone.

Manu was conflicted for a moment. On the one hand, this wasn't the kind of architecture he wanted to create. He wanted to build more individualistic works, that showed his creativity, that showed humanity. But that obviously wasn't in style here.

On the other hand, even if he wasn't completely happy with the limitations on his work, Manu was working as an architect, something he never would have been able to do in New Cal. If he were still in New Cal, he'd be laying cement for a walkway somewhere. And yet here he was now, designing a terminal for an airport.

No, it was still worth being here, despite the limitations. But then he looked up, and saw a holovideo of two men and a woman in a bar. Again. Now, what to do about that?


Fredrik awoke triumphantly the next morning. His mind didn't feel scrambled the way it usually did. Sleeping on the floor had worked, he had avoided the affects of SleepTalk! He would give it another night or two to be sure, and then warn Laura.

When Fredrik went into the Manipulator, Ted showered him, and then dressed him in a pink blouse and a red miniskirt.

Fredrik reached under his skirt and plucked the Global Tampon out of his ass, which was, as he expected, black from having spent quality time in some other guy's ass. Fredrik's ass period had ended a few days ago, the disgusting blood having been replaced by equally disgusting egg whites coming out of his ass, but finally, it had all stopped.

The drama of having a tampon in his ass hadn't ended without one last humiliation, however. Two days ago, on the last day of his man-period, someone came to see him while he was working on an article.

"Hi, how are you, I'm fine," said the man. "Are you Fredrik Diem?"

"Yes," said Fredrik.

"I'm Juan Egg Smelt," said the man. He looked at Fredrik, as if he would recognize his name.

"Yes? Have we met?" Fredrik asked.

"Sort of," said Juan. "Don't you look up the past and future history of your Global Tampon?"

Fredrik stiffened at the mention of the device. "The history of it?" he said.

"You know, to find out who had it the day before you, and the day after. Sometimes several days before and after," said Juan.

"Yew can find that out?"

"Sure! Ted knows," said Juan.

Fredrik started to get a sinking feeling. "And you're here because..."

"I had your GT yesterday," said Juan, giving a sly smile.

Oh. My. God.

Fredrik realized that the thing deeply buried deep in his ass, right now, had just been inside of Juan Egg Smelt's ass the day before. The fact that the device had supposedly been sterilized by some germ killing lights meant nothing to him.

"Like most people, I look up my successors and predecessors to seek out Connectedness, of course," said Juan. "By learning who has been inside me, and who I have been inside of, through our Manpon, I feel more Oneness with the Community and the Global Flesh."

"Uh huh," said Fredrik, feeling like he was about to be sick. He resisted the urge to run to the bathroom and pull out the GT right now. Unfortunately, if he did that, he would probably get an egg white stain on the back of his pants.

"It's great to meet you," said Juan, putting a hand on Fredrik's shoulder. "Maybe we could go out for drinks sometime?"

Fredrik inhaled. Then he exhaled.

"I'd love to," said Fredrik. "But I have so much work."

Go away. Go away right now, and never, ever come back.

"I understand," said Juan, giving him a sly smile. He turned to go. "Who knows? Maybe we'll meet again, through the GT."

After that incident, Fredrik resolved to tell Maoina to stop his periods, permanently. But he was so busy, he hadn't yet found the time to do so.

Right now, in the present, Fredrik had to cope with the fact that he was standing in his Manipulator wearing a pink blouse and a red skirt. Fredrik looked down at his red miniskirt. He also saw he was wearing high heels. He was all ready for a night out on the town, like a cheap hooker.

"Ted, what's going on?" Fredrik asked.

"Congratulations, Fredrik. It's your very first pink day," said Ted. Ted explained how pink day was reparations for years of gender stereotyping.

"I see," said Fredrik. "Your explanation was very educational. All right, now, take it off."

"What?"

"Take it oll off!"

"But Fredrik, today is your pink day. Do you really want to let the male Community down by failing to do your part to pay gender reparations?"

"In a word, yes," said Fredrik. He was very firm on this. His SleepTalk hadn't focused on this aspect of compliance, being more intensely directed to persuading him to accept the more fundamental choices in the path that had been set out for him.

"Very well," said Ted. "After all, the choice is always yours."

In a moment, Fredrik was dressed in a white shirt and blue pants. But there was still just one problem. He put his hands into his pants, and pulled out yet another Global Tampon from his ass.

"When are yew going to stop putting these in my arse, Ted?"

"Whenever you like, my dear, dear friend. After all-"

"It's my choice. Fine. Stop putting things in my arse, ok?"

"Very well, Fredrik," said Ted.

Fredrik knew it was hopeless. Despite what he said, Ted would keep putting tampons in his ass every morning. It was what he was programmed to do. And Fredrik would keep taking them out. He must ask Laura if she were still wearing hers... outside of necessary days, of course.

Laura didn't know it, but she was about to embark on the most erotic activity of her life.

Laura had agreed to go jogging with Mary Elizabeth Coca Cola.

It had all started innocently enough. Laura, seeing Mary Elizabeth in her tights, remarked how fit Mary Elizabeth looked. Mary Elizabeth thanked her, said she was fit because she went jogging several times a week. She had invited Laura to go with her.

"When? Now?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Aren't we supposed to be working?"

Mary Elizabeth grabbed her hand conspiratorially. "We are working. We're working to stir our creative juices," she said, giving Laura an enticing look.

So Laura had agreed to go jogging. There were Manipulator booths at work (there were Manipulator booths everywhere). She had Ted dress her in sensible baggy shorts and running shoes, and a pink shirt. As Ted changed her, she felt something a little odd. Her Global Tampon was being swapped out and quickly replaced with another. Why?

Laura still hadn't had her first period in OrgyFree yet, though it was due any day now. The first couple of days when Ted had inserted the Global Tampon inside her she had plucked it out, disgusted at the thought of having something inside her that had been inside someone else (actually, many, many someone elses). But after several days, she simply stopped noticing and left it inside, even though she didn't yet need one. But Ted, for some reason, chose this moment to remove the one within her and swap it out for another one. She wondered why.

When she came out of the Manipulator Booth, she saw Mary Elizabeth, and her jaw almost dropped. Mary Elizabeth was wearing a semi-transparent jogging shirt which clearly showed the outlines of her large, firm breasts. If you looked closely enough you could see the nipples sticking through. She also wore a pair of shiny light blue shorts that were so tight that they showed off every contour of her body. And her Chikdik... her shorts were so tight that one could see the outlines of the entire shaft. It was as if a hard erection was sandwiched between Mary Elizabeth's shorts and her body.

Mary Elizabeth saw Laura looking her over and she smiled. "Shall we go?"

They went to the roof of the building where they worked, the Susan G. Nomen tower, where a jogging track had been set up by women, for women. The jogging path was lined with genuine artificial plants to give the area an outdoor feel. Mary Elizabeth explained that if they had used real plants, that they could have been damaged by their proximity to people, so simulated plants were actually more environmentally sound.

They started jogging. The views were incredible, Laura could see for miles around in every direction. But the view that distracted her the most was Mary Elizabeth.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

The sound of Mary Elizabeth's feet pounding into the clay was distracting, at first, but then it became hypnotic.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

Laura saw Mary Elizabeth's powerful thighs clench as she took step after step. The same thighs that Laura dreamed about pressing against her, wrapping around her own equally nude legs.

And that wasn't all. Mary Elizabeth's tight shorts clearly showed the movements of the muscles in her buttocks as well.

Clench. Release. Clench. Release. Clench. Release.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

Laura watched Mary Elizabeth's sweaty legs, as she clenched and released, as she pounded and pounded. Laura started to feel excited, despite herself.

We're just jogging. Why am I getting physically aroused? she asked herself.

"I was out late last night," said Mary Elizabeth, as they jogged.

"With your guy?" said Laura, keeping up on Mary Elizabeth's right as they jogged.

Mary Elizabeth shook her head. "We're not seeing each other anymore."

"Sorry," said Laura.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

As she ran, Mary Elizabeth's monster Chikdik bounced along with her.

"I've gotten myself someone new," said Mary Elizabeth. "A young lady," she smiled, as they jogged.

A lady! The last Laura had heard, Mary Elizabeth was seeing a man, Jeramiah Smallwood! So Mary Elizabeth was bisexual! A secret thrill ran through Laura's body.

"What's she lyke?"

"Smart. Creative. A really hot body," said Mary Elizabeth, without any shame. She enjoyed watching Laura blush. "And she's an artist too."

"That's great," said Laura, immediately wondering. Who is she talking about? Is she talking about... me?

"We had a... session last night," said Mary Elizabeth.

"A session?" said Laura.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Mary Elizabeth's ass muscles clenched and released, as her Chikdik bounced around.

Mary Elizabeth puckered up her lips in a kiss, and smiled when she saw Laura's reaction.

"She's a great kisser," Mary Elizabeth continued. "She has an incredible soft body." As Mary Elizabeth continued to describe her lover, Laura felt her body getting warmer. It was her Global Tampon! It was starting to vibrate again, inside of her!

As they jogged, Laura stole a glance at Mary Elizabeth's breasts. They were bouncing up and down. They were large and round, like melons. They looked like they needed to be touched, to be caressed. For a moment, Laura fantasized about running her hands along them, wondering what they would feel like.

"Let's take a break," said Mary Elizabeth suddenly. Laura looked over at Mary Elizabeth. Her shirt was drenched in sweat. It waspractically transparent now, and Laura could see her breasts very, very clearly. They were large, and round. Her areolas were huge discs, and her nipples were hard and prominent, sticking out of her shirt.

Laura gulped. Had Mary Elizabeth's nipples gotten hard from all that exercising, or was she... was she...

Suddenly, Laura looked down at herself. Her nipples were hard too, and sticking out of her shirt. She hurriedly folded her arms over her chest.

"Don't be embarrassed," said Mary Elizabeth midly, pulling her arms down. She looked Laura in the eyes. "It's a natural biological reaction, that women experience around women. There's nothing to be ashamed of." She squeezed Laura's hand tightly for a moment.

Something in her gaze took control of Laura, and she dropped her arms willingly. Mary Elizabeth nodded approvingly She unclipped a thermos from her belt and took a drink. She offered it to Laura. Laura took it. For a moment she looked at the rubber spout of the thermos. It was like a teat. A teat, that had just been at Mary Elizabeth's mouth. Laura didn't delay. She sucked on it eagerly, becoming even more excited by the process, not caring that as she lifted her head back her erect nipples were all the more prominently on display. The thought of showing her arousal off to Mary Elizabeth gave her a hidden thrill.

When she was done, she handed the thermos back and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Mary Elizabeth. She stared at Laura for a long moment, so long that Laura shifted uncomfortably. Laura's shirt was wet, so Mary Elizabeth could see the outlines of her breasts, but her shirt wasn't nearly as transparent as Mary Elizabeth's. What was she looking at?

"I have a confession," said Mary Elizabeth suddenly.

"What?" said Laura.

"I played a little trick on you," said Mary Elizabeth, looking naughty. "I'm wearing your Global Tampon."

"What?" said Laura, not sure she had just heard what she had just heard.

"The one you were wearing, just this morning," said Mary Elizabeth. "I arranged to have yours put into me. I know a Senior Flow Analyst in the Department of Menstruation who owed me a favor." She let that sink in, then added, "I've been wearing it as I jogged. Your Global Tampon."

Mary Elizabeth, still staring at Laura intently, moved one hand down to the crotch of her own tight shorts. There was a vertical seam that ran directly between her legs, just below her Chikdik. She rubbed it shamelessly as she talked. "I wanted to have you inside of me. I wanted to feel you while I pumped my legs." As she rubbed the seam of her own shorts, it seemed she was experiencing something, some feeling that her Global Tampon was radiating inside of her, some emotion that Laura was inadvertently transmissing to her.

"Why did you do that?" Laura asked, in a small voice.

"I wanted to... I wanted to get closer to you," said Mary Elizabeth. And now the hand that had been rubbing the seam of her shorts was caressing Laura's cheeks! "I like you, Laura. I... I want us to achieve Oneness together."

Oneness?

Laura found herself breathing heavily, overcome by emotion. "I... I like yew too, Mary Elizabeth. But I don't really understand what yew mean by Oneness. Yew mean sex?"

Mary Elizabeth shook her head. "No, it's so much more than that." She paused. "I have another confession to make."

"A second one?" said Laura, wondering what else it could be.

"Your Global Tampon. The one that was put into you this morning... is the one I was just wearing," said Mary Elizabeth.

Laura's jaw dropped open as she realized what had just happened. The Global Tampon inside her most intimate place had just been inside of Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth's juices had soaked the tampon which even know was resting comfortably inside of Laura's vagina. It was the most intimate act Laura could imagine between two women. Laura looked down between her legs, and said, "I'm wearing... I'm wearing..."

"I took your Global Tampon... and you're wearing mine," said Mary Elizabeth. She put an arm around Laura's waist, and drew her close. "Closeness. Togetherness. Oneness. That is the foundation of Community, the foundation of the Global Flesh. As you get closer to Oneness, your self-actualization will increase, and you will ascend to higher and higher levels within the group consciousness."

Laura's heart was racing. She didn't know what to say. Her head leaned forward, pushing hair in front of her face.

Mary Elizabeth tenderly brushed some of the hair out of Laura's face. "Tell me you're not offended," she whispered into her ear. While still holding Laura by the waist, she ran her hand down Laura's arm. "Tell me you're not angry with me." Mary Elizabeth's firm nipples stared at her like searchlights. She leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Tell me Laura... please tell me..."

Laura looked up at those gorgeous green eyes and said, "Ay'm not angry with you. I just... find this a little... exciting. Maybe too exciting."

Acceptance. Mary Elizabeth smiled at her. Laura had taken her next step. "It is Oneness. It is intoxicating. You will never be able to get enough of it."

"I.. I don't know what to think," said Laura, uncertainly.

"Let others do the thinking, we'll do the living," she said, and Laura felt captivated by those green eyes, as Mary Elizabeth held her close.

As Mary Elizabeth stared into her eyes, they had an unspoken moment, where something substantial was exchanged between them, something Laura couldn't put a name on but knew was important. A bond was forming between them, a bond that Laura wanted to deny, a bond that Laura knew could grow to threaten everything between her and Fredrik... and yet she couldn't deny that it was forming. Growing between them.

After a long moment, Mary Elizabeth, apparently satisfied, released her and stepped back. "Shall we continue?" she asked, as if nothing had happened.

She started jogging, confident Laura would follow. There was never any doubt. Mary Elizabeth was the dominant, and Laura was the lesser. Laura had accepted her role without resistance or even conscious awareness that she had done so.

They started to run again, only this time Laura felt even more self-conscious. Of Mary Elizabeth's Global Tampon, riding deep inside her. With every move of her legs, the Global Tampon pumped ever so slightly in and out of her, in and out.

Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.

Laura felt the Global Tampon moving inside of her, almost caressing her. She saw Mary Elizabeth's ass muscles clench.

Clench. Release. Clench. Release.

Pound. Pound. Pound.

Mary Elizabeth's sleek, sweaty powerful ass muscles. The thickness of the Chikdik bouncing around her tight jogging shorts.

Clench. Release. Clench. Release.

The Global Tampon, thrusting deep inside of her.

Slide up, slide down, slide up, slide down.

Pound. Pound. Pound.

Clench. Release. Clench. Release.

Mary Elizabeth, thrusting deep inside of her-

In. Out. Pound. Flesh. Grab. Thrust. Release. Thrust. Release. Pound. Pound, Pound-

"Aaaah," said Laura, suddenly stopping as she grabbed her own breasts. "Aaahah, aaahhh, aahhh!" she cried with abandon, squeezing her titties tightly with one hand while she put her other hand between her legs which she tightly crossed together. She instinctively started rubbing, and couldn't stop, totally oblivious to everything and everyone around her.

The presence of others were totally irrelevant. At that moment there was only the burning need between her own legs. Laura rubbed the outside of her running shorts shamelessly as she tweaked her nipples. Laura cried out as she went over the edge, leaning forward, gasping, lost in the orgasmic moment. But even in the depths of her climax, she imagined how this must look to Mary Elizabeth and wondered how she was going to explain this to her.

But if that wasn't embarrassing enough, what was happening in front of her was even worse.

Just as Laura was going over the edge, Mary Elizabeth started to moan, and she actually put her own hands inside her shorts, and started rubbing furiously. "Oooooh," she said, rubbing vigorously, as if she had an itch that couldn't be quelled.

Mary Elizabeth unabashedly stared Laura right in the eye as she rubbed herself hard, as if staring at Laura helped her do what she needed to do. "Oooooh, Ooooh, OOOOOOOH! Laura, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" she said, practically yelling her name as her breasts heaved, and then, Mary Elizabeth's eyes became glassy and she too went over the edge.

As Laura climbed down from her climax, and her brains started to function again, it all made sense. When she had her orgasm, it had translated through her Global Tampon to Mary Elizabeth's. Mary Elizabeth had experienced Laura's orgasm through the connection between Laura's Global Tampon and her own!

Suddenly she realized the undeniable truth of it all.

Even though they had not touched, it was as if they had just had sex together.

When Laura recovered enough, she forced herself to make eye contact with Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth smiled at her.

"Was that as mindblowing for you as it was for me?" Mary Elizabeth asked.

There was no way she could deny it. "Yes," Laura whispered, her face reddening.

"There's no need for embarrassment," said Mary Elizabeth. "It's just a natural reaction of women pleasuring women through their Global Tampons. It's very healthy. And it happens to everyone."

"Other people... feel this way because of their Global Tampons?" Laura asked, searching for an explanation which could justify this. She grasped for any explanation, beyond the most obvious one. It didn't happen because I'm in love with her. It happened because this device was stimulating me.

"Of course," said Mary Elizabeth. She put an arm around Laura. "And it doesn't mean a thing. Really. Don't give it a second thought."

It doesn't mean a thing. How could it not mean a thing? And yet, Laura grasped at the explanation. She had to.

"Thanks," said Laura, and she actually gave Mary Elizabeth a hug, grateful for providing Laura with an excuse she could accept for her totally inappropriate behavior. They were both quite wet now. In more ways than one. "You're a really good friend, Mary Elizabeth."

"And you are too, Laura," Mary Elizabeth smiled.

Fredrik had a new assignment at work, courtesy of Madeline. First of all, he wasn't working with Diana Class Struggle Enema today, which pleased him to no end. And secondly, he was assigned to write an article about Sheryl Facebook, the High Priestess of Gaia in OrgyFree.

OrgyFree didn't have an established religion, not quite, but if it did, it would be the worship of Gaia. Gaia wasn't quite a god, or a goddess, but rather the concept of the Earth being alive, or sentient, somehow, and being connected with all the plants and animals on the earth--including people.

Fredrik viewed it as a religion, even though it wasn't strictly called that. Fredrik was technically a Christian, but had been inside a church perhaps four times in his life, that he could remember.

The Great Church of Mama Earth was one of the largest buildings in OrgyFree. It had stained glass windows showing placid scenes of windmills, solar panels, and people living simply, in caves, wearing organic loinclothes made of pure, locally grown cotton.

Sheryl Facebook was the High Priestess of OrgyFree. She had spent many years studying the basic theological premises of environmental guilt at the prestigious Patricia C. Urolagnia Ovulary in Eugenia, Oregon. She was in her 40's, had long black hair, and wore a long flowery dress, and a crown made of leaves, twigs, and berries in her hair. Even her Chikdik was made of biodegradable granola.

"Hi, how are you, I'm fine," said Sheryl, upon meeting Fredrik.

Fredrik repeated it all back to her.

"Although we tell each other that we are fine, we are not always fine, are we?" Sheryl asked.

"You're the first person I've met here who's ever questioned that statement," said Fredrik, immediately warming up to her.

"That's because I know firsthand what womanandmankind are doing to the environment. How can we be fine when we are destroying our environment? How can we be fine when we are destroying the water we drink, the air we breathe, killing our children and their children's children to come?"

"I guess, well, being fine is harder under those circumstances," Fredrik admitted.

"The world could be destroyed by human consumption in 50 years!" said Sheryl. "We could run out of natural resources in 30 years! And the air, we could run out of air in 10 years! Disaster could strike at any moment!"

"I didn't realize the environment was in such a precarious state," said Fredrik.

"It really is," said Sheryl. "And I am convinced womanandmankind would have been wiped out long ago, if not for the heroic efforts of the Community."

"Because of the Community?"

"The Community took over the stewardship of the Earth. It saved the planet from the grubby capitalists whose only concern was profit and raping Gaia of her natural endowments, sticking their big phallic oil drills into the ground, ignoring her every scream and shudder as they drove deeper and deeper, for their own sadistic masculine capitalist pleasures."

"Private ownership of property was destroying the planet, Fredrik. It was only through the sensible conservation efforts made possible by total Community ownership of all property that has saved us from the brink of destruction."

"I see," said Fredrik.

"Do you? We face catastrophic crises on every front. There are radical temperature swings every day. Do you know that today alone the temperature has changed 20 degrees? Radical Temperature Change is being triggered by all the damage we have done to Gaia."

"We have temperature swings like that on New Cal. Even more so. Ain't anyone ever died from that," said Fredrik.

"Not yet," said Sheryl Facebook. "But the way things are going, they will."

"So what can yew do about it?"

"Pray to Gaia for forgiveness," said Sheryl. "And to try to educate the public."

Sheryl took Fredrik to a rally in a public park which was being held to raise awareness of the dangers of Temperature Change. Speaker after speaker spoke about the "infestation" of the Earth by women and men, how the fragile Earth was being destroyed by industrialization, and even by the footprints of womanandmankind.

"The footprints?" said Fredrik.

"Every time we step on the Earth, we create small tremors. Now magnify that times 12 billion, and you can see where earthquakes come from," said Sheryl. "But not only that, but we exhale toxins every minute, carbon dioxide which causes Temperature Change."

"So what are you all going to do, stop breathing?" said Fredrik.

"Precisely," said Sheryl.

The person running the rally announced it was time for a "die in". She asked everyone in the audience to stop breathing for sixty seconds. "It will benefit the Earth in a very small way, but it will be one minute less of pollution of our atmosphere. Everyone please stop breathing starting... NOW."

Everyone in the audience took a deep breath and stopped breathing. Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

20 seconds.

Thirty seconds.

People started collapsing.

Forty seconds.

More people collapsed.

Fifty seconds.

Sixty.

"All right, you can breathe again!"

Everyone, by now on the ground, started gasping for breath. "Great work everyone!" said the speaker.

"Surely this can't change anything," said Fredrik.

"Of course it does," said Sheryl. "It makes people feel less guilty. Come, let me show you the prostration lines."

She took him by transport to the edge of the city, where dozens of people were wailing and praying on their hands and knees.

"What are they doing?" Fredrik asked.

"They're praying to Gaia for forgiveness."

"Forgiveness for what?"

"For offending the Earth by building this large city on top of it."

"But if the Earth is offended by the city, why not dismantle it?"

"Well, that wouldn't be practical, would it?" said Sheryl Facebook.

"I don't understand. You try to make people feel guilty for ruining the environment, and then you have them do things to make them feel less guilty. What is your goal, to increase or decrease the feelings of guilt?" said Fredrik.

"Both," said Sheryl. "It's another method to ensure social stability."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone has fears. It's part of the human condition. Fears of living, fears of dying, fears of everything. We harness their fears and put them to productive use. We make them fear the biggest fear of all--that the world is going to be destroyed. We then offer them the one thing which can save them."

"The Community," said Fredrik.

"Right," said Sheryl. "By experiencing this fear in an intensely personal way, but realizing the Community can save them, the citizenry is actually grateful that the Community is in control. It increases stability in the Community. People by their very nature reject being controlled--in their food, their clothing, their energy consumption, and so much else. But if they are given a reasonable justification for it, an explanation so compelling it will save the planet, then people are not only willing to be controlled, they are eager for it. They demand it."

"You make people want to be slaves," said Fredrik.

"We prefer to call them enlightened citizens," said Sheryl, not at all offended.

" But this whole Temperature Change thing--are you saying it's made up?"

"Of course not! It is as real as you and me," said Sheryl. "I honestly believe the planet will be destroyed by Temperature Change, unless we stamp out the last vestiges of individualism and allow the Community to have complete and total authority over every aspect of our lives."​