Beasts
By Vic James
vicjames2@hotmail.com
Copyright 2013 by Vic James
http://www.vicjames.com
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This story is fiction. None of the characters are based on real people. You can see a list of my stories at the Nifty Prolific Authors page by my name.
Sixteen
I had been wearing only a pair of shorts. Digger showed me how I could order clothes on a Beasthold terminal in one of the rooms on the station. They were manufactured, and an hour later, I had several shirts, pants, and shoes. I was putting them away in our room when the door chimed.
"Come in."
I watched in surprise as a Beast walked into the room. I had never seen the like. His face was human. He had two horns, one on each side of his head. They curved upwards and were about twelve centimeters in length. He had a beard and large dark blue eyes. His shoulders and arms were human, also, although they were hairy. His chest was hairy, too and the medium-brown hair grew thicker and became fur around his navel. The top half of his body was incredibly muscled. His biceps were bigger than cantaloupes and his chest would make any human bodybuilder proud. He was wearing a pair of shorts. There was a large lump in them at his crotch. I wondered if he had a human penis. His legs were covered with fur. They seemed to be deformed. Then I saw he had an extra joint below his knees that bent forwards. He had hooves instead of feet.
"Are you a Satyr?"
He smiled.
"Close. A Faun."
He held out his hand.
"Eric, I am Richard Jensen."
The name was familiar, and then I realized why.
"You make the non-humanoid Beasts!"
He smiled.
"I do. Like Jeff and now you, I was born human, but have a Beast body."
"You're beautiful!"
He chuckled.
"Thank you! A great many people wouldn't agree with you, but I do. Jeff has asked me to discuss a few things with you."
"Oh?"
Digger pointed to a chair and Richard sat. We sat, too. I forced myself not to stare at him. Despite being more bestial below the waist than other Beasts, I found him intensely masculine and was embarrassed by the erection he had given me.
"Have you changed your minds about joining Mars Colony II?" he asked.
"No. We still plan to go, Dr. Jensen."
He nodded.
"Please call me Richard. My father was a surgeon. When I hear Dr. Jensen, I think of him, not me." He looked at me. "I'm not sure if Jeff told you, but I helped design you. I designed your skin and your respiratory system , and a few other things."
"I don't understand."
"As the latest generation Beast, you are furthest along in your adaptations for non-Earthlike conditions. Because of my work in theoretical biology, Jeff asked me to design most of these adaptations."
I nodded.
"Your skin is quite different from human and Beast 1.0 skin. It is resistant to burns, freezing, and damage from UV radiation. I developed, but never produced Rock Trolls, and was able to incorporate some of the things I developed for them in your skin. It isn't possible for you to get a sunburn on Earth, for example."
"Really? I don't guess I need to worry about that on Mars, though."
Richard grinned.
"Or do I? Oops. I guess I do," I said.
Richard nodded.
"Without much atmosphere to block it and no magnetosphere to divert it, much more UV and other radiation reaches the surface of Mars than Earth. While your skin offers a great deal of protection, it isn't complete."
"I remember now."
"You don't get cold easily. At minus fifteen degrees C, you would be comfortable in a bathing suit. Your skin is also tough. If some tried to stab you with a knife, they would have quite a surprise coming. Even most bullets would not be able to pierce it."
I smiled. That was reassuring, in case I had any more assassins in my future.
"In fact, your skin is not very similar to human skin. It has a similar texture, but that is about all. While Jeff is in the tank, he wants me to explore different adaptations that can be made for you that would enable you to comfortably endure Martian conditions. Specifically, he wants me to improve the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide by nanites and improve your cold resistance. He wants you to be able to live on the surface and find the conditions pleasant. A tall order, but a nice challenge for me."
"Is this for more advertising?" I asked.
Richard nodded.
"That is one reason. You are very famous, you know. Everyone knows you are now out of the tank. Sunvision is heavily promoting their upcoming exclusive interview with you and coverage of your wedding to Digger."
I groaned and shook my head.
"You might as well get used to it," Digger said. "I must have given fifty interviews while you were in the box."
I nodded.
"I know. When I get pregnant, there will be a lot more publicity."
Digger and Richard nodded.
"The other reason Jeff wants you to be able to live on the Martian surface is because it is another step in his goal to have human colonies throughout the solar system. Especially on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn."
I nodded. "He mentioned he wants to live on Titan."
"Yes. Jeff told you about the skin protection I developed that resembles scales."
We nodded.
"Let me show you what you would look like with that layer."
He walked to the terminal and typed something. An image of me appeared in the room. I was naked and covered with spots I assumed were the scales. It wasn't anything like I expected, not that I had much in the way of expectations! The scales were either transparent or skin colored, and somewhat reflective. Rather than making me look reptilian, which I expected, made me look like I was covered with dew. I glowed. Digger and I got up and walked around the image, looking at 'my' back.
"That is not how I pictured it," Digger said.
"Me, either," I said.
"What about sensitivity?" Digger asked.
"Sensitivity to what? Touch?"
"Yes," Digger said.
"There is reduced sensitivity. It is a coating over the skin. The scales are made of a synthetic form of keratin. Keratin is what makes up scales, skin, hair, nails, claws, horns, and hooves in animals and people. Jeff and I have been working on nanite stimulation of nerves. You have an early version of that it. You may have noticed it during sex."
I had no idea what he meant. Then I wondered if it was the stroking I felt on my dick when Digger fucked me. I figured that was how I got the sensation. The nanites were stimulating the nerves in my penis.
I nodded. "I think I know what you mean."
"You do?" Digger asked me.
"Do you remember I told you that it feels like my.erection is getting stroked when you."
"Oh! Is that it, Richard?" Digger asked.
He nodded.
"If we implement that over your whole body, the nanites would stimulate the nerves in the skin slightly when the scales are touched, offsetting the reduced sensation through the scales. Now what I need to know from you, is how do you feel about your appearance with the scales? I quite like the effect, but Jeff would prefer that the adaptations be invisible. He feels if an adaptation is visible, it is simply another kind of spacesuit."
"Well, that doesn't look anything like a spacesuit," I said.
"Is the layer visible all the time, or does it only appear when Eric goes outside?" Digger asked.
"It takes too long to build to be temporary."
"Will he have to go back in the tank?"
"No. I am working on changes that can be made by the current generation of nanites. Beast 4.0 is years away."
I looked at Digger. He looked relieved. I suddenly felt so sorry for him. He had probably been alone, waiting for me to come out of the tank. Without sex. It suddenly occurred to me just how much he must love me. I took his hand and held it. I looked at Richard.
"Well, if Dr. Rosenbloom doesn't like the scales, what difference does it make what I think?" I asked. "I do like them, but I don't know what else is possible."
"It's your body. If you like it, he wouldn't prevent you from having the scales."
I didn't want to pick something that Dr. Rosenbloom didn't like. I owed him a lot.
"Are there any other options?"
"Yes."
He brought up another image of me. I looked strange, especially my face. My eyes looked weird and my nose and ears did, too. My eyes were sunk into my face and my eyelids looked like leather. My ears were enormous.
"Your skin in this version is about three times thicker than normal. The scales reflect radiation. Your skin in this model, absorbs it. It also insulates. The nerves are almost as close to the surface as your current skin, so there is not a significant loss of sensation."
We sat and I looked at them. I liked the version with the scales much better.
"Is it possible to make the scales reflect less visible light?" Digger asked.
"Probably. It is also probable I can reduce the thickness of the skin in the other model. Do you have a preference?" he asked me.
One made me look beautiful and the other made me look ugly. I was sure that was obvious to everyone.
"The scales."
I looked at Digger. He nodded.
"But if Dr. Rosenbloom won't be happy, I don't want them."
"You can try them. The scales will be created by your nanites. They don't have to be permanent. The nanites can destroy them also."
I nodded.
"That's fine then. Definitely the scales."
Richard nodded.
"That reminds me. How will our bodies handle the radiation on the surface of the moon during the wedding?"
"Didn't Jeff tell you?"
I shook my head.
"You either have to get married in the shade or you have to wear a thick sunblock cream. Radiation from the sun is very intense on the lunar surface."
That made sense. Mars was further away from the sun and had some atmosphere to reduce the radiation further.
"Digger, you will be less comfortable on the surface of the moon than Eric. Your skin is more tolerant of vacuum than Beast 1.0, but not as tolerant as Eric's. I wouldn't recommend staying out longer than ten minutes or so. If you do, the outer layers of your skin will die and will probably feel like a very bad sunburn, as it regrows."
Digger nodded.
"Wouldn't a cream work on Mars?" Digger asked.
"It's fine for now, but Jeff's long term goal is for our bodies to be able to handle the conditions. He would prefer that it be done without nanites, but that will be Beast 4.0. You mentioned advertising. While that is important, you are also a test subject. We can do modeling, but both of us would prefer to be able to ask you how you like it."
I chuckled. I could understand that.
"What would his skin feel like with the scales?" Digger asked.
"It will be cooler and less flexible to the touch, although it won't feel completely stiff. The scales are small to increase flexibility."
Digger nodded. Richard turned to Digger.
"I need your input, once Eric has the scales, about things like that."
"Could I see what the scales look like in low lighting?" Digger asked.
He adjusted the projection and we looked at ''scaly' me, again. In low light, you could see the scales better, but I still didn't look like a lizard. When Richard turned, I saw he had an erection. I wondered if he was gay. I looked at 'me', again.
"It seems amazing that I can develop those without going in the tank."
"That's because your skin is already so different. It is going to be tougher to implement them in Beasts 1.0, but Jeff wants modifications that can be implemented by the latest generation of nanites for the Martian colonists, and most of them will be Beasts 1.0. I know the scales work. They prevent radiation from passing through to the skin below. Some is absorbed and some is reflected. What I don't know if whether you will like having them. There is no point in figuring out a way to implement them in Beasts 1.0 if you hate them. Jeff wants a Beast 1.0 to be able to survive for twenty hours unprotected on the Martian surface. The scales block the radiation and the atmosphere goal has been met. I still have to work on keeping them warm. We can always do it with fur, if nothing else."
"So I would have fur over the scales?"
"Possibly. I don't know, yet. The scales will help a bit to conserve heat, but they are mostly radiation protection. The thicker skin I showed you has more of an insulating effect than the scales."
"Could you make fur grow fast enough?" Digger asked him.
"Fast enough to keep from freezing to death, but not fast enough to be comfortable. I'm still working. Retaining heat is fairly simple. Earth animals provide many examples of techniques for doing it. Penguins, seals, narwhals, polar bears-all of them manage it. We won't be living on the Martian poles. We will be near the equator. I don't expect to have any trouble meeting the goal. The tough one, surviving without an Earth atmosphere for twenty hours, is already met. This generation of nanites has a queen and one of its functions is storing oxygen for use in an emergency. Our goals after that, are more extreme adaptations to enable humans to live on places like the moon, Europa, Ganymede, and Titan. Those will require rebuilds. I expect they will have completely closed respiratory systems, since it is easier to implement them than change the body's biochemistry."
"Does he want us to be naked on Mars? That's what it sounds like. People own heavy clothes for winter on Earth. Why won't we be wearing clothes?" I asked. "Why won't I be wearing clothes?"
Digger laughed.
"He wants it to be a nudist colony-on Mars," Digger said.
We both laughed. Richard smiled.
"He doesn't want heavy clothes to be a requirement to living on Mars."
I shrugged.
"You mentioned the moon. Does he want people to be able to live outside on the moon?" I asked.
Richard shook his head. "I think he wants us to be able to survive anywhere. I'm sure he realizes that people want more than just rocks in their environment, and that is all you would have on the moon. Liquid water can't exist there. It boils away into the vacuum. Atmospheres aren't just useful, they are also attractive. His goal, you see is to eliminate the need for terraforming. Mars could be terraformed, even the moon could be. It would cost trillions of dollars and take centuries. It's easier to change the colonists and the lifeforms that accompany them than change the atmosphere and surface of a planet."
I nodded.
"What do you mean by lifeforms that accompany us?"
"The nanites have already been tested on dogs and cats. We may want other animals, too."
"I've always wanted a dog or a cat," I said.
"Why don't you have one?" Digger asked me.
"The Elphena only allowed pets on the first floor and those apartments were bigger and more expensive. But I fell in love with the place and wanted to live there more than I wanted a pet."
"You had a frog, anyway," Digger said.
I laughed.
"He was not a pet! I was administering first aid."
"Was it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?" Richard asked.
Digger and I laughed.
"No!" I said. "Just feeding. After that, I had a nasty landlord."
"What?" Digger asked, frowning.
I laughed.
"All he wanted to do was have sex. Hot, nasty sex."
Digger chuckled.
"That's better."
I grinned at him. I mouthed 'I love you,' to him. Then I turned to Richard.
"Are going to Mars, Doctor.uh, Richard?"
"Yes. Absolutely. I am more despised by extremists than Jeff is."
"You've got enough fur to stay warm," I said to him.
He nodded.
"Anyway, then there are plants. Jeff wants redwoods on Mars, you know."
I burst out laughing.
"You are joking!"
Richard shook his head.
"They won't be one hundred meters tall, but they will look like redwoods. He says. But I've learned not to doubt him," Richard said.
I looked at Digger
"When I left him a few minutes ago, he said he was going to get people working on genetically engineered plants and animals that can thrive under normal Martian conditions. He was speaking to Eleanor Brown, when I left him. Her mother designed both the Martian lichen and the redwoods that grow in Texico."
I grinned at Digger.
"She was one of his pupils, wasn't she?" Digger asked.
"Both Eleanor and her mother studied under Jeff. I was in the same year as Eleanor. We were lab partners, as a matter of fact. I know her very well. She and her mother have a way with plants. They have remarkable intuition about how small genetic changes will be expressed in living subjects. Jeff wants more life in that canyon than lichen forests and he wants it soon. He wants a biosystem in place before the colonists arrive. A lot of the work on vegetation has already been done. If the first colony hadn't been abandoned, some of it would already be growing there. But the first colony was abandoned before anything but the lichen was planted."
"How do you feel about your new body?" he asked me.
"I like it. I think I would have wanted a Beast body to live on Mars, anyway. My mother is going in the tank after the wedding."
"Is she? I'm surprised. She seemed so opposed to the idea."
"I don't think she would have if we weren't going to Mars," Digger said.
I nodded. That probably had a lot to do with it.
"Do you enjoy sex more?" Richard asked me.
"Yes. I loved it before, but I can have more."
He chuckled. "Orgasms! Yes! My favorite part of being a Beast."
I smiled. I glanced at his crotch. He was obviously erect. His shorts were tented out in front. I forced myself not to look.
"We have a room on the station with simulated Martian conditions. Once you have the scales, you can tell us how they feel in those conditions. The temperature on Mars at the colony site can reach twenty degrees C in the summer. We will start at that temperature and slowly lower it. You can tell us what temperature cold bothers you. With your adaptations, you will be comfortable at temperatures that would have killed your human body, without protection."
I nodded.
Richard looked at Digger.
"Have you asked him, yet?"
"No. Not yet. I will," Digger said.
Richard nodded.
"Well, I have work to do. I will see you around," Richard said, standing.
"Goodbye. It was a pleasure to meet you," I said.
He smiled.
"Bye," Digger said.
I glanced at Digger's crotch and he was hard. I was, too.
Richard turned and left.
Digger grinned at me.
"I know what you want. This nasty landlord had a nasty tenant."
I laughed.
"It's more of a craving than a wanting. I wish you didn't wear pants," I said. "They are always in the way."
He laughed.
"What did he mean about you asking me?" I asked.
"Richard gave himself an increased sex drive as a faun and he isn't getting any. He broke up with his lover right before he came up here."
"Oh. Does he want to have sex with us?"
"He's straight, but your mother is the only woman on the station right now. He was wondering if you would be willing to suck him. Regularly. He knows you like to suck and we could both smell your lust for him."
I groaned.
Digger chuckled.
"It doesn't bother me, Eric. Not at all."
"I feel like it's wrong," I said to him.
"It isn't. I would enjoy watching you suck him. But it's up to you."
He squeezed my cock.
"He gave you this erection. You should do something nice for him in return."
I laughed.
"Let yourself do it, Eric. There is no reason not to."
"I do owe him for what he did for me."
"Don't do it for that. Do it because you want to."
I shook my head. I would get used to it. My father was the inflexible one in our family. I planned on bending. Over. Often.
"Do you think it would bother him to have you fuck me while I suck him?" I wondered.
Digger grinned.
"I doubt it. I don't think he will say anything, if it does."
"So I'm going to assume he needs it several times a day."
Digger nodded.
"I think three times would probably be a minimum. He said he is jacking off five times a day. But you don't have to do it at all. If you do it once a day, he will be better off than he is now."
"There's not a lot to do on the station. I don't mind three times."
"Good!" Digger said.
He touched his meme. Less than a minute later, our door opened and Richard was standing there. His erection was pushing his pants out. As the door closed, he pushed them down and his cock flopped upwards. It was a human penis, not an animal's and it was big. I was glad of that. His balls were larger than a human's and hung low. Digger gave me a little nudge.
I knelt in front of him and wrapped both hands around his cock.
"How big is it?"
"Thirty two centimeters," Richard said.
I leaned forward and licked it before swallowing it.
"You can take it all the way. I designed your throat," Richard said.
Digger chuckled.
"It's part of his respiratory system. He has two tracheas."
I pulled off him and laughed.
"But I have to decide which trachea to use!" I said.
Digger laughed.
"If you use your esophagus, you can breathe while you are doing it," Richard said.
I must have been doing that automatically, since I had been able to breathe when sucking Digger.
"Thank you for giving him that ability, Richard," Digger said. "I love that enhancement."
Richard chuckled.
"You are welcome. I think it's pretty wonderful, too," Richard said, as my lips pressed against his pubic hair.
Then he groaned as I began swallowing.
"That feels wonderful!" Richard said.
"Do you mind if I fuck Eric while he sucks you?" Digger asked him.
"Not a bit. It may make me hornier, though. I'm not sure Eric will think that is a good thing."
Richard groaned as I began bobbing on his cock. I caressed his balls with one hand and he shuddered. Digger got behind me and pushed my shorts down. I lifted up and he pulled them off. Then he knelt behind me and pushed inside me.
I pulled off Richard's dick and licked the shiny, swollen head. Precum spurted out and I caught it in my mouth.
"Do you like it?" Richard asked me.
"I love it, Richard. How often will you let me suck it?"
I pulled the foreskin over the head and then pulled it off. I licked the head, again.
Richard groaned.
"Probably much oftener than you would want."
"Several times a day?"
"That would be wonderful."
"I want to taste your first load," I said to him.
"You are a lucky man, Digger. Do you know that I've never been with a girl who wanted to swallow?"
Digger laughed.
"You should ask that at the beginning of the first date," Digger said.
We all laughed.
"That way you won't waste time on the wrong girls."
Richard laughed and his cock bounced. I held onto it and continued licking it. Richard tasted very good. His skin had a distinct taste.
"I've had sex with women, too. That's why I'm gay," Digger said.
Richard chuckled.
"I've known some wild ones. They just didn't eat cum."
"But to marry?" Digger asked.
Richard sighed.
"No. I'm having a gay three-way!"
Digger chuckled.
"You are."
"That turns some women on," Richard said.
I wouldn't know.
"Eric loves cum so when you shoot, you should pull out enough for him to taste it," Digger said.
"Yes, I saw the video." I cringed inside. Had everyone seen it? At least my mother hadn't mentioned it. "Thanks for reminding me."
Richard sighed.
"Eric, that feels wonderful, but please, just make me come."
I stroked his cock with both hands while I sucked on the head. Digger's cock was doing wonderful things inside me. Each thrust was pleasurable.
Richard groaned and came. His first spurt lasted several seconds. I couldn't swallow fast enough and it sprayed out of my mouth. Some of it ran down my arms. I swallowed what was in my mouth before his second spurt. Fortunately, it didn't last nearly as long. His semen tasted more like a human's than Digger's or Alek's. That meant it wasn't as tasty. But I looked up at the intensely masculine male that was feeding me, and I was happy. As his last spurts filled my mouth, I reached up and felt his muscular abdomen and chest. Then Digger's thrusts took me over the edge, and my dick began shooting on the floor. I moaned around the head of Richard's cock.
Digger cried, "Oh, fuck!" and began shooting inside me.
"Are you coming?" Richard asked Digger.
"Yeah. When he comes, his hole spasms on my cock."
Richard chuckled.
"I'm sure Jeff intended that."
"I'm grateful. And Alek will be, too."
"Oh, is he coming?"
"Coming up for the wedding. I'm not sure about Mars. He's thinking about it. We are both going to try to convince him."
"He will definitely be safer."
"Yeah."
I pulled off Richard's cock. It hadn't softened.
"That was great, Eric. Just the way you did it, with your hands and sucking on the head. To be honest, I have an enormous amount of work to do, and even though I need to come often, I can't afford to spend hours a day having sex."
"So do you want me to try to bring you as quickly as possible?"
"Yes. If I have time, and want to take it slower, I'll let you know. How did my semen taste? You are the first person to taste it. As a matter of fact, you are the first person to ever taste Faun semen."
"It tastes fine. More like human semen than Beast."
He nodded.
"So you like goat semen?" he asked me.
I looked up at him.
"Please don't tell me I just swallowed goat semen!"
He laughed.
"It was a joke."
"Oh!"
I laughed.
My meme beeped. Digger was calling me, silently.
"Do you have any interest in letting him fuck you?" he asked me.
"I wouldn't mind. Would you?"
Digger chuckled.
"That was a 'no' chuckle, wasn't it?" I asked him.
He chuckled, again. "Yes."
"If you ever want to fuck me, you can," I said to Richard.
"I may take you up on that at some point. I would like to feel what Jeff has done. I might want to incorporate it in my own designs. Right now, though. I have too much to do. Would you mind making me come again?"
"I won't ever mind, Richard. I feel like I'm doing something for the project, plus I'm enjoying it."
"Are you sure it's not an imposition?"
"I love your cock, Richard. I can't be any more blunt about it. Besides, I thought you could smell my lust."
"Was that for me?"
"Yes."
He smiled. "Good! I'm glad. I'd hate to have you doing it as a favor, our out of a feeling of obligation."
I began sucking and stroking him. Digger got on his side, on the floor and began sucking me. A minute later, Richard groaned and fed me another load. Digger pushed three fingers inside me and I came in his mouth. Richard sighed. I looked up and he was grinning.
"Thank you."
I pulled off him.
"You are welcome!"
"I feel better!" he exclaimed.
Digger and I laughed. Digger got up off the floor and I stood. He was still hard. I wrapped my hand around his cock and began stroking it. He smiled at me.
"Do you enjoy getting fucked?" Richard asked me.
"Yes, very much."
"I can come again. I've changed my mind. I would like to fuck you."
I turned around and bent over. I pulled Digger to me and began sucking him. Richard pushed inside me and groaned. I sucked Digger as Richard began fucking me. His cock was bigger than Digger's.
"Fuck!" Richard said. "Do you like this?"
I pulled off Digger.
"Yeah, I do. A lot."
"This penis was a bad idea. I made it too big. Most women think it's too much trouble. I thought Fauns should be hornier than humans, so I gave myself a stronger libido. Two mistakes."
"They aren't mistakes for me!"
He chuckled.
Digger pulled out of my mouth and knelt. He began sucking me. I came quickly. Richard groaned again.
"I see what you mean! Fuck! This is great!"
I laughed.
He stopped thrusting and pushed hard. I knew he was coming, again. He sighed in relief.
"Damn!" he said, as he pulled out of me. "That was very nice, except I have Digger's semen all over my prick."
I turned around and swallowed his erection. He groaned. I cleaned him with my mouth. I pulled back his foreskin and cleaned him thoroughly. I didn't have to worry about the fact that his cock had been inside me. Dr. Rosenbloom told Digger that my colon would always stay clean. There were no bacteria in it, friendly or not, and my stools were always dense and small. I hadn't even had a BM, yet, and I wouldn't for another day. I pulled off his cock and stood.
Richard was shaking his head.
"I can't believe you did that!"
"I'm still clean. I haven't had my first BM yet."
"Oh, yeah. That's right. I didn't think of that." He let out a long breath. "Thank you, Eric. And you, too, Digger."
"No problem. Just stop by when you need help," I said.
He grinned.
"I will. Thank you. If you get tired of me, please say so. I will feel better about it if I know you want me."
I reached for his cock.
"I want him."
He chuckled.
"Good. Later."
He turned and left.
Digger took me in his arms and kissed me. He pulled away and smacked his lips.
"I can taste his cum. Barely. Keep some in your mouth next time for me."
I laughed.
"My last boyfriend wasn't like you!"
"Really? You poor thing!"
"I know!"
He took my hand and we walked to the bed. He lay down and I lay next to him. Neither he nor Richard were having sex. I thought of Digger going without sex all the time I was in the tank. Digger was used to constant sex. It must have been awful for him. I didn't know what to do about it, besides love him more for his sacrifice.
"I've been wondering something. I'm a little afraid to ask, because you might feel you can't be honest in response," Digger said.
I frowned.
"What is it?"
"You mentioned that you were willing to give Alek a child."
I nodded.
"Pan and Jock really want kids. They have been talking to a surrogate. She's pregnant now, but she agreed to bear them one in eighteen months. If they are going to Mars with us."
"Oh. I see. Who would be the father?"
"They were hoping to have two, with each of them a father."
I thought about it. I decided I needed more information. I knew nothing about that aspect of my new body.
"Do you think Dr. Rosenbloom would speak to us?"
"I'll call him. Is it about babies?"
"Yes. Can a Gorilla have a Chimp's baby?"
"I didn't think of that. I know it's been done, but the couple needed help. Yes, we need to ask."
"Also, how much will it hurt? How often can I bear? Can I nurse them? Yuck!"
Digger laughed. He touched his meme.
After a moment, he said, "He can give us a couple of minutes."
I got up. I picked up my shorts and put them on. Digger put on his shorts and we left our room. Digger led us to another room. Dr. Rosenbloom was seated at a desk.
"What would you like to know?"
"First off, will I need a C-section to deliver?"
He nodded. "No. You will deliver anally. It should not be painful."
"That was my second question."
He nodded.
"How often can I get pregnant?"
"Every time you get the seven daily injections, you become fertile. You can get pregnant again a week after giving birth."
"Can I bear a Beast 1.0 baby?"
"Yes. Any of my Beasts can impregnate you. Any male Beast 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0. That is another enhancement of your body. A baby of yours would not have all your biological enhancements if a Beast 1.0 was the father. It would be a Beast 1.0 baby, because of the way enhancements are stored on your chromosomes. They are additional segments that would be left off your baby's chromosomes. Your children with Digger will be Beasts 2.0."
I nodded.
"How about feeding? Will they be bottle babies?"
"You can produce milk, but another injection is needed to begin production. If you wished to breastfeed, we would give you that the day before you are due to deliver. By the way, you are our guinea pig. If your pregancy goes smoothly, I plan to program the nanites to manufacture the two hormones. That will eliminate the need for injections."
"Will his teats enlarge?" Digger asked.
"No."
"Lastly, how long is gestation?"
"It is just under eight months, the same as female Beasts."
"Can Richard-Dr. Jensen give the injections?"
"Yes. Or Digger can give them. Have you decided to get pregnant sooner?"
"We've just been talking about it, and I really don't know anything about the process."
He nodded.
"I understand. But remember that I am going to be conscious several hours a day while I'm in the tank."
I chuckled and felt stupid.
"I had forgotten that. I was thinking you were not going to be around."
"Oh, I'll be here!"
"Do you want to come to our wedding?"
"Thank you, but no. I hope you don't mind. I will be in the tank, already."
"I just wanted you to know you are welcome."
"Thank you, Eric, but I assumed that!" He laughed. "It's all part of having a monumental ego! Besides, can you imagine this body in spacesuit? I doubt you could buy one off the rack."
We laughed and I nodded.
"Thank you," I told him.
He was nice, for a big, ugly bird.
I turned to leave and remembered one more question.
"So none of my babies will have my adaptations because there aren't any other Beasts 3.0?"
He tilted his head.
"True. As I said, a baby with Digger would be a Beast 2.0 and a baby with a Beast 1.0 father would be a Beast 1.0. A hybrid has the genome of the earliest generation of the two parents, although the characteristics are combined. A baby with Alek would look like a Gorilla-Chimp hybrid and would be a Beast 1.0." He tapped his desk with a finger, impatiently, I thought. I assumed we were overstaying our two minutes. I didn't doubt that he was pressed for time. "Digger could convert to a Beast 3.0 or I could make you self-fertile. You would have your own baby. Keep in mind that once they are old enough, any of your children could convert to Beasts 3.0."
I nodded.
"Thank you, again."
"You are very welcome."
Digger and I went back to our room.
"I'll bear their babies."
Digger grinned.
"It was the 'no pain' that decided it, wasn't it?"
I laughed.
"Yes."
"So I will have at least four babies by four different fathers. My dad will be so pleased!"
Digger laughed.
"He will! Just wait until he hears you are a mother. He'll really be proud!"
I laughed, but it wasn't funny. I remembered him from when I was young, while Mom was still living with us. He was so normal, then. I loved him and didn't have to feel guilty about that. I couldn't hope that he was happy in prison, but I hoped he wasn't completely miserable. And considering how many people he killed, I felt guilty about that, too.
"You won't be an unwed mother, though," Digger said.
I grinned.
"That's true."