THE NEW EARTH - 8
Copyright 2007 by Carl Mason
All rights reserved. Other than downloading one copy for strictly personal enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, except for reviews, without the written permission of the author. "The New Earth" is strictly fictional. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. As in real life, however, sexual themes unfold gradually. Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to the author at carl_mason@comcast.net
If you would like to read additional stories by this author, please turn to the "Authors/Prolific Authors" link at the beginning of the Nifty Archive or in the left margin of the Gay stories index.
This story contains descriptions of sexual contact between males, both adults and teenagers. As such, it is homoerotic fiction designed for the personal enjoyment of legal, hopefully mature, adults. If you are not of legal age to read such material, if those in power and/or those whom you trust treat it as illegal, or if it would create unresolvable moral dilemmas in your life, please leave. Finally, remember that maturity generally demands safe sex.
CHAPTER 8
(Revisiting Chapter 7)
"I don't know what to make of your story," Alexios finally murmured. "I do know you do not lie. It's possible that you ate something that caused hallucinations...or, perhaps, it was in the water. At the very least, YOU believe that which you have told me. Of that I am satisfied. As to the reality of this "gift," we shall simply have to wait and see. Tomorrow, I'll ask several individuals, Dr. Lang included, to watch you carefully over the next month. (Smirking, he added that he did not think the present was a good time!)
Within minutes, the Venture was put on full alert. In the morning it blasted off slightly before 9:00 a.m. Earth time.
(Continuing Our Story: Clowns, Glitz, and Bordellos)
After another week's scanning and cruising at warp speed, a small planet was identified and approached. Suddenly, their viewer screen was filled with a prerecorded advertisement from a nearby planet. It was accepted among the many peoples of their section of the Universe, the commentator said, as a "sanctuary" planet...a place where anyone could seek refuge...a place where a heavy bond ensured that those given leave to land would neither bring weapons nor seriously disrupt their traditions of peace and neutrality. The "Golden Planet" also provided diversions for every taste, e.g., amusement parks, houses where "physical pressures" born of long months of travel could be relieved, mountainous areas for recreation (e.g., skiing, hiking and climbing, hunting, and white-water rafting), beaches, casinos, bars, restaurants of every grade, parades and other spectacles, music of all types, and that which was arguably the Universe's greatest circus. If they were interested in enjoying what they had to offer, they had only to contact the Ministry of Tourism and they would be provided with full information on fees and the small number of rules that they strictly enforced.
A meeting of the Venture's senior officers discussed the opportunity both to give the men a "change of pace" in what could be a long voyage and, hopefully, to learn something about the whereabouts of those who fled Serium. (At that time, they had picked up no traces whatsoever of this group.) Contacting the Ministry of Tourism, they were connected with a young official who was delighted that their translation devices were able to handle the very basic lingua franca of that section of the galaxy. The officers and men of the Venture would be most welcome on the Golden Planet. He did suggest that the size of the ship's complement suggested that leaves be granted to no more than one-fourth of the ship's complement at a time.
He also mentioned the legal system of the planet wherein serious crimes (e.g., rape, murder, kidnaping, drug trafficking) were punished by hanging and moderate and less serious crimes by a combination of prison sentences and caning. Finally he recommended that a fairly large number of uniformed SPs (Space Police) equipped with tracking devices and their own transportation, but no arms, accompany the men. If they were able to handle a minor disturbance, e.g., a fight, before their police arrived, that might be the end of what could be an unpleasant matter. The price? True, they didn't have anything to trade or any of the "local" currencies, but they did have a small quantity of gold. A Customs official said that several ounces of gold (much desired on the planet and almost impossible to secure) should be sufficient to provide docking, give each of their men a twenty-two-hour "pass" and cover all fees, including health testing. The pass would cover everything from the current program listing. (For the Venture, this was a ridiculously low price for entertainment, food and drink, transportation and, where necessary, equipment rental, e.g., skis.)
The men were thoroughly briefed by their officers and arrangements were made for watches and shore leaves during the four full days that they would be on the planet. In particular, they learned of the planet's tradition of order and what were considered crimes. For instance, special attention was given to being caught with one ounce of heroin or morphine, or seventeen ounces of marijuana. Accepted as proof of trafficking, it brought an automatic penalty of death by hanging. They were also warned not to carry any weapons on penalty of a severe caning and jail sentence.
On the eve of the first full day in port, the Field Marshal and Captain Hopper were the first to leave the Venture. On return, Alexios told Justin that they and their host from the Ministry of Tourism first enjoyed a superb meal at a five-star restaurant. Then they attended a glorious symphonic concert at a facility that was the equal of the "Golden Hall of the Friends of Music," the home of the Vienna Philharmonic. One might guess that the first liberty party that would depart the Venture in the early morning would choose a somewhat different agenda...but to each his own!
With orders and advice given every liberty party that had ever departed a vessel in a foreign port ringing in their ears - and prophylactics in their pockets - the first group left the Venture in the early morning. The Terran infantry (and the ship's company) were dressed in their warm weather uniforms of dark blue shorts, long white socks, short- sleeved white shirts, and comfortable black shoes. Naturally, the Attian marines had to be different! With a swagger, they appeared in green shorts, long green socks with three circling lines of bright red at the top, plus short-sleeved white shirts, the same black shoes, and a green campaign hat with an outline of the Attian dragon in bright red. Quickly they entered the enormous city center that was a cross between a large city and Disney World! Exploring together, Justin and Tarshi were surrounded on every side by similar groups of men and women from worlds far distant. (At least the teens THOUGHT they were males and females. Often it wasn't all that easy to tell!) For the first time in his young life, for instance, Justin saw life-forms that he could not call 'human' who spoke in languages completely strange to his ears. The embedded language chip tried, but until relatively late in the day he was able to understand nothing but an occasional word or, at best, a short phrase uttered by some of these creatures. Fortunately, most of their fellow travelers spoke the basic lingua franca of that part of the galaxy which his equipment did translate reasonably well.
It didn't matter whether it was food available in booths on every street corner, or admission to a great amusement park with its wild rides or to an enormous casino with its banks of games, all one had to do was to press his thumb on the reading panel of an electronic device and then swipe his plastic pass card. When the first rush of excitement had passed by mid morning, the two friends got soft drinks from a booth and then collapsed on a bench in one of the many small parks scattered throughout the city. (In this park, a group was playing some really hot music in a structure not far from their bench.) "Wow!" Justin muttered as he caught his breath. "What a place." "That goes for me, too," Tarshi responded, adding in a somewhat devilish tone of voice, "What now, Earthman?" "Hell," his pal moaned, "there's such a thing as having too much to do! If you'd be interested, I'd kinda like to stop by that sports festival that we saw advertised and then, maybe, have some lunch. How does that sound to you, blue cheeks?" Tarshi made a comical face before saying, "The sports festival sounds great, but I'm really disappointed that you haven't noticed that my blue color is becoming paler!" "Oh, Justin replied immediately, "I noticed, but I didn't want to say the wrong thing. Looks great, Tarshi! Let's go, paleface!" Tarshi looked at him blankly. "Earth joke," his pal muttered...and let it go at that.
Taking transportation best described as a subway, the boys quickly found themselves at a large sports arena. Inside, they found that they had a choice of several venues. Most of the sports were completely unfamiliar, but they were able to find a couple of seats among the large crowd watching the wrestling matches. Shortly after they arrived, however, the matches ended and a wrestling contest was announced. A heavy diamond ring was to be awarded anyone who could stay in the ring for one five-minute round against the regional favorite, a large green and blue, heavily muscled creature. The boys watched three or four volunteers last considerably less than one minute! When the announcer called for volunteers from the audience, Tarshi couldn't believe his ears when Justin announced that he was on his way down to the ring! "Don't worry, paleface!" his friend laughed. "I gotta have some exercise!" Once down below, an assistant helped him to quickly remove his shirt, socks, and shoes. About to climb into the ring, the favorite mockingly called out in the local patois, "Ho, young'un, better keep those shorts on. I'd hate for you to lose anything...even if you're too young to use it!" The arena crowd broke into rough laughter and raucous shouts. Saying not a word, Justin dropped his shorts and boxer briefs, cast them aside, and climbed into the ring. A murmur of appreciation seemed to pass through the crowd. In fact, several teenaged girls began to chant for the "Earthmon"! "Holy cow," he muttered to himself. "That... thing is uglier up close than it is from the seats! Worse, it has scales and stinks to high heaven!" He contented himself, however, with simply motioning to the hulk to bring it on!
For over a minute, the two contestants sparred in the middle of the ring. The favorite now recognized that his opponent was not only powerfully built, but had a reach longer than his own and was as fast as greased lightning. Better safe than sorry... When the youngster failed to take the offense, however, it moved in. Suddenly, an arm elongated and reached out for Justin like the tentacle of a great octopus. Grabbing the boy around the midsection, it effortlessly lifted him into the air and swung him around several times before dropping him on his back. Jumping up on the cables, it almost dropped onto his stunned opponent...but Justin recovered just a bit too quickly. Nevertheless, as he tried to crawl away from the creature, a tentacle fastened itself on his torso just under the armpits. Lifting him high in the air, a second tentacle grabbed his prey just above the knees. Together, the two tentacles drew the young man back towards its torso. Justin, choking from the nauseating stench, wondered what was coming next. The crowd seemed to know their favorite's next move, for they set up a taunting howl of "Now! Now! Now!" A THIRD tentacle soon joined the fray, its tip sensually playing with the boy's genitals. Despite his best efforts, he could not keep his cock from reddening, swelling, and finally going hard erect. The crowd howled! They howled even louder when the tentacle continued to play with his cock until it exploded, shooting a heavy load onto the canvas mat. With that, the creature's tentacles rubbed Justin's body in his own cum before it threw him onto the mat and dropped heavily onto his chest. The contest was over, but Justin had lasted over four minutes...admittedly under the favorite's control for most of that time.
Red-faced, clad only in his shorts while carrying his other clothes, and breathing heavily, Justin climbed up a stairway until he reached a pathway that circled the arena about halfway up the many rows of seats. Tarshi was waiting. Strangely, as he climbed the stairs, the cheers increased and hands reached out to clap him on the arms and back, offering him honest congratulations for making a fight of it. His friend surmised that didn't happen often, if at all. As he met Tarshi, he smiled at the crowd and raised his arm in thanks. Justin was further buoyed when the arena manager met the boys and directed them to the showers where Justin could clean up. As they left the shower facilities, the manager again stopped them and presented Justin with the latest in mini-communicators. Beautifully engineered, it evidently provided just about every service available. He had to laugh, of course, when the looked at the bottom of the small unit and saw stamped the words, "Made in Tacia". Tarshi couldn't stop snickering until well after they left the arena!
Rather than stand at one more booth, the pair entered a small restaurant not that far from the arena. Whatever they were eating - and neither lad was quite sure - it was good, and there was plenty of it! As they relaxed over a frozen dessert and a cup of coffee, Justin turned to Tarshi and said the afternoon choice was his. Grinning, he said that he, too, needed some exercise. How about doing some white-water rafting that he and his buddies didn't have much opportunity to enjoy on Attia? "You've got it, Tarsh!" a young Terran enthusiastically replied.
Having taken what passed for a subway once before and having seen signs reading, "Mountains/White-Water", they weren't nervous about entering the nearest station and boarding one of the cars to which this sign pointed. Within minutes, it left the station, though it didn't behave at all like the subway car that they had used earlier. Rather, panels came down over the windows, interior lighting dimmed, and it clearly moved at express speed. When the panels lifted, they were in the mountains, approaching a station labeled "White-Water". Here they were met by a tracked vehicle that moved overland along the general route of a large river. At the camp, the boys were shown into a locker room where they changed from their uniforms to suits that strangely seemed both waterproof and ventilated. They were also given safety helmets, life jackets, paddles, and a small first aid kit that fit neatly into a small pocket in the suit pants.
Once in the camp's lounge, they realized that there was considerable tension. The three humanoids already there wanted to raft a "Class 3" river, i.e., one where they would experience white-water, small waves and, probably, a small drop, but face no considerable danger. Unfortunately, the last train for the day had come to that camp, and three people (plus a guide) simply could not safely manage the heavy inflatable raft on that river. Initially, Justin and Tarshi were ineligible for a Class 3 river, for they were not experienced paddlers. The owner quickly saw, however, that they were extremely fit and confirmed this with the boys. Inasmuch as his most experienced guide was available, he agreed that if they would sign a waiver of responsibility and take short lessons in both paddling and white-water safety, he would allow them to take that trip. Aided by the other three people, they soon became quite adept at paddling the craft, saw what was coming on a visual device, and signed their waivers. Both youngsters were in a state of high excitement and anticipation.
They hadn't reached the bend in the river before they were beginning to move together as a team, build momentum, and steer the cumbersome raft. Before they were through, they were maneuvering between rocks, holes, and river obstacles, sometimes drifting easily, often paddling away in a frenzy, whooping and screaming, with waves crashing in amongst them. An air bus returned them to the camp where all five new enthusiasts talked the manager and guide into two more rides down that crazy stretch of water. Tarshi would have gone for a fourth, but Justin noticed the time, laid his hand on Tarshi's heavy forearm, and suggested that "there were things they had to do" before the day was over. Informed that the restaurant was still open, they elected to enjoy a fine meal overlooking the river as the sun slowly set.
It was nearly seven o'clock by the time that they found themselves on the wide boulevard outside the "subway" station. "We have things to do, you crazy Terran?" Tarshi hissed. "How about letting me in on them?" Justin simply grinned evilly and asked his friend to walk with him for a bit. Eventually, Justin slowed down as the boys found themselves in the midst of a new district. Large comfortable houses faced a tree- lined street, the shadows they cast merging with those created by the street lights. His throat caught as he noticed an orange moon, a "harvest moon" coming into view. True, it wasn't as large as the moon back home, but it was sufficient to cause a little home sickness for all of that. Tarshi hissed at him, "Where in hell are we, Justin?" His friend's answer was simply to take him by the elbow and lead him over to the stairs of the first house. A softly glowing brass sign read, simply, "Humanoid Boys". The sign on the next house read, "Humanoid Girls". Other houses advertised Humanoid Male Teens, Humanoid Female Teens, Humanoid Male Adults, and Humanoid Female Adults, until the last house which advertised Non-Humanoid - Males and Females. Justin turned around to find Tarshi sitting on the curb, holding his head in his hands, and moaning pitifully. "You ok, Tarshi?" his friend whispered as he lay a hand on his shoulder. "Justin, you've GOT to be kidding!" the Attian responded. "Want to go in together or separately?" Justin asked innocently. Tarshi sputtered for thirty seconds before growling, "Together, you idiot!"
(To Be Continued)