"So, Earthman, you seem very dedicated to creating chaos on board this ship. Yet you must surely understand that yours is a hollow cause. Ours is the clearly superior civilization."
"No, it isn't."
"We're technologically superior."
"Big deal. You've devastated your own planet in a war. As dumb as we are, we had our chance to do that forty years ago and we took a pass on that."
"Yes, but we're recovering with an interstellar economy."
"Yes, based on the labor of slave planets. Are you going to tell me that slavery is an advanced concept? We've had that since the Pharaohs."
"Sfeerza" looked somewhat miffed, and got up and approached him. "Regardless of our unfortunate past, we live far richer lives than you."
"No, you don't. You don't understand quality of life at all. Some of you could get some pleasure out of a man, but instead you insist that you need us solely for sperm."
"So you would like to believe."
"So I know. I've had sex with four Ogazmazons since I stepped on this ship, when I was just supposed to be a sperm factory."
"Sfeerza" looked slightly flushed and caught off guard, but continued. "We retain much that comes with our old biology, that is true. But we control ourselves."
"You mean you repress yourselves. Just look at how you act and dress -- you're all wound up, you're all neurotic. You've gone way too long without sex."
"Sfeerza" slowly ran her wand up and down his nude body. "Sex isn't important. The breath, the heartbeat, the brainwave -- those are important, you need those every instant. But sex ... you have an Earth woman and four Ogazmazons and that's it, you're done, you're beat."
Ryan smiled. As well as she was playing "Sfeerza," he continued to remember this woman as Sapphire, and with those memories came great pleasure. In spite of their playacting, Ryan wanted this cruel "Commander" very badly.
He also had to give this grand illusion credit for giving him strength and power impossible in reality -- for just then he began to become erect.
"Sfeerza" noticed the slight change in Ryan, and though she played cool was taken somewhat aback. "You must be some sort of sexual psychotic."
"Not at all. Lots of human men and women think about sex all the time. Just because we're not at it non-stop doesn't mean the idea doesn't appeal to us."
"I hold your life in my hand and you still want to ... ? To me?"
"Very much so."
"I'm flattered, I suppose ... but your animal impulses really do need to be repressed. My entire uniform is specially wired. You lay one hand on me, and you'll be instantly incinerated."
Ryan mulled that over. It certainly did sound like an obstacle.
Go back - Go to the parent episode.
Tue Dec 09 12:48:26 2003