Karen Eliot’s Excellent Adventures # 3 · Part 2 (2/2)
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nd held it there before beginning the more challenging lateral exercises. She moved the egg from side to side several times as well as tilting it from top to bottom. After half a dozen full movement repetitions of the exercise, she relaxed and allowed the egg to descend.
Satisfied with herself, Karen expelled the egg from her cunt and wiped it clean before replacing it within its pouch. She rested briefly with the palm of her hand on her warm snatch, drawing strength from her workout.
Karen was ready to leave when Drew arrived, which was convenient because he had parked in metered street-side parking. She was somewhat surprised about the little red Lotus which Drew was using. His story was that he was evaluating the autos pre- production systems. In about half an hour Drew was off the freeway and into the winding canyon country. While the ride was much smoother than Karen was used to in a sportster, the cornering roll was all but non-existent. Four-wheel power and active suspension almost entirely eliminated slip.
Drew routinely entered the curves at around three times the posted speed, practically standing on the four-wheel antilock brakes in the final moments of the approach. The power-shift manual gear box thumped heavily an instant before the brutal acceleration announced the corner exit at multiples of the speed limit. Once established on the final straightaway, Drew opened the throttle all the way. When the tach indicated red-line revs, he shifted into neutral and idled the engine. They coasted the last mile or so to the unpaved turnoff. Madge Nation, and her husband Tar Nation lived in the ranch- style house a couple miles down the well-maintained gravel road.
Madge was in the driveway when Karen and Drew arrived at the head of a rooster tail of rising dust. Madge greeted her guests and led them around back and down the path to the sweat lodge. The domed, one-room structure was crafted from a dozen willows. Timbers demarked the cardinal and minor compass points. Half a dozen paces from the lodge, Tar tended rock loaves on a metal grill. With hands protected by heavy padded gloves he turned the hot rocks above low blue flames. He waved as they approached. Madge stopped at the gazebo which had been fashioned entirely within the interlocking branches of five bushy trees. Benches, hooks, and baskets were available for clothing and personal articles.
Madge removed her robe. Drew appreciated her small breasts with pale and outstanding nips and her diminutively trimmed platinum bush as she stowed the robe and pulled the bong from a clever niche. She handed it to Karen, who was already down to her matching black lace bra and panties. Karen took a couple of long hits as she appreciated Drew disrobing. Goose flesh started to form about the time Madge, Karen, and Drew felt stoned and longed for the warmth of the lodge. Tar joined them for a hit once he had finished transferring the hot rocks to a ceramic pedestal in the sweat lodge. Tar secured the bong and led his friends down the path.
Tar held open the heavy flaps of thick hide which were draped over the arched doorway of the hut. Madge waited until everybody was comfortable and relaxed before breaking the silence. She spoke in a formal tone. "Most people demand behavioral controls imposed by an authority structure. Tar and I empathize with your rejection of external direction." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Helen Gone argued against the university because their position stemmed from convenience of administration." Karen leaned forward and lay a sage sprig on the hot rocks. She considered the implications that arose from the High Priestess being personally involved.
The cup of water that she poured over the sage on the rocks disappeared in a quick bubbling and hissing. Tar continued as the aromatic vapor diffused. "We have good news and bad news", he joked. "Which would you like first?" "Bad", Drew asked simply. "Karen, you won't be awarded your degree if you insist on having your way. Same for you, Drew, if you stick with Karen." Drew added several cedar chips to the rocks and trickled water over them. He pondered this, awaiting the good news as the redolent vapor rose from the rocks. "You will, however, be allowed to stay on and continue your studies to your satisfaction," Tar said and then waited. Karen exhaled slowly. "Well", she began and paused.
"That's awfully damn nice of them." "Would you like the good news?", Tar teased. "I could use some." "Here," Tar said, offering Karen and Drew their choice of trippers. The glass tubes, each enclosing a vaporizing wire that was coated with designer halucinogen, were the keys to Miskatonic U's ex nihilo lab and its gates. Tar was the first to press the firing stud on the handle of his tripper. With a pop and a bluish-white flash, a cloud formed within the tube. "There's something I'd like to show you," he said, and sucked the vapor through a semipermeable membrane in one end of the tube. Karen, Drew, and Madge emulated Tar's example. The massive L+ doses hit some before others.
They waited and the shared environment formed; cold and dreary, and suggesting ancient enmity. Madge promised a short walk and all set off. Concealed within the thick fog which surrounded them, giant arthropod monsters waited. Vaguely insectiod (or occasionally aracnid, crustacean, and myriapod), they had eviscerating hooks, decapitating pincers, barbed impaling stalks, bad breath, and bug eyes. And that was the males. The females also had armor- piercing ovipositors not unlike scorpion tails. Arriving at the gate area, Karen and Drew assumed a defensive parameter while Madge and Tar worked at dilating the gate.
Originally armed with vorpal swords, Karen and Drew were prepared to face the Jabberwock itself. However, when the rattling chitin and pungent presence encircled them, they reconsidered. Karen conjured a full-auto, belt-fed shotgun. She used plastic ball bugshot for the spectacular effect it had against exoskeletons. (Losing much of their energy penetrating the shell, the balls shredded internal organs as they ricochetted around inside.) Drew muscled a small rotary-barrel cannon which used conventional warloads. Tar and Madge had succeeded in tagging the gate with a dayglo border, but attempts to tease it open were in vain.
When the fog shifted it revealed the massed and closing terrors, most dripping slime or venom. Without hesitation, Karen and Drew opened fire, weaving a curtain of murderous projectiles to the staccato thunder of their automatic weapons. They adroitly avoided each others crossfire and ammunition belts. When they ceased firing, drifting cordite odor mixed with the humid charnel stench. Antennae and legs attached to broken carapace jerked mindlessly. Ichor pooled among the shattered bodies and spent cartridges all around them. Meanwhile, the gate had opened under Madge's gentle ministrations. Madge and Tar first stepped into the uniform gray beyond the gate and disappeared.
Drew waited for Karen to file through. The first step was easy, but a resistance pressed back against her. She had to redouble her efforts several times to penetrate the surface tension. Once she began to clear the gate, Karen felt the numb of nulled sensorium. She'd been warned about the shocking emptiness, yet panic still nipped at her heels.
Karen's second step brought her through the gate. The cold flagstone floor surprised her as an unexpected stair might. Her ears popped as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Regaining her composure, Karen took stock of her surroundings. Fluorescent fixtures hung at regular intervals from the high ceiling. Movable partitions divided the immense room. Karen watched the dayglo border of the gate fade, and with it the gray fog beyond. Madge and Tar had already donned heavy terry robes and slippers. The crisp chill imparted to the room by the thick stone walls inspired Karen and Drew to follow suit.
Madge opened the heavy drapes before the tall doors, lighting the large chamber with brilliant afternoon sunshine. Tar opened the glass doors and stepped out on a small semicircular balcony. "Welcome to Amber," he announced with a low bow and a gesture which took in the city below. Just outside, gardeners dressed in Renaissance-era clothing tended an area with familiar flowers, trees, and shrubs. Looking about, Karen observed that she was in a castle built on the shoulder of a mountain. Above and behind her, ponderosa and blue spruce made up the most of the thick tree life. Below, the balcony overlooked the picturesque city of Amber and the glittering harbor.
Houses of stone, brick, or wood, an occasional whitewashed plastered wall, the odd thatched roof, and the rare stone mansion dominated the view of the eastern portion of the city. The southernmost part of the city merged with the trees that led eventually into the forest and out into the countryside. Tar handed a pair of binoculars to Karen and began to describe the predominantly commercial western section of Amber. "See that wide cobblestone street that swings southeastwards and then eastwards, marking the boundaries of the city?" Tar asked. Without waiting, he carried on. "That's the Main Concourse. It's the place of business for most Amber merchants".
Karen looked at the busy shops, cafes, and restaurants; deals being made, goods being purchased, and merchants trying to shout their advertisements. Karen handed the binox to Drew as Tar described the fascinating activity in the harbor. "The port area is unsafe, unsavory, and dangerous. Harbor Road gives way to Death Alley over there," he said, pointing. Drew scrutinized the industrious port. Barges full of wares were bustling between warehouses both large and small, and between the docks which dotted the harbor. Several barks were being unloaded. Sailors on one large schooner were rigging staysails off the mizzenmast. Madge joined her friends on the balcony.
She handed them white metallic cards, upon which she had written their names in exquisite calligraphy. The flip side of the cards was devoted to the standard glyph for Information Hazards; the anterior view of the human eye, with a seductive spiral fractal within the iris. "These security keys will unlock doors with adjacent card slots," Madge said. With emphasis, she continued. "Don't open doors without card readers. Ever." "Just carry them with you," Tar suggested. "Since you can't go anywhere without them." He dropped his in the pocket of his robe. "Let's take a look around," he said, leading the expedition from the balcony.
"This is the hardware lab," Tar indicated with an encompassing gesture. "In the northeast corner is the laminar-flow rooms. The IC fab people have diffusion furnaces, chemical vapor deposition systems, as well as lithography and etching equipment. They're kept pretty busy making wafers of pirated circuitry. "The containment dome next to the lam-flow building houses the power kernel, shielding, transformers, and the like. "The systems prototypers use most of the rest of the layout. Currently, they're turning out 32-bit microprocessor-based computers.
They're rack-mounted and ugly as hell, but with the different semiconductors, they run at ten times the clock frequencies you can do back home." Arriving at the armored door, Tar pushed his card into the reader. The powered door slid slowly into its pocket within the reinforced wall, and closed heavily behind them. The group followed Tar down a thoroughly featureless hallway. Just to the left of the grand staircase, they used the servants' stairway in the northwest corner of the castle. Tar led his friends down two flights of stairs. Many of the doors which were immediately visible on the second floor had card locks. Madge led the coterie down another long hall to a pair of double doors.
The doors swung inward after the presentation of her card, and they entered the sparsely furnished library. Warm sunlight suffused the library through the four inset, floor-to-ceiling windows along the west side of the room. "Usually this is a place of relaxation and study for members of the royal family," Tar stated. "Generally, however, they avoid us. It is strongly suggested that we reciprocate." Karen recognized the usual response to I-hazards. Madge showed them the three tall stacks that extended from the north wall and smaller shelves and smaller tables which lined the west wall. A desk sat in the center of the north section, and a larger double table sat under the southwest windows.
A comfortable sofa and chair sat in front of the banked fire. The ubiquitous card key slot was the only clue to the decorative false panel in the southwest corner of the library. Madge motioned Karen to try her card on the lock. With a snick, the panel eased open enough to pull. Karen followed Madge up the dimly lit stairway to the upper level where her card was again necessary. As the panel closed behind the women, Tar led Drew to a section devoted to Shadow Earth. A computer workstation had the Great Books of the Western World on optical disk. "Merely a quick reference," teased Tar. Nearby, stacks contained complete sets of St.
Augustine, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Montaigne, Machiavelli, Castiglione, Sidney, Bacon, Ben Johnson, Samuel Johnson, Hegel, Heidegger, Newton, Einstein, Pope, Boccaccio, Milton, Rabelais, and Virgil. First editions of seminal works from ancient to postmodern took up proximate stacks. Madge led Karen along the walkway which extended around the perimeter of the upper level. Tracked ladders reached the highest shelves near the ceiling. The entrance to the study room was cleverly concealed from view below. As Madge stepped across the threshold a gentle bioluminescence lit the small room evenly.
There was barely room around the table and chairs to get to the books on the shelves along all walls. The _Necronomicon_, companion volumes, and commentaries absorbed Karen's attention. "I'd bet my postsynaptic membranes that the complete Curwen collection of thaumaturgical, alchemical, and theological works is here," Karen remarked, following Madge from the alcove. They passed empty shelves along the walkway before arriving at another recess. In a glass case a single volume lay illuminated by a lamp within. Karen immediately opened the unsecured case and removed the _Handbook For The Recently Deceased_. She'd long wanted a glance at "The Handbook", or "The Manual" as it was sometimes known.
She quickly turned to the intermediate interface chapter on haunting to see just how detailed an explanation was in fact there. "It reads like stereo instructions," Karen commented as she replaced the volume and followed Madge. Madge and Karen rejoined Tar and Drew by the large marble fireplace on the west wall. Tar's continuing explanation of the library request and procurement system answered Karen's questions about the mint condition of the books. Beyond explanation was the posthumous editions section. She'd seen still-boxed unknown works by Brautigan, Hellman, Maugham, Abbey, Steinbeck, and P. K. Dick, among others.
Madge directed the tour of the guest apartments at the north end of the second floor. The hospitable domicile was complete with sitting, sleeping, and dining areas as well as a small library which seemed devoted to quantum mechanics and associated arcana. The bedroom reminded Karen of a first-rate residence hotel. Drew bounced on the satin sheeted bed which was as comfortable as it appeared. "So, what's the project here?" Madge indulged in the luxury of the love seat. "Software development for the Crown. All the hardware billets are filled." Karen sat at the small writing table across from the bed and regarded the fresh cut flowers in the crystal vase.
"Yeah?" Tar lounged in the chair adjacent to the night stand. "We're building a reality editor." "A what?" Karen asked. "You know. Cut, paste, add, delete, change. The usual" Madge answered. "Is this artificial intelligence?" Drew suspiciously inquired. "Nah," replied Tar. He continued wryly. "That's specifically prohibited by the contract. It seems that their first attempt resulted in a rogue consciousness." "Then how?" Karen wanted to know. Madge took up the explanation. "Limited domain, iterative techniques. Purely procedural code. Brute fuckin' force. You can hack your way up to speed on the metaprogramming language pretty quickly." Karen mulled that over.
"What's functional?" Madge smiled broadly before answering. "One module. Fun with billboards, bumper-stickers, and graffiti. You should have been here the night that I replaced the text 'to protect and serve' with 'tool of the rich man' wherever it occurred on squad cars back home." With an even bigger grin, Tar mischievously interrupted. "Shit hit the fan. Even a new rule. No more RE tests on Shadow Earth. Bellona only now, which almost takes the fun out of it," he concluded with a wink. "What's the hitch?" Drew probed. "We want to ensure that expansion of the operating envelope doesn't bite us in the ass," Madge responded. "The next project mandate is a 'no tricks' safety module.
Apparently they watch Twilight Zone when in Shadow Earth." "Anyway," Tar said, "You should sleep on it. This little trick of somatic projection is about to fail. When it does, you will regain consciousness back home. It's best if you're asleep when it happens." "How much longer?" Karen inquired. "A couple of hours, tops." Madge and Tar excused themselves, leaving Karen and Drew alone for the first time since their arrival in Amber. Karen arose from the small table and joined Drew by the bed. "What do you think?" she asked him, doffing her robe. Turning the down comforter back, she couldn't discern what kept it from sliding off the sheets.
While fluffing the pillow, Karen noticed the hawk feather bound to a chunk of turquoise with a hide band which was lying on the sheet. She stared at the token, her attention captivated. "They're playing with a fusion torch," Drew answered as he dropped his robe with hers. "Somebody's gonna get burned," he said, following her gaze. "What do you think?" When their eyes met, Karen shook her head fractionally and dropped the pillow, covering the token. "Who could be trusted with this thing? I don't see resolving that issue within the context of a safety module." Following Karen's apparent lead, Drew dropped the conversation and snuggled next to her in the regal bed.
They rolled to their backs from the warm spoon. Karen initiated an old game for descent to sleep. She wrapped her slender fingers around Drew's limp hose, which began hardening immediately. Karen wanted to fall asleep with Drew still throbbing in her fist, before he fell asleep and softened in her grasp. Drew wanted to fall asleep rigid in Karen's hot palm, before she fell asleep and her grip failed. While usually successful, the technique couldn't overcome deep tension. Karen commenced a standard variation to get the game back on track. She soothingly released Drew's penis and cupped his balls, massaging and rolling them within their hairy sack.
Tickling his scrotum with her long fingernails brought Drew's member to throbbing rigidity. Karen rubbed the shaft of Drew's veiny cock with fingertips and nails, bringing his excitement to fever pitch. She teased a glob of ooze from his purple helmet and spread it all over the bulbous head, playing with its firmness. Karen encircled Drew's engorged manhood and began pumping. Slowly at first, and then faster, she twisted and tugged his cock with supple fingers. Drew signaled his oncoming orgasm with insistently bucking hips as he fucked her hand ever faster. As Drew exploded in orgasm, Karen contained his load by clamping her thumb and forefinger just below the head of his cock.
She held tightly through the rhythmic pulsations of his ejaculation. As Drew lay back, Karen slipped under the covers. She locked her mouth around his dick and released the clamp, draining his hot thick seed and swallowing it. She milked the residual jism and licked it off, smacking her lips contentedly. Karen lay on her back next to Drew holding his hand, fingers intertwined, until he reciprocated. Drew rested the palm of his hand on Karen's trimmed pubic patch, rubbing her mound in a circular pattern. His fingers traced from the mons along the length of her puffy outer lips. Her fleshy inner lips were engorged, slick with plentiful juices.
With his long middle finger he distributed the creamy lubrication around her erect clit which poked from beneath its hood. With an index finger, Drew slowly rubbed one side of the hood, stimulating the clit indirectly, tracing small spirals on the sensitive skin. When Karen's bucking hips and rapid breathing announced her undeniable orgasm, Drew increased his pace slightly. Karen came with a pleased moan and relaxed, Drew's warm hand resting on her quivering pussy. Karen reached over and resumed the game by grasping Drew's hardening penis. They both fell asleep nearly immediately, thoroughly relaxed.
"- long have we been away?," Karen heard Drew asking as the primacy of her presence in the sweat lodge reasserted itself. "Only a moment," Tar answered. "The standard hit is two hours, with a yield of six months on the other side of the gate. Time dilation is the chief benefit of transfer contracts. A session each in the morning and afternoon, five days a week, amounts to an effective extention to your life of five years." "It's easy to loose your perspective," Madge continued. "The point of the upgrade is to provide an anchor or sorts; an orientation to this plane. If you abandon your body it'll die, and with it the projection through the gate.
Believe me, that distinction will seem unimportant after years in Amber, Gaea, or Snug Harbor." "Not to mention Wonderland, Toontown, Pell Station, or Bellona," Tar added. Karen never found it necessary to be diplomatic when inquiring about how someone else profitted from her effort. "What's the coven get from this? It seems a lot like a Manhattan Project at first glance. Are you sure that we're on the right side of the balance of power?" Madge deferred to Tar for the first question. "They Shadowshift cargo for us," he said. "The personal performance bonus specifies shipment equivalent to your body mass between terminuses of your choice.
The coven will get a dedicated voyage of a triple-masted sailing vessel plus a generous letter of credit against the Crown's treasury. Most valuable of all, however, is information. What we experience and learn, individually and collectively, is ours." Madge fielded the second question herself. "Helen Gone negotiated the treaty with Random. She trusts him. His goodwill was adequately demonstrated when he provided the Jewel of Judgement for the development of the isomorphic aerogel that we use in the effector arrays." Karen paused for a moment. "Is the upgrade absolutely necessary?
Can't I just go in for it later?" "It is important to your development and essential to gate transfer contracts," Madge answered, apparently somewhat pained to be quoting the party line. She added gently, "I think I know how you feel. I faced 'simplicity, sincerity, serenity' with some apprehension as well. Frankly, proceeding although I had reservations was a key to growth. You are being asked to demonstrate your confidence in the coven and your place in our work." As Karen considered, Drew pressed his concern forward. "How does the Amber work-for-hire project fit in with the coven's work?" "Our work is with those that we were born among," Tar answered.
"The upgrade strengthens the bonds we have with this world, but we have coffers to fill. The challenging work that affords personal growth has to be sold. Amber's buying." Karen sat back for a moment with her eyes closed, contemplating the decision, phrasing it tactfully. "In addition to taking leave from the university, I'm declaring a retreat from my coven office." So much for attending her Samhain initiation. Madge and Tar either weren't surprised, or took it well. Turning to Drew, Tar asked, "And you?" "She's my partner.
I strongly prefer to maintain a lockstep arrangement in our interfaces, so I'll pass on the upgrade for the present." Drew paused for a moment, knowing that Karen wanted him along with her. "I'm going to complete our work and see it through at the university." They sat in silence for several minutes. The pregnant pause allowed room to reflect and proceed without divisive words. It was Madge who spoke first. "So be it. Your decisions will be respected." Her voice was still tinged with antinomy, but it was replaced by genuine warmth as she continued. "If there's anything that we can do, please call upon us.
We would be pleased to help in any way possible." Karen and Drew lingered briefly on pleasantries, but the divergent path that they'd cast upon obviated shop talk.
Karen comfortably discussed administrative details related to Arkham during the drive back to Los Angeles, but Drew concluded that the slight tension in Karen's face suggested that she would make a point of not asking him for an explanation of his decision. "Look Karen, I don't have the appreciation for Featherstone that you evidently do. By a twist of fate I got off the reservation before it sucked me under. I've lived with the medicine man mumbo jumbo." Karen rested her hand gently on his thigh. "It's really okay, Drew." Drew concentrated on a corner, perfectly cranking the wheel, braking, and then accelerating. "Are you even considering the upgrade?" "Do we need it?" she asked.
"At this rate, 'suffering, sacrifice, and self-abasement' could be next," he said with a chuckle. "This is not a social crisis," Karen said with a radiant grin. "It's just another tricky day," concluded Drew, with a wink.
Karen Eliot’s Excellent Adventures # 3 · Part 2 (2/2)
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