Message-ID: <6889eli$9801011735@qz.little-neck.ny.us> X-Archived-At: From: Art_Fish@hotmail.com (Dr. Fish) Subject: REPOSTS (I am not the author); - KARNELOT.TXT [01/01] Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Path: qz!not-for-mail Organization: The Committee To Thwart Spam Approved: X-Moderator-Contact: Eli the Bearded X-Story-Submission: X-Original-Message-ID: <68carn$ps5$26@usenet85.supernews.com> This story is another from the archives, and is not written by me. Requests for just about anything concerning these posts will be ignored. See the FAQ in a.s.s.d for more information. Karen Eliot's Excellent Adventures #1 The shiny red Integra glided through the late morning weekday traffic on the Balboa Peninsula. The cool sea air blowing through the sunroof and windows left Karen Eliot's flaming red hair trailing in the sportster's slipstream. A rock'n'roll CD blasted from her stereo. Tapping the tunes with her fingers on the steering wheel she smoothly approached her beach house. The music and engine died at the same instant. Karen reveled in the salty sea air and the calls of the gulls as she strolled across the carport. She never regretted her decision to live at the beach. Karen pulled her black halter top over her head and dropped it next to the mail on the counter. The light nipples on her pert breasts began to harden. She reviewed the letters that she'd just collected from her mail drop as she stepped out of her shorts and panties. She sniffed the g-string before dropping it the nearby pile of clothes. She was wet. Settling on the bar stool she reached for the stash. Karen rolled herself a slender doobie as she listened to the messages on her phone machine. Lighting the fragrant Thai weed, she opened the long awaited answer to a zine ad. She examined the brochure which broadly sketched what she expected. Yes, NQA did indeed mean No Questions Asked. "High sexual adventure" was just as suggested in the advertisement. She, as a player, wouldn't have any clues in advance to identify her partner. The expert-system tailored encounter was absolutely guaranteed to satisfy her desires. She had in fact wagered a large chunk of cash based on two personal references. The arbitration arrangements were excellent. Details would arrive by mail soon. Karen absently licked two finger tips and rolled them lightly over her moist clit. She lightly pinched her nipple with her long finger nails. At this point Emma, her feline confidante and a sister believer in the rightness of pussy worship entered and took front row center seat for the unfolding show. Karen kept her movements slow and her touch light. Sometimes a finger or two would stray and disappear for a time beyond her downy trimmed patch only to come back with more nectar to lovingly caress her swollen clit. An electric feeling ran through her body, connecting her erogenous flesh. Her hips bucked and rolled as she got herself off. Slowly her low moaning and gyrations ceased. Opening her eyes Karen found Emma still in rapt astonishment. With a soft laugh, Karen said, "Think what you will, Emma, but it sure beats a sandpaper tongue on the ass, which you seem to favor." As she adjusted the water in the shower she knew she'd be watching the mail. Five days later Karen was adjusting the shower again, but this time it was in preparation for her first Adventure meet. Stepping into the shower and letting the hot water stream down her contours Karen reviewed the instructions. It didn't take very long. All the note had mentioned was Cool Dave's Steak House along with the address, date and time. Karen soaped her breasts and envisioned Cool Dave as perhaps an irresponsible surfer type whose wealthy parents had set him up in the food business when law, banking and corporate sharking proved beyond him. As she finished soaping her long legs, she turned her attention to her pussy, giving it a gentle scrubbing in anticipation of wild frolic; a flight of mind and body to dizzying heights and depths, not the brief and mediocre in-and-out that too many of her partners had let pass for a "great lay". Realizing that she had started to stroke herself, Karen ran the other hand down the cleft of her ass cheeks and continued until she was definitely aroused. Abruptly she switched the water to cold to finish her shower. It always made her skin feel alive and her mind wide awake no matter what her previous condition had been. She had chosen a light peach knit dress that hugged her body. The fabric conformed to shape of her upturned tits, flat tummy, and graceful hips. Toweling herself dry Karen then powdered herself before the mirror, assessing her body. She had a light dusting of freckles. Her slender feet with high arches ended in perfectly painted toes. Her legs were firm and taut, sculpted by years of participation in a variety of sports. Gentle swell of hips and ass. Smooth tummy. And those tits; even she thought that she had a nice set. They required no upward coaching and were crowned by sweetly protruding nipples that were more accurate than a mood ring. The bright green eyes were the most outstanding feature of her face. Naturally thick lashes and flawless skin had saved much hassle with cosmetics over the years. The angular lines of her face along with her bearing often reflected a serene confidence. Satisfied, she slipped the dress over her head. Pulling up to a standard wood and glass restaurant of the California style Karen noted a near empty parking lot, it was only six thirty and Karen was happy to get eating out of the way to make more time for the project at hand. Guided to her booth Karen was a bit taken back to see no one there. Ordering white wine she sat back to wait and scan the faces. Caleb, her waiter, suspected the redhead at the reserved table right away. You just got a feel for them after awhile. He read about this sort of stuff in magazines. Too bad sugar daddy is late. Five minutes and I start bugging her to order. Karen glanced at the menu and hoped to any deity listening that the waiter glowering in her direction was not Mister Superfuck.It was then she felt the first feather like touch begin to go up the inside of her thigh. She shifted slightly to accommodate her unseen admirer who exhaled warmly on her downy thatch. The fingers still playing almost randomly over her legs were so light and gentle that except for their size she might have thought there was a woman hidden under the table cloth. Also the mouth that was becoming bolder had a mustache. Show time, Miss Scarlett, sneered Caleb's manly inner voice. Arranging his face to appear suitably disdainful he strode to her table. She had enough on the ball to go ahead and order a crab salad he noted, but he knew the pressure was getting to her. Her voice was a tad breathy and there was a fine sheen of perspiration on her upper lip. Between a tongue that tantalized her clit and fingers that had now picked higher ground to give their delightful attention, Karen had a better idea why she was in the corner booth. She let herself enjoy and savor the relative privacy. With the waiter gone she was able to lift her hips enough to have her ass tenderly cupped and kneaded. She eased one silky thigh on his shoulder and could feel the roughness of his cheek on her. Remaining silent and still required determination. Her lover eased away from her pussy as the intensity of her orgasmic peaks approached overload. Karen's orgasm faded. She relaxed as expert hands softly toweled her crotch. With a final kiss against her swollen mound, her lover eased into the seat next to her. "I'm Brian", he said. "Please follow me." He dropped a Franklin on the table as they walked to the manager's office. Caleb had arrived with her crab salad. What a waste. The babe was gone. He picked up the $100 bill and resolved to keep the entirety. He returned the salad and destroyed the check. Brian assured Karen that Cool Dave was essentially out for the duration. Or at least until the Brady Bunch special was over. Dave's office was appointed with furniture which apparently hadn't seen much use. Brian's intentions were clear as he stripped. Karen felt herself responding to the enormous organ which he revealed by shucking his jeans. Brian grinned at Karen as his penis grew with every beat of his heart. Karen barely believed that the beautiful, well muscled surfer with the gigantic dong was hers. With a grin of her own, she pulled the dress over her head and shook her wild curls. As they met in a warm embrace their tongues intertwined in a deep kiss. They slowly explored each others hot mouths. With a touch Karen led Brian to the sofa and had him lie down. She planted her knees on the cushions next to his head. As she prepared to concentrate on his manhood, she slid back on the sofa and again presented her twat and ass to the accomplished muff diver. Karen grasped Brian's thick slab of man meat with one hand and cupped his hairy balls with the other. She licked the length of his shaft until it was glistening with her saliva. She released his balls and began stroking his pole. Brian gently licked and nipped at Karen's pussy lips as her tongue ringed the purple head of his throbbing dick. Karen reluctantly released Brian's rock hard tool. She agiley positioned herself above him. Brian massaged Karen's tits as she grasped his member. With one hand she spread her labia and with the other she stroked the entrance of her vagina with his dick head. Brian felt Karen's tight, hot cunt engulfing his veiny girth. Karen established her pace to the time of Brian's bucking hips. She'd never felt more stuffed than when their crotches slammed together. Karen couldn't help her moans of pleasure as they fucked faster and faster. Karen rocketed to orgasm and slowly subsided on Brian's chest, where they gently hugged. After a moment Karen arose and motioned Brian up. She took his place on the sofa and said, "You drive". Karen raised her legs to Brian's shoulders and Brian guided his cock into her invitingly raised pussy. He grasped her ankles and thrust in and out with briskly controlled strokes. Hard in, easy out, long, and short, controlled by Karen's breathing and movements. Her pleasure building beyond control, Karen came again and again. Brian assumed a position on all fours above Karen. They kissed deeply and with great affection. He then extracted his rigid member and stood, admiring, over Karen. She also rose and they warmly embraced. "One more time, stud", Karen said. While holding his shoulders, she jumped up and wrapped her supple legs around his waist. Brian reached under Karen's legs and clutched her buttocks. As he lifted her up his dick trailed the juices of their love down Karen's tummy. He lowered her drenched snatch onto his shaft. Brian raised and lowered Karen with his powerful arms. Karen's head was rolled back as she moaned with delight. Brian's explosion was building. They intensified their screwing until they came together.She could feel his semen pulsing deep into her cunt. Her vaginal sphincter spasmed on the root of his cock. They exploded in ecstasy together. After a brief hug, they disentangled. Brian's semen ran from Karen's snatch and down her thigh as she licked his love muscle clean. He returned the favor by slurping the fluids from her pussy and thigh. Brian produced a fluffy towel which they both used to contain the wayward ejecta. Brian pulled out his stash as Karen relaxed. He cut two fine lines of Peruvian blue flake and separated them on the small mirror. He handed the mirror and a narrow tube to Karen. With a delicate sniff she inhaled a line of the fine cocaine. She leaned back in the growing euphoria. Brian snorted the other line and secured the stash. They sat on the floor enjoying each other's presence, warmly embraced in the glow of fucking and the coke. As one, they arose, dressed, and slipped unnoticed from Cool Dave's office and restaurant. Brian had already gotten a room at a nearby hotel and the quality and variety of his sexual prowess had truly been memorable. Karen had made another appointment for as soon as possible on the strength of it. Now she pulled her car into the convenience store parking lot because she was still early for her meet at the hot tubs next door. Oh well, Emma was running low on chow so she would pick up a few cans to avoid the accusing looks that Emma meted out when disturbed by dietary restrictions. Ken glanced about with the practiced economy of a predator. If something didn't happen soon, he was going to have to move on. Avoiding ambush and capture had honed his sense for such things. The lone clerk in the 7-11 had noticed him an hour or so ago. He really didn't need the pigs on him over some vagrancy bullshit. As he turned the corner out of sight he again nervously checked his weapon. The Glock 9mm that he'd taken off a pig after wasting him still had a nearly full magazine. Well, less that one round for the cunt he'd greased in Texas last week. It was lucky for him that the pig ran combat loads; one shot, one kill. Or two. He'd seen a newspaper that said the bitch was pregnant. The electric company crew was pulling out. Shit, the place was flat empty. The approaching red sports car got his attention. A very attractive redhead got out of the Integra. It was spooky the way she'd laid that penetrating glance on him. Her bright green eyes seemed to see everything and more. This was it. He was taking this one. Karen noticed a man who seemed to be waiting for someone by the convenience store. Was this the guy? He was kinda cute, if a little on the hunkish side. She didn't feel any thrill of recognition like last time, but she could feel the tingly warmth and wetness between her legs. Anyway, the guy didn't establish contact. She walked past him and into the store. She was grabbed upon leaving the store. So it is him, huh? He'd immobilized her with a vise-like grip at one elbow and a crushing arm around her waist. She could hardly breathe. All he said was, "Come with me!". He quickstepped her around the side of the store and to the back. Ken opened the passenger door of his Mark IV and Karen stepped in with growing anticipation. Ken carefully drove the short distance to the secret corner of the park which he'd earlier selected. The behemothic automobile glided to a stately halt in the empty parking lot. "You first", Ken said motioning, "In the back". Ken immediately began hardening at the sight of Karen's bare boobs jiggling beneath her cotton shirt. Nips up, too. Karen presented her lithe hips and slimly contoured ass to Ken as she wiggled past him on her way to the back seat. The delicate aroma of pussy aroused him further. This babe's knockers were magnificent. Ken followed Karen to the aft of his land yacht. He immediately set to groping her. Karen removed her shirt and Ken began eagerly mashing her melons and roughly pinching her nips. Suddenly deciding what he wanted, Ken turned Karen facing away from him and tugged her slacks and panties over her hips and ass. As soon as Karen realized that his hardon wasn't rigid enough to penetrate her, she turned and gracefully began licking and manipulating his wand. Karen wondered if he might be anxious. In a few short strokes of her slender fingers, he was ready. Karen turned back around to present her fuck target. As Ken closed, she reached between her legs and guided his cock into her cunt. He immediately began an incessant rabbit-like pumping. This bitch really had a great attitude. Karen was starting to get into the rhythm of Ken's hammering. Her orgasmic waves were building to explosion peaks, but with great moaning Ken pulled out of her just before coming. In the style of the porn vids with which Ken was exceedingly familiar, he spurted his load of jism on her ass and back. Ken had absolutely no doubt that he'd just had by far the most pleasurable experience of his warped existence. Karen suggested taking the blanket outside where there was more room to romp. Entranced, he followed. As they spread the blanket on the grass, Karen extracted a hooter from her stash. Lighting it, she offered it to her partner, "Would you like a toke, mac?", she asked. "What's a tokamak?", Ken dimwittedly responded. "It's a small doughnut-shaped nuclear reactor in which a plasma is heated and confined by electric and magnetic fields", Karen said, "But that's not important now. Would you like a hit of my joint?" Absolutely unable to deny the ultrafox wonderbitch, he imbibed. They passed the smoke back and forth. After moments of silence, Karen spoke softly, "Look. Let's do it again. This time, follow my lead, okay? You got a name, Tiger?". "Ken", he said. "That's better. Lean back, please Ken", were the last words possible from Karen as she took his limp hose into her mouth. As Ken hardened in her mouth, Karen accommodated his growing cock in her throat. Her licking and sucking was sufficient to obtain a highly erect member. Karen threw a leg over Ken. Lying on him, she hugged herself to him. Karen's hot breasts pressed into Ken's chest. Karen could feel his engorged dong against her belly as she clamped his hips with her legs. After a momentary hug she lifted her chest and shook her tits in an exaggerated fashion, rolling her head of beautiful flaming locks. Ken rose on his elbows and licked gently around Karen's erect nipples. He'd shift between light sucking on her nipples or kissing and massaging her breasts. Karen rolled her head as Ken pleasured her. She raised her hips and grabbed Ken's manly meat. She toyed with his dick head at the entrance of her cunt. Slowly Karen lowered herself on Ken's pole. Her controlled strokes paced their united climb to orgasm. Several times she kept him from coming by grasping his balls. When Ken's approach to his climax became undeniable, Karen rode his bucking meat all the harder. With cries that couldn't be held back, they came together. Ken's soft dick slid out of Karen's snatch as she rolled off him. Within minutes, Ken was fast asleep. Unable to rouse Ken, Karen yielded to her intuition and began a quick but detailed search of his personal effects. If this isn't Mister Superfuck then who is he? Keys and a gun. No papers of any kind. She was reasonably sure that he wasn't a narc, but fascist gangsters are dime a dozen. She rolled the handgun in the lunch bag and slid it under the seat. There weren't any tools or even a spare tire in the trunk. What was all this weird cult religious stuff? Tracts, banners, and books. She'd never heard of the Campus Crusade for Cthulhu. Since The Esoteric Order of Dragon, a debased, quasi-pagan thing imported from the East a century before, the peculiar mythos had made few inroads on Sol III. Karen dumped Ken's clothes within the cavernous trunk. Ken was snoring in the grass when Karen got back to him. She covered him with the blanket, giving him a decidedly homeless look. A complete stranger to the Hawaiian smoke, and in a pathetic post-coital torpor, Ken was soon snoozin'n'loozin as Karen split with his car. Karen eased Ken's Lincoln back into its original parking space. Like before, the area was dead. She removed the semi- automatic pistol from the brown bag under the seat. After checking the safety she ejected the clip and jacked out the chambered round. Karen took the gun and ammunition to the gutter. With a metallic clatter she dropped the lot to the street. Swiftly, she kicked everything into the storm drain. The car keys followed. Karen bought a can of WD-40 and a butane cigarette lighter from the bored clerk at the grocery. When she got to Ken's car she carefully sprayed every interior surface with the penetrating lubricant. After making sure that she had all her things she locked and closed the door. As she walked away from Ken's car, Karen tapped the lighter into an exhaust pipe so as to lodge it in the muffler. The WD-40 can joined the gun and keys in the storm drain. With a frisky swing of her hips, Karen headed for her car in the front parking lot of the mini mall. Upon returning home Karen was not very surprised to find a message on her machine asking why she had not made her meet. Ken had not been an earthshaking lover at all. She didn't much like having to ditch a gun and wipe a car because of him either, but at least everyone would walk away mostly unharmed. And she could still look forward to her next encounter. Karen Eliot's Excellent Adventures #2 by Jim and Meg Norris This document may be reproduced without permission, provided it is not modified in any fashion whatsoever, and provided it is not delivered for any price or charge. Karen sat at her bar in the small pool of light cast by a desk lamp. She keyed the remote and was immediately jolted by the intense volume in her headphones. She quickly adjusted to the digital rock'n'roll. She extracted one of the two sugar cubes from the small ziploc and dropped it into the clear water which about half filled the blue crystal glass. Karen watched the thin tendrils and bubbles climbing upward from the dissolving cube. When only a vestige of the cube remained, Karen stirred the water. The painted Emperor penguin atop the glass stir stick turned and spun. Clasped lightly in Karen's regal fingers, it completed the ceremonial preparation. Karen raised the glass and drank the water in several unhurried swallows. With a phrase, she invoked her hypnotically- installed interface metaphor and prepared to enter the always open playground of her mind. Karen closed her eyes. As always, the first effect to hit was the intense joy. Beyond euphoria, she was lit by the electric pleasure of cognition. The acceleration of her awareness took Karen's breath away. She was filled with a sense of vibrant energy; restless, resisting confinement, awaiting purpose. Karen waited, still and receptive, enjoying her most powerful and balanced hit of L+ yet. Her face was transformed by a wide grin. Everything that she experienced seemed hilarious. The boundless soul laughed at every aspect of its voluntary earthly confinement. The joyous feelings mellowed and Karen could feel the visual effect hitting. She opened her eyes. Her will twisted the perspective of her view. With slight effort, she could see the framework of points underlying her previous perspective. Karen loved to come to the grid of brilliant spectral colors pulsing on a background of the deepest black. She shifted her perspective further into the grid. The perception of her immediate surroundings become masked by the perspective switching. With the underlying grid mostly in violet with some green, she could see her world alongside. With the grid shifted to yellow and blue, her world became a fading afterimage. The final displacement was to orange and red grid lines. The delicate flows between the white node points connected by the grid lines were clearly discernable. Karen relaxed, her mind still. When she felt totally cleansed, Karen twisted her perspective back to her physical circumstances. The point framework faded, but the clear joy remained. Karen tamped the last of her Mendocino purple kush into the bong bowl. She smoked several hits of the famous one-hit shit. Karen piloted her 16-valve yupster through the thickening early morning traffic. She drove to her favorite regional park, occasionally playing with the shapes of the fluffy clouds to the sounds of blasting rock'n'roll. The promising gusts of wind earlier had picked up to a steady breeze. She was easily able to fit into the street side parking space left by a suit driving a boat that didn't quite look like his father's Oldsmobile. Karen removed the two bags with her gear from the car and set off on foot. Her favorite visual hallucination was immediately operational; the clouds were false colored. The resolution improved as she watched. Horizontal and vertical movement was highlighted to the degree of magnitude. Movement tails were plotted against the latlong grid on the sky that suddenly appeared. Her left eye displayed additive color mixture and her right showed subtractive mixture. She blinked rapidly several times before establishing gray scale; positive on left, negative on right. With several more blinks she tested the binocular gray of her shaded object view mode. She switched the tactical overlay on and enjoyed the instant replacement. Dense monochrome axial and edge lines defined the plotted objects in her wireframe view mode. She blinked rapidly and switched the representation color; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Trees moving in the breeze appeared as fractal fluff. She toyed briefly with switching visibility of the hidden lines before halting on the small hilltop that she'd walked to. The position was ideal for kite flying; an unobstructed hilltop with a comfortably calm lee side. Karen willed the visual hallucination suite off. Once Karen had unpacked everything that she needed, the special components of her custom kite were arrayed about her in small unitary bags. Moving lithely, she fitted the machined alloy tubes through the fabric. With some flexing of the frame tubes, the assembly locked into position. The dihedral looked perfect to her practiced eye. She quickly attached her toys to the kite. This was to be the final test of the digital camera. The stoner-friendly components were a cinch to connect and test. The kite ready, Karen swiftly connected the signal processor and the display to the power pack. Her nipples hardened as she stood facing the oncoming chill wind with the black shark kite. Once she released the two meter long kite, it tugged aggressively to achieve altitude. The ratchet on the reel of line stopped clicking at full extension. Karen hooked the reel to a concrete-anchored barbecue grill. The kite would easily stay aloft all day, given wind. Karen plugged her goggles into the display plate. She tested the trackball controlled lens movements. The stabilized lens mount really cut down on vertigo. She switched through her visual hallucination series satisfactorily with the remote device. The view was centered downwind from her position. Karen started looking at her surroundings in an expanding spiral from the duck pond directly below the kite. She tarried briefly while watching the city maintenance crew loafing near the lake's pump housing. Only a single weather-beaten Pinto occupied the nearest parking lot. Karen spotted a boy walking purposefully toward the junked out ovenmobile where an equally weathered man sat eating a burrito in it. The boy had the eager, slightly feral look of someone exposed to particularly harsh realities of life at too young an age. The lad leaned in the passenger side window and apparently spoke with the driver. As he walked away he stopped and seemed to meet another person whom Karen hadn't noticed. The kid and the woman walked together toward the Pinto. Both crowded at the window briefly. Karen twiddled the controls to get maximum zoom and the best angle. She watched something pass hands from the woman to the driver. Then the woman and the boy got into the car. They crowded together in the middle of the car making detailed observation impossible. After a few minutes the woman and boy got out of the car. It occurred that the similarities in appearance and expression suggested a familial relationship. Had the kid set up a deal for his mom? Spiraling wider, Karen took in the surrounding neighborhood. The immediate view was a jumble of air conditioners, fireplaces, antennae, and dilapidated roofing. The yards proved to be barely more interesting, with the usual domestic animals and uninspired gardening. Still, things were not without potential as the viewing mechanism came to rest and Karen watched a woman stroking herself with tanning oil. Almost as if she had willed it the elegant woman's hand was dipping into her scant bikini bottom. The woman gave herself over to the pleasure of it and Karen absently licked the fine sheen of perspiration above her lips. Peripheral motion caught Karen's attention. The Smith's Department Store delivery van stopped at the curb in front of the woman's house. The driver walked up to the porch and waited. Karen scanned back to the poolside. Apparently in oblivion, the woman had just found the extended nub of her clitoris. Karen read her lips, "Oh...fuck...fuck me, Jim...oh...God! Fuck meee...". Waves seemed to engulf her as she sank her hand deeper into her cunt, making her shudder with orgasm. She relaxed on the lawn. Apparently she hadn't noticed the delivery man standing on her porch watching her. Karen knew that she had something here that was better than soap operas. If this followed the hallowed script line, the coy bitch would play kinda hard to get, yet a hot wench once coerced into putting out. Karen watched the woman get up and face the delivery man. The cups of her halter dangled, her proud breasts displayed openly. The look on her face as she whipped the guilty hand behind her back was priceless. She shook her tits and rolled her pelvis enticingly while upholding the verbal pretense of fighting off an over-eager admirer. He approached her and ran his hand over her breasts. She raised her pubic mound in horny response, "No, please, don't. I'll give you money." His immediate reply was, "Keep it. I'll do it for free!" Skip and Barbara introduced themselves once they were satisfied that they were committed to fucking by the rules of the mating ritual. Skip finger fucked Barbara briefly before helping her out of her sodden bikini. Barbara freed Skip's erection from his jeans and began stroking it. She kissed and licked his cock lightly and insisted that he fuck her. Skip knelt over Barbara, slipped his massive hardon into her sloshing cunt, and proceeded to pump furiously. Karen noticed what must have been neighbor kids atop the wall at the back of Barbara's property. As she watched, two boys jumped down and ran away. The others, a boy and a girl of about the same age, stared unabashedly at the rutting adults. Karen turned her attention back to Barbara and Skip. Barbara's thrashing was either seizures, or she was coming big time. Just a moment later, Skip began jabbing his pelvis against Barbara's crotch with severe determination. Following their mutual orgasm, Barbara began protesting vociferously. Skip didn't seem deterred and Skip began licking Barbara's tits and belly. Karen looked back at the kids on the wall. The kids who had run away were back. They passed something rather large to their friends on top of the wall. It was a videocam! They got it going just as Skip started licking at Barbara's pussy. While continuing to lick and suck Barbara's drenched box, Skip straddled her, positioning his dong above her mouth. Barbara greedily mouthed his meat with abandon. Karen watched the two lovers perform for the juvenile audience. Eventually, both came again, but this time they collapsed afterward in exhaustion. The sex apparently complete, Karen continued her widening spiral scan. Karen was still hot from her shameless voyeurism. She unzoomed and tried to chill out. It was some time before her consciousness expanded to perceive the coverage area fully, without effort. After a period she lost track of watching and just watched. She felt the cold edges of eternity as the individuality of her perception faded. Thoroughly refreshed, Karen took off the display goggles and arose. The ultra-stable shark wasn't as thrilling to fly by hand as most kites, but was fun nonetheless. She unhooked the reel from the barbecue and stood on her local hilltop, anchoring the peeping shark. Karen was starting to become bored with the kite when she noticed a young man approaching. The smiling face of don Genaro was pasted over the approaching stranger. She hated it when that happened. The Castaneda clan, who considered her to be some kind of witch, invaded her lofty highs periodically. Karen had to wait out the limited power of the ally which was reduced by ignoring it. Meanwhile, in a thought bubble over her head, an icon-sized Yaqui sorcerers apprentice scribbled in his hilarious notebooks. "Happy Earth Day, Karen", Genaro said. "Piss on that", Karen said as she continued to fly her kite. "What?", Genaro smiled. "Happy Earth First! day", Karen replied. "What's it matter what you call it as long as we act together to save the planet?" "You sound like the environmental president. Let's link arms across Amerika and pretend. Let's pretend that someone else will fix things. Save it for the yuppie swine." "Okay, what're you doing?" "Well, let me see. I'm shipping a crate of special tree spikes, writing to imprisoned Firsters, and planting trees. And that's today." Unsure of the man's exact identity, she posed an insider question, "How's the titty project"? "Beautiful! The tiny turbofan was incredible. We got much better performance from the zeppelin than expected. And quiet? Almost inaudible at altitude. How's the vid?" "It's perfect. I taped some haus frau fucking a delivery man in her back yard over there", she said, pointing to the subdivision next to the park. "And I wasn't the only one. The kids next door are going to make her a local celebrity." Still, don Genaro could have been one of several men. But, which one? Another insider question, "And the navware?" "Haven't heard, but that was the easiest part. I'm sure it's go", Genaro responded. With the realization that she was speaking to Roger Wilco, the airframe contractor, the don Genaro face disappeared, leaving Roger's craggy, but handsome features. The figure in the thought bubble paused and looked up before vanishing. "I've got a solid lead on the fundy mentalists", Roger announced. "A church that they gather at before descending on clinics. An OR organizer flew in for a meeting tonight." Used to the short notice which was often involved in monkeywrenching, Karen pressed for details, "What's their security?" "Jesus and the parking lot lights." "What're you doing?", Karen asked, her interest piqued. "Placing caltrops. There should be a nearly full parking lot, and we have enough for all. There's even enough for the helpful tow trucks and supportive friends." Without reservation, Karen agreed to the date. She traded turns with Roger hauling in the peeping shark. Karen negotiated the suburban streets according to the instructions that she'd received. She found the health spa with little effort. She'd passed on several previous occasions, but had been unimpressed by the lack of business that was evident. If the grounds were any indication, the spa wasn't doing any too well. She parked under the shade the nearest tree to the door. The information desk was right inside the door. Karen was pleased to be recognized when she introduced herself to the pretty brunette. During the time that she waited for her masseuse, Karen watched the swimmers in the olympic pool beyond the plate glass. Several men and a woman played hide-and-seek games enthusiastically. Dena, who would her masseuse, was not what Karen had expected. She was a short, plump, Latina with a kindly but deferential manner. Dena led Karen to a private massage room. Once the door was closed, she withdrew a small pipe and her stash of Humboldt skunk from her purse. As she loaded the pipe she explained to Karen, "It's an excellent high. No seeds". The women sat calmly and puffed the bowl to dust. Karen roused herself from her mental fog and stood, gracefully pulling the pinafore dress over her head. Her tits jiggled delightfully when she shook her hair out. Almost as an afterthought, she slipped her bikini panties off and stepped out of her sandals. She dropped all three articles of clothing on the chair which she'd just been sitting in and and lay face on the prepared table. Dena waited, warming the oil in hands that had sturdy, practiced fingers. Karen hadn't taken note of Dena's covert appreciation of her gorgeous body as she disrobed. Starting with a sweeping arch that took in Karen's shoulders and the upper portion of her back, Dena began. Her fingers worked in concert to slowly knead the areas that offered resistance. Karen felt the tension retreat as Dena worked her flesh with warm circular pressure. Dena used delicate touches to relax Karen's neck and scalp before turning her attentions to Karen's lower back. Captivated by the gentle curve of Karen's sweetly freckled ass, Dena cupped and rubbed the lovely buttocks. Karen automatically spread her legs apart as Dena stroked her upper thighs. Dena thoroughly rubbed Karen's shapely legs. As she proceeded toward Karen's ankles she was overcome by the perfect picture of split tail. Dena bent Karen's legs up at the knees and began a detailed study of her feet. Her fingers traced every detail of Karen's toes, arches, and heels. Karen rolled over at the easy touch. Dena intertwined her fingers between Karen's toes and lightly sucked and licked between them, the while rolling her fingers along the tender arch. Karen's erect nipples testified to her growing excitement. She arched her back involuntarily and moaned excitedly from the wonderful sensory overload. Dena's expert hands kneaded Karen's calf. She massaged Karen's upper thigh and knee. Karen's legs gradually spread further apart revealing her moist and puffy pussy. Dena rubbed the other leg from the thigh to the knee and ankle. Finally, she gave Karen's left foot equal treatment. While Karen relaxed, Dena moved around to Karen's side. She made several applications of oil to Karen's chest, manipulating her breasts gently. Dena lost herself briefly playing with Karen's firm and shapely tits. The well oiled mounds conformed to the constantly changing pressure from her hands, but immediately returned to their pert contours when released. Dena concentrated her efforts on each breast in turn once Karen's nips came up; one hand shifting and sliding, the other tugging and twisting the sensitive nipple. When she could tear herself away, Dena bent over and lightly kissed each of Karen's coral-colored nips. Only the slightest pressure was required to prompt Karen to reposition herself on the table. From slender feet to tapered calves to slim thighs, Dena relished the view of Karen's shapely legs dangling from the table. She felt nothing short of adoration for the flower of womanly flesh nestled in Karen's downy pubes. Dena dabbed special spice-scented oil on Karen's swollen mound, rubbing gently around and around. She brushed the fleshy inner lips and saw the first drops of translucent dew. With practiced strokes, Dena manipulated the lubricated labia. She caressed the clitoral hood with one hand while easing the index finger of the other into the snug pussy. She tantalized the hardened pea and the delicate labial fold. Dena added more oil and began screwing her finger in and out of Karen's cunt; slowly at first, but faster and faster in tempo to Karen's bucking hips and inarticulate moans. When she got the track of Karen's approaching orgasm Dena carefully synced her motions, until the orgasmic waves from Karen's clit and G-spot cascaded over her repeatedly. Dena slipped the amyl capsule from her stash while Karen relaxed, laying back, breathing raggedly. As soon as Karen was desensitized, Dena lowered her mouth to Karen's crotch and exhaled warmly. Dena reamed the point of her delicate tongue into the puckered rosebud of Karen's asshole. Karen moaned gently and rubbed an erect nipple between forefinger and thumb of one hand while she played with Dena's glossy mane with the other hand. Aroused by the musky femininity, Dena began licking the length of Karen's slit with fervor, occasionally tugging her pussy lips gently, or nuzzling her swollen clit. As she licked gentle circular patterns, Dena prepared to crush the capsule. She carefully led Karen to the edge of orgasm; hips gyrating, rolling her pussy wantonly, crazed. Karen had just started her hard climax when she smelled the medicinal odor. Instantly, the vasodilator hit and Dena jammed a finger in her ass. Karen rode the forever acceleration of rocket-boosted- orgasm nearly to seizures before it faded. She lay back, spent and exhausted. Dena slowly arose and walked to Karen's side where she leaned over and cuddled the redhead gently. They snuggled briefly before Dena patted Karen's sweet ass and stepped away to prepare the shower. Karen got up once she heard the water running. The shower was a freestanding pipe in the corner with a massage shower head on a hose. A tile sill provided a shallow basin around the drain. Karen was captivated by the radiant smile which Dena sported as she soaped a washcloth. Invigorated by the very scent of the lathered mint soap as she approached, Karen slipped into the steamy shower. Karen raised her arms and intertwined her fingers behind her head while Dena began walking around her, rinsing her with the needle spray hot water. When Dena hung the shower head on the pipe Karen turned to direct the massaging water on her shoulders and upper back. Dena knelt and eased Karen's legs apart. She gently yet thoroughly washed the blushing snatch with the stimulating soap. Dena turned off the shower and patted a large fluffy towel against Karen's lightly freckled skin, drying her completely. The two women hugged warmly before returning to Karen's clothes and a final smoke before Karen dressed and left for the swimming pool. Roger Wilco had all the equipment set up and tested at the safe house before Karen arrived late in the evening. They awaited the cabal contact who was to direct the signoff mission of the zeppelin. Hedda Steam was an old friend of Karen's, but Roger only knew her from construction review meetings. Roger answered the knock at the door. The raven-haired Amerind was as beautiful, and as businesslike, as ever. Roger led her to the back bedroom where the computers and radios were arrayed. Karen and Hedda embraced warmly and pecked each others cheeks. Karen offered the first hit of red-haired sinse to Hedda, who obliged by lighting the bong and drawing deeply. After several passes of the pipe, the three were relaxed and ready. The mischief was about to begin. Karen and Hedda had watched Roger transmit the flight instructions that had allowed the zeppelin to shadow the formation of six Bell 206 utility helicopters. With several keystrokes, Roger selected the radio navaids to be jammed. It was no small coincidence that the formation was currently relying on them for navigation. With a press of the RETURN key, programming was uploaded to the special pod which was attached to the zeppelin. The chopper pilots became concerned when red flags started to extend into the faces of their radio navigation instruments. They switched through the various VOR frequencies available to them and found the same static everywhere. The cabal mission outline had optimistically projected that the malathion sprayers would abort their mission and return to base once they could no longer rely on absolute positioning. That hope was shattered when the lead pilot ordered continuing on visual. "Charlie Mike", he'd called on the radio as he began the final turn, leading the legal urban aerial poisoning of sleeping families. Hedda nodded and Roger selected and transmitted another program. The zeppelin began forging the signals returned by the altitude-encoding radar transponders of the formation. Roger, Hedda, and Karen waited a tense few minutes, listening for trouble. When none came, Hedda nodded again and Roger sent an initiating signal. In an instant, the helicopters all appeared to have been hijacked. The air traffic controllers saw the assigned squawk codes turn to 7500 in one sweep of the interrogating radar beam. The nightmare was only starting for the controllers. Their calls weren't heard or returned by the formation. The pilots were apparently getting somewhat edgy about the loss of communication as well. Unable to communicate with one another, the pilots broke formation according to contingency plan. Once the formation began breaking up, the zeppelin changed the forged squawk codes to 7700; emergency. The encoded altitude was rapidly decreased until the signal was completely blanked. The controllers believed that the choppers had crashed and began responding accordingly. Roger transmitted the final program. The zeppelin ceased all radio interference and turned to its departure path; a secure cabal- operated landing zone waited in the desert. The turbofan-powered zeppelin slipped away, its anechoic coating hiding it from the radar below and above, where the alerted interceptors snooped. Roger, Karen, and Hedda were almost rolling on the floor in laughter from the conversations between the malathion sprayers and the air traffic controllers. It was going to be a very late night for these lackeys of agribiz. The Third Adventure By Jim and Meg Norris January 7, 1991 This document may be reproduced without permission, provided it is not modified in any fashion whatsoever, and provided it is not delivered for any price or charge. The autumn rainstorm in Arkham was the chill drizzle in Boston that delayed Karen's connection to Atlanta for hours. In her faded Levis and a light blue tee, Karen Eliot was hardly outstanding among the business women rushing to and fro in the passenger concourse; at least in terms of wardrobe. Her bright green eyes and flaming locks were enchanting. With no makeup but lip gloss, her gentle beauty radiated warmth. Within moments of finishing the action/adventure novel Karen felt the creep of incipient boredom. Tired also of endlessly listening to the ten cassettes that she carried, she clicked the walkman off. Karen slipped her paperback and walkman into her backpack. Noting that the departure board still announced delay, she set out for the lounge. Not particularly interested in rebuffing pickups, Karen steered for a table where several women drank boisterously. She fit right in with the Marines who were swapping stories. Karen loved their "There I was..." yarns. She drank several rounds with the service bitches before her turn to regale them with wicked tales of bobbing and weaving as a consultant. Karen sported a nice glow when her flight was announced. She quickly swapped sounds with the corporals before heading for her plane. The boarding crew apologized for the lousy weather that prevailed along the eastern seaboard. They didn't apologize for the sardine-can conditions in the little airliner. Apparently most of Karen's ninety-some fellow passengers suffered from advanced B.O. Disembarking in Atlanta occurred not a moment too soon. Although she'd missed the flight to Los Angeles, her mixed luck held. She was accommodated on another L.A. flight that had been delayed by a squall line. Karen sat at a midships port-side window in the TriStar. The air conditioning, which was effective for nearly four hundred sweating bodies, overwhelmed the mere handful of travelers seated within Karen's sight. Karen set her chess computer aside, marveling that the manufacturer had the guts to rate it at 2100. Diversions finally exhausted, she prepared to consider her pressing problems. Pretending to sleep would keep her meditation undisturbed while the music on the tape rolled. She fumed at the gall of the advisory committee. She would not be allowed to complete her grad work at Miskatonic University if she elected to take leave and study under a shaman. The head battle-axe raised the specter of full employment for ghostbusters. To add insult to injury, they pointedly suggested that she work out her conflicted loyalties during Halloween break. Her coven, which had arranged her acceptance at Miskatonic U, expected her to complete her studies there. Even so, she wondered if the High Priestess would support her thesis on eigenstate measurement/selection. Karen didn't want to kindle the arguments between the old wicca and the young reality hackers. Drew Blood, her working partner, and she were to take on another layer of interface metaphor. The first layer, which supported her status as an adept, had been installed under hypnosis years earlier. The manual documented the keyphrase 'will, skill, tools' which defined and invoked the effect. Karen's only upgrade, 'improvise, adapt, overcome', was barely a year old. >From her reading of the manual on the new upgrade, 'simplicity, sincerity, serenity', Karen wondered if a serious mistake had been made. The documentation had no information relating to how the upgrade would be personally useful. Although the coven approved the change of emphasis from individual goals to universal goals, Karen bristled. Her upcoming Samhain initiation, dependent on the new upgrade, seemed to emphasize commitment and service. Karen had met Mark Featherstone while doing field work in southern New Mexico. They were both collecting mescal, but for different reasons. Featherstone proved expert at locating and identifying many specimens of the spineless globe-shaped cactus for her. Karen found that his suggestions about which buttonlike tubercles to collect were based on extensive pharmacologic scholarship. Although the white woman and Amerind shaman were worlds apart, a mutual respect developed and matured over the years. As the only person that she knew outside the Miskatonic clique with parallel knowledge, his perspective was important to Karen. His offer to clarify some baffling aspects of her studies was uncharacteristily forthcoming and invaluable. Karen slept through dinner service. She felt the landing gear drop and was fully awakened by the flap extention during the final approach over Inglewood. Drew Blood listened to the interminable recording about the white zone as he waited curb-side at the terminal. The sidelong glances from the parking patrol didn't bother Drew; he knew Karen as a prudent air traveler. He counted on her practice of toting only carry-on luggage. Karen brightened when she saw Drew waiting for her in the ugly beige heartbeat of America. Although she ascribed his phenomenol ability to meet her to his precise divination, a simple telephone call to the airline sufficed on this occassion. Following a warm hug and a quick kiss, Drew swung into traffic. He had avoided eating to have dinner with Karen. When the subject came up, he was prepared, "Beef fajitas with jalapeno cornbread or Tom Yum Goong?" Without hesitation, Karen proposed the hot and sour shrimp soup. The marvelous combination of tender shrimp floating in a rich broth, liberally spiced with chillies and tangy with lemon grass, lime juice and citrus leaves was Karen's favorite, as Drew well knew. Drew showed Karen around the walkup above the misnamed five- and-dime which was only minutes from the airport. "It's mostly an excuse for the BBS", he admitted. Sitting on the top shelf in a closet was a computer, a hard disk, and two modems. Karen noted the lack of a monitor and keyboard, assuming that Drew used a laptop on one of the serial ports to do his sysop thing. The remainder of the closet was stuffed with earthquake supplies. The motion sensors and the demon dialer enhanced the functional, yet unlived-in quality common to safe houses. Karen relaxed in the small living room following Drew's tour of the flat. The expectant look on her face prompted Drew to proffer the package that he'd picked up on his way to the airport. Karen opened the pharmacy sack and extracted the bronchial inhaler. The asthma prescription appeared genuine, but she knew better. The mouthpiece in place, Karen pressed the canister into the base. She inhaled deeply as the fine spray was discharged. Karen's initial suspicion that she hadn't gotten a hit was dispelled by a coughing fit. Drew declined her motioned offer. Thoroughly stoned, Karen rested the inhaler on the empty coffee table. Unwilling to succumb to lethargy, Karen arose and made for the kitchen. Drew had all the materials on hand for either meal, even the seemingly hard-to-find fresh lemon grass. The sixers of Singha and Dosxx in the fridge brightened Karen further. They quickly agreed on the division of labor and began preparing dinner. Drew juiced two small limes as Karen laid out vegetables from the crisper. She cut zest from the rind when he was through. Waiting for her to open up about their predicament, he heated a small amount of oil in a saucepan. "It's an issue of choice to me", Karen began. Drew accepted the emphasis she applied, chopping lemon grass to one inch lengths. "How somebody else could know what's best for me boggles my mind. To coerce me into obedience is one thing, but the most unkind cut of all is to be expected to agree and like it." Drew dropped shrimp shells into the hot oil, watching for them to turn pink, listening to Karen continue. "Who should determine what I learn?", she asked while vigorously chopping several green onions. "Me!", she concluded, looking to Drew who was slivering green and red chillies. "You accepted their role in your development", Drew reminded her as he stirred the mixture of chicken stock, salt, lemon grass, citrus leaves, lime rind, and green chillies in the saucepan. "Their guidance has been good. Perhaps the older, wiser heads do have a good reason", he suggested. Karen watched Drew cover and set the saucepan to simmer after bringing it to a boil. "If they do have a good reason, and it's wrong for me, it's no skin off their asses", she observed. "Where else are you going to study the _Necronomicon_?". "I don't know Drew, but I draw the line at dogmatic conformity. 'What is good, Phaedrus, and what is not good - need we ask anyone to tell us these things", Karen quoted. "Excuse me. I'm going to get a shower". After luxuriating under the hot fingers of the shower massage, Karen rejoined Drew, who was busy straining the soup through a sieve. "What about you Drew", she asked, approaching him. "What do you want to do?" Drew returned the mix to the saucepan and brought it to a boil. "My path is not dictated by another, nor is it dependent", he said as he added the shrimp and cooked them for several minutes in the stock. "The university administration suffers from an inherent flaw of Authority: 'The company takes what the company wants and nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'. This isn't even personal. It's just rules." After reducing the heat, Drew added fish sauce and lime juice to the simmering soup. He stirred it and immediately removed it from the heat. "Our thesis is a collaboration", Karen reminded him. "What'll you do?", she asked as Drew retrieved their beers from the fridge. Karen poured the soup in a tureen. Drew sprinkled it with red chillies, coriander leaves, and green onions as he replied. "I've held back some work on multidimensionality. Maybe that and some fresh ideas on chaos. Perhaps the attenuation of magic. I'm not sure, but it's not a problem. I wonder if the University of California has room for a magician in its Interrelation of Conceptual Structures program?" Karen carried the tureen to the table, serving the soup piping hot. Drew lit the candle and they seated themselves. By long convention the two observed a companionable silence as they dined. After dinner Drew revealed the dessert that he'd gotten while at the Thai market. Sticky rice, coconut milk, and banana strips were wrapped within banana leaves. Instead of steaming the delights, Drew 'waved them while he and Karen carried the dishes from the small dining area to the sink. Drew considered how to breach the subject of the impending upgrade to their interface metaphors as the fragrant Khaw Tom Pud cooled. Karen had benefited greatly from personal control of her cognitive faculties as if they were software. She was naturally reluctant to share that control; even with the people who had made it possible. "Are you ready for the shrink shop?" asked Drew jocularly. He wasn't fond of the unbecoming appelation for the wetware techs, but aimed to draw Karen out. "No. I'm really uncertain about it. It doesn't sound like such a good idea to me." "What's the hangup?" "Their hands on my reins." "Does loyalty influence you? Have they given you reason for mistrust?" Karen quoted Thomas Paine. "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul..." "It's not like you haven't been through this before." "Can we be sure that after this upgrade we'll be inclined toward the same selfish perspective in considering future upgrades?" "Have you considered favorable aspects?" Drew asked. "Frankly, no. Maybe Madge and Tar can fill that area in." Drew dropped the subject and concentrated on washing the dishes and tidying the kitchen while Karen got stoned and watched headline news. Karen and Drew, according to a fond habit, read in bed until sleepy. Drew set his engineering manual aside in mere minutes. He rested undisturbed as Karen turned and twisted her way through the thriller that gripped her attention. Karen dropped the novel to the floor and extinguished the dim headboard lamp. She spooned in behind Drew, pressing herself into him and resting her head on the pillow beside his. She shared his warmth, feeling his slow and even breathing beside her. Unable to find sleep through ordinary methods, Karen let herself drift, recalling among other things her association with Drew. She and Drew had first crossed paths in their final year of high school. In a case that had elicited support from the ACLU, the school administration had suppressed a news story in the school newspaper. Karen's investigation of corruption in an alderman's office was explosive. Her story was backed up by Drew's second-story work which gained solid evidence. The cabal didn't care that the school won; it exploited the opportunity by awarding Karen and Drew college scholarships. The cabal extended a Segretti Fellowship to Drew for altering the circuitry of E-Meters at the Church of Scientology during black-bag snoops. His discoveries in the Guardian's Office had been the springboard to Karen's research into the methods utilized to penetrate and manipulate the FBI. Karen found the large cash payment for that particular report to be very useful. Karen's reminiscences turned to the Pirate Fucking Radio project. The cabal had needed volume cost reductions on zeppelin production. Drew presented the proposal and Karen presented the plan. Fidel Castro jumped at the chance to broadcast The Voice of Jose Marti into the American west coast radio/television market. The cost of replacing the unmanned broadcast zeppelins which were destroyed by federal forces was well below revenues. Lack of regulation and taxes did the rest. Drew and Karen had received credit for recouping in spades the autonomous aircraft's development cost. Karen slipped lightly from bed and shouldered her backpack which she always kept bedside. She adjourned to living room where she could consult her cards. Karen spread a large silk scarf on the floor and sat cross- legged before it. She first selected the Major Arcana from her Wonderland tarot deck. She set the remaining cards aside on the scarf. Images and bits of her concern floated and whirled without direction as she shuffled the twenty-two trumps. She laid out ten cards in a standard cross pattern and sat for several minutes considering the meanings conveyed by the reading. The Fool, in the position to indicate forthcoming influences, was the image of a spirit totally free, courageously leaping into some new phase of life. Death, placed to indicate her present situation, signified a time of change. The Sun, as a final outcome, described happiness and a great sense of the beauty of life. Karen took these cards to mean that the successful transition, far from being in question, was in progress. The Hermit, positioned to indicate her previous influences, bespoke her recent withdrawal for intense study. The High Priestess, in a position to reveal how other people viewed Karen, showed that they accepted her inner wisdom and strong intuition. The Hanged Man, as a measure of her hopes and fears, addressed Karen's antipathy to loosing her educational investment. Karen accepted these cards as confirming the context of her inquiry. The Magician, describing what Karen was experiencing, illustrated the creator in the act of creation, and additionally a shaman or shamanism. The Devil, positioned to indicate the obstacles that crossed the Magician, adequately described Karen's feeling of being chained to controlling obsessions. Together, these cards defined the conflict for Karen. The Hierophant, in position to indicate what was really behind the surface situation, represented education in general, and her own inner sense of direction. The Empress, positioned to express what was in plain sight, puzzled Karen. The usual meaning of a mother figure didn't seem to fit. The card depicted the knitting Sheep gliding along in a little boat. Karen recalled the episode from _Through The Looking Glass_. The Sheep was the proprietress of an odd shop with all manner of curious things. When Alice became confused by the vast array of wares, the Sheep's shop transformed. Alice found herself in the boat with the Sheep, rowing with knitting needles on the queer water. The Sheep finally urged Alice to make up her mind after indulging Alice's curiosity at length. The egg that Alice eventually bought from the Sheep became Humpty Dumpty. It was Humpty Dumpty who was poised atop the wall in The Sun, a card of satisfaction, accomplishment, and success - the card which in this case indicated the culmination and results of all the influences revealed by the other cards. Karen wrapped her cards within the scarf and stowed them within the little pouch in her backpack. With her mind at ease, she slipped back to bed. Drew absentmindedly put an arm around her, drawing her close. Karen subvocalized a post-hypnotic suggestion to arise relaxed and refreshed, before drifting off to a sound and restful sleep. Karen was still sleeping when Drew awoke to the early morning light with a woody. The exquisite shape of her tits was neither diminished by reclining, nor obscured by her T-shirt. Drew considered her flat belly and shapely legs concealed by the sheet. Inspired, and knowing how Karen appreciated a wake-up fuck, he proceeded to slowly arose her. Drew tenderly cupped a pert breast and kissed Karen's neck. The low moan was encouraging. He gently manipulated the firm flesh. Once the nip came up he rolled it between thumb and forefinger. With a final squeeze, Drew released Karen's breast and rested his hand on her pubic mound. He softly rubbed her downy pubes through the bikini. Karen rolled her hips slightly and murmured approval. Slipping beneath the elastic band, Drew rubbed her thickening pad with his fingernails. At the merest touch to her sparsely furred puffy lips, Karen eased her legs apart. Drew's hardon throbbed as he massaged Karen's pussy through the dampening fabric. When he pushed the crotch aside and lay his fingers along her slit, he was met with a little shudder and a more insistent moan. With a finger along either side of the long hood, Drew felt the hard clit within. His gentle manipulations were met by the little smacking sounds of a well-lubed cunt. Repositioning himself, Drew tugged at Karen's panties as she daintily raised her hips to help him remove them. Karen held the sheet up with one hand so that Drew could breath and with the other she pushed his face into her crotch. Drew's beard stubble chaffed her thighs as she gently crossed her ankles, completing the loose scissor lock on his willing head. Supported by his elbows, Drew massaged Karen's engorged outer lips with his forefingers. He nibbled and tugged her fleshy inner lips before getting down to serious licking. Drew ran his tongue the length of Karen's slit, occasionally pushing deep into her hole or tickling her extended clitty. Karen's rhythmically gyrating hips and inarticulate moans coaxed him onward. He probed her drenched vagina with one thumb and rubbed her asshole with the other as his tongue variously flicked or rubbed her turgid clitoris. Karen approached orgasm several times, but Drew would change his stimulation to deny her. When she could stand it no more, she squeezed his head playfully between her thighs. Drew increased the tempo of his licking, concentrating on her clit. With pushing and screwing motions, he massaged the roughly textured walls of her cunt with an index finger. Drew synchronized his efforts as Karen's breathing became rapid and shallow. Karen arched her back and came with a tremble, clenching Drew's finger repeatedly with diminishing force. Karen took only an an instant to select a position. She wanted to be ballsy in the upcoming discussions. Being on top would encourage a more active role, a sense of superiority, a feeling of free movement, and a sense of doing whatever she wished. Drew was a real bonus for face-to-face fucking; he would read her face and express, he had beautiful brown eyes, and he could kiss. Best of all, he had the cock discipline for lap fucking. "May I sit in your lap, love?" she asked. Drew sat facing Karen with his legs apart, enthusiasm evident from his smile and throbbing penis. His answer was eagerly outstretched arms. Karen snuggled in close to Drew, with her legs over his and behind him. She insured that they were both comfortable, without undue stress on their limbs. With her nose alongside Drew's, Karen looked deeply into his eyes as they embraced. The warmth that she saw said 'friend' and more. She was excited by her musk on his mouth while their skillful tongues wrestled playfully. The warm and creamy feeling intensified with Drew's hot cock against her belly and his lightly haired chest pressing her tits. Karen eased back and grasped the base of Drew's dick. Moisture glistened on the head before she began rubbing her pussy with it. She moved closer, angling her hips up. With each stroke of his dick along her wet slit, Karen would tantalize Drew by squeezing the head lightly with her snatch, then rub him up and around her extended clit. Drew stifled his desire to push into Karen, awaiting the delicious torture of her ultra-slow entry. Instead, he hugged her warmly, one arm around her waist and lower back, the other just below her shoulders. Karen tightly clenched her vagina as she rested more and more of her weight on Drew's cock. With only the slightest relaxation she gradually slid down Drew's meaty pole, accompanied by something between a sigh and a moan. Once she was filled with Drew's hot hardness, Karen hungrily joined with him in a deep and passionate kiss that was destined to occupy them for the duration. Karen pulled herself taut to afford Drew maximum stimulation with only slight movement. She used calculated pelvic movements of yaw, pitch, and roll to accentuate her motion along the length of his shaft. Karen built their excitement to all-encompassing and nearly explosive before easing slightly, relaxing briefly with Drew's dick buried in her to the hilt. Karen eased back a little, raising herself and locking his bulbous dick head against her G-spot. She began a serpentine massage of his penis with her vaginal muscles, deliciously stimulating their most erogenous flesh. Karen felt Drew's impending orgasm as his balls drew tight in the palm of her hand and his breathing became insistent. She brought herself to the edge and kicked off the simultaneous explosion. Drew forcefully pumped his load deep into Karen's quivering cunt. Karen's orgasm expelled a copious fluid discharge which mixed with Drew's semen and drained over his softening cock, drenching the bed. Karen broke the deep kiss and snuggled against Drew, pulling herself to him, nestling her head against his neck. Their frantic heartbeats and ragged breathing normalized during their long embrace. The cooling wet spot under them encouraged an effort to dry off with a fluffy towel which Drew had thoughtfully provided. Following a brief shower, Karen and Drew breakfasted on heuvos rancheros at a nearby taquiera. It was on the walk back that Drew excused himself until late afternoon to pursue personal business. Karen welcomed the opportunity to relax. Unused to the slack time in her study schedule, she made the best of it; loafing about, reading a novel that Drew had left on his nightstand. By mid-afternoon Karen was eager for something more active. It struck her as an ideal time to practice her exercises. Karen's pulse quickened as she considered the upcoming delight. She stepped lightly, considering Fizzlebot's purple egg. As far as it was from being a simple stone, it was no closer to being a jewel. Karen had worked briefly with the independent inventor to develop an aerogel from sand which the coven provided. The wispy, nearly transparent solid was extremely porous, with only three or four times the density of dry air. Fizzlebot nicknamed the high- strength, ultralight stuff 'purple fuzzle'. His guess that the fuzzle was used to stabilize fusion fuels under laser blast inspired his fruitless experiments with the surplus aerogel. He presented Karen with a brilliant violet ovoid as a souvenir. Karen undressed, tossing her clothes in a pile next to her backpack on the bedroom floor. She sat on the edge of the bed, legs apart, with her feet flat on the floor. Karen's fingertips barely touched the skin around her nipples as she gently rotated them very slowly in outward circular motions. Shortly, she responded to the invigorating stimulation, playing with the firm fluid movement of her breasts. Warmth spread throughout her genitals, puffing her mound and lightly-haired outer lips. Karen kneaded the softness of her pussy while she maintained the gentle manipulation of her breasts, occasionally twisting or tweaking a sensitive nip. Her wattled inner labia were dusky pink, striated with tan. As her sexual energy built, they felt more flush and moist, and looked redder. Karen smeared the abundant juices forming at her hole over the fleshy lips. Karen began a rhythmic pressure against the hood of her clit with a single fingertip. Fully engorged, it poked from beneath the hood. She directed the concentration and flow of her developing sexual energy, bringing it to a shuddering orgasm and an instant of transcendence. Karen withdrew the egg from a pouch in her backpack. Eugene Fizzlebot couldn't explain why it radiated warmth. As for the pleasure of contact with it, Fizzlebot mumbled something about piezoelectricity, but didn't even seem very convinced about it himself. She stood and assumed the practice stance; her feet shoulders' width apart and firmly grounded, ankles and knees bent, groin folded, spine and neck in alignment. She splayed her succulent lips with the fingers of one hand and eased the egg into her vagina, wider end first. By isolating and contracting her external vaginal orifice tightly, she grasped the egg and relished the pleasant feelings from the it before beginning to move it with her internal musculature. The movement up and down her vagina was, as always, the easiest. Karen clenched, raising the egg slightly, then holding it for a moment, before relaxing enough to allow the egg to descend to the original position. She completed half a dozen slow repetitions of the exercise, regulating the squeezing to her inhalations. Karen drew the egg up in front of her cervix and 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. -- I will ignore all requests for: reposts, e-mailing missing parts, archive locations, ftp sites, gif sites, and subscription requests. These stories get deleted immediately after they are posted. For more info on the ARCHIVE postings, read the FAQ posted bi-monthly to a.s.s.d Karen Eliot's Excellent Adventures #2 by Jim and Meg Norris This document may be reproduced without permission, provided it is not modified in any fashion whatsoever, and provided it is not delivered for any price or charge. Karen sat at her bar in the small pool of light cast by a desk lamp. She keyed the remote and was immediately jolted by the intense volume in her headphones. She quickly adjusted to the digital rock'n'roll. She extracted one of the two sugar cubes from the small ziploc and dropped it into the clear water which about half filled the blue crystal glass. Karen watched the thin tendrils and bubbles climbing upward from the dissolving cube. When only a vestige of the cube remained, Karen stirred the water. The painted Emperor penguin atop the glass stir stick turned and spun. Clasped lightly in Karen's regal fingers, it completed the ceremonial preparation. Karen raised the glass and drank the water in several unhurried swallows. With a phrase, she invoked her hypnotically- installed interface metaphor and prepared to enter the always open playground of her mind. Karen closed her eyes. As always, the first effect to hit was the intense joy. Beyond euphoria, she was lit by the electric pleasure of cognition. The acceleration of her awareness took Karen's breath away. She was filled with a sense of vibrant energy; restless, resisting confinement, awaiting purpose. Karen waited, still and receptive, enjoying her most powerful and balanced hit of L+ yet. Her face was transformed by a wide grin. Everything that she experienced seemed hilarious. The boundless soul laughed at every aspect of its voluntary earthly confinement. The joyous feelings mellowed and Karen could feel the visual effect hitting. She opened her eyes. Her will twisted the perspective of her view. With slight effort, she could see the framework of points underlying her previous perspective. Karen loved to come to the grid of brilliant spectral colors pulsing on a background of the deepest black. She shifted her perspective further into the grid. The perception of her immediate surroundings become masked by the perspective switching. With the underlying grid mostly in violet with some green, she could see her world alongside. With the grid shifted to yellow and blue, her world became a fading afterimage. The final displacement was to orange and red grid lines. The delicate flows between the white node points connected by the grid lines were clearly discernable. Karen relaxed, her mind still. When she felt totally cleansed, Karen twisted her perspective back to her physical circumstances. The point framework faded, but the clear joy remained. Karen tamped the last of her Mendocino purple kush into the bong bowl. She smoked several hits of the famous one-hit shit. Karen piloted her 16-valve yupster through the thickening early morning traffic. She drove to her favorite regional park, occasionally playing with the shapes of the fluffy clouds to the sounds of blasting rock'n'roll. The promising gusts of wind earlier had picked up to a steady breeze. She was easily able to fit into the street side parking space left by a suit driving a boat that didn't quite look like his father's Oldsmobile. Karen removed the two bags with her gear from the car and set off on foot. Her favorite visual hallucination was immediately operational; the clouds were false colored. The resolution improved as she watched. Horizontal and vertical movement was highlighted to the degree of magnitude. Movement tails were plotted against the latlong grid on the sky that suddenly appeared. Her left eye displayed additive color mixture and her right showed subtractive mixture. She blinked rapidly several times before establishing gray scale; positive on left, negative on right. With several more blinks she tested the binocular gray of her shaded object view mode. She switched the tactical overlay on and enjoyed the instant replacement. Dense monochrome axial and edge lines defined the plotted objects in her wireframe view mode. She blinked rapidly and switched the representation color; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Trees moving in the breeze appeared as fractal fluff. She toyed briefly with switching visibility of the hidden lines before halting on the small hilltop that she'd walked to. The position was ideal for kite flying; an unobstructed hilltop with a comfortably calm lee side. Karen willed the visual hallucination suite off. Once Karen had unpacked everything that she needed, the special components of her custom kite were arrayed about her in small unitary bags. Moving lithely, she fitted the machined alloy tubes through the fabric. With some flexing of the frame tubes, the assembly locked into position. The dihedral looked perfect to her practiced eye. She quickly attached her toys to the kite. This was to be the final test of the digital camera. The stoner-friendly components were a cinch to connect and test. The kite ready, Karen swiftly connected the signal processor and the display to the power pack. Her nipples hardened as she stood facing the oncoming chill wind with the black shark kite. Once she released the two meter long kite, it tugged aggressively to achieve altitude. The ratchet on the reel of line stopped clicking at full extension. Karen hooked the reel to a concrete-anchored barbecue grill. The kite would easily stay aloft all day, given wind. Karen plugged her goggles into the display plate. She tested the trackball controlled lens movements. The stabilized lens mount really cut down on vertigo. She switched through her visual hallucination series satisfactorily with the remote device. The view was centered downwind from her position. Karen started looking at her surroundings in an expanding spiral from the duck pond directly below the kite. She tarried briefly while watching the city maintenance crew loafing near the lake's pump housing. Only a single weather-beaten Pinto occupied the nearest parking lot. Karen spotted a boy walking purposefully toward the junked out ovenmobile where an equally weathered man sat eating a burrito in it. The boy had the eager, slightly feral look of someone exposed to particularly harsh realities of life at too young an age. The lad leaned in the passenger side window and apparently spoke with the driver. As he walked away he stopped and seemed to meet another person whom Karen hadn't noticed. The kid and the woman walked together toward the Pinto. Both crowded at the window briefly. Karen twiddled the controls to get maximum zoom and the best angle. She watched something pass hands from the woman to the driver. Then the woman and the boy got into the car. They crowded together in the middle of the car making detailed observation impossible. After a few minutes the woman and boy got out of the car. It occurred that the similarities in appearance and expression suggested a familial relationship. Had the kid set up a deal for his mom? Spiraling wider, Karen took in the surrounding neighborhood. The immediate view was a jumble of air conditioners, fireplaces, antennae, and dilapidated roofing. The yards proved to be barely more interesting, with the usual domestic animals and uninspired gardening. Still, things were not without potential as the viewing mechanism came to rest and Karen watched a woman stroking herself with tanning oil. Almost as if she had willed it the elegant woman's hand was dipping into her scant bikini bottom. The woman gave herself over to the pleasure of it and Karen absently licked the fine sheen of perspiration above her lips. Peripheral motion caught Karen's attention. The Smith's Department Store delivery van stopped at the curb in front of the woman's house. The driver walked up to the porch and waited. Karen scanned back to the poolside. Apparently in oblivion, the woman had just found the extended nub of her clitoris. Karen read her lips, "Oh...fuck...fuck me, Jim...oh...God! Fuck meee...". Waves seemed to engulf her as she sank her hand deeper into her cunt, making her shudder with orgasm. She relaxed on the lawn. Apparently she hadn't noticed the delivery man standing on her porch watching her. Karen knew that she had something here that was better than soap operas. If this followed the hallowed script line, the coy bitch would play kinda hard to get, yet a hot wench once coerced into putting out. Karen watched the woman get up and face the delivery man. The cups of her halter dangled, her proud breasts displayed openly. The look on her face as she whipped the guilty hand behind her back was priceless. She shook her tits and rolled her pelvis enticingly while upholding the verbal pretense of fighting off an over-eager admirer. He approached her and ran his hand over her breasts. She raised her pubic mound in horny response, "No, please, don't. I'll give you money." His immediate reply was, "Keep it. I'll do it for free!" Skip and Barbara introduced themselves once they were satisfied that they were committed to fucking by the rules of the mating ritual. Skip finger fucked Barbara briefly before helping her out of her sodden bikini. Barbara freed Skip's erection from his jeans and began stroking it. She kissed and licked his cock lightly and insisted that he fuck her. Skip knelt over Barbara, slipped his massive hardon into her sloshing cunt, and proceeded to pump furiously. Karen noticed what must have been neighbor kids atop the wall at the back of Barbara's property. As she watched, two boys jumped down and ran away. The others, a boy and a girl of about the same age, stared unabashedly at the rutting adults. Karen turned her attention back to Barbara and Skip. Barbara's thrashing was either seizures, or she was coming big time. Just a moment later, Skip began jabbing his pelvis against Barbara's crotch with severe determination. Following their mutual orgasm, Barbara began protesting vociferously. Skip didn't seem deterred and Skip began licking Barbara's tits and belly. Karen looked back at the kids on the wall. The kids who had run away were back. They passed something rather large to their friends on top of the wall. It was a videocam! They got it going just as Skip started licking at Barbara's pussy. While continuing to lick and suck Barbara's drenched box, Skip straddled her, positioning his dong above her mouth. Barbara greedily mouthed his meat with abandon. Karen watched the two lovers perform for the juvenile audience. Eventually, both came again, but this time they collapsed afterward in exhaustion. The sex apparently complete, Karen continued her widening spiral scan. Karen was still hot from her shameless voyeurism. She unzoomed and tried to chill out. It was some time before her consciousness expanded to perceive the coverage area fully, without effort. After a period she lost track of watching and just watched. She felt the cold edges of eternity as the individuality of her perception faded. Thoroughly refreshed, Karen took off the display goggles and arose. The ultra-stable shark wasn't as thrilling to fly by hand as most kites, but was fun nonetheless. She unhooked the reel from the barbecue and stood on her local hilltop, anchoring the peeping shark. Karen was starting to become bored with the kite when she noticed a young man approaching. The smiling face of don Genaro was pasted over the approaching stranger. She hated it when that happened. The Castaneda clan, who considered her to be some kind of witch, invaded her lofty highs periodically. Karen had to wait out the limited power of the ally which was reduced by ignoring it. Meanwhile, in a thought bubble over her head, an icon-sized Yaqui sorcerers apprentice scribbled in his hilarious notebooks. "Happy Earth Day, Karen", Genaro said. "Piss on that", Karen said as she continued to fly her kite. "What?", Genaro smiled. "Happy Earth First! day", Karen replied. "What's it matter what you call it as long as we act together to save the planet?" "You sound like the environmental president. Let's link arms across Amerika and pretend. Let's pretend that someone else will fix things. Save it for the yuppie swine." "Okay, what're you doing?" "Well, let me see. I'm shipping a crate of special tree spikes, writing to imprisoned Firsters, and planting trees. And that's today." Unsure of the man's exact identity, she posed an insider question, "How's the titty project"? "Beautiful! The tiny turbofan was incredible. We got much better performance from the zeppelin than expected. And quiet? Almost inaudible at altitude. How's the vid?" "It's perfect. I taped some haus frau fucking a delivery man in her back yard over there", she said, pointing to the subdivision next to the park. "And I wasn't the only one. The kids next door are going to make her a local celebrity." Still, don Genaro could have been one of several men. But, which one? Another insider question, "And the navware?" "Haven't heard, but that was the easiest part. I'm sure it's go", Genaro responded. With the realization that she was speaking to Roger Wilco, the airframe contractor, the don Genaro face disappeared, leaving Roger's craggy, but handsome features. The figure in the thought bubble paused and looked up before vanishing. "I've got a solid lead on the fundy mentalists", Roger announced. "A church that they gather at before descending on clinics. An OR organizer flew in for a meeting tonight." Used to the short notice which was often involved in monkeywrenching, Karen pressed for details, "What's their security?" "Jesus and the parking lot lights." "What're you doing?", Karen asked, her interest piqued. "Placing caltrops. There should be a nearly full parking lot, and we have enough for all. There's even enough for the helpful tow trucks and supportive friends." Without reservation, Karen agreed to the date. She traded turns with Roger hauling in the peeping shark. Karen negotiated the suburban streets according to the instructions that she'd received. She found the health spa with little effort. She'd passed on several previous occasions, but had been unimpressed by the lack of business that was evident. If the grounds were any indication, the spa wasn't doing any too well. She parked under the shade the nearest tree to the door. The information desk was right inside the door. Karen was pleased to be recognized when she introduced herself to the pretty brunette. During the time that she waited for her masseuse, Karen watched the swimmers in the olympic pool beyond the plate glass. Several men and a woman played hide-and-seek games enthusiastically. Dena, who would her masseuse, was not what Karen had expected. She was a short, plump, Latina with a kindly but deferential manner. Dena led Karen to a private massage room. Once the door was closed, she withdrew a small pipe and her stash of Humboldt skunk from her purse. As she loaded the pipe she explained to Karen, "It's an excellent high. No seeds". The women sat calmly and puffed the bowl to dust. Karen roused herself from her mental fog and stood, gracefully pulling the pinafore dress over her head. Her tits jiggled delightfully when she shook her hair out. Almost as an afterthought, she slipped her bikini panties off and stepped out of her sandals. She dropped all three articles of clothing on the chair which she'd just been sitting in and and lay face on the prepared table. Dena waited, warming the oil in hands that had sturdy, practiced fingers. Karen hadn't taken note of Dena's covert appreciation of her gorgeous body as she disrobed. Starting with a sweeping arch that took in Karen's shoulders and the upper portion of her back, Dena began. Her fingers worked in concert to slowly knead the areas that offered resistance. Karen felt the tension retreat as Dena worked her flesh with warm circular pressure. Dena used delicate touches to relax Karen's neck and scalp before turning her attentions to Karen's lower back. Captivated by the gentle curve of Karen's sweetly freckled ass, Dena cupped and rubbed the lovely buttocks. Karen automatically spread her legs apart as Dena stroked her upper thighs. Dena thoroughly rubbed Karen's shapely legs. As she proceeded toward Karen's ankles she was overcome by the perfect picture of split tail. Dena bent Karen's legs up at the knees and began a detailed study of her feet. Her fingers traced every detail of Karen's toes, arches, and heels. Karen rolled over at the easy touch. Dena intertwined her fingers between Karen's toes and lightly sucked and licked between them, the while rolling her fingers along the tender arch. Karen's erect nipples testified to her growing excitement. She arched her back involuntarily and moaned excitedly from the wonderful sensory overload. Dena's expert hands kneaded Karen's calf. She massaged Karen's upper thigh and knee. Karen's legs gradually spread further apart revealing her moist and puffy pussy. Dena rubbed the other leg from the thigh to the knee and ankle. Finally, she gave Karen's left foot equal treatment. While Karen relaxed, Dena moved around to Karen's side. She made several applications of oil to Karen's chest, manipulating her breasts gently. Dena lost herself briefly playing with Karen's firm and shapely tits. The well oiled mounds conformed to the constantly changing pressure from her hands, but immediately returned to their pert contours when released. Dena concentrated her efforts on each breast in turn once Karen's nips came up; one hand shifting and sliding, the other tugging and twisting the sensitive nipple. When she could tear herself away, Dena bent over and lightly kissed each of Karen's coral-colored nips. Only the slightest pressure was required to prompt Karen to reposition herself on the table. From slender feet to tapered calves to slim thighs, Dena relished the view of Karen's shapely legs dangling from the table. She felt nothing short of adoration for the flower of womanly flesh nestled in Karen's downy pubes. Dena dabbed special spice-scented oil on Karen's swollen mound, rubbing gently around and around. She brushed the fleshy inner lips and saw the first drops of translucent dew. With practiced strokes, Dena manipulated the lubricated labia. She caressed the clitoral hood with one hand while easing the index finger of the other into the snug pussy. She tantalized the hardened pea and the delicate labial fold. Dena added more oil and began screwing her finger in and out of Karen's cunt; slowly at first, but faster and faster in tempo to Karen's bucking hips and inarticulate moans. When she got the track of Karen's approaching orgasm Dena carefully synced her motions, until the orgasmic waves from Karen's clit and G-spot cascaded over her repeatedly. Dena slipped the amyl capsule from her stash while Karen relaxed, laying back, breathing raggedly. As soon as Karen was desensitized, Dena lowered her mouth to Karen's crotch and exhaled warmly. Dena reamed the point of her delicate tongue into the puckered rosebud of Karen's asshole. Karen moaned gently and rubbed an erect nipple between forefinger and thumb of one hand while she played with Dena's glossy mane with the other hand. Aroused by the musky femininity, Dena began licking the length of Karen's slit with fervor, occasionally tugging her pussy lips gently, or nuzzling her swollen clit. As she licked gentle circular patterns, Dena prepared to crush the capsule. She carefully led Karen to the edge of orgasm; hips gyrating, rolling her pussy wantonly, crazed. Karen had just started her hard climax when she smelled the medicinal odor. Instantly, the vasodilator hit and Dena jammed a finger in her ass. Karen rode the forever acceleration of rocket-boosted- orgasm nearly to seizures before it faded. She lay back, spent and exhausted. Dena slowly arose and walked to Karen's side where she leaned over and cuddled the redhead gently. They snuggled briefly before Dena patted Karen's sweet ass and stepped away to prepare the shower. Karen got up once she heard the water running. The shower was a freestanding pipe in the corner with a massage shower head on a hose. A tile sill provided a shallow basin around the drain. Karen was captivated by the radiant smile which Dena sported as she soaped a washcloth. Invigorated by the very scent of the lathered mint soap as she approached, Karen slipped into the steamy shower. Karen raised her arms and intertwined her fingers behind her head while Dena began walking around her, rinsing her with the needle spray hot water. When Dena hung the shower head on the pipe Karen turned to direct the massaging water on her shoulders and upper back. Dena knelt and eased Karen's legs apart. She gently yet thoroughly washed the blushing snatch with the stimulating soap. Dena turned off the shower and patted a large fluffy towel against Karen's lightly freckled skin, drying her completely. The two women hugged warmly before returning to Karen's clothes and a final smoke before Karen dressed and left for the swimming pool. Roger Wilco had all the equipment set up and tested at the safe house before Karen arrived late in the evening. They awaited the cabal contact who was to direct the signoff mission of the zeppelin. Hedda Steam was an old friend of Karen's, but Roger only knew her from construction review meetings. Roger answered the knock at the door. The raven-haired Amerind was as beautiful, and as businesslike, as ever. Roger led her to the back bedroom where the computers and radios were arrayed. Karen and Hedda embraced warmly and pecked each others cheeks. Karen offered the first hit of red-haired sinse to Hedda, who obliged by lighting the bong and drawing deeply. After several passes of the pipe, the three were relaxed and ready. The mischief was about to begin. Karen and Hedda had watched Roger transmit the flight instructions that had allowed the zeppelin to shadow the formation of six Bell 206 utility helicopters. With several keystrokes, Roger selected the radio navaids to be jammed. It was no small coincidence that the formation was currently relying on them for navigation. With a press of the RETURN key, programming was uploaded to the special pod which was attached to the zeppelin. The chopper pilots became concerned when red flags started to extend into the faces of their radio navigation instruments. They switched through the various VOR frequencies available to them and found the same static everywhere. The cabal mission outline had optimistically projected that the malathion sprayers would abort their mission and return to base once they could no longer rely on absolute positioning. That hope was shattered when the lead pilot ordered continuing on visual. "Charlie Mike", he'd called on the radio as he began the final turn, leading the legal urban aerial poisoning of sleeping families. Hedda nodded and Roger selected and transmitted another program. The zeppelin began forging the signals returned by the altitude-encoding radar transponders of the formation. Roger, Hedda, and Karen waited a tense few minutes, listening for trouble. When none came, Hedda nodded again and Roger sent an initiating signal. In an instant, the helicopters all appeared to have been hijacked. The air traffic controllers saw the assigned squawk codes turn to 7500 in one sweep of the interrogating radar beam. The nightmare was only starting for the controllers. Their calls weren't heard or returned by the formation. The pilots were apparently getting somewhat edgy about the loss of communication as well. Unable to communicate with one another, the pilots broke formation according to contingency plan. Once the formation began breaking up, the zeppelin changed the forged squawk codes to 7700; emergency. The encoded altitude was rapidly decreased until the signal was completely blanked. The controllers believed that the choppers had crashed and began responding accordingly. Roger transmitted the final program. The zeppelin ceased all radio interference and turned to its departure path; a secure cabal- operated landing zone waited in the desert. The turbofan-powered zeppelin slipped away, its anechoic coating hiding it from the radar below and above, where the alerted interceptors snooped. Roger, Karen, and Hedda were almost rolling on the floor in laughter from the conversations between the malathion sprayers and the air traffic controllers. It was going to be a very late night for these lackeys of agribiz. -- I will ignore all requests for: reposts, e-mailing missing parts, archive locations, ftp sites, gif sites, and subscription requests. These stories get deleted immediately after they are posted. For more info on the ARCHIVE postings, read the FAQ posted bi-monthly to a.s.s.d -!- þ TNet 3.90 ÷ Internet Studs NET þ (415) 777-4081 God is a magician, Reality His trick, and it's all done with mirrors. -- +--------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `------------+ | story-submit@qz.little-neck.ny.us | story-admin@qz.little-neck.ny.us | | Archive site +--------------------+------------------+ Newsgroup FAQ |