Below on this page is part 8 of "The Alastor Network". The events at the start of part 8 take place about a month before the journey of the Whelm spaceship Appenine towards Brevik that was described in part 7. Twycky Jeghtop was abducted by space pirates, the starmenters of Yrinna. At the start of part 8, Captain Lanting of the pirate ship Nykark is taking Twycky to the pirate headquarters on Yrinna.
Twycky is an historian who has been studying the history of robots. When captured by the starmenters, Twycky's robotic assistant, Sol, was also taken prisoner. Twycky and Captain Lanting both have some telepathic abilities and they can sense the fringes of each others minds.
⎯ The Alastor Network
Captain Sally Lanting awoke from a wildly erotic dream and saw that Sol the robot was still standing there beside the bed, apparently not having moved at all during the past five hours. Sally sat up and looked at Twycky who was still asleep. The two women were linked together physically by a prisoner restraint cord that was attached to their left ankles. Sally could also sense the telepathic linkage of her mind to Twycky and she suspected that her crazy dreams had been shaped by stray thoughts arriving from Twycky.
Sally spoke quietly into the communications device that she wore on her wrist. "Status report."
"Thank you, Benson." Sally cut the communications link and watched Twycky wake, stretch and role over.
Gazing at Captain Lanting and still thinking about the dream she had been having, Twycky asked, "Who is Rupert?"
Sally smiled. "A cute boy who I was just dreaming about."
Twycky sat up and took hold of the restraint cord where it attached to her leg. "Until I met you, I'd only ever had telepathic links to my sister."
Captain Lanting was worried about Twycky's sister, Kasya. Half of her pirate team had successfully snatched Twycky from on board a commercial space-liner, but the other three members of her team were either dead or captured, having failed to abduct Kasya. Sally had not told Twycky about any of that. "I can usually sense the nearby presence of other telepaths. Right now I can sense that you need to urinate. I wonder why we can telepathically connect so well while we sleep."
Sally and Twycky both got off the bed and went to the bathroom. Twycky was reluctant to tell Lanting anything, but she had long familiarity with experiencing intensified telepathic contact to her sister while they were experiencing sexual pleasure. After they had both emptied their bladders the two women exited from Sally's quarters with Sol following along behind, attached to Twycky's right ankle by another restraint cord. Upon reaching the control room of Nykark, Captain Lanting sat in her usual chair. Twycky and Sol stood nearby, looking at the displayed navigational map. Sally told Twycky, "We'll soon land on Yrinna and then I'll hand you over to the Gensifer Clan."
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| The Pirates of Yrinna |
"Yes, Rupert is a member of the Gensifer Clan. I'm impressed that you were able to lift that out of my mind." Now Sally was worried that Twycky might also have learned some important starmenter secrets by way of their shared telepathic connection.
Twycky asked, "You and Rupert are lovers?"
Sally shrugged, "One day during a party things got a bit wild and I let Rupert ravish me."
Benson had been listening and said, "You and Rupert?"
Sally told Benson, "Don't be jealous."
"I'm not jealous." Benson added, "I'm just surprised that a juicy bit of gossip about you and Rupert never reached me."
"I guess I did not make much an impression on the boy. Being twice his age, he may have been embarrassed to admit to any of his friends that he had made love to me." Sally added, "It was typical drunk-young-man sex, lasting about two minutes."
Gensifer city was on a high plateau with the spaceport at one side. Now able to link into the Gensifer City communications network, Sally signaled to Lord Gensifer that she was soon to arrive at the spaceport. Looking at Gensifer city from high above, Twycky commented, "So this is where all the slaves being held by starmenters end up."
Captain Lanting said, "It is true that not everyone who comes to Yrinna does so voluntarily, but I doubt if you can find anyone here on this world who thinks of themself as a slave."
Twycky suggested, "I suppose you slavers insist that everyone use different words such as 'our guests' to refer to those who have been enslaved."
Sally sighed. She told Twycky, "I'm not a slaver. You won't be held on Yrinna as a slave."
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Sally had the strange feeling that there might be some truth in Twycky's fantasy boasting. She chased after a flash of dream memory that seemed to come from the future... an image of Twycky being re-united with her sister and that dream image included a man... Sally could almost see his face.
Twycky gazed intently at Sally and added, "Since you are not a slaver, maybe you will take me home."
Tempted to say that Gensifer City was now Twycky's home, Sally opened her mouth but then said no more and she then brooded about the possibility of receiving telepathic signals from the future. Now in her mind, Sally saw a fuzzy seemingly remembered scene in which the Nykark was actually lifting off from Yrinna with Twycky on board. Emerging from that dream like scene, Sally shook her head and tried to focus on the present and the process of handing Twycky over to Lord Gensifer.
Feeling the relentless touch of Twycky's mind, Sally was glad that she would soon be done with her captive 'guest'. As soon as Nykark settled to the landing field, Sally rose from her chair and led Twycky to the Nykark's exit portal and off the ship. As they stepped outside, an aircar swooped down out of the sky and landed near the Nykark, not far from Sally and Twycky.
A middle-aged man climbed out of the aircar and waved to Captain Lanting. Twycky could sense a telepathic link to the man and sense his excitement at seeing Twycky. Twyky could see that he had gray hair and a well-tanned face. Sally and Twycky were walking towards the man with Sol tagging along behind. As they drew near, the man told Sally, "Sorry to hear about the loss of your crew members."
Having stopped walking a few feet from the aircar, Sally bent down and disconnected the restraint cord from her leg. Again standing straight, she handed the restraint cord control device to the gray-haired man and said, "Thank you, my Lord. Maybe if they were captured and not killed we can arrange for a prisoner swap. Here's your new pris... 'guest', Twycky Jeghtop."
Without further comment or discussion, the man turned away from Sally and tugged at the cord that linked the control device to Twycky, "Come my dear, let's get into my aircar." After the gray-haired man, Twycky and Sol were all buckled into seats inside the aircar, the little flyer jumped up into the air and Twycky felt her telepathic link to Sally dwindle away. The aircar was soon moving quickly away from the spaceport.
He chuckled. "Lanting told you nothing about me? I'm Dobert-" He paused and adjusted the automated flight controls. "Just call me Doby. Other people will call me Lord Gensifer, but that is not relevant to you and your..." He smiled warmly at Twycky. "... our relationship." He reached out and using the tips of his fingers, gently pushed a strand of Twycky's lovely, if still sleep tussled, hair away from her face.
The aircar was now dropping fast and its autopilot took them at high speed into an underground parking garage. Doby used the restraint system control device to release both Twycky and Sol from their restraint cords. They all got out of the aircar and Doby spoke to the robot, "What's your name or number or... ?"
Sol put out his hand, "I'm Sol." They shook hands and then Doby seemed to immediately forget about the robot. Lord Gensifer took Twycky by the hand and led her out of the utilitarian aircar hanger and into the comfortable interior of his summer home.
Tempted to again use the term 'slave', Sally decided to moderate her language and she asked, "I'm your captive, your prisoner... is that the essence of our relationship?"
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| telepathic agent |
Twycky tried to stop her knees from shaking. She sat down on a couch and glared at Doby, resenting his politeness. "I can sense the drift of your emotions, Doby. Do you feel mine?"
Doby smiled sheepishly. "Yes, I've got a bit of a telepathic link to you, my dear. I sense that you revile me and the idea of me forcing you to have my children disgusts you."
Twycky nodded. "Good, then there is not much for me to say." She crossed her arms across her chest.
Trying to lighten the mood, Lord Gensifer said, "I'm not above pleading and begging." Doby could sense that Twycky, rather than viewing his gray hair and creased skin as distinguished, just felt that he looked like an old man. "I hope you will change your mind. I'd very much enjoy having you as a lover. However, there is another option. My son is just about your age, and I'm sure he'd be happy to provide sperm for this little telepath breeding project. So, let's say that it is up to you to decide. Maybe in the end, you'll eventually be ably to accommodate us both. The more gene combinations we create, the better our chance of stumbling upon something important."
Twycky said, "My hope is that the Whelm arrives, soon, rescues me and, if in so doing, they have to exterminate the Gensifer Clan... I would not shed any tears."
"You might be sophisticated enough to be a successful pirate, but that skill set has no appeal to me." Twycky added, "In this age of genetic engineering, almost everyone is healthy and beautiful. I can't believe that you find me so pretty that you sent Captain Lanting across space to kidnap me."
"Of course, it is your telepathic mind that attracted my attention." Doby sighed, realizing that Twycky would, at that moment, gladly stick a knife in his back... and twist it. Trying to move past Twycky's resentments, he grinned and said, "I won't go as far as to describe myself as a great lover, but no woman has ever left my bed with a frown on her face. With time, I hope you will be able to think of Yrinna as your new home and a pleasant place to live. We can both look forward to discovering the telepathic abilities of your children."
Twycky snarled, "Don't hold your breath."
Doby looked at Sol who was standing close to Twycky. "Twycky, tell me about this robot and your relationship with this machine."
"Sol is my personal robot. He takes good care of me."
"A robot from Triskelion. I suppose you enjoy using him as a sex toy."
Twycky replied simply, "I do."
Lord Gensifer rubbed his chin. "Then I will need to restrict your access to Sol in order to have any chance of having your sexual energies and desires shift towards me."
Twycky frowned. "And don't forget the anti-emetics. The idea of having a child with you as the father sickens me. I don't know your son, but I feel the same way about him."
Doby turned off his hierion probe. A few moments later, Sol rose to his feet. The robot asked, "What happened? Where is Twycky?"
"If she behaves herself you'll get to see her again." Doby got out of his chair and took hold of the robot's arm. He asked rhetorically, "Now, what should we do with you?" Doby led Sol back to the aircar and soon they were on their way to Gensifer City. Doby re-attached a restraint cord to the robot and linked the other end of the cord to his wrist. Looking out the window, Sol asked, "Where are we going?"
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| hierions |
The woman's back was to the door. Doby guided Sol inside his grandson's room. The woman continued writing and said, "One moment..."
Doby said, "Just dropping off a gift for Rupert."
The woman pulled her hands away from the keyboard she was using, turned her head and looked at Doby with surprise. "Doby!" She sprang out of her chair and then looked at Sol. "Who is this?"
Doby replied, "This is a robot named Sol." Doby told Sol, "This is one of our Yrinna robots, Apryl."
Sol visually inspected Apryl who had a bodily form that was a close approximation to a human woman, but was obviously a machine. Doby quickly attached the restraint cord to Apryl's leg and then handed her the control device. Turning away from Apryl, Doby told Sol, "Rupert will have fun studying you." After giving Sol a mocking salute, Doby quickly departed through the door, pausing only to glance back over his shoulder and tell Apryl, "I can't wait around, so say hello for me to my grandson."
Doby returned to his aircar and was soon flying through busy airspace towards his home in the middle of Gensifer City, where his wife was in residence. He called Lady Gensifer and said, "I will be free this evening. Shall we go to the Korring Strings concert?"
Lady Gensifer replied, "That would be wonderful, dear. Things did not work out with that Jeghtop girl?"
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| sedronite source |
Lady Gensifer laughed. "Oh, fear not... I'll do far more than tolerate you, Doby. After the concert, I'll get you in my bed and..." She had an idea. "Knowing how much you like fresh blood, I'm feeling sorry for you. Here's a plan... if you see a sweet young thing at the concert this evening then we can invite her for a threesome."
Doby nodded. "Great idea. You really are too kind to me. I don't deserve you."
"Anything to make you happy, dear. Now, I better start dressing. I see you on the tracker. You are almost home. See you soon, lover!" While she dressed, Lady Gensifer began thinking about a cute woman named Kyrol who she knew would be at the concert. Lady Gensifer had long had her admiring eye on Kyrol and if she was not otherwise engaged this might be the perfect evening to get to know her intimately.
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Twycky was taken by the two robots to her private suite of rooms inside Lord Gensifer's summer home. The robots released her arms and Twycky immediately tried to open the door that they had just passed through. It was locked. One of the robots went to the kitchen and began cooking a meal for Twycky.
Twycky explored and wandered through all of the lavishly appointed rooms in her suite, looking for a way out, but there were no windows or exits. In the large bedroom there were connecting doors to several big closets full of clothing. The robot with the red hair was following along behind Twycky and now said, "If any of the clothes do not fit you, let me know. Adjustments will be made. Tell me if there is anything that you need."
Twycky suggested, "Get me a space-liner ticket to Brevik."
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| starmenters |
She asked the robot, "What is your name?"
"I'm Eech-one."
Twycky giggled. "That's a stupid name."
The robot shaped his fingers into an H and then held up one finger. "H1, part of a team with H2. We'll be handling your re-programming."
"Thanks, but no." Emerging from a closet that was full of spectacular dresses, Twycky pushed past H1 and said, "I don't want to become part of starmenter society here on Yrinna." Twycky now saw a cat sitting on a chair. She went over and scratched the cat's ear. "Aren't you a pretty thing!" The robot continued to follow along close behind Twycky. Twycky told H1, "Just leave me alone."
The robot insisted, "I'm here to provide you with anything you may desire. Also, please relax... you'll hardly notice the re-programming."
Responding to Twycky's question, H1 laughed and said, "I'm sure there's nothing in your brain that needs cleaning. H2 and I will simply add some new concepts to your thinking... we'll help you grow accustomed to some special ideas and patterns of thought that will allow you to enjoy Yrinna."
Twycky looked carefully at H1 and then at H2 and then asked, "You two are sexbots?"
H1 shook his head. "No, H2 and I never had training for sex work and we lack human anatomical sex organs."
H2 added, "Sorry to disappoint you."
"I'm not disappointing. I don't plan to have sex with anyone or anything on Yrinna." For a moment Twycky though about her shared dream with Sally which had prominently featured Rupert's penis. Trying to focus her thoughts on the present, Twycky said, "Give me an example of a new concept."
H1 explained, "First of all, you need to understand the structure of Clans, specifically the Gensifer Clan here on Yrinna. Most humans exist within a family structure, but Clans are very important on Yrinna."
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| hierion probe |
H2 was stirring a pot on the stove that was emitting savory odors. The robot replied, "Jamile is the eldest son of Lord Gensifer. He is a busy man, but he will be here later this evening. He is eager to meet you."
H1 activated a display screen on the wall and showed an image of Jamile to Twycky. "Jamile is two years older than you, Miss Twycky. He is in charge of the Gensifer City spacecraft engineering and construction operation. In his youth, he was a famous hussade player."
Twycky gazed at the image of Jamile and admitted to herself that he looked like a handsome man. She asked H2, "What are you cooking?"
"Some Delvinian stew. It will be ready soon. Is there anything else you would like?"
Twycky asked, "Does wine exist on Yrinna?"
H1 pulled open a door that led into a walk-in cooler. "Allow me to show you our selection of wines."
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| the robots of Triskelion |
Twycky sipped the wine. "This is quite good." She felt slightly angry with herself for already finding herself growing comfortable around H1 and H2. She looked at the profile of H2's chest, which was convex with a hint of a protruding bend that poorly mimicked the shape of human breasts. She asked the robots, "Do you know that I've visited Triskelion?"
H2 said, "Really? How unusual. Not many out-worlders are allowed on Triskelion. Did you enjoy your visit?"
Twycky explained, "I study the history of robots, so I'd have to say that Triskelion is my favorite place to conduct research. Each time I go to Triskelion I learn so much."
H1 said, "There is no question; Triskelion has the most advanced robotics industry in the galaxy."
Twycky asked, "Why did you inactivate my robot, Sol?"
Twycky gazed into her goblet and tried to judge if she had any telepathic connection to H1 or H2. After a minute of intense concentration and failing to sense any link to the two machines, she asked, "Do you have telepathic abilities?"
H2 replied with a question, "Telepathic robots?"
"During my visits to Triskelion, I've learned that some people on that world believe that robots can use telepathy. It is true, isn't it?"
H1 shrugged. "It may be possible. There are many types of robots. H2 and I were designed and constructed at the special request of Lord Gensifer, to his precise specifications. After we were built and tested, we were shipped directly here to Yrinna. Only occasionally have we had contact with other robots such as your companion, Sol."
Twycky held her empty goblet towards H1 who obligingly refilled it. After another sip of wine, Twycky said, "I was surprised to feel a telepathic connection to Captain Lanting."
H1 stepped out of the kitchen and carried some items to the dining room. H2 was laddeling stew off of the stove and into a serving bowl. Twycky asked, "Have you ever met Captain Lanting?"
Twycky was hungry and the stew smelled wonderful. She sat at the dining room table. "I can also telepathically sense Doby's mind. Does everyone on Yrinna have telepathic abilities?"
H1 and H2 finished setting the table. H2 put some stew into a small bowl and placed the steaming serving in front of Twycky. H1 and H2 then seated themselves, one on either side of Twycky. H1 said, "I know that there is much interest among the Clans in telepathy. However, H2 and I actually have few opportunities to interact with the people of Yrinna."
Twycky found that the stew tasted as good as it smelled. H2 said, "We get to meet new immigrants to Yrinna. I believe that many of them have telepathic abilities, but that is a matter for you humans to sort out."
Twycky was not at all convinced that H1 and H2 knew nothing about telepathy. She sipped some ice water from a glass and pointed at her wine glass. "I'll have some more wine."
H1 said, "I think you had enough wine, Miss Twycky. You don't want to be drunk when Jamile arrives."
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H2 shook her head and muttered quietly. "Humans!"
Twycky ate for a time and then said, "If these pirates are going to try to impregnate me, someone is going to have to sedate me... otherwise, I'll die trying to kill anyone who sexually assaults me."
H1 said, "You ignore the option of artificial insemination."
H2 added, "Your ovaries could be surgically removed and the eggs fertilized in vitro. Surrogate mothers could be found to gestate your children. However, these things go best when done the old fashioned way."
Trying to decide if H2's mention of surgery was a threat, Twycky set down her spoon and drank more water. Suddenly she felt a hot flush and experienced a wave of fatigue, her eyes drooping heavily. She cried, "Have you poisoned me?"
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| nanites |
The cat that Twycky had seen earlier in the bedroom now jumped up onto the table. Twycky pushed away her stew bowl, spilling some of the contents. The cat first sniffed then licked the spilt stew. Twycky moaned, "I feel sick." Her head was spinning. Very dizzy, Twycky tried to stand but she fell to the floor. The cat jumped from the table to the floor and walked past Twycky, dragging its tail along her hot, flushed face. Twycky tried closing her eyes, but she still had a sensation of spinning. She opened her eyes and saw someone sitting next to her on the floor. It wasn't either H1 or H2. It was a woman who seemed to shift from a blur to solidity as Twycky watched.
The woman introduced herself, "I'm Nyrtia." She placed her hand on Twycky's hot forehead. "I'm responsible for you being brought here to Yrinna. You can place all of your resentments on me."
Twycky put her finger down her throat and triggered her gag reflex. She promptly vomited on Nyrtia's fashionable jumpsuit. The regurgitated stew and wine seemed to quickly dissolve and fade away, neatly removed by a nearly invisible cloud of cleaning nanites.
Nyrtia wiped some vomit from the corner of Twycky's mouth and said, "I sense that you don't usually drink so much. That combined with a reaction to the fushwek spice in the stew and an apparent synergy with my memory editing nanites pushed you over the edge."
Weakly, Twycky asked, "Edge?"
"I was driving the remodeling of your mind at too fast a pace. Sorry about that." Nyrtia explained, "I just wanted to get you into a good mood for meeting Jamile."
Twycky was feeling much better after vomiting. She got to her feet. Nyrtia offered a steadying hand. "You are drugging me in order to try make me willingly submit to being raped by Jamile?"
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| image source |
Twycky proclaimed, "I'm not going to voluntarily submit to any of these pirates."
Nyrtia shrugged. "I won't argue with you, Miss Jeghtop."
Twycky blinked and suddenly Nyrtia was gone and the cat was there, rubbing against her leg. H1 and H2 had been sitting like two stones in their chairs at the table. Now they both stood up. H1 asked Twycky, "Are you done eating?"
Twycky quickly looked all around the room. She asked, "Who was that woman?"
H2 asked, "Woman?"
Twycky looked back and forth at the blank faces of H1 and H2. "Who is Nyrtia?"
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| Yrinna |
Twycky went to the big bedroom, found a tooth brush and washed her face and brushed her teeth, even though she could now detect no lingering remnants of the vomit. Only a small pain in her abdominal muscles indicated that she had vomited. Her head had quickly cleared and she even felt hungry again. The pretty cat was back in its chair. For a moment Twycky thought about the relationship between the cat and Nyrtia, but then she found herself struggling to think about anything except the handsome face and broad shoulders of Jamile Gensifer.
Related Reading: part 9 of "The Alastor Network"
Next: time travel fiction by Keith Laumer
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