The Oxypathin Factor

Original cover art by Earl Bergey
and Kelly Freas and see this.

Below on this page is part 5 of the science fiction story "Meet the Phari". Some of the characters in "Meet the Phari" were introduced previously in The Alastor Network. You might want to read The Alastor Network first, but "Meet the Phari" is intended to be a story that can be read without first reading The Alastor Network.

Traveling through Alastor Cluster, Kwystyk meets one of the telepathic alien-human hybrids of Yerophet, a man named Larryfial. Also, Kwystyk has a second encounter with the mysterious Plesypy who now seems to be following Kwystyk.

Kwystyk and Rob-B arrive on Yerophet and intend to deliver a set of newly-available gene sequences that will be used to craft two mind clones, Snoyl and Bryget. However, before they can complete their mission, they receive an unexpected visitor.

⎯ Meet the Phari ؄

Part 5. Larryfial and Berryfial. (read part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)

For the last part of their journey across Alastor Cluster, Kwystyk and Rob-B transferred from Ypogeia to another spaceship, the Ernte Extranpolis. The Ernte Extranpolis was a far larger passenger cruiser than the Ypogeia and had additional amenities such as a large Grand Ballroom and, so it seemed to Kwystyk, every other conceivable recreational facility. The 'cabin' that Rob-B and Kwystyk shared was a luxurious suite of rooms with its own private exercise room and a big spa that held both a large hot tub and a walk-in sauna.

The evening before arriving on Yerophet, Kwystyk and Rob-B attended the Giampara Ball, an annual extravaganza on board Ernte Extranpolis that featured the Ampara Dance Company and Orchestra, a performance group known across the Cluster for the powerful sashei of the dancers who mingled with the passengers during the Ball.

Kwystyk and Rob-B were participating in the tangex dance mode to the side of the Ballroom where the younger passengers had congregated. Rob-B was still using his "old man" disguise and impressing the young dancers with his ability to keep up with Kwystyk. After the first five minutes of dancing, Kwystyk had given up on the hat and now his long ears were out in the open for all to see.

After completing a particularly energetic and flamboyant dance, just short of a gymnastics routine, one of the Ampara dancers asked to dance with Rob-B and so Kwystyk had a welcomed chance to sit down and rest. However, after only twenty seconds in his chair to the side of the dance floor, Kwystyk was asked to dance by a tall passenger who he had already noticed for two reasons. First, simply because of his great height and second, because of his blue skin tone. Kwystyk gestured to a chair and said, "Please, sit with me for a minute. I'm taking a short break."

The man sat down and introduced himself as a native of Yerophet. His name was Larryfial and he had been studying at the Galactic University on Dreavero for the past five years, completing an advanced degree in biochemistry. As the Ampera Orchestra began the next song, Larryfial pulled Kwystyk to his feet and led him out onto the dance floor. Larryfial held Kwystyk close for a slow dance mode that incolved conciderable physical contact with one's partner. "You caught my attention... not many women are as tall as you are. Also, I sense that you have telepathic abilities."

Kwystyk admitted, "I'm going to Yerophet to help with the on-going effort to improvethe abilities of human-alien hybrids. How about you? You are extremely tall... I suppose both your height and your blue pigmentation are signs of alien genes in your family."

"Well, some humans are naturally tall." Larryfial playfully tweaked the tip of Kwystyk's ear. "Which can't be said for your alien ears. However, the mystery of my genetic origins was what motivated me to study the mechanisms of inheritance. Now, my education complete, I hope to apply my knowledge on Yerophet."

"I do hope you like my big ears. They rather stand out and I know that some people find them rather comical. Sometimes I try to hide them."

in the Ekcolir Reality

"You shouldn't do that. Your ears are cute. I refuse to hide my blue skin. Oh, sure, there are some people who still have anti-alien biases, but these days most people accept the existence of alien-human hybrids, even if we are rare."

Kwystyk was actively resisting Larryfial's efforts to dance even closer. "I need to warn you about an anatomical matter that is less obvious than my ears."

Larryfial had been admiring Kwystik's cleavage that showed above his low-cut dance gown. He chuckled and told Kwystyk, "Don't try to tell me that your breasts are not real. I won't believe it."

"No, these breasts are real. My big... secret... is that my mother is an hermaphrodite."

"Imagine that! I suppose you know that the Kerub are hermaphrodites. So, I grew up knowing many hermaphrodites on Yerophet." Larryfial altered his dance step and bumped against Kwystyk's crotch. He asked, "Are you trying to tell me that you have a penis?"

"Yes, you guessed my secret. In fact, I have testes and no ovaries, so I self-identify as male."

Larryfial nodded. "I wondered about your deep voice and powerful shoulders. Well, thank you for telling me. I'll be honest with you... I prefer women or hermaphrodites, anyone with a vagina."

"Your instincts were good." Kwystyk explained, "I have a vagina, although it has no reproductive function... it is a vestigial remnant that I inherited. I'm worried that a big guy like you might be too big..."

Larryfial laughed. "Now I'm intrigued. I suppose in the interest of science we should perform a quick test to see if my erect penis would fit inside you, but I'm not in the mood for a new research project this evening. I thank you for the dance and I'll move on. Where will you be staying on Yerophet?"

"Near Capetown, a small town called Goslewenn."

Sally Lanty's study of telepathic sashei.
This image made with EveRoom01,
 Elves03 and Redhead6 by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

"Really? I know Goslewenn well... I live just to the north of there, in Yurds, which is famous for the big ski resort. Maybe we will cross paths on Yerophet." The next song was starting and Larryfial went off in search of another dance partner.

Splashing around his own considerable telepathic sashei among the Ampara dancers, Rob-B got invited to the performers' dressing facility after the dance. Kwystic was rather warn out and when Rob-B began showing off his genitals backstage to some of the dancers, Kwystyk returned to his cabin and was soon sleeping soundly.

Later, Rob-B arrived with one of the dancers and after a time in the spa, woke Kwystyk from a sexually-charged dream about Kwanya. Rob-B, naked and wet, asked, "Care to join us in some sex play?"

Now awake, Kwystyk could sense a powerful flood of telepathic sashei from both Rob-B and the dancer who had just a few minutes earlier achieved an orgasm while playing in the hot tub with Rob-B. Kwystyk said, "I want to be well rested when we reach Yerophet. Carry on without me." Rob-B returned to the dancer, however, Kwystyk was unable to fall back asleep. Now annoyed by the joyful and erotic telepathic signals and sounds coming from Rob-B and the dancer, Kwystyk slipped out of the cabin and went to one of the always-open bars of Ernte Extranpolis.

Kwystyk sat down at a small table in a dim corner, placed an order and was soon sipping a potent alcoholic drink. He was still thinking about Kwanya and the erotic dream he had been having about her. A 'voice' suddenly intruded on Kwystyk's thoughts: May I join you?

Kwystyk looked up from the depths of his drink and say the Plesypy who had earlier appeared on board the Ypogeia. The four-legged Plesypy sat down beside Kwystyk's table.

Kwystyk looked around the bar and wondered what would happen when someone else saw the Plesypy. Kwystyk asked: You are some kind of artificial lifeform, not biological?

Plesypy

I'm composed on nanite components. The Plesypy allowed its head to begin breaking into a cloud of individual nanites, then quickly shifted the shape of its head to take on the form of a human. Kwystyk glanced down and saw that the Pleysypy's hind quarters had morphed into the form of a human lower body seated in a chair. The Plesypy told Kwystyk: "I noticed that you seem to be puzzled by Kwanya's rather special telepathic mind."

Kwystyk had been wishfully fantasizing about the delicious Kwanya, but now was reminded of the mystery of how she had come into his life. He asked: You and that Iidi arranged for me to meet Kwanya?"

No, this is all part of Delpha's scheming. The Plesypy looked across the room at the bar tender. However, meeting her like that is a good lesson for you... the next time you bump into one of your fellow nanocoid recipients you won't be so surprised and maybe you won't feel the need to immediately start copulating.

Kwystyk grinned at the alien's seeming disapproval. With a strong telepathic link to Kwanya's mind, the two of them had gotten into a positive feedback cycle of rising sexual desire. But why should this Plesypy care about the mating habits of humans? This is what you intend to do from now on? Follow me around and watch me playing with my lovers?

The Plesypy explained: We can't afford to let you interfere with the creation of mind clones on Yerophet. I would have been pleased had you gone directly from Marune to Kwenslo. You are not really needed on Yerophet, so I tried to make you travel with Kwanya to Numenes, but I was blocked out.

Kwystyk was vaguely aware that Delpha and his mother were in the middle of a long-standing conflict with R. Gohrlay and R. Nyrtia. Kwystyk asked the Plesypy: Are you and agent working for Nyrtia?

The Plesypy suddenly vanished. A few seconds later the waiter arrive and asked Kwystyk if he wanted another drink. "No, thank you." The waiter was puzzled, quite certain that a few moments earlier there had been to customers at this table. Shaking his head, the waiter went away.

Iidi

Now the Plesypy did not bother to become visible. You might call me a double agent. Both Delpha and the positronic robots have tried to recruit me, but I refuse to do their bidding. We Plesypy have our own concerns and interests, which center on Ottengla. I'm helping deal with the cold fever epidemic on Yerophet because doing so will soon provide a solution to a big problem that has been disrupting life on Ottengla.

Kwystyk had studied and investigated the telepathic abilities of the Fwai-chi and Hui-chi on Marune, but he knew very little about the other types of alien creatures in Alastor Cluster. I know that my mother has access to advanced nanotechnology, but I was not aware that species such as the Plesypy are also adepts of the nano-arts.

The Plesypy explained: Humans can't be trusted with nanotechnology, so it is best not to even raise the topic of nanites during discussions with humans. In your case, it is a relief to deal with someone who already knows about the power of infites. Around you, I don't need to pretend to be a biological organism.

Kwystyk could not stop wondering why his mother had not warned him about the interests of the Iidi and Plesypy in the human-alien breeding project on Yerophet. Tell me, what exactly are you Plesypy trying to accomplish on Yerophet?

Because of temporal paradoxes, I can't say too much. The alien paused. However, you met Larryfial earlier. His sister played an important role in the telepathy breeding project, producing a Kerub who will help solve the cold fever problem. In exchange for our help, Ottengla is getting a fix for the chronic starmenter problem that has long plagued us.

Kwystyk complained: I wish I understood what you are talking about. When I was told to visit Yerophet, I was worried about the epidemic, but my mother told me that I don't have to worry about cold fever.

True. Your nanocoid implant gives you immunity. And lucky for you, you cant gestate a baby. Your immunity to cold fever would not extend to a baby inside your uterus.

This image made using Elf1, EllieRoom10,
SpencerPool7, NewElf8(W) and Elfy:Elf Rally by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Kwystyk asked: Why do mention gestating babies? However, there was no reply from the Plesypy who had either departed or returned to its observation mode. Kwystyk briefly thought of getting into some sort of mischief that might bring the alien back, but then began thinking seriously about what lay ahead on Yerophet. There was now a mixed felling of both excitement and dread hanging over Kwystyk's immanent arrival on Yerophet. He wondered: What am I getting myself into? Kwystyk departed from the bar and when he returned to the cabin, the dancer was gone.

As soon as Kwystyk entered through the front door of their suite, Rob-B said, "At last you return. I almost went out searching for you, but strangely I could not detect your mind pattern."

Kwystyk suggested, "I was drinking. Maybe that altered my mind pattern." But clearly the Plesypy had wanted a private chat with Kwystyk, with no interference from Rob-B. Because of infites received from the Iidi or from the Plesypy, Kwystyk now knew that the robots of Triskelion were not trusted by the aliens.

Rob-B said, "Very strange that you walked out on a chance to have sex with that cute dancer. I'm sure you could feel her powerful sashei."

"It is good for me to actually think once and a while rather than always be trying to keep up with you and your sexcapades."

"I sense that you are thinking about Kwanya. You really like her."

alien-human hybrids

"I'm going to get some sleep. We can talk in the morning."

________________

Kwystyk awoke four hour later with Rob-B shaking his shoulder. "We'll land on Yerophet soon." The robot had taken on yet another new form, that of a woman crafted from Bob-B's imagination. Emerging into waking consciousness, it took a few seconds before Kwystyk realized what was happening. Kwystyk felt the robot's familiar mind pattern and he briefly wondered: How hard would it be for another robot to impersonate Rob-B?

Kwystyk took a quick shower and tried to recall the origin of a stray memory fragment. Someone blue? Kwystyk thought about Larryfial, but that was not it. The Plesypy's memory editing nanites were now blocking Kwystyk from thinking about their meeting in the bar. Gazing appreciatively at Rob-B's new body form, Kwystyk stepped out from the shower. The robot handed him a nanite vial. Taking the vial, Kwystyk asked, "The other day, when you were blocked from telling me something... was it Kwanya that you could not tell me about?"

"No. I had no inkling that we would meet her." Rob-B tapped the vial with a finger. "It is time for you to return to being blue." The robot kissed one of Kwystyk's nipples. "Poor timing, now that your nipples are such a pretty pink."

Kwystic opened the vial and the nanites quickly dried his skin and started shifting his pigmentation back to his normal blue tones. "So, there is someone on Yerophet that I will meet, but you can't warn me?"

"That's right. I can't tell you what to expect, although your mother told me about that part of your future. These temporal paradoxes sure can be frustrating. I can't imagine what the harm would be in you knowing what I know."

"Strange. I wonder who it could be. Why should you know, but not me? I hope there is not some dangerous situation looming. I've led a rather sheltered life and can't be expected to fend off trouble."

"Relax. Neither your mother or I would allow you to get involved with anything risky."

Goslewenn

Two hours later, they were on Yerophet and Rob-B was landing their rented aircar in Goslewenn, on the roof of a glass and steel house near the Kerub frontier. It was the middle of the night, local time, and after getting their luggage into the house, Rob-B joined Kwystyk by the fireplace. Rob-B said, "I can deliver the gene sequences to Lora in the morning. There is no real need for you to come with me to the genetics lab."

"Of course I'll go to the lab. I'm not going to sit here by this nice fire after crossing the Cluster to complete this mission. It is damned cold outside, but I don't mind bundling up."

"I assumed you would want to visit that Larryfial fellow. I could drop you off at his place and-"

"No. I'm not interested."

"You keep thinking about him."

It was true. Since arriving in Goslewenn, Kwystyk had been feeling the unusual thought patter of Larryfial's mind... strangely amplified and twisted into a distracting pattern of telepathic impulses. "Actually, I've been wondering about his sister."

"Larryfial's sister? What sister?"

"I don't know any details, but somehow she is involved with creation of telepathic hybrids on Yerophet."

Rob-B asked suspiciously, "It was that Iidi, wasn't it? She told you."

A depiction of Fi made with evesnow02 by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

"What if it was?"

"I wonder why the Iidi have taken an interest in us. It seems a strange coincidence that Larryfial picked you out of the crowd. I'm worried that he may have planted a nanite tracking probe on you."

"What for? What if he did?"

"Lora is paranoid about security. A tacking probe could reveal the lab's location to starmenters, or anyone. Lora would not like me bringing you into her facility if you are going to reveal its existence to outsiders."

"You are not worried that Sylvone or that dancer might have put tracking nanites into you body?"

Rob-B shook her head. "No. Those were just two very sexy women. I was thoroughly inside both their vaginas and their minds. I assure you, neither of them was a spy. I'm not sure about Larryfial. He knew more than he told you."

"You sound disappointed that you could not get into his vagina."

"Well, I did think about arranging to get his huge penis inside of me." Rob-B giggled. "It is by means of direct physical contact with humans that I can best read their thoughts. And for full access, to human memories, it is best to snoop when their defenses are down, which is during an orgasm."

"Lucky for you, people like having sex. Often."

"It was not always this way." Rob-B explained, "Back when humans first arrived in Alastor Cluster, Nyrtia set up a centuries long breeding program that depended on trillions of breeders. Nyrtia altered the cortex of the early settlers of the Cluster and now all the humans here in Alastor cluster have a large fraction of their cerebral cortex devoted to sensory stimuli that arrive from their skin and particularly their sex organs."

"Are you serious?" Kwystyk wondered if the robot was joking. The robot nodded. "How do you know such things?"

Mixing telepathy genes on Yerophet.

The robot seemed to hesitate. "I'm under constraints and can't answer fully, but Nyrtia sometimes asks me for a favor and we get to discussing her plans and the history of positronic robots."

Just then, the front door of their rented ranch house signaled the presence of guests. It was Larryfial and his sister, Berryfial. They came inside from the cold and Rob-B stowed their cold-protection gear in a closet then went to the kitchen. They settled in by the fireplace and Kwystyk tried not to stare at Berryfial's magnificent double row of breasts as she explained, "I needed to see you before you meet with Lora."

Rob-B returned from the Kitchen with hot drinks for the guests. The robot said, "I sense that you are both telepaths, but with unusual mind patterns. Sadly, I can't syc with either of you."

Larryfial told Kwystyk, "A nasty trick used by starmenters is to turn a robot into an eves-dropping device. As a precaution, we re blocking your robot from accessing our thoughts."

Rob-B asked, "Surely you don't suspect me of working with starmenters."

R. Nyrtia and R. Oliveene Nhevrix

"Maybe not directly, but Gohrlay and Nyrtia long ago established the misguided strategy of using starmenters to collect the genes of promising telepaths." Berryfial paused then added, "Now that we are so close to our goal, we can't risk the possibility that you might tell Nyrtia something that would get spread back to the starmenters. You might be providing starmenters with information without even being aware what is going on."

Kwystyk asked Berryfial, "What did you come to tell me in the middle of the night?"

"I need to ask for your help. When Larry told me that you are from Marune... well, I could not pass up the opportunity." Berryfial told Kwystyk, "I consulted with Lora and learned that you are actually Grean's son."

"What if I am?"

"Allow me to start from the beginning." Berryfial took hold of and jiggled one of her two smaller breasts. "Having two pairs of breasts is an ancient Asterothrope trait. My smaller breasts make oxypathin, a hormone that can amplify telepathic abilities... at least for people who have oxypathin receptors."

in the Buld Reality
original cover art by Kinuko Craft

"But most people lack these oxypathin receptors?"

Larryfial nodded, "Yes, or they have the receptor, but lack access to the hormone.

Berryfial glanced at Rob-B and told Kwystyk, "Now, you two are delivering a modified oxypathin gene cassette that Grean designed specifically to confer the benefits of oxypathin on anyone. By this time next week, we'll have those new genes in the genomes of two mind clones, one of whom will be my great-grand-daughter."

"I see." Kwystyk thought about the great height of both Larryfial and Berryfial and the legend that the Asterothropes, although generated as a human variant, had been significantly taller than humans. "So, you are personally involved in the telepath breeding project... as a source of Asterothrope genes."

"Exactly. However, our early experiments created the cold fever epidemic. Now we have to solve that distracting problem while completing work on the mind clones." Berryfial took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "And a new problem has arisen, that I hope you can help us deal with."

Kwystyk glanced at Rob-B and then told Berryfial, "I assume that Lora knows everything that you just told us."

Lora with her head made up so as to appear human.
Made using Assastudyroom by Eclesi4stiK
available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

"Probably. Lora is mostly an administrator who has to keep the Whelm off our backs. Lora is a close friend of my daughter, Pepha, and I know they talk all the time. But allow me to get to the point."

"I wish you would."

"I had to make sure that you have the needed background to understand my problem." Berryfial had grown overly warm by the fire. She opened the top few buttons of her top, revealing the fringe of her lacy bra. "Recently our new genetic engineer arrived on Yerophet. He was trained to help us complete the mind clone project and he is essential to our success. Strangely, just in the past few days we learned that he was born on Marune." Both Larryfial and Berryfial were looking back and forth between the faces of Kwystyk and Rob-B. "I sense that you were not aware of this."

Kwystyk shook his head. "No. It seems an odd coincidence. Marune has a small population. Who is this geneticist from Marune?

"His name is Miahco. He claims to have just spent twenty years being prepared by Grean for his work here on Yerophet, so I hoped you might know him."

"I just spent the past 20 years growing up as Grean's son, but I've never heard of Miahco."

Larryfial told Berryfial, "You have to accept the facts. Miahco is from the future."

  Image made with Elena17 by
Eclesi4stiK available
under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Berryfial laughed. "Unfortunately, I find it impossible to believe that time travel is possible."

Kwystyk said, "I occasionally have visions of the future, which may be evidence that time travel does take place."

Berryfial held up her hands. "Let's leave the matter of time travel to the side. I want your help. Miahco is on the verge of abandoning his essential work here on Yerophet."

Kwystyk shrugged. "I'll help if I can, but what do you expect me to do?"

Berryfial replied, "Allow me to introduce you to Miahco and we will discover what can be done."

Next: part 6 of "Meet the Phari".

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