DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.



John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 2: Mantle Of Aries
Chapter 3

In Arizona, the temperature in September can easily be over a 
hundred. At night, it cools down. If you are a native, it can feel 
cold. The nicest times of day are the early morning and just after 
dusk. The worst time of day is three in the afternoon. The air, in 
most places outside of Phoenix, is very dry. A simple mister can 
lower the effective temperature by fifteen degrees. 

The natives of the area do not try to get a tan, it is forced upon 
them. The men wear long sleeve shirts and blue jeans, rather than 
shorts and t-shirts. It is possible to get a burn through a white 
cotton shirt, if the material is thin. They wear hats that keep the sun 
off their face. Despite these precautions, the hands and face can get 
very tanned. The chances of getting a melanoma on exposed areas 
of skin are very high. The sun in Arizona is very intense, even in 
September. However, if one wants to get a suntan, then the only 
good time to lay out in the sun is early morning. 

A naked Beth, Kelly, and Ed were relaxing on reclining lawn 
chairs in Ed's backyard. Beth and Kelly had nice tans that covered 
their whole body except for the outline of a bikini. Ed's hands and 
face were tanned, but the rest of him was a bleached white. Today 
was the first time they were able to sunbathe in the nude. Ed had 
finished installing the privacy fence the day before. He had 
installed it at the insistence of the ladies. He wondered where they 
had gotten tans, but then realized that both of them lived in 
apartment complexes with swimming pools. 

Kelly looked over at Ed, "You better put some sun block on your 
cock. I'd hate to see that get burned."

Beth laughed, "It would be a pity if you couldn't use it for a week. 
I've gotten used to getting it regularly."

Ed groaned at the thought of a sunburned cock. He couldn't 
imagine anything more painful. He reached over and put on more 
sun block. They had been teasing him ever since they got 
undressed. He hoped that he would find an opportunity to get back 
at them. He chuckled to himself at the idea of dying his cock bright 
red and looking at the disappointment on their faces when he 
showed it to them.

Ed looked at the two women and he knew he was the luckiest guy 
in the world. They were very different in build and looks, but both 
of them were gorgeous. He thought about it for a second and 
decided he was one of two luckiest guys in the world. John could 
have all of this too.  He asked, "So how are we going to ask John 
to join our little family?"

Kelly answered, "You're going to ask him."

"No I'm not."

Surprised at the flat refusal, Beth glared at him. "Why not? He's 
your best friend."

"Yes he is. Moreover, I want to keep him as a friend. If I ask him 
and he says no, then that could really hurt our friendship."

Kelly and Beth looked at each other with a smile. They understood 
they had stumbled into an area of male sexuality where they did 
not belong. Kelly asked, "So how would you go about it?"

He smiled, "So how did you go about it with me?"

Kelly laughed, "If I remember correctly, I told you what I wanted 
and asked if you were interested in staying with me in light of my 
desires."

Beth asked, "When did you tell him that?"

"She told me that the day I met you at the hospital," replied Ed as 
he remembered that day. It had been a very pivotal day in his life. 
He added, "that was right after she told me that she was going to 
have you for a wife."

Beth shot a look at Kelly, "Why did you say that?"

Kelly blushed, "When John suggested that you were a natural 
submissive, I looked at you for the first time as a woman rather 
than a doctor. I liked what I saw and knew at that moment that I 
wanted you."

Beth looked down at the ground, "Ever since my recovery from my 
breakdown, I've not been a submissive. Are you disappointed?"

Kelly shrugged her shoulders. She had not really thought that 
much about Beth's submissive side. She had been more interested 
in the idea of a dedicated and caring partner. She answered, "No. 
That wasn't exactly what attracted me to you."

Ed had watched the exchange. Every time the subject of John 
arose, the two women always talked around it until it wasn't the 
subject anymore. Individually, both of them would admit that they 
really wanted John to join into the family. He asked, "So how are 
you going to broach the subject to John?"

Kelly sighed, "I don't know."

A voice coming from behind startled them. "You might try telling 
him directly."

Beth had jumped out of her chair at the sound of the voice. She 
spun around shouting, "John, don't sneak up on us like that!"

John smiled, "Feeling a little guilty, are we?"

Ed watched with glee as the women squirmed. He stood up and 
walked around to where John was standing. He winked at John and 
laughed, "I'm going to go get some tea. I might take a walk around 
town, since there’s no telling how long you’ll be here. I'll be back 
after a while."

John watched Ed disappear into the house. He sat down in the 
chair that Ed had just vacated. He looked over the two naked 
ladies, one on each side of him. They were both very beautiful. He 
had been in bed with Beth many times and had enjoyed each time 
tremendously. He had seen Kelly naked many times, but had never 
even kissed her.  He asked, "So what subject is it that you want to 
broach? Life? Career? Money?"

Kelly answered directly, "Marriage."

John knew what she wanted, but he decided to have a little fun at 
their expense. He smiled, "Ah, so you are finally going to marry 
Ed! I'd love to be your best man!"

The breath burst out of Kelly in an explosive manner conveying 
her frustration. She stated, "No, I want you to marry us!"

John replied, "Well, I did become a Druid when I received my 
doctorate. I can perform the ceremony, if you wish."

"Are you being dense on purpose? I want you to be one of my 
husbands."

John laughed in a friendly fashion, "I'm putting you on. I knew 
exactly what you meant. Remember, you told me once that you 
wanted a wife and two husbands."

Kelly frowned, "I did? When?"

"The first time that Beth spent the night at my place. You got into 
an argument at my place and told the whole story."

Kelly remembered the occasion. She had argued with Betsy and 
had blurted out her desires. Ed had been a little upset with her after 
that. She stated, "I had forgotten."

John nodded, "Yes, you had. So tell me about this marriage 
concept of yours."

Kelly explained how she wanted to be in a marriage of four adults. 
In particular, a marriage comprised of two men and two women. 
She wanted everyone to make love to every one else in the 
marriage. She wanted it to be a marriage in every way, with full 
economic support of each other, a common house, and children 
raised in a loving environment.

John asked, "Why does it have to include sex between members of 
the same gender?"

"It will prevent jealousy."

John wasn’t sure that he fully agreed with that, but it sounded 
reasonable. He nodded, "It sounds like you've thought about it a 
lot."

"Yes, I have."

John asked the critical question, "So who are the others that will be 
in this marriage?"

"It would Beth and Ed," answered Kelly. She looked at Beth for 
support. 

John turned to Beth, "What do you think of this idea?"

Beth hesitantly smiled, "I like it."

"What do you think of me joining in?"

Beth smiled openly, "Oh, I would love it."

John mulled it over. He asked, "Well, what does Ed think?"

Kelly answered, "He's okay with it."

"What do you think, Beth?"

Beth frowned and looked at Kelly. She knew that her opinion 
differed from that of Kelly. She stated, "I don't know. I don't think 
he's too wild about the idea of making love with a man."

Kelly wanted to kill the idea that Ed wouldn't go along with her 
idea very quickly. Kelly interrupted, "He said he would."

Beth stated, "Saying he would do it and wanting to do it are two 
different things. I'm sorry Kelly, but we can't start this out with a 
half-truth."

Kelly frowned. She couldn't deny that Ed wasn't exactly 
enthusiastic about the idea of sex with another man. She admitted, 
"The sex with a man part does bother him a little."

John stood up and faced the two women. He stated, "I'll give my 
answer when all three of you have proposed to me. I'll accept that 
both of you have done so. That leaves Ed."

Beth and Kelly sat there quietly thinking about what he had said. It 
was actually a very fair request. Kelly sighed, "Okay."

John ended the discussion by stating, "I've got to go across the 
street to the house. Rover is hunting and he'll be worried if I'm not 
there when he comes back. Besides, I think you need to have a 
long talk with Ed."

John left the backyard and headed across the street. He walked 
around to his patio and sat on the chair there. He watched the herd 
of goats gathered around the feeder that was located almost a mile 
away. He couldn't make out individual goats because of the 
distance, but he could see that they were placidly doing what goats 
do. He watched as the herd suddenly exploded. Rover had gotten 
one. He knew that because Rover never missed the slow moving 
goats.

Feeding Rover had turned into a major expense. He had come up 
the idea of allowing Rover to hunt the goats as an alternative to the 
more expensive prospect of buying fresh meat from the store every 
day. He had bought the land, almost a hundred goats, and an 
automatic feeder. He had also set up four widely separated 
watering areas. The goats were there for Rover to hunt. 

He went in the house and fixed himself an iced tea. He took the 
pitcher out with him to the patio. The trick to living well in the 
Arizona heat was to drink lots of liquid. Sweat cooled and a lack of 
sweat killed. John was careful to always have a sip of water 
nearby. He returned to his chair on the patio and watched the 
horizon. Vultures were already heading towards the dead goat.

He sat there drinking his iced tea wondering when Ed would 
finally come over. He started to think about how he felt about the 
proposal that Kelly had made. He had known for a long time that 
she was interested in this kind of marriage. When the issue first 
came up, he was happily living with Betsy and that wouldn't have 
worked for Kelly. When Betsy died, he knew he had become a 
logical fourth for the marriage. Still, his approach to the idea was 
to ignore it.

Kelly was focused on making her dream come true. For that to 
happen, he and Ed would have to become lovers. He didn't really 
know what he thought about that. His only time with a male had 
been with the God and that had been more like rape. He thought 
about the experience. Some of the unpleasantness had been a result 
of the enormous size of the cock. Humans were not really built to 
deal with two-foot long cocks. However, most of the problem was 
that fact that he hadn't consented.  His experience had been rough 
with no concern for his pleasure or feelings. The lack of concern 
wasn't out of maliciousness; a force of nature that made love to 
him. Morally, he guessed the experience taught him an important 
lesson. If a God could have sex with a man, then clearly the Gods 
and Goddesses didn't have a problem with sex between members 
of the same gender.

He guessed the real question concerned having Ed as a sexual 
partner. He was closer to Ed than any other man. The experience 
during the earthquake had cemented a bond between the two of 
them. You can't be with someone when buildings are falling 
around on you without having a bond formed. From his 
perspective, he could do it. Odds were that it might never be as 
good as with a woman, but it could be pleasant enough to work. 
However, he wasn't sure that he wanted to do it.

The last question was Ed. He wondered what Ed really thought of 
this. Kelly was so focused on her goal, that she was more than 
likely to ignore any real uncertainty that Ed might express. Ed 
might have his doubts and fears, but he would suppress them in 
light of Kelly's enthusiasm until it came time to actual act. At that 
point, things were liable to get messy. It was up to him to make 
sure that Ed understood what Kelly was asking him to do.

Rover trotting home at a leisurely pace interrupted his thoughts. He 
saw John and changed his direction to head right towards him. The 
cat had already cleaned himself of the blood from his kill. It 
slowed to a walk as it neared the chair in which John was seated. 
John petted the cat as it walked past. Satisfied with the attention 
and the meal, it curled up in the shade. Rover would sleep for the 
next hour or two. 

 John took a sip of his iced tea. The cool liquid in his mouth was 
refreshing and helped fight off his weariness. He was tired from a 
long drive that lasted most of the night. He had just returned from 
Utah on a scouting expedition. He was working out the details on 
how he would capture the amputation murderer. He knew the time 
and place, but he didn't have a clear idea of a plan. He was going to 
have to return next week and set things up.

The sound of ice cubes rattling in a glass caught his attention. Ed 
came around the corner of the carrying his own glass of iced tea. 
He had only a single sip left in it. He swirled the class taking 
pleasure in the sound of the ice cubes rattling in the glass. Ed 
calmly stated, "Hello, John. I guess you shook up the women a 
bit."

"Did they tell you that?" asked John. He was curious about the 
reaction of the women to his position concerning the group 
marriage. He imagined that they were probably arguing now about 
the difference of opinion between Beth and Kelly about Ed. 

"Nah, I watched from in the house. I waited a bit, got dressed, and 
then came over here."

"Did you hear what we discussed?"

"No, but I could guess." Ed looked off at the horizon. He sat down 
in the chair next to John. This was going to be a long discussion 
and it concerned a topic that he wanted to avoid. He didn't want to 
come out and say that he was okay with the idea of becoming 
lovers. The fact was, he wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of 
having sex with a man. Part of him was attracted to the idea and 
part of him was repulsed. He turned to John, "You told them that 
you wanted to hear it from me. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are," answered John. He added, "I know that you don't 
want to say it outright until you get some sign from me about how 
I feel about it. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are."

John looked at his right foot. He decided to approach the subject in 
rather indirect fashion. He stated, "I've been raped twice in my life. 
The first time by a female and the second by a male."

"Oh Shit!" Ed stared at John. 

"The thing about both times, they weren't about the sex. There was 
a violence and utter lack of regard about how I felt about it." John 
paused, "Now, you know how much I enjoy sex with women."

"Yes, I do."

"Well, getting raped by a female didn't interfere with my ability to 
get pleasure out of sex with a woman."

"I can see that. They are totally different things." Ed knew that 
John really enjoyed sex with Beth. He knew that sex with Betsy 
had been an important part of his relationship with her. 

John turned the subject to the matter at hand. He stated, "Likewise, 
I don't think getting raped by a male will affect my ability to get 
pleasure out of sex with a man."

Ed considered what John had said. He refilled his glass from the 
pitcher of iced tea as a way of masking his hesitation. He had to 
ask, "So do you get pleasure out of sex with a man?"

"I don't know. I've never done it," replied John. He looked over at 
Ed.

Ed suddenly laughed, "So here we are, two scared virgins. Neither 
of us wants to admit it. Damn, aren't we a pair?"

"Yes we are."

"Well, if I was to loose my cherry I can't think of a better man." 
Ed's stomach had reached his neck. His hands would have shaken 
if he hadn't had them held so tight against the arms of the chair. He 
watched John out of the corner of his eyes, waiting for some sort of 
reaction.

"I agree. You'd be my pick."

Ed relaxed a little. At least he hadn't been called a faggot. He took 
a deep breath and in a rush, stated, "I don't think either of us would 
want to be a virgin if we were to…"

As Ed stopped in embarrassment, John completed it. "Yes, we had 
better do it with each other before I agree to what Kelly wants."

"Right, if either of us hated it that would really screw things up 
with her concept of the group marriage."

"Yep."

Ed sat there very nervous. He really wasn't sure that he wanted to 
do it. If they couldn't do it or hated it, that would that end his 
relationship with Kelly. He didn't think he would survive a break 
up with her, she was that important in his life. He felt like he was 
about to step off the edge of a cliff. His voice gave away his fear, 
"When?"

John looked at Ed for a minute. He could see that the man was not 
exactly at ease with the idea. He stated, “Look, neither one of us is 
really ready to do that now. I mean, we are both willing, but 
neither of us wants to do it.”

“That’s true.”

“Why don’t we wait until we want to do it? I know that Kelly is in 
a hurry to get things resolved, but it’s better to wait until we know 
what we want than to rush in and ruin things.”

Ed relaxed, “I think you’re right. It really would be much better to 
wait for a while. Do you think that we’ll ever want to do it.”

“I don’t know. I do know that the idea isn’t as repulsive as it was 
before.”

“I know what you mean. I’m of two minds on the topic. A year ago 
I would have killed someone that even suggested the idea to me.” 
Ed shook his head at how much his thoughts had changed. He was 
now considering doing things that were totally foreign to how he 
had been.

John had grown tired of the topic. He changed the subject. "I'm 
going to Utah next week. I need someone to watch my back and 
you're the only one I trust. Why don't you come with me?”

Ed was surprised at John’s request. He wondered what was 
involved in this trip that he felt he needed someone to watch his 
back. He remembered the trip to California only too well. He had 
seen too much death and destruction there. Still, if John needed his 
help, then he couldn’t refuse. He nodded his agreement, "Sounds 
good to me. What's your business in Utah?"

"I'm going after a serial killer. He's a beast that preys on young 
women."

Ed said, "Sounds as if it could be dangerous. What do you need me 
to do?"

“I’ll be working with the FBI, but I don’t think I have much 
credibility with them. I’m afraid that when it comes time to move 
in on the guy, I’ll be there all alone or with a single agent backing 
me up.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, I have no track record in law enforcement. They are likely 
to think that I’m some sort of hero-wanna-be.” John could 
understand why a law enforcement official would look down in 
disdain at an amateur detective. There were many people that had 
the idea that they could do better than a professional. He 
remembered the number of times that he had been trapped by some 
amateur scientist who wanted to explain some crackpot idea to 
him.  

“Do you think that heroics will be required?”

John stated, "It will be if things don't go well. This guy amputates 
the limbs off the victim. Once they heal, he cuts off their head. I’d 
hate to end up as one of his victims if I’m there all alone."

Ed had never heard of this killer. He couldn’t imagine why 
someone would do what John had described. Surely, it couldn’t be 
rape. He shook his head in disgust. "That is really sick."

"I agree. That's why he's got to be stopped."

Ed nodded, "Speaking of stopping things, I better get across the 
street. The women are probably going crazy by now."

John smiled, "you bet."

After Ed left, John returned to a problem that he had been working 
on for a long time. It was the cold fusion problem. There were only 
a few facts that seemed relevant. First, it had to be a natural 
geological phenomenon. In addition, the phenomenon would have 
to have enough hydrogen and deuterium for the fusion to occur. 
The last thing that he considered was that it had to be a slow 
process. A fast process would have burned out long ago. 

The fact that it was a slow process meant that it would not produce 
energy at a high rate. One might consider this a limitation, but 
there were several advantages to a slow process. In particular, there 
would not be excessive by-products such as gamma radiation and 
neutrons. In addition, it would have a long lifetime of use. Finally, 
a slow process could produce enough energy to power common 
low-energy devices. Clearly, one wouldn't want to use it to power 
an entire city, but perhaps replacing batteries would be a good 
idea. The important question was size. If it were too large, then it 
wouldn't be practical. 

His problem now resolved to a simpler one. That was to identify 
what kind of natural geological processes involved large quantities 
of hydrogen. There was no reason to assume that the hydrogen had 
to be unbound. He set to work going through various geological 
processes, eliminating those that didn't fit his profile. There were 
only a few options and one of them really stood out. He sat back 
and thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more he 
believed it. Now to prove it.

He started sketching out an experimental setup that would allow 
him to test his hypothesis. He worked non-stop for the next forty 
hours. The result was an extremely simple device that was scalable 
to any size. His setup did not require any exotic materials. 

He stood up and looked outside. Dawn was breaking over the 
horizon. He went out into the yard and performed his normal 
morning ritual. He let fall to the ground two drops of blood. One 
was for the Goddess and the other was for the God. Rover woke up 
and watched him. Bored, he yawned and went back to sleep. 

John watched Rover and decided it was time that he got some 
sleep, too. He went into his bedroom; it was the one without a bed 
in it. He undressed and stretched out on his sleeping bag. He had 
hardly gotten on it before he was asleep.