The Life Giver 4 Reproduction, either electronic or hard copy, is premissible as long as no alterations are made and no fee is charged beyond reproduction costs. This chapter, and others in the series can be found at http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~djfarr/ The Price of Immortality ------------------------------- Sarah's eyes fluttered opened. She stepped forward and would have stumbled to the ground if she hadn't suddenly been wrapped by a pair of furry arms. She blinked a few times times to clear the gunk out of her eyes to find Terrus holding a towel around her naked form. He smiled at her. "Can you hear me?" She nodded. "Yes," she croaked. "Your throat's just a little out of practice, you should be able to speak normally in a while." He started using the towel to clean the last of the fluid from her body. She just stood there, enjoying the attention. "How long?" she asked in a whisper. "You were in for about seven standard days. Mother said that the genetic rebuilding took a little longer than expected because of the pollutants in your system, she had to clean them out first." He knelt down before her and started drying her legs. Sarah looked around, not realising where Terrus was. "Where's Passia?" "Look behind you?" Passia half turned and saw a second tube, a shadowy figure could just be seen floating in the green liquid. "A couple of days after you stepped into the tube, she came to me and demanded that I put her in. When I asked her why, she said that she wasn't going to let her friend get trapped for eternity all by herself. Mother and I talked about it and decided to throw her in. We had to check for compatibility, I created the Hesati after I locked Mother out of my files." Sarah frowned. "But you said you did that thousands of years ago, and the Hesati have been around for millions of years." "I have methods of altering the flow of time," Mother told her. "I can make it so that more or less time passes in a small area." "Small astronomically speaking." Terrus added. "About the size of a solar system. I've spent more time in temporal stasis than actually living. I was born thousands of billions of years ago, but I've only actually lived about a million years, a few years at a stretch." "Why?" "I've been waiting for a period when life is extremely prevalent, so I can settle down and watch the galaxy go by. You and Passia have helped me decide that that time has come." Sarah looked down at him. "So you want to start a family?" Terrus stepped back, still holding the blanket, and looked her over. "No, unfortuantly I can't have children. What I mean is that I've decide to stop being the recluse and get involved in the universe." "So what happens now?" Terrus smiled. "First I put the finishing touches to a couple of projects I've been working on, then we have some fun, after Passia wakes up tomorrow. Mother, put some clothes on her will you." "In the style we discussed, Mother," Sarah added. A second later a skin tight silver one piece swinsuit materialised on Sarah. It hugged her body in all the right ways. Sarah did a twirl, a smile on her face. "You like?" said asked, then noticed something. "Hey, there are no hairs on my arm." Terrus raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. "Interesting. Mother?" "It is a recessive genetic characteristic brought to the fore by the genetic rewrite. I did warn you that it was possible that such things would happen." "Are you saying I have no body hair at all." "Other than the hair on your head, yes." Terrus smiled. "Well then, another bonus. I wonder how Passia will react." He turned and headed for the door. "Come on, I think you'll like my latest projects." ***** Unlike every other room in the ship Sarah had been in, Terrus' genetics lab actually looked like it belonged in a science fiction TV program. Banks of sophisticated equipment lined the walls and in the centre of the room stood a large round console over which spun a double-helix. "Wow!" Terrus smiled and put his arm around her. "I'm glad you like it." He walked over to the central console. "Mother, would you put up a construct for the sentients from Terra dash oh-one." The helix vanished and was immediately replaced by a humanoid form. The humanoid was tall and thin, furless, but seemed graceful, not lanky. Its face was angular, eyes slitted and ... "Pointed ears?" cried Sarah. "It's an elf!" Terrus nodded. "A number of races have been created based on mythology. In fact, in one way or another, all the races but humans are influenced at least a little by some form of fiction. Of course humans appear in a large number of non-human stories as well." "But why are you creating elves?" "I liked the idea. The other project should interest you personally even more. Mother, Terra oh-two please." A reptile replaced the elf, standing upright with a noble look about it. Sarah frowned, the figure was familiar. "Sentient raptor, I finally managed to dig out the code for the dinosaurs." Sarah turned on him, eyes open wide. "You're saying that there are going to dinosaurs again, and they'll even reach sentience this time?" Terrus nodded. "Yeap, all I have to do now is to set up a seeder probe and temporal compressor, and in a few years, there'll be two new races to add to the GC." "A few years?" Terrus nodded. "Normally I wouldn't push developement that far that fast, but then usually I'd just go to sleep for a few thousand years. My normal time table just isn't feasible for this anymore." Sarah leaned forward and gave him a long kiss. "You finish those probes, I'll be waiting in your stateroom when you're finished." Sarah sauntered sexily out. ***** It took Terrus longer than he thought to finish the two probes. He watched as devices shot away from the mothership and vanished into hyperspace. Terrus knew that within a few days both would have found suitable worlds and produced the first steps to life. Terrus walked back towards his rooms in a reflective mood. "You know Mother, I actually missed having Sarah and Passia around the ship." "You stood over their healing pods after their rape, I think your few contacts with them may have had more of an effect on you than you think." "I don't see how, I didn't even learn Sarah's name until Passia introduced her to me, and then she didn't say much." He stopped just short of his door. "The Jocan Kareenii believe that souls are true deciders of who we love, not familiarity nor looks. They believe that two people who are right for each other will love each other from the moment they meet. Obviously the two of you were fascinated by the other when you met at customs, because you both remembered each other later. Maybe the Jocan are right." "Maybe, but I also get the feelng that this relationship is going to be more trouble for her than me." "Sarah seems set on making it work, she truly believes that she loves you. By the way, she's fairly nervous and waiting for you." Terrus nodded and stepped up to the door, which slid open revealing his stateroom. Sarah lay on the bed, spread eagle, silk bonds tied to her ankles and wrists. Terrus walked over to her and reached for the tie at her wrist. "Why did you have Mother tie you up like this?" he asked softly. Sarah gazed up at him. "I thought you'd enjoy it." Her voice was full of fear and worry. "I wanted to please you, and this was all I could think of." He released her wrist from the silk, then brought his hand down to stroke her face. He looked deep into her eyes to see the fear he had heard. "You don't have to do this, I'm happy to share my life with you." She reached up and grabbed his hand. "Do you like the idea of taking me while I'm helpless?" He smiled. "To be honest, yes." "Then do so, I'm not really helpless, Mother and I worked out a way that these are tied so that I can get out, but only by pulling in a very unnatural way." She put her arm back where it had been. "Mother, retie me, then can we have some privacy." The silk snaked its way back around Sarah's wrist, then Mother signalled her "leaving" with a couple of beeps. Terrus started stroking Sarah's stomach. He smiled, then lent over and kissed her there. Continuing his kissing he moved up onto her breasts, gentle playing with each nipple with his tongue, before moving down to her neck and on to kiss her full on the lips. His hands moved up to her mounds, gently massaging her breasts, and teasing her nipples. Finally he broke the kiss, and smiling, reached up to pull his own clothes off. Now naked he covered her body with his own, resuming both kiss and the massage. Sarah lay beneath him, suffering in her lust, responding to his touched by trusting forward. Finally as her body thrust out she felt a counter thrust from him, and his shaft entered her. Sarah groaned her pleasure, and continued thrusting. Soon Terrus matched her pace and they found themselves climbing their ecstasy. Sarah felt her own orgasm sweep through her just as Terrus came inside her. Sarah basked in the afterglow, still bound, as Terrus lay on his side beside her, gazing at her. Sarah pulled at her ties, which came lose, and wrapped her arms around him. "Are you pleased you accepted me then?" Sarah asked. "Are you glad you offered?" Sarah stared at him. "Yes, of course. You're everything I could ever want in a man." Terrus smiled and pulled her to him. Sarah's eyes opened wide as he entered her a second time. ***** The first thing Passia felt as she came round was a splash of cold water. Moments later two pairs of hands started drying her down with towels. She still had her eyes closed so she just listened to their voices. "I can see why you reserved this job for yourself." Sarah, Passia identified. "Well, don't get distracted, this gunk will be hard to get out of her fur once it dries." Terrus behind her. Using the towel on her back. "Oh, this'll be fun." Sarah was standing in front of her. Suddenly she felt the towel, and the hands beneath it, on her breast, fondling and kneeding. Passia gave out a long sigh. "That's enough of that," snapped Terrus. "I'm sure she won't thank you when she has to spend a week combing snarls out of her fur." Sarah let out a dissapointed "Oww," then continued down her body. The pair finally stopped rubbing her, but only after touching every inch of her body. Passia heard them step away from her, and opened her eyes. Sarah let out a surprised squeak. She was standing before Passia, gazing down at her. "What is it? What's wrong?" Passia demanded. Terrus stepped round her to see. "Your eyes are a most startling shade of blue. Mother, a mirror please." A mirror appeared between them, showing Passia's face, as it had always been, except that now her irises were a bright blue. Passia blinked a few times, then peered at the mirror. "Nobody has eyes this color!" she declared. "Some humans do," Sarah pointed out. "Many Kareenii as well," Terrus added. "Most of the races have that shade as a recessive and uncommon gene, including the Hesati." "Well, I guess you've put your mark on me. Mother, I'm done with the mirror." As the mirror vanished Passia looked over Sarah. "What'd you do to her?" Sarah smiled. "I'll show you tonight, when get around to that fun Terrus mentioned." "That wasn't the fun I was talking about," Terus commented.