Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Maria stood on the front deck of her small cottage, overlooking the main
valley of the capitol city of Rossak.  The early morning steam rose from
the tops of the tropical jungle plants, much thicker than the steam rising
from her tea.  She sipped her tea, took in the morning air, and awaited her
visitor.  She was nude, and when she finished her tea, she would dress and
await Inspector Chalmers.

   Rossak was the fourth planet circling the sun.  The equatorial regions
were hot, very tropical, and steamy.  The tropical forests of this planet
were noted for the wide variety of herbs and medicines that were beneficial
to humans and some alien groups.  It was the principal export of the
planet, and the forests were well protected by the government.

   As one headed away from the tropic areas, the planet became dryer and
cooler, finally ending in barren and bitter cold polar regions.  Only
weather stations were kept at the northern polar region.  TransStar, the
company that controlled ninety percent of all space travel, kept a base on
the South Pole.  The radiation belt had a hole in it over the pole, which
made entrance and exit to Rossak much easier.

   Maria finished her tea and headed into her kitchen, where she brewed
herself another cup.  She walked out the back door and into her garden. 
Just behind the garden, but still on her land, was a nice-sized lake.  She
walked onto the dock, sat on the edge, her toes just tickling the surface
of the smooth, still, deep-blue liquid.  The sun glinted off of the
piercing she wore in her hood.  She had a small diamond hanging over her
clitoris today; she would change it later to a simple barbell.

   This lake was where one of her lovers lived.  He was a DNA-enhanced
octopus, quite large, with a head that could easily pass for human.  Two of
his tentacles had been converted to hands.  He possessed rudimentary human
intelligence, and could perform simple underwater construction tasks. 
Indeed, the animal had been designed for just that purpose.  He also had a
fondness for human women.

   Maria's other lover was a cyborg space pilot.  A human brain, alive,
attached to a frigate to navigate and run a starship's functions, the
vessel's equipment became the arms, legs, eyes, and ears of the pilot.  She
only saw him when his vessel was in port.  Although he could leave the
vessel in a special container, the confinement of a planet could, after a
time, unhinge him.  Space pilots preferred the openness of the stars.  She
would travel to the South Pole and spend a few days with him, the two
making love.  He had tried to persuade her to join him in space, but she
refused.  She found it frightening.

   Maria sat on the dock and finished her tea.  She looked across the lake
and thought about the road that had brought her to this point in her life.
She was a breeder, but retired.  Breeders were human women who mated with
cyborgs, DNA-enhanced creatures, and aliens.  These women supplied genetic
patterns necessary to modify the creatures.  They were far and few between,
and much in demand.  Maria had never, in the twenty-three years of her
life, had had sex with a human male.

   The girl stood up and went back into her cottage.  She placed the mug in
the sink and headed into her bedroom to dress for her visitor.  She admired
her nude form in the full-length mirror.

   Maria was thin and athletic in shape, with a generous, rounded bottom.
Her feet were tiny.  She was of average height.  Her stomach was flat.  Her
breasts were perky, rounded, and had large, dark nipples.  Her mouth was
wide, with full lips, and she had an engaging smile.  Deep, dark eyes
flashed back from the mirror.  Her hair was ebony, rich, and thick.  It
hung to the top of her bottom.  Her skin had a faint olive tint, which was
enhanced by a suntan.  She had no hair anywhere on her body.  Indeed, she
could easily pass for sixteen.

   Maria pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and then went to the closet
to pick an outfit.  She selected a light-blue skirt with a bit of a flare,
which fell to just below her knees.  A simple peasant blouse, which was
worn off of the shoulder, white, with a red trim around the collar,
completed the outfit.  She had been wearing underwear less and less lately,
and decided she would wear none today.  She applied a small amount of
lip-gloss, left her feet bare, and went out to the front deck to await her
visitor.

   Maria watched Inspector Chalmers struggle up the road to her home.  He
still wore the same wrinkled and messy blue suit, white shirt, and striped
tie.  He refused to change to lighter-weight clothing to allow for the
climate of Rossak.  He was perspiring.

   Chief Inspector Chalmers (he had been promoted, a fact of which Maria
was not aware,) was in his early fifties.  He was tall, still thin and in
good shape, which was a consequence of his exercise ethic.  He had never
married.  His brown hair was graying around the temples and thinning on
top. His face was plain and a bit handsome.  He was a keen judge of human
character, and possessed a mind like a steel trap.

   Maria stood at the edge of the deck, smiled, and greeted the Inspector
as he approached.

   "Please come in, Inspector, out of the heat.  Would you care for some
cool tea?"

   "Yes, please, Maria," Inspector Chalmers responded.  "Just a touch of
sweetener.  This climate is brutal.  And tell me, how have you been?"

   Maria did not answer.  Instead, she led the Inspector indoors, where he
chose to sit on a comfortable chair.  Maria proceeded to her small kitchen
and made up a large mug of iced tea for the inspector.  She slowly carried
into her parlor and handed it to him, and then settled into a chair
opposite and relaxed.

   Inspector Chalmers loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar, and took a
generous sip of the cool and refreshing beverage.  Then he leaned back,
crossed his legs, and relaxed with a pleasant smile.

   "You have not answered my question, Maria.  How are you, and how goes
the tea shop?" Maria ran a small teashop, which served freshly brewed
drinks and sold bulk for home brewing.

   "The business loses money every day, Inspector.  Tea is plentiful here;
it is not a rare commodity." Maria laughed, a seductive and womanly laugh.
"At my current rate of loss, Inspector, I will be broke in, shall we say,
three hundred and forty-five standard years!"

   The Inspector gave out with a hearty laugh.  He knew just how much money
Maria had.  She had become quite wealthy.  Her pay from being a breeder had
been high.  There was also the fact that she had helped him solve a serious
problem concerning a high official in TransStar.  She had stolen quite a
bit of money from TransStar, which TransStar had chosen to ignore.  Maria
was wealthy indeed!

   "And yourself, Inspector?  What have you been doing lately?"

   "Well," said Inspector Chalmers, smiling with pride, "I have been
promoted to Chief Inspector and given my own department.  I have also been
given a quite nice raise, and two standard months leave.  I will relax,
unwind a bit, and then get back to work."

   Maria smiled.  The Inspector deserved it.

   "Congratulations."

   Inspector Chalmers looked closely at the young woman sitting across from
him.  She was wise beyond her years.  Her life would have destroyed a
weaker woman.  And yet, she had not become bitter and angry.  The affection
and generosity that he had sensed in their first meeting had never left
her, but instead had seemed to increase.  If anyone had reasons to be
bitter, angry, and selfish, she did.  But Maria never descended to that
level.  Instead, she appeared to have grown.  The Inspector took a long sip
of tea, uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, and, with his face taking on a
very serious expression, looked intently at Maria and began to speak.

   "Maria, there are two things I wish to discuss.  The first is your
generosity concerning the family of Dr.  Hamlyn.  What you did went far
beyond kindness.  The doctor's wife and children will never want for the
rest of their lives." Maria looked down at her feet and held back tears. 
Dr.  Hamlyn had been the psychiatrist assigned to the case with Inspector
Chalmers.  He had been killed.  Maria had grown close to him, and trusted
him fully and completely, something she had refused to do with most human
males.

   "It was the least I could do, Inspector.  He was helping me.  I think,
perhaps, I was starting to love him a bit."

   "You helped both him and I, Maria," said the Inspector, his voice low
and tone very somber.  "We both owe you a debt we can never repay.  As does
Transstar.  Now, I only wish to thank you, and let us drop it. 
Understood?"

   Maria nodded.

   "The second item, Maria, is even of more importance.  Your story must be
preserved.  TransStar, as well as the governments of Rossak and Delta
Pavonis, will never officially acknowledge your role in this affair. 
Indeed, the three of them refuse to acknowledge the roles of breeders. 
This is hypocrisy of the highest order, as all three organizations use
cyborgs.  You must tell your tale, and preserve it!"

   "And who would believe, Inspector?" responded Maria.  "I am a whore for
aliens and creatures, a woman of low stature, selling herself.  Who would
accept my tale, much less preserve it?"

   Maria had grown quite agitated.  Her dark eyes flashed, and her gestures
became very animated.  She was not ashamed of what she had become; it had
been her tool for survival.  But her treatment at the hands of "proper
people," who benefited with a higher quality of life from her labor, always
made her angry.

   "Both Rossak and TransStar will preserve your tale, Maria.  Perhaps,
some day, it will even be published.  But for now, the important thing is
preservation.  Tell your side of the story!"

   Maria stood up and began to pace the room, her arms folded on her
breast, her eyes looking at the floor.  The Inspector remained silent,
knowing she was deep in thought.  He had to convince her to preserve her
role in the affair.  Maria paced for several minutes, stopped, turned, and
faced Inspector Chalmers.

   "Tell me, Inspector, how do I preserve my story?"

   Inspector Chalmers smiled and relaxed.  She was warming to the idea.  He
had the perfect tool at his fingertips with which to convince her.

   "TransStar," said the Inspector, "has agreed to provide you with a
communications computer.  You will enter your story on the computer, and
transmit it to the TransStar base here.  My work brings me here quite
often. I will access the files, edit them, and transmit it back to you for
your approval.  When we finish, I will burn it to a secure drive on the
TransStar home planet.  A duplicate copy will be kept in the government
vaults here on Rossak.  You know it will be quite secure."

   "Well, Inspector," said Maria with a chuckle, "those computers are quite
expensive.  I can afford one, but it seems quite a waste just to buy one to
record and transmit my memoirs.  Whatever would I do with it after I was
finished?"

   Inspector Chalmers knew he had her now.  "Maria, TransStar will provide
a computer, free of charge, for you to use.  When you are finished, they
will take it back and reformat the thing.  All we need to do is go to
TransStar's offices in the city and pick the model.  I can teach you to use
it in a few hours time.  Interested?" For the first time in many years, the
Inspector felt a deep wave of emotion wash over him.  The girl smiled, and
gentle tears flowed.  As Hamlyn, before his death, had said, Maria needed a
release.  Her telling her side of the story would provide the release.  He
watched Maria shiver and gently sob.  The Inspector stood up and gave her a
gentle and fatherly hug.  He spoke softly and warmly into her ear.  "You
will do a service for the woman like yourself everywhere.  It is required,
and most necessary." Maria softly cried a bit more, and then pushed the
Inspector away.  "Yes, Inspector, you are right.  I will do this." "Good! I
can go to my office and arrange for a selection of the computers to be set
up for you evaluation right now.  It will take about five hours.  Do you
wish to do it today?" "Yes, Inspector.  I have to go to my shop and do some
bookwork.  I can be at your office in five hours.  I know where the
TransStar building is located."

   Inspector Chalmers merely smiled, buttoned his collar, and tightened his
tie.  He was, after all, on duty.  He hugged Maria again, kissed her on the
cheek, and walked out the door and headed down the road to his transport.
As soon as he reached his office, he would have the computers set up for
Maria to evaluate.

   Maria watched him leave.  She smiled a sad smile.  She would tell her
story.  Maybe it would benefit someone.  If nothing else, it would be a
good read, and would provide pornographers with material for one hundred
years.