Chapter 1

"Seven point eight!" Chuck Oberndorfer yipped as he skipped toward his father's car, "Yippee!"

"Well, get in and stifle it at bit!" his father retorted, grinning. "You don't want to get shot at, and we have a limited amount of time for your family birthday celebration -- we're going to Maude's tonight!"

"Maude's! Mom will SHIT!" Chuck erupted -- then covered his mouth.

Gary Oberndorfer chuckled. "Earlier this week maybe, but not now -- she knows." He pulled away from the curb and turned the car for home and the family portion of his son's coming of age celebration.

Chuck's birthday was Thursday; Sherry Oberndorfer got HER surprise on the previous Monday. After a quiet dinner (without the children) Gary had driven Sherry to a huge old Victorian home on the edge of town. "Why are we here?" she asked.

"I thought we should do something educational as well as entertaining," Gary replied. "Just hold your questions -- they're better answered by the staff." After parking, he led Sherry to the house, where they were greeted by a fortyish woman and led to a table in a large ballroom -- one of several arranged in a semicircle around a large podium. After some drinks were served, the lights dimmed and a forty-something looking woman ascended the raised dais.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen, and welcome to Maude's. I'm your hostess, Maude Carlson."

Sherry gasped and turned to Gary, "What...?"

"Wait," Gary shushed her.

"I see some looks of surprise as I look around the room," Maude declaimed. "No doubt that's for good reason. God knows what those of you who are surprised must think you're in for -- so I'll dispel your fears at the outset. This is an educational seminar -- a presentation, if you will. There will be none of the hijinks some of you appear to expect to occur in this place. In fact tonight's presentation is specifically designed to provide you with a clear understanding of what REALLY DOES go on here, rather than the rumors and disinformation that are epidemic surrounding it."

Maude looked around and smiled gently. "There has been a LOT of confusion -- wild charges, disinformation, and public uproar -- since I opened this establishment a few months back. I supposed that the most prevalent rumor is that this establishment is a house of prostitution. While I can understand how this misunderstanding may have occurred, let me be clear -- this is an educational institution!"

This statement caused a bit of an uproar; Maude put her hands out to quiet the crowd. "Please, please! Allow me to continue and I will prove my case!" She waved her hand and a projection appeared behind her -- charts and statistical data. "American youth is significantly unprepared for the responsibilities pressed upon them by the current emergency -- by which I refer to the impending invasion of the Swarm. The Confederacy has decreed that for their purposes, children reach adulthood at age fourteen. Their criteria are simple -- not to say simplistic -- biologically, the vast majority of humans -- male or female -- are prepared to function sexually by age fourteen. The vast majority of Western civilization's answer to this decree was 'Well, yes, but...' -- but the Darjee -- and the Confederacy in general -- turned a deaf ear. Maximizing the birth rate requires that we begin to procreate at the earliest feasible date -- and fourteen works for some ninety-plus percent of the population. Since we really don't want our children to miss out on the diaspora, we've put up with this."

New charts went up -- and a globe. "Not everyone complained," Maude continued. "You see, in many countries, the Confederacy's edict isn't a problem -- children are treated as adults as early as thirteen in some countries in the Far East, for instance, and in Africa. Australian aborigines would also be a prime example. But here in the United States, we feel that the young are not really ready to accept responsibility for their actions until eighteen at the earliest -- and therefore, because we have failed to prepare them properly, they aren't."

This brought a rumble from the floor. More charts appeared behind Maude and she flourished a laser pointer. "Children haven't changed. Our race hasn't altered significantly in several thousand years. Yet we choose to believe that our children are unable to carry the burdens of adulthood. We shield them and protect them -- and stunt their growth. As late as the early part of the last century, the median age for MARRIAGE was fifteen IN THIS COUNTRY! A sixteen year old girl who was not being courted was considered an old maid incapable of attracting a male and likely to be a burden on her family for a serious length of time! Natural selection can be quick -- but only on a geological scale, ladies and gentlemen. We're no different than our great-grandfathers from a purely biological standpoint. Why, therefore, are our children?"

Maude looked around, measuring the silence. "Thanks to the Pilgrims, America is one of the most sexually repressed countries on Earth. We're a testament to the fact that ignorance and superstition and bigotry take root in every person before enlightenment and education can open the windows of the soul and banish them. The British, who bequeathed us this extremist mindset, did it in the process of ejecting unwanted elements from their civilization, much as they did later by shipping convicts to Australia -- and thereby purged themselves of the problem. But we inherited it and carried it from coast to coast. We've been doing a miserable job of raising our children, failing to teach them some of the most fundamental aspects of the human condition -- largely due to the fact that we were never properly exposed to that curriculum at a young age, either. No, we were told that our process of procreation was 'dirty' and not to be discussed in public -- and although we've many of us learned otherwise, those prejudices we were inculcated with at a young age continues to provoke the kind of knee-jerk reaction that causes us to propagate the cycle of ignorance without thinking about it.. Added to this was our natural desire to provide our children with what we never had and the false enlightenment of the last few decades of the past century, and we are saddled with a generation that has no concept of personal responsibility and is unable to even visualize the consequences of their actions. Our children are not adults at twenty-five, let alone fourteen!" She glared around the room, "Tell me that you don't already know this!" Around the room, people recoiled at the rebuke.

Maude continued, "In almost every continent of this world, children assume roles that include vital responsibility for the family unit before puberty -- but Western civilization -- here in the United States in particular -- pretends that they are unable to assume the mantle of adulthood. This is largely in the name of protection, because the young make mistakes -- but when did we forget that making mistakes is a learning process? We've been STEALING from our children by wrapping them in security blankets and only allowing the safest of experiences to trickle through the openings. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the world has changed -- and we can do something about it or we can hide our heads in the sand and be ground into fertilizer when the aliens arrive!"

Maude gathered herself. "So we're saddled with a situation; our children -- our best and brightest -- aren't going to be staying with us any more for the period that we anticipated that they would. We need to prepare them for life faster -- or we need to find a way to ensure that they have help making the right choices. How do we do that? Education, ladies and gentlemen, education. And what is the first choice we need to help them with? Their companions, should they be extracted!" Maude looked around. "Each of you has a son or a daughter approaching that critical age. What happens if almost immediately after they are tested, they stumble into a pickup? They'll be required -- on the spur of the moment -- to select mates -- theoretically for the rest of their lives! How many of you are under the impression that selection is going to go well if it happens to your child tomorrow?" She glanced around. "The Confederacy extracts fourteen year olds -- and they expect them to contribute to the gene pool -- but they generally do not deploy them to the fighting forces until they are eighteen. Why is that, do you think? Because they know they're not ready for combat at fourteen, even though they CAN procreate. Instead, they send them back to school -- an intensive course designed to make them technologically literate in ways no one else has time to be, while they work their way through the minefield of family and personal responsibility."

The slideshow changed again, to show a stylized outline of a boy and a girl. "Now that we've discussed nurture, let's look at the underlying nature. Young men and young women have different goals at the outset. While a fourteen year old girl has some interest in sex, she has longer term goals in mind as a rule; basically, she's looking for love and a mate. This is basic biology; she needs to secure a partner and support for her offspring, which is a long-term project. Young males, on the other hand, aren't looking for ANYTHING long-term, and their interest in sex occupies a considerable portion of their attention. In fact, a fourteen year old boy is a semen delivery system, and he spends hours each and every day trying to figure out how to be more successful at it. Since adults have chopped off most of his opportunities, he lives in a constant state of agitation. This is exacerbated by the things we allow young women to do and to wear. A fourteen year old girl is a newly-minted weapons platform in the war between the sexes -- everything is bright and sleek and polished and has that new-car smell, if you will; they're not showing the wear and tear of older models who sat low in the water for nine months working on construction, then spent another several months providing fuel for others before the demand went away, leaving them with empty tanks. No, they're tight and sleek and nothing on them has had its elasticity tested. All of the equipment works, but no one has ever used it -- and it is put on display as much as possible, in the hopes of attracting the interest of that elusive male..." Maude smiled. "The problem is a fourteen year old girl has everything she needs but very little idea how to use it. Their focus isn't on sex, but on romance -- even though they're sending floods of sexual attractors. And make no mistake -- if a male wanders in to her area of influence, it was NOT romance that attracted him -- it was the lure of sex -- and opportunity to discharge a load of those pent-up little wigglers that are driving him crazy trying to get out! Is this a match made in Heaven? Errr, not exactly..."

Maude smiled. "Historically -- and again, we're talking about timeframes into the middle of the last century -- the effort of everyday living put certain pressures on the home -- its size, in particular. And that meant that children got a certain amount of sex education from watching their parents go at it." There was a collective gasp. "Now, think about it -- how much privacy do you think your pioneer ancestors had in their one-room cabins while they were pumping out the large quantities of children required to ensure the survival of an adequate number of bodies to get the chores done? This is STILL the case in some countries on this planet of ours, but generations of wealth have skewed our viewpoint, so we don't think about it -- it isn't a situation in our experience. When we think about this kind of thing, inbred hillbillies come to mind -- and we neglect to remember that the conditions such people live under echo what our own great-grandparents dealt with. Even the inbreeding is a consequence of living in a confined space next to great temptation..."

Maude looked around at the host of scandalized expressions confronting her and grinned. "But I digress. What IS a match made in Heaven? If you deliver a fourteen year old boy and a couple of fourteen year old girls to a pickup, what is the likely result? Is that a recipe for perfection -- or a recipe for disaster? Given the lack of limitations imposed upon a male volunteer and the experience level of the trio, what are the chances that BOTH of those young girls won't irritate their sponsor and get shoved out an airlock because they have the wrong focus and none of the three of them knows what they're doing? They're good, I'm afraid. And that's EXACTLY why, despite the pressures of an uninformed public, the Confederacy INSISTS that this institution should continue to exist -- because the human race is losing prime breeding stock to ignorance!"

The slides changed again. "This is the comparison of the male and female reproductive cycle -- it's been around for decades and comes from sources we've all heard about -- I didn't have to compile it from anywhere specious," Maude declared. "As you can see, the male's capabilities ramp up rapidly from puberty until about age twenty, after which they slowly taper off. The female, on the other hand, while capable from puberty, exhibits a different pattern of interest. We've all heard of women in their late twenties and early thirties whose biological clocks are ticking -- this is why. Young girls spend more time interested in love than sex -- and their response curve tends to cross that of the male over a decade after the male's peak. What does that suggest? Oddly, it suggests that, sexually, the optimum partner for a young male is a woman a decade his senior and the optimum partner for a young girl is a male as much as twice that!"

This comment produced another uproar; Maude put up her hands. "The thing about the truth is that even when they recognize it, people tend to deny it if it brings them discomfort. Obviously, this data has implications -- one of which is that marriage tends to be unstable over time. Why? As time goes on, the male and the female have different needs. Early, a female seeks protection and comfort and safety -- and in many cases looks for sexual partners who know what they are doing. Later, when they are more confident in themselves, nature ramps up the pleasurable component in order to ensure that they make the leap and procreate if they haven't earlier in the cycle. This urgency is felt more and more as menopause approaches, and then tapers off some after -- but older women still enjoy sex within their capabilities. Still, there are long periods in a woman's life when sex isn't a top priority -- and actual motherhood can readily displace it."

"Males," Maude continued, "are different, as has been previously described. Young males feel the urge to procreate keenly -- basically all day every day. A willing female in their presence WILL be serviced -- period. As the male matures, he begins to understand the needs of the female and assumes responsibility for her and certain of his offspring -- but early in the process, getting his itch scratched regularly is top priority. Age brings a certain perspective on the implications and consequences of sexual activity -- by the time he's twenty, most males understand that a female wants a long-term commitment, even if they're not prepared to deliver one. But earlier on, males are less selective -- for instance, is there any male present this evening who can honestly say that as a teen he didn't fantasize about enjoying his mother sexually -- or perhaps a sister, or both?" A couple of men raised their hands, but under Maude's challenging stare, lowered them. Sherry eyed Gary in surprise, as he never even showed an inclination to raise his hand.

"Girls aren't immune. Daddy provides the average teen girl comfort and protection and in some cases sexual stimulation. And climbing onto daddy's lap can lead Daddy's Girl into unfamiliar territory -- especially if her curiosity and receptivity push his limits either over time or at an unguarded moment," Maude continued inexorably. "The female's allure continues to be effective in a limited way on the male throughout his life, and while an older male may regularly maintain control of his urges, if he is approached correctly in a weak moment -- particularly by a girl who is persistent or who deploys her weapons properly -- he may slip. As I've previously indicated, a young woman is at her peak of desirability, and the male -- by design -- has no defense. Add the fact that he already loves her and that she is inside his normal defenses for this reason, and you have the possibility of an explosive situation. Much is perception; if the father perceives his daughter as 'my little girl' she is generally safe -- but if she begins to do things that cause him to evaluate her as an adult female, that layer of protection dissipates. Research indicates that the male has to be well into his forties or early fifties before a nubile teen female is considered 'too young' to have sex with."

"Mothers control the relationship between themselves and their sons by being generally immune; the son will have other female interests outside the home before the mother recognizes him as an adult male. Should they lose that indifference, however, a cycle will be established -- once the mother recognizes her son as a male and therefore potent, she will react to him as such, instinctively -- which will lead him to temptation. If the cycle continues -- and it is likely to if the mother is in her sexual prime and not receiving outside attention -- eventually, the man/boy will attempt to seduce her -- or perhaps vice-versa. Again, the established relationship removes layers of defense, because they love one another. Ladies, be advised that in the process of educating you this evening, I may be stripping away your indifference to your son's sexuality -- you need to be careful and ensure that your desires are met elsewhere, so that you remain sexually satisfied in his presence and don't start a pattern of flirting or other sexual innuendo..."

"She can't be serious!" Sherry whispered. Gary just eyed her -- he knew better.

"Setting incest aside for the moment, we can see that the young male and young female tend to benefit from an older sexual partner; each will get his or her needs from the other," Maude continued her lecture. "In both cases, the younger partner gets the benefit of the older partner's sexual experience; the young male benefits from the increased libido of an older woman and the young female benefits from the protection and support of the older male. This works well into the early to mid twenties -- at which point both male and female are prepared to deal with someone their own age. Actually, this phase occurs this late in young people who have not been exposed to a stable relationship with an older lover -- it occurs earlier when they have as they tend to mature earlier. At this point, the 'family cycle' begins; the female is ready to reproduce and the male is prepared to support it. This phase will go on for a decade and a half to two decades -- at the end of which, the female's libido reaches a point where it is not within the male's limited resources to fulfill her needs. The third cycle begins at this point -- optimally, each of them will take on a young lover. This is the complement to the early cycle, obviously, and it lasts no longer than the first cycle -- and before you deny its existence, let me remind you that we have a name for it -- the mid-life crisis. While the male is the most visible as he answers the siren call of a younger woman, the female quietly benefits by putting herself back on the market and attracting new males without a requirement to be loyal to a single one. Clearly, this three-phase relationship cycle isn't the monogamous marriage model -- but it conforms readily to patterns of stability and instability in that model."

The slide show changed to depict groupings of males and females with various lines from one to another. "The Confederacy model, however, is NOT monogamous -- it is polygamous. This is undoubtedly how humans operated in prehistory -- or even in biblical times. A family group contained more than one male and perhaps several more females than males -- and resources were shared, human and otherwise. Arduous tasks were distributed across the family group, including child-rearing. Packs or tribes encountered others and merged and split maintaining genetic diversity. The Confederacy model supports all relationship cycles simultaneously, if the family unit is properly constructed -- vigor and maturity and potency and youth can be blended in such a way as to ensure that all of the tasks that need doing are accomplished. But the family unit has to be constructed properly or it all falls apart -- and that's where we come in."

"Now, before you ask 'Who is this woman to blather all of this nonsense?' let me tell you that I've been there. I'm told that my appearance is that of a woman of approximately forty -- but the fact is that my appearance is the result of the infusion a year ago of the universal health-maintenance nanobots -- my real age is sixty-seven. I've seen it all -- including failed marriages, 'improper' urges, menopause -- everything! And I thought it was all over until I awoke one morning to find that my arthritis was in reversal -- and so was my libido! I'd been doing research on Confederacy selection procedures and their results when the whole thing came home to roost -- and when I took the case to the Confederacy along with my proposed solution, the AIs agreed with my analysis completely -- and Maude's was born."

"What do we do?" Maude asked rhetorically. "The majority of selectees are male. The staff here are all older women -- most beyond menopause and unable to emigrate, but possessed of healthy libidos. We provide young men with a sexual outlet and instruction -- and a valuable appreciation for older women. Yes, there is a small fee, to keep the place afloat -- and that doubtless contributes to the misconception that this is a house of ill-repute -- but the intent is to provide this service as close to free of charge as possible -- which is NOT the model of prostitution! Sometime soon, I hope to hear that my petition for a grant from the Confederacy has been approved and the costs will go away entirely."

"Oddly, our effort somewhat mirrors certain traditions wherein some fathers would bring their sons to a professional escort for his release from virginity -- but given the commercial nature of that effort probably sullied the effects in many cases. My therapists teach sex as a pleasurable exercise for both parties, not something that a woman endures for money -- and they do it because they enjoy it. We bring our young charges through the storms of premature ejaculation and over-stimulation and excitement through to confidence and adeptness at a number of lovemaking techniques designed to bring harmony to his Confederacy family unit." Maude glanced around. "Now that I've let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, it is only right that I present the staff. They will be assisting with the question and answer phase of this evening's seminar; I will also be available to answer individual questions. Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen." A dozen handsome older women entered the room from the wings as Maude stepped down from her perch.

"I can't believe this!" Sherry erupted.

"What's so odd about it?" Gary retorted. "Didn't it make sense? I find it compelling!"

"You would!" Sherry retorted. "You're male!"

A gentle voice offered from behind Sherry, "Didn't you just prove our point, Dear?"

Sherry spun. There was a pleasant-looking woman with silver flecked red hair standing behind her. "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you. My name is Emily."

"I... this whole thing is hard to swallow!" Sherry erupted.

"What part of it, exactly? Believe me, we have the data to prove our thesis -- and the Confederacy is thrilled to death with the results!" Emily replied.

"The... incest thing," Sherry lit on a subject at random.

"Boys or girls?" Emily queried.

"Boys!"

"Dear, how long has it been since you've had a good, long look at your son's penis?" Emily asked gently. "Five years? Seven?"

Sherry frowned. "Uh, it can't be THAT long!"

"When did you stop bathing him? Or supervising it?" Emily prompted.

"Umm, okay -- but still..."

"How tall is he?"

"Well, about..." Sherry realized that Chuck was her height. "It still can't..."

"When do you think it happens, Dear?" Emily asked gently. "Are you aware that he masturbates?"

"I'm sure he..." Sherry stopped. There was the matter of that towel that kept showing up in his room... "Is," she finished belatedly.

"It took a sledgehammer, but I believe my point is made," Emily said quietly. "The problem with using a sledgehammer is that it breaks things..." She shifted her glance to Gary, eyeing him apologetically.

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Sherry snarled.

"In forcing you to examine your preconceptions, I may have damaged your relationship with your son," Emily said quietly. "On the other hand, not to seem TOO indelicate, there is a point I should perhaps make. The Confederacy's genetic science being what it is, incest is, um, not a consideration in concubine selection." She eyed Gary. "Your pardon, Sir."

Sherry turned to Gary, confusion writ large on her face, and then gasped, "OH!" She whirled on Emily. "Are you suggesting that I sleep with my son to secure a place with him if he is extracted?"

"I'm suggesting nothing," Emily replied, "I am merely pointing out a potential consequence of our conversation. You would have arrived at this among other conclusions given sufficient thought -- I am merely validating the assumption. However, you would probably have to be co-located with your son at pickup -- or pregnant and not to term..."

"This is..." Sherry looked prepared to explode.

"Preposterous?" Emily finished for her, smiling gently. "Not so much as you might think. As Maude indicated, these things happen. They have ALWAYS happened. We as a culture have been able to push them in a little box and tell everyone that it isn't so -- largely because even our middle class lives like the rich in most countries and has been able to afford to isolate family members for more than one generation, so we, personally, have never had the experience -- but that really doesn't change things. When families live on top of one another, they see things and do things that are... not sanctioned by religion."

"Incest is..." Sherry sputtered.

"...A scientifically validated problem? Yes, it is, taken to the extreme -- but in a single pass? We do it all the time in agriculture and animal husbandry," Emily pointed out. "Besides, if birth control is employed and there is no issue, is it incest?" Sherry opened her mouth to reply hotly but closed it, frowning. Emily turned to Gary, "Sir, I apologize for where this is going, but she continues to lead me and it is my job to educate her and shine the light on her prejudices..."

Gary pursed his lips. "It shouldn't destroy our family if I'm prepared for it."

Emily nodded. "Then, to reiterate, the Confederacy is disinterested in enforcing any legal or moral standard regarding incest."

Sherry sat looking embarrassed and uncomfortable. "I don't see me..."

Emily nodded. "Perhaps you won't. Perhaps you shouldn't -- but you will undoubtedly think about it now. If your opinion on the matter continues to be the one you have demonstrated to me, you are at least warned and informed." She paused for a moment. "You have the option of conducting your son's sexual education yourself, actually, if you consider that it would not damage him emotionally..."

Sherry's eyes popped. "How could you say such a thing?!"

Emily pursed her lips and spread her hands. "Perhaps in order to make the alternative seem less unappetizing?"

Gary chuckled. "So, Emily, do you...?"

"I take a student twice a week, on average. The young are... athletic. I usually need a day to recuperate. Women can, on occasion, deal with multiple men -- but men will come back more often than a single woman is prepared to handle, in general, over time. This is another strength of the Confederacy system -- the male is sated, even though his performance is enhanced. It allows his attention to be focused elsewhere. The women share the load -- or loads..." Emily covered her mouth, pretending to hide the smile the indelicate comment generated.

"And you are how old?" Sherry asked archly.

Her look accused Sherry of rudeness, but she answered. "I am fifty-six."

"So, you teach...?" Sherry asked, her tone subdued.

"Control," Emily supplied. "Effective treatment of erogenous zones. Cunnilingus and fellatio. Various positions. Female anatomy. In the process we try to instill an appreciation for having an older mentor."

"This isn't done in one night, then," Sherry mused.

"Oh, no. We generally look to do at least five or six sessions," Emily replied. "Having given the student a taste for the pleasures involved, we periodically have to, umm, take responsibility for bleeding off the excess during additional visits."

"What about young girls?" Sherry asked.

"We have a similar facility for girls," Emily replied, "but it is smaller, as males must be old enough to be a father figure but young enough to sustain performance. They also need to inspire trust in the student."

"Um," Sherry mused. "I wasn't clear. Do you ever mix boys with girls their own age?"

Emily nodded. "We do, but it is limited. It would be nice to be able to control such things, but it isn't generally considered necessary. A graduate tends to display a certain... confidence... which will bring him girls his own age -- and his education will allow him to provide an acceptable experience to the young lady involved -- better than merely acceptable, in fact."

"So, a few sessions with you and 'poof!' they're Don Juan, or Romeo," Sherry sneered.

"I did not say that," Emily replied archly, "but they are CERTAINLY a vast improvement over uninformed rutting in a back seat..." Her eyes became hooded. "Perhaps you would be interested in testing the product? You could determine for yourself whether a particular student has graduated..."

Sherry gasped. "You do that?"

"It is an option," Emily replied blandly. "Some parents of prospective students find it... instructive."

"I... don't think..." Sherry backpedalled.

"You HAVE accused us of fostering ineptitude..."

"I beg your pardon," Sherry apologized.

After that it seemed that Sherry had stepped in it so many times that she was intimidated, so they left soon after. In the car, she asked diffidently, "Do you really think Chuck needs this?"

Gary flicked a glance at her, "You'd rather send him out unprepared?"

"Well, the school has stepped up Sex Ed..."

"Did talking about sex prepare YOU for doing it?" Gary pressed.

Sherry grimaced. "Well, no, but... He's sensible. I know he's seen the tips the Confederacy has put out on this..."

Gary rolled his eyes. "Imagine that you're a fourteen year old virgin at a pickup. Nubile young girls are waving their tits at you from all directions -- but you're gonna do what some guy says and pick up some old woman twice your age so she can run your life... Yeah, I see THAT happening!"

"Okay, okay!" Sherry threw up her hands.

"There is no way he's going to do that unless he is shown the benefits -- none! Besides, why on Earth do you want him to go out totally ignorant?" Gary ranted.

"I don't know..." Sherry looked defensive. "That whole incest thing was... disturbing."

"It was meant to be," Gary replied. "It was meant to open your eyes."

"The idea that I would seduce my son in order to..." Sherry shuddered.

"I don't suppose that it has occurred to you that if he passes and we're with him at a pickup, we could BOTH go -- the only downside being that I would have to share you with him!" Gary replied.

"You wouldn't DO that, would you?" Sherry gasped.

"Well, no," Gary replied, "especially if he was in the sixes or low sevens somewhere. Limiting him to you would be unfair to him. Above that, when he could pick two more women AND have you along? Well, maybe."

"It isn't right," Sherry retorted -- but she was subdued about it.

"I think it depends upon the circumstances," Gary replied. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you're a single mother with three kids -- one of whom just hit fourteen and passed his CAP test. Is it selfish to try to get him to take you so your other kids -- his brothers and sisters -- could go? He would get another woman, too, after all..."

"I don't know." Sherry rubbed her face, seriously conflicted. Gary sighed; if Sherry had a fault, it was the fact that she was EXTREMELY hidebound. That was probably a big chunk of her five point six CAP score. Fortunately, she was also a wee bit submissive -- which also didn't help her for CAP, but it made her malleable. If Gary had only topped six point three, it wouldn't have been an issue...