Heroes and Ones ---
"And the next competitor...SIGMMUUUND!"
"It's Chill Sigmund!"
"Alright," the announcer said. "Chill Sigmund!"
Sigmund pressed the button on his headband. With a whir and a click, green shades cascaded out, covering his eyes in emerald. His cocky smile glinted while a gust of snow lifted a wave of his auburn hair.
Moments later, he slid out onto the half-pipe. I couldn't help but notice the way his snow-pants framed his perky butt as he flexed, swinging his body this way and that.
As he careened down and back up again, a burst of flame rocketed out the back of his snowboard, sending him skyward into a full flip.
He landed with a crush of snow, only to slide over and up again, doing a handstand on the side of the pipe.
I shared a look with the spikey, silver-haired competitor that was currently sitting in first, and I knew he was thinking what I was thinking: Everyone was about to drop a spot in the standings.
Sure enough, when it came time to find our places on the podium, I was in third place, Hal was in second, and Sigmund, beaming, stood in first.
"Y'all staying at the Snowball Lodge?" Sigmund yelled over the cheers, hugging his trophy.
I nodded. I was pretty sure there was only one hotel within a hundred miles of this icy mountain. How I got talked into coming here, let alone entering a snowboarding competition, was a testament to my susceptibility to hot guys talking me into random adventures.
"Hot tub at 8:00!" Sigmund yelled. "Winner's Party."
Moments later, we were enveloped in the crowd and I lost sight of both of them.
When night fell, I made my way to the hot tub. Sigmund beat me there, sporting two stud earrings--one sapphire, and one ruby. He tucked his arms behind his head, his pecs jutting up and his green eyes glimmering as the water bubbled around him.
"Where's Hal?" I asked.
"He's going to be late," Sigmund said.
"When did he say that?"
"He didn't. But I've studied him. He's why I'm here, honestly. Why don't you jump in?"
I wasn't sure what that meant, but I was cold. I stashed my towel on a chair and hopped into the scalding water. My jaw dropped, but moments later, Sigmund ran his hand through my hair and slipped something onto my wrist. Instantly, the water felt normal.
"What is that?" I asked.
"I call it the Acclimator," Sigmund whispered. "It helps people get used to extreme sensations."
"You are quite the inventor," I said, thinking about his fire-breathing snowboard.
"You have no idea," he said.
"Then why don't you fill me in?" I asked.
"Kiss me and I will."
What a smooth operator.
I leaned in--and my lips met his.
Moments later, I felt something digging into my ear.
"Ouch!"
When I backed away, Sigmund was missing his ruby earring. I touched my ear--and felt the stud imprinted there.
"What's the idea?"
"There's nanotechnology in there," Sigmund said. "It will scan your mind and send it back to the other earring, like a computer search. Then I can read you."
"But...you can't just reduce a person's mind to a bunch of zeros and ones."
"Why not?" Sigmund asked.
"Because...well because computers only work in a series of two choices, over and over. But in real life, you have lots more than two choices."
"It's funny that you say that," Sigmund said. "Because I'm reading you now, and you don't even believe what you are saying."
"Yeah? So what do I believe?"
"You LIKE it when others lead you along because then you don't feel guilty about the direction things go. You don't have to worry about responsibilities, or about your ideas getting criticized. You get to fuck around, you HAVE TO fuck around, and that's all there is to it."
"I don't think so. I wish I had more choices, but it's pointless to go against the grain. There's nothing there."
"And that's different from what I'm saying because?"
"Because I'd make my own adventures if I could," I whispered. "Even if I don't exactly mind you taking charge."
Sigmund squeezed my hand, looking into my eyes. Then, he kissed me again. "I think we know who is meant to be the alpha here."
"What do you want from me, Sigmund?"
He flashed a wry smile. "I'd like your cooperation now. You don't have to help me. But it might be the adventure you've been hoping for."
"I'm listening..."
Sigmund described his idea. Hal would come soon--and I'd take the earrings. If I wore the blue one and Hal wore the red one, I'd be able to sense his thoughts, the same way Sigmund sensed mine.
Sigmund had also fit a little camera and mic into the sapphire earring, so he could keep an eye on what happened with his smart goggles from earlier--and walk me through what to do.
"But if you want to seduce Hal--why not just do it yourself?"
"I'm trying to configure my device so that anyone can use it--not just me," Sigmund said.
"But why? Don't you feel more `alpha' when only YOU have that kind of power?"
"Sure," Sigmund said. "But if it only works for me, it's not very marketable. Besides, didn't you want to FEEL a bit more in control for once?"
"Why not let me read your mind?"
Sigmund looked into my eyes. "I'm starting you off on someone who will be easier to decode. Hal--he's a bit more robotic than most."
"What does that mean?"
But Sigmund had already hopped out of the hot tub, his pert ass glinting for a moment before he covered himself up in a towel and left me alone with my thoughts.
What kind of adventure was I in for?
A few minutes after Sigmund left, the spikey, silver-haired finalist approached.
He was clad in just his swim trunks now; I could see he was an absolute hunk of muscles. There was a bit of blankness in his golden eyes as he slid into the tub.
"Where's Sigmund?" he asked, his voice monotone.
"He had to leave," I said. "Your name was Hal, right?"
"It's actually H.A.L. V.A.L.E.T-X003. I'm an android model. You don't have to say the whole thing."
"Oh. Well. I can try if you'd like. I hate to get people's names wrong."
"It's fine," H.A.L. said. "I don't care whether people get things right or wrong because I'm not sure life has meaning."
I looked at him for a minute. He looked down at his reflection in the water.
Then he barreled on. "Do you think I am alive? Was I built? Or was I born?"
He looked up at me.
"I dunno," I said.
"Me neither. So I'm not sure if I am real."
"Well...you know what the philosopher Descartes has to say about it?"
I felt a buzzing in my ear, and Sigmund's voice. "Move it along!" he hissed. "See if he's up for wearing the earring."
"What does Descartes say?" H.A.L. asked.
"Try on this earring," I said, holding out the ruby earring.
"The philosopher Descartes wanted me to try on an earring?" H.A.L. said.
"Very much so."
"Okay," H.A.L. said, shrugging. He grabbed the earring and stabbed it into his ear. I cringed, but a moment later I got the sense that he either didn't feel much--or didn't care.
I looked into his eyes, and for a moment, I connected with the blankness there.
And then...
A thousand needles stabbed my mind; a light flashed before my eyes at a rate of a million times per second.
I started gasping for air.
"Stay calm!"
I heard Sigmund's voice through it all, though he was nowhere to be seen.
"Stay calm!" he shouted again. "You don't need to look for everything, for God's sake. You are acting like you want to have two brains, but that will never work. You need to look for what he wants, then mirror it back at him. For now, push it all back. If you need to, kick on your Acclimator."
I flipped the switch; the needles numbed, the lights dampened.
"Look into his eyes again," Sigmund's voice said.
I looked into H.A.L.'s golden eyes, which peered back at me gently.
"Are you okay?" H.A.L. asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Why...why'd you come to the hot tub late?"
I felt his mind move; something between gears turning and untangling a ball of string.
"I used to come exactly on time to things. But then I went to my friend's party on time, and no one was there. He got short with me. Said I was supposed to come fashionably late. I asked him how late was fashionable, and he said half an hour. So now I come to things exactly half an hour late."
I heard the words in my mind moments before he said them; everything seemed to echo and blend together.
"You feel the words on his tongue before he says them?" Sigmund's voice whispered.
I nodded.
"Let a bit more in," Sigmund's voice said. "Push on those thoughts deeper. What he is about to say, and maybe, what he leaves out."
"It seems like there are a lot of rules," H.A.L. said. "And a lot of rules about how you are supposed to break rules. I don't really get it. YOU came to the tub earlier. I bet YOU didn't get yelled at. And SIGMUND came so much earlier that he saw fit to leave already." H.A.L. let out a huff of air. "Knowing when you are supposed to break rules...that will never make sense to me."
And then, after he stopped speaking, I heard a bit more in my mind. "I wish I'd never been given free will in the first place. It's not very becoming of a robot."
"You wish people would just tell you what to do," I said. "And mean it."
"That's what I like."
"How did you end up in a snowboarding competition way out here?"
"I got a letter telling me I would be perfect for it."
A letter from Sigmund, perhaps? I started to piece things together: Sigmund lured H.A.L. all the way out here to be the perfect guinea pig to test his inventions. Away from the prying eyes of thieves and governments. No one's `hardware' would be easier to interface with than an android.
"I know I have a way of lingering in the mind," Sigmund's voice said. "But you need to stop thinking about me and instead think about what's in front of you."
"You like people telling you what to do," I said, looking at H.A.L. "What you'd be perfect for."
"Yes," H.A.L. said. And then, from inside his head: "One person, preferably. An owner."
"You like being bossed around?" I asked. "Dominated? Taken care of?"
"Yes sir," H.A.L. said.
"And you'd like me to be the one to do it?"
"Yes sir."
"Kiss me and I will."
H.A.L. leaned in and our lips collided.
I felt the needles again, the flashing lights, and behind it, H.A.L. asking for more.
I pulled back. "You want me to be a savage?"
H.A.L. nodded, his mouth half open.
I pushed up on the tiles ringing the hot tub, twisting into place. A moment later, I was sitting on the edge, my legs dangling into the water.
H.A.L. strode toward me, his body slow in the water.
"Does the water mess with your circuits?" I asked.
"Maybe a little," H.A.L. said. "But at least I don't get all pruny and engorged like you."
He got closer and closer, moving between my legs, and planting his lips softly on the bulge in my trunks.
"Fuck!" I whispered.
"You like that...sir?" H.A.L. asked.
"Sure do," I said.
H.A.L. untied my trunks, stretching them till my hardened dick sprung out. Not missing a beat, he circled the head with his lips, looking up into my eyes.
I thrust my head back, groaning.
H.A.L. ringed my balls with his tongue, never losing sight of my eyes. He dragged his tongue up the vein in my dick, from the base to the head, before closing his lips around my dick again, slurping deeper and deeper...
The lights and needles flickered in and out.
"You can't have two minds. Figure out what he wants," Sigmund whispered. "And then BECOME it."
There was a hoarseness in Sigmund's breath. It couldn't be that he enjoyed this as much as I did, could it?
I could feel his joy coursing through me. I had, it seemed, become a cog in Sigmund's machine.
It only took a moment looking into H.A.L.'s mind for me to see it: This was just foreplay.
I picked H.A.L. up under the armpits and pulled him up, leaning backwards till I felt the cool tiles on my back. H.A.L. loomed over me.
He kissed me again, deeper this time, and I kissed back roughly, tasting him.
H.A.L. pushed his trunks down, exposing the globes of his butt.
As we kissed, I felt him spreading his cheeks, positioning his hole on top of my dick...
He lowered himself; for a moment, I felt the pressure building.
Then, with a little pop--I was in.
He rolled us over; I cast a shadow over him. His swim trunks were bunched around his knees, getting in my way. I tugged them off and tossed them aside.
I leaned in and kissed him.
H.A.L. gripped his thighs, pulling his legs up to flash me his ass. His golden eyes glinted.
I thrust in deep. "I got you, H.A.L. You are mine."
I moved my lips to his nipple, nibbling gently, but it immediately became clear that his neck was where he needed me.
I saw his thoughts; I became them; Sigmund hooted in triumph.
I nibbled and kissed on H.A.L.'s neck, thrusting harder, deeper, savaging him like he always dreamed...
He wanted my hand on his mouth. I placed it there, muffling him, his eyes bulging. He licked the palm of my hand.
My toes flicked the surface of the hot tub water as they curled.
He sucked a finger into his mouth, his eyes wide.
I waited there, gazing down at him. It wasn't just my hands he wanted--it was my feet, my ass, my whole body.
My hand dropped from his mouth.
But right now, there was a more pressing concern....
"FUCK ME!" H.A.L. screamed.
It didn't take much to read him.
I thrust in, pounding his ass like a metalworker hammering tools.
He wanted his hair gripped, so I did it, leaning his head back, nibbling his lips. Our mouths wove together as I beat his ass...
He couldn't speak anymore, but I could still hear it, him screaming `fuck me' over and over again into the chasm of his mind, and me filling in his desires as only a mind-reader could.
"The Acclimator has another setting," Sigmund said. "Not just for getting used to things...but for letting things get a bit more intense. Why don't you flip the switch?"
I found the switch on the bracelet and flicked it. I could feel the head of my dick growing the second I did, helping me find H.A.L.'s prostate and punch it into submission.
"Please," he whimpered. "Please."
H.A.L. thrashed around as I nibbled his neck and humped in deep. Eventually I found his lips again and he hummed into me.
He whined as I thrust over and over, shaking; he couldn't hide it, I knew just what it would take to send him over the edge, so I gave it to him, gave it to him, gave it to him.
Moments later, he was shooting all over us and we were caught in another snowstorm.
I stared into H.A.L.'s golden eyes.
Then, with a flourish, I switched the Acclimator off completely.
"What are you doing?" Sigmund's voice asked.
I ignored it.
The lights and needles didn't bother me anymore.
Every thought, every feeling one of us had passed between us. I kissed H.A.L. again, thrusting into him to the root.
Not just zeros and ones, but a map of life and artifice and belief and doubt, the totality of him and me trapped in a single kiss.
It was too much to feel--and yet I felt it.
A moment later, I erupted inside.
"So, what happens next...sir?" H.A.L. asked, as he lay his head across my chest.
"Well, you can be part of my crew if you want to be. And if not--I'm sure Sigmund has a similar offer."
"That depends," Sigmund's voice said. "Do you think I can fold him up and put him in a suitcase?"
I ran my hand through H.A.L.'s hair. "Sigmund wants to know if you fit in a suitcase."
"Probably," H.A.L. said. "But I might feel a bit trapped with my thoughts."
"Thoughts like what?"
"Like why a philosopher cares about earrings so much."
"We both know that's not the only thing on your mind."
"I suppose you do," H.A.L. said. "You know exactly what I'm thinking about, don't you?"
I flashed a grin. "Why don't you show me, just to be sure?"
"Whatever you say boss."
He kissed down my abs and wrapped his lips around my dick, spreading his legs and pushing his ass into the air.
Reading his mind was becoming easier. I had the power to be the one he always dreamed of. His hero.
His man.
-- Story by krazytop krazytop@gmail.com krazytp.tumblr.com