The Old Valley Road Hotel.
By Wombat. ------------------------- Any constructive comments are appreciated. I'm at 'bungala_wombat@yahoo.com.au'. ------------------------------------
Chapter 5 part 17.
------------------------------------ Part 52: On the Mat. ------------------------------------
Derek wanted to stop this stub universe now. He jumped out of the time-line. It stopped.
He found himself in a large wood-panelled well-appointed office that seemed to be high up in a skyscraper. It had picture windows that looked out over a city that looked like New York. In front of him was a big desk made of dark red cedar. Behind it was sitting a huge, powerfully built man with a flowing mane of grey hair and a chest length grey beard. He was wearing a very well tailored and expensive- looking suit. The man was writing something on sheets of paper with a beautiful green jade fountain pen with exquisitely sculpted golden dragons on it.
Derek looked down and saw that he was standing on a gorgeous patterned Persian mat covering the well-laid parquet flooring before the desk. He also saw that he was dressed in some kind of close-fitting military uniform. The shirt had short sleeves. He was wearing heavy black military boots.
Derek reached out to the man with his telepathic sense and touched the Mind of God.
He remembered what Hal and his other superhuman friends had told him. If you were summoned by God and appeared in an office before Him, you were in big trouble. "Oh shit!" thought Derek to himself.
God looked up at Derek. His dark eyes bored into him.
"Well may you think 'Oh shit', Derek," He said in a sonorous bass voice. "I am very displeased with you."
God stood up and came around to Derek from behind the desk. He stood in front of Derek looking down at him. He was significantly taller than Derek was. Derek felt like a schoolboy in the headmaster's office.
"Derek," said God. "I expect a lot of My agents. I expect high standards of behaviour from each and every one of them. You, Derek, have fallen well short of these standards. I will not tolerate behaviour such as you have displayed in the stub time-line just now. I will not tolerate wanton destruction and murder from any of My servants and agents. Derek, you committed a wilful murder. You charred that man with a lightning bolt merely because he was irritating you. Yes, I know perfectly well he was trying to kill you, but as you well know, he could not have harmed you at all. You are invulnerable. You thought that it would not matter killing someone in a stub time-line. Derek, it does matter. It matters very much indeed. You must not kill another sentient being unless you have no other choice. I know Hal has drilled that into you. If you feel that you can cheerfully go and murder people in stub time-lines just because you feel like it, you display a murderous tendency that I will not tolerate. Do you understand Me, Derek?"
"Yes, Lord," answered Derek quietly. He felt hot with shame and embarrassment. He felt the full blast of God's anger. The wrong he had committed felt heavy inside him. The uniform he was clothed in itched. He dared not scratch.
"Now there is the shameful treatment you dealt out to the Arab gentle- man. Understand Me clearly, Derek. The worship of Me by Muslims is just as pleasing to Me as is the worship of Christians and Jews. I love Muslims just as much as I love Christians and Jews. I love all human beings. Muslims know Me and follow My teachings as revealed to them through the prophet Mohammed. The Arab gentleman was terrified by your frightful murder of the white man. He called upon Me for deliverance from your terrible power. You responded by throwing him into the gutter with your psychokinetic power. You behaved like a schoolyard bully. That is shameful behaviour, Derek, utterly shameful. I have granted you tremendous powers. I will not tolerate them being misused. Derek, you have great potential for good. I have given you these great powers in order for you to do My Will. I want you keep that in mind at all times. Is that clear, Derek?"
"Yes, Lord." Derek felt utterly wretched and miserable. Sweat ran down his torso inside his shirt. He ached with shame at having displeased God.
"Derek, you will do well to recall what Hal said to the Iranian prayer leader at Kilburn in South Australia when he was picking up Louis Joad from his miserable little flat. Lou had been living in this block of flats and, because he is an American, was deeply unpopular with the Iranian Shiite Muslims who were also living there. Lou is a good friend of yours and I know he has discussed the incident at length with you."
"Hal said to the prayer leader, 'There are many paths to Allah the Lord God but maybe some are more efficacious than others. It is not for us humans to presume to judge which path is the better. It is God and God alone who can make that judgement. Which way is better that brings humans to Allah full of joy and eagerness to serve Him? Our paths are like orchards full of trees bearing fruit. Which orchard has the most fertile soil that allows the trees to grow stronger and bear the fruit more pleasing to Allah? We do not know. How can a tree judge which orchard is best? How can a man judge which path is best? It is not up to us to know, or to judge in our little knowledge. Allah the All-Knowing in all His glory alone knows.'"
"'Allah the Lord God is like a mighty mountain peak. There are many paths to the Summit, upon which one stands to behold the Lord in all His awesome Majesty. Some are easier, some are harder, some are more efficacious, some are less. However, all those who ascend that mighty mountain peak and stand before the Lord God and pledge to serve Him forever are pleasing to Him the Almighty and All-Knowing. In the final analysis, I suspect it does not really matter which path you take, as long as you reach the summit and achieve that goal of loving and serving the Lord God forever.'"
"Hal was exactly right when he said that," said God in conclusion.
He put His hands on Derek's shoulders and turned him around to face the wall. Before Derek's eyes, the wall transformed into a large video screen. On it Derek could see the three-dimensional image of himself with God standing behind him. The image was the right way around, not a mirror image. Derek was dressed in a close-fitting military uniform that was a light sandy beige in colour. It showed off his huge bulging muscles to perfection. It accentuated the curved convex V-shape of his mighty torso as it rose from his small waist to his massively muscled broad shoulders. The short sleeves of his shirt put on display the bulging muscles of his powerful arms. His relaxed biceps were enormous. His legs were like tree trunks. The muscular bulges showed through the material of the trousers.
He saw that he was wearing a green beret with a circular cap badge. He looked like an elite, very sexy and extremely muscular soldier ready for action in the bad lands of Afghanistan. And he was sweating.
He saw that his hair had increased in length back to the dark brown mop it had been. It looked almost shaggy under the beret. His skin colour had returned to its original rich tan. Derek now looked as he was before he went back in time to Durban. He still had the moustache however.
"Look at yourself, Derek," said God. "You are an extremely powerful being. You are lethally dangerous. You have enough power to destroy an entire galaxy easily, perhaps a whole universe, let alone a planet like Earth. Your power is literally awesome. Yet you are still a human being. You are an awesome man."
God continued: "You fell in love with Albert. Love is never a bad thing. It is never a mistake. Love hurts at times. You were grief- stricken and angry when Albert departed from you. I understand that fully. However, Derek, your state of mind is never an excuse to lash out at bystanders, innocent or otherwise. The gunman and the Arab gentleman took the brunt of your misdirected anger. You were angry with Albert for leaving you. You grieved over the end of the relationship with Albert. I understand, Derek. Let Me assuage your grief. Let Me take away your anger. Let Me comfort you."
God ran his big hands over Derek's shoulders and pectoral muscles. He tweaked Derek's nipples. Derek felt them growing stiff and hard between God's fingers and thumbs. He felt a tingling feeling in his groin. His cock started to stiffen as God kept on massaging his nipples. The bulge in his crotch increased in size.
Derek took notice of the golden cap badge on his green beret. It showed a realistic erect penis with a testicle on each side. It was similar to the insignia to that used by Tom of Finland. He gasped with laughter.
"You like it?" asked God as he gently nibbled the mass of muscle on Derek's neck below his ear.
"I think so," gasped Derek. "I mean yes."
The stimulation from God was taking most of his attention.
"Good," said God. "Tom of Finland, otherwise known as Touko Laaksonen, doesn't mind Me using the erect penis and balls emblem for My purpose. He's in Heaven."
Video screens had appeared on each side of God and Derek. Derek saw that he had circular shoulder patches on each side. These bore the same erect penis and balls emblem as on his beret. Below the emblem were the words 'God's Man'.
"Wow," said Derek. "You're serious."
"I am indeed. You're one hot fucker and you're Mine, all Mine. I am a jealous God. You will serve no other gods but Me."
Derek gasped as God's hands roved over his torso. God felt the hard musculature of Derek's abdomen that was like a rock wall. The sensation for Derek was perilously close to being tickled.
God felt the hard hemispheres of muscle that formed Derek's buttocks. He grabbed a buttock in each hand and gave them a hearty squeeze. A hand groped around to the front of Derek's groin and gave his rapidly stiffening penis a good hard squeeze. God massaged it until it became fully erect. It was a thick hard log of flesh shoved down one leg of his trousers. It felt unpleasantly confined by the tight material. Derek realised that it had been restored to its former length of 40 centimetres (16 inches).
God ripped off Derek's shirt leaving his torso bare. Buttons pinged off in all directions as the office filled with the sound of tearing cloth. God threw the tattered remnants on the floor.
He ran His hands over Derek's naked torso, delighting in feeling the powerful muscles. In the screen Derek saw that God was well over a full head taller than he was. God must be about eight feet (240 cm) tall.
God massaged Derek's thick muscular shoulders and kissed the back of his shoulders.
"I love naughty boys," God murmured in Derek's ear.
He continued appreciating Derek's powerfully muscled torso with His hands. Derek panted with excitement.
Derek looked at his image in the video screens at each side. He saw that the circular erect penis and balls emblem was tattooed on each of his shoulders. They were large tattoos that covered most of his immense deltoids. Below were the words 'God's Man'. It was the same insignia as the shoulder patches on the ripped shirt.
"Those tattoos are permanent," said God. "You can make them invisible if you want but they will always be there. I've had the same emblem tattooed on your heart as well. But not many people will see that. However, you know it's there." He laughed.
He nibbled on Derek's trapezius muscles and ran His hands over Derek's front. He gave Derek's erect penis a squeeze. Derek gasped. He was in a high state of sexual arousal. He was close to orgasm.
"Let Me liberate you," said God.
With that He ripped off Derek's trousers, belt and all. Derek was left wearing nothing but his military boots and green beret.
"Very nice," said God approvingly.
He continued running His hands over Derek's sweat-slicked body appreciating every muscular bulge of Derek's magnificent torso. Derek's penis stood out stiffly in front like a ramrod. It started dripping precum on the parquet floor as God worked him up into a high pitch of sexual arousal.
Suddenly the office walls dissolved. The scene changed to that of a hillside grassy meadow full of flowers. Tall broad-leaved trees in full leaf surrounded the meadow. A brook ran through the valley at the bottom of the hill. Derek could see checkerboard fields stretching into the distance.
Derek: << Are we in England? >>
"We can be," replied God.
A railway line appeared at the bottom of the hill. A set of diesel railcars rattled speedily past and disappeared among the trees. Derek noticed dozens of cottages and houses and a number of villages that appeared on the land. They were connected by a network of roads and lanes bound each side by hedgerows and trees.
"We are in the Cotswolds in Oxfordshire now," announced God. "We're in the merry month of May."
Derek turned and looked at Him. God towered over him. Now His clothes had vanished and He stood naked in His magnificent muscular splendour next to Derek. He had a more muscular build than Hal and He stood 60 centimetres (2 feet) taller than Derek. Derek saw that God was in His Zeus or Jupiter manifestation.
God sported a huge erect phallus that reached up to His bearded chin. Derek's eyes widened as he took in its enormous size. It was fully a metre (3 feet) long and 40 centimetres (16 inches) thick. Its cock head was like a gigantic peach the size of a boulder.
"I'm hot for you, Derek," rumbled God.
Derek realised that God's huge phallus was for him. His eyes widened further.
"How... how are You going to fit that huge cock inside me," asked Derek wondering. "I'm far too small."
"Have faith in Me, My son," boomed God merrily. "You'll fit all of it in all right."
He came up behind Derek, put His mighty hands around Derek's waist and hoisted Derek up into the air. At God's telepathic command, Derek raised his legs up into the air. God lowered Derek's arse down onto His cock. Derek could feel God's giant cock head throbbing against his anus. It felt hot and slippery against his buttocks.
Derek felt some force opening up his arsehole far wider than it had ever opened before. God's huge and mighty hard cock head started pushing up inside him. He felt his pelvic bones stretching around it as if they were made of rubber. God's cock head felt like a granite boulder being pushed up into his rectum. It penetrated up further deeper into his torso. His abdomen bulged out with the enormous object inside it. Derek felt a tremendous pressure inside him. It was almost painful and oddly exciting. He felt incredibly full with this huge rock hard penis of God being slowly inserted up inside him. His steely hard penis jutted out in front him. It was dripping precum.
God continued pushing His penis up inside Derek's torso. He held Derek firmly around the waist. All Derek's internal organs were being squashed to make way for the huge object forcing its way inside him up his anus. As the penis thrust its way up into Derek's chest cavity, Derek became unable to breathe. It did not matter. He did not have to breathe. He was a superman. The huge penis squashed his heart and lungs against the inside of his chest wall.
The mighty penis continued its inexorable progress up inside Derek. It reached the top of Derek's ribcage to the base of Derek's throat and still God kept thrusting it into Derek's muscular torso. Derek felt his backbone stretching like rubber to accommodate the enormous divine phallus pushing up inside him.
Finally God thrust the entire metre (yard) length of his stone-hard phallus up inside Derek's torso. Derek felt stretched beyond belief. His whole body bulged with the huge penis pushed up inside him.
<< I am God's cock sock. >> Derek thought to himself.
"You are indeed," laughed God. "You are one hot boy, Derek. I love fucking naughty boys."
Derek: << Yes, Father. >>
God withdrew somewhat and thrust His penis up inside Derek once more. Once more Derek felt his whole torso including his backbone stretching to accommodate the huge divine phallus. Derek felt so full that he felt close to bursting. He marvelled at how his torso stretched like rubber to fit the enormous object being thrust up inside him. The sensation was intense to the point of pain. However, it was extraordinarily stimulating sexually. He sensed that his body was an extremely tight fit around God's huge phallus. It was almost like being God's living condom. God was enjoying Derek.
Derek's rock-hard penis dripped precum like a leaky tap. Derek was near orgasm. Never had he been so forcefully and vigorously stimulated inside like this before.
God lifted Derek up with His mighty hands around Derek's waist and Derek felt the huge phallus sliding part way out of him. He slid Derek's body back down the phallus again until once more its full length was inserted inside Derek's stretched out torso. Derek gasped. The incredibly intense sensation was perilously close to pain but enormously arousing sexually. It was far beyond any fist fuck. He was being fucked by a giant phallus.
God kept on fucking Derek with a slow steady beat as He slid Derek's body up and down His granite-like phallus. He delighted in feeling Derek's torso tightly enveloping His phallus. Derek's anus was an exquisitely tight and sensuous fuck hole. Derek's torso fitted Him like a second skin.
As his orgasm approached rapidly, Derek tensed up all over. His mighty muscles bulged hugely. Derek exploded into orgasm. He screamed soundlessly with the intensity of the feelings erupting inside him. His groin crushed from inside by God's penis contracted painfully. His semen boiled like lava out of his testicles and seminal vesicles and gushed out of his penis in great spurting white- hot gouts.
God thrust his great phallus into Derek's torso up to its hilt. Derek's torso was stretched to much longer that its usual length. God too exploded into a delirious orgasm. His semen gushed into Derek's torso, filling it with holy fire. At the same time He pumped great amounts of electrical energy into Derek, shocking him all over the inside of his body. Derek's huge muscles tensed and bulged all over. Derek continued screaming soundlessly. It was like being fucked by the Monster Dildo but far, far more intense. Derek was transported into a previously unexplored region of intense agony, ecstasy, pain, joy, delight and love. He was swamped by the huge tidal wave of sensation.
Derek thinned out and was dissolved into God physically and mentally. His very soul was consumed by God and dissolved into holy fire. He become one with God. Derek became God. The union was wondrously ineffable and ecstatic. Derek was beyond joy and happiness. He was shredded into atoms by the boiling thermonuclear inferno of Holy Love.
God was Derek. Derek was God. He was indivisible in God. He was totally and indistinguishably merged into God. He was the one Substance with God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, coexistent and co-eternal. He was mixed through God as God was mixed through him. Derek was Love as God was Love. He loved the whole Universe. It was all His. It was held in existence inside His mind.
Derek knew and saw all things. He saw the pettiness of ordinary human existence and how it could be transcended. It did not take much effort. That was the beauty of being human. They could all become gods. It was not very difficult.
Aeons passed. Derek saw the Universe unfold majestically, growing from the great 'Fiat Lux', the Big Bang, to its current state with hundreds of billions of galaxies scattered across a vast space. He was the Creation and the Creator. Both were one in him. He knew all things.
Slowly and with reluctance, God separated into two nodes of greater and lesser divinity. Derek's consciousness reformed. He was God but younger and less wise. In sufficient time he would grow.
Once again he found himself impaled on God's mighty phallus. Once again he was God's cock sock with his torso stretched tightly over God's huge erect penis. Once again he was filled inside to bursting point by the almighty phallus.
He opened his eyes. Gone was the English countryside. He found himself in Heaven surrounded by the Heavenly Host, the billions upon billions of departed souls, angels, archangels and all the Company of Heaven. He was still stretched over God's cock inside him. He felt a momentary twinge of embarrassment with such an august audience in his current situation. God was quick to reassure him. The Company would not judge him. God was the only judge here.
Derek recognised his grandfather. The spirit was highly amused by Derek's situation. He and the rest of the Company laughed at the sight of Derek being God's cock sock.
Derek Senior: << You look highly distended. >>
Derek Junior: << I feel it. >>
<< You are a brave man. I cannot imagine many living human beings relishing being in your current situation. >>
<< I've been a naughty boy. >>
<< Yes, I know. I saw how you fried that poor fellow in Durban. Mind you, he did ask for it. I think I might have done the same thing myself had I been in your situation. You certainly have inherited the family hot temper. I admit that I was a holy terror in my time on Earth. Many were the men who've felt my wrath. That's what killed me in the end. I was enraged to see those boys molesting that poor girl. I completely overlooked the fact that there were too many of them for an old man like me to take on all at once. And, well, here I am. So, Derek, if you can channel your passion in productive ways, you will be very pleasing to God. >>
God: "He will indeed."
God summoned another spirit. It came out from the Heavenly Throng and joined Derek Senior before God.
Derek Junior recognised it. He gave a telepathic shout of joy.
<< Albert! >>
He could not utter a sound because his lungs were squashed against his chest wall by God's phallus up inside him.
The spirit laughed. Its face was indeed Albert's.
Albert: << Well, hello, lover boy. It's lovely to see you again. I must say you are in rather an interesting situation. >>
Derek thought. Albert should not have known him because their encounter took place in a stub time line. He was briefly puzzled. Then he understood with his divine intelligence that all the Alberts in all the time lines had merged into the being before him.
Albert: << How could I forget you, dearest, sweetest Derek? We had such a wonderful time together. You gave me the best time I ever had in my short life on Earth. I had the dearest, sweetest, most beautiful, considerate and tender superman as a lover. I could never forget you, you most beautiful and lovely man. >>
Albert went on to explain that from Heaven, all the spirits could see everything that happened in all the time lines including the stubs. After he died and went to Heaven, all his memories merged and came into his consciousness. His memories of Derek from the stub time line merged with his memories from his main time line. Just as Derek's grandfather witnessed Derek throwing the lightning bolt at the gunman in the stub time line, so Albert remembered the glorious sexual interlude he had with Derek on the top floor of the Ozone Plaza Hotel.
"Would you like to join Derek and Me?" invited God.
<< Would I what! >> replied Albert eagerly.
With a flick of His Will, God transformed Albert into a big, hunky and powerfully built muscleman. Albert now looked to be about as tall as Derek and as equally muscular and equally as human. He now had Albert's head on a body similar to Derek's. He was a bigger, more muscular version of the Albert that Derek remembered.
He came up to Derek who was still impaled on God's cock and kissed him eagerly on the lips. Derek responded passionately.
"Goodness me, Derek! You're just as passionate as I remember you from before," commented Albert. "I would love to do that belly button trick with you again."
Derek: << Why not? >>
Albert and Derek kissed eagerly once more. Albert's cock inflated rapidly to a magnificent hard erection of superhuman proportions. It was 40 centimetres (16 inches) long and 6.5 centimetres (2.6 inches) thick.
Derek's penis was still ramrod stiff and drooling semen.
Albert floated up face to face with Derek. He placed his anal pucker against the end of Derek's rock hard penis. Derek could not move because of God's huge phallus rammed up inside his torso. Albert slid his anus down over Derek's superhuman forty-centimetre penis. Then with a dextrous manoeuvre he inserted his own superman-sized penis into Derek's navel. It was a very tight fit. Derek's torso was already crammed full of God's almighty phallus. It stretched just enough to admit Albert's mighty tool as well inside Derek. Albert adjusted his position so that his penis was fully inserted inside Derek and Derek's penis was fully inserted up his arsehole.
"This brings back memories," groaned Albert filled with joy.
Derek was too full to speak.
God thrust into Derek's torso, stretching it again. That thrust pushed Derek's penis further into Albert's arsehole. Albert quickly synchronised his thrusts into Derek's belly button with God's thrusts into Derek. They all thrust and pumped into each other. God and Albert thrust into Derek while Derek thrust into Albert.
The sensations were terrific. Their minds were conjoined together as well as their bodies. Derek and Albert were close to meltdown, connected as they were to God.
To Derek, Albert felt like a normal human superman. The muscles inside Albert's pelvis gripped Derek's thrusting penis tightly. Derek rammed his penis as far as he could go right up into the core of Albert's torso. Albert's heart pounded against his cock head. Derek relished fucking Albert's muscular torso. Albert's big hard rounded pectorals rubbed against his own. He held Albert tightly in his arms as Albert gripped him tightly with his own powerfully muscular arms. Their biceps bulged hugely.
Derek felt as though he was going to explode. He did. Orgasm hit him like a thunderbolt. He screamed in rapture as his groin contracted painfully and squirted great gouts of white-hot semen up Albert's anus into the inmost core of Albert's being.
Derek's orgasm triggered both God's and Albert's orgasms. It was a thunderous orgasmic explosion. Derek's torso was stretched right out with God's cock rammed its full length up into him.
Derek felt God's semen gushing into him like a torrent of fiery white- hot metal. At the same time he felt Albert's semen pouring like liquid fire into his stretched and compressed torso.
God had rearranged the internal plumbing of the two men so that they were recirculating each other's seminal fluids along with the addition of God's semen. The semen squirted into Derek by God and Albert was pumped down into Derek's penis. From there it was added to by Derek's semen and squirted into Albert. Inside Albert the combined seminal flow was pumped down from Albert's bowels into his groin, combined with his own semen and then sent into his penis. From there it was squirted into Derek's belly button tube and pumped down into Derek's penis for further recirculation.
Derek felt as if he had a white-hot river of molten metal coursing through him and circulating through his whole body.
His consciousness blissed out. Their minds and souls ran together and combined with God's. All three were combined together in a rapturous and ecstatic union. Both men became one with God. They became God in all His puissant glory.
Eternal ages passed. Sweet rapture continued. Their love flowed out across the Universe and circulated back again. Their minds and souls were fused together.
Finally, two nodes of consciousness reformed in the Mind of God. They differentiated into Derek and Albert.
Albert separated from Derek. God extracted His gigantic softening phallus from Derek's arsehole. Derek felt as though all his insides were being pulled out with it. He was somewhat surprised to find himself still intact.
Derek was even more surprised to discover that he had all of Albert's memories in his own mind, even Albert's memories of the stub time line. Somehow the entire contents of Albert's mind had been copied and dumped into his. He could even remember the sexual interlude in Durban from Albert's point of view. Albert saw Derek as a mighty muscular sex god sent from Heaven. He relished being fucked by him. It was fascinating for Derek to see how Albert remembered Derek.
God: << Derek, you may be interested to know that you and Albert are much closer than you have realised. You are the reincarnation of Albert. I created your soul by copying Albert's soul and making a few very small adjustments. Your soul is almost identical to Albert's with just a few tiny differences. >>
Derek looked at God, then Albert. His eyes were wide with astonishment as the knowledge sunk in. He hugged Albert who hugged him back.
Derek: << Soul brother! >>
Albert: << More than that. We're soul twins, soul identical twins. >>
God: << That is quite correct. >>
Derek and Albert hugged one another. They were filled with joy. They kissed. They were full of love for one another.
God: << May I have your attention please! There is a second soul derived from Albert's soul. He is still alive in the time you came from, Derek, and he is living in Melbourne. He is sixty-seven years old and his name is Barry Hentschke. Derek, I would be pleased if you were to bring him to Me. You don't have a lot of time. He is very depressed and the chances of him committing suicide in the next couple of years are getting quite high. >>
Derek: << Why is he so depressed? >>
God: << He has become sexually orientated towards other men. He is like you and Albert. Life has been difficult for him. At his age, he thinks that he has little future. I would like you to show him that he is wrong. He does indeed have a future. >>
Derek: << OK. >>
God gave Derek the mind tag so that Derek could track down Barry Hentschke telepathically.
Then He showed Derek the big network of antecedent souls which he was part of. It stretched back into history many thousands of years. There were thousands of souls. Most of them were here in Heaven. There had been some failures that had been either cast into the outer darkness or given to Satan as playthings.
Derek saw many of his soul twins. One was a Saxon chieftain who had beaten back the Roman invaders of his homeland two thousand years ago. There was a portrait painter at the court of the Emperor of Japan late in the Heian Period. There was a eunuch who was a minor civil servant during the Ming Dynasty in China. There was an English bishop prominent in the foundation of the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopalian Church) when it split off from the Catholic Church under the orders of King Henry VIII in the sixteenth century. There was a prominent nineteenth-century French woman novelist who wrote under an assumed masculine name. There was a German prince murdered by Catholic thugs because he supported the Lutheran Church during the time of the Reformation; this was one of the factors leading to the Thirty Years War. There was an English bishop who founded an abbey in the twelfth century and performed many good works; he was made a saint. There was a French woman who lived in Paris and caused a scandal when she left her husband and formed a sexual relationship with another woman; both she and her lover were guillotined by the French Revolutionary Government very late in the eighteenth century. There was a German alchemist who made some interesting discoveries but remained in obscurity. There was a German soldier who fought bravely and died during World War I. There was a daring young English Spitfire pilot who died in the Battle of Britain in 1940. There were so many others that it was impossible to enumerate.
God: << I would like you to do a little test. I would like you to go back to Durban in 1922 and walk along the street as you did before at least until you see the people who irritated you before. >>
Derek obediently jumped back to Durban in 1922. He merged with the other Derek seamlessly for they were the one and the same. The later one now had more knowledge. He was Albert's reincarnation.
He merged with the former Derek at the corner of the main shopping street in Durban. He strolled casually along the street. He knew where he was because he now had access to all of Albert's memories. The black people gawked at him open-mouthed. He was huge. His mighty muscles bulged splendidly.
Some white people thought offensive thoughts about him. Derek did not care. He was bubbling over with happiness. He and Albert were one soul. He had all of Albert's memories. He loved Albert and they were now forever one.
He strolled along the street enjoying the way people stared at him. Many admired his magnificent physique. They were amazed by the size of his muscles.
He saw the white woman who had screamed hysterically when he had become naked previously. She stared at him. He winked back at her. She blushed and looked away. He saw the white man who had shot at him. The man studiously ignored him. He saw the elderly Arab gentleman who had prayed to Allah. He stared at Derek amazed by his huge muscles. Their eyes met. Derek smiled at him. The Arab gave a dignified nod in his direction and walked on.
Derek came to a taxi stand and considered taking a taxi back to the Ozone Plaza Hotel. He had enjoyed staying in the luxurious grand suite. He decided against going back. He knew that he had passed the test.
He jumped back to Heaven.
God: << Well, Derek, you found that easy. You passed with flying colours. >>
Derek had to agree.
God: << Now you are free to go and do what you will. >>
Derek: << Thank you, Father. >>
"Just one more thing, Derek," said God. "Power to the Penis."
Derek: <+ ?? +>
"This is what I'm talking about." So saying, God took Derek's penis in His hand. The penis tingled and stiffened in God's grasp.
"Use it wisely. It is a powerful weapon."
Derek laughed. He hugged God with joy and happiness. Like a child, he loved his Father.
"I love humans," said God with a smile as He hugged Derek back.
Derek farewelled Him, Albert, Derek Senior and the Company of Heaven. He departed from Heaven and jumped into the in-between world.
From there, Derek jumped back to the 'Lochinvar' at the time a few hours after it had sunk in 1922. He felt the time line fork into the main real time line and the stub time line. He remained in the stub.
He remembered that Hal had taught him how to pass through solid objects like a ghost. He could do this by changing the vibrational state of the atoms that made up his body so that he and another object could occupy the same space. This knowledge had been dredged up by his contact with God.
Like a ghost he passed through the steel hull structure of the sunken ship on the ocean bottom until he found the stoke hold at the bottom of the ship where the stokers had died. The water was icy cold. The water pressure was enormous. At the bottom of the sea, it was absolute darkness unrelieved by the faintest glimmer of light. Relying on his eyes alone, Derek could see nothing. However, he had his cryptoscopic sense. He used it to locate the bodies of the dead stokers. They were lying scattered about near a bulkhead. They had been killed by the boiler explosions.
He found Albert's body. He switched on his luminescence. His bright glow illuminated the stoke hold.
He picked up Albert's cold dead body and cradled it in his arms. It was very light in the water, almost floating. Derek's glow lit up Albert's waxen features. He kissed Albert's cold lips tenderly.
Albert's memories of those last terrible minutes as the ship was sinking surged into his mind. Albert knew he was going to die but he did not tell the others. He was trying to keep their spirits up but they all knew deep down that they were doomed. Albert was not afraid to die. He had faced death many times and had escaped. Now his time had finally come.
"Dear sweet Albert," thought Derek. "I loved you and I still do."
He put Albert's body gently down on the steel flooring of the stoke hold. Still glowing brightly, he identified the bodies of Albert's mates. There were Jack, Roger, Stan, Horrie and the others. He knew them all through Albert's memories. There was young Hansie who had only joined the ship the last time it was in Durban a few weeks previously. His bright red hair floated in the water.
"Good men all of them," thought Derek. "What a waste of life!"
He left the stoke hold and went to the cabin Albert shared with his shipmates. He passed effortlessly like a ghost through the steel structure of the ship. He knew exactly where the cabin was.
In the cabin he found Albert's suitcase under the bunk. It was still there despite the ship's previous movements. He hauled it out and opened it up. He found Albert's dog tags in the corner of the case just where Albert remembered placing them. He picked them up and looked at them. He saw the inscription 'Pte. Albert Roy Bennett' and the soldier's serial number.
"Yes, that's me," he thought. "Me in my past life."
He put the dog tags back and replaced the suitcase underneath the bunk. Now he knew exactly where they were, not that he did not know already.
He jumped out of the stub time line into the in-between realm.
He sped forward in time to when he, Scott and the four Englishmen were gathered in the first-class dining room of the 'Lochinvar'. He saw himself jump out of the main time line back to the time soon after the ship had sunk in 1922. The main time line was suspended pending his return. Scott and the four Englishmen were frozen at the instant the time line had stopped. Derek had just finished patching up old Gertrude's grief reaction over the death of her Uncle Albert.
He positioned himself and jumped back into the main time line the microsecond after he had jumped out back to 1922.
The others felt the tremor in the space-time fabric when Derek returned.
Charles: << Golly, that was quick. >>
Scott: << Like the mo. >>
Piers: << My goodness, you've grown a moustache. And what are these tattoos on your shoulders? >>
Scott: << Wow, those tats are seriously wicked. >>
He was amazed to see the emblem of the erect penis and balls with the words 'God's Man' emblazoned on Derek's shoulders. So were the others.
Derek: << They're my bad boy tats. >>
He grinned.
Richard: << Looks like something out of Tom of Finland. >>
Scott giggled. He had discovered the artworks of Tom of Finland only recently on the Internet. It was still rather a guilty secret for him.
Tony: << OK, Derek, tell us what happened. >>
Derek telepathically described to the others all that transpired since he had left them previously. He described the sinking of the 'Lochinvar', tracking down Albert, having sex with Albert in the grand suite of the Ozone Plaza Hotel in Durban, Albert's departure and the interview with God. He described everything.
The Englishmen were astounded to discover that Derek was the reincarnation of Albert, that Derek now had all Albert's memories and that Derek had spent four days having sex with Albert. They had no inkling at all that Albert had been having sexual relationships with other men and boys since he was a schoolboy.
Piers: << I'm having difficulty coming to grips with all this, Derek. Not only have you being fucking Granny's Uncle Albert cross-eyed for four days but also it turns out that you are his reincarnation. It's truly amazing. >>
Tony: << My mind is boggling. Great-great-uncle Albert was into manly love back in the days when it was really dangerous and illegal as well. Fancy! >>
Charles: << This amazes me, Derek. It seems that you really are a Time Lord, the way you've been bouncing around in time. >>
Derek: << Look, you can learn how to do it too if you want. Hal Wray taught me. >>
Charles: << Hal Wray the Master! >>
Scott: << I reckon it's cool, Derek, the way you zapped that gunman in Durban with a lightning bolt and turned him into charcoal. >>
Richard: << If you try a stunt like that, Scott, you too will feel the heavy Hand of the Almighty grabbing you by the scruff of your neck. Goodness me! You could end up getting tattooed like your friend Derek. >>
Derek: << Yeah. They're to remind me I'm God's. >>
Richard: << And woe betide you if you forget it. >>
Derek: << I won't. Anyway, now I know where Albert's dog tags are. >>
He went straight through the steel structure of the ship to Albert's cabin. The others had not mastered the art of changing the vibrational state of the atoms of their bodies. They were unable to pass through solid objects. Derek waited for them as they threaded their way through the maze of the ship's passageways and telepathically homed in on him.
When they arrived, Derek carefully brought the old suitcase out from under Albert's bunk. It was still intact after eighty years underwater. The chrome tanned leather resisted attack by the deep-sea creatures. Derek gingerly opened the case and hauled out Albert's dog tags. They were in exactly the same place where they had been eighty years before. The metal was a little corroded by the seawater but the inscription was still quite clearly visible. Derek handed the tags to Piers and Tony who examined them in awe.
Tony: << Look, you can still see his name on it, Private Albert Roy Bennett and his serial number. >>
Piers: << Granny will be so pleased to get them. She will be overjoyed. Thank you ever so much, Derek. >>
Tony concurred with his cousin.
They looked at the contents of the suitcase. The clothing was still remarkably intact. Items made of steel were so corroded as to be almost unrecognisable.
Tony: << There's nothing else here that's worth salvaging. >>
Piers agreed.
Piers: << I'm still gob-smacked by the idea that Great-great-uncle Albert was gay and that he had been having sex with other men for years before he died. >>
Tony: << Me too. I wonder if Granny knew anything about it. >>
Piers: << Yes, I wonder too. >>
Derek: << There's one way to find out and that's to ask her. >>
Piers: << We couldn't. She'd just dismiss the question. >>
Derek: << But your mother could, Piers. I could put the suggestion into her head while she and Gertrude are having lunch. >>
Piers: << Could you? >>
Derek: << Watch me. There could be some fireworks but I can handle it. And so can your mother. She's no shrinking violet. >>
The men telepathically tuned into Piers' mother and grandmother eating their lunch in the dining room. It was well heated. The wintry sky had become overcast. The December sun had been defeated.
"Goodness me, Janet, your chicken and celery pie is delicious," commented Gertrude.
"Thank you, Mater," replied Janet. "It is one of Peter's favourites too." She referred to her husband who was Gertrude's son.
There was a short silence. Derek took the opportunity to insert into Janet's mind the telepathic suggestion that Albert liked sex with other men. He was interested to discover that Janet had been harbouring suspicions about Albert being gay for some time.
"Janet," said Gertrude. "Thank you for being so tolerant of all this business with my Uncle Albert. I hope I have resolved it all now."
"That's quite all right, Mater," replied Janet. "I'm sure you have."
She paused, then took the plunge.
"Mater, your Uncle Albert never married, did he?" she asked.
"No, never," replied Gertrude.
"Did he ever have any girlfriends?"
"Not that I know of."
"What about in France during the First World War?"
"No, I don't know of any."
"Didn't he have any female friends at all?"
"Of course he did. He had lots of female friends including me. I think I must have been one of his favourites."
"I'm sure you were. But wasn't there someone special, apart from you of course?"
"No, I don't think so." Gertrude laughed.
"What about men friends?"
"Oh, he had lots of them too. Many were from his schooldays. There were a few from the War too, I remember. Some of them were quite close to him."
"Do you think he might have been gay?"
"Oh, yes, he was a gay fellow alright. He was so gay, happy, and cheerful but the War certainly knocked all that out of him. He was quite moody and morose after the War, anything but gay."
"Well, actually I meant the other sort of gay."
Gertrude fixed Janet with a beady eye.
"Do you think he's a homosexual?" she asked.
Janet felt somewhat intimidated.
"Er, well, I was just wondering if..."
"Let me assure you, my dear, that my Uncle Albert was a perfectly normal and manly fellow," declared Gertrude. "The only reason he didn't get married was that the right woman did not come along. There was nothing homosexual about Uncle Albert at all. Let me assure you, Janet my dear, that there is nothing queer in our family tree."
"Well, I suppose that's that then," said Janet.
"Yes, that is definitely that. Will you be a dear please and pour me some more of that excellent sauvignon blanc?"
"Of course, Mater."
Derek: << There you have it. Old Gertrude has absolutely no clue about Albert having sex with other men. She has no idea at all. I checked for repressed memories and there was not a thing. Not even a whisper. Your mother, Piers, went in fairly hard and there was no defensiveness on Gertrude's part at all. She knew nothing about Albert and she suspected nothing. >>
Tony: << I like that comment she made about there's nothing queer in our family tree. She obviously doesn't know about us. >>
He laughed and put his arm around his cousin and his two friends. The four of them were all lovers.
Piers: << Look, chaps, we'd best be getting back home to Liverpool soon. It's lunchtime over there and people will start to wonder where we are. >>
Richard: << Won't you want the ship's bell to prove that we've found the 'Lochinvar'? >>
Piers and Tony agreed they should take the ship's bell.
They all made their way up to the bridge. Scott obligingly wrenched the bell from its mountings and handed it to Piers and Tony. They looked at it admiringly. The name 'Lochinvar' was clearly visible.
The four Englishmen all hugged Derek and Scott. They thanked Derek profusely for all that he had done in solving the mystery of the disappearance of the 'Lochinvar' and elucidating Albert's fascinating history.
They took the dog tags and the ship's bell, flew up through the water to the surface of the ocean and travelled in a hypersonic arc through the ionosphere back home to Liverpool.
Scott and Derek remained on the bridge outside the wheelhouse. Scott looked at Derek.
Scott: << What shall we do now? >>
<< Whatever you like, mate. >>
<< Shall we go back to Holey Dollar Island? >>
<< Yeah, why not? >>
--------------------------------- Continued in Part 53. ---------------------------------