The Legacy of a Starman
Chapter 20, Finale
"There's been a certain sameness to the interviews to date, hasn't there?" Gary Bender asked. He was the editor-in-chief for the most influential gay and lesbian magazine in the country. "And that isn't just here in the U.S. I've noticed the same blandness in the international press, too."
Ford nodded and smiled at the observation, casting a quick glance in my direction. We'd privately made the same observation over a month ago. They all asked the same questions about the new medical miracles that were promised from the Alliance. Regrettably, we'd received nothing to change our stock answer. "Not yet."
"Because we have a different readership than most media, I thought it would be best to change to a subject matter that would peak the interests of our readers," he began. "I thought the subject of sexuality as expressed in the Alliance should be the topic."
I smiled and Ford laughed. I had no idea where Ford would go with that subject. Sexuality in the Alliance is all over the board. "I'm not sure where to go with that," Ford finally admitted.
"You've stated previously that monogamy of male and female sexes is in the minority. Perhaps, we should start there," Gary suggested.
"Which part?" Ford pressed. "Monogamy or the two sexes?"
"Let's start with two sexes," Gary said.
From the look on Ford's face, I knew he had something in mind. His beautiful grey eyes looked over at me and I winked at him. Already, I surmised that he was going to talk about the Galjax. The tales that he told me about interacting with them were always immensely titillating.
"I hope you'll have the good taste to edit what I'm about to tell you. The sexual practices of this race of very intelligent beings are very, uh, liberal," Ford smiled. Gary nodded. "I think it might be best if you put away your recording devices and your notepads and just listen. Afterwards, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't use any names. These beings see themselves as extremely enlightened and bristle at the thought of being made fun of or made the object of prurience." Mr. Bender complied with the request. "If we go down this pathway, the telling of the tale will occupy most if not all of your interview time. Are you sure you want to ask this question?" Once more, Gary nodded.
"The Galjax are a race of super-intelligent beings. Their average, individual IQ's would be something north of 400, if they were on the human intelligence scale. While their intelligence has no known match, they aren't very innovative. Given a problem, they will design and build the best they can with the knowledge they possess. However, if they are given access to other cultures and ways of thinking, they are capable of being more innovative. Those "eureka" moments aren't in their makeup. But, with other beings helping them think "outside the box", they have created amazing technologies and theorems," Ford began.
"What do they look like?" Gary asked.
"I would say that they are generally taller than humans and tend to the muscular side. Few Galjax are obese. And they have beautifully clear skin without hair or feathers on any parts of their bodies. However, the males have a bony crest across the tops of their head from front to back. The females have a smaller one. And their third sex, the Poda, have a crest that goes from behind their ears around the back of their head. And the Galjax are bioluminescent."
"They must be amazing to look at," Gary interrupted, smiling. "How far are they away from Earth?"
"About 800 light years away," Ford replied. "Nearby by Alliance standards."
"You said they have three sexes," Gary reminded us. "How does that work?"
"Well, the usual way with males and females, and I'm using that term very loosely. However, the Poda plays a key role in making babies. Without him or it, depending on your viewpoint, the male and female may fuck each other blind and never conceive a baby. This is all very complicated to your human way of thinking, so let me back up and set the stage for how this happens.
"The males and females form groups of their own sex and remain that way until they agree to have a baby. Then, they live together for the sake of the child, until the child is mature enough to be on its own. That takes about two of their years. To put that in perspective, each year is 580 days long and each day is 27 hours long. Each month is 29 days long, so each year is 20 months. Are you following me so far?" Gary nodded.
"The males and females practice homosexuality as you understand it when they aren't rearing a child. The males have daily sex with other males or a specific male for physical as well as emotional needs. Physically, the male must pound out a load daily or his genitals will be in such pain that he'll lose consciousness, at which point, he'll unload while asleep. You may wonder why the other men would want to help him out, but that is part of their culture. But more importantly, the nutritional value of the males' semen is off the charts. And it tastes good! So, daily, males pump out a big load of their essence, except for the two months prior to their mating season. That's when they need to get it on twice a day. They can deliver their juices orally or anally. It is up to the two males. But, during those two months before the mating period, they must take it orally and anally. It is all part of how they make babies.
"As the mating season gets closer, the males and females frantically bio-luminesce, signaling their willingness to mate. This is a conscious signaling by the males and females. If they don't want to make babies, the intensity of the luminescing is far less than Galjax who do. However, because the males that do wish to make babies glow so brightly, other males know that he will need several friends to help him mate with his chosen female."
"Doesn't that create a problem in knowing who the father is?"
We laughed at that observation. "You misunderstand how this works. The male and female enter into a contract that they will support the child until that child is fully mature. If there are any anomalies in the fetus, they will know within the first week and that pregnancy will be terminated, unless both parents don't want that to happen. At that point, if they don't want to stop development, they both agree that they will fund and nurture that damaged Galjax for the rest of its life, which could be as much as 600 of their years."
"They live that long?"
"On average, yes. Some live to be nearly 800, others die sooner of some calamity. So, now that they've agreed, the two parties go to the local, uh, monastery I guess you'd call it, and find a suitable Poda. The Poda chosen agrees to help them conceive. Now would be a good time for a lesson in Galjax sexual anatomy. The males have long, somewhat thin phalluses with ridges banding the full length. This is to stimulate the female as he rubs his hard phallus against a very sensitive spot inside her, uh, sorta vagina. That gives her immense pleasure as he attempts to enter her deep chamber where an egg is waiting for him to fertilize. However, that won't happen until the Poda performs his duties first. The Poda mounts her from the rear. His phallus is upwardly curved and has a shovel-shaped nose or tip. That particular shape is key to what happens next. The Poda probes with his phallus at a chamber entrance where the egg lies. However, that chamber is closed until his particularly shaped manhood pries it open. When the Poda feels the chamber open, he climaxes. His climax juices contain an anesthesia which prevents the chamber from closing for the next six hours. During those hours, the mating male repeatedly services the female, pushing the head of his dick into the chamber and releasing waves and waves of his sperm.
"And that repeated servicing nearly guarantees conception. His dick is long enough that the end of his dick enters the egg chamber and baths the egg in his manly juices. However, the sperm count is extremely low by human stands: only a few thousand sperm per ejaculation. But, with repeated climaxes, the chances of the egg meeting a sperm are very high. By your standards, the load is very thin, like water through a toy squirt gun, but they do make up for it in volume.
"There are instances though where the sperm count is too low and the amount of ejaculate is so high that his climaxes repeatedly wash away previous loads. At that point, they'll run tests to determine where the fault lies. If it is a case of quantity over quality, he'll just back off on the number of times he attempts to breed her. Still, the drive is generally very high to climax multiple times inside her."
"But, can the males really nutt that many times?" Gary asked. "He's only been pumping out his loads twice a day just before the mating."
"All true. However, that's where his other friends help out. Each time he climaxes, his dick starts to wilt. But, if another male mounts him, the mating male stiffens up and is ready to blast out another load. He has a pleasure patch located deep inside his anal passage that gets massaged by other males fucking him. So, he very much enjoys getting fucked while mating. Each attempt takes a little longer than the last, but I understand that it's common to release sperm ten times during those six hours. And after the second attempt, his dick does slip out. That's when his male friend will eat out the female, enjoying the delicious juices of the male and female and another male will suck his dick which is now coated with male and female juices. That causes those males to harden up again, even though they may have already serviced the mating male. That's why the potential father can get it on for ten times or more.
"Finally, the male can feel that the chamber has closed, because he can't penetrate as far. That's when the mating ends and the waiting begins. The female returns to her quarters to wait for the first week to pass, which will determine if she is pregnant and if the fetus is viable. She gestates the fetus for two months. At that point, the child is born. The infant is considered full-term, but not ready for independence. I forgot to mention that the children of the Galjax develop and grow rapidly. At the birth of the child, the father and mother must live together. That isn't a convention. It is obligatory for the survival of the child."
"How so?"
"The mother can nurse the child for up to three days, but if the infant doesn't nurse from the father within those three days, the infant will die."
"The father nurses?"
"Oh, yes," Ford insisted. "Both sexes have one nipple below their waist line, but above the pubic area by a few inches. I'd say it is about where the human belly button is. The mother runs out of nourishing fluids for the child after 18 hours or so. The father runs out about the same time. So, they take turns nursing the child. Their occupations are put on hold without any issues from their employers for the term of the child's early development. But, as they aren't nursing all the time, they can continue to work part-time. The infant is weaned from both parents by the time it is half a year old.
"The child grows rapidly. Within the first year, it is half of its adult size. At the end of the second year, it is fully mature, and will leave its parents, with one very big exception. The Galjax aren't sexually mature until they are 12 years old. Remember, this is on the Galjax calendar, not yours. And by sexual maturity, I mean that they can now make babies. But, their genitalia have grown to adult size by their second year.
"The child's education started immediately after it is weaned from the parent's need to provide fluids from their single nipple. The child has been on solid foods for a few weeks before that happens, though. Their education continues through their eleventh year. At that point, they are sexually mature or soon will be. They have already formed friendships with their sexual counterparts, meaning men with men and women with women."
"Do the women have a sexual relationship with other women before they decide to mate and have a child?"
"Most do, some don't. That sensitive patch I was telling you about that the male rubs against when they are mating is also active the rest of the time, just not to the outrageous degree that it is during mating. So, they do derive pleasure from stimulating that area with other women with tongues and fingers. After the child leaves the couple, both males and females resume their lives with their own sex."
"How many children will they have during their 600 years of life?"
"They don't necessarily have more children with the same person, but to answer your question, they generally don't have more than two or three children. If they did, they'd over-populate their planet and starvation would certainly visit them. The Galjax know that and prefer to not overdo it. In fact, most of the males and females enjoy their single lives without children. And they very much enjoy the daily sexual activities with their favorite companions of the same sex."
"How long have they been in the Alliance?"
"Over 10,000 of their years, so it would be close to 16,000 Earth years," Ford replied.
"As a doctor," Gary turned to me, "have you had the opportunity to medically observe them?"
"Several times," I replied. "They are subject to the same injuries that the rest of us have. And I've performed surgeries on several of the males to fix a dangerous sexual problem."
"Which was?"
"Without naming names, they had a blockage that sometimes occurs when the male doesn't ejaculate often enough. This is especially common for those males who are on long interstellar flights where they don't have the companionship of their own species. Now that they are on many of the Alliances ships, they have become more, uh, broad in their sexual partners."
"And that means that they get it on with other beings not from their planet?"
"It does," I smiled. "They don't get the nourishment that they'd get from another male not of their species, but it does give them the opportunity to, uh, clean the plumbing on a daily basis."
"Does that create a problem for them when they don't get the nutrition from other males that they are used to?" Gary pressed.
"There are synthetic fluids and foods that give them what their body requires, but they can't resolve their need to get it on daily without another male. But, some females of other species find them quite alluring and have offered to help them out. Rarely does that resolve their problem and they go back to other males."
"So, why not just jack off?" Gary wondered.
"I wondered why as well," I smiled. "It seems that they aren't able to stimulate themselves to the right levels by massaging their phallus to achieve a climax. It would be like one of us humans trying to scratch an internal itch. It just can't be done."
"Curious," Gary mused. "Back to one of your points, Mr. Ambassador. Have their male relationships with males of other species ever worked out on a long-term basis?"
"Looking for one, are you?" Ford laughed.
"They are intriguing, to say the least," Gary admitted.
"Yes, they have," Ford revealed. "They were very satisfying for both partners. However, the difference in life-spans was always a problem in the end. So, if they are going outside of their species, most of the Galjax males hook up with males of other species with life-spans similar to their own. However, love is love and you can't put a life-span limit on it. And there are other beings that live much longer than the Galjax, too. So that sword cuts both ways."
Gary glanced at his watch. "I don't want to belabor the point about the sexual mores of Alliance species, although I'm sure there are many other examples you could cite that would make humans look as provincial as we really are."
"You are what you are. All cultures mature at a rate that works for them. Sexual practices and taboos are unique to each species. None of them are right, none of them are wrong," Ford allowed.
"So, let's move on to another point," Gary suggested. "Everyone has been asking about the new medical wonders that are coming soon from the Alliance. I assume that there is still no news on that front?" Ford and I nodded. "Very well. I have spoken with a number of people in the medical community who are still perplexed at the astonishing cures that came out of the L.A. basin several years ago. I believe that happened about the time you attended college and that you and the ambassador met." We remained deadpan, not giving away anything. "There has been some whispering about the new cures from the Alliance that have taken some time, but still haven't been released. Those whispers state a `leading-us-on' mindset. You are not close to any cures, they say. However, through the research my people have done, I put it to you that you are the vectors for the cures we've seen for cancer, Alzheimer's, and HIV." Gratefully, he was glaring at Ford and not at me. I wasn't about to admit that those cures were at my hands (or dick, if the truth were revealed), not Ford's.
Ford's grey eyes glanced at me and smiled. I shrugged, leaving it up to him to reveal as much of the truth as he could without making a hash of things. "I must assume that your question was asked to elicit an answer that would be on the record," Ford grinned. Gary nodded and reached for his recorder. "Very well. I had just met Mike who is the love of my life. The amount of suffering those diseases caused broke my heart. I didn't want to watch him suffer through any of those diseases, so I decided to act. I asked for permission from the Alliance to find cures for all of them and to devise a manner in which to spread that cure, without revealing my alien status or causing harm to any lifeforms. Permission was granted, so I set about finding a way to accomplish my task."
"And after you found the cure, how was it administered?" Gary wondered.
"Uh, that needs to be off the record, Gary," Ford insisted. With the recorder turned off, Ford revealed how it was done, but maintained the fiction that he was the instigator.
Gary laughed and shook his head. "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
"Bear in mind that only the initial cure was spread that way," Ford cautioned. "Afterwards, it was through personal contact."
"I'll bet you loved spreading the cure for HIV," Gary smirked.
"There were personal delights that accrued to me on that one," Ford allowed with a grin.
"I'm astonished that you were able to create cures without a major laboratory and staff to accomplish it. Did you possess some magic bullet or device that found those cures?" Gary asked. "Because of how you delivered those cures, you had to ingest it before you could deliver it."
"I'd better not answer that," Ford said. "However, I will say the small sacrifice I made to my health for a day or two is profoundly insignificant compared to the greater good that it provided to humanity."
"But, surely the world should know of the medical wonders you have already performed for mankind," Gary pled.
Ford thought for a moment, but I suggested a compromise. "You could say that the Alliance was the creator of the cures. I know that medical science has been baffled by the molecular nature of the cures for all of the disease that have been eradicated. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to lay that mystery at the doorstep of the Alliance," I suggested.
"And when they ask how the cure was transmitted?" Ford challenged.
"Uh, Gary could just say that the Alliance is not at liberty to divulge that information as it may be used again in the future. The delivery mechanism isn't important. The cure is," I added hopefully.
"Do you think your readers and the rest of the world would buy that lame explanation?" Ford asked Gary.
Gary shrugged. "Probably," he finally answered. "There have been no other explanations offered that anyone buys. This adds credibility and mystery to the beneficence of the Alliance. It would certainly put the doubters on the back foot."
"I'm not seeing a problem with your suggestion," Ford finally admitted. "But, be sure that you don't even hint at the delivery mechanism, even to your friends."
"But, I could say that the cure was spread by personal contact," Gary hedged.
"Yes. That will let the readers draw their own conclusions."
"I see I have about five more minutes," Gary smiled. "And this question and your answers are strictly off the record." He glanced at his recording device to be sure it was off. "I have seen the photo spreads that both of you did while you were working as male models. The camera really loved you guys and showed off your, uh, assets in pretty graphic detail. So, from many sources, I've heard that the two of you were frequent guests at the sex clubs in Los Angeles. And you weren't shy about sharing your manly virtues, which included huge loads to go with those big dicks. Those sources also mentioned that you have incredible recovery powers that allow you to not only get it up again soon, but to deliver another huge load within just a few minutes of your last conquest."
"Is there a question in there?" Ford smiled.
"Are my sources blowing smoke up my ass or is there truth in what they tell me?"
Ford and I smiled at each other. We nodded in unison and said, "Truth."
"Wow! I'm sure you were very popular," Gary declared. "If you weren't such public figures, I'm sure you'd have gay men beating a path to your doorway or standing in line at the sex clubs to be serviced by you."
"That was a long time ago," Ford reminded him.
"And I'm sure you've still got it. Both of you," he leered. "That reminds me, you were talking about the Galjax earlier and their love of getting off daily and finding love in other species with different lifespans. Aren't you concerned about your own disparate lifespans?"
"Uh, not really," I answered for both of us. "Ford has been able to give my DNA a tweak, so that I don't age as rapidly as most humans do. And before you ask the question, no, this is not available to anyone. We had to get permission from the Alliance to do it. The procedure is not easy and often fails. We got lucky. But, we still don't know how many years I have in my life. It is highly doubtful that my longevity will be as much as Ford's, though," I lied easily.
"I see that my time is almost up," Gary sighed. "Do you know how long you'll be assigned to this ambassadorship?"
"None at all. I could be here for another couple of hundred years," Ford smiled. "I serve at the pleasure of the Alliance, and of course, of the United States of America. Your country could always ask us to leave."
"Only if the crazies get into a position of power will that ever happen," Gary allowed.
The remaining interviews with the media were far less fun. The other gay media were slobbering over us more than they were asking questions that their readers would care about. But, I suppose that their readers would like some of those questions answered, too. Two of them asked us to comment on selected pictures that they had collected from men's clothing brochures that had been reprinted after our ambassadorships had been announced.
We had no comments other than we were much younger then, although the intervening years hadn't been cruel to us. They asked the obligatory questions about the promised cures for human maladies, but we had no news on that front.
The last interviewer did pick up on the comments we'd made about the Alliance being the cause of the miraculous cures for HIV, Alzheimer's, and cancer. We confirmed the stories, but added no new information.
Between the weekly interviews, we had a long line of political and business people wanting a few minutes of our time. We granted most of them, after vetting all of them with the White House.
Delightfully, we had several visitors from Los Angeles whom we'd met at the sex clubs. They all had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we could see them. Of course, we fucked with all of them. Most of them brought their boyfriends, so we serviced them as well. Everyone departed with a big smiles and asses full of nutt, and that included us getting some good fucks and breedings from them, too.
A coded message arrived from the Alliance about five months after we assumed our ambassadorships. They were asking all of the Alliance ambassadors on Earth to review the protocols and safeguards for the new cures that had finally been perfected. In addition to commenting on the safeguards, I'd been asked to convene the press conference revealing the cures. I was the only medical doctor trained by the Alliance, so I was the obvious choice. With Ford's concurrence, I agreed to spearhead the revelations as well as the cautions and consequences of tampering with the cures.
The medical advance to be revealed by the Alliance was stunning. Any limb that had been lost due to disease or accident or war could be regrown. They were still working on re-growing organs that were damaged or diseased. But, that was far more complicated and their success to date had been poor. If the limb were withered, it would have to be amputated and a complete new limb grown. Hospitalization was required, including anesthesia for the first week. At that point, the patient could go home, but would be monitored for appropriate progress and nutrition. Nutrition was key. Adequate minerals and carbohydrates in great quantities had to be consumed to grown the new limb in an adult. Hydration also couldn't be overlooked. A child or small adult would require less. As the limb regrew, there would be growing pains that could be categorized as annoying to debilitating. Depending on severity, the patient may require additional time in the hospital.
Candidates would be screened at any qualified medical facility that agreed to the protocols outlined by the Alliance. And those protocols were not negotiable. The facility could charge for the bed, staff, and equipment. They could not charge for the actual procedure. However, if an amputation were required, the skilled doctor would be compensated at the usual and customary rates.
The components for limb re-growth were injected above the site of the limb to be regrown. Those injections were scheduled to be three days apart and for a total of five injections. The first two had to be administered at the hospital and carefully monitored. The other three injections were given at the hospital or a qualified doctor's office.
Laboratory research into the vaccines was strictly prohibited. However, they were allowed to look at the injectables through a microscope or other device. Manipulation of the serum was prohibited. The nannites that effected the cure were programmed to grown the limb and to cease functioning if they were tampered with, nor isolated for study. If they were, besides the kill switch being activated, they would switch to offense against the perpetrator. That person would be rendered incapable of performing medical procedures of any kind. The nannites would selectively block memories of medical training and schooling as well as medical experience.
So, any laboratory technician would know before they followed their corporate or medical masters' orders that they would lose their medical skills. A doctor or other clinician would suffer the same catastrophic memory wipes.
The news conference was held and the news released to great acclaim. Medical conferences were held around the world with me attending and demonstrating how the procedure worked and what signs of progress to watch for. Each time, I emphasized the nutrition and pain management requirements. Questions were asked and answered. A few challenged the ability of the nannites to turn on anyone attempting to research or manipulate the nannites. I cautioned them not to test the nannites ability to ruin their medical careers. As far as I knew, none did.
The number of people seeking treatment astonished us. I didn't think there were that many paraplegics in the world. Additional serum was manufactured and sent to Earth. As it turned out, the vaccine was also capable to healing spinal cord injuries, so the victims could again use their healthy limbs. In every case, there was a need for physical and occupational therapists to help the patients strengthen and get used to fully functioning limbs once more. If anything, that was the one bottleneck in our hope to fix injured or withered limbs. But, others stepped into the breach with additional training, including the doctors and nurses staffing hospitals and clinics.
Our limbs regrowth and therapy were an enormous hit across the globe. Naysayers were pushed to the side and resolutely ignored. People clamored for more cures or fixes of other human maladies. All we could do was promise to look into the possibility of aiding them. The downside was the medical research on the human condition by humans all but ceased. There was no point in pouring money into drug and enhanced surgery procedures when the Alliance could be coming up with a fix. That would be funds ill-spent that could and should have gone elsewhere.
So, we made it clear which conditions and afflictions the Alliance had no cures for, nor was there anything in the pipeline that might correct those problems. Consequently, medical research did continue on Earth, but at a reduced rate and pace.
And at every opportunity, we reminded Earth that they couldn't continue making more babies. Over-population would create starvation. They will have done it to themselves and the Alliance would not step in and rescue them with food, clean water, and clear air. As religion was no longer holding people back or telling them that they should have as many children as possible, the population curve began to flatten.
Within the next twenty years, the air cleared, water pollution was curtailed, and food distribution systems reimagined. Earth was making a great deal of progress. There was still no world government, despite many attempts at it. The moneyed class and the power-brokers wanted to maintain their status, but that was not going to last. The general population was routinely suspicious of their candidates. Gaining the favor of the oligarchy was a sure signal to the voters that their hand-picked candidate was headed for defeat. Still, some skirmishes and border wars happened. Most had an economic base and were soon ended with the rest of the world shaming them into submitting to the greater good of the population.
More wonders of the universe, galaxy, and the Alliance were revealed over the years. Earth continues to make progress. The Alliance has expanded their outreach program to other emerging civilizations with good results.
Within another 100 years, I expect Earth to be a contributing, full member of the Alliance.
Thanks for reading my tale. It was a pleasure to write it and receive your positive feedback.
This story is fiction. Your life isn't. Always play safe.
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