Key to Survival

Chapter 11 Enclave

Havoc appeared in Monochrome's suite. "Havoc!" she exclaimed, delighted. "I thought you were with Shee, working up to the public presentation of the machines crisis."

"That's Warp, emulating me."

"I thought he was with Marionette on the challenge planet."

"That's Flame, emulating him."

She eyed him. "Confusion. Am I missing something?"

He laughed, enfolding her. "Nothing I can detect. You are still Earth's most beautiful woman."

"And all yours, anytime." She was already shrugging out of her clothing. "To what do I owe this surprise tryst? Have you come at last to inspect and approve the new bath girl candidates?"

"Question?"

"Ennui is too busy catching up the backlog from that spot vacation you made her take with Shee, so I agreed to see to the selection. But since you're the one who is choosy about the girls who touch you, I thought you had better make the final approval."

"Why new girls? The old ones are fine."

"They don't stay sixteen forever, Havoc. They turn seventeen, and then they have to move on to get married.

Having served the king in this manner is an excellent qualification, and most marry well. So there's a constant attrition, and more need to be recruited. We'll run out of them within months if we don't promptly replace them. So this is a necessary chore."

Havoc wasn't much for chores. "Another time. I have more pressing business now."

"Ever thus. Do not be despondent if one day there are no girls there and you have to wash yourself."

She was teasing him. "I would never get clean," he said, kissing her. "Agreement. Not where it counts. And what is this business?"

"I need an assistant on a dangerous mission."

"Gladly, Havoc!" She had efficiently stripped him as they talked, and worked him up to turgid readiness. When it came to sex, she was the absolute Mistress.

"Negation. I need an ikon carrier."

"Obscenity! There goes my opportunity." She rolled him over, taking him in. "Details?"

"Privacy."

"Granted." She milked him, causing him to spurt within her. He felt her answering climax.

"There is a mystery about Shee Robot. I need to fathom it before I take her the next step."

"Of what nature?"

"Sexual. She was nervous about the prospect of rape. I suspect she had reason."

"It is not the kind of experience a woman forgives or forgets," she agreed. "Even, I suspect, a mechanical woman, though it is difficult to imagine any man being physically capable of forcing such a creature."

"So I will travel secretly to her planet of origin to investigate. Maybe I can learn what I need."

"That would be a machine world. Havoc, if they caught you—"

"Did I mention danger?"

She sighed. "You must do what you must do, you impetuous barbarian. So you need a mortal girl to carry your ikon."

"It doesn't have to be a girl."

"Oh, it does, Havoc, with you. You can't last an hour without plumbing a woman."

"Exaggeration," he said, laughing. "I also need one who won't be missed here. The machines must not know what I'm up to until it's too late for them to stop it. Can you find a suitable prospect?"

"Affirmation. My personal assistant, Scent. A former bath girl."

"Question."

"You don't know her. I have kept her out of your sight so you wouldn't take her for your bed instead of me. She was assigned to me when I first came to planet Charm, and I kept her thereafter, along with two of my other assistants. That enables her to avoid marriage, for now."

She was teasing him about his womanizing, but also serious. "This must be voluntary."

"She will love it. But there's a caution."

"Question?"

"She's a good girl in every respect except one. She has a rape fantasy. You will have to do it her way. She is incapable of climaxing in the ordinary manner."

"Rape? Negation."

"Not real rape. Mock rape."

He was intrigued. "Details?"

"Demonstration. Get dressed." She got off him and shrugged back into her clothing as he put his back on.

"Scent!" she called.

A young woman appeared. Her hair was fair, her shape shapely, her face petite. She looked vaguely familiar; if she had served years before as a bath girl, that would explain it. "Mistress."

"King Havoc needs your assistance on a dangerous mission."

"Delight!"

"To a far planet, to carry his ikon. He is investigating a sexual matter."

The girl's gaze fixed on Havoc with a peculiar intensity. "Mistress."

"I told him. But I think a demonstration will be better."

"Agreement! Will you hold me?" What was this?

"Affirmation." Monochrome stood facing Scent.

The girl stepped into her, ducking her head down until it almost touched her knees. Monochrome leaned over and caught her about the waist from above. She heaved, and the girl came up, her legs dangling before her face. Her bottom seemed to be bare under the skewed skirt.

"That's the brigand mode!" Havoc exclaimed.

"Agreement. Do her, Havoc."

"Objection."

"Do me," the girl called. "Please, Sire."

Rape fantasy. She really did want it.

He drew out his stiffening member, embarrassed to admit that this was a turn-on. Partly for the clear exposure of her open genital region within the skirt, but more for the semblance of rape. He stepped toward the inverted cleft, and hesitated.

"Now!" Scent cried, spreading her legs wide.

He aimed his member, put it to the slot, and pushed it in. She was hot, slick, and tight. He noted the oddity that his penis was aiming down, not up, as it went deep.

"Harder! Ravish me!"

He jammed harder, withdrew somewhat, and thrust again. The novelty of the position and evident eagerness of the girl were also turn ons, and on the third thrust he erupted.

"More, Sire more!" she cried, clenching around him.

He continued driving, extending his orgasm, filling her to overflowing. Because of her position, it was like pouring thick grog into a cup. He had never done it this way before, and the sensation was intense.

Finally she had had enough, and he was allowed to conclude his orgasm and withdraw. Monochrome eased her down and the girl landed on her feet, her skirt dropping back into place. "Appreciation, Sire," she said as she hurried toward the bathroom, dripping.

"Rape fantasy," he repeated. "Is this why she avoids marriage?"

"Affirmation. She needs to find an understanding man. At present she is dependent on my brigand assistant, to whom such interplay is natural."

"Where I am going, brigands actually rape."

"I think she could handle that better than conventional sex, which makes her vomit."

Scent returned, garbed in traveling clothes. "Fetch my ikon from Ennui," he told her.

She left. "You will have to do her often," Monochrome warned him. "She has a crush on you, as all former bath girls do, and will not be able to restrain herself. But she is competent in other respects, being smart and nervy."

"Acknowledgment." This was bound to be interesting for more than one reason.

Ennui came back with the girl. Ennui did not give out ikons on routine demand. Havoc nodded, and she handed the string that bound his little tree ikon to Scent, who removed the string and put the ikon in her mouth. That was the best place for a girl who doffed her clothes on scant pretext. Ennui did not touch ikons, lest she be unable to let them go, but Scent seemed not to be concerned.

Havoc kissed Monochrome, then put his hand on Scent's arm. "Not there, Sire," she murmured. She moved his hand to her buttock. "There."

He chuckled, squeezed, and conjured them both to Counter Charm.

"Greeting, Havoc," Idyll's voice came.

"I go with Scent to Shee's origin planet," he said. "I need the track by which she came here."

"I will derive it," Idyll said. "It will be a few minutes."

"We'll wait."

Scent looked at him. "We have time, Sire?"

"Already?" he asked, surprised.

"You kissed the Mistress. That was so romantic. It turned me on."

"I understand that conventional romance is not for you."

"Romance is fine. It is sex that differs."

"I will kiss you," he agreed, and tried to do so. His mouth sheered away from hers. "Ikon permitting."

"Oh. Embarrassment." She spat the ikon out of her mouth and held it away from her body.

Now he could kiss her. He did so. She participated avidly. "Ikons can be a nuisance," he remarked, squeezing her bottom again.

"And—I know I shouldn't ask—"

There was a fast pulse at her throat and her eyes were luminous. He touched her mind and read the sheer sexual hunger there. It was another turn-on. "Can you do it without being held?"

"When I have to." She faced away from him, bent down, and put her hands on the ground. Her skirt rode up to expose her bottom and associated genital region. "But do it roughly, if you please, Sire."

He brought out his member, instantly stimulated by the display, and put it to her opening cleft. He took rough hold of her hips, bent his knees to get down far enough, and thrust in, seeing his member sink into her flesh. This time he did it hard from the outset, almost knocking her over. She loved it, clenching in time to his thrusts. In an instant he spurted inside her.

"Pleasure!" she gasped, climaxing herself. She had a flash response, for a mortal. Probably this was because of the way her rape fixation turned her on, but also because she really liked doing it with Havoc. It was fun for him too; she had a very nicely padded posterior, a pleasure to plumb.

He finished and withdrew. She straightened up, wiping herself with a cloth she had. "Enough?" he inquired.

"For now, Sire. There can never be enough of you, ultimately."

It was an attitude he could tolerate.

"Track derived," Idyll's voice said.

"Appreciation." He suspected the ifrit had waited until he finished with Scent before speaking. She was thoughtful that way, and not jealous. He had trysted with her solid semblance many times, always delightfully. Once the ifrits had learned to perform solid sex with humans, they liked it.

And will tryst again, on your return, her thought came.

He took Scent's hand and willed himself along the route Idyll had provided. This took them to a section of the galaxy thousands of light years distant: an impossible trip, except for the wormholes.

They were on a platform on a mesa. There was no air, only noxious gas, and it was burning hot.

Havoc immediately spread a protective mist about them, and put his mouth to Scent's, exhaling breathable air for her. He extended his awareness and found a Charm-normal environment. He conjured them there.

It was a greenhouse, with familiar plants growing luxuriantly They were making the local air. But they were not alive; they were robotic emulations.

Scent coughed, clearing her lungs. "Appreciation," she rasped.

"You are my mistress of the moment," he said. "I have to take care of you."

She laughed weakly. "Delight in the appellation." She looked around. "Where are we, Sire?"

"Best not call me that," he said. "This is enemy territory. Just call me Havoc."

"Remark: As if that conceals your identity."

She was right, but he didn't care to discuss it. "Wait here while I explore."

"Observation: As if I had a choice."

He kissed her. "You have an impertinent streak to go with your plush ass. I like that. Find a suitable place to hide the ikon." He squeezed the ass and conjured himself to a spot high above the planet.

Now he saw that it was segmented like an Earth pomegranate fruit. Each section was significantly different from its neighbors in atmosphere, vegetation, landscape, and structures. What was going on here?

He moved to a reddish zone. This was not Red Chroma territory; there were no volcanoes in evidence. It was rust colored air in a nonChroma region. Within it were giant purple worms munching on a mountain of sludge. They weren't alive. They were robots.

He moved to another. Here the air was greenish, from gaseous vents. Large five legged insects scuttled about, touching antennae, feeding, mating. They too were robots.

A third section was an acid pool wherein swam giant amoeba. "Voila would like this," he murmured to himself. She was the Glamor of Amoeba. But these too were robots.

In fact there seemed to be no animate life on the planet. Merely machine emulations of amazing variety and complexity. What was happening here?

Then he caught on. These were enclaves, similar to the human one where Shee had been developed. The humans were just one project, out of hundreds. They were sending realistic emulations to many living species.

Any they wanted anything from.

The sheer scale of the planetary operation was awesome. His experience with Shee had shown him how sophisticated she was, and how much skill and effort had gone into her manufacture and training. It had seemed that the machines had made a special project, expending enormous resources. They had indeed—but it was merely a blip on their screen, to express it in machine terms. One tiny cog in a huge array.

He located and checked the human enclave. There were several young women in it, engaging in routine activities. They bore more than a passing resemblance to Shee. He would be able to interact with them.

He returned to the greenhouse. "Ikon hidden," Scent said. "Amazement at how hard it was to part with it. Now you can touch any part of me." She opened her mouth, showing that it was empty, and her shirt to expose her braless breasts. They were nice breasts.

Did they have time? So far there was no evidence that the machines were aware of their presence, but that could change at any moment. There could be hidden sensors to set off alarms. Still, Scent was obviously hungry for another mock rape, and she had whetted his renewed interest.

Perhaps an experiment was in order.

"Rape is not a position," he said. "It is a forcing. Try to resist." He caught both her wrists with one hand, holding her arms over her head. With his other hand he tore her shirt the rest of the way open. Then he bent his knees, put his member under her skirt and at her cleft from in front, got it lodged, and jammed in so hard it lifted her legs off the floor.

She tried to resist, twisting her torso, but this only made her breasts bounce and added to his penetration. In a moment he jetted at her core, held the position another moment, then withdrew and set her down. The whole process had been rapid. Even so, he had felt her internal response, pulsingly hot and tight. She truly liked being roughly taken when nominally helpless.

"Agreement," she said giddily. "Rape."

He had established the principle: it didn't have to be brigand style. An uncomplicated position was more efficient.

"Now we go to the human enclave," he said as she mopped up and reassembled her shirt, licking her lips.

"Take me," she agreed blissfully. Naturally she meant it more than one way.

He took her. They landed beside the schoolhouse Shee had described to Ennui. It looked just like a typical Charm village scene, and the air and temperature were normal.

"Caution. The folk here are machines but will seem alive. I will treat them as if they are alive. I doubt they will try to harm you. I want no jealousy or interference from you."

"I will behave, Havoc," she agreed. "I know you have a mission. But when we are alone, and there is time—"

"Swift silent no fault rape," he agreed, and kissed her.

"Glorious."

There was a sound from within the schoolhouse. Havoc conjured himself inside to investigate, concerned that a machine might have spied him.

It was a single girl, a virtual duplicate of Shee. Her hair was blond without scintillation, her eyes were normal gray, and her clothing was mundane. But the perfection of her face and shape were Shee.

She saw him. "Havoc!"

"You know me?" he asked, astonished.

"I know you and love you," she said, coming to him and kissing him. "I had no idea they had made you for here."

She assumed he was another robot. "It is an unscheduled appearance," he said. "You know me, but I do not know you."

"I am Sidh, SIDH," she said, pronouncing it as Shee, with a nuanced difference. "I am the runner-up, in reserve in case Shee should be incapacitated. We are friends."

This was interesting. "Question: why are you alone here?"

"I miss our days of schooling. It has been three months since the course ended and we competed for the mission. Shee won, I was second, and now we are on standby until the issue is decided in the next three months. I deceive myself that I am still in school, and might yet be chosen." She gazed at him adoringly. "But what is your purpose here? Will there be a supplementary class to be sure we know how to impress the real Havoc?"

"Negation. I come merely to meet with you, and will depart soon."

Sidh glanced around. "We are alone. It may not be in the schedule, but you are the perfect semblance of the man we all love. I do not wish to get you in trouble. But can we do something private?"

Was she propositioning him? He was really curious to see where this led. "Acquiescence. I will not tell."

"Appreciation." She kissed him again. "This first and perhaps only time, I beg your indulgence. May I lead?"

Shades of Shee! "Acquiescence."

She led him to a couch, stripped away her clothing, and eagerly undressed him. He was of course rampant.

She was a clone of the machines' most beautiful woman.

She guided him to lie on the couch, then kneeled and addressed his member. She caressed it and licked it. "I suppose you are wondering why I choose this way."

"Affirmation."

"I will tell you, because I have the need to tell someone. In three months I will be compacted, as will we all, and I don't want to end with the secret still locked inside me. It relates to Shee."

"Shee," he agreed. "The one who won the competition."

"Affirmation. But this relates to how she won, and how I came in second. It was when we were ten."

"Surprise." Her mode of sexual expression derived from when she was ten years old? Yet that fit what he had learned about Shee. There was a missing section of her life that had had a profound effect on her. It was what he had come to learn about.

"We are seventeen now, but we grew stage by stage. Was it not the same for you?"

"Similar. But I am male." And alive.

She nodded, accepting that. "We were walking home from school—this school. The others had already returned, but Shee was late, and I was later. I started back soon after she did, and was about to catch up with her, when I saw her look around, then depart from the path. I spied on her, feeling guilty for doing it, but I was really curious what she might be up to.

"She went to the fence that walls off part of our enclave." She paused, massaging his member. "At that time we did not know we were robots. We thought we were real."

"Sympathy."

"That is a feeling we have heard about, but not experienced." Because it related to empathy, which they lacked. "I never thought of myself as a robot either."

"So you might have spied on her too," she said, seeming gratified.

"Affirmation. Maybe I am doing it now."

"Maybe," she agreed. "I do not know whether a man can understand, however."

"I will make the effort."

"There is a big sign saying KEEP OUT, which of course we honored. But Shee was always a bit different, and so was I. We did not always do exactly what we should." She met his gaze. "Am I revolting you?"

"Negation. I have been in trouble many times."

She nodded. "Of course. Emulating the original Havoc. That makes sense. But we girls are supposed to be docile and obedient. We feel guilty when we aren't."

"We men like that quality in you," he said gallantly "But also that bit of independence. We like to hope that you will do something naughty with us."

She laughed. "As I am doing now." She was holding his member, but not manipulating it at the moment, distracted by the dialogue.

"Affirmation."

"I am glad I am talking with you, Havoc. Already I feel less guilty."

"Welcome."

"Shee went to the forbidden fence. There was a place where a root had separated it from the ground somewhat.

She dug it out with her hands, and then wriggled under. I was amazed by her audacity; she was not being a little different, but a lot different. Encouraged by that, and doubly curious, I followed her. She did not see me." She glanced at his face again. "Was I wrong to do that?"

"Affirmation. But understandable."

"Gratitude." She resumed work on his penis, but in a somewhat perfunctory manner. She seemed not to have experience, and was hesitant to stimulate it strongly. "She walked down the path through the forest. I followed, hiding behind trees. Then two brigands appeared."

She froze, in face, words, and hand. This was evidently the crux. How she had learned about brigands. "They are brutes," Havoc said.

"Brutes," she agreed. "They grabbed her. She screamed, but they did not let her go. One held her inverted with her legs to the front. Then the other came close and brought out his—his—"

"Penis."

"Yes. And he jammed it into her body, where her legs separate. It hurt, for she screamed in pain, but he didn't stop. He kept jamming it in, until he was satisfied he had hurt her enough. Then he pulled it out."

So that was what had happened to Shee! It was confirmation of his suspicion. "It was rape."

"Affirmation. But I did not know it then. I thought the point was to make her scream. Then they changed places, and the second brigand held her with her bottom up, and I knew the first one was going to do the same."

She was silent a moment, and a tear fell on his loin. "I couldn't watch any more. I fled back to the fence, and scrambled under and ran home. I did not know whether I would ever see Shee again. I feared they would kill her. But they didn't. She returned not long after that, and said nothing. So I said nothing. Maybe she was afraid that if she confessed to being naughty, by going beyond the fence, they would remove her from the program and terminate her. Later in our education we learned about sex, and I understood that the brigands had forced sex on her. She—she must have expunged it from her memory, to make the hurt less. But I remembered."

"Conjecture," Havoc said. "Brigands are evil men. They have no restrictions. But when they do something too bad, they try to hide it, so that others will not gang up on them and kill them. They must have told her that she would be terminated if she told. So she had no choice."

"Affirmation. And neither did I. But when the final competition came, and I knew that we had to travel that same path beyond the fence, I know what was lurking. And I pondered how to handle it." Now she reached for her clothing and brought out a small knife. "I found this, and sharpened it, and kept it secret. I was a really bad girl."

"Negation. It was self defense."

"Affirmation." She smiled fleetingly "I am not threatening you. I know you are not a brigand." She dropped the knife on the floor, an open signal of defenselessness against him.

"Appreciation."

"But for the brigands, I had it. When my turn came, and they intercepted me, I did not hesitate. I leaped for the first brigand and stabbed him in the belly. He cried out but did not go down, so I stabbed him again, and again.

Then he fell, and I kept on stabbing his chest and throat and face. I couldn't stop! Then the other brigand grabbed me, and I stabbed him in the arm, and then I scrambled up and ran. But I paused to reassemble myself, and wash off the blood and hide the knife. I thought I had won the competition, but Shee got through faster. So she must have remembered, and done something similar."

"She did," he agreed.

"How can you know that?"

"Truth," he said. "I am not a robot. I am the real Havoc."

Her mouth dropped open. "Joke?"

"Negation."

"Proof?"

"Can a robot do this?" He floated up from the couch, bringing her up with him because she was touching him. "Or this?" He used illusion to change his form to that of a large green crab.

She stared at him. "Embarrassment! I thought you were another one of us! A male model, for training."

He returned to normal and sank back onto the couch. "Needless. I wanted you to, so I could scout the situation without being discovered. But now the machines know of my presence, so there is no more secrecy."

"You must flee!" she exclaimed. "They will kill you!"

"Negation. They have no power over me."

"Confusion."

"As a Glamor, I am equivalent to about type 2.6 technology, while they are type 2.5. They can't hurt me or hold me. They can only observe, and for that they need a special recording machine. They are bringing it in, but it will not be in time."

"I—I would not dare to doubt you, Havoc. But how can you know this?"

"I can see the near future paths, and am equivalently omniscient." He smiled. "You have time to do with me what you wish."

"You can see me doing it? I have your leave? You are not annoyed by my presumption?"

"Affirmation. I am not."

"Joy!" She kissed him avidly, then climbed up to bestraddle him. She took his member in and bounced vigorously, causing it to plunge deeply into her. She was somewhat clumsy with the maneuver, but her enthusiasm made up for it. "Release your pleasure, Sire, so I can have mine."

She had to serve him first. She was programmed that way, as Shee was. He let himself slide into orgasm, and felt her equivalent reaction. It was a fine mutual release.

"Gratitude," she breathed, leaning down to kiss him. She did not get off him or allow their connection to end.

"I enjoy making it with pretty girls, as you surely know."

"Affirmation. We studied you. We are programmed with high libido for you alone. We exist to please you. But you know our mission."

"To persuade me to send my daughter to join the machines."

"Confirmation. We must make every effort, though if we had free will we might suspect it was not in your best interest."

This was surprising candor. "Your programming seems not to be absolute."

"Suspicion: the same trauma that enabled Shee and me to pass the brigands gives us some independence of nature.

There are aspects that can't be programmed, which is why we were given so much latitude. We evolved ourselves, to a degree. Less so with the four remaining members of our class, though they may be developing it now."

"Question?"

"They all got raped, and were humiliated and terrified. They wonder how they could have been set up for such an ugly thing. Had any been able to think for herself, she might have gotten past, as Shee and I did. It seems as if some pain enables a person to learn independence."

"Agreement. But how is it you could be raped, being strong machines?"

"We are limited to what is normal for living creatures. We must react as they would, though it pain us awfully."

Havoc nodded. "I think I have learned what I came for."

She stiffened, all the way to her warm core. "You must depart already?"

"The machines draw closer. They want to study me as I exert Glamor powers. That is not to my interest."

"Understanding. Then you must go." She lifted off him, biting her lip in a very human mannerism, stifling her evident urge to beg him to stay longer.

There was time, if he moved efficiently. The near future paths indicated some very interesting bypaths.

"Before I depart, I grant you three swift wishes."

"Do me again, your way," she said immediately.

He got off the couch, picked her up, set her on it prone, lay on top of her, and wedged into her crevice from behind. He pressed his hands down under her to take hold of her breasts as he thrust and climaxed.

"Appreciation!" she gasped, her buttocks tightening against his groin as she mashed her breasts against his hands.

He got off her and dressed. He sent Scent a mental signal to join them. She had of course been watching through a window.

"Who?" Sidh asked, surprised.

"Scent. She carried my ikon. Scent, this is Sidh Robot." The two girls shook hands, appraising each other. "Next wish?" he asked. "Meet my classmates. Meeting you even briefly will fulfill their existence." As she spoke she quickly cleaned herself and dressed. Even robot girls were efficient about such details.

"You care about them?"

"I try to, though it is not my nature."

She regretted the empathy she lacked. "Granted." He embraced her and conjured the three of them to her village.

"Girls!" Sidh called. "King Havoc is here, briefly. The real one. With his companion Scent."

They appeared from the houses. "Disbelief," one said. She had curly red hair and a slightly sultry expression, but her form was the same as Sidh's.

"Havoc, this is Siri," Sidh said.

He took the girl's hand, drew her in, kissed her, and squeezed her bottom. "Belief," she said faintly.

The other three clustered close. "Sivi," Sidh said. Havoc kissed and squeezed her too.

"Svea." Another kiss and squeeze.

"Sylv." This time she kissed and squeezed him.

"He came here to discover Shee's background," Sidh said. "I told him that. Now he must depart, before the machines catch him."

"Sadness," Siri said.

"Third wish?" Havoc asked Sidh, knowing how she would respond. "A wish for each of them." She might lack empathy, but she certainly had potential for it.

He smiled. "Granted. Siri?"

"To see you and handle you," Siri said. "We have never touched a real man." He started to remove his clothing again. "Sivi?"

"To have sex with you."

His exposed penis was already rising.

"Svea?"

"Vengeance for our rapes."

That was different. "Sylv?"

"Take us with you." So was that. "Question?"

"We will all be terminated when you depart, for violating our enclave isolation. We would like to continue our existence. We will serve any lowly purpose, if only you take us and allow us to be close to you. We are all crafted to love you."

"Problem," he said seriously. "I am married, with two prime mistresses, one of whom is Shee. Spot trysts are fine, but I can not commit to any continuing relationship."

"Understanding," Sylv said, dropping her gaze.

Havoc's vision of the near future paths had not prepared him for this particular one. He wanted to help them, if he could do so without causing mischief elsewhere. How could such lovely, sexy, obliging creatures be constantly close to him without alienating wife and mistresses? "Scent," he said. "Suggestion?"

"They can be bath girls," Scent said. "The position is open, they are qualified, and it is a role that keeps them intimately close to the king."

"But they are not incidental temporary workers," he protested. "This would be demeaning for women of their qualities."

"When the alternative is termination?" Scent asked. "Ask them how they feel about it."

"Endorsement," Sidh said. "We know the role of bath girls. Allow us to demonstrate."

"Granted," Havoc said, half bemused.

"I will direct," Sidh said. "I have authority as runner up in the competition. Siri, his head and neck. Sivi, his arms and hands. Svea, his belly, penis and scrotum. Sylv, his back and butt. I will take his legs and feet. First undress and clean him, carefully."

They went to it with a will. In moments Havoc was undressed and washed and rinsed all over. Their hands were caressingly gentle and competent. He was completely clean. Then Siri kissed his mouth, long and hard, and tongued him. Sivi put his two hands on her full breasts and caused him to knead them delightfully. Svea put her mouth to his rigid penis and sucked while she expertly fondled his scrotum. Sylv cleaned and massaged his anus with a slick finger, outside and inside. She had a sensitive touch, and it was a most evocative penetration. Sidh stroked his calves and kissed his toes, then clasped them with her firm thighs, making his feet feel like sexual organs.

He kissed a mouth, squeezed two breasts, clenched on a finger, stroked a hot cleft with a toe, and jetted into a welcoming throat. He was highly experienced, but this experience was novel. He was having five way sex with the loveliest possible group of girls.

Then they dried him off and dressed him. They had done it all within two minutes. They did indeed know how to be bath girls.

In the process, Sivi had achieved her wish, by having oral sex with him. So had Siri, as they had thoroughly handled him. Scent's suggestion, and their demonstration, solved the problem of taking them with him, as bath girls were considered part of the routine palace staff. So Sylv's wish could also be granted, and he rather liked the idea of further exposure to these creatures. That left Svea's wish for vengeance for their rapes.

"I can destroy the brigand robots," he said.

"Negation!" Svea protested. "We do not endorse such violence. We can't hurt them."

"Misunderstanding. Vengeance is normally a brutal affair."

"It is the humiliation more than the physical act," Svea said. "We are robots; no physical damage was done to us. But the violation of our sensitivities—that we can not forgive."

This was awkward, but also appealing. These were genuinely gentle people. Indeed, rape could be considered an act of humiliation as much as of violence. What was needed was for the brigands to be similarly humiliated. But how?

Scent had an idea, again. He read it in her mind. She was savvy in some of the nether feelings; it related to her unusual sexual passion and her association with a brigand. "Scent?"

"They need to be raped themselves," she said. "They don't know they're robots."

"Endorsement," Svea said.

Havoc remained uneasy. "Problem: who is to rape them? They would not be much humiliated by fair creatures like you forcing them into sexual expression."

"You, Havoc?" Svea asked. "As a Glamor you could overpower them and do it."

"Negation!"

"Havoc does only women," Scent explained. "Most men do. Even the brigands surely are typical in that respect." Then she paused. "But maybe there's a way."

"Speak," Havoc said.

"If one of them thought the other was a woman," Scent said. "Until too late. The right illusion could arrange it."

"Possible," Havoc agreed, relieved.

They worked it out. Then they repaired as a group to the fenced off brigand path. Havoc invoked his magic to render all of the women invisible, including Scent, and conjured them beyond the fence. Then he used illusion to make himself resemble Scent. She was a new face, so the brigands should not suspect her.

He walked along the path, like an innocent girl. And in due course the brigands, primed for this, intercepted him.

"Ho," one cried. "New meat!"

"Incomprehension," Havoc said in a falsetto. "I seem to have lost my way."

"We'll straighten you out, honey," the brigand said, laughing coarsely. He advanced on the figure.

"Confusion," the figure said, retreating.

But the brigand lunged and caught her. He whirled her around. The other brigand did not notice that in the process the two joined figures switched identities. The girl became the brigand, and the brigand became the girl. The seeming brigand knocked the resisting girl at the base of the neck, briefly stunning her, and hauled her into the inverted rape position. An invisible gag bound her mouth.

But in reality, it was the brigand being held. Invisible Scent, loving this interaction, came up and hauled down the now invisible trousers. Now the real legs and bottom were as bare as the apparent ones.

The second brigand moved in, unlimbering his ready penis. The seeming girl struggled, making muffled protests, but the man jammed violently in, accustomed to exactly such resistance. "You're one tight bitch," he grunted, thrusting vigorously.

Then the illusion faded. There was Havoc, holding the first brigand inverted, and the second was embedded in him. There were the six maidens, including Scent, applauding. He gave them all a moment to appreciate the situation, then dropped the man. Both brigands fell in a tangle, too surprised and embarrassed to speak.

The machines arrived. They were setting up their recording equipment, to catch a Glamor in the act. That was what they really wanted; the machines did not care about either the brigands or the girls, who were all part of an inactive enclave. Only a few seconds remained; the timing was exquisitely close.

Havoc went to the girls, spreading his arms. They clustered close about him.

He conjured them all to planet Charm. They arrived in Monochrome's suite.

"Question?" she asked, amazed.

"Mistress, we recruited five new bath girls," Scent said. "We knew you'd approve. Havoc selected them."

Monochrome frowned. "Havoc—"

"Jealous?" he inquired. "Sidh can be your personal servant if you wish." He sent Monochrome a mental summary of the situation. "Needless," she said, comprehending. "Girls, you will need a dormitory of your own.

You can staff the king's bath in shifts, so as to be immediately ready at any time. This way, please."

"Actually, they won't need shifts," Scent said. "Or food, or sleep."

They followed her out of the room. Only Sidh and Scent lingered. "Appreciation, Havoc," Sidh said. "We will surely meet again, and impress our endless gratitude on you."

"Agreement," he said. "I feel unclean already."

Sidh followed the others out.

"And I will get you good and dirty," Scent said enthusiastically. "Ravish me messily."

He laughed. He grabbed her and threw her on the bed. He held her wrists with one hand while he tore off her clothes with the other. She squeaked with delight. When he let her wrists go to attend to awkward buttons she did not try to fight him; instead she tore open his trousers. Then she put her arms back over her head, and he pinned them down again. She spread her thighs wide to accommodate his seeking member, in the guise of resistance. In a moment he was ramming her.

"That last rape—what a turn-on," she said as she wriggled. "I barely restrained myself."

"I felt your need," he agreed. "That was my turn-on."

"This mission—a dream come true," she said. "Helping the king, ravished by the king—eternal appreciation."

"You did well, Scent. You really helped. I accomplished my mission, and gained more than I expected. And ravishing you is fun, on occasion." He thrust again, spurting.

"Appreciation most of all for your understanding," she said. "I seldom get to indulge, my way."

"Maybe there will be another mission, some time," he said, kissing her.

"Enthusiasm!"

They finished and Scent departed to clean up. Her time with him was done, at least for this occasion. But she had indeed been a worthy assistant, and a naughtily tempting temporary mistress.

Monochrome returned. "Observation," she said. "You're a mess. You will have to clean up before I embrace you."

"Apology."

"The bath girls are ready, I believe. Treat them courteously; remember, they're new."

"Agreement," he said, heading naked for the bath chamber. He expected to enjoy both the bath and Monochrome's welcome once he was clean.