The
Epicene Effect
By
Jerry Leckie
Chapter
Seven
The boys woke with the rising sun, but lingered in
bed to kiss
and cuddle, until nature called. After flushing the toilet, Toby looked
at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and giggled. "Look at my neck.
You gave me a big hickey."
Tom examined the purple bruise critically. "Just marking my
territory," he said smugly.
Toby smacked him on the rear and dragged him into the shower. As
they emerged from the bath, they discovered all of their clothes,
cleaned and folded, stacked on a chair near the bedroom door.
John was setting food on the table as they entered the kitchen.
Nick joined them and they dived into a hearty breakfast. On his third
bite, Nick began to sputter with laughter.
"What's up?" John asked around a mouthful of sausage.
Nick pointed to Toby's hematoma. He sang, "Somebody made whoopee
last night." The boys grinned and blushed slightly, much to their
hosts' amusement.
Then Tom looked at Nick critically. "Nick, this is going to be a
hot summer day. Why are you wearing a high necked sweater?" Before Nick
could dodge out of the way, Tom pulled the sweater aside to reveal a
big blue love bite. The other three dissolved into fits of giggles as
Nick turned very red.
The sound of John's mobile phone halted the merriment. After a
few words, he broke the connection. "Well, that's my first call of the
day. One of Frank Ingram's cows is calving in the north pasture. See
you guys after a while." He picked up his medical bag, kissed Nick and
was gone.
Thirty minutes later, Doc Kennedy welcomed Nick, Tom and Toby
into his laboratory. The two young lovers assured him that they had
enjoyed the previous afternoon and evening, and that Nick and John were
perfect hosts. The pleasantries completed, they retired to a conference
room where a large selection of radiographic images was displayed on a
viewer.
"Yesterday I promised to answer your questions," Kennedy began,
"regarding the Epicene Effect. Do you know what the word epicene
means?" Tom and Toby shook their heads. "It means having both male and
female characteristics, and all that that comprises. Now, the technical
word describing someone having both male and female reproductive organs
is hermaphrodite. And, the word describing someone having the outward
appearance of both male and female is androgynous. But, the word
epicene, as we use it today, covers both of those conditions and more.
It also addresses the mental and emotional states and even the
instincts of persons having both male and female characteristics. In
other words, it describes the whole of such a being."
Tom and Toby looked thoroughly confused. Kennedy smiled and said,
"Okay, let's take it one step at a time. About eighty years ago the
human birthrate began to decline sharply. Fewer and fewer females were
born. In their place, an amazing number of males were born having the
homosexual gene. Those of us who were interested enough to inquire
began to investigate this phenomenon, while the rest of the scientific
community madly tried to get males and females to make more babies, to
'save' our species from extinction."
He turned on the viewer. "What we discovered during our research
is displayed here. Take a look at the first image. It is of the pelvic
region of a heterosexual male, in his early twenties, taken sixty years
ago. The next image is of a homosexual male of the same age taken the
same year. See the dark area just above the pubic bone? That is a set
of immature female organs. The man was fully grown, but the female
organs never developed."
He paused, then indicated the next image. "This is the image of a
mature homosexual male taken forty years ago. As you can see, the
female organs are larger, but still not fully developed. The next is of
another male taken twenty years ago. The organs are larger still, but
not fully developed. And, this image was taken only fifteen years ago.
The organs are almost complete." He smiled at the boys. "Do you see a
pattern developing?"
Nodding their heads, Toby and Tom now were staring at him with
rapt attention. "So did we. Needless to say, we and other scientists
all over the world have taken many images over the last ten years of
homosexual men who have just passed puberty. And, we have speculated,"
he smiled at Toby, "that we could expect--at any time--young men to
appear who would be able to mate and bear children. That is the part
that the rest of the world refuses to believe."
He pointed to the screen again. "This last image was taken last
year here in this valley. The female sex organs are complete. Toby, you
are the second such man we've found, but are the first to be able to
mate. That's what makes you so special."
"There's another like me ... here?" Toby asked, in awe.
"Yes, his name is Jeffrey, and he lives here. He's a year older
than you, but he cannot mate."
Nick placed his hands on Toby's shoulders. "Toby, it's important
to this project--and to the human race--for us to understand why you
and not this other boy can mate. Will you allow us to examine you?"
"Of course Nick."
An hour later Kennedy placed Toby's image on the viewer beside
his epicene counterpart. The female organs in both were identical.
Toby's pseudo-scar was faintly visible, however. He had explained to
the two scientists how the opening had appeared and resealed itself,
making the mating possible. He had also explained the physical details
of the mating.
Nick said, "Guys, now that we know how the mating takes place, we
are closer to understanding why it takes place."
Kennedy cleared his throat and continued. "Tom, have you
wondered, since you arrived here, why Father Benton didn't send you
here sooner? He obviously recognized your epicene characteristics."
Tom smiled shyly and looked at Toby. "No, I've been too
preoccupied."
"Exactly," Nick said. "Father Benton waited because of something
we suspected. He waited a year for another boy like you to be sent to
him. He placed you and Toby together hoping you would fall in love."
The wheels were spinning in Toby's mind. "Does Jeffrey have a
mate that he loves?"
"Let's say that he has a lover, not a mate," Kennedy said. "His
name is David, and they are passionately in love. But, David is in his
twenties, and his female organs are incomplete. This led us to suspect
that another characteristic of the Epicene Effect is that only men who
both have fully developed female organs can mate."
All eyes turned to Tom. "Tom, would you allow us to examine you?"
Tom stared at them wide eyed and nodded. A short time later, Kennedy
placed Tom's image on the viewer and they observed a perfectly formed
set of female sex organs.
"Toby can mate with me?" he asked excitedly. Kennedy nodded.
"Just think Babe, we can both have kids!" His enthusiasm waned quickly.
"But, when we were mating, why didn't my abdomen open like Toby's?"
Kennedy scratched his head. "I'm pleased that it didn't. It would
have made mating very awkward if both of you had been in female phase
at the same time." They had a good laugh at the mental picture of that
scene.
Nick added, "Tom, which one of you goes into female phase will
depend on the emotions floating around at the moment while you're
making love. The shift from male to female has to be from a mental
cause, not a physical one." He paused for effect. "As Doc Kennedy said,
the word epicene describes both the physical and mental characteristics
of a being. So, don't worry about who's going to do what to whom. Also,
you still have body hair, so the hormones you were taking haven't
entirely worn off yet. When they do, then Toby can mate with you."
While Tom and Toby were digesting this information, Kennedy got
to his feet. "That's enough for today lads." The twinkle in his eye
flashed with humor. "Any more and your brains will go on overload."
Nick piped up, "Hey guys, let's go down to the store and buy your
new clothes."
As they made their way to the clothing emporium, Nick said, "Doc
and I gave you a lot to think about this morning. If you have any
questions or comments about anything we said, don't hold them back."
Tom smiled with love at Toby, then said thoughtfully,
"Considering we just found out we're both male and female, we should be
feeling like freaks of nature, but we don't. We feel perfectly natural.
Is that part of the instinct of being Epicene?"
Yes," Nick answered. "It's the same instinct that tells you who
to mate with."
Toby mused, "I wonder if Jeffrey is ever sad because he can't
mate when he knows he's capable of it?"
"Good question," Nick responded. "He undoubtedly has the instinct
to mate, but his love for David is great enough to overcome it. And,
it's important for us to study that part of the epicene mental and
emotional makeup. Right now we believe that mating has to be based on
love, or at least some sort of commitment between the mates. That's why
Father Benton put you two together."
Tom sneaked a kiss from Toby. "I'm glad he did."