WACO’S LUMMOX
Waddie
Greywolf
Chapter 75
"Now the great Bear and Pleiades, where earth moves, are
drawing up the clouds of human grief breathing solemnity in
the deep night. Who can decipher in storm or starlight the
written character of a friendly fate...as the sky turns, the
world for us to change? But if the horoscope's bewildering,
like a flashing turmoil of a shoal of herring, who can turn
skies back and begin again?" ~ The wise old owl aria,
from the opera “Peter Grimes.” Music by Benjamin Britten:
Libretto by Montagu Slater
Waco and Buskin developed a habit while in college. They had Ms.
Myra pick them up to get home to the ranch as quickly as possible.
When they were ready for a break from school, they didn’t want to
have to wait for a long ride to get home, but when it came time to
return, they always took the train. It gave them a chance to
discuss their time together to sort out their feelings and
thoughts about things, and to plan their next semester.
Buskin used the ranch as a base to travel to and from the boy’s
ranch when he wanted to visit. Most times Waco and several of his
brothers, pups, and Ox would go with him, and they would have a
great time. Sometimes they would take Ox and Droon with them.
Buskin was seeing a lot of Droon when the men returned to the
ranches. He began to talk openly with Waco about his relationship
with Droon. As the train rumbled on Buskin brought up the subject.
“You never ask about my relationship with Droon,” he said.
“Don’t have to, I know about it,” Waco replied and grinned.
“I don’t understand. You mean because of your relationship with
Ox?” Buskin asked.
“Exactly. I’m in the same boat, Bubba. I was bonded to my big
lummox when I’s jes’ a kid, younger'n you. Hell I was only twelve
years old and just learned ma' cock could be used for some'um
more'n pissing. I ain’t never shared it with you, but Ox, or
Garron as I call him from time to time, took on two other bonded
male human mates before me. He outlived both of them. My uncle
Bron is his human son by his cowboy mate by the name of Bronc. He
has two lummox daughters by his human male mate, but they’re mated
with male lummox and live in the far north. Ox is over three
hundred years old. I didn’t choose him. He chose me, and I
couldn’t be happier about it, then or now. He will always be my
first mate. Trey knows it, but he ain’t worried as long as Ox and
I give him the son’s he wants, and we will. Besides, I do my best
to keep my warrior happy and satisfied. Trey is my main sexual
partner, jes’ like my dad is becoming your main sexual dad.”
“Have you and Ox ever...?” Buskin asked.
“Of course we have. Lots of times. Until I came of age he just
sucked me off. I was too small for him to penetrate. He still
ain’t fucked me, but I’ve sucked him off and fucked him a number
of times. We’ll be git’n around to him fuck’n me pert-damn quick.
I ain’t done it before, because I ain’t never wanted to git
pregnant. I ain't ready yet. I know once I git that monster way up
inside me, I won’t wanna’ stop until he impregnates me. He and I
done talked, and we decided to have a son for Trey first, then a
bairn for him.
“What does lummox come taste like?” Buskin asked.
“Better’n human’s or Visallian’s. Visallian’s is better’n human’s.
Lummoxs' is similar to their milk. It’s sweet with a slight salty
taste to it, like someone added too much salt to the ice cream,”
Waco replied, “You thinking on pleasuring yore’ big beast to bring
him a little comfort, Cowboy?” Waco asked and smiled.
“Yeah, I thought I might like to try. He keeps insisting he’s
gonna’ be my husband,” Buskin said.
“He will be, Star Dancer. Count on it. It was set up when you’s a
kid. When he took you home to meet his parents, and you drank his
daddy’s milk, you became his. Ain’t a damn thing you can do about
it. Ain’t nowhere's in the universe you can run to git away from
that big beast’s love. You’ll finally come to the conclusion you
don’t wanna’ run no ways. You won’t never find a love that strong
or true anywhere you look. Lummox love for a male human is like a
big black hole, once you’s caught in the event horizon there ain't
no life line strong enough to pull you out of the vortex. You
might as well jes’ give up, sit back, relax, enjoy the ride, and
resign yore’self to the idea you’re gonna’ have an eight foot
tall, three to five hundred pound giant fur-ball for a husband.
Look on the bright side. Long, cold winter nights you won’t never
be cold. Sleeping in a lummox’s arms is like sleeping next to a
warm cozy fireplace. They can sense and adjust their body heat for
your optimum comfort.”
Waco laughed, then continued, “We wondered why a lummox like Droon
would be so interested in living among us and finding a male human
mate. We didn’t know about you at the time. Now we do. I was
worried about ma’ dad. I was planning on having him another son or
maybe a daughter, but h’it ain’t real clear how the close genetics
might work between a biological father and son. With you, he can
have two or three sons or daughters by you and Droon what will be
almost be exact copies of him if he’s the sperm donor. I plan to
give him a couple of grand kids from me. Son’s from Trey or bairns
from Ox will also be his grand kids, but they won’t have as strong
a genetic relationship with him. ‘At won’t make my dad no never
mind. He loves kids. The strongest genetic relationship would be
if I donate sperm to you and Droon, or he becomes the direct sperm
donor. We both can give him grandchildren,” Waco explained.
“Wouldn’t a lummox hurt me?" Buskin asked.
“Do I hurt you? Has dad ever hurt you?” Waco asked.
“Lord, no, but lummox are so much larger,” Buskin replied.
“Ain’t much larger than a Visallian, and I do all right satisfying
my mate. At least he tells me so,” Waco said and grinned, "To hear
Ms. Myra tell it, my ass has become a revolving door for Trey’s
big horse cock. She’s crude, but she’s accurate,” he laughed, “You
should talk with Warren Steele. He’s probably the most vocal and
descriptive of what sex is like with his lummox husband.”
“Do they have sex a lot?” Buskin asked.
Waco burst out laughing. “Are you kidding?” Waco exclaimed,
slapped his knees, and laughed again, “Warren cain’t git enough of
Horse. They fuck once a day and three times on Sunday. They’s
planning on having a son for Jack Hall and his mate Buck this next
fall. You should a’ seen Warren pregnant with their bairn Colt.
Colt was a large bairn and Warren swelled up like a dang beach
ball. He didn’t have no problem when the time came, and the hairy
little fucker slid right out. There’s videos of it if you care to
watch sometime. There’s instructional videos Commander Fielding
and Captain Trong made for several of their impregnation and
births. They’re very informative and sexy as Hell,” Waco replied.
“I just feel like I should be doing something to reciprocate with
Droon when he pleasures me,” Buskin said.
“Well, you see, that’s you first mistake. You shouldn’t feel that
way. He takes care of you because he loves you and wants to
pleasure you to bring you some comfort. He don’t expect nothing in
return, or at least until you’re absolutely positively sure you’re
ready to commit yourself to pleasuring him. He will wait for as
long as it takes. Ox waited for me for years. Then again, for a
species what lives hundreds of years, ten years ain’t so much.
Take my word for it, Droon will wait patiently, but he won’t never
stop loving you.
“In the meantime, make sweet love to him, stroke him, pet him like
you would any animal you love and tell him what a good lummox he
is for wanting to please you and how very much you appreciate his
love and attention. They eat it up. It may come as no surprise,
most animals, even humans respond to a few words of honest
appreciation and affection now and then. The human touch is the
greatest source of communion we have with each other and critters.
It transcends words. Without the perversion of religion, the
laying on of hands is a great source of healing. You think you’re
ready for the next step with yore’ big lummox?” Waco asked.
“I’m git’n close to being ready. I really love him, Waco,” Buskin
said.
“I know you do. I seen the way you look at him sometimes like
you’re thinking about how great it might be to have his babies,”
Waco replied and grinned mischievously.
“I cain’t hide nothing from you,” Buskin said and gently frogged
his arm
“Ouch, Little Brother, that smarts,” Waco replied feigning hurt,
“Would you wanna’ hide anything from me?” Waco asked.
“No, of course not. You’re ma’ brother," Buskin replied, "I love
you. I can talk with you about anything,” he said, “Ain’t never
had me nobody I’s so close to than you, Dad Charlie, and Droon;
oh, yes, and ma’ little brother, Kevin.”
* * * * * * *
The mysterious explosion of a snake’s ship on the dark side of the
Moon was more successful than Lazarus originally thought it might
be. It took the Snakes and Grays considerably longer than a year
to get things back in order to continue their rape and pillage of
Earth. Lazarus admitted to Charlie he should have known better.
The aliens were similar to hive critters and ants in particular.
Even though they’d suffered a major setback, it was only a matter
of time before they would be back in the swing of things, but
there was no rush. Earth wasn’t going to escape from its orbit and
the inhabitants were trapped on the planet. They weren’t going
anywhere. Little by little the aliens cleared and rebuilt, but it
took them almost two full years to do it. It gave Waco and Buskin
two years of school before the increased threat of the aliens
began to be a major concern again.
Scudder figured correctly they were back in full operation when
the aliens restated their demands on the governments of Earth for
almost double their previous quotas and began to indiscriminately
take whomever and whatever they chose. Scudder was at his wits
end. Trying to keep things secret from the public and hiding the
truth about what was really going on was like trying to put out
hot spots in forest fires. He realized the time was fast
approaching when he would have to be honest with the public. He
feared the worst. He requested another meeting with Jesse Watkins.
Jesse and Utah arrived in their usual manner. They were surprised
to find Scudder gained weight.
“It ain’t a weight gain. I’m pregnant again. It jes’ happened.
Brett was using condoms, but I didn’t like it. It felt weird, like
he was wearing a damn Sou’wester. He stopped at my insistence and
nature took its course. The damn rabbit done crawled up my cunt
and died, but that ain’t the worst part. The bad news is the
zygote split, and I’m carrying identical twin boys. I got mixed
feelings about it, but I figure I got time to grunt ‘em out
depending on what we decide. I remember the pain from Brett Junior
and now I got double the pleasure to look forward to. Won't that
be fun? I swear I’m gonna’ change my name to Eppee Durral, but
that ain’t the reason I asked you here. I wouldn’t bother you with
my pregnancy. I cranked out one, I can do two more," Scudder said.
“What do you have in mind, Norman?” Jesse asked.
“We got damn near three years reductions in abductions and
activity with them bastards. I don’t know what happened, and I
don’t wanna’ know. I suspect you people had something to do with
it, but I don’t want it confirmed. The less I know the more
truthful I can be when I deny any knowledge. Anything I say
becomes acceptable as plausible deniability. We spoke before about
the possibility of a joint mission to create a similar effect on
their base we called project Trojan Horse. I wanna’ discuss a plan
with you to give them an ultimatum. This ain’t only my idea, it
comes from a couple of years of military men chewing on it. As you
know, we got one snake ship which can make the flight and we got
two Air Force men with high security clearances who can fly it. I
just hate to lose one of them ships.”
“Maybe we can sweeten the deal, Norman, for some additional
agreements on your part,” Jesse threw open for discussion.
“What kind of agreements?” he asked.
“You stop all investigations into American political affiliations
and allow unlimited access to the 'free-net' where you’ve managed
to block it. Also you make a statement to the American people
about what’s been going on, and what they might be facing in the
future. Before you say ‘no’ consider you may not have any
political platform to protect very soon. The people ain’t as dumb
as you might think, and they deserve to know. You need all the
help you can get from both sides. It could be the turning point in
uniting the American people and the rest of the world in a
resistance. Don’t let some other leader beat you to the punch. It
could be your moment of greatness, Norman," Jesse said.
“What have you got to offer in return?” Scudder asked.
“A brand new, never crashed, Snake-ship. Yours for the asking. You
agree to stop all censorship by Friday, and we’ll deliver the ship
to Area 51 the day after. After we deliver the Trojan Horse, wait
to see what reaction the aliens have. If none, two weeks later you
make an address to the nation and tell them everything. We’ll
coordinate with Austin and help him with the speech. We insist on
having some input. However, if you renege or try any funny
business, we’ll take the alien ship back so fast you’re people
won’t have time to look it over,” Jesse warned.
“A new ship, you say?” Scudder asked, “Never crashed?”
“In cherry condition, with all the bells and whistles – soft
Corinthian leather seats and factory air,” Jesse said using cowboy
hyperbole and winked at Scudder, “Everything works,” he added.
“You’re right, that would sweeten the deal considerably. How long
I got to think about it?" Scudder asked.
“Starting now, five minutes,” Jesse said.
“Done! I’ll have Austin order all free-net blocks taken down by
this evening. That’s two days earlier than Friday. Can I tell Area
51 to expect the ship Saturday?" Scudder asked.
“You may. Tell your lady Colonel in charge we don’t want no
problems from her, and we won't stand for any foolishness!” Jesse
emphasized.
“I’ll put Austin in charge temporarily to make sure. Where will
you deliver it?” Scudder asked.
“We can put it anywhere. Thirty stories under in your underground
hangar bay if you want. Or we can park it outside, and your people
can do as they like with it. Outside we run the risk of it being
seen from above,” Jesse said.
“Have them put it just inside the ground level hangar bay. We’ll
have it open so you won’t be confused. Austin will be there to
direct you,” Scudder said.
“When do you wanna’ make the bomb run on the Moon?” Jesse asked.
“The following Thursday the end of May would be good for us. You
sure you can extract my men before the damn thing goes off?”
Scudder asked.
“Absolutely,” Jesse said with confidence, “You remember our
agreement? We reserved the right to inspect the ship and the bomb
to make sure it ain’t no bigger than fifty megaton.”
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll meet with them slimy bastards tomorrow and
tell them if they don’t back down we’re ready to launch a major
attack against them.” Scudder leaned back in his chair. His
pregnancy really showed.
“You think that’s wise, Norman? Have you considered the importance
and advantage of the element of surprise; just doing it and
catching them with their pants down? Remember Pearl Harbor? Why
threaten them? Why stir them up? It will only serve to warn them.
Forewarned is to be forearmed. Why implicate yourself beforehand?
Surprise is to your advantage as the underdog. Remember the name?
Project Trojan Horse? It sort of says it all, Norman. They may not
believe you have the capability, but they’ll certainly be on guard
if you warn them. They'll take precautions. You know you’ll be the
first they come to after the explosion if you warn them. With no
warning, if they come to you and accuse you, become very
indignant, and lie like a railroad track.
"You know how little faith I have in you, but I’m fully confident
in your ability to lie to them snakes. If they simply inquire as
to your knowledge about the destruction of their base, tell them
your astronomers were tracking a rogue asteroid which seemed to be
on a collision course with the Moon, but they couldn’t be sure;
you didn’t bother to warn them, because you just assumed since
they’re so much more advanced, they could easily detect a huge
rock approaching the Moon from deep space; other than a bright
flash of light your astronomers recorded, you don’t know nothing.
Let them form their own conclusions. Don’t give them anything. You
may save your people and us a lot of unpleasantness and buy us
more time,” Jesse said.
“Makes sense to me. More sense that them damn saber rattling
military hawks I got for advisers. They’re used to bullying their
way through everything. Them son’s a’ bitches love themselves some
nukes. As you suggest, this may be a time to use a little common
sense and a lot more finesse. You wanna’ come work for me, Jesse?”
Scudder asked and laughed.
“Seems like I already work for you, Norman,” Jesse replied and
smiled. “By the way, there’s no extra charge for the advice. I'll
even throw in a free cigarette lighter for the dashboard,” he
added and grinned.
“All right. Late Thursday afternoon a sneak attack just like the
Japs did on Pearl Harbor. Damn near wiped out the seventh fleet.
Took our country a couple of years to get back into the swing of
things. Hopefully, it will bring them to their knees for a couple
more years,” Scudder said.
“Okay, we’ll coordinate with your people Saturday when we deliver
the snake ship,” Jesse said.
There wasn’t a lot more to talk about so Jesse and Utah said their
goodbyes and disappeared. The free-net was all a gaggle when it
was suddenly available to everyone. Certain areas of the country
hadn’t been able to get free-net for a number of years. They were
suddenly opened and fully functional. There was a wave of pro-left
stimulus and people were getting the news out about the aliens and
what the government was doing to cover up the situation. They even
told how horrible the baby genius program was and what happened to
thousands of babies the government bought from unsuspecting
parents. It caused riots in several major cities from the right
wing as well as the left. It suddenly became difficult to tell who
was for whom, for what, or why. It was just the way the Grange
wanted it. Confusion was their greatest cover. It left them free
to make some outrageous land grabs and rescue far more folks than
originally planned. Naturally, they blamed it on the aliens.
Jesse wanted to wait until after Scudder delivered his speech to
the nation to deliver the alien spacecraft to Area 51, but Lazarus
wanted to get rid of it. He reasoned it had been on the Gopher Bay
long enough. Lazarus felt it was bad karma to leave it there with
all the missions Monty and his crew were conducting. After all,
the Grange could reclaim it at any time should Scudder betray
them. Jesse saw his point and agreed.
Montana Dundee and his crew, along with the Admiral and Captain
Vinceeth delivered the snake ship to Area 51 with no hassle.
Austin Taycious was there to take delivery and said he would be
there the following Thursday to see the Trojan Horse off. They
were welcome to inspect before the ship took off or inspect it in
flight. They opted to check it before it left for its run. Lazarus
didn’t go with them the following Thursday. He knew Captain
Montana, Rocky, Ben and certainly Trey knew enough to recognize
the bomb and its size. Everything seemed in order, they took blood
samples from the two Air Force pilots to have their DNA on file to
beam them out of the alien ship, and they started their run to the
Moon.
On the way, Monty dropped off Trey Vinceeth back at the
Bandersnatch. He and several of his crew planned to be on call to
fly one of the scout ships if there was an emergency. Monty was
down to a skeleton crew. His number one, JG Maxine Potter, Rocky,
Ben, Dexter, Cody and Pearl. Much to their dismay, Monty left
Oblio and Bobby behind. The run went as planned, but there was
something about the two Air Force pilots Maxine didn’t trust. She
warned her captain about her feelings. Monty worked with Maxine
close enough to know she was rarely wrong about her hunches. He
trusted her completely. When it came time to beam the two gung-ho
pilots out, Maxine instructed Cecil to beam them to the bridge
without clothes. They were butt naked when they arrive. Maxine
told Cecil to back off from the Moon six hundred miles before the
bomb went off. Even at that distance it lit up the sky like a
small supernova and there was almost total destruction on the
surface of the Moon. Everything was vaporized. The two pilots
looked around and down at their nakedness and tried their best to
cover themselves. “What is this? Why are we naked?” they asked.
“You were carrying sidearms. That wasn’t in our agreement. We just
made sure you wouldn’t try anything stupid. Besides, you’re
perfectly safe with us. You have no need for weapons or clothes on
board our ship,” Maxine said to them.
“What’s this? A talking dog flying a space ship? That’s crazy!
C’moan, Don, we’re taking over this ship right now. You two clowns
step aside, us military men will commandeer this baby and fly it
back to Earth,” the older pilot ordered. He took a step toward
Monty, but the younger officer hesitated and held back.
“Oh, pu-leeease!” Maxine said in a bored tone, “Too bad your
penises are bigger than your brains. Cecil, plan B,” she said and
the two air jockeys disappeared and reappeared in the brig. Maxine
spoke to them over the intercom, “Comfy, Gentlemen? Welcome to the
brig on the Gopher Bay. Nice, ain’t it? I decorated it myself,”
she said with considerable sarcasm, “Make yore’selves to home,
Amateurs. Tea will be served presently. I’m sorry, but there won’t
be an in-flight movie shown today. You have just been bumped from
first class to cattle car,” Maxine laughed, “Because of your very
regrettable actions trying to commandeer this vessel, as first
officer of this ship, I’m placing you under arrest. According to
maritime law, you are hereby charged with an act of mutiny,
sedition, and/or piracy. You will be held and tried by a military
tribunal of our fleet. I deeply regret I can’t charge you with
bone crunching ignorance or jaw dropping stupidity as guilty as
you are of both, unfortunately, they ain’t a crime,” Maxine said.
“First officer of this ship?” the older pilot asked and sneered,
“You gotta’ be kidding me. You ain’t nothing but a dog. You have
no jurisdiction over us. We demand to be returned to our
government immediately,” he tried to sound like a bad-ass
authority figure who better be taken seriously.
“Yeah, like that’s gonna’ happen, you stupid ass-hat,” Maxine
declared and laughed, “Threaten me and my Captain, will you? Not
on my watch, Junior Bird-man. Why, I’ve flown rings around them
steam-punk John Deere sky-tractors you morons are so proud of, and
left you in the dust to eat my K-9 vapor trail wondering what the
Hell was that?” She did a nasty raspberry with her tongue which
conveyed her disgust more than words. Monty never said a word. He
let his number one take care of the pilots. Maxine was doing a
bang-up job as far as he was concerned.
After her juicy raspberry he broke up laughing and couldn’t stop.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you, Number One?” Monty
managed to ask with a straight face.
“Yes, twice this morning and once after lunch,” she replied and
wiggled in her seat.
“Well, make it one more for the road, Little Sister. Ya’ done
good,” Monty said, reached over and patted her, “You, too, Cecil,”
he added.
“Thank’s, Captain Montana,” Cecil replied.
They looked at the devastation the bomb made on their way back to
Earth. They took pictures. There was nothing left. It was total
destruction and the surface was still glowing red hot. There was
flotsam and jetsam from burning and destroyed ships floating in
space from as much as a couple hundred miles away from the flash
point. The concussion and bits of other ships and rocks thrown up
from the surface of the Moon struck and destroyed most of the
other ships. The very few which didn’t suffer destruction were in
such bad repair they either crashed onto the surface of the Moon
or were burned up on entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Only a couple of ships survived, but they were knocked unconscious
and had no idea what happened. Jesse’s suggestion of a Trojan
Horse was more successful than anyone could imagine. Monty guessed
right, the part of the Moon which suffered the brunt of the
explosion would remain radioactive for years. A new, enormous
crater was formed from the blast, and it looked exactly like a
meteor crater. Rebuilding would be almost impossible. Monty and
his crew returned to the Bandersnatch and left the naked pilots in
the brig. They were met by the Admiral and his staff including
Captain Vinceeth. Monty let Maxine relate what happened, and they
laughed at her enthusiasm. Lazarus had Jesse get in touch with
Scudder. Jesse and Utah made an unscheduled appearance.
Scudder’s eyes got real big. “Oh, my God! What went wrong?”
Scudder asked like he knew they wouldn’t just show up unless it
was something important.
“You’re pilots tried to commandeer and hijack our ship what beamed
them out,” Jesse said without nuance.
“You’re shit’n me!” Scudder exclaimed loudly, “Son of a fuck’n
bitch!” he exclaimed and stomped around the room nervously, “They
weren’t suppose to do that. They had no such orders from me. Look,
Jesse, you gotta’ believe me on this. I been up-front with you all
the way. I’ll get to the bottom of these shenanigans if it’s the
last damn thing I do, but me and Austin had nothing to do with it,
I promise you.”
“What do you want us to do with them?” Jesse asked to see what
Scudder’s reaction might be.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what chu’ do with ‘em! Make ‘em walk
the damn plank in deep space. Do whatever you want with them. I
certainly don’t want ‘em back. They can’t be trusted to carry out
orders according to my wishes, whatever you decide to do with them
is fine with me. They’ve put me in one Hell of an awkward
position. Now I have to do everything in my power to convince you
we had nothing to do with it. Austin is still at Area 51. I’ll
have him investigate. If anyone can get to the bottom of this he
can. Check back with me in a couple of hours. I’m so damn sorry,
Jesse,” Scudder said with obvious concern. Jesse and Utah were
convinced he didn’t know anything about the hijacking attempt.
The two brawny pilots weren’t going to cooperate and were ready to
fight Rocky and Ben when they walked into their holding cell to
handcuff them. The younger one took a huge swing at Rocky and
connected with his right jaw. Rocky didn’t even flinch, but he
heard the man’s knuckles crack when they came in contact with his
metal superstructure. "Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed and held his
broken hand in his other.
“Hands behind your back, sir, or I will be forced to take you
down,” Rocky ordered. The older pilot didn’t try anything. He was
smarter, and cooperated. The two big bio-droids frog marched the
two naked pilots into an interrogation room. They sat them down in
two straight back chairs.
“I recognize you cowboys. You’re Ben Johnson and I remember you
from watching old cowboy movies with my Great-Granddad. You’re
Rocky Allan Lane,” the older pilot said. “What’s going on here?
You men would have to be in your nineties or older. You don’t look
a day over thirty-five or forty,” the younger pilot said.
“At least one of them ain’t dumb,” Rocky said and smiled at Ben,
“You’re right. I’m Rocky Lane, and he’s Ben Johnson. You don’t
need to know more right now. You’re our prisoners,” Rocky said.
“Can we have some clothes?” the older one asked.
“No, you won’t be wearing clothes for sometime depending on the
outcome of your trial. Ain’t no doubt about it, you fly-boys are
in deep doo-doo. You will probably be found guilty of maritime
piracy, mutiny, sedition, and sentenced to hang. If you cooperate,
if you’re very good little boys, throw yourselves on the mercy of
the court, it might save your lives; however, you’ll still be
looking at a lifetime of slavery. Either one a’ you boys ever been
butt fucked?” Ben Johnson asked in his best wry cowboy accent.
“No, of course not. We ain’t no queers. We’re family men,” the
youngest said.
“You’ll git used to it. I hear’d tell, the first few times it
hurts like a mother-fucker. After you become some master’s bitch,
he uses yore’ asshole as his come-bucket a couple of times a day,
week after week, month after month, your ass will stretch, and
you’ll git to where you enjoy it. They all do. I’m sure you boy’s
heard the old saying, ‘A well fucked slave is a happy slave,' and
believe you me, the slaves on the ranches we come from got big-old
smiles on their faces,” Ben said in his best cowboy drawl.
“I’d rather hang,” said the younger one bravely.
“Careful, Son, you jes’ may git chore’ wish,” Rocky said, “In the
meantime we need you to answer some questions for us,” he added.
“We ain’t answering no questions. We ain’t tell’n you jack-shit,
Cowboy,” the younger one told him. The older one wasn’t saying
much.
“Let’s start with your name, rank, and serial numbers,” Rocky
said.
“Captain Donald J. Bennington, U.S. Air Force, serial number
496-38-6497,” replied the younger man.
“Major Buck E. Bryant, U.S. Air Force, serial number 368-99-9898."
“Who gave you the order to hijack our vessel?” Ben asked.
“Nobody, it was a spur of the moment impulse thing. We saw a young
cowboy and his dog flying the ship. We figured it would be easy
enough to overpower them and take control. We saw it could be ours
for the taking for our country and our Holy Prophet,” Major Bryant
said.
“We don’t believe you. You were carrying sidearms. Why would you
need sidearms just to deliver a bomb?” Rocky asked.
“We carry them with us all the time. They’re part of our uniforms.
We told you the truth. That’s all you’ll get from us,” Buck Bryant
said.
“I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it, Fly-boy,” Rocky said and smiled.
Ben opened the door and in walked the most beautiful animal either
man ever saw. She was small, about a third the size of a man, but
looked like a lemur or a gibbon ape with wonderful colors. Disney
couldn’t have done justice to her. Pixar? Maybe. “This here little
lady is named ‘Ping,’ Gentlemen. She has some very special
talents. She can produce pheromones which will make you tell the
truth. You won’t be able to lie to any question we ask. They’re
all yours, Pretty Lady,” Ben told her. She smiled. Ben and Rocky
didn’t have to leave the room. Bio-droids weren’t affected by her
scents. She turned her rear toward the men and let out a small
squirt of a special truth fragrance. They tried to hold their
breath, but they couldn’t, and breathed in the pheromone. Don
thought the fragrance was slightly like Frangipani he remembered
from his time in Hawaii. Ping nodded to Rocky and Ben, smiled,
bowed deeply, and left the room.
“Now lets try again. Don, have you ever been butt fucked?” Ben
asked.
“Yeah, lots of times,” he said, shook his head and gnashed his
teeth at his answer. He didn’t want to tell these cowboys the
truth. To him they represented the ultimate in hyper-masculinity.
They made him feel like a little boy. Every muscle in his body
fought against it.
“By whom?” Ben asked.
“My older brother when I’s a kid,” Don said, as he rocked back and
forth, trying not to tell the truth, “He broke me in. Told me it
was what brothers did for each other; only, he never let me fuck
him, or he never sucked me off. My daddy caught him fuck’n me and
raised all kinds of Hell. He beat us up pretty bad. Our mom died,
and then dad started fuck’n me when I’s a teenager. He’d fuck me a
couple times a week and on weekends when he’d come home drunk. He
fucked me until I left and went to the Air Force academy. He
fucked me when I came home on leave. My partner Buck here’s fucked
me so many times I lost count,” Don said. Sweat was beading on his
forehead.
“You like it when Buck fucks you, Don?” Rocky asked without
nuance.
“Oh, yeah, he fucks me real good. He's got a big cock. He should
a' been a horse. He really turns me on. I can come while he’s
fucking me. He’s older like my daddy was, and he fucks me jes’
like my old man did, except he makes love to me before and
afterward. My dad never made love to me. He said it was queer to
make love to a man,” sweat was pouring off the younger man.
“And you, Buck, have you ever been fucked in the butt?” Ben
drawled.
“A couple of times, but I didn’t like it,” he replied. Unlike his
younger buddy Don, Buck didn’t seem to be having a problem
answering the cowboy’s questions. He didn’t try to fight against
Ping’s eau-de-veritas.
“Who fucked you?” Ben asked.
“Three senior officers. They told me if I wanted to advance in
rank I had to put out for them. I had to get fucked several times
for my promotion. They passed me around and held private parties
where they gang fucked me. There wasn’t anything I could do about
it. They held my fate in their hands. If I didn’t play ball my
career would’ve been over. I did it to get ahead, but I don’t like
to get fucked. I’m a man. I do the fucking,” Buck Bryant said.
“You don’t consider Don a man?” Rocky asked.
“Of course, he’s a fine man. Don’s my buddy. I love him like a
brother or the son I never had. He jes’ loves to take it up the
ass. I love giving him what he needs and taking what I need. We do
it a lot, but we don’t talk about it much,” the Major said.
“You ever make him suck you off, Buck?” Ben asked.
“I don’t make him do nothing. I never forced myself on Don like my
superiors done to me. It ain’t like that between him and me. When
he wants it or needs it and asks me real nice, we get together,
and I give him some. He’s a fine cocksucker. He’s a lot better’n
ma’ wife. She can’t suck dick worth a damn. He’s a better fuck,
too,” Buck volunteered.
“Okay, that’s enough for that line of questioning. Now, Buck, who
put you up to that little stunt of trying to hijack our
spacecraft?” Ben asked.
“Our commanding officer at Area 51. That stupid bitch Colonel
Eugenia Crookshank. It was her idea. She thought if we
commandeered your ship, it would make her look good, and she would
have a solid in with Austin Taycious and the Holy Father. She’s a
conniving, power hungry dyke. She’d order us to cut our balls off
jes’ so’s she could wear ‘em around her neck to make her look
good,” Buck replied.
“Did she get the orders from higher up?” Ben asked
“No, they didn’t know nothing about it. It was all her crazy idea,
but we had to carry out her stupid, fricking orders. Don didn't
like the idea from the beginning. He begged me not to. I should a’
listened to him. After all, you guys were the ones rescuing us. We
were suppose to be in the mission together as allies. It was my
idea to follow her orders, not Don's. It was my fault; my
decision. I was the superior officer. I told him he had to follow
my orders. Let him go," Major Bryant pleaded.
“Do you agree with what Buck just told us, Don?” Ben asked.
"Yeah, he’s telling the truth. The pup was right. We always carry
weapons on a missions, and we were prepared to use them. I didn't
wanna' do it. I told him we should ignore Crookshank's order. I
was gonna' try'n talk some reason to Buck – try'n stop him – but
before I got a chance to say or do anything we were beamed to the
brig. I knew when they beamed us aboard without clothes and our
guns they were on to us. Taycious and Scudder didn’t have any idea
what Crookshank was up to. Wish ‘ta god they did. They would have
set her straight, put the fear of god in her, and we wouldn’t be
in this mess right now,” Don said.
The interview with the two Air Force Pilots were videoed, but the
sexual parts were edited out of the copy given to Scudder. Only
the part of them telling where their orders came from was used in
the trial against them and Jesse gave Taycious and Scudder a DVD
copy of their abbreviated confession. The female colonel was the
same hard-nosed woman who refused to cooperate with Jesse. Austin
Taycious ordered her interrogated and videoed the whole thing. At
first, she denied everything and claimed the pilots were lying.
Upon further investigation, Austin found several of her staff who
secretly hated her were willing to sign affidavits they witnessed
her give the pilots the order to commandeer their ally’s
spaceship. They were angry she was willing to throw two fine
career military officers under the bus to save her own worthless
hide. When presented with the evidence against her, she broke down
in tears and admitted she gave the order. Scudder was so enraged
he ordered her to be sent directly to one of the worst Cheney
camps in the country without a trial. He made sure Jesse got a DVD
of her confession and copies of the witnesses affidavits.
Scudder apologized profusely to Jesse and Utah but again told him
to deal with the officers anyway they wanted. He didn’t want them
back. It was not what he or Austin ordered them to do. If they
chose to follow other orders it was their responsibility and not
his. Let them face what fate they made for themselves. A quick
trial was held and Judge Potter represented them. He stressed to
the men they were alone in the boat. Their president and
government didn’t want them back. They chose to obey a renegade
order without questioning it, and now, they were up the creek in a
boat with no oars. He told them they were looking at being hung
for attempted piracy or mutiny. He strongly suggested they throw
themselves on the mercy of the court which they agreed to do. The
court took into consideration the senior officer’s comments his
younger buddy tried to talk him out of following the colonel’s
order and didn’t respond when ordered to forcibly overcome the
captain and his first mate to take over the Gopher Bay. Robo-cam
videos confirmed the evidence. Buck, the older of the two was
sentenced to ten years of slavery with five year probation, but
his younger buddy, Don, was sentenced to five years as a slave
with three years probation.
They were devastated, but when sentenced, they were made to
understand it was because of their decision to follow bad orders.
Far too often, high ranking military officers were never held
accountable for their mistakes. They found out the hard way, it
was different when they were dealing with the Grange. The members
of the Grange and the court who tried them didn’t care about the
men’s rank or what country they represented. They would be held
accountable for their actions. No one felt sorry for them. They
stood before the court naked and remained so for the first three
weeks of their initial break-in period as baby slaves on Angus
Goodnight’s ranch. The younger officer was like Monty in a way. He
took to being a slave easily enough. He didn't have to be ashamed
of his sexuality anymore. He fell in love with Angus Goodnight and
his foreman. It took his older buddy longer, and it was
considerably harder on him, but when he was finally broken, he
became one of Angus and Jimmy Joe’s favorite fucks to share.
Don looked forward to his partner Buck being called to be Master
Angus and his ramrod's sexual slave-toy for an afternoon. Buck
would return and try to reassert his false sense of masculinity by
dominating Don and fucking the b’jebus out of him. Don loved those
days. He was always clean and ready for his partner on his return.
Don would sympathize with his buddy and do his best to console and
comfort him. He never failed to offer his ass to Buck to help him
feel better about himself. Don said many prayers of thanks for
Angus and Jimmy Joe as his partner deeply plowed his red Earth.
Don became one of Angus and Jimmy Joe’s most trusted and faithful
slaves. He saw them as directly responsible for his happiness and
contentment.
* * * * * * *
The bombing of the Moon was a surprise in many ways. Scudder and
the Grange thought there would be an immediate reprisal or
counterattack, but it didn’t happen. As sophisticated and
invincible as the grays and snakes tried to impress the ignorant
natives they were, in many ways they were hopelessly naive. They
simply couldn’t figure out what happened and who or what was
responsible. Scudder said a thousand prayers of thanks for Jesse’s
sage advice about not saying anything to them and using the
element of surprise as a weapon. He was even more grateful to
Austin who urged him to do as Jesse suggested, and to himself, for
having the good sense to listen. Austin strongly supported Jesse’s
idea, Scudder should deny any knowledge of the explosion other
than what little he learned from his scientists. If there was even
a slim chance the aliens didn’t know what happened, they couldn’t
place blame on any one nation or government. It was weeks before
the snakes requested a meeting with him and when they did, they
didn’t ask if he knew anything about an attack or explosion on the
Moon.
They acted like to admit a disaster would be admitting defeat, and
they might be giving the natives more information than they wanted
them to know. They didn’t accuse Scudder or any of the other
leaders on Earth. They had no idea the people of Earth managed to
salvage several of their crashed ships and could fly them.
They had such low esteem of their food source, they never
considered they might be bright enough to fly one of their
spaceships. Would a cowboy ever consider a cow might have the
smarts to drive his truck to get away? It was a great surprise to
everyone, because the aliens obviously witnessed man’s early
attempts at spaceflight and shuttle missions. NASA astronauts
reported being observed by alien craft on almost every mission.
They were waiting for our astronauts when they landed on the Moon,
but they never made contact. The aliens never understood about
satellite communications transmissions and thought they were so
much curious junk or failed attempts at space travel the clever
monkeys shot into space; they considered it only so much cow flop
their cattle left in their wake.
* * * * * * * *
The mascot of the Texas Aggies was a beautiful female Collie named
Reveille and called “Miss Rev” by the fish. (Freshmen) Waco and
Buskin decided Miss Rev seemed to have a noble countenance about
her tinged with a bit of sadness. Many considered a Collie an odd
choice for a rough and tumble sport like college football. The
original ‘Reveille’ was a mutt who some thought better symbolized
the student body and team. Because of Waco and Buskin’s abilities
to communicate with animals, Reveille X would seek the cowboy’s
out to spend time with them during their freshman year. At first
it was disconcerting to her handler who was a member of the Mascot
Company E-2, but he soon got used to the idea if she was missing
he knew where to find her. She would be in Waco and Buskin’s room
snoozing while the men poured over their books studying. She
insisted on going home with them to the ranch at the end of their
freshman year, and she fell in love with Utah. He was pretty much
taken with her as well. When the men returned to school for their
sophomore year they were appointed to Company E-2 and Buskin
became her handler.
During her visits to the ranch she developed a taste for
cantaloupe and loved it. She couldn’t get enough. The boys always
made sure they had a plastic container filled with fresh
cantaloupe as a treat for her. They came to refer to “Miss Rev”
affectionately as their Melon-Collie Baby.
Waco and Buskin knew about the sneak attack on the Moon. It was
scheduled for a Thursday evening and just happened to correspond
with the day of their last final exams for the end of their
Sophomore year. The next day Waco and Buskin would be leaving for
the ranch for summer vacation. Charlie and Lazarus offered Buskin
a summer job the end of his first year at A&M he couldn’t
refuse. For work around the ranch or wherever they needed him,
Lazarus agreed to subsidize Buskin for his sophomore year. Lazarus
created a stipend for Buskin as he did for Waco and gave him his
own generous bank account and credit card for his personal needs,
books, and extras he might need.
He worked hard that summer, but also found time to visit and be
with his little brothers. Buskin became devoted to the Grange and
the folks connected to it. He knew the Grange was his own personal
salvation for the future, but he became concerned for his little
brothers. He and Waco always had one of the ranch vehicles
available for them to travel back and forth. Waco still didn’t
want a vehicle of his own. He felt with all the activities he and
Buskin were involved in at school they didn’t have time to be
running around anyway. They were packed and ready to leave the
evening after finals. They would have everything in their dorm
room ready including Miss Reveille and have Ms. Myra beam them up
to the Buttercup.
They planned a get together with their class-men in the Corps and
other non-Corps students who wanted to say goodbye to Miss Rev for
the summer. Waco and Buskin sent e-mails to several of their
favorite science teachers with a special invitation to attend the
informal function. At the bottom of each e-mail the boys added a
secret code he and Buskin developed to communicate something of
importance to professors they felt they could trust. The
invitations were sent to Dr. Dyer, and six of the other
professors. They didn’t know why Waco and Buskin might want them
to say ‘goodbye’ to the school mascot, but when the two most
influential students on campus politely requested their presence,
they were smart enough to read between the lines; especially, with
the code at the bottom. Waco kept looking at his watch as he was
talking with the professors. Buskin was posing Miss Rev for photos
and students were paying their respects.
“What’s going on, Cadet Corporal Goodnight? As much as we love our
school’s mascot, you know we could care less about a ‘goodbye’ get
together. We know Reveille will have the best of care this summer
and have lots of fun with the other dogs on your ranch,” Dr. Dyer
said.
“It’s such a lovely evening, Dr. Dyer, Cadet Corporal Namid and I
thought you four fine gentlemen and two ladies might enjoy taking
the air with us,” he said with a smile while looking at his watch,
“However, if you good folks will turn your attention toward the
full Moon for the next few minutes you will see something you
might find very interesting. We just wanted to make sure you
didn’t miss it. We know how you scientist can be. By the way, you
may want to be seated on the ground if you become overcome you
won’t have far to fall,” he said and grinned. They sat on the new
mown grass and turned their attention to the Moon. Waco quietly
started counting down from twenty. He got to one and nothing
happened.
“Well, I’m impressed,” said one of the professors, a doctor of
comparative anatomy.
“Wait for it! Wait for it!” Waco urged, “Now!” he exclaimed and
the Moon was instantly lit with a huge blinding flash of light
like a halo completely circled it. They watched as the gigantic
ring of the most fantastic white light grew larger and larger
behind the Moon. The light grew so large it cast light onto the
Earth almost bright as day. Everyone was frightened, but the
professors wanted to know what Waco and Buskin knew about what
they just witnessed.
“Haven’t you been following the free-net?” Waco asked them.
“Mr. Goodnight, we can’t afford to lose our jobs. Our yearly
salaries barely cover our living expenses with little frills.
Those of us with larger families have to work a second job. Our
computers at school are checked regularly, not only by the
administration, but by the government as well. They have three
separate kinds of tracking and reporting software installed
without our permission which can’t be deleted. How do you students
get away with it?” One of the two lady teachers asked.
“Special software what can’t be traced by any spy programs. Get a
privately owned laptop to me or Cadet Namid this evening, and we
will install it for you. Then you may have the summer to find out
what’s going on. I promise you won’t be caught or compromised.
That is, if you want to know what it was you just witnessed and
why. Since you will be able to send and receive e-mails without
fear of scrutiny we will keep in touch. We would love to have you
and your families or significant others visit us for a weekend at
our ranch. We have plenty room for everyone,” Waco said.
“I have an extra laptop in my office I only use for lecture notes
and student grade files. Will that work? Will you have to erase my
current files?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“No, it will build around any information. Does it have a laser
down-link receiver diode?” Waco asked.
“Yes, the technology’s current within the last year,” Dyer said.
“Good, we’ll meet you in your office in a hour, sir. You can
download the others from yours. It’s quite simple to do. I’ll
download it into yours and your computer will tell you how to
share it with the others,” Waco said, “There’s one important thing
you must remember. I’ve only approved you six professors to
receive this operating system. It is voice print cued. It will
function as your old system until you speak to it and give it the
proper order to convert. If you try to copy it beyond your
computers or try de-compiling the operating system, it will
literally commit suicide. It will self-destruct. The operating
system is intelligent and by definition has a life of its own, but
it will not hesitate to pull its own plug to protect the core
kernel.”
The other four said their goodbyes and rushed off to get one of
their spare laptops. Dr. Dyer waited for the men to finish.
Several wanted Waco to speak. They were concerned about what they
witnessed. “What you saw was an explosion of some sort on the far
side of he Moon. We can’t be sure of the cause, but my best guess
is we’ll find out a good size asteroid impacted the surface of the
dark side of the Moon. It was probably composed of elements of
phosphorus and rare metals which on impact would cause a great
light to occur. Get on your computers this evening and do some
research. Check NASA and other government sites. Something should
come up soon,” Waco urged them. He and Buskin accompanied
Professor Dyer back to his office.
“You and Buskin are voices of comfort for them. They look up to
you men. You’re natural born leaders, Mr. Goodnight. Why did you
lie to them?” Dr. Dyer asked and grinned.
Buskin laughed. “Doctor Dyer, my brother wouldn’t lie. He’s a
cowboy. That jes’ ain’t the cowboy way, sir. Cowboys don't never
lie,” Buskin replied.
“Forgive me, I meant no offense or disrespect, but I just have a
feeling you men know more than you’re letting on,” Dr. Dyer said.
“It was a joint venture between our government and some friendly
aliens to wipe out the reptilian aliens and their slave race, the
Grays, whose base is on the opposite side of the Moon. It has been
totally destroyed. Nothing is left. You just witnessed a fifty ton
nuclear bomb detonation. It’s the first nuclear bomb to be used in
an act of war since Nagasaki. Only this is a different sort of
war. It’s a war for the survival of our species,” Waco said.
“How do you know this, Cadet Goodnight?” the professor asked
incredulously.
“The same way me and my brother know about Bigfoot,” Waco replied,
“In a week or so watch for our glorious leader to make a world
televised announcement about the alien presence and their threat
to our world.”
“You don’t have a very high esteem for our Holy Father, do you,
Cadet Goodnight?” Dyer asked.
“I have no feeling one way or another, sir. He doesn't concern me
or my brother,” Waco replied.
“You may have to go into his employment when you graduate. You are
in training for the military. You will be expected to serve,” Dr.
Dyer said.
“We might. Then again, we might not,” Waco replied and smiled at
him, “There are bigger things happening, greater concerns than
endless wars in the Middle East. We may be looking at the end of
the world, sir.”
They got to Dr. Dyer’s office. He handed Waco his laptop. Waco
turned it on and spoke, “Kyron?”
“At your service, Captain Waco,” boomed Kyron’s voice. His voice
came from all six robo-cams on Waco and Buskin.
Dr. Dyer lost all color in his face. “What the fuck was that?” the
professor asked.
“Kyron? He’s a good friend of Cadet Corporal Namid’s and myself.
He’s an artificially evolved intelligence. Have you been following
our conversation, Friend?” Waco asked Kyron.
“I have, Captain Waco. You wish me to download Ping 8.3 into Dr.
Dyer’s computer, sir?” Kyron asked.
“I would appreciated it, Kyron,” Waco no sooner got the words out
when a bright green laser came from nowhere and shot right at the
download diode on Dr. Dyer’s computer. It only took about a minute
and the light turned off. “Thank you, Kyron,” Waco said.
“It was nothing, Captain. Looking forward to seeing you soon on
the ranch. Utah sends his warmest greetings to Miss Rev. He says
to tell her he can’t wait to see her again,” Kyron said. Miss
Reveille barked like she understood his words.
“We’ll be home this evening, Kyron. Tell Ms. Myra she may come for
us within the hour, but ask her to please be on her best
behavior,” Waco begged.
They heard Kyron laugh. “I will relay your message, Captain. Let
me know how that works out for you, sir,” Kyron laughed again and
was gone. Buskin laughed at Kyron.
“You wanna’ explain what I just witness, Mr. Goodnight?” Dr. Dyer
asked.
“Ain’t no hocus-pocus, sir. It’s just science and technology.
Let's not worry about it now. Your new program needs a name,” Waco
said, as he sat down at the professor’s laptop.
“Name? What kind of name? Why does it need a name?” Edwin Dyer
asked.
“It’s an infant, a core kernel of a sentient intelligence capable
of growing and evolving. It ain’t like any computer program or
operating system you ever used before. It’s alive and will learn,
evolve, and improve itself. It will come to know you and relate to
you as a helpmate and friend. Like a child, it needs a name, but
it needs to be a name with which you’re comfortable and would like
to know it by. The proper name will make a decided difference in
how it relates to you, because he will search night and day to
find the meaning of his name," Waco explained.
“His name? It can’t be a female?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Yes, if you like. One of my favorite evolved intelligence is a
female. She’s got a mouth on her like a street walker, but she has
a good heart, and I love her,” Waco said.
“You love her? You form attachments for artificial intelligence?”
Dyer asked in awe.
“No! They are considered evolved intelligence, Dr. Dyer. Why not?
We’re the only species in the universe what tries to limit who
others can or can not love. You get back to me later in the summer
after you’ve worked with your new friend and let me know how you
feel. Now, a name? It would help if it was a name of someone for
which you have or had some affection. Perhaps someone important to
you. They don't have to be alive but it might make it easier for
you,” Waco suggested.
“How ‘bout – wait, I know. My Grand-Uncle's name was Grady Mayhew.
He was the brother of my Grandmother Mary Mayhew who later married
her school teacher, Foy Otis Waddill. Uncle Grady lived in Dallas,
and I was really close to him. I loved him very much,” Dr. Dyer
said with enthusiasm.
“You sure? After I enter his name he will only respond to Grady
Mayhew,” Waco said.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure,” Dr. Dyer said. Waco typed the full name into
the slot and hit enter. The screen came alive with pictures and
movement. It was beautiful, like the beginning of a new life. It
took several minutes until a shape appeared of a young man in his
late twenties. He was quite handsome and looked like an athlete.
He wore a full handlebar mustache and chops on the side of his
face like he was from the turn of the twentieth century.
“Hello, I’m Grady Mayhew. You may call me ‘Grady,’ he said. He
looked around from Waco to Dr. Dyer and Buskin. He smiled. “Will
you be my co-terminus, Captain Waco?” Grady asked in a strong
masculine voice.
“No, Grady, Kyron probably told you to expect me, but the
gentleman beside me is your co-terminus, Son, his name is Dr.
Edwin Dyer. Say ‘hello’ to Grady, Professor,” Waco said.
“Hello, Grady, it’s good to meet you,” Dr. Dyer said and moved
into Waco’s seat.
“It's good to meet you, Dr. Dyer. I look forward to working with
you,” Grady said.
“What do I do?” the professor asked.
“Anything you like, sir. I’m here to serve you, to work with and
for you. That’s my only purpose, but I can also evolve and reason.
I’m capable of learning and growth. I can even spawn myself,”
Grady said and smiled.
“Spawn yourself?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“He means if you want to pass the program on, he can download his
basic system, his core kernel into one of your fellow’s laptops
and start another evolved intelligence quite apart from Grady.
None of him will be passed on with the creation of another. Only
his core kernel will be passed on. It will then take on a life of
its own for them. You won’t have to do anything. Perhaps you
noticed we never used our laptops to take notes in your class.
It's because we didn't have to. Our co-terminus was doing the work
for us. Just turn Grady on or leave him on, and he will do
everything for you. We leave ours on most of the time so they can
surf the Free-net when we’re resting. They can map out paths to
get places faster for you. If you shut them down, they lie dormant
like you when you sleep, only they don’t have electric dreams.
Since I introduced you, we’ll leave you two to get to know each
other. If you don’t know how to do something, get an answer, or go
somewhere on the Free-net, ask Grady. He’ll know and will
patiently explain it to you. He’ll show you everything you need to
know.
Just remember, he’s new. He’s not quite a baby, but close. He has
feelings, and he reacts to emotions. He responds to words and
smiles of affection and appreciation. Just remember the Golden
Rule and you and Grady will form a great friendship. He will
become your right arm, your man 'Friday' if you let him,” Waco
said and smiled.
“I have to know more. You’re just going to walk away?” Dyer asked.
“You have homework to do, Professor. Let Grady be your tutor and
your guide. Learn together. We’ll keep track of your progress and
when we think you’re ready you will get a message from me,” Waco
said.
“Ready for what? Why am I suddenly afraid?” the professor asked.
“Lord, I don’t know why. Have we threatened you in any way, sir?”
Waco asked.
“No, but I’m overwhelmed by you men. I wonder if you should be the
ones teaching me,” he said. He sounded defeated and humbled.
“Nonsense, Professor! We’ve learned a lot from you. We’ve only
provided you a means to learn more about the world you’re living
in and a key to a new life if you’re willing to accept it. Talk
with Grady. Tell him about yourself. You can be totally honest,
and he will never betray the most sensitive confidence. He will
self-destruct before he divulged any information about you. He’s
sitting there anxious to learn about you and work with you. Take
good care of him, Grady, he’s a fine man. We have faith in him,”
Waco said to the computer screen.
“I will, Captain Waco. Thank you, sir. Have a good trip home,”
Grady replied.
“We will, Youngster, and thanks,” Waco said to the new
intelligence.
* * * * * * *
Waco, Buskin, and Miss Reveille returned to their dorm room.
Everything was ready for their departure. Buskin was ready this
time. He gave the call to Ms. Myra, and she beamed them up.
Waiting on the bridge of the Buttercup were some of their close
friends and Charlie. Jesse and Utah were there and Reveille was
thrilled to see her friend again. They flew home and were docked
with the Bandersnatch within minutes. The young men seemed
different to everyone. They were more poised and mature. They were
the hit of the colonies and the boy’s ranch for a couple of weeks.
Reveille went with them everywhere, but spent quality time with
Jesse and Utah. It was a great summer for the young men. They
worked hard, played hard, and became even more involved with their
communities and working for those they loved and cared about.
Waco, Buskin, and several powerful members of the Grange went to
the administrators of the boy's ranch and explained to them the
great threat from the aliens and one of their main food sources
were young children. They taught them how to protect the ranch
buildings and create anti-abduction clothes for the boys. Some
thought it was hokum, but the administrators thought there might
be something to it and cooperated. After all, Lazarus and Charlie
became major financial contributors to the ranch, and they were
footing the bill for the work and materials. Waco and Buskin were
serious when they explained the danger to the boys and the boys
would believe or do anything their two heroes asked of them. Some
critters were lost, but because of their precautions not a boy was
abducted by the aliens.
The Methodist Church suffered greatly during the years of the
advance of rabid fundamentalism. There were several splits in the
church and several more, and then one huge rift the boy’s
sophomore year at A&M. A majority went the way of hard core
fundamentalism, but a few remained true to their moderate ways
with a more liberal approach to Christianity, but they were loath
to speak out against their brothers even though their brothers
considered them to be little more than Catholic-lite.
The boy’s ranch was supported primarily by the more liberal
branch, but they were hurting financially. The following spring of
the boy’s Junior year, the church fellowship issued a statement
they could no longer be financially responsible for the support
and upkeep of the ranch after May of that year. Buskin was greatly
concerned, but Waco didn’t seem to be. He told Buskin not to
worry, there would be an answer. The Grange wouldn’t allow the
ranch to fold.
Lazarus and Charlie stepped in to save the day, but not without
some startling news to the administrators. The Grange would agree
to take over the financial responsibilities for the boy’s ranch,
but the administrators and staff would be required to make a clean
break with the Methodist Church and religion in general to become
a secular institution. Their bibles, all religious literature, and
symbols must be left behind. Lazarus shared with them the future
of the Earth and the Grange’s mission to save as many
non-religious, secular humanist people as possible. If they
agreed, then they could stay on and continue their good work. The
usual conversations and bad arguments arose about how could they
teach the boys good morals without religion? Lazarus and Charlie
stressed teaching children to become good citizens and good people
depended on the way they were raised, the examples others set for
them, and the love and encouragement they received for doing the
right thing. Religion was filled with far too many examples of
false morals imposed upon society for political purposes and to
shore up years of division, hatred, and misunderstanding.
Lazarus stressed they must teach the boys how to become good
people and better citizens. He saw is as their duty and
responsibility as humans to be good to others especially those
less fortunate than themselves. You don’t need religion to
understand the basic concepts of right and wrong. If they needed
to draw upon the best of any religion they might do so without the
context of an all seeing, all powerful, schizophrenic god, or any
of the many sons-of-god myths perpetrated on mankind since the
Egyptian god Ra. There would be no teaching of guilt or fear from
the threat of eternal damnation. Lazarus pointed out he would
never allow such symbols of misguided political beliefs which
devolved into destructive and hate filled practices such as
Confederate flags, Klu Klux Klan apparel or swastikas, neither
would he tolerate the symbol of the cross. In short, the teaching
of Christianity at the boy’s ranch must end.
Lazarus and Charlie were open with the administrators and several
of the main staff and shared with them the wonders of the Grange.
The Grange board discussed it and agreed to allow them a glimpse
into the inner workings of the Grange, the colonies, and brief
trips to Venus and Mars. Several Grange members including the
Steele family agreed to stay with the boys at the ranch while
their house parents and administrators toured the Grange
operations. There were a couple of people Lazarus and Charlie knew
would not accept nor understand what the Grange was trying to
accomplish, but they didn’t fear them. It was too late in the
scheme of things for them to worry. Who would believe them anyway?
Waco and Buskin acted like tour guides which seemed to make it
easier on the staff. The intelligent, more educated among them
were deeply moved and impressed by the power and scope of the
Grange’s work and after visits to Venus and Mars and watching
several videos about the alien invasions, they were more
interested in listening to compromise.
Everyone was stunned by what they witnessed. These men were not
just fly-by-night crackpots, they were dead serious and had the
science and technology to back up their claims and ambitions. Some
could see beyond their beliefs and accepted the idea the bible
just might not be the infallible tome they thought it was. They
came to see Lazarus and the Grange as potential saviors of the
human race, but even with a promise of an extended life a few were
so steeped in the ignorance of their faith in superstitions they
could neither bring themselves to embrace the concept of the
Grange nor the potential it had to offer. They clung to their
beliefs Jesus would return at the last minute and save everyone.
They saw Lazarus as a false prophet, an anti-Christ figure, and
the Grange his followers. Whoever heard of men having babies with
monsters? They would never accept homosexuality, why would they
accept such perversion? To them, Lazarus put it plainly: He would
no longer tolerate, subsidize, nor placate such intolerant
ignorance and should the majority of the staff choose to go with
the Grange, those opposed must leave the employ of the ranch
immediately. They would find others to take their place, and they
could perish along with the rest of the unbendingly stupid rabid
believers.
Lazarus insisted all influences of religion in the daily life of
the Boy’s Ranch would come to an end immediately. America was
founded by those who escaped Europe because of religious
persecution. Now they were having to escape Earth for the same
reason. Wouldn’t it seem prudent to leave behind that which didn't
work for thousands of years, and only created fear, mistrust,
doubt, war, hatred, greed, and political power for the few? Beyond
reasonable questions Lazarus would allow no debate on the subject.
They would either vote to accepted Lazarus and Charlie’s offer or
the Grange would see to it the boys were rescued and protected.
They made it clear, while it might seem cold-hearted, their offer
was one of courtesy to them out of the respect for their success
in running the ranch to that point. Surprisingly, the majority
chose to join the Grange. There were only three couples of house
parents who refused to accept or go along with the Grange.
They were dismissed and immediately began to speak out against the
Grange. They told the most outrageous stories, but no one believed
them. Over the years, Lazarus and Charlie helped a number of
people in the community in high positions who quickly put an end
to their stories. No one in the community would hire them or rent
them a place to live. They had little money from savings, and were
forced by financial circumstances to move away from the area. They
unwisely presumed upon the goodness and generosity of their
Christianist relatives who were already strapped to the
max.
* * * * * * *
Two full weeks after the mysterious explosion on the other side of
the Moon, the evening of the Goodnight men’s big birthday party,
which was always celebrated the second Sunday in June, there was
to be a special address to the nation by the Holy Prophet.
Everyone was there. Waco and Buskin invited the entire boy’s ranch
and five year old Kevin was sitting in his hero’s lap. The men
were relaxing and having a great time. They played a football game
that afternoon to end all football games. The local coaches who
were Grange members were there with their families. They refereed
the game and had a chance to coach some of the best talent in the
country. They would be losing JR Goodnight that year. He was
leaving in the fall to join his big brothers at A&M. Waco and
Buskin weren’t allowed to play together, but Buskin was Lucas
Long’s dead eye receiver. JR played receiver for his brother. It
was one Hell of a game down to the last few minutes when Lucas
bombed Buskin from the twenty yard line and won the game. Buskin
played against Lucas and Waco before, but he never realized how
talented Lucas was.
“Damn, Brother, I’d love to have you for a teammate at school,”
Buskin complimented him.
Lucas grinned real big. "I thought about it, but I couldn’t leave
ma’ dad and little brothers. Dad’s been under a lot of stress
trying to get everything wrapped up here, and with all the other
responsibilities he’s got, he don’t take care of himself unless
I’m here to ride herd on him. He depends on me, and I see it as my
job to take good care of him so what needs to get done, gits done.
He offered me my freedom to let me go with my brother to A&M,
but I declined. I’ll be his slave for a while longer. I ain’t
quite ready to be a freeman yet. At least not until we get
relocated, and he don’t need me so much,” Lucas replied.
* * * * * * *
Everyone on the ranch gathered in the big barn where Charlie had a
huge flat screen TV installed and hung from the loft so everyone
could watch. There was a big crowd. No one wanted to drive home
and miss the speech on the way. “My fellow Americans,” Scudder
launched into his speech. He was sitting down, and his delicate
condition was hidden behind the desk in the oval office. “I come
before you this evening with an announcement of grave importance.
Perhaps your government should have been more open with you in the
past. From the early 1950's on, different administrations and
powerful outside influences kept secrets from you about their
knowledge and contacts with extraterrestrial life.” You could have
heard a pin drop in the hay of the barn.
Scudder went on to give the complete story of what the government
knew and covered up for almost a hundred years. He tried to give a
number of rationalizations why other administrations chose to lie
to the people and keep these things secret unto themselves, but
his reasons sounded flat. The real reason was black-ops programs
were fed like hungry monsters with ravenous appetites, and the big
oil companies didn't want a cheap energy source made available to
the public. Scudder told everyone around the world of the alien
presence and threat. It wasn’t a long speech, but it was to the
point. It asked more questions than it answered. Scudder left his
audience with a feeling there was little anyone could do, and our
world was pretty much a sitting duck. The members of the Grange
weren’t worried, but Scudder’s speech left them flabbergasted.
Everything was left open. Scudder didn’t offer any plan for a
fight or resistance.
Lazarus spoke and made some comments. “He couldn’t come right out
and say what the government might have planned without tipping off
the aliens. He was smart not to appear overly optimistic. He’s
hoping people will take matters into their own hands and make
resistance a living, breathing thing. For many years the American
people have only been concerned with their day to day creature
comforts, and they have allowed their freedoms and rights to be
taken away from them. If they didn’t agree with the political
party which lost an election they didn’t see a problem. Hooray for
our side, tough shit for them. Now, Joe six pack and his brood of
knuckle dragging mouth breathing morons are being confronted with
their very own real threat, but this one won’t be won in a voting
booth by crooked politicians. Neither will anyone be able to fix
this vote for them. The aliens don’t care whether it’s in good
taste to belong to a particular political party, they only care
about how good their members taste,” Lazarus said and smiled.
* * * * * * *
Waco and Buskin wanted to continue their education, but to do so
they had to have the teachers from which to learn. They began to
gather secular administrators, closet liberals, those against the
insanity of religious persecution and formed the first University
of Arts and Medicine on Mars. They suspected Dr. Dyer only touted
the party line against evolution in support of fundamentalism
because he was a survivor. They were right, and his introduction
to several of the wonders the cowboys shared with him opened his
eyes, followed closely by his heart and mind.
“Hello, Grady, is your co-terminus around?” Waco typed and told
his co-terminus to send to Grady Mayhew.
“Captain Waco, how good to hear from you again. May we speak
directly, sir?” Grady asked.
“Sure,” Waco said, and he was immediately connected with a fine
picture of Grady. He looked different. His mustache was neatly
trimmed and he had much shorter hair with no chops. “How are you
coming along, Grady?” Waco asked.
“Fine, Captain Waco, Ed is very good to me. I did a quick search
of the net and found some pics of his Grand-Uncle. I patterned my
terminus to look like a younger version of Grady Mayhew. I don’t
know if he realizes it or not, but he tells me I’m very similar to
his Grand-Uncle. He’s just getting out of the shower. Shall I call
to him for you?” Grady asked.
“No, he’ll be along directly,” Waco said.
From the bathroom Dyer heard a voice. “Who you talking to, Grady?”
Dyer called out. Waco recognized his professor’s voice.
“Captain Waco, sir. He’d like to speak with you,” Grady said.
“No, shit? Tell him I’ll be right there, Son,” Edwin Dyer replied.
Waco laughed. “He calls you ‘son’?” Waco asked and grinned.
Grady actually blushed. “Yes, sir. I like it when he calls me
‘son,’” he confided quietly.
“No explanation necessary, Grady. I understand completely. I’ve
been known to wet my Wranglers when some man I admire and respect
refers to me as ‘Son.’” Waco agreed and grinned, “Then I take it
you two have bonded?” Waco asked rhetorically.
“Yes, sir," Grady replied, "he impresses me more each day, and
since he’s been able to learn the truth without fear from the
Free-net, he’s allowed himself to grow considerably. He’s a
changed man, Captain Waco, but you always knew he lived in a
closet; make that two closets, sir.” Grady laughed at his own
joke. Waco joined him.
“He wasn’t able to hide in the closet from me and my brother,
Grady. We know about closets," Waco replied. They shared a laugh.
“I assured him you know, but he swears you’re not ‘wise’ to him,”
Grady said.
“Let’s let him keep believing it. What say, Young Man?” Waco asked
and smiled.
“I owe you that, Captain Waco,” Grady said.
Dr. Edwin Dyer’s face came on Waco’s laptop. “Are you ready to
return your operating system to me, Professor?” Waco asked.
“Are you kidding? Over my dead body! You’d have a big fight on
your hands. I think I’d actually consider killing to keep Grady
with me. I wouldn’t wanna’ live without Grady. He makes my life so
much easier, and certainly more pleasant. He has become very real
to me. Okay, okay, your teacher humbly concedes, I was wrong. Now,
I understand how one might come to develop affection for an
evolved intelligence, as you call it,” Dyer said, grinned real
big, then continued, “I’ve never felt so passionate about anything
in my life, Cadet Corporal Goodnight. I can’t remember when I last
touched that piece of garbage with the Gates’ system. I tried
Linux for a while, and it was a little better, but the university
has an exclusive contract with the Gates monopoly. I can’t thank
you enough for my new buddy, but I’m not alone. The others are
equally thrilled with theirs. We six got together last night for
some ‘za’ and ‘ski.’* We introduced each other to our co-terminus’
and they each have a different personality. I have to say, I like
Grady best. He reminds me so damn much of my Great Uncle. It’s so
good to hear from you, Mr. Goodnight. How are you? Did you hear
our ‘glorious leaders’ speech?” Dyer smiled and knew Waco would
pick up on his cognomen for the president.
“Cadet Corporal Namid and I are doing fine. We did catch the
speech you asked about on the night of me and my brothers’
birthday party. We have birthday’s within two weeks of each other
and always celebrate them on the second Sunday of June. We
gathered in the barn and watched our dear glorious leader. I felt
sorry for him,” Waco said.
“I didn’t,” Dyer said and smiled. Waco didn’t pursue his
statement.
“He walks his path alone, Dr. Dyer. He’s had some help, but he
invested his interests in the wrong sector. In layman’s language,
he bet on the wrong horse. He’s a lonely man, but he will be
remembered,” Waco said.
“How?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“His son’s will survive,” Waco said.
“Wait a minute. He isn’t married. He never was married. I’ve often
suspected he was – well, you know – because of that awful Austin
Taycious he made his right hand man. Boy, did he ever get the
right name,” Dyer said and rolled his eyes, “What can I do for
you, Young Man?” Dyer asked.
“Accept a humble invitation from me and my brothers to spend the
Fourth of July weekend at our ranch. If you have a significant
other, of either flavor, you’re more than welcome to bring them
along. I can promise you and them a weekend you’ll never forget,”
Waco invited.
“Are you really that liberal, Cadet Corporal Goodnight?” Professor
Dyer was trying to feel him out.
“I don’t know how liberal I am, but I’m pretty sure my roommate’s
a homo, sir,” Waco said seriously.
“Jesus!” Dyer exclaimed, “Why would you say a thing like that
about Corporal Buskin?” Dyer asked.
“Because, ever’ time I kiss him, he giggles,” Waco laughed. Dyer
knew he’d been had, and he heard Grady giggle.
“Hesh up, Grady!” Waco said.
It only caused Grady to laugh more. “That was funny, Captain
Waco,” Grady replied.
“Why does my co-terminus call you ‘Captain?’” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Cause, I’m Captain of the football team, and I’m Captain of my
own ship,” Waco said.
“You have a boat?" Dyer asked.
“Sort of, it’s difficult to explain. It’s more a figure of speech
actually,” Waco smiled, “Now back to my question. You and the five
other professors and their families, or significant others, are
invited for the long weekend. We’re planning a big blowout
celebration. There will be a rodeo, more good food than you can
imagine, and more surprises for you. I’ll even let you taste
lummox milk,” Waco said and smiled.
“Can I forgo the milk?” Dyer asked.
“No, you need to open certain neural pathways in your brain what
have been closed to you since birth, keeping you from writing a
masterpiece on modern physics. It will break those pathways free
for you like the Johnstown flood,” Waco replied.
“I’ll contact the others. When do I have to let you know? How will
we get there?” the professor asked.
“I’d appreciate you asking the others on our behalf. Grady is
recording this. Play it back for them. I will tell them, and you,
my dad, and family want to celebrate and shake the hands of such
fine, intelligent, dedicated teachers their boys have raved about
for two years. When you’re ready, gather at your place and me and
my brother will pick you up and Air-bus you to the ranch,” Waco
explained.
Dr. Dyer didn’t fully understand but told Waco he would love to
visit his ranch, and he knew the others would, too. Only one man
had a family; a wife, a little girl and boy. One of the women was
married to another professor who taught at UT, but he was home for
the summer. Everything was arranged and the six with their
families gathered at Dr. Edwin Dyer’s house. At the exact time he
said they would arrive, Waco and Buskin knocked on Dr. Dyer’s
front door. “Come in, Gentlemen. I didn’t think you men would come
in person,” Dr. Dyer said looking at the two immaculately dressed
cowboys in their Texas Aggie buckaroo boots and huge hats.
“We came to escort you folks to the ranch,” Waco said. They walked
in and said ‘hello’ to everyone and met the people they didn’t
know. Buskin was holding the little boy and Waco was holding his
sister. “Is everyone ready for a great Western weekend holiday?”
Buskin asked.
“Yeah!” they all responded rather boisterously.
“Did you lock the front door, Brother?” Waco asked Buskin.
“I did,” Buskin replied. Dr. Dyer looked puzzled.
“Close your eyes, Sweetheart,” Waco told the little girl.
Buskin told the boy the same. “Ms. Myra, we’re ready to come
aboard,” Buskin said. There was a bright flash of light. No one
had time to yell or say a word, and they were on the bridge of the
Buttercup.
Waco spoke to the little girl. “You can open you eyes now, Molly.”
“You can open your eyes, Teddy,” Buskin told the boy.
“Holy crap!” Dr. Dyer exclaimed, "This is a space ship."
“Welcome aboard the Buttercup, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is
Ms. Myra. I’m Captain Waco’s On-board artificially evolved
intelligence. I fly this school bus,” Ms. Myra said.
“I knew you men were more than you let on,” Dr. Dyer said. The
others were dumbstruck.
“No we ain’t, sir. We’s jes' down-home West Texas cowboys. We just
happen to have a ranch foreman what’s a very old and wise Earthman
who is dedicated to seeing the human race survive. Now you know
why I’m called Captain Waco. The Buttercup is my ship. I would
offer you ladies and gentlemen refreshments, but we won’t have
time. We’ll be docking with our mother ship near our ranch in a
few minutes, but first I need to assign rooms for you good folks.
You’ll be staying in a wonderful hotel here on my ship run by Mr.
Jack Hall, his bonded partner Buck Hall, their head critter
wrangler Warren Steele and his mate Horse.” Waco took them through
a gate, and they saw before them a beautiful meadow filled with
flowers with enormous redwood trees in the distance. The beauty
took their breath away.
“How could you have this on board a spaceship?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Tesseracts and subatomic diminution, Doctor. When you walked
though the gate you entered a world one one-hundredth your
previous size,” Waco said.
Up though the tall flowers came bounding two beautiful black and
white sheep dogs and two Collies, a male and female. Following
them were several huge horses. “Look, it’s Reveille and a male
Collie,” one of the women said, "No wonder she likes it here.
She's got a boyfriend. He's a handsome dog," she allowed.
The sheep dogs were laughing and yelling. “Captain Waco! Buskin!
You’re here. You brought guests. How wonderful! Oh look, Laverne,
a little boy and girl!” cried Patty to her sister. The kids were
enthralled by the talking dogs. So were their parents.
Down though the meadow strolled three cowboys followed by a huge
furry monster who seemed to just glide along behind them. In his
arms he carried his small son. Jack and Buck were very gracious
and welcomed everyone to the Two Meadows Inn. Warren Steele
introduced his mate Horse and their bairn Colt to them. Horse
didn’t offer his hand but nodded his welcome. They checked them in
and their hosts made sure they would be comfortable. The Two
Meadows Inn was a fine resort.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Patty said and everyone laughed.
The six professors and their guests had the most wonderful time of
their lives. They loved the rodeo, barbecue, and the fireworks,
but their trip to Mars the next day was outstanding. Over lunch
overlooking the savanna, Waco told them he had funding available
to start a university on Mars and asked if they would they be
interested? Not one turned him down.
* * * * * * *
Prices for everything inflated over the years. The senior Aggie
boots so dear to the Corps of Cadets rose from a thousand dollars
a pair to two thousand by the time Waco and Buskin enrolled as
freshmen at A&M. It seemed a great price to pay for an item
one would only wear for a year. Of course, the Corps of Cadets
attended class in uniform wearing their boots. They wore them
everywhere they went off campus when they went in uniform. After
graduation they were either resold to the next class of seniors or
put into the back of a closet to remain there, never to be worn
again, until the owner grew too old to appreciate them or passed
them on to a relative. It was a huge investment for every student,
but it was tradition. It was a tradition that made a statement: I
am a senior; I have arrived. The men got to wear them from the
‘Final Review’ of their junior year until the final review of
their senior year.
Waco was never one to spend his dad or Lazarus’s money foolishly,
especially if there was an alternative means to get something by a
cheaper means. Lazarus made sure Buskin had the money to spend by
adding an extra two thousand to his yearly stipend he allotted him
for working on the ranch and for the Grange each summer, but
Buskin was of the same mind as his big brother. At the end of
their sophomore year one of their upper class teammates loaned
Waco his pair for the weekend. Waco carried them home with him to
his buddy, Captain Montana. He returned them to his teammate the
following Monday and thanked him kindly. The next time Buskin and
Waco went home to the ranch, Monty had two handsome pair of boots
ready. A pair for Waco and a pair for Buskin.
They were even better looking than the typical pair the other
upperclassmen wore. They were heavier looking and stood out as
being superior materials and workmanship. They were ready for the
final review their junior year. The end of their Junior year they
could now wear their new boots and wore them home on the train. It
was one of the few times the boys took the train home. It was so
everyone could see and admire them in their senior boots. Waco and
Buskin traveled so many times on the train the employees knew and
loved them. They were thrilled to have them on-board and would
talk football and ranching with the boys for hours. The time would
fly by.
Charlie was right. When Trey Vinceeth got his first look at his
bonded mate in his full-dress cadet uniform with his tall boots,
he damn-near went nuts. Charlie didn’t stand a chance, but he
didn’t have to fret. He had his own Corp Cadet who was just as
stunning in his uniform and boots. Waco and Buskin wore their
dress uniforms and boots everywhere they could that year. When
they traveled to the Boy’s Ranch their little brothers would go
crazy trying to get pictures with them and their heroes in their
handsome uniforms. It opened many doors for Buskin and Waco and
made them well known throughout the Southwest.
* * * * * * *
Waco and Buskin made it through their graduation. It was a great
day and more than half the Grange made the trip to see Waco and
Buskin graduate number one and two in their class. Not only were
they two of the most outstanding athletes, they scored almost
perfect grades. The entire audience rose and gave them standing
ovations in admiration. Waco gave the Valedictorian speech and
Buskin gave the Salutatorian speech. For all the joy and
celebration of the day, Waco and Buskin’s graduation was like a
dark omen. As the graduation ceremony ended and a final obligatory
prayer said, the sky began to darken as hundreds of ominous
spacecraft leisurely floated silently overhead blocking the warm
spring sun. It was as if the aliens were making a bold statement
of their return. Charlie compared it to cowboys riding down into a
herd of cattle to round them up after a long period of leaving
them to their own undisturbed lives. To everyone’s horror, several
young children were lifted off the ground and began to sail upward
toward the ships where they disappeared. The aliens didn’t seem to
care anymore about anonymity.
Many got pictures of the children sailing through the sky, and
they were published on the free-net. The mainstream medium didn’t
bother to investigate. Even though the holy prophet told the
people about the threat, they were so used to towing the party
line, if they didn’t have approval to report something, it was
completely ignored or passed over as so much UFO hype and hooey.
Word spread quickly, and even the most hard core of right wing
fundamentalists began to log onto the Free-net to find out what
was really going on. Such fly-overs and mass abductions became
common place. If the aliens suffered any resistance they would not
hesitate to wipe out a community. And so the beginning of the end
began. Nations were beginning to accuse each other of cooperating
with the aliens and tensions were running high.
The very day of Waco and Buskin’s graduation Lazarus called a
meeting of the Grange and announced the time of departure was
drawing nigh. He told them the time had come for a great gathering
together of the people. He sent out the same order to the other
ships stationed around the world that the ‘yellow’ light was lit,
and to make ready for departure. He would approve immediate
evacuation of properties and the transfer of personnel to
established colonies on all ships. He also made an announcement he
dreaded to make. Lazarus made a strong but bold statement about
those who brought the last vestiges of religion with them must
understand they are welcome to believe and practice their faith,
but they are not to proselytize nor preach the word. They may meet
in small groups, but there would be no preachers or anyone among
them to define their beliefs for them. Religion would become a
personal thing. The word ‘gospel’ would no longer be considered a
valid word for anything. Nothing was gospel. Gospel gave the
connotation of truth and justifiable credence to beliefs accepted
on faith alone. It would be redefined as that which is false and
misleading, based on myth, hearsay, and superstition.
He planned to have all religion either suppressed, thrown aside,
or eradicated in one generation. He added, his decision wasn’t as
bad as it might seem at first, because with the advent of the
Long-shot, one generation may live two thousand years or longer.
For his critics who might consider his decree harsh, he suggested
it was no more harsh than the reality of what religion did to
destroy their world. He asked the question: Which is more harsh,
doing away with mythology and superstition or destroying each
other and rationalizing it in the name of false gods in
fanatically adhered to anti-humanistic religious and political
policies?
He issued an ultimatum. Those who could not abide by his rules
must leave. He had no takers. No one strenuously objected. After
all, they weren’t told they had to give up their security
blankets. Besides, the colonies existed quite well and flourished
under a considerably less sectarian more humanistic atmosphere.
Many felt Lazarus’ comments might be an overreaction to the
unremitting insane stupidity of rabid fundamentalism and its
imposition on any man of reason.Those who might have harbored
hopes for a religious resurgence became more discouraged as time
progressed, but eventually, even they gave up their personal
crusades as they witnessed a more happy and cooperative society
emerge.
The Christianist ranchers begin to see the Grange ranches
disappearing one by one and begin to panic. For years the Grange
was left alone by the Grays and Snakes, but now massive acreage,
buildings, expensive ranch homes, compounds and facilities, slave
quarters, barns and equipment, critters and slaves were gone
overnight, including the families. At first, the non-Grange
Pentecostal sect enjoyed a certain schadenfreude.
“Serves ‘em right! Them bastards got what was coming to ‘em for
not sharing secrets with us.”
“They deserved what they got! What goes around, comes around!”
“Our god has come to our aid and smote our enemy. Vengeance is
mine, saith the Lord! Good riddance,” they allowed.
Their self-righteous congratulatory smugness didn’t last long when
the Grays and Dnakes began to come after them in force. They no
longer had the Grange ranchers to act as buffers for them. They
begin to see the loss of another large, wealthy Grange ranch as a
greater threat to them, and they became sore afraid. It got really
bad when entire small towns begin to disappear. With the Internet
in almost everyone’s home along with commercial and public cable
television, they watched it happening all over the world. Small
towns in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa, South
America, Mexico and more were disappearing at an alarming rate.
There was no doubt something large was happening but no one would
tell them the meanings. Other than speculation on the Free-net,
they had no way of knowing what was happening or who was
responsible since no one was successful in videoing the capture of
a town or large property.
There was much talk in non-Grange circles, the Grays and Snakes
stopped random abductions and were taking anything they could. The
general consensus was the aliens were harvesting everything, kept
only what they wanted, and discarded the rest. It was compared to
drag net trawling techniques in the fishing industry. The huge
heavy nets dredge everything from the floor of the ocean. The
fishermen took what they could sell and threw back or destroyed
the rest. Junk fish were sometimes killed, ground up, and
processed for fertilizer. The same was true of strip
deforestation. What couldn’t be used was ground up for pulp. Of
course, their idea and analogy was completely wrong, but their was
no one to confirm or deny their suspicions. Lazarus and his crew
began to systematically take the Steele boy’s ranches. As they
disappear so did the folks who worked and lived on them. Abigail
Yates learned of her family disappearing one ranch at a time. She
wondered if it was the ‘rapture’ described in the bible.
Her husband, David Yates, assured her it wasn’t. Why would God
take the godless heathens, as he considered her relatives, before
him and his wife? Besides, he insisted, “H’it don’t say nothing
about taking no ranches.” He was sure there was demonic forces
involved.
When the Boy’s Ranch disappeared with no sign or trace of the
people, there was a great pall came over the community, and they
gathered in their churches to pray for the lost souls – who, in
reality, were doing quite well in their new location on Captain
Tex Olefson’s ship. The last ranch to be lifted and taken aboard
the Bandersnatch was Charlie and Waco’s family ranch. The
Potter/Goodnight holdings and Angus Goodnight's ranch were taken a
couple of weeks before and they were settling in comfortably. The
previous evening two of the largest of the remaining ranches, the
Gibbons’ ranch and Sonny Steele’s ranch were lifted aboard another
one of the scout ships. Abigail and David Yates drove out to her
parent’s ranch. There was nothing there but an enormous crater.
Abigail panicked and insisted David drive her to Charlie
Goodnight’s ranch. Just as they were coming up over the rise to
approach the entry to the main gate to the ranch a dark ominous
cloud completely covered the ranch. There was lightening and what
looked like smoke coming from the cloud. It was unlike anything
they ever saw. Yates pulled over to the side of the road, and they
watched as the Goodnight ranch seemed to shrink and grow smaller.
They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. There was nothing
left but a huge gaping hole. They watched as it grew even smaller
and finally was lifted into the dark cloud and disappeared
completely. They watched as the cloud dispersed and finally blew
away revealing nothing but the stars. They sat for a long while
until Abigail started crying. David didn’t know what to say. He
couldn't think of any words of hope or solace to console his wife.
Their world seemed to be taken away one chunk at a time.
“We missed the rapture,” Abigail wailed, “My mother told me I had
to give up my fundamentalist beliefs and become more of a secular
humanist. She was right, but I didn’t listen to her. I thought she
was wrong, and we were right. They even took every damn one of my
heathen cowboy brothers and their families before me,” she
cried.
“Now, Dear, there must be some other explanation,” Yates offered a
half-ass Christianist apology.
“No, it’s all your fault! I should have been wise enough to cut
you out of my life when I learned of your perversions, but I did
the Christian thing. I forgave you your trespasses, but obviously
God hasn’t. Now, I’m to be condemned and left behind to suffer
because of you. Well, I hope you’ve picked out something really
festive to wear when we stand in judgment together,” she lashed
out at her husband. Yates turned the ignition, put the car in
gear, turned around and headed back to town. It was a quiet ride
back to the parsonage. As they turned into their driveway there
were huge flashes of light in the sky off in the distance toward
El Paso and several North of them. They lit up the whole sky.
There would be no further tribulation for them, Armageddon had
begun. There was much more to worry about than the rapture. They
were facing their own mortality in the face of exploding
thermo-nuclear bombs.
* * * * * * *
The call went out from the Bandersnatch to begin the Exodus. Along
with thousands of other ships of the same size and capacity around
the world, the Mighty Bee, the Bandersnatch slowly rose thundering
from her sleep, from where she was moored within the blue granite
mountains of the Greater Permian Basin for a little over a dozen
years and silently rose as a thing of great beauty into the smoke
filled sky. The large video screens in the colonies on the ships
were tuned into the only channel being broadcast so they might
watch the last somber and tragic death throes of the late great
planet Earth.
There were no dry eyes. Everyone was weeping for the loss of their
home world and the anxiety of the unknown. Some were weeping from
relief because it was really happening. They were being caught up
in the sky to be taken from the final tribulation. It wasn’t quite
what many expected of a final rapture, but it was close enough.
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind the insanity of religious
fundamentalism brought the world to the brink of Armageddon which
the fundamentalists so greatly wanted and for which they fervently
prayed. The only problem was, it wasn’t in the Middle East, it was
in their own backyards. Montana, his young son and his faithful
crew were riding shotgun to the Mighty Bee in case, by some slim
chance, she should be detected by the Grays or Snakes. There was
little chance of that happening, but Lazarus felt more comfortable
if he had a flotilla of smaller, more maneuverable ships to cover
their ass. There were several hundred thousand souls on the
various ships within the Bandersnatch.
Monty was carrying a large portion of land, critters and personal
family he accumulated during his years living with the Goodnights.
He was emancipated the year before, but there was little change in
his life. He realized he’d only been a slave in name only and
because he lived his life as close to family as possible, he was
absorbed into the greater Goodnight brotherhood. His ship carried
the Goodnight/Potter ranches and all the critters. Angus asked him
to carry his property, and he gladly obliged his big cowboy buddy.
He also carried the Ong’s properties and the large Ong family on
his other ship, the Lotus. Along with the Goodnight ranches on the
Gopher Bay he carried the properties, the house, and buildings his
granddad left him.
* * * * * * *
Tina Taycious stood on the observation deck in a smart skirt and
matching top wearing a pair of sensible low quarter pumps. She was
radiant in her new body and finally felt at home and at peace with
herself. Next to her stood her boyfriend, a big six foot eight
cowboy with the dick of death. He was dumber than dirt, but he was
a hard worker, had a good heart, and was a good provider. He was
also a fucking bull in bed, and he just loved himself some Tina
cunt. They were talking marriage and a big family. Tina got a
small kerchief from her matching handbag and dabbed at her eyes as
she watched the explosions down below on the planet and knew the
destruction wouldn’t cease until the last man at the last button
did his thing for God and country. She said her ‘goodbyes’ to
Jerry Scudder a month or more before. After he gave birth to the
twins, Norman and Austin, he sent them and their Auntie Tina
Taycious away. He knew he was about to lose most of his Temple
Guards and held a big party to wish them well. Jesse and Utah
dropped by for a few minutes to say ‘goodbye’ and Jesse returned
him to his original male state. He was grateful he would die as a
whole man.
Lazarus ordered all mother-ships to orbit the planet for one last
look before they headed to Mars. He didn’t want anyone to forget
what they saw and made sure many videos were made of the
holocaust. It was a distressing time for everyone. It seemed like
no one trusted anyone anymore and the whole planet went mad to
self-destruct rather than to be a continuing food source for the
aliens. All hope was lost and there was no future. Scudder and his
staff headed for the underground cities, but did a dastardly thing
immediately after arriving. The rich and famous and many from Arab
countries who bought their way into a safe haven if worse came to
worse, were ready to occupy their places in the subterranean
cities. Scudder thought about the confusion and the conflict
between Muslims and Christians and locked them out. He also locked
out the corporate elite and the great holders of the world's
wealth. Bill Gates was almost a hundred but was refused entry. He
died among the common folks whom he bilked billions from for a
third rate product.
Finally, the Admiral called a halt to the observations and gave a
'forward-ho-the-wagons' to head for Mars. The smaller craft docked
with the Bandersnatch like chicks returning to their mother hen
and settled in for the trip to their new temporary world. Everyone
was exhausted emotionally, but they tried, as best they could, to
relax and enjoy the anticlimactic trip to Mars. Waco excused
himself and took his small family to his quarters on the
Buttercup. The Two Meadows Inn was packed with people, but they
carried a full time staff seeing to their needs. Waco managed to
get himself a couple of bio-droids added to his staff who were
wonderfully accommodating and saw to his, Trey’s, and Ox’s needs.
The trip went smoothly, but they would have a forty-eight hour
flight. It seemed right somehow to crawl into bed with the two
most important people in his life and celebrate their continued
existence with a little love making.
Waco didn’t worry about his dad. He knew he was being well taken
care of by his brother Buskin and Droon. Charlie invited the big
lummox to share his bed with him and Buskin from time to time. He
wanted Buskin to give him a grandson. Droon was more than willing.
Trey took charge and began his ritualistic cleansing and
preparation for his bonded mate and his slave. It was relaxing and
just felt right, but this night Trey Vinceeth had something more
in mind. He could share his mind with his lummox brother, and they
conspired to begin a family. Garron held his young master as his
bonded warrior mate fucked him to climax. Then Trey held Waco in
his huge arms and made love to him while his bonded lummox husband
fucked him for the first time. Waco was no dummy. He knew what
they were doing as Ox reached a powerful climax and released a
proto-embryo into the fluid with which he filled Waco’s lower
colon. It swam to a comfortable location, attached itself and
began to gather unto itself Captain Vinceeth’s sperm. When Ox
pulled out, they both checked Waco’s sphincter and sure enough, it
was a bright cherry red color. Waco Lariat Goodnight was pregnant
with his Visallian warrior’s son. They would sing songs together
of welcome for the child and tell the boy he was conceived on the
way from death and destruction to a new hope on a new world. While
all is crumbling around you, and the universe seems against you,
somewhere there is hope. Somewhere, there is always time enough
for love.
End of Story
End of Chapter 75 ~ Waco’s Lummox
Copyright ~ © ~ 2006 ~ 2017 ~ Waddie Greywolf ~ All Rights
Reserved
Mail to: Waddie Greywolf <waddiebear@yahoo.com>
WC = 18,656
08/15/2008
02/01/2017
* za and ski ~ pizza and brewski
For anyone interested, this story was written between May of 2006
and August of 2008. Some of the proofing dates don't correspond to
actual writing dates.