Kenneth’s eyes wandered the bar scene. The endless variety of people
had become one multi-colored blur to him. He was ready to leave when he saw
one of them.
It was one of the gen-alts. The jet black hair and fair skin might have
let it pass for Asian if it wasn’t for the eyes, jet black with no whites.
No one knew why they kept that horrible legacy of their genetic engineering;
it marked them apart no matter how much they assimilated otherwise. Maybe it
was a badge of biological superiority, or a reminder to others that humans
had tried to wipe them out once - and failed. Things were peaceful now,
though they kept mostly to themselves. Kenneth wouldn’t have thought much of
it if he’d seen one of them at the factory or on the street. But a swinger’s
club? Never!
But it was here. Kenneth thought maybe the gen-alt had wandered in by
mistake, but it meandered to a side wall and waited. He started working his
way through the press of people. If the thing was here for an anthropology
study, it needed to be warned to get out before it was killed. The gray
pants and shirt it wore might have let it blend into the shadows if it
weren’t for those eyes. Kenneth was half way through the room when the other
one got there.
The male had arrived rather surreptitiously. Few people had noticed it.
When the female arrived, those at the door parted.
Kenneth knew there were female gen-alts. There had to be; no one was
allowed to use gestation tanks anymore. But could he ever remember seeing a
female gen-alt? And here, at the club? Unbelievable.
She was a rail thin beauty. Long black hair swept back into a French
braid, accenting her narrow face, which only brought more attention to those
incredible eyes. She moved so gracefully that the fact that she was as
developed as a budding 10 year old didn’t matter. The crowd parted for her
as they hadn’t for him. She headed straight for the male.
A lot of the males worked in the outside world. Designed to be
soldiers, they weren’t allowed outside a certain range of professions. They
were engineers and technicians mostly. They cropped up as hackers or as
actors in horror videos. However, the females never went outside their
districts. No one ever saw them. Their purpose was simple: make more of
their own kind. With the rumors of their high infant mortality, it made
sense. But she was here, in public. A tight black sleeveless shirt set off
the gray slacks she wore. Her dark gray boots that highlighted her thin
legs. When the two gen-alts paired off, her appearance made even less sense.
Weren’t they monogamous? Until death do you part? Then why go to a swinger’s
joint, even as a pair?
A jostling of people who decided to leave at the gen-alts arrival broke
up the awkward silence. It was maybe a third of the crowd. Another third
were likely too drunk to notice or care. Someone had the sense to change the
music and turn it up to high tempo. They’d come in as a pair, so it wasn’t
likely the male was there to cause trouble. More importantly, no one threw
them out, so the owner had to be allowing it. Someone started dancing, and
the rest quickly joined in. Blue skin dye and green tattoos and beige
uniforms blended in a mass of humanity that happened to include a little
more variety tonight.
Kenneth waited until the crowd was in full motion again before heading
over to the gen-alts. To his surprise, Leah, his partner for the evening,
had beaten him to the newcomers. Leah was talking to both, at the female but
with the male doing most of the talking. He reminded himself that he was a
biology professor and he’d picked her for their shared interests in so many
areas. He had a dozen questions, and he rushed the final few meters to get
there before Leah asked them.
“Aren’t you monogamous?”
“Usually,” the male’s baritone answered. Not deep, not feminine.
“And you two are a pair?”
“Yes.” The female answered. Her voice was higher pitched but only
feminine when fully contrasted to the male’s. Kenneth found himself
wondering just how great the differences were between them and regular
people. “Do you know what this place is?” “Yes,” the male replied. “It’s not
the regular kind of club,” Leah tried to explain. “It’s a special club.”
“You must come with your mate.”
“Well, yes. But you also have to be willing to -” Leah fumbled. She
looked around and pulled Kenneth over. She made a dozen gestures, none of
which the gen-alts seemed to understand. As a budding researcher, she didn’t
want to offend the potential information sources. Yet the topic was so
explicit that they might not understand the concept even in graphic detail.
Explaining human sexuality was more awkward to explain to non-humans than it
was to a teenager. “Kenneth, help me here!”
The male appraised Leah. “You are her mate?”
“Uh. Yeah. I’m with her.”
“Are you monogamous?” Kenneth tried not to laugh. This was a swinger’s
club! “For the most part.” The creature didn’t understand what this club
offered that others didn’t. “Look, this is a place where couples meet to
have sex. Did you know that? I don’t think you’re interested -”
“We are,” the male answered.
“OK, maybe the bouncer didn’t explain this well for you. You do not
come here for just sex with each other. You come here for sex with others,
as well.”
“I understand.”
Kenneth’s jaw dropped. Monogamous, indeed! Leah lit up at his words.
“So you are here for couples on couples activities!”
“Yes,” the female answered.
Kenneth saw Leah start fawning over the pair. Talk about novelty. The
logical portion of his mind was reviewing what he thought he knew of their
anatomy. Ever since they’d withdrawn from human society, they’d forgone any
kind of study except to study humans. To see a modern specimen in natural
condition! His more carnal instincts started kicking into gear. Female was
female. And this girl wasn’t any less developed than the scrawny supermodels
that paraded catwalks and television. And her face wasn’t unattractive if he
didn’t focus on her alien eyes.
Leah made the arrangements. A quiet room with all the luxuries. Kenneth
escorted the two newcomers to the suite when he saw on the display it was
booked for the night. She must have paid a fortune. When she returned, he
saw her put his credit chit in her stack of clothing.
Kenneth remembered a little from psychology class; males will do
anything with anyone, but females go nuts about new varieties of people.
Kenneth let Leah talk the gen-alts out of their clothes. They went slow.
Reluctant? Did they know exactly what was involved?
“Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with,” Kenneth offered. He
didn’t want to get stuck with the bill for nothing if they left, but he
couldn’t in conscience let newbies get scared. “And you can leave at any
time.” Leah shot him a dirty look. “If you’re staying, don’t you need to
start undressing?”
Both humans were nude while the gen-alts were down to their underwear.
Both of them were lean and built like barely developed teenagers. Kenneth
did like what he saw in the female; no hair anywhere but on her head. Like a
good wax job or laser hair removal. The same thing applied for the male, but
it looked juvenile on him. But wasn’t he Leah’s prize?
The male then said, “You two can go first.”
Kenneth reached for the female when she shied back. “Your mate said we
could.” He smiled broadly. “Are you shy?”
“I meant you and her,” as he pointed to Leah.
Leah’s voice squeaked, “What?”
“Your pair first, then us.”
“You want to see how its done first?”
“Yes.”
The analytical portion of his mind wondered if this were a
demonstration that human and gen-alt sexuality did not differ that much.
Aside from their underdeveloped appearance, there was nothing obviously
different in how they’d do it. No double appendages or anything obviously
weird. The less rational part of his mind detested all three of them; the
gen-alts for watching and Leah for being bored with his performance. She’d
come here for variety, not the same old - him.
Leah made an effort in the end to please him and have Kenneth enjoy it.
He tried to focus on the goal. If they showed the gen-alts how to do it
right, wouldn’t everyone have more fun in the end? “OK, that’s how we do
it.”
Leah was about to get up to get cleaned up when the two gen-alts went
at it. With each other. As a scientist, he thought their performance was a
fair act of endurance. As a club member, he felt a twinge of regret: he
wasn’t getting any of that fun. Leah was growing more dismayed by the
minute. He was paying for the room, and he wasn’t getting any benefit from
it. When the gen-alts were done, they started getting dressed. “Uh, guys?”
Kenneth forced himself to interject. “What about us?”
“You had your turn.”
“What about couples -”
“You did. We did. It was a pairing.”
“You’re supposed to do it with her. And I do it with your mate -”
“You said you were monogamous.”
“Well, yeah.”
“And we said we were monogamous.”
“Yes. But -”
“It was very educational for us. I hope you benefited as well from the
biology lesson.” Kenneth was too flabbergasted to say anything as the two
gen alts left. By the time he got his wits back, Leah was in too foul of a
mood to enjoy the room with. He grabbed his clothes and stormed out, caring
more for his ruined expectations than his pride.
