The crone explained Crazy Days on the way to her Meleua. It was a credit sale. A half-off discount, but only for what was called a ‘deuce.’
Any Peerless could have the Alii of their own kauwa for two credits, or a deuce. That got them a half hour to ‘spray pollen.’ If the Peerless didn’t finish within the half hour, he didn’t finish. Three credits got two hours. Five credits bought two hours of intimacy, impregnation, and the rest of the night in the Alii’s bed to snuggle and sleep.
Any other Alii could also be bought unless she was a virgin. Only a member of her own kauwa could take her virginity, and it couldn’t be her majordomos, her Oliua and Meleua.
To purchase sex with a different Alii of a kauwa pi, the minor houses, it cost one additional credit on top of the normal cost. So, deuces cost three credits, and impregnation cost six.
To purchase sex with an Alii of a kauwa ka, the major houses, it cost two additional credits on top of the normal cost. So, deuces cost four credits, and impregnation cost seven.
For Nani, the credit cost went up for each level of the Nani the Alii was a member of. The two largest cities of the Peerless had district Nani, but those were equal to city Nani, the lowest level. After came regional, world, specialty councils, then the Nani Empire. So, purchasing a deuce from a Nani Empire cost everyone outside her own kauwa nine credits. Impregnation cost twelve.
Crazy Days made it so the Alii of the kauwa a Peerless belonged to cost only one credit and a Nani Empire cost only four and a half credits.
The current month was named Independence and honored the triumph of the Peerless over Circle Joyat. The last three weeks of the month, fifteen days or so as measured on Earth, were the Crazy Days celebratory discount sale. The last day of the month was a hunt in the Netherworld of Circle Joyat called the Kiamoni Purge.
Certain Peerless earning the right would spend eleven hours real time in the NetherRealm, hunting down whatever they could, ensuring no demon threat grew on that world.
John asked if he could join the hunt. The crone told him she would discuss it with him before he left, when he was to talk to her about exchanging his fifteen credits for crystals.
Then John was handed the four aspect-enhancers. He had little issue increasing his ‘protection’ and ‘change’ concepts, his minor aspects, to average and then major aspects.
Currently, John was stretched out comfortably on a couch, many wires from a small machine connected all over his head, even over his injury. He had been given a drug that was supposed to cause unconsciousness for a little while, and on awakening, his mind would be expanded, allowing him to meditate in an enhanced state conductive of merging concepts.
The drug made John lightheaded and extremely relaxed, but he never lost consciousness. He was feeling very odd and was amazed at all the strange and brightly colored patterns he saw forming.
The crone’s Meleua was also elderly and had the biggest and bulkiest biosuit John had ever seen a Mele wear. When he talked to John and the crone, he had never once looked either in the eye. He gazed off into the distance and hardly ever focused on anything in the room.
As John watched a new and amazing pattern form, the Meleua told the crone, “If this results in success, I will receive the zenith award, same as Akeoli Slayer of Inner-Point Master Ukobyzouth. It’s the same class and category.”
The crone, reaching up to caress the face of her Meleua, said, “Of course, and since we expect failure tonight, I’ll ensure we’re on hand for future attempts. The other Nani know only my special boy could pull this off.”
“Incorrect. This machine is simplistic. I am the Mele collecting this data only due to being your Meleua. As I’ve told you multiple times already, we will collect the necessary data this attempt. The Aikapu is clear on class and category of deed. This will qualify as a zenith accomplishment as soon as a male merges a high-concept. Approving the zenith will take some time, but with the three credits I get from you on successful data collection, I will have enough credits to have sex with the two of this clowder I want.”
The crone smiled. “I know my special boy loves to dip his stamen in flower juice. Now, don’t forget your own Alii. No one knows how to take care of my special boy like I do.”
“No,” replied the Meleua. “I like when they look young. I will use credits on you after Crazy Days.”
The crone tsked before saying, “I should deduct a few credits for you being so wrong about the [Domain]. That could’ve all ended very badly. It’s really just luck that it all worked out so perfectly.”
The Meleua moved his face away from the hand caressing it. “His [Mental Fortification] is not enough to resist as he did. I told you it was unknown if his full ability was reflected in his [Stat]. You ignored that part. I provided frequencies he’s more susceptible to which you also ignored.”
The crone tsked again and smiled a little sadly. “I often think about our first time together. Your very first time. You just joined my kauwa. The surprise attack drew my guards away while the rest of my boys were forward fighting the demon filth. My special boy wasn’t bred to fight but you still fought to protect me. My special boy saved me and earned the full five credits for it. You were so excited. You finished so quickly. Then, I held you in my arms as you slept.”
“I was very heroic,” replied the Meleua. “I like sex very much. But having sex with threes hasn’t been allowed since the dark times ended so we shouldn’t discuss that.”
“Oh, stop it! As if the Aikapu doesn’t still require it in certain cases for those not yet in kauwas. The Ele that fought this Kahaka got his stamen stickied and became a father. And you know we needed everyone to fight back then. We had to consider fours full adults. Sometimes, far too often, even threes, like you were. Half my boys back then would be considered children now. And that’s good. That’s progress. We’ve extended childhood through Silver tier and our children now grow up in peace and safety in this Peerless Empire.”
“You know I struggle with understanding why rules are applicable to me,” replied the Meleua. “It’s easier to stay on the path when I only consider what is allowed right now. None of it is logical.”
After a pause, the Meleua asked, “Did you read the last doc I sent to you?”
“No. I haven’t had the time. You know I prefer it when you just tell me important things I should know.”
“You were busy. This Kahaka went to form [Synergies] but never did.”
The crone frowned. “Strange. I’m so glad he was able to accomplish what we needed him to and survive. That was too risky and too close. It all worked out perfectly in the end. We have big plans for him. Bigger plans for the one captured. When will you wake him up? Do I have time for a bio break?”
“He is awake. The compound did not cause unconsciousness. Seven minutes until we can proceed.”
The crone’s mouth opened in surprise. “Can he hear us!?”
“Temporary or permanent hearing loss is not a known side effect of this compound, so I assume so.”
“Why didn’t you tell me!? Venerable Akua! Never mind, I know your answer.” The crone sighed in exasperation. “I’m going to take a bio break.”
John was only half paying attention to the discussion. The many strange patterns he saw forming were far more interesting. His vital essence didn’t attack whatever substance was given to him, so his body didn’t consider it harmful or poisonous. He felt better and more relaxed than he ever had in his whole long life.
For the first time that night, the Meleua looked directly at John. He said, “You’re incorrect. Your prior reasoning. The NCUs. It doesn’t work that way.”
“What,” asked John, not knowing what the Meleua was talking about.
“Brainwaves and our Interpreters. Most information is gathered from deduction, assumption, and inference after a behavioral and thought process analysis is completed. Our predictive models. You’ve been observed long enough that the little gathered from brainwaves is unnecessary.”
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John grunted. “You have me hooked up to a machine that bypasses protections and reads my mind.”
“The machine is off. I am only interested in learning about a specific process and all data relevant to it. I can tell you with near certainty what three NCU upgrades you purchased. We all could. Any of us could improve the Interpreters. We won’t. They are perfectly sufficient in warning us of what hasn’t been surmised.”
John was glad when the Meleua stopped talking. He just wanted to look at the patterns and watch them morph. He thought they were beautiful. He tried his best not to think about how he’d never merge a major aspect and help his sworn enemies become more powerful. He had a big enough task as things were.
After the crone returned and it was time, the machine was turned on.
John began to meditate. He made many fumbling attempts, pretending to merge ‘protection’ with ‘change’ and ‘change’ with ‘protection.’ It was hard to focus and pay attention. After a while, he had to constantly remind himself to continue making his pretend attempts at merging.
At some point, John’s mind wandered to his plan on how to eventually merge ‘blood’ and ‘leech’ into a peak-concept. Sunshine gave him brilliant ideas on how to go about it. But that was for far off in the future. Usually, high-concepts were merged together at peak Celestial, the third Tree, a requirement for ascending to the Divine Tree.
The patterns John saw kept distracting him. He kept giggling. He found it hard to take any of it seriously. It all seemed so fake. So silly.
While thinking about ‘blood’ and ‘leech,’ the concepts started calling out to each other, and before John realized what was happening, the aspects merged. He laughed in his mind. He knew he should be angry or worried, but he was feeling too good to feel either of those things. It was all so ridiculous. Just nonsense. Life was nonsensical. Everyone was a joke and they just couldn’t see it. Everyone was so serious when nothing warranted it. It was all so ridiculous and clownish.
And the crone said merging a peak-concept wouldn’t help them anyways. But I lost all those spells. Wow, that is beautiful. So many colors. I wish I didn’t lose my spells. Now that is fun to look at right there, thought John while heavily feeling the effects of the concoction he was given.
The excitement in the voice of the old crone pulled John’s attention away from the patterns. “Yes! Praise be…wait! That…he merged a peak? How in the name of Akua did he merge a peak as a three? Damn it! This is useless to us!”
“Incorrect,” stated the Meleua. “As I’ve told you multiple times, the merging of different concepts from differently colored aspects is the process we wanted. It is the data I collected. As we’ve noted in many reports, the Advancement Chamber makes it so most of us will never merge a high-concept unless we refuse that treatment and start focusing on fixing our aspects.
“The majority of suitable candidates for merger are Alii. There are a few Mele and only one possible Oli. I will send what I’ve learned to Akemele Two-three-five Inventor of the Gauss Cannon. He became Akemele at Platinum and hasn’t used the Advancement Chamber much since. I know we need Oli to pass the bottleneck, but this Akemele has the best chance outside of an Alii, and an Alii won’t get me the zenith.”
The crone slapped the table. “A Mele isn’t going head-to-head with Yenun or Gigas. And we need the Advancement Chamber to hold off our enemies. And get the first Oli past this damn bottleneck up to high Transcendent to face Gigas. Damn it!”
After a short pause, the Meleua replied, “Don’t be so glum, my Alii. Often, when one person accomplishes what has never been done, the achievement is then repeated by many others shortly after. What was once thought to be impossible becomes normal.
“I estimate an 86% chance of success before Crazy Days ends. If not, I estimate a 98% chance of success within five weeks. There is less than a 30% chance of success tonight where I receive the zenith while this clowder is still gathered. I will still have sex with two of them. Please award me the three credits for collecting this data.”
The crone excitedly said, “Oh, I hope you’re right! If we finally pass the bottleneck, even if just a Mele, we…we…inform all Nani Empire immediately. And the Nani…scratch that, just Nani Empire. Oh, how I pray you’re right and an Oli ascends soon! Praise be my late husband and father, the venerable Akua! Praise be the glorious Aikapu!”
“You should praise this Kahaka here instead,” replied her Meleua.
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As the crone escorted the drugged John back to the pools, she seemed to think he was disappointed he would receive items and not credits for his contribution, and overly explained why credits weren’t allowed as his reward. She also informed him that he would choose his reward items when he met with her before his departure, when he was to convert his credits to crystals, though the crone laughed and smiled when he brought that up.
These depraved witches still think I want to lie with them. Never. No matter what concoctions they give me, it’ll never happen. I need crystals. I need the mats for that [Perk]. I need weapons and armor. I’ve already given my enemies far too much tonight. I just made a very, very big mistake, and with my mind in this state, I know I still haven’t grasped the full extent of it. I feel too good when I should be filled with great shame. I have never felt so relaxed and happy. Or seen so many wonderful things.
After asking to settle the item rewards and credits now so he could leave, John was told there were some additional matters the clowder wanted to address with him. It wouldn’t take long, and he’d be leaving soon enough.
Plumb-hair was at the same pool, her feet in the water. She smiled at John and waved him over, extracting her legs from the water and hugging her arms around them again.
As John took his shoes off, hiked his pants up, and sat with his feet and calves in the pool, the four other Alii from before rejoined Plumb-hair, resuming the same positions they had taken before. The Alii he met at the arena, Nani Victor, knelt behind him and started to massage his shoulders. He tried tensing up to show he didn’t want to be touched, but it felt too good, and the exotic aromas he took in further clouded the already altered state of his mind.
All the Alii John could see were smiling and giggling, stealing coy glances. Plumb-hair held his gaze. His thoughts were uncontrollable. He closed his eyes and tried to center himself and clear his head.
“That looks like it hurts badly, Kahaka. Is it causing you a lot of pain,” asked Nani Victor, whispering in his ear, referring to his head injury.
“No. It…my head. I can’t think. I think…I can only think of…I must leave.” John attempted to stand but, with little effort, Nani Victor held him down by his shoulders and began to softly kiss his neck. She moved to his ear and between kisses whispered, “We have something to help with the pain. And it will help in…other ways.”
Plumb-hair’s smile grew wider. One of her arms unwrapped from around her legs and she took a very small vial out of the slender part of her bathing suit barely covering her udders. John thought she had very attractive udders, and her eight pregnancy-sacs filled to various degrees of plumpness were extremely appealing. She held the vial up as she stared at John.
The vial’s cap was removed, and Plumb-hair took a deep sniff of the contents. She handed it to her companion sitting with her legs sidewards next to her. The vial was passed around and sniffed by all the Alii at that pool, and the raven-haired beauty giving John a great show of her backside waded across the water with the vial in hand.
Nani Victor took the vial, stopped kissing John’s ear, sniffed, then held it under his nose. Without even sniffing, the strong and pleasant aroma filled his head with a feeling of ecstasy. His body became pain free. “Please, let me leave,” he asked. She held the vial under his nose until he took a big sniff. His head began to spin as euphoria overcame him. He no longer had any will to fight off depraved thoughts.
The Alii that brought the vial over started doing kissing with John’s mouth, and it felt so good he never once thought to stop the act. He never once had the thought that one mouth on another was disgusting, as he should’ve.
John’s whole body jerked and shivered dramatically as he prematurely finished. His mind was too far gone for him to feel embarrassed, and, besides, he hadn’t had release in thousands of years.
Nani Victor whispered in his ear, “It’s okay. A boy as strong as you always has much more pollen to spray. My flower craves your stamen badly, Kahaka. Only two and a half credits. I need you now. I can’t wait longer.”
And, once again that night, what John planned to do and what he actually did had no convergence.
Since John’s old wife, Lilith, a woman he was married to for a very, very long time, had a constant insatiable and unquenchable desire, while the flame of his own desire had nearly been extinguished, he had learned how to quickly and competently please her with his hands and mouth.
John employed those same tactics to great effect that night. The anatomy that counted was largely the same as human women and had only one key difference.
Up until Lilly, John had never put much thought into lovemaking. He would bend one of his wives over and take her. He never considered if his wife enjoyed the act or not. He assumed if he enjoyed himself, she had too. He didn’t even know women could ‘finish’ similar to how men could.
Lilly required John to learn the truth of things.
The Peerless men were like John before Lilly. They knew nothing. The act of sex was a reward they earned, and it was to pleasure themselves.
The Alii liked to flirt and seduce, but when they were purchased, their duty was to please, not be pleased. They knew very little of lovemaking themselves, regardless of how often they engaged in the act. The more successful an Alii, the more she engaged in the act, and all these Alii were Nani.
Self-satisfaction went against the Aikapu for all Peerless. It was never allowed. If a male wanted release, he needed to perform great deeds and earn credits. If he broke the rules, he’d be punished. If he broke the rules too many times, he’d be exiled to Palm.
Due to these factors, there was only a legend of Alii creating ‘golden nectar’ – physical proof one was satisfied. A tiny pebble formed the color of honey upon climax. Every Alii John purchased the use of that night created those tiny golden nuggets, turning legend into reality.
John purchased Plumb-hair twice, totaling nine credits since she was on Nani Empire. He purchased Nani Victor once for two and a half credits, and the blonde that was resting on her elbows, bobbing her foot, for three and a half credits.
When there was only a fifth of a credit left, John wished he had a million more. That one Alii! The raven-haired beauty that made a great show of her backside and first did kissing to my mouth, I need her flower! I need more credits!
When the drugs wore off, only then was euphoria replaced with great shame and regret.