Fragments Fiction

Fragments.ws is devoted to adult-themed transformation stories.

Dave Fragments

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A SCURRILOUS MEMIOR BY UNCLE PETER

January 16, 2004

Part 0 - Doors

"Fa-oop fa-oop, fa-oop, fa-oop, fa-oop, fa-oop, fa-oop fa-oop, fa-oop, fa-oop fa-oop, fa-oop," the alarm kept saying in an insulting, high-pitched falsetto. The only other sound in the room was Jesse's typing at the keyboard as he hacked the codes to the vault.

"I think I got it," Jesse James Santangelo said to himself as he keyed the final sequenced into the computer. He had turned the internal communicator off so the incessant noise would spread to the other marines. The display panel light up in colors and displayed the word WOW.

"Congratulations, life has smiled on you. You have solved level two. Would you like to try level three?" the voice said cheerily. Jesse typed yes and waited. The voice at the console began to sing Tuxedo Junction.

"Way down south, in Birmingham, I said south, in A-la-bam…" Jesse cringed at the off-key, nasal voice. He typed tentatively. The console kept singing: "It's a junction… where the bands all meet…" Jesse keyed in more information. Suddenly the computer decided it was being hacked and stopped singing: it started repeating "eee-par" over and over again at an ear-splitting volume. It wouldn't stop until he hacked the password.

"Hey, Scungelini, what is it with that fucking noise?" Tri yelled. Scungelini was his private nickname for Jesse. Tri was short for Tristan Jeremiah Jones. The marines who adopted them, tried to call them TJ and JJ, but they couldn't make the names stick. The two stubborn kids became Tri and Jesse. The marines didn't know if Scungelini really meant squid in Italian. No one knew Italian.

"It's the security system, Tri. Whoever built this vault and this security was good. The first password required Diophantine Analysis and the second required Laplace Transforms. This level might require Cubic Triples or infinite series," Jesse said staring at the display intently.

"Whatever happened to simple substitution ciphers," Tri remarked as he stuck padding over the speakers to dull the noise it produced.

"Strange! In the final years, when they knew the end was near, they became obsessed with secrecy. I'd do just the opposite," Jesse shrugged and went back to his analysis. Tri left to explore the rest of the entryway. They were in the Appalachian Mountains in what used to be Pennsylvania, Maryland or West Virginia. The old State names didn't mean much anymore. This vault was cut between the limestone layers of an old mountain and sealed along the exposed edge with steel-reinforced concrete and nickel-moly-chrome stainless steel. This vault belonged to a men's club devoted to preserving ancient Greek culture. The entry was hidden behind fairly elaborate landscaping and wouldn’t have been discovered on its own. There was a large power supply within the vault that could be sensed from the air. Tri could hear a new phrase on the speakers as he returned.

"Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger," it said in its own moronic tone. Each bugger higher of lower pitched than the previous one, endlessly rising and falling.

"You solved that level fast, Scungelini. How many more levels are there?" Tri asked. Jesse smiled at his success.

"There's another encryption level to open the main vault door and at least one more cipher to open the inner door. It should only take about ten more minutes," Jesse's voice betrayed his glee at solving the passwords and encryptions so fast. The speakers blasted their ears with profanity. Jesse yanked off his earphones and shook his head. He punched a few keys and the noise stopped.

"Whoever programmed this noise has a sick sense of humor," Jesse keyed in one of the cryptic sequences and the voice changed. Instead of saying bugger it repeated the word penis. They both laughed at the childish silliness of the repetition.

"It gets worse. It recites dirty nursery rhymes. Listen," Jesse laughed and typed another sequence. The voice stopped and said:

"Little Boy Blue come blow my horn... we'll fuck sheep in the meadow and your ass in the corn…" Tri turned red. Jesse stopped the voice on the speaker while giggling at Tri's discomfort. Bestiality was still taboo. Even in this plague and war destroyed society. Some things were still beyond the pale. Jesse punched another sequence and the voice started chanting gibberish.

"Maybe this isn't another fallout shelter filled with dead, old men. We've opened too many of those… It certainly doesn't sound military… I'll get the rest of the squad," Tri mused. Jesse ignored him.

Part 1 - The Cavern

Tri took a few minutes to find Sergeant Sparks and round up the rest of the squad. The Sergeant was only a year older than Jesse or Tri at twenty-six years old. By the time they assembled, Jesse was ready to open the vault door. He keyed in the sequence and for the first time in twenty years, large steel gears turned and pulled the massive six-inch rods from out of the frames. The two doors, both five-foot wide, eleven feet tall, and eighteen inches thick separated slowly, large curved beams pushing them a full 180 degrees to reveal the inner door. They were just as massive as the outer doors. The speakers first played a tinny, brass-like fanfare and then blared a twangy, hillbilly, trailer-trash tune.

"Central Command hopes that this is a library not a treasure trove. They hate to waste all this time and effort on gold, diamonds, and currency. Maybe we'll get … books, music, computer records, magazines, artwork…" Sergeant Sparks mused. Jesse triggered the lock on the inner doors. They heard the bolts slide out of their latches and watched as the doors slowly opened. A faint blue-white indicative of fluorescents spilled out into the cave-like entrance. The six marines entered guns drawn, ready to defend against booby traps. The anteroom just inside the vault doors was all glass and steel: shiny, sterile, metallic, big in its own right. The anteroom hung like a balcony above a huge gallery lit with dim blue lights along the floor. The artificial cave had a surreal appearance.

"The security program now thinks we built this place. No more passwords, no more voices, no more music, no more insults… But, I have to close the vault doors behind us in order to get into the next room. We'll be sealed inside. Anyone got problems with that?" Jesse asked. They all looked at each other and adjusted their equipment.

"Open communications links and we'll be ready," Sergeant Sparks ordered and waited until each man's built in comm system came online. He nodded affirmatively. Jesse keyed the sequence and the vault doors moved slowly, metal squealed on metal until the two massive doors finally thumped tight. The deep booms vibrated the floor of the anteroom. The six men waited as two sets of steel rods slammed into position effectively sealing them inside the mountain.

The anteroom lurched, catching the marines off guard and then sank twelve feet down to the floor of the vault. The metal outer walls lifted up and away from the anteroom leaving only glass walls. They stared out of the anteroom into a vast room filled with books, statues, artwork, and dust. A thin layer of white dust covered everything like a pall.

"Jackpot!" exclaimed Link at the treasure trove in the cavern.

Jesse examined the control panel in the anteroom, punched a few commands, and opened the doors to their left and right. Automatically, soft, white light replaced the dim blue illumination. Silently, carefully, the six marines stepped out into the cavernous space. They could hear the soft hum of the power supply. Satisfied they were safe, six laser beams probed the dim, half-light and measured the size of the vault - height, width, floor to ceiling, wall to wall, front to back. Tri assembled the measurements in his on-board computer by typing the values into a keyboard attached to his arm. One of his specialties was spatial geometry. The computer chip in his head contained all of the mapping and contouring functions. He shot a laser reflector up to the ceiling and calibrated the Sergeant's position. They calibrated their helmet cameras to the Sergeant's so he could coordinate the explorations. Five small screens popped up in his field of vision. The Sergeant's specialty was multitasking. His internal computer handled coordination between the squad.

"Set your helmet lasers to mapping and let's catalog this place," he ordered as the five marines spread out and explored the cavern. To his left, they saw row on row of bookcases piled high with books, artwork. The center of the floor was dotted with sculptures of naked men. Against the back wall stood rows and rows of statues of naked men. Behind them, racks and racks of computer records covered the walls. On their right was a living area with a conference table, a small cooking area, shower and latrine facilities. A tall, narrow chamber sat just beyond the living area a supply of round platforms sat near the chamber. The explored slowly and thoroughly. When complete, the Sergeant compiled the map and catalog of objects transmitting it to each of the marines on the floor. They converged on the conference table. Jesse raised the illumination of the living area and dimmed the rest of the room. Tri removed a large medallion from his breastplate and set it on the table. It projected a three dimensional image of the room at eye level.

"It looks like we found one of the fabled libraries. This is a real treasure trove of past culture," the Sergeant reported the obvious. Jesse continued the report almost automatically.

"According to the computer records, this place was sealed before year zero. It's been protected from the bacteria, virus, fungus, and the all genetically-modified insects. None of the particle beam weapons could penetrate the limestone and metal layers that surround it. If we hadn't known where to search from that old diary, we never would have found this place. The power supply will be stable for another two hundred fifty years, maybe longer." Jesse finished and sat down.

Tri stood and added his verbal report. The cavern is not natural; it's solid, square and well built. This area has no geological faults and isn't prone to earthquakes or tremors. The cavern should last for between five and ten thousand years before erosion will expose the interior." Tri transmitted a complete map of the facility to the others including the geologic information and then sat down.

The next marine, nicknamed Link, gave his report: "I counted thirty thousand books, six thousand on paper and twenty-four thousand on CD; eight thousand motion pictures on DVD; thirty thousand pieces of music from all periods, assorted newspapers, magazines and technical journals; five hundred statues and nearly a thousand assorted pieces of art. This is more than we have back at HQ. I can't tell by how much because my wireless link isn't working inside here. One more thing, none of these statues were known before year zero and the years of the Chaos and they are all male."

Link silently added some technical specs to his report and transmitted it to each of their internal computers. Sharing the information would assure that the basic reports wouldn't be lost if any one of them died. This marine had no identity out of the group and the wireless network that flowed between them. He wasn't unique, either. Many of the survivors of year zero and the resulting Chaos lost their individuality and existed as a function in the wireless network. In his case lists, database searches, and home base liaison was all he did. They could party with him only if they retained the computer links to his mind. The few psychiatrists left speculated that this was post traumatic stress from some events of the Chaos.

The last report came from the Twins - a pair of nice looking Hispanic boys affectionately referred to as Castor and Paulo. They were known by two names but since the implants connected them together, they functioned as one personality. When they got excited, they could talk in unison which was very disconcerting to anyone not familiar with them. Also, they could patrol back-to-back and look in both directions without confusion. This facility made them excellent marines. Today, Castor gave the report.

"This place is powered by a plutonium reactor. There's lots of shielding to prevent discovery and radiation leakage. Nearly all of the equipment in this room is for archival purposes with the exception of the chamber and platforms. We don't know what that's used for, but all of the statues stand on those platforms. There is no edible food. Curiously, it's all been petrified and stored in the kitchen cabinets. It's the same stone as the statues. There's an abundance of fresh, potable water available and soap to wash clothes and a hot, steamy shower for our poor, aching, flea-ridden bodies." The six men laughed at the remark.

"I see no reason not to use the water. Let's shower and wash our uniforms. We can wander around naked and off-net. This place seems safe enough," Normally they wouldn't remove the connections to their implanted computers as it left them vulnerable to attack.

Part 2 - Showers

Link tentatively moved towards the shower, removed his body armor, boots and waterproof coveralls. He removed his helmet revealing stubby, golden-blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. He carefully disconnected his helmet from the numerous gold connections that studded his head. He reached over his head and grabbed the back of his T-shirt. His heavily muscled chest and arms rippled as he pulled the olive drab T-shirt over his head. His nearly hairless torso gleamed of sweat and grime. Sergeant Sparks quickly connected a cable to the back of Link's neck to maintain his connection to the grid. Internally, Link thanked the Sergeant Sparks. Off duty, they were an item. They enjoyed connecting to each other and sharing orgasms. No one would have object to Sarge joining Link in the shower, but Sarge was more discreet. Link removed his trousers and detached the remaining computer connections from his implants. His long, circumcised cock flopped out of the regimental jock strap. He scratched his egg-sized balls and let them swing free. While Link showered, the Sergeant stood outside and enjoyed all of Link's feelings. He had a towel ready when Link came out and quickly dried the computer connections so Link could reattach to the network.

By that time, the rest of the men were naked. Some sorted clothes for the washing machine and other drifted around the vault. Jesse and Tri showered next. They teased and poked each other. Both of them were average height with ample bodies, big biceps, thick thighs, swinging, uncut dicks above dark-skinned sacks, and hairy, hairy, hairy bodies. It took time for them to shave each other and then reconnect their computer implants. When done, they were mostly hairless with a dozen patches of coal-black hair to accent their musculature. Their bodies were flushed red from the heated water. Muscles and tendons moved seductively as they stretched sore tendons and ligaments. Without the Chaos, they might have been professional athletes. When they finished, Tri explored the vault and Jesse went back to the computers to discover what function the chamber served.

Castor and Paulo used the shower together. They were exceptions to the no sex on duty rule because they were identical twins and maintained a computer connection between each other at all times. Jesse stared a little as they jerked each other off in the shower. They moved in unison and seemed to know each other's movements before they were made - disturbingly synchronous, reinforcing their singular personality. They were only twenty-two years old, born just two years before the Chaos destroyed society. They lived for a year on their own before being found by the Marines and adopted into the squads. None of the squad resented their sexuality because they were hung like stud chipmunks. However, in the few times they took other men into their escapades, the men reported having the best sex of their lives. Castor and Paulo stood a head taller than anyone else at nearly seven feet tall. Their thin, lithe bodies were startlingly thin without uniforms. Their height was an asset on patrols. After the shower, they tended the laundry and explored the printed book stored in the gallery.

Link came over to Jesse as Sergeant Sparks disconnected his equipment to shower up. Sparks was a stocky, barrel-chested man with big arms and hands. He was built like a linebacker and outweighed all the other men in his squad. His thick, fat cock didn't grow much in length as it thickened and stood stiff. Sergeants in the marines had multiple wireless communications links implanted in their bodies allowing them to remain online without physically being connected to the network. As his big hands cleaned his body, the other marines were aware of it in the background broadcasts. Sarge was never far from their thoughts.

Jesse and Link began to explore the computer files. Tri walked the stacks. Castor and Paulo read books. They all tended the laundry.

Part 3 - The Apparatus

Jesse found the source code for the security program and showed its location to Link. Together they searched the command directories for a daily journal or a command program for the apparatus. Link, true to his name was good at this type of exploration. It took them less than a minute to identify command files that operated the device. Jesse identified two programs that operated the apparatus. Link found several encrypted journals and let Jesse decrypt them. The files described the location of hidden computer files and an inventory of the statues with their names listed by city. He broadcast this over the internal network to the rest of the squad.

Link broke off the search aware that Sergeant Sparks wanted their attention. Jesse was lost in concentration trying to decrypt the journals. Sergeant Sparks goosed Jesse's naked ass making him jump and scream.

"Hey code-boy, what is it? How does it function?" Sarge asked as the men assembled around them.

"Don't know what it does, but I've run the program in virtual and I know how it works. So let's put something into the chamber and let her rip. One program is 'convert' and one is 'restore.' So we need a victim, uh, I mean volunteer," Jesse said jokingly. He admired the Sergeant's well-muscled body with all its implants. He had a crush on Sarge growing up and had enjoyed sliding up and down the Sergeant's nine inches many times. Sarge put a hand on Link's shoulder and said:

"Did I hear you volunteer, marine?"

Link looked really puzzled. Jesse felt him withdraw from the network. Link never, under, any circumstances, withdrew from the network. He could see Link turn beet red as he struggled to make a decision. His cock rose to half mast.

Suddenly, he snapped to attention and blurted out halfway to hysteria: "Fuck you! No! Sir!" Sarge and the others broke up laughing. Sarge pulled Link against him and rubbed his head trying to mess his buzz cut. Link let out a big sigh and slumped against Sarge's body. In all the years they worked together, Link never carried on this way. He was always the team player working on the network and supplying information to his comrades.

"Sir! I'm sorry! Sergeant Sparks, Sir! But the apparatus turns people to stone, Sir!" Link barked as he stood at attention. His full presence returned to the network as he flashed a copy of the names and date of petrifaction for each statue into their minds.

"At ease! At ease…" Sarge stared at Link. Link relaxed his face and chest still red from rage and embarrassment.

"Look here, at the dates; whoever made these statues made a list of who and what they subjects were. It seems to cover all the statues in this place," Link explained.

"So," Tri interrupted, "that apparatus turns people to stone. Now, that's hot and sexy." Tri rearranged his thickening cock in the pouch of his jockstrap. His boner rested again his stomach. They stared at him as he tried to hide his flaming hard-on behind his hands. Sarge held up his hand and indiscreetly pointed at Tri's boner. Tri shrugged and continued:

"It stands to reason that the last statue created is the person responsible for the rest of the statue. So let's concentrate on reanimating the last statue created. Besides, imagine being made of hard stone for twenty or twenty-five years. I think it's exciting," Tri said. His hands covered his stiff cock as it strained in his jock strap. Castor and Paulo poked him and laughed. He flipped the bird to them. Link turned bright red with rage.

"Silly fools! You get turned to stone and you'll be all alone. What could be worse than that? It's a lonely death," Link barked angrily causing the others to stop their laughing. Sergeant Sparks folded his big arms around Link and hugged him tight. Mentally he linked his mind with Link's and opened both of their minds to the other four men.

"We won't let that happen, Link," Sarge said as they all mentally reassured him. Link calmed down and hugged the Sergeant.

Part 4 - Reanimation

Tri took a book and a metal drinking cup he had handy and set them on the platform.

"Do the book and cup," he said. Jesse shrugged and triggered the apparatus. The book and cup glowed blue for ten seconds and turned the books to stone. Tri picked them up and bright them over for examination. The book and cup was one solid piece of stone, even the individual pages had fused together. They set them back in the machine and triggered the reversal program. The book and cup glowed yellow and became paper and metal again. They examined the book and cup. It seemed unharmed and unchanged.

"OK, who do we reanimate first?" Tri asked enthusiastically. Jesse and Link started scouring the computer for a record of the creation date of the last statue. Smiling, Tri walked into the gallery to a statue standing nearby. It stood on the only platform with wheels. He kicked the back side of the platform and it rolled towards the chamber and stopped just at the threshold.

"That's the man you want. He's the only one who could move himself after being turned to stone. Either that or he left the cave. Somehow this cavern seems too elaborate for its creator to take his chances in the cold, cruel world," Tri leaned against the statue. The statue was the representation of a man easily two decades older than the marines, most likely in his late forties. The statue's thighs were thick, its butt sagged a little, the love handles showed on his waist. It stood taller than Tri and its chest was thickly muscled to match its heavy arms. The statue bore a plain face with curly hair and beard. Tri fondled the statue's cock and balls. A nice set, he thought. For an old man, drifted through his mind.

Jesse and Link found the man's name and particulars hidden in one of the computer files. They uploaded the information to the others and prepared to activate the chamber. Sergeant Sparks' eye's narrowed:

"We should have our full data array! Weapons stowed!" he barked severely. The five men snapped to his command quickly, silently, and efficiently. Vision enhancing glasses, scanners, monitors, strength enhancers, keyboards, and a variety of data ports augmented their bodies all attached to gold connectors studding their bodies. The equipment was flat, unreflective black and stood out against their skins. The only other color was the olive drab of their jockstraps with the regimental emblem stitched into the waist band.

"Activate all channels! Calibrate data link! Mark positions by laser," He ordered as the network activated in his brain and around their bodies. Sergeant Sparks felt five minds focus their attentions on his as he coordinated the data flow between them. A burst of their infrared lasers caught dust falling in a far corner of the room. Nothing within the vault could move without them knowing it. Linked together this way and fully armed they could hold off an entire army. But now, they merely circled the chamber and guarded a statue of a naked man.

"Activate the reversal program."

The air around the statue in the chamber glowed gold for ten seconds and blinked a couple times. The gold glow slowly dissipated as it did the white color of stone disappeared replaced by tanned skin tones. The man's eyes opened and he clutched his chest as if breathing hurt. He tried to step out of the chamber but doubled over and fell on the ground. Tri went over and rolled him onto his back. He used a medical scanner to determine if the man was free of any virus or germ. It flashed green. The man was still getting used to being flesh and blood again. He was obviously in pain. Tri pulled him completely off the platform and lifted him onto a soft mat on the floor. The man looked at him, smiled. In a weak voice he said:

"How about a beer, big boy!" then he passed out.

Part 5 - Gordo

It took about ten minutes to get the man sorted out enough to let him talk. They established that this cavern was created about thirty years before the current date. The construction predated the plagues and genetic scourges that were inflicted upon the world. His name was Gordon Harold Latham. He preferred to be called Gordo.

"So humanity survived its own follies again?" Gordo asked Tri as he watched the six marines.

"I guess we did," Tri answered, "We don't know much of what happened. None of us lived before the Chaos. All of us were adopted by the marines that came before us. When we're not on missions, we train men to follow in our footsteps. I guess humanity survived its own follies." Tri stood still as Jesse and Link transmitted information they were finding in the computer files.

"You're all wired together with those electronics? It's a cybernetic link between all of you? Isn't it?" Gordo asked.

"Yes, we are. Sergeant sparks wants to know if there is a way to communicate with the outside without leaving the cavern."

"I can show you where if you bring one of the computer keyboards over here," Gordo started to sit up but Tri just held out his arm with the built-in keypad and triggered the holographic display. Gordo stared at the keys and display for a moment and then typed a few commands into Tri's arm. The computer responded. Jesse and Link saw the results at the same time. Gordo checked the security programs and gave the marines full access to the facility.

"I see you decrypted most of the security program," Gordo repositioned Tri's body to pretending he needed to read the display better and in the process he felt Tri up. Tri's flexed his muscles and sat down against the man's body. The sensations were new, hot, and sexy. Gordo typed in a few more commands and several consoles rose out of the conference table. Sergeant Sparks and the others began to analyze the newly revealed parts of the computer system. He watched their progress on the display as he leaned against Tri.

"The galley is stocked with food. I don't know what you guys eat, but I could eat a cow, as they say. I'll show you where the food is located," Gordo said as he took a firm grip around Tri's body and entered a few commands into the computer one-handed. He let his other hand drift down Tri's muscular back, fondled his butt cheeks, and stuck a finger into his ass. Over on the far side of the room a light blinked as a storage unit opened to reveal stone blocks of various food items. Sergeant Sparks came over with a wireless keyboard and pulled Tri away from Gordo and told him to go get the block of stone food. Tri's cock was stiff inside his jock strap. His balls worked overtime producing hormones and sperm. Sergeant Sparks didn't care for this sexual disruption.

"Neither my men or myself have ever met an older man. You're a temptation they can't resist. As close as my squad is to each other and as wired up as we are, we don't have group sex. A little privacy still exists. You're out of line feeling up Tri's butt. In a few minutes I have to contact Central Command and I want these men to be presentable. You'll have to appear in our report. So I suggest you find something to wear and keep your hands off my men. You got one chance and one chance only," Sparks ordered in adamantine tones.

"Yes, sir, Sergeant, sir," Gordo mocked the Sergeant's tone and saluted him with the bird. The five other marines in the room cringed and prepared for the worst. Sergeant Sparks had beaten men twice his size for less than the smart-ass shit Gordo just pulled. Proverbial fire and steam poured out of Sergeant Sparks' ears. His head and shoulders turned red with rage. Link quickly entered the network to calm him down. From Gordo's point of view, the Sergeant just stood there for a few seconds motionless and then turned away. However, thoughts flowed at the speed of light and Link succeeded in calming the Sergeant so he wouldn't beat Gordo into a bloody-red pulp.

"Like I said, one more chance," Spark's growled.

Link came over with a spare headset and a pair of sweatpants and jock strap he found in a locker. The clothing was twenty years old, but still good. He handed them to Gordo.

"Who are you, hot stuff?" Gordo asked smiling at Link and fondled his golden hair and muscular body.

"I'm the communications liaison. You should listen to the Sergeant. Don't be an asshole," Link growled.

"But you're so cute and irresistible, my adorable little man," Gordo giggled and caressed Link's chin. He stood a head taller than Link and a good 50 pounds heavier. Instead of reaching for the clothing, he grabbed Link and tried to wrestle him to the floor. Link slipped quickly under the bigger man's reach and in one movement he lifted Gordo over his head. Gordo gurgled as Link gripped his throat. His eyes bugged out of his head.

"You wanna screw around jackass?" Link yelled. He didn't wait for an answer: "Any one of us is faster and stronger than you… This was your last chance," Link said as he carried Gordo's bulk to the chamber and dropped him onto the floor with a thump. He stepped back faster than Gordo thought possible as Jesse triggered the conversion program. The chamber glowed blue for a few seconds and Gordo's body turned to stone with a crackle. Link lifted the stone statue and moved it out of the chamber. The exertion pleased him. Paulo slid the platform beneath Gordo's stony body and slid it away.

Part 6 - Reanimation Redux

Castor slid a second platform into the chamber and the marines repeated the procedure of reanimating a statue. The man's return to flesh was slow and painful. His skin started out stony white and they slowly turned to fleshy pink.
His first few breaths were slow and painfully. Jesse retrieved the man's curriculum vitae. His name was Rory Carpenter, a theoretical physicist and design engineer. He owned most of the patents that made the cave work. Physically, Carpenter stood about six foot eight inches tall and weighed 240 pounds of lean and trim muscle. His body was shaved and decorated with sunburst tattoos circling his stomach, his pectorals, and in a semicircle above his crotch.

"Who are you? What's you're name?" he said as he opened his eyes and looked up at six marines. Their communications gear activated as Central Command called for Sergeant Sparks. He stepped away to communicate with Central Command. Link took over the reanimation.

"You're in the gallery where you were turned to stone. We just reanimated you…" Link answered.

"What year is it?"

"You've been stone about thirty years," Link answered. Carpenter gawked at the electronic gear attached to Link's body.

"You have machines attached to your bodies. What are you? Cyborgs?" Carpenter tried to stand up. His body wasn't ready and he collapsed in a heap. Link lifted him easily and carried him to a lounge. He laid Carpenter on it and started to monitor the man's physical functions. It took a few minutes and some stimulants to arouse Carpenter.

"Well, cyborg or not, I'm glad someone figured out how to reanimate…" Carpenter said and choked. His throat was dry as gravel. He stretched painfully. They handed him a canteen to drink from.

"Yes. You're lucky, we found this place by accident," Link talked as he checked on Carpenter's condition.

"Who are you? I'm Carpenter," He sat up and smiled at the semi-naked hunks who seemed to be waiting on him.

"We know who you are: Jesse found your file and sent it to all of us. That's Jesse James Santangelo - Jesse for short. He decrypted the security program; Tristan Jeremiah Jones known as Tri, he's our munitions expert; Sergeant Steven Sparks - call him Sergeant Sparks or Sarge; Castor and Paulo, the twins - they don't have last names. They're troopers without specialties; and I'm Link - - communications liaison and medical officer."

"That's all? Just Link? But that's only your function, surely you have a name," Carpenter smiled and poked Link's shoulder with one finger. Link returned the smile.

"Link! Just Link!" his eyes narrowed and anger flashed across his face.

"OK, young man, don't get excited. Link it is. Am I the first statue to be reanimated?" Carpenter asked.

"No, we animated Gordon Harold Latham before you but he was disruptive," Link said quietly and severely.

"Oh, my! Gordo the Grabber! Mister 'hands on everyone's ass'…" Carpenter said softly. Link shook his head in agreement. "Gordo is a great programmer, but he can't keep his hands off other guys… Sorry about that. I apologize for his behavior," Carpenter smiled and chuckled.

"Gordon Harold Latham grabbed Tri's butt just as we started to link up with Central Command. It would have been a black mark for Sarge if one of us joined the link while having sex with the recently animated. I guess he didn't realize how well integrated we are," Link observed staring at Carpenter's green eyes and brown hair. Sarge signaled the end of his conference with Central Command and jolted Link back to reality.

Carpenter stayed quiet. He noted the computer connections attached to Link's body. Every few seconds Link received and transmitted orders to all the other soldiers. Finally he turned his attention back to Carpenter.

"We can't take you outside until we establish your immunity to any engineered virus or bacteria. Apparently we're to debrief you. Sarge wanted me to tell you," Link instructed Carpenter. Carpenter marveled at the integration between man and computer implants in young man's bodies. He felt hungry.

Part 7 - Dinner

"Fair enough, I can't go outside. Right now, my dear fellow, I'm starving. I haven't eaten in many years. Did Gordo tell you where they stored the food? If you restore it, I'll cook it," Carpenter stood up a little too fast and wobbled on uncertain knees. Link reached around his waist and steadied Carpenter. Link's arm was warm and strong. Carpenter let Link help him dress in gym shorts and then leaned on his shoulder as they walked to a nearby chair.

"I'll get the blocks of stone that Gordon Harold Latham identified as food. We've voted for steaks, potatoes, wine, and apple pie for dessert. Sit here while I get them," Carpenter waited as Link went to the storage containers. He fished out several stone blocks and took them over to the chamber. Almost as an after-thought Jesse triggered the transformation program from where he worked. Link took the food to the small kitchen area and set it on the counter. Carpenter stood up on his own when Link returned. They walked to the kitchen area. Link insisted Carpenter do some stretching exercises to steady his balance.

Link helped Carpenter cook the meal. Sergeant Sparks ordered his squad to shut down the network and dress in freshly laundered fatigues. The squad removed most of their electronic implants and peripheral equipment. The smells of meat grilling filled the air. Carpenter set hot potatoes on the plates. Link sliced them open and spread butter and sour cream all over them. He set the steaks on each plate steaming and bloody rare. The marines ate in formal, polite silence. As a special treat, Carpenter made real coffee, an entirely new taste for the marines since coffee plants didn't survive in the northern Hemisphere.

Suddenly, the doors on the entrance chamber closed and it rose up to the entry level.

"Who triggered the entry? Are there others out there?" Carpenter asked.

"Gordon Harold Latham gave Jesse and Link the codes." Sparks lied. He continued: "We had Central Command send supply-bots. I hope Link told you that we're quarantined in here until we can inoculate you against the bioengineer plagues. We also have to make sure you're not carrying anything infectious. Your survival is our number one priority. We can't afford to fail," Sparks replied. Carpenter shifted in his seat. He had avoided any discussion of the outside world.

"I always thought that I would be reanimated to a world at peace. A world where I could rejoin easily. A world without war, famine and death…" he paused. The marines just listened. Carpenter took a deep breath and added: "How many survivors?" Carpenter asked.

"The genetic plagues were effective beyond anyone's expectations. Within hours, the first plagues killed adults outright. Later, the plagues induced homicidal dementia in adults. Worldwide, barely ten thousand adult males survived. That's less than a one-in-a-million survivor rate," Link answered. Carpenter sat silent for a moment. The enormity of Link's words echoed in his thoughts. Sergeant Sparks added more information:

"There were a few bright spots" three out of four prepubescent males were immune to the genetic agent. Some were lost to hunger and the demented adults. The few surviving military men, mostly marines, rounded up the kids," Carpenter could see hardness behind the Sergeant's steel-gray eyes.

"And the women?" Carpenter asked. The noise of the open cycle of the entry mechanism echoed in the cavern.

"The plague was one hundred percent fatal to women, no survivors."

"What about offspring? Men alone can't have children." Carpenter asked. His mind raced to comprehend the perilous situation.

"Some of us have been cloned. I have two sons. Sarge, Jesse, and Tri each have one. Castor and Paulo can't be cloned - - - genetic damage from the biological agents. Cloning is a necessity if we are to survive, Mr. Carpenter," Link answered. His voice was soft and forceful as if this topic was not discussed, but always calculated in every act and decision. Sergeant Sparks added to the as yet unspoken dread that filled Carpenter's thoughts:

"You see, Carpenter, five hundred men without genetic damage represent the salvation of the world. This cavern is valuable beyond all calculation."

A deep, resounding thud punctuated the revelation as the main vault doors cycled closed sealing them inside the cavern. They all looked around at the entryway.

"Essentially, we're locked in here for your medical evaluation," explained the Sergeant, "If you're contagious to us, we'll have to determine why and how to treat it. If we are contagious to you, we will petrify you until we get a cure. Above all else, you and the men in cavern must survive. We've been ordered not to reanimate any more men until we have a definitive answer to your viability. Your safety and well being is our responsibility," Sergeant Sparks explained. They all sat silent. Carpenter couldn't think of anything to say that would have meaning.

Part 8 - Supplies

Only the noise of the entry chamber slowly lowering itself to the floor filled the room. A chime sounded as the doors of the chamber opened. Two remote-controlled robots maneuvered into the cavern.

"Jesse, Tri, see to the regular supplies. Castor, Paulo, clean up the dinner, police the place and continue the cataloging. Link, Carpenter, come with me to the medical robot," Sparks ordered. The marines proceeded with their duties at his command.

Jesse and Tri unloaded items from the armored supply robot while Sparks and Link took Carpenter to the Medical Robot. It held an astonishing assembly of do-it-yourself medical kits. In its upper chamber was a package labeled immunizations for Rory Carpenter. Sparks handed the package to Link and proceeded to check out the rest of the kit. He was like a kid with a new toy at Christmas. The robot carried lots of new toys.

"It's all here… We can do most anything medical with this kit. It even has a remote-controlled robot surgeon in case we have to do major surgery. It's been a few years since I did major surgery…" the Sergeant mused. Link chuckled and turned toward him.

"The last time you did major surgery, you were at the slaughterhouse butchering pigs into pork chops. I don't see any volunteers lining up… or should I say victims," Link smacked Sarge on the shoulder and laughed.

"No, they only lined up when I did your surgery. Seems like everyone wanted some part of you. As I remember, I sliced up your nuts and auctioned them to the highest bidder," Sergeant Sparks and Link laughed. Link grabbed his crotch through the fatigues he wore and shook his cock and balls in an obscene gesture.

"Bite me, Bite my knob, Sarge!" Link surprised Carpenter with his comments. He started to say something, but Link grabbed his arm.

"Speaking of stuck pigs Mister Carpenter, drop your pants and bare your arms. You're about to get a full compliment of shots," Link sounded too happy for Carpenter's comfort. He pulled his T-shirt off and undid the tie on his waistband. He let the sweatpants fall on the floor. Link began with one shot in each arm, two in each butt cheek, and two in each thigh. Carpenter winced as each hypodermic needle punctured him. Sarge and Link laughed as they set up a pack of five short plastic needles for insertion into Carpenter's love handles. When Link finished, he picked up a second set of plastic needles. Carpenter whimpered.

"Sorry, There's only a few more to put in. It's all timed release stuff: vitamins, growth hormone, antigens, steroids, histo-complex inhibitors, anti-viral prions… all the good stuff. We've all been through this several times. It doesn't hurt that much. It just hurts a little," Link joked as he continued to poke foreign objects into Carpenter's body despite his whining and moaning.

"We can take the time now and set you up with a communications system, too. You'll have to get it sometime, everyone has it. You might be miserable for a few hours. It'll heal by tomorrow morning," Link asked. Sarge showed him a small box.

"Is it like the communications gear that you have?" Carpenter added. Link blushed and shook his head negatively. He looked to the Sergeant for an answer.

"No, it's much simpler. I have some of the most complex and advanced communications setups in existence. You only need a radio link and pickup. Link answered.

"Did you volunteer for it?" Carpenter tried to recover from the stupid question. Sparks rolled his eyes and Link chuckled. Link shrugged and answered:

"Well, about five years ago, we were on patrol to eliminate a band of marauding mutants and they got their claws into my back. Ripped me up pretty good, you might say. Sarge used the robot to hook up a new metal and electronic replacement. I have steel vertebrae and a completely electronic spinal cord. I got lots computer built into my body. Ever since that, I act as our communications liaison with headquarters," Link blushed. His shyness was appealing. The Sergeant interrupted.

"He's not the only electronic marvel. Eventually, I volunteered for titanium bone replacements and had a multitasking unit implanted inside me. It’s a good thing, titanium, a good thing. So Link and I are kind of a matched pair designed for C&C, command and coordination," Sarge added.

"But I didn't see scars on your body," Carpenter remarked.

"We don't scar. The rapid healers create new flesh and not scar tissue," Link answered. Link and Sarge opened a box and showed him the device: a small, flat web of wires and computer chips designed to wrap around the base of his skull from ear to ear. Two hairy rods that looked liked caterpillars fit next to the ear cannels. Carpenter examined the electronic implant.

"Will it be on all the time? Will I lose my privacy?" Carpenter asked, "I'd hate to be online twenty-four seven."

"No, you'll learn to turn off the network. We're used to being on all the time. Link is never off net. I shut down only on rare occasions. Jesse, Tri, and the Twins are off network right now. Their thoughts and feelings are private. You'll be able to turn this unit off too. You won't even know we implanted it after we use the rapid healer," Sarge answered. He rested a reassuring hand on Carpenter's shoulder. The other marines congratulated him on the network. They all were listening into the discussion.

Part 9 Communications

"Well, go ahead implant the communications gear… I guess I'll get used to it," Carpenter shrugged his shoulders.

Link and Sarge had Carpenter lie on his stomach on a table and set up the medical robot around his head. They shaved portions of his head, clamped it so he couldn't move, wiped on a topical anesthetic, and let the robot begin. The robot moved amazingly fast as it lifted the skin and laid the device against the bones of his skull. He felt pressure on the sides of his head as the robot inserted the wires next to the inner apparatus of his ear. Finally, it sealed the incision, finishing in three minutes. Link spent another five with the rapid healers. Then he let Carpenter sit up and look in the mirror. He couldn't see any scar or incision mark but he could feel the metal beneath his skin. Two small gold studs showed on his skin behind each ear. Link held what looked like a calculator near Carpenter's head.

"Ready for calibration and activation?" he asked. Carpenter shook his head affirmatively and suddenly voices blared in his ears. He jumped as Link adjusted the volume and level of the intruding voices to a manageable presence.

"You only have to think about turning it on or off," the Sergeant said. Carpenter looked at him not comprehending what he was to do. Link placed a cable onto the gold connectors on Carpenter's neck and shut down the many voices on the network. Only two voices, those of Link and Sarge, were left on the network. Link loaded what seemed to Carpenter to be a computer program with all the controls for the communications devices. Carpenter could hear Link and Sarge talking in the background. When Link finished the program he closed the connection and silence filled Carpenter's brain.

"Take it easy the first time you open up to the network. Do it slowly. It's a learned skill to listen to one channel or voice out of the many choices. I'll monitor you on a back channel so you don't get carried away. Sometimes a new man broadcasts to the world and drowns out everyone else. That's just annoying. However, a few get hysterical and flip out when they try to use to the gear," Link said. Carpenter nodded affirmatively.

"We think you should sleep now. Tomorrow, we'll talk about this cave… Who and what is stored in here," Sarge ordered. Carpenter immediately felt tired and sleepy. He didn't want to sleep, but it was like a light was switched off. He slumped over and didn't wake until the next morning.

Part 10 - Statue

Carpenter woke up well rested and fresh. None of the shots hurt or left marks and the incisions for the communications implants healed without scar. The marines were already awake. Carpenter prepared his breakfast and ate. He watched the marines doing calisthenics and aerobics dressed only in their olive-drab jock straps with the squad's emblem on the waistband. Their hot, sweaty bodies glowed red from the exertion. A soft click got his attention and he heard Link ask him to prepare breakfast, eggs, bacon, and toast for them. The communication was subtle and soft. He said yes out loud and the internal intercom clicked off again. Carpenter set about making his breakfast and finished just about the same time as the marine's stopped their exercise. The marines dried the sweat from their bodies and came to the table ravenous. Their bodies, still sizzling from the exertions, gleamed in the harsh, artificial light of the cavern.

"Work plans for the day, gentlemen: Carpenter, I would like you to explain to Jesse and Tri all the science behind the chamber you use to turn men to stone. They're the best technical men I have. Castor, Paulo, continue the cataloging of the material in this cavern. Link, you and I have debriefings and meetings all day with Central Command. We'll use the transfer chamber for privacy," Sergeant Sparks ordered.

Tri and Jesse surprised Carpenter with their scientific knowledge and ability to learn fast and efficiently. They learned the detailed theoretical ideas and applications in the morning. The afternoon became a fast paced design discussion of how to generate the quantum energy fields responsible for petrifaction and reanimation using various configurations of emitters. Before he realized, it was late afternoon and they were making several adjustments to the field generators and the frequencies of the energy field on the chamber itself.

Tri enthusiastically insisted on testing the new configuration. He wanted to pose like a statue he once saw. He removed his jock and posed naked in the chamber. He stroked his uncircumcised cock erect. Carpenter declined at first, but eventually he relented and activated the petrifaction sequence.

Tri's body glowed blue for a second. At first, it seemed as if nothing happened. Then he felt the hardness grow inside him as his body turned to stone. His skin color faded from its normal olive and gold tan to a stony, parchment white. He tried to breathe, but his petrified lungs wouldn't expand. He tried to move his arms, but his muscles refused to obey. He tried to talk but, his mouth wouldn't move at all. The petrifaction caught him with his mouth open and his head bent to one side. Both hands wrapped around his rock-hard cock.

"I can't move. My body feels so hard, so solid. My muscles feel huge. I can think," Tri's thoughts came over the intercom. The thought transmission was so slick; Carpenter didn't realize it wasn't speech.

"Yes, for a while after you turn to stone you'll stay awake. Eventually, you'll fall asleep and stay asleep. I was only able to stay awake for a few hours," Carpenter said it out loud and thought it.

"Jesse! Stroke my rock-hard cock! Eat my bone of stone! Do it, Dude," Tri's transmission was extra loud and when he heard Carpenter's laugh, Jesse turned very red. He was very embarrassed. Not only could Carpenter hear Tri's voice, he could feel the emotions behind it - a raw, youthful sex drive, without limits, without shame, full of abandon and joy.

"Don't yell, dude. We're not alone. He's on intercom," Jesse turned even redder as Carpenter patted him on the butt cheek.

"Go ahead, Jesse. Suck Tri's rock-hard cock and taste limestone. We all did it before we became statues. Gordo made sure we all knew what it felt like. Suck it, Jesse, suck it," Carpenter egged them on. Jesse stepped up, took a deep breath, and licked the underside of Tri's stone cock. It tasted of calcium and quartz and oil from Tri's body. The two marines started to talk to each other on the comm link; a robust, sexy dialogue between two lovers. Their emotions spilled over the intercom. Carpenter sat back and watched, transfixed in mental voyeurism. He could feel Jess's tongue as he licked the stone body of his comrade and at the same time, he could feel Tri's sexual excitement building inside the stone body. He knew from experience that there was no release for the building orgasm. It would rage through Tri's stone body. He didn't have the facility with the network to interrupt Jesse or Tri. He let the fresh lust of the two marines flow over his thoughts filling his mind. He pulled his pants down and stroked his cock contributing to the sexual energy. The sexual sensations in Tri's now statuesque body grew to a raging orgasm. The emotions flooding over the network were more than he'd ever experienced. Suddenly, Sergeant Sparks tapped him on the shoulder. Startled he jumped a foot into the air.

The Sergeant, Link, Castor and Paulo stood behind him, watching and listening in. He tried to extract his mind from the network but couldn't. Link entered the communications channel acting as the conduit for Jesse and Tri's now fiery, sexual energy. Sarge multiplexed their individual emotions onto several channels. Carpenter became aware that the rest of the squad was naked and jerking off to the efforts of Jesse and Tri. As the emotional energy reached orgasmic levels, Sarge punched the reanimation sequence into the computer and both Tri's stone body and Jesse' flesh and blood body glowed golden yellow.

The gray-white stony color drained from Tri's body and a healthy pink, red-blood, shading reappeared. His orgasm burst forth form his now flesh and blood cock as hot jism spewed over Jesse' head, chest and shoulders. The rest of the squad and Carpenter reached orgasm together leaving white puddles of sweat and cum on the floor. For a moment all of them stood, transfixed by the mutual orgasms. Without warning, Link released them from the mental links. Carpenter stood there gasping for breath. He'd never had an orgasm that strong. Jesse and Tri looked around from inside the chamber and they both grinned sheepishly.

"Public spectacle number one, reporting sir!" Tri said as he regained his breath and saluted. He and Jesse snapped to attention and braced. Their deflating cocks still thick and half erect, jerking with the beating of their hearts, cum spatters on their hands and feet.

"At ease, men! At ease, men!" Sergeant Sparks barked adding: "Nice to see you not just two working stiffs." The entire group laughed.

"Uh," Jesse asked as he wiped cum off his face and licked his fingers, "I thought we were on a private channel."

"You two were. Carpenter wasn't. Link had a back channel open to Carpenter just waiting for this to happen. When you decided to test the new configuration of the chamber, Link and I decided to listen in and record. Your petrification fantasy was too good to pass up. Link's already sharing your mineralized adventure with the rest of the group," Sarge said in matter-of-fact tones.

"Just think, when you're old and gray, you can auction off recordings of the first stone orgy," Link joked.

"You're probably burning the master on some remote drive right now! Here's the man of stone, watch while his buddy sucks his cold, hard cock, listen into his thoughts as he reaches orgasm and covers his buddy in hot, steaming spunk," Tri put a head lock on Link and rubbed his knuckles over his short blond hair. He yanked Link over into the apparatus.

"What if we trigger the apparatus now and I hold you like this for a few years? Or would you like to spend a few years snorting my armpits?" Jesse twisted Link's face against his armpit. They twisted apart. Link held onto Jess's arm and yanked it up his back. Carpenter's cock stiffened at the display of muscles and naked flesh. "These guys are so sexy and so innocent. They're like naughty boys. I want to stick my face into their buns and bury my tongue up their asses. I want to feel their ass's spasm and grip my cock as it plunges into their deep, hot guts." Carpenter thought as he closed his eyes and imagined the sexual positions and feeling. Sergeant Sparks grabbed him from behind and held him tight.

"Stop that," He yelled into Carpenter's ear shaking him out of his thoughts.

Part 11 - Adjust, Adjust

"!Sheeee-it! Turn off your headset. You're broadcasting your thoughts. You need to calm down while we adjust it," Sarge laughed into his ear. Tri and Jesse stared at him. Castor and Paulo were laughing and elbowing each other. Link had an irritated and disturbed look on his face.

"You heard my thoughts? Was I broadcasting?" Carpenter asked.

"Broadcasting? They could hear you into next week," Link growled.

"It's like you've got a built-in fantasy generator in your head. I could feel your tongue lapping between my buns. You're a walking orgasm," Sarge said as Link attached a thin cable to the studs on Carpenter's neck.

Carpenter added awkwardly: "I didn't even know I was broadcasting."

"Broadcasting? Broadcasting? That doesn't do justice to what you did. Your imaginary tongue was snaking into Tri's willing sphincter and Jesse's cock head was pressed against your prostate … Don't get me wrong, it's hot, hot, hot, but you're out of control." Link grumbled gruffly.

Carpenter blushed and sighed. Link's anger settled. He calmly entered Carpenter's mind through the dedicated cable.

"Can you start another daydream while I adjust the headset not to pick it up and broadcast your emotions and daydreams to everyone on the planet earth?" Link asked.

"Sure!" Carpenter answered as he imagined sucking off Link. Link looked around exasperated and at a loss for words. He smacked the side of Carpenter's head.

"Oh, for crap's sake, man. Do Sarge, do Jesse, do Castor and Paulo, just don't do me. I'm connected directly into your implant so I can adjust the settings. It's hard if I'm your fantasy," Link answered. He braced for the emotional onslaught. The Sarge bent Carpenter's head around and licked Carpenter's exposed neck. He let his hand cradle Carpenter's cock and balls. Carpenter could hear Link and Sarge thinking in the background, a minor distraction. He took a deep breath and imagined he was being fucked by Sarge. He imagined his long, uncircumcised cock being shoved into his asshole and probing his hot guts.

The daydream blinked in and out a few times and then filled his mind. He could feel Link's presence as he dreamed. He reached down and grabbed his cock feeling it grow and thicken extravagantly. He needed two hands to pump his own manhood as the ever-thickening and lengthening cock continued growing. In the dream he felt Sarge's cock growing inside him, filling him. The larger it got, the greater the sensations became. He felt their bodies merging, his into a receiver and the Sergeant's into the giver. He felt the Sergeant reach around his body and grip his cock, now four hands pumped the monster. The cock inside his body grew even thicker and longer. As they approached orgasm, their bodies blended into one fiery orgasm. Flesh and blood disappeared and only two cocks spurting pure sexual pleasure remained. Gallons and gallons of sizzling sperm dissolved their bodies into a pool of sexual pleasure.

Then the fantasy blinked just like a light. One millisecond he was in the middle of hot orgasmic pleasure, the next he could see the marines standing there, staring at him, jerking off again. Link stood next to his body with a cable attaching them together and the Sergeant's arms holding him. The daydream blinked back and he felt the ecstasy of an orgasm overpower his mind and start to take possession of his body. This time, they weren't alone. Another presence moved through his mind and began changing bits of his thoughts. It was Link reprogramming him. Carpenter let the orgasm play in his physical body and detached his consciousness so he could observe Link fix the communications device.

He felt a connection form to Link and Sarge. Sarge's mind was filled with multiple images. He was transmitting Carpenter's fantasy daydream to the other marines. Carpenter touched each man's minds surprised that he could read their emotions and some of their memories. When he touched Link's consciousness Link blocked him. A thought quickly filled his mind:

"Surely you don't think that I be the communications officer without being able to block intrusions?" Link projected into Carpenter's mind. Carpenter's mind quickly started to explore Link's consciousness. Link pushed him out of his mind again.

"You're better at this communications stuff than most. If you had discipline, you could be like Sarge, a multitask, or like me, a communications node. Something you can think about while we wait on your medical status," Link thought. Carpenter mentally nodded to Link.

"Can I block you? Can you read my memories? Can anyone block you?" Carpenter thought, amazed at the ability to read thoughts and listen to minds.

"Sure you can block me. Just concentrate on something and fill your mind with it," Link answered. It was a lie and Carpenter didn't detect it. Carpenter felt the orgasm in his fantasy playing out into its final gasping breaths. As he turned his attention back to his physical body Link placed a sleep program in his mind.

"These programs are all, in your terms, software. They'll let you stop broadcasting your thoughts and feelings so you can maintain some privacy. Now finish your daydream," Link said and he left Carpenter's mind before the raging, hot fantasy orgasm consumed him.

Carpenter woke with his body still in Sarge's grasp, his heart beating hard in his chest, his body dripping with sweat, his balls aching to be released. He looked around and Jesse, Tri, Castor and Paulo stood in front of him with their cocks in their hands, cum dribbling onto the floor; their hard, muscular chests heaving from their orgasms. A rich, sexy smell of man-sex filled the air.

"OK, sex machine, grab your joystick and jerk off privately so we can check out Link's work," Sarge said.

Carpenter deliberately thought privacy and closed all the communications connections. He closed his eyes and thought about a three-way with Jesse and Tri. It was a wild and outrageous fantasy replete with leather, whips, chains, dildos, and a several farm animals. It only took about a minute for him to reach a real orgasm and blow a ball-draining load of spunk out of his cock. He opened his eyes and looked around. The marines were watching him intently. He blushed. He never had an audience watch him jerk off before in his life.

"I'm guessing you couldn't hear that fantasy," Carpenter said sheepishly. None of the marines said a word.

"Come on guys, It's nothing special. Surely you've seen a man jerk-off before?" Carpenter asked. His voice trailed off into silence. Carpenter grimaced and shrugged his shoulders: "Good! You're all too young and innocent to hear about my act with that mule in Tijuana." Both Tri and Jesse's eyes popped open while Castor and Paulo giggled obscenely. Carpenter looked smugly about satisfied that he shocked them.

"But we did notice that you have an interesting technique… the way your palm stretches your cock as your fingers knead the head and then when you squeeze the last drop of your cum out of the foreskin. It's truly inspirational. Do you think you could teach that to me, sometime," Jesse made movements with his hands and Carpenter's head and shoulder's turned bright red.

"Behave! Smart ass!" Tri smacked Jesse on the back of his head and broke into giggles, sneers, and leers. Link just sighed at their playfulness. He gave Carpenter a thumbs-up

"The software is a success. Even I couldn't hear any of that fantasy… Now just be careful about when you open your mind to the network. Keep your emotions under control and your mind focused," Link told Carpenter.

"That's especially important tonight, Central Command wants to debrief talk to Carpenter 'live and online' tonight," Sergeant Sparks said. Link groaned while Jesse and Tri snickered. Sparks gave them an evil look and they shut up. In gruff tones, Sparks added: "After we clean up and eat dinner, I want Link to set up your avatar and give you some training on the conference setup."

Part 12 - Central Command

After dinner, each marine set up small projectors on the conference table that would project 3-D, holographic avatars. Each of the marines had a stylized avatar of themselves. Link enlisted Jesse and Tri to create a decent hologram from their laser scan of Carpenter as a statue before he was reanimated.

The conference spanned a wide range of topics. Carpenter began nervously as he related a short history of the cavern that met everyone's expectations. He said it was created as a refuge from religious zealots. He recounted how he discovered the quantum fields that permitted petrifaction and explained how the small group recruited the current occupants of the cavern and collected the treasure trove of literature, music, and art for eventual digitization and preservation. Central Command was overjoyed that Carpenter had not died within 24 hours of exposure to the marines. Jesse presented his efforts on learning the process and also gave insight into how the apparatus could be made smaller and more efficient. Towards the end of the meeting, Central Command expressed the desire to move beyond Carpenter's partial success at communications and insisted that he be fully digitized. They wanted this done as soon as possible. Not many men were completely digitized. Even Link, who was almost constantly on net, was not completely digitized. Full digitization would not only guarantee preservation of Carpenter's current knowledge but also it would guarantee that any future knowledge would be preserved. Central Command wanted Carpenter to work on several new scientific initiatives so his full digitization would let them monitor his methods along with his knowledge.

The Chaos lost not only knowledge but methods. One of the last biological weapons killed nearly all post-pubescent males that were still alive leaving orphans to survive. The squad was composed of those orphans. Sergeant Sparks being the oldest member of the squad had some experience with adulthood. The rest of his men were between three and six years old and had a very limited notion of being raised by adults. This surviving generation never knew factories, schools, nor did they have knowledge of time management, construction methods, or practical knowledge of group human interactions. As the squad passed through puberty, they learned and understood the science of something but they didn't know the scientific method that was once used to develop an idea into practical machines and equipment. Central Command explained this to Carpenter. Thinking about today's work with Jesse and Tri, he realized that they learned the science of the petrifaction apparatus but they were not able to advance the concepts to the type of portable apparatus that Central Command wanted and desired. Central Command thought the best thing they could do would be to spread his working knowledge to as many survivors as possible and that required converting his knowledge into digital form.

Carpenter resisted complete digitization for over an hour. He explained it was an invasion of his privacy and that he didn't want his mind spread around that far and wide, but in the end, he agreed to digitization.

Part 13 - Digitization

Link and Sarge set up the equipment in a relatively short time. Carpenter passed the time in scientific discussions with Jesse and Tri. The robotic surgeon looked ominous with its multiple, motor-controlled arms zipping and whizzing. A variety of sharp instruments adorned a table underneath the robot.

"We'll implant the electronics tonight and by morning you'll be all healed," Sarge said. Link agreed with him.

"By morning everything will be healed. Won't it?" Carpenter asked.

"Yes it does. Actually, I should warn you…" Sarge smiled and winked, "some of us, Link in particular, never recovered fully from implantation. He's from Barcelona."

Puzzled, Carpenter merely asked: "Barcelona?" Sarge laughed. Link ignored him.

"What does this procedure involve?" Carpenter finally asked feeling a little queasy about the surgery.

"Well, the good news is that it's not rocket science, but the bad news is its brain surgery." Sarge joked, Link grimaced, and Carpenter turned a little pale. Link put his arm around Carpenter's shoulder and gave him a half hug to reassure him. Sarge puckered his lips and mugged a kiss behind Link. When that didn't have any effect he stuck his tongue out at the back of Link's head. Almost without perceptible motion, Link reached around and grabbed the Sergeant's tongue and held tight.

"Gotcha! Now cut the silliness," he yanked Sarge's tongue harder causing him to scream. Sarge said something unintelligible and after a minute, Link let go. Sarge fussed with his tongue. Link turned his back to Sarge and showed Carpenter a sterile case with the new comm device.

"It's just the more advanced model of what you have. It fits against your skull and reads electrical signals in your brain. You'll heal by morning," Link said.

"These robot things are going to lift my scalp?" Carpenter asked.

"Yeah. It's not even a hard surgery. These robots did my spinal column and my right arm. They replaced Sarge's left leg and both his hands with titanium, both Jesse's feet are metal and both Tri's arms are metal. That's the major stuff," Link patted Carpenter's back and pushed him against the operating table.

"Wow," Carpenter said. He sat up on the table and let his legs dangle off the side. He reached up and yanked his jersey off in one motion. Link took it and tossed it to the Sergeant, who sniffed it, and threw it aside. He washed his hands and started measuring and making marks on Carpenter's head. As he measured, he talked:

"Let's see 7 inches this way, 4 inches that way," Sparks made marks and drew lines. When he finished, lines arrows and dots covered Carpenter's head. Suddenly he grabbed Carpenter's head and positioned it sideways and upturned smearing the marks he just made.

"The only drawback is that you'll be stuck like this for the rest of your life." Sarge said dramatically keeping Carpenter's head in the strange position.

"I'm not ready for my close up Mister De Mille," Carpenter said through the Sarge's vice-like grip. They both giggled at the joke. Link just muttered "silly assholes" and turned to get some supplies. Carpenter tried to remove the Sergeant's hands from his head. He struggled for a few seconds before Sarge released him. Link brought over a half dozen warm, moist towels covered in with warm, water-based antiseptic.

"Wash all that marker nonsense off your head and sit with your back to the robot. We'll give you a drug that will make you sit still while the robot implants your electronics," Link said as he cleaned his own hands. He unpacked the device. It looked like a mesh shower cap with wires extending to a lozenge-shaped, surgical steel box about a half inch wide and inch long.

"That's the receiver and antennae for the unit. The box contains the computer that makes it all work. The computer gets embedded into the thick bones at the base of the skull," Link and Sarge both pointed to the components.

"Is this what you have in your head?" Carpenter asked. Sarge said yes and Link said no. They stared at each other, indecisive. Carpenter noticed that their eyes locked together like they were talking to each other. He waited and then poked both men. Link broke away first and addressed Carpenter:

"The mesh net is the same. The computer is smaller. We both use larger computers for data storage and image processing. You won't have that. Every twelve to twenty-four hours, your computer will transmit all the data it collects to the mainframe. Central Command will make your uploads available to the other squads. You won't be online 24/7, as your generation used to say but you will be online," Link said in a reasonable tone. Carpenter wasn't altogether satisfied.

"I've always been a little suspicious of authority and Central Command gives me the creeps." Carpenter leaned away from the robot surgeon and crossed his arms defiantly. Link stared back with a serious look on his face and Sarge was puzzled. He became lost in thought for a moment.

"I thought we told you... I guess we told Gordo about it," Sarge lied. This was never the subject of any conversation with Gordo or Carpenter.

"Link and I agreed to attempt complete digitization of our brain functions and consciousness. The bony portions of our skulls have been replaced with metal plates and the mesh receiving net is identical to the one you'll get, but ours rests directly against the brain. The medical personnel have succeeded in replacing about half of our brain functions with computer programs. We've already tried to transfer ourselves into computers and leave our bodies. The techniques worked, but the computers were too small and slow. They are building new computers just for us," Sarge stopped for a breath.

"Why would you do this to yourselves?" Carpenter asked. He was stunned by the revelation. Sarge shrugged again and continued:

"None of the survivors, none of us, not a single one of us will live much beyond thirty years old due to one of the genetic plagues. Even our clones are short-lived. We hope that we can extend our lives by transferring our minds to computers or into less-than-successful clones." Sarge stopped again. Link put an arm around Sarge's shoulder and leaned against him.

"What are less-than-successful clones?" Carpenter's suspicions surfaced.

"Half of the clones can't be educated. We can make their bodies sound. In fact, more than sound. We can make physical supermen. But their minds are blanks. They don't learn. Link and I feel that we can interface with one of those brains and take over the body. If it doesn't work, we'll take up residence in our own custom-built computers. We are trying to cheat death."

"And if my genes are undamaged…" Carpenter didn't finish the statement. Sarge interrupted:

"But you don't have to worry about that, you're only going to be online to preserve your memories," Sarge pushed Carpenter back against the supports.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Go ahead, install the device and put me online. Do it quickly before I ask anymore questions," Carpenter said. His mind wanted to launch into hyperactivity with the latest revelation. Carpenter suppressed the thoughts.

He felt a needle prink in his arm and found he couldn't move. Sarge and Link wiped his head with the towels and applied a topical anesthetic. They started an IV and Carpenter felt the robotic surgeon cut into his scalp. The motors on the robotic arms whirred and hummed. The knives scrapped the bone as they removed his scalp and bared the bone underneath. Then the robotic surgeon fastened the mesh network to his skull with small screws. He felt pressure on the back of his skull as the robot machined a place for the computer. When that was finished it covered the computer with a calcium-based paste, hardened the paste with UV light. It then replaced his scalp and stimulated the healing process. By the time he could move, the incisions were bloodless and scabbed over. It took another 10 minutes to heal the external incisions completely. By morning, he would be completely healed.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Sarge asked.

"No, not like I thought it would be. When are you going to activate the link?" Carpenter asked.

"Tomorrow morning, Sarge and I will activate your program and do your initial upload. Tonight, you should sleep," Link said as he examined Carpenter. The Sergeant was behind him stowing the robotic surgeon.

"Yes, you should sleep," Sarge said. Déjà vu thought Carpenter. He turned quickly and started to say something to Sarge, but he fell asleep.

Carpenter awoke the next morning rested and refreshed. He stretched himself awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sarge and Link standing over him, watching, and waiting. He felt like an alarm clock had gone off but he knew there wasn't one around. Startled, he sat up completely awake and alert.

"You installed a sleep switch inside me, didn't you?" Carpenter asked his voice scratchy and harsh.

"Sure, we all have a sleep switch. After we digitize your memories, I'll teach you how to handle that program," Link answered. Carpenter shifted his position and realized he was sitting on a large air mattress in a far corner of the cavern well hidden behind the book shelves. He pulled the blanket from him and saw that his body was hairless and smooth. His body looked like the marine's bodies. He rubbed his hands across his hairless arms and chest. He felt stronger and healthier. Both Link and Sarge smiled. They were naked and their thick, uncut cocks pointed down at him. Carpenter took a drink from a canteen lying next to him and then grabbed Sarge's cock and balls. He pulled him to his mouth. Both Sarge and Link sat down next to him. Their bodies felt hot and sexy. They exuded a musk that aroused him. He felt his cock thicken and lengthen and his balls churn in anticipation.

"The implants changed your body while you slept. They made you stronger, healthier, and horny as hell," Link hugged Carpenter's head against his muscular chest. It was almost as if a switch flipped on in his head. He had to have sex with Link. He had to lick the salt off his body and suck the cum out of his balls. Link's muscles were irresistibly strong. His smell was so delicious that Carpenter reflexively stuck out his tongue and licked the smaller man's pectorals and chewed at his nipples. Link slid his body underneath Carpenter's and began to suck nearly devouring Link's thick, short dick. He felt Sarge's face at his asshole. His tongue plunging deep between his buns. Waves of pleasure swept through Carpenter's mind and body as he wiggled his ass backwards encouraging the tongue deeper and deeper. The three men sucked and licked for a few silent minutes.

"I've never felt this good before," Carpenter said as he ran his tongue up the shaft Link's cock. Each ridge and blood vessel creating more pleasure than he ever imagined possible. He felt Link suck his balls into his hot mouth one at a time. The heat inflamed his balls. He squirmed backwards as the head of the Sergeant's cock entered his butt hole.

"Don't stop, don't stop," Carpenter moaned around Link's cock. He wanted this. Sex never felt this good. He felt his balls pull up tight as Sarge's big cock pounded his prostate and Link's hot tongue and mouth worked his cock. Link's cock drooled precum that tasted so good, Carpenter couldn't suck it hard enough. Their breathing and heart rates increased as they neared three, mutual orgasms. Their rhythm and pace slowed as their bodies tensed and stiffened with the impending orgasm. Link was first to pass the point of no return as his cock spurted a thick huge load into Carpenter's mouth. The tasty, hot spunk drove Carpenter's balls into overtime and blew a reciprocal load into Link's hot mouth. Sarge stiffened and pulled Carpenter's body tight against his crotch impaling him on his stiff rod as he began depositing a load deep inside the Carpenter's hot ass.

Satisfied that Carpenter was lost in the heat of orgasm, Link triggered the digitization process. Unable and unwilling to stop the orgasm, Carpenter felt his entire mind light up in orgasmic pleasure as the digitization process began to drain all his memories and experiences. The digitization process felt as good as the orgasm. Carpenter felt Link guide the process from within his orgasms. He visualized his entire consciousness merging with the fiery orgasm and at the same time transferring itself to computer memory. His hips pumped against Link's face as he thrust his cock deep into the hot, waiting throat. Each spurt of jism was another portion of his memory transferred onto the network. His orgasm seemed to last for hours and hours as his life paraded through mind. Their hot bodies against his, their sexual organs in contact with his sexual organs, erogenous zones stimulating each other, the sheer ecstasy of having his mind released from his physical body was beyond any orgasm Carpenter ever felt.

Carpenter felt a sucking, pulling sensation. His mind was drawn to brilliant white vortex that hungered for his knowledge. Link and Sarge were already inside. They welcomed him. He could sense their presence there. They showed him their human bodies as they lay convulsing and jerking on the floor of the cavern in the midst of orgasmic pleasures. He felt his body's orgasm as if it wasn't his body. Then he felt Link's and Sarge's orgasms. They let him experience his body just as they felt it, licked it, and screwed it. Their skin became his skin for a few brief thoughts.

The persona that was Sarge seemed to talk to him: "You handled digitization better than most. I get the impression you enjoyed it."

"We should return to our bodies. He's too new to stay out-of-body too long," Link's persona commented. Carpenter realized that his digitized consciousness was listening and interacting with Link's and Sarge's consciousnesses. His attention wandered into their combined memories that flowed back for many years. He saw two youths, one older and one younger finding each other and living together until they were rescued by marines. Their memories suddenly snapped shut. Carpenter felt his mind returning to his body.

"But… You... I… My… memories, my thoughts, my feelings, they're all on computer chips?" Carpenter thought. His mind returned to the fiery orgasm.

He felt his flesh pressed against the hot, sweaty flesh of Link and Sarge. His cock was still dribbling cum. His body still in the throes of sex. But there was a difference. Not only could he feel both Link's and Sarge's body against his, he could feel his touch on their bodies. A portion of him seemed to remain within their minds and report back to him what they felt.

Time sped up and his awareness returned to normal. The three men collapsed in a heap. Their hearts beat madly as their chests heaved to get more oxygen to their bodies. Cum, drool, spittle and sweat covered their bodies. Carpenter licked the cum from Link's body. Rubbing his face into the younger man's crotch. His hands tweaked Link's chest and nipples. Link grabbed Carpenter's shoulders and lifted him off his body.

"Whoa, lover boy, the party's over for this morning… Don't take this the wrong way, but we're done. Mission accomplished," Carpenter looked up at Link and for a moment he saw the sweet face of a really cute, blond boy, maybe fifteen years old, innocent and vulnerable behind the usual blank mask that Link wore as chief communication node. "I wonder if he knows my secrets? Oh, he's so cute, who cares," Carpenter thought as he watched Link laugh. Carpenter hugged Link, kissing him gently on the forehead.

"But you taste so good. I don't want to stop," Carpenter said. He continued to lick Link's body. They both and cuddled close. Sarge laughed and yanked them into a standing position.

"Up on your feet, guys, up on your feet!" Sarge half-ordered half-suggested. The three of them wandered their way to the shower and jammed their three bodies into the cubicle. The initial blast of cold water shut down their libidos and the subsequent flow of hot water washed their bodies clean. Carpenter took the opportunity to feel up the artificial parts of their bodies. Their metal bones and attachments felt sexy.

They left the shower with hot, steamy, red skin. Link threw one of the squad's jock straps to Carpenter. He yanked it up his legs and over his cock and balls. It felt good as it cupped his unit and held his unit tight. The rest of the squad stood waiting similarly attired. Carpenter posed proudly when he saw them.

Breakfast was ready. Link and Sarge sat down on either side of Carpenter. The others sat across from them. Jesse and Tri cooked bacon, eggs, and toast semi-successfully. The hash browns were smoking black cubes laying in the trash and the eggs were scrambled and not over-easy. Jesse and Tri bore the brunt of their jokes. When they finished the meal, Jesse asked the obvious question:

"If Carpenter's digitization was successful, should we continue working on the petrification chamber?"

The Sergeant chuckled and spoke deliberately: "Digitization was successful. So continue your work." He poked his elbow into Carpenter's side causing him to choke on a mouthful of food. Link squeezed Carpenter's shoulder.

"Easiest digitization on record. You'll all get CD-ROM's to study tonight… We also have film at eleven… Pop quiz shortly afterward." Links blue eyes twinkled as he teased the group. Carpenter dropped his fork.

"CD-ROM's? You mean you're passing out CD-ROM's of me? You're not giving me the chance to edit it?" Carpenter asked.

"Sure, everyone in the Corps will have it by the weekend," Link answered impishly.

"But, it's raw and uncensored… And it's sex… And it's all my secret thoughts and feeling, all my memories. You drained everything… All, all that stuff is private. I want to get that stuff out of there," Carpenter gasped and sputtered. He tried to stand between Link and Sarge but they grabbed his shoulders and yanked him down to the table.

"Privacy? You're one of the Squad now. There's no need to keep secrets," Sarge answered. He edged closer to Carpenter and wedged him against Link.

"But, it's my life. There are things I don't want you to know," Carpenter tugged and pushed at the two muscular bodies that held him on the bench.

"Not anymore," Link interrupted, "None of us have any secrets left. Your knowledge will help save mankind from extinction. No one cares if you finger-fucked little Suzie Cream-cheese in the second grade, or if your stepfather copped your cherry when you were ten, or your supposed act in Tijuana with that donkey, or the time you got yourself gangbanged by the motorcycle club. It doesn't matter to any of us."

"It was a horse on a farm in Fayette County and I didn't have an audience," Carpenter growled angrily remembering his bet, the horse, and its cock. Jism spurted into his mouth and all over his face. He shock off the memory and struggled against Link and Sarge. They let him stand up, knocking the chairs backwards. His face and neck was now red from anger and exertion. He walked away muttering obscenities and punching the air. They called to him but he didn't acknowledge them. Jesse walked over to him and since Carpenter wouldn't turn around, he talked to his back.

"Look, old man… And you are an old man compared to us… Tri and I were orphaned at the age of five and we lived alone for two years. We scrounged garbage to stay alive. The adults we knew died or turned into killers. When the marines found us at seven, we weren't virgins. We were two, very hungry, very desperate kids. Those Marines were only fifteen or sixteen. They were kids themselves. And yes, even at the age of seven we fucked and sucked with them. That's what all of us have. All of us have horror stories, things we regret; but once we got in the squad, we learned to put that all behind us. Now, our mission is to preserve the human race," Jesse paused as Tri joined him. They leaned their hips against each other and looked the figures portraying the constellation Gemini.

Jesse continued: "You're the key to mankind surviving. We're all going to die in a few years. You're going to outlive all of us. How about getting off your high horse about your past sex life and helping us. The sad fact is; we all worship you as a father-figure. It's hard not to do that; after all, none of us had a mother, or a father, or parents, or schoolmates, or dates, or anything like that. You had it all," Carpenter shuffled and huffed in anger. Jesse didn't stop.

"You're the father figure we never had. You're the brother that he never had. None of your experiences mean anything bad to us. It's like learning history. It's a heritage we never had or even knew until now. As for sex, well, we never met a man or boy we didn't have sex with… You'll understand when you get more involved. Just like Link said -- film at eleven… Pop quiz shortly afterward. Don't take it so personal. It's only sex. We're all on file."

"You're all on file? You're available to anyone and everyone?" Carpenter asked, still angry, still pacing.

"Yes, all of us are available online. Some of us more than others… We all link up at one time or another and share ourselves," Jesse said. Carpenter waved his hands and gestured wildly.

"Well, it's going to take me a little time to get used to it. I'm surrounded by six, sexy and attractive young men who are willing to discuss the most intimate details of me, my body, my sexual acts, and my past with each other and the world. Did any of you think I would be pleased with that?" Carpenter turned and snapped at Jesse. No one spoke for a moment. The marines could see the rage and anger inside Carpenter.

Part 14 Revelations

Carpenter turned and started to talk: "The petrifaction process was a lark. I invented it as a joke," Carpenter paced back to the table and thumped it. The noise echoed throughout the room. His face turned progressively redder as he stood there.

"We had a club, a group. We pretended to be statues. It was all pretend until I did it for real. I worked out the quantum energies to transmute anything to stone. I thought it was a useless device. My so-called friends and I kept it secret. The rich kid in the club had this cavern built without anyone knowing. The club moved in and we petrified each other at first. Then we began to tricked men into becoming statues. All these statues you see in here aren't volunteers. We lured them with sex and then petrified them. We built this as our own gay retreat, a private closet full of statues. No one knew that I was gay outside of a half-dozen men. When my wife and kids died in a car accident, Gordo and his buddies tricked me into becoming a statue. I was going to announce my apparatus to the world and they stopped me. I'm not the savior of humanity you think I am. If you don't know it already, you'll figure it out in a few hours." Spent, Carpenter ended his speech. The cavern was silent.

Jesse spoke first: "So what's your problem? We all have pasts. You'll find out about each of us eventually," Jesse shrugged.

"But you grew up this way. I didn't. All of this… You grew up open, exposed. I lived in a safe, secure closet all my life and now you're making it all public. All those lies… All that deception… All these statues are going to wake up and figure out what we did. I'll hear it five hundred times over and over. It's not something I'm proud of and now everyone will know about it in the most intimate terms. I didn't sign up for this shit. I don't want all this responsibility. I want to go back to my nice little closet and hide," Carpenter's anger subsided into pathetic whimpers. He stood there, sullen and brooding.

"You can't change the past," Jesse shrugged again. Tri wrapped a thick, muscular arm around Jesse.

"But I've never been that open, that honest," Carpenter whined.

"You'll get used to that. No one makes any judgments. Besides, you're unique. So you better get used to the attention," Tri said. He smiled and added: "I for one can't wait to learn about how you grew up and your sex experiences. It'll be fun. It'll be the history I never had. Besides, ever since you turned me to stone and I felt Jesse's tongue on my cold, hard, stony dick; I've been horny as hell for sex with an old man." Tri winked and mugged seductively.

"Look, making up to me won't help. You guys are all sex; hot, sweltering sex…" Carpenter made like he didn't care, but his cock stiffened inside the jock strap. He continued: "…and although the sex is great and tempting, it's… just …" His voice trailed off into silence as he retreated into thought. Link walked over to Carpenter, grabbed him and kissed him. Carpenter struggled to break the vice-like grip of the very blond and well-built Link. The feeling of Link's body against his own was too much to resist and Carpenter gave into the embrace. He didn't notice Link as he connected to one of the metal studs of the communication net embedded in his neck. He surreptitiously entered Carpenter's mind and began to adjust his feelings. As he broke the kiss, he finished Carpenter's sentence.

"It's just too much, isn't it? Too fast, too hard, too sudden, too overwhelming, too awkward to change, too open, too honest? Too much to handle all at once… What else?" Link covered up Carpenter's fears and guilt. He used his body to cover his manipulations.

He continued to talk: "You're scared and anxious. We understand that. Every possession, every thing you know is gone. You're depressed. You fail to understand that we, the survivors are willing to worship your body and forget your past. We're all young and humpy and you're the hot, new stud." Link reinforced Carpenter's pleasure centers and diminished his depression.

"Aw, Link," Carpenter said as he hugged link and kissed him.

"So you're going to have your way with me, aren't you?" Link said as he laughed and pulled Jesse and Tri into the hug. He carefully adjusted Carpenter's desires to match their physical bodies. Jesse and Tri were aware of the manipulation. Carpenter remained blithely unaware.

"Don't worry about your past… We just want you to develop a smaller version of the petrification apparatus. That's all. Sex isn't that important to us. You'll understand that after we get out of here." Tri entered the conversation.

Carpenter admitted how scared he was and the three of them, Link, Jesse, and Tri, talked with Carpenter the rest of the morning. Link slowly and carefully quieted each of Carpenter's fears and concerns. They finished mid-morning and then began doing exercises. Carpenter was surprised that he could keep up with the marine's exercise routine.

Part 15 The Device

For lunch, they fed themselves supplements, vitamins, and energy drinks. Carpenter reanimated some grapes to treat the marines. That afternoon and into the evening the three men worked on the petrification apparatus. Very late, after dinner, Jesse, Tri and Carpenter produced a prototype of the redesigned petrification apparatus ready for testing. It was smaller, faster, and used much less power to create the effect. After a successful test, they started working on a smaller, hand-held version of petrification apparatus.

That night, with the other marines were sound asleep, Carpenter became the center of Jesse and Tri's sexual desires. They wanted a quickie and Carpenter agreed. The three men got off at least twice before they fell asleep in a heap of arms, legs, cocks, balls, semen and saliva. The next morning, Carpenter woke with Jesse lying tight against his back. His semi-stiff cock poking between Carpenter's legs, his head resting against the back of his neck. Tri's head rested comfortably in his hairy crotch still sucking Carpenter's cock as he slept. Their bodies were warm, reassuring and comforting. He shifted his weight and nudged Jesse and Tri; neither man showed any signs of waking. He listened to both men snored quietly. "I could easily stay with these men. They're everything I could hope for in lovers and they don't care what went on in here," Carpenter thought to himself. He sighed aloud.

"You want we should wake Tri and Jesse? Those two sleep like the dead," Link's soft voice startled him. The blond, muscle-bound communications officer stood over the three of them stretching and flexing his body awake. Without shame or modesty, Link rubbed the sleep from his face and then shifted his unit in his jock strap. He spread both arms upward in one massive stretch showing off his muscles. The Sergeant came up behind him and entwined his arms around Link's chest and fondled Link's chest. They held the embrace for a minute before Sarge untangled his arms from Link's body.

"I think we should wake them," he said as he turned around to pick up a bucket of cold water. Carpenter's eyes bulged. He screamed as he struggled to remove Tri's mouth from his cock. He almost succeeded when the ice cold water struck. Jesse and Tri woke immediately and tried to stand and defend themselves but they couldn't disengage their bodies from Carpenter. Their hearts beat wildly at sudden, cold-hearted awakening. Tri nearly circumcised Carpenter and Jesse landed flat on his face trying to stand up. Link and Sarge stood by laughing loudly. Carpenter massaged his foreskin where Tri's teeth left marks. Jesse stood jumped up and stood like a mountain of wiry steel, his legs and arms ready to attack. Cold water dripped from his body.

"Son-of-a-bitch! Mother-fucking bastard! Your father sucks the sweat off of dead men's balls, little man and you like to fuck pigs in their own slop," Tri yelled at Link so loud he echoed. He looked at the Sergeant and shut up. This was the first truly profane expletives that Carpenter heard from these marines. Tri's body resembled sculptured steel as it glistened in the harsh fluorescent light. His muscles tensed like steel coils.

"Whatcha do that for?" Carpenter asked as he rubbed the cold water from his body. He could hear Castor and Paulo laughing in the distance. Jesse took a deep breath.

"At ease, Soldier. You're the weekly prank," Sergeant Sparks said in stern tones just before he busted up laughing again. Link stood with his eyes closed concentrating on something.

"Each week, the squads have a competition to see who can pull the best practical joke. We've just been entered into the contest. See, Link is transmitting our awakening as we speak," Jesse said with a shrug. He patted Tri's back and tried to hug hum, but was pushed away.

"No shit?" Carpenter stood and put his arms around both Tri and Jesse shoulders. He stood a few inches taller and had the reach on both of them.

"What are our chances of winning?" he asked as he hugged both men. He licked at Tri's ear making him shiver.

"With you involved, winning is a certainty. You're the new item on the block and everything you do will be interesting to all the other squads," Tri grumbled and shrugged. Carpenter turned and nibbled at his body.

"And you're not afraid to let the world see you dripping wet, are you?" Carpenter teased. Tri returned the kiss.

"No, I'll survive the humiliation of being attacked by Puck over there," Tri licked Carpenter's neck.

"Puck is Link's nickname on practical joke day," Jesse explained.

The three of them spent the days working on the smaller version of the petrification apparatus. The nights however were for Tri and Jesse's pleasures. Jesse searched thought the smut literature and picked out the most interesting sexual practices. The three men tried any and all of them. Each morning, Carpenter always woke refreshed no matter how late or how hard they fucked and sucked. When he mentioned this to Link and Sarge, they blamed it on the vitamins and supplements. Carpenter didn't altogether believe this and in retaliation he told the marines that they used an interior decorator named Sibyl Fawlty to design the inside of the cavern. Another time he told them that the cavern was designed after an Art Deco motif based on Richard and Harold Thomas' interior designs for crew quarters on the Ark Royal. It took a few hours, but the historians at Central Command discovered these jokes. The marines quit believing him after a futile search for snakes when Carpenter told them that snakes were found in the toilets during construction and used to scare the shit out of the workers.

Once or twice, Carpenter caught Link listening in on his sexual antics with Jesse and Tri. When he approached Link about it, the young blond admitted that he was collecting all the experiences for posterity. Whether Carpenter liked it or not, he was the hottest transmission worldwide and everyone wanted to experience him. Link kept reassuring Carpenter that he wasn't fiddling around with his brain, but Carpenter remained suspicious. In reality, when Carpenter drifted to sleep, Link would enter his mind through the communications link and download any scientific work and then package the sexual memories for the rest of the troops to experience.

After one particularly wild night of sex, Carpenter begged Link not to make it public. When Link refused, Carpenter got his revenge a few days later by feeding Jalapeno and Chipotle peppers to the marines a few hours before a conference with Central Command.

Part 16 Stoned Again

During the next ten days, Carpenter, Jesse and Tri worked to develop a smaller version of the petrification ray. In fact, they made two of them. One was a fifteen pound handheld unit, the other was a platform that could be placed in a hallway and protect against surreptitious entry. Tri and Jesse tested the handheld device by hunting each other in an elaborate game of hide and seek. The seeker got to turn anyone he found to stone. Tri and Jesse caught Carpenter in a few minutes. They were experts at searching and quietly approaching their prey, so to speak. Carpenter took longer, but eventually found the two young men. After lunch they enlisted the rest of the marines. Jesse was the first hunter and spent an exciting hour hunting the others. After he turned them to stone, he carried the statues back to the central area and reanimated them. Carpenter was the next to be hunter. The marines teased Carpenter by appearing from behind objects and taunting him. Eventually Carpenter petrified Castor and Paulo, Sarge, Tri and Jesse. Link was small, fast and really hard to find. His head would pop up from behind a cabinet and before Carpenter could trigger the petrifaction device he would be gone. Carpenter and Link played cat and mouse for over an hour until Carpenter caught Link out in the open.

"You got me!" he laughed back at Carpenter. His bare feet stepped silently over the floor. His body glistened with sweat from his exertions. Link's muscles tensed and relaxed as he tried to get closer to a row of cabinets.

"You're a hard person to find. I'm going to enjoy turning you to stone," Carpenter grinned broadly.

"Then it's my turn to be hunter," Link bounced on his toes like a little boy.

"No! It will be your turn to stay a statue. You'll all be fine additions to the cavern. I'll obliterate the codes that open the doors and no one will be able to get in. We'll all wait for a better time to be human again," Carpenter's voice was cold and steely. He circled Link to cut him off from the cabinets.

"And that's it? You're going to become stone again and the rest of the world be damned?" Link asked.

"I'm not going to face a world in ruin or the five hundred men I petrified. I figure five hundred years ought to be enough time for repopulation," Carpenter said as he stretched his arm out and prepared to trigger the petrification device.

"And you would give up this?" Link said as he removed his jockstrap and waved his half-erect cock at Carpenter. He flipped the jockstrap at Carpenter but Carpenter caught it and didn't lose aim. He stood stone still and laughed.

"How fitting: completely naked and half-erect. You're cute and tasty, but I'm not that horny to fall for your cock, little man. I can reanimate half dozen blonds bigger and better than you for sex. Now take a deep breath and freeze," Carpenter fingered the trigger on the device.

"Now stop that," Link said. Carpenter tried to activate the device, but couldn't move. Link danced over to him on his toes. He took the device from his hands and adjusted it to reanimate.

"What have you done? Why can't I move," Carpenter yelled. Link ignored him and started to reanimate the rest of the marines. Carpenter screamed and cursed. His voice echoed all over the cavern. They all assembled around Carpenter's immobile but very vocal body.

"If you don't shut up on your own, I'll make you shut up," Link barked at Carpenter and made him stand silent. He tried to talk and move, but he couldn't take control of his body.

"I'm more than just the communications officer. I can control anyone on the network. When Sarge and I work together, we can coordinate dozens of men. You, I can handle alone and without much effort," Link explained. He let Carpenter talk only to be the recipient of a stream of curses, profanity and insults. He silenced Carpenter for a second time.

"We really would have accepted you for what you could be not what you were," the Sergeant said. He motioned to Tri and Jesse. They picked up Carpenter and placed him on his platform. Then they turned him to stone using the handheld device they just built. They moved him to a far corner of the cavern.

"Do we know if he carried any plague or was affected by anything we might have carried," Jesse asked the Sergeant.

"No, we don't seem to carry any contagion and neither did he. Apparently these stone men are free of disease and the resistant to anything we carry. Tomorrow, we start again. Let's animate one of the military men he kidnapped and see what happens."

"That mean's we have to dress and behave, Sir?" Tri asked.

"Only for a few hours, only for a few hours, then you and Jesse can seduce him. Link and I will wire him up to drain his knowledge. Look through the vital statistics and pick out a military officer. Beyond that, we have lots to catalog in this cavern," the Sergeant said.

"Yes Sir!" They all saluted and answered smartly and went about their business.

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