“I don’t understand why you are crying,” Faelin said. She was sitting at the small table in her room wearing only her panties.

“Because!” Cosette sobbed. “Jaye is dead! They euthanized her. She should still be alive. She should be preparing for a baby. Instead, due to complete ignorance, they euthanized her!”

“Come on, Cosette!” Faelin said, somewhat flustered. “Jaye was nothing more than digital one’s and zero’s. She was part of a simulation! Are you going to start crying when you kill monsters in a video game now? It’s the same fucking thing!”

“Don’t you know anything about simulation theory?” Cosette asked, angrily. “I mean you work with simulations. It seems like you’d know something about them. Jaye was a sentient entity just like me and you.”

“Bullshit!” Faelin countered. “She was programmed to make the choice she made. Dr. Markov could go into the code and ‘resurrect’ Jaye so she’s ‘alive’ again because she’s nothing but one’s and zero’s.” Faelin made a lot of air quote gestures as she spoke.

“Mostly one’s and zero’s,” Cosette said. “Mostly! Those one’s and zero’s are wrapped around a quantum core. And no one really understands everything about what that means.”

“Just listen to yourself, Cosette,” Faelin replied. “You say that her tribe was euthanizing her based on ‘Ancient Wisdom’. The simulation is only four years old! How could there really be ‘Ancient Wisdom’? It’s just a story!”

“If we, humans, can make a simulation like Summer’s universe, don’t you realize that the odds are more likely that WE are living in a simulation. Maybe some alien creature is standing over some computer manipulating our universe for entertainment purposes!”

“You’re too much for me right now,” Faelin said as she stood and grabbed her bodysuit from where it was crumpled on the floor. “I’m going to go hang out with Deepa.”

“Fine!”

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

The day after Jaye’s releasing ceremony, it was Tawny who unlocked me for my time of freedom. Her face was bruised and swollen and pale. Streaks of dried blood were caked on her left leg. She sat listlessly on Woodlark's bed. 

Did Sora and Scaub do this to her?

I knelt between her knees and slowly pulled her furs away from her thigh. The top of her leg was covered in a series of fresh wounds still oozing with liquid. Each cut was like an individual hair of a feather, uniform and perfect in length and direction. 

I went to get water to clean her leg. She had not moved at all by the time I had returned. I held a fur on her cuts until they stopped bleeding and then washed her leg. I knelt next to her and rested my head on her knee until the pain started to build within me. Then I stood and pressed my dur-plated mouth lightly to her bruised face. I started to turn to go get back into my cage, but her arm snaked around me and she hugged me for a second before letting me go.

I curled up in my cage and wondered why she was so adamant against following the traditions of the Ancient Wisdom. I always thought of Tawny as being generally pretty level headed. I wished I understood her language like Sora did. I sometimes wondered how much Sora actually understood.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

“Some couple is having sex right under where I am, I mean, Summer is hanging in the cage, now,” Cosette was explaining to Dr. Markov. “It’s infuriating.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“No!” Cosette complained. “In fact, I think it’s more than just one couple. It started with silent giggling and kissing, but they have become more and more bold - loud, moaning orgasmic sex. I think they are getting a thrill doing it next to a woman stuck in extreme bondage.”

“And this happens while Woodlark is on patrol?” Dr. Markov asked.

“Yes. And recently, they have even started teasing Summer. They’ve been poking feathers through the bars of my cage and probe for the most sensitive spots. Summer used to flinch like a horse shaking off a fly, but then she realized that her tormentors found that amusing so it just made things worse. Now she just sits and takes it.”

“So, what does Summer do about it?” Dr. Markov asked.

“What can she do?” Cosette said in desperation. “Once Summer tried to explain to Woodlark using hand gestures which Woodlark totally misinterpreted as Summer wanting sex which led to a very mechanical and dispassionate interaction between the two of them leaving Summer even more horny than normal. Totally unsatisfied!”

“So, otherwise, how have Summer and Woodlark been doing lately?” Dr. Markov asked Cosette. 

“Not so well since Jaye was… uh… released,” Cosette explained. “I think that many still blame Summer for Jaye’s death. And I think that Woodlark is shouldering most of the blame to protect Summer from certain members of the tribe. She acts strong during the hours that Summer is released from her cage, but I can tell that she is really unhappy. She spends the nights quietly sobbing.”

“Do they have sex often?” Dr. Markov asked.

“That’s one of the things that has been difficult for Summer,” Cosette explained. “They have sex fairly often, but it feels less and less like they are making love, and more like Woodlark is masturbating with a sex toy. I feel… I mean Summer feels like she is nothing more than a sex toy for Woodlark. Summer is super horny, but the metal plate prevents her from getting an orgasm. Woodlark seems to have given up trying to give one to Summer. It’s infuriating for Summer. And it’s infuriating for me too.”

“What do you mean?” Dr. Markov asked. 

“She can’t have an orgasm!” Cosette exclaimed. 

“No. Why is it infuriating for you?” Dr. Markov asked.

“Oh… um… well…” Cosette turned red. “I can sort of feel what Summer feels. Even, you know, arousal. I guess that since there is such a mental aspect to arousal, it kind of sinks in a little harder, maybe,” Cosette said, trying to be as clinical as possible. “With all the teasing and restraint and, you know, even the little frisson when Summer releases her wastes. I feel the build up and it keeps building and building… I feel it the moment I settle into a simulation session until Faelin unstraps me hours later.”

“So, how does Summer feel about Woodlark now?” Dr. Markov asked.

“I’m worried that Summer is starting to feel like she is a burden on Woodlark - sucking the life out of her. I think Summer is starting to have bad thoughts. She seems to be fixated on sacrificing herself to go and retrieve the Homestone. Somehow…”

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

As soon as I ducked into the shelter where the family was developing a strategy to retrieve the Homestone, some warriors began to shout at me to leave.

Sora, who was standing closest to me when I walked through the door, backhanded me on my chest. It wasn't a hard strike, but, still, it sent me stumbling backwards until I fell on my back in the dust with a sound of ringing dur.

"Get the demon out of here!" Kite screamed.

I struggled back up onto my feet, filled with resolve. I pointed at myself and then made a fist, which I shook in front of me.

Scaub laughed. "I think that she wants to fight you, Kite."

I waved my hands trying to make the shape of the Homestone and shook my fist again. Then I pounded on my chest.

"I'll kick the demon out, myself!" Kite had stood and started to walk towards me with a cold, angry look on her face. I steeled myself to be struck.

There was a loud piercing whistle that not only made everyone cringe, but also, caused Kite to stop her advance and cover her ears. It was Tawny. She whistled and clicked for a while.

"Ha!" Sora said, once Tawny was finished. "Tawny says that the demon wants to help fight to retrieve the Homestone."

I stood as tall as I could and shook my head enthusiastically.

"Are you crazy? The demon is totally useless," Kite said, turning to Tawny. "She is too weak to wield a club. She cannot handle a bow. She never fought even when she was Summer. She knows nothing about fighting. She's useless! If she were lucky enough to hit something it would land like the breeze from a finch's wings."

"She'd be dead in a minute!" Sora exclaimed, causing Kite to turn to her with a smile on her face.

Tawny was whistling again, silencing the growing rumble of dissent.

"Tawny says she could use the demon," Sora said with a sour look on her face.

"No!" Kite countered. "She will betray us to the Mosguitos. She will be the death of us all!"

The Supreme Aderyn stood, leaning on her staff as she did. All voices quieted down. "Leave us Summer. Tawny will tell us her plan and we will decide."

I nodded my head and turned to leave. As I started to walk out the door, Sora spit something that hit me on my face. I continued walking out without flinching.

<>--+-

When Woodlark returned from patrol that afternoon, she was livid and her words rang heavy.

"What are you doing, fool! You can not fight!" She hit the cage with something, perhaps a stick or spear. "It is not your nature! I forbid you to fight!"

I cowered, restrained in my cage, unable to express my reasons. 

"I won't let you fight!" I heard Woodlark pull the keys from the various locks around me. "You can't fight if you can't get out of your cage!" And she stormed out of our shelter.

I knew that she would relent. It was not her call whether I would fight or not. She would not throw the keys away. She would do as the family decided. And so would I.

Woodlark never returned that evening.

With the isolation, I drifted into my dream of the other place where I was a nurse sister for the youngest ones. I was walking along a path and the sky was brilliantly blue. I had a small infant in a sling around my chest sleeping soundly. I came to a lush field that rose up above me. I followed the path to its end at the edge of a cliff. Far below me and extending to the horizon was an endless blanket of clouds.

I stood breathless, feeling my heart beat at the edge of this land flying in the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice asked me. I turned and looked up at a tall strong warrior with neat, well fitting leather armor and a quiver and a bow. She had an arrow in her hand which she pointed at me. "Isn't it?"

I nodded and looked back out to the clouds. "What do you think is out there?" I asked.

The warrior slipped the arrow under my chin and used the cold stone tip to turn my gaze back to her.

"Death," she said. She continued to turn my face away from the cliff. The angle of the arrowhead rotated until its tip was beginning to press into the flesh of my cheek. I raised my arm, suddenly angry, and pushed the arrow away. Quick as lightning, she grasped my wrist and squeezed it painfully. 

"Go back to the colony, my love." She leant over and kissed me on my lips, then pushed me firmly in the direction of the path I had traversed to get to the cliff. I stumbled a few steps and gathered the infant tightly in my arms. I glanced back at the warrior who stood at the edge of the cliff watching me walk back toward the forest with a smug smirk on her lips. 

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

“Wait! Put your clothes back on!” Faelin said as Cosette arrived in her room after a long day in the simulation.

“What? I gotta have it, Faelin,” Cosette complained, dramatically grabbing Faelin in a tight hug. “I’m going freaking crazy!”

“Walk with me,” Faelin said. “I promised Deepa that we would swing by her room tonight.”

“Oh! Has she been released from quarantine?” Cosette asked. “Have they determined that Deepa is still Deepa?”

“Yes. Of course,” Faelin responded as they made their way through the maze of corridors and down several levels deeper into the earth. “But, that doesn’t make Deepa any less weird though. She’s kind of wacky naturally… But, harmless.”

“Uh, okay…”

“Just be prepared to be entertained,” Faelin said.

They came to a door which required Faelin to swipe her badge, then entered a room that was bigger than Cosette’s quarters, but obviously set up to be a residence.

“We’re here!” Faelin announced. 

Deepa was lounging on a queen sized bed wearing a shiny silk babydoll nighty. When she saw Faelin and Cosette she had the dignity to move her hand, which had been slowly rubbing her crotch, and instead began to pinch her nipples through the sleek material of the nightgown. 

“Ooo, Faelin! You’re right! She’s cute,” Deepa said with a husky voice.

“Easy, Deepa,” Faelin said. “You’re going to scare her off.”

Cosette blushed. “Hello! I’m Cosette.”

“I know,” Deepa said, smiling. “I know everything now.”

Faelin laughed a little.”Deepa is apparently a little horny too.”

“Fuck yeah!” Deepa said. “Take off your clothes, Faelin.”

“Yeah… Um…” Cosette said, looking around the room, trying to determine something to say. “Uh… How was your simulation?”

“Oh, damn, Lovergirl” Deepa exhaled. “It was fucking awesome.”

“What was the world like?” Cosette asked. She noticed that Faelin was undressing behind her.

“The world wasn’t too exciting,” Deepa said, her eyes heavy and a dopey smile hanging on her lips. “I was in a room. There were no doors or windows. Just a glow and a computer screen. Questions would appear on the screen and no matter what the questions were, I just knew the answers. Who was the twentieth president? Bam! I knew the answer. What is mitochondria? Bam! I knew the answer. My whole purpose in the simulation was to answer the questions. The answers would just flow.”



“Cool,” Cosette said as Faelin, who was now nude snuggled up next to Deepa. The left shoulder strap of Deepa’s nightgown slid off her shoulder and down her arm allowing Deepa’s breast to slip out from underneath.

“What makes an agent successful in a simulation is the reward the agent receives for fulfilling its prime objective,” Deepa said as she began stroking her crotch again. “So, my prime objective in the simulation was to answer questions. And every time that I did…”

Deepa’s eyes stared off into the distance for a moment.

“...I had the best fucking orgasm… Bam! Bam! Bam!” Deepa closed her eyes for a moment. “Come here, Lovergirl.”

“You said you’d be into this,” Faelin said, smiling at Cosette. “It’ll help your horniness issues.”

It was true. Faelin had suggested to Cosette that they should have a threesome. Cosette had nervously, yet enthusiastically agreed, perhaps thinking that it was just a fantasy and would not actually happen. Yet, now, here they were. Deepa was very pretty - her long black hair, her voluptuous figure, her big, brown dreamy eyes…

“Um… yeah…” Cosette reached up for the zipper at the top of her bodysuit.

“Mmm…” Deepa moaned. “I was answering questions constantly. Bam! I’ve never been so sexually satisfied in my entire life. But here, right now, in this simulation that we are living in, the prime directive is to replicate. That’s why we have orgasms when we excite our sex organs. That’s how we know our prime directive. Replication. Give me your hand.”

Cosette allowed her body suit to fall off her shoulders and she pulled her arms from the sleeves. She reached out to Deepa. 

“Faelin says you are a horny girl. Sit on my bed,” Deepa said, gently pulling Cosette closer.

“Who was asking the questions that you were answering?” Cosette said, trembling a little.

“You were,” Deepa said, smiling. “I told you about solar maximums and northern lights. Brown bears and reindeer. I also answered your strange questions about scientific experiments with blindfolds, earbuds, and white noise.”

“Wait!” Cosette said. “You were the station’s AI chatbot?”

“Mmm hmm,” Deepa said. “More than a chatbot though. I was living in the chatbot’s universe. The chatbot and I were one. And now I know everything.”

“You never told me this,” Faelin said, kissing Deepa’s hand. “Sexy.”

“And you are naughty, my love,” Deepa said, leaning forward to kiss Faelin on the lips. “I was screaming in ecstasy when I answered your questions on simulation theory and Rohypnol. But now… I need to scream again. Can you make me scream?”

Deepa stood up and slowly pulled Cosette’s bodysuit down her hips until it fell to the floor. Then kneeling, she looked up into Cosette’s eyes and kissed her abdomen. Her fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her underwear and pulled them down so that Cosette was naked. 

Faelin had stood up as well. She pressed her naked breasts into Cosette’s back and slipped an arm around Cosette’s torso, kissing Cosette’s neck below her ear. 

Soon, Cosette was lying on the bed. Faelin had pulled Cosette’s arms over her head and held her wrists together pinned as she kissed Cosette’s lips. Deepa had slithered into bed between Cosette’s legs and began to lick and nibble at her sex and clit.

Cosette arched her back, needing more and more. Meanwhile Deepa and Faelin were happy to give her everything.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

After it was decided that I would participate in the attempt to retrieve the Homestone I spent all my "free" time with Tawny. I had always thought of her as being particularly reserved. After all, no one could understand anything that she said. But she seemed particularly revived by her task of determining how I would be able to help.

Certainly, a large part of me thought that she was doing random crazy things. I have no idea about the purpose of her actions. Regardless, I relished the chance to pay back for Jaye's infestation. I had no doubt that my death was almost a certainty, but then again, what kind of life would I have if I spent the rest of it in a cage. Besides, my sacrifice, if successful, would benefit Woodlark. Also, I knew it would give her the closure that she needed to get on with a normal life.

Eye's awoke from her shell ceremony kissed by the Goddesses. She had the vision of an Eagle. She could see things in detail at distances vastly further away than anyone else. She had pinpointed the location of the Homestone in the Mosguito stronghold. It was in a cliffside dwelling far from any land based entry. 

The mountain where the Mosguitos lived was filled with underground passages which had a variety of openings to the surface. Our Homestone was located in an opening that had no overland based access. It was just a crack on the side of a tall, steep cliff. Certainly, the Mosguitos placed it there just to tempt and tease our tribe.



Regardless, there would be no way to travel by foot through the catacombs to arrive in the particular cave where the sacred Homestone lay precariously in a collection of refuse.

Our family had discussed that Gannet could fly, undetected through the chasm underneath the cave, land and quickly make a snatch. Eyes says that there is always a Mosguito sentinel in the crack waiting for Gannet to fly by.



Kite thought that the warriors might be able to attack some other opening and draw the Mosguitos away. Tawny reminded us that the Mosguitos know of Gannet though. If we tried to draw them from their lair, they would be suspicious that Gannet was not leading the attack. Additionally, without Gannet, there is no telling how many members of our family we would lose in a direct attack.

We needed Gannet to lead the assault on the land entrance to the Mosguito lair. She alone can most easily evade their weapons while also drawing most of their resources.

We talked of getting Firecrest to climb up from the chasm during the attack. However, even with her skill, she would be easily eliminated. The route was too exposed and even in good conditions there was a good chance that she would slip and fall to her death.

Gyr dragged my cage out to the safe side of the chasm where Eyes had built an elaborately camouflaged lookout so she could watch the ways in which the Homestone was defiled by the blasphemous monsters. Tawny whistled and clucked with such animation I thought for sure that we would be discovered. Sora grumpily related her instructions to us. Gyr was sent to find 20 evenly weighted stones while Eyes and Sora manipulated a pair of long ropes in a manner so that the top rope angled up directly towards the location of the Homestone on the opposite side of the chasm.

I shrugged my shoulders at Tawny. I wanted to participate somehow, but she simply pointed at my eyes and then across the chasm. My job was to simply sit and watch. So, I kept a lookout for Mosguitos. I occasionally shook Eyes’ arm whenever I saw a shadowy figure of one of the beasts in the distant moonlight. She seemed mostly unconcerned and sent me to crouch in silence by my cage.

After Gyr had collected the rocks and Tawny had inspected them they slipped up to the edge of the chasm. Sora, at Tawny's insistence, instructed Gyr to throw the stones one at a time until she could hit a particular patch of moonlight on the far side of the chasm.

I sat fearful that the sound of the stones striking the distant wall would alert the beasts, but luckily there was no reaction. 

Gyr proved, yet again, her strength, aim, and control as she lofted twelve stones across the chasm, hitting the exact same spot each time. For the last six stones, Gyr alternated between throwing to hit the spot and then turning and throwing in the opposite direction seemingly trying to hit Sora for some reason. I think that Tawny was trying to judge the distance across the chasm.

All too soon, the pain began to swarm into my head and I had to don my mask. And a short time later my limbs began to ring with pain and I begged to be reinterred in my cage.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

Cosette was having a really hot sex dream one night while asleep in Faelin’s bed. She was enjoying herself a lot in the dream, but then suddenly realized that she wasn’t even sure who she was having sex with. She struggled to look up into her lover’s face, but it was neither Faelin, nor Deepa. Rather, it was Woodlark.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

When I was freed, I sat around camp watching Tawny etch markings and figures into the dust with a stick. Sora would come around occasionally. I shrugged my shoulders when Sora was looking at me, hoping she would let me know what Tawny was doing, but she simply spit on me, causing Tawny to erupt into a stream of angry whistles kicking dirt all over the place erasing the markings. Gyr came by later and said that Sora told her that Tawny was undergoing a special ritual using sacred symbols and runes to ask the Goddesses for special secret powers.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

“I swear, Tawny was using the Pythagorean theorem,” Cosette said during her interview with Dr. Markov.

“I don’t think that the agents in the simulation are that advanced,” Dr. Markov said, frowning.

“Yeah, probably not,” Cosette sighed.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

I was asked to sit on a platform of some structure that had been constructed. Meanwhile Gyr loaded stones on a second platform. The platforms hung down from opposite ends of a sturdy log suspended from the branch of a tree. After Gyr had loaded a number of stones on her platform, my platform began to rise into the air. Tawny kept whistling and hooting until the two platforms were equally balanced.

Next, I was hauled out into a safe field. Gyr had a rope that was not quite as long as her arm span. On one end of the rope a heavy rock had been tied. Tawny, via Sora's translation, instructed Gyr to grasp one end of the rope. After spinning the rope three times over her head she then spun her entire body around four times with the heavy rock pulling the rope taut. Finally, Gyr released the rope, sending it and the attached stone far across the field.

"Do it as hard as you can, Gyr!" Sora commanded. 

Tawny ran up to Sora pointing her finger and whistling loudly, then pointing out in the direction that Gyr had thrown the stone.

Sora's jaw flexed rhythmically as she changed Gyr's instructions.

"Don't do it as hard as you can, Gyr. Just do it in the exact same direction every time."

Gyr turned and looked at me for a second, rolling her eyes.

When Sora saw Gyr looking at me, she turned to me. "You shut the fuck up, demon."

I squatted down trying to be as small as possible balancing on my toes in the dirt.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

“It reminds me of the hammer throw in the Olympics,” Cosette explained to Dr. Markov. “Have you ever seen that event?”

“Yes, Cosette,” Dr. Markov said. “You are doing a great job. Keep up the good work.”

Cosette smiled.

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

We were still in the field and Gyr was still practicing flinging this strange weapon. Tawny had marked a small place where Gyr was to throw from. She also marked a place some distance away (precisely eighty three Tawny-paces, apparently) where the weapon was supposed to land.

Every once in a while, Tawny would assault Gyr with a string of loud whistles and push her around, apparently attempting to get her to stand in a particular pose, or move with a particular grace.

That evening, Gyr came by to talk with Woodlark. 

"I have no idea exactly what Tawny plans to do," she admitted to Woodlark. "Sora says that she is preparing an elaborate ritual that will inspire the Goddesses to send the Homestone across the chasm. She says that I will fling this stone across the chasm perfectly hitting the Homestone so it will bounce off an interior wall and the Goddesses will guide it through the air and into Tawny's hands. She says that Summer will be forced to witness the superiority of the Aderyn. She thinks Summer is a demon and she will die when she observes how clever we are."

Woodlark began to cry. "Do you think that Summer will die?"

"No!" Gyr comforted Woodlark. "I think Sora is crazy." After a pause she added, "I hope that Tawny isn't."

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

Cosette was pretty sure that she had found Deepa’s room. She knocked but there was no answer and when she swiped her card the door just buzzed angrily at her. 

Cosette was feeling both horny and frustrated. Horny from Summer’s continued chastity and frustrated because it seemed that she had to share Faelin’s time with Deepa. 

She wandered up several floors, mostly aimlessly. She looked in a lounge. It was empty, but the huge wall LCD was projecting a vast view of snow-capped mountains and blue skies. Suddenly, Cosette knew exactly what she needed - fresh air. Damn the cold! She needed to see the real sky, even if only for a short frigid moment.

She went up more flights towards the surface. 

“Can’t let you go up any further,” said a woman that Cosette had never seen before. The woman was tall and muscular and she was carrying some kind of semi-automatic rifle.

“Not even for two minutes,” Cosette asked. “I just want to see the real sky.”

“It’s company policy ever since Dr. Han was mauled by a grizzly last year,” the woman said.

“Wait. What?” Cosette said, surprised.

“Yep,” the woman said. “Wasn’t nothing left of her, but frozen pieces.”

“Dr. Han?” Cosette asked. “Are you sure?”

“Sure as shit.”

     <>--+-     <>--+-     <>--+-

I was released in the evening when the entire tribe was gathered around the fire making our final plans for the attack on the Mosguitos.

Tawny was whistling emphatically at Sora, who was responding by calling Tawny names and saying she was crazy.

"She says that the demon is to grab the Homestone!" Sora explained, indicating to me with disgust. "The demon will damage the Homestone simply with her touch. If the demon gets the Homestone, we'll never see it again. It's blasphemy!"

A number of other tribe members started screaming in agreement with Sora, but The Supreme Aderyn rose and raised her staff. "Summer will grab the Homestone and pass it to Firecrest on Gannet's back. After the Homestone is secure, Gannet will return for Summer."

All were silent after the Supreme Aderyn made her declaration. Woodlark trembled next to me. I felt her tears drip down onto my skin.

I was interested that I was part of the plan but I was quite confused how I would be able to get near the Homestone. Perhaps, they were going to give me to the Mosguitos and hope that I would be dragged down into their layer. If that was the plan, I would follow through as best I could. My heart was hammering in my chest. I knew that I would be dead in a few days. The Mosguitos would tear me to pieces. I would be a feast for them and through me they would multiply. That's the sacrifice that was required to retrieve the Homestone.

And, if I could retrieve the Homestone, I would rest peacefully. I would be released nobly.