P L A T O   V O L T A I R E  
BLOS
 SOMINGBODIES  
  T H E   B E G I N N I N G  
     
 
 
 
  C H A P T E R   3  
     
 
 T   

he trip aboard the starship was a pleasant experience for the Eddings. At one million tons, the Solar Galleon had plenty of room for its 20,000 passengers. With all of its palatial recreational and entertainment facilities, one could easily forget that they were on a starship. At the end of its five-day journey, the ship reached the Terran system on schedule. After a 12-hour jaunt through normal space, the Galleon entered orbit around the homeworld. Passengers thronged to the numerous observation decks to gaze upon the face of the planet in wonder.

  
     
 

      The Western Hemisphere of Terra was cloaked in nighttime darkness. From her vantage point, Allison could see the light produced by thunderstorms and the glow of cities. She pointed toward the patchwork of city lights below. "What's all that then?"
      Thaddeus peered at the lights that shone 800 kilometers below them. "That corridor of light is the eastern seaboard of the North American continent." He pointed out specific cities. "That big cluster of light is Gran’York, and that one is Boston. Below all that is Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington."

 
     
 
      "Where's Omaha?"
      "Let's see. There's Lake Michigan...and Chicago at its southern tip. St. Louis... Des Moines... and if that's Kansas City," he pointed to a patch of light, "then the glow just north of it is Omaha."
      "Gosh," Allison said in wonder, "There are hardly any large cities west and north of Omaha. I see Denver and Fargo - I think that one is Fargo - but still..."
      "It's a big empty, Ally. Most of the little towns dried up and died during the 21st Century. Practically the whole region between Omaha and the West Coast has gone back to nature."
 
     
 
      Allison hummed. "Does this mean we'll see herds of buffalo on the edge of town?"
      "Ally, those ancient Western movies you've been watching are not a good source of background material." Thaddeus gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek. "Besides, the Wildlife Corps makes sure the herds stay at least fifty kilometers away from city limits. The city doesn't smell like poop, from what I've read."
      With a grin, Allison pinched Thad's nose. "Sounds like you're the one who hasn't read the correct background material." 		 
     
     
     
 
 F   
elix and Gwyneth Dornheim’s home was in all respects a pleasant one. They kept it clean and tidy, and the flower beds under their bay window and along the walkway were the envy of the neighborhood. Only one tiny detail marred the Dornheims’ peace: the unending parade of new occupants next door.
      Every five to seven years, the house next door changed hands. Without exception, all the owners were young couples who were quite pleased to find a house they not only liked but could afford. Felix and Gwyneth had lived in their house for the past eighty years. Even on Terra that was an unusual length of time to stay in one place. They liked their home very much, and felt no urge to leave.
      The unending supply of new tenants next door, however, was a different matter. It was as if the house had a curse on it. The new couples inevitably made their own little adjustments and modifications to their slice of heaven. The young people were nice enough, but they kept company with people the same age most of the time. And as soon as the Dornheims adjusted to their new neighbors’ presence, there appeared another 'house-next-door' trademark: children.
      Felix and Gwyneth were the same age: 110. Thanks to prolong, they had the bodies and health of people in their 40's. Yet they had never had children of their own. Due in part to the culture they had grown up in, the couple felt no pressing need to have offspring. Children demanded time and energy. Thanks to the Neo-Luddite philosophy, having children was regarded as a luxury that few people were encouraged to indulge in. Not so with the parade of new neighbors. On average, one child was born to each new family next door. If the couple was particularly frisky, they had two or even three [censored]. And the Dornheims had to put up with the prospect of little [censored] running into their yard and picking their treasured flowers with greedy little hands. Come moving day, the Dornheims were glad to see their neighbors leave and take their noisy, i.e. normal, children with them.
      This time the house next door had remained vacant for six months. Felix and Gwyneth were secretly glad for the unusually long period of peace. The flower gardens could be sown without the usual well-meaning but unwelcome advice from the 'youngsters' -- as the Dornheims privately called their youthful neighbors. But as fate would have it, the April planting this year was going to turn out just the same as all the previous years.
      It was Felix who saw the aircar coming down the street. Behind it was an air lorry with the logo of a moving company emblazoned on its side. The aircar pulled into the driveway of the house next door - the vacant house. Brushing the dirt off his hands, Felix stepped out of his flower garden so he could get a better look at his new neighbors.
      First out of the aircar was the real estate agent. She was the same one who had shown, and sold, the house to the last two couples. She opened the aircar door and cheerfully waved her passengers out. First one out was a man: tall, perhaps a tad less than 1.9 meters, with a young face. Yet another young couple, thought Felix. Why can't it be retirees for once? When the woman stepped out of the car, it took all his forces for Felix to stop his jaw from dropping to the ground.
      The woman was practically the same height as Gwyneth. Looking intently, Felix concluded that was the only similarity the two women shared. Like the man, the woman was also youthful. She had light brown hair that spilled over her shoulders, and even from a distance her eyes sparkled like emeralds. But it was her bust, that wonderfully large bust, which nearly made Felix faint from visual overload.
      Having grown up in a culture in which flat-chested women were the norm, Felix had to regard the bosom on his new neighbor with a mixture of disgust and lust. Large breasts were equated with waste and vanity, and having what looked liked two basketballs underneath a snug blouse was a sure sign of waste in Felix's mind. "The ability to breast-feed a baby isn't contingent on the size of a woman's breasts" was the mantra the FCS had been intoning for nearly three centuries. Huge breasts only serve as 'ego boosters' for the women endowed with them, and to inspire jealousy in other women and lust in men.
      Yet Felix experienced a stronger reaction than disgust: lust. Privately, the old man often wished his wife had something to offer on her chest. Their sexual relations were still frequent and refreshing after all these years. However, sometimes Felix felt that if Gwyneth had a modest pair of breasts the sex would have been even better. The new neighbor's chest was anything but modest. Felix was surprised that the tall husband could keep his hands to himself. Had he been in the young man's position, Felix would let his hands have free reign all over that Brobdingnagian bust. Well, away from prying eyes, of course.
      Then the young couple saw Felix. "Hi," said the buxom woman, "you must be Mr Dornheim. We're your new neighbors." They crossed the yard and stood in front of him. Again it took all of Felix's self-control to tear his eyes away from the woman's bust and focus on her face. He accepted the fair, slim hand the woman offered him. "My name is Allison Eddings, and this is my husband, Thaddeus.
      "Greetings," said Felix as he shook Allison's hand. When he shook Thaddeus' hand, he took note of the young man's firm grip. "Felix Dornheim is my name."
      "Delighted to meet you, Mr Dornheim," said Allison. "I must say, this is a particularly attractive neighborhood. Also, it's within walking distance of all the necessary shops and my job."
      "Oh, may I ask what kind of work you do? And, er, pardon me for prying, but your accent is most agreeable to my ears. Are you from Australia?"
      Allison's giggle made her bosom quiver entrancingly. "Oh, Thaddeus and I are from Outback. The original colonists’ speech didn't die out. Some say that the Ockers on Outback are more Aussie than the Aussies here on the homeworld. As for the job, I'm the manager for a new business that will open shortly here in Omaha. In fact, it's just down this street." She pointed north. "About two kilometers. It's called Blossoming Bodies. Heard of it?"
 
     
     
        Felix had heard about Blossoming Bodies. Then he heard Gwyneth calling his name. His startled reaction to his wife's voice was understandable. "Felix! Why didn't you tell me right away that the new neighbors have arrived?" Gwyneth approached the group briskly, but recoiled slightly when she caught a glimpse of Allison's chest.
      Almost reflexively, Thad and Ally exchanged glances. Gwyneth had the same reaction many others showed when they spied Allison's proud bosom. The couple knew it would be a long time before people got accustomed, if ever, to the sight of breasts of a size considered normal everywhere else - but not on Terra. 		 
     
  TO BE CONTINUED...  
   
model: WIFEY, M. CICCONE
photopaintings: GONZO     photo source: NASA ARCHIVES