Symbiota Sapiens - 6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When I returned to bed, Julian immediately wrapped himself around me again, snuggling
his face in to press against the side of my neck. I tensed, then relaxed as he sighed and
nuzzled like a dog or something. Eighteen or not, he's still a kid. I guess he's really
been through a lot over the past twenty-four hours I guess. So let him cuddle.

::He really trusts you.:: His underaged doppelganger whispered in the back of my brain.

:I should hope so.: I shot back grumpily. :I'd do anything for him.:

::No, I don't just mean consciously. You didn't notice before, but his sleep pattern
became disturbed when you left the bed a few minutes ago. I think it stayed that way until
you let him touch you again. Now he's completely relaxed. He feels safe with you.::

:You can monitor his sleep patterns?:

::Yes. Your enhanced senses are quite powerful. Your brain naturally filters most
of it out because it's just too much for you to handle at this point, but I monitor every
vibration, every ray of energy, every current. Since our discussion earlier, there's a
special subroutine that monitors his vital signs in far more detail than any equipment
in one of your hospitals.::

:Wow. So...really? He needs me next to him to sleep well?:

::It may be temporary. The last day has been eventful. He needs stability. Assurance.::

:Yeah.:

I brush his hair back from his forehead and feel that surge of warmth again as he smiles
faintly in his sleep. Damn. I'm such a pushover.

:I guess I really don't mind then. He can cuddle as much as he likes, as long as he needs
to.:

::You like this.::

:What? No. Well, sort of I guess.:

I wait a minute. I can feel his pulse through his skin, his breath soft on my neck. His body
warm and heavy where he's half on top of me. I shift a bit and he lets out a soft noise of protest,
hands clutching at me softly. Hell.

:Guess I do like it. Makes me feel...needed. Dammit I'm such a pussy.:

::This is bad?::

:Well...no not really. I guess it's a good thing.:

My face burning, I brush a kiss across his forehead.

"Love you bro."

That ghost of a smile again. I lean back and close my eyes.

:Is there some way I can sleep?:

::Why would you want to do that?::

:I'm used to it. It lets my brain rest.:

::Your brain no longer needs-::

:Okay, it lets my mind rest then. How's that?:

::I don't understand.::

:Can you do it?:

::Of course. Would you like to dream?::

:Maybe next time. For now I just want to not think and not sense anything until morning.:

::You wish to be temporarily dead?::

:No. Just unconscious. Do you mind?:

::Of course not. When do you want to wake?::

:When it's light outside.:

::Sunrise you mean?::

:Yeah:

::Good morning.::

:Huh?:

::The sun is coming up.::

I open my eyes. Sure enough, there's a few rays of sunlight peeking through the shades.

:What the hell?:

::You've been unconscious for four hours, twenty two minutes. Did you want to sleep for
longer?::

I feel a twisting in my gut as a look at the clock confirms this.

:I feel no sense of passed time, or even of having been unconscious at all.:

::Perhaps next time I should provide dreams?::

:Maybe.: I say doubtfully.

I look down. Julian is still snuggled up and I realize I've wrapped my arms around him as well.

"Julian."

"Mmm."

"Wake up bro."

I rub his back a bit. Hell, his skin is a riot of sensations as my palm glides up his spine. I
can feel every pore, every one of the soft little baby hairs. Textured silk. I notice I've got a hardon
again. Great.

:Um...I seem to be hard.:

::Your body is significantly improved in all aspects.::

:I noticed.:

::This displeases you?::

:Not really. Unfortunately, having the libido of a fourteen year old can cause some uncomfortable
moments.: Like suppressing a vague urge to rut against my brothers hip. Hell.

::I'm not detecting any discomfort as a result of this.:: I swear Little Julian's voice is
smirking. ::There is even a small amount of pleasurable sensation coming from that area at this
moment.::

:Yeah. Well...it's more of a psychological kind of discomfort, seeing as I'm nearly naked with
my brother in bed at the moment. Can you relieve the condition?:

::Of course.::

I heave a sigh of relief as the pressure in my groin relaxes, the hardness melting away.

"Julian, cmon kid wake up."

"Too early." He mumbles into my neck.

I give his shoulder a squeeze and try to squirm out from under him.

"Stoppit Jer." He whines, squirming right back. I freeze as he presses against me.

::He has the same condition.::

Julian squirms closer, instinctively rubbing it against my thigh.

:No kidding!: I fume. Well, I tried being gentle. I lean into his face.

"Hey. Julian! Wake up, NOW!"

He grunts, opens his eyes. Realizes what he's doing and blushes, avoiding my eyes as he pulls
himself away from me. I grin maliciously.

"Happy to see me this morning?"

He jumps out of the bed, clearly unnerved. Well that makes two of us. I chuckle as he runs to the
bathroom, keeping his back in my direction to hide his erection from me. Oh hell, I sprint after him
and barely keep him from slamming the bathroom door.

"Hey! It's my turn to shower! Take care of your business out here, bathroom's mine!"

"Fuck you."

I force the door open and meet his bright red face, still not looking me in the eye. He's covering
his tented front with one hand, trying to pull the door shut with the other. I smirk at him.

"Hey, dude. We shared a room for how long? Don't be stupid. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I had
one when I woke up too. Go take care of your business in the bed, we're leaving here anyways. I'm taking
a shower. So get."

He nods, still avoiding my face, ducks past me and disappears around the corner. Jeez. Bashful
anybody? I slip out of my boxers and step into the shower. I cry out in shock as the warm water hits my
skin, my enhanced nerve endings are overloading my brain with sensation.

:Too much!!! Too MUCH!!:

The sensations suddenly dampen and I'm feeling the normal pleasant warmth of a normal, everyday
shower.

::Are you okay?::

:I'm fine.:

::You'll get used to it.::

:Yeah. What the hell?: I'm hard again. Great, this is going to be a problem.

::Your body is-::

:Significantly improved, you mentioned it. Why the hell does a Guardian need to have a
super-charged sex drive? You'd think there'd be a vow of chastity or something.:

::Oh no. Quite the opposite in fact.::

:Huh?:

::Guardians were quite sought after for that, and not primarily because of their aesthetic beauty.::

:Um...:

::Guardians carry the Esseren in their body, remember? Various classes of nanobots are present in all
bodily fluids.::

:And bodily fluids would also include...:

::Exactly. The exchange of fluids had a very positive effect for the mortal recipient, increased
longevity, healing. Also, the offspring of such unions were exceptional, because the nanobots optimized
the early development of the embryo at a genetic level.::

:Oh. So Guardians weren't just soldiers, but basically breeding studs.:

::If you want to put it that way. Though, it was strictly voluntary.::

:Of course, if all the men are stuck in hormone-crazed-teenager mode all their life, I'm guessing
they didn't complain much.:

::True. And incidentally, this particular setting isn't customizable from the default, I'm afraid.::

:Got to ensure the survival of the species, I suppose. But you were able to help me earlier.:

::Of course. Physical reactions can be cancelled if they pose a problem in a situation.::

:Lovely. Well can you help me out now?:

::I can. I would suggest you take your own advise to your brother, however.::

:I beg your pardon? Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?: Young Julian replied
with a voice of infinite patience.

::Jeremey, your new hormone settings are going to require certain needs be met at some point.
I can dampen the physical reactions from time to time but that is only the actual physical reaction at
the time. It will keep coming back with greater frequency until you take care of it.::

:Well.:

I looked down. Just as hard as before. Hell. I put my hand around it and gave it a stroke and a gasp
escaped. Guess the computer didn't bother to dampen the enhanced sensations in that part. Well, this
shouldn't take too long. I stroked it a few more times, my knees threatening to buckle with each movement.

I leapt into the air as Julian pounded on the door. I froze in place like a guilty teenager as he
immediately opened it and walked in.

"What the hell?"

"Dude I gotta pee." There was the initial splash as he started to do just that. Crap.

"Didn't I tell you to-"

"Jer! I did that already, I gotta pee. Why you taking so long anyways?"

:This will have to happen later. Get rid of it.: I demanded, panicked. My body obliged me.

"Kid. I just got in here." I growled.

"It's been thirty minutes!"

::He is correct.::

:How?:

I looedk down at where my dick lies limp in my hand. Apparently I got carried away and lost track
of time somehow.

:I did that for thirty minutes? I guess stamina is one of those things that got 'significantly
improved', right?:

::True. Actually you could have kept going until you consciously decided it was time for you
to...finish.::

I hastily took my hand away and start cleaning myself. If that part of it felt that good, I
didn't even want to think about what it would feel like at the end.

A few minutes later I was out of the shower and came back into the hotel room to change. Julian
snapped off the TV and looked up at me, eyes wide as he got a good look at me in daylight.

"Holy shit Jer, you look awesome!"

"Yeah thanks. Seems the Esseren want me to be some kind of super-stud, spread my superior genes
throughout the world and all." I say carelessly. His eyes are glued to me.

"Yeah. Dude, I mean it you look like...not even real or something. Your skin!"

"Yeah I know." I say uncomfortably. I slip into my clothes as quickly as possible. Julian is
suddenly right in front of me, uncomfortably close. I look up sharply to find him still staring at
me as if in a trance. He's shaking like a leaf. I put a hand on his arm and he shudders.

"Julian? You okay?"

::He's affected by your pheremones.::

:What?: I look down and see a lump in his jeans. Hell.

::You were very strongly aroused earlier, but interrupted. The reproductive subroutines interpret
this as an opportunity lost and are compensating by putting out powerful pheremones. I'm deactivating
this reaction. I'll remind you it's another side-effect of your self-denial, however.::

I avoid Julians attempts to grope at me as I pull up my jeans and grab a shirt, dashing to the
door. Outside there's a nice breeze. Julian stumbles after me and comes out of his daze quickly.

"What the...oh hell!" His face burns with shame and he's suddenly nervous, not looking at me
for the second time this morning. "Uh, Jer, I'm...dude...I'm sorry I shouldn't have, I don't know what
came over me-"

"It was pheremones." I tell him quickly. He looks up at me.

"I mean, I wasn't thinking right and I'm really really sorry."

I smack him lightly on the back of the head.

"Bro. I'm putting off sex pheremones. The Esseren thing remember? Not your fault, you were
drugged as soon as you got close to me. Don't worry about it, allright?"

"Pheremones." He gives me a weak grin. "Oh."

"Yeah. I turned them off as soon as I figured it out. They're still in there though. Enclosed
space and all. Why don't you stay out here a sec while I grab our stuff. We're leaving anyways."

"Okay." He looks tremendously relieved.

"Not that I'm not flattered."

A weak grin.

"Ha. You wish."

That's my bro. I duck back into the room and close up the suitcase, snatching my shoes and his laptop
case as I walk out. I find a newly composed Julian waiting for me.

"What's on the agenda for today then?"

I hand him his laptop.

"We're relocating. Devon knows we're here. He was here, while you were asleep."

"What!?"

"He just wanted to talk. I didn't wake you. It was all telepathy anyways. Or whatever you call it."

"Telepathy's cool. So what did he want?"

"Wants me to join up. Actually doesn't sound like too bad of a deal. I'm not sure if we can trust
him, though. Something about him rubs me wrong."

"Yeah. And those tentacles were just creepy."

"Yeah. Still not sure what those do. No matter what he says, I don't think he uses those things
to help people."

"So you're not joining up?"

"WE are not joining up. Not until we know more, at least." I correct him.

"He wants me too?"

"No. But I'm not going anywhere without you. We're in this together bro."

"Thanks." He looks away, but I can see the grin affixing itself on his face. I snake an arm around his
neck and give him a rough squeeze, rub my chin on his head in a vague approximation of a noogey. He scowls
at me and pulls away but the grin is back almost instantly.

"So. We relocate. Where?"

"Before that, we need some money."

"Yeah. You think that computer you've got in your blood would be any good at hacking?"

::I'll need to learn the language used by your computer networks. Once I know that...::

:Yeah, yeah. Nearly-infinite capabilities. I'm very proud.:

"Hey, I've got a nearly-infinite-capacity supercomputer in my brain. He just needs to learn the
language of our pathetic excuse for technology and he's in."

"He?" Julian was eyeing me skeptically. I blushed.

"Uh. The AI. He took the form of you when you were thirteen, actually."

"I'm flattered." He smirked at me. "So lets find an internet cafe then."

It didn't take long before we were seated in a corner inside a more-or-less deserted coffeehouse. Laptop
in front of us.

"So what do you need? I can get you a display of the root code for the windows system for starters I
guess. Then your AI should be able to figure out some more from that?"

::This should work.::

"Go ahead."

In a few minutes, my eyes were glued to the screen as symbols scrolled upwards.

::A fairly crude, but effective operating system.:: Young-Julian said. ::May I take control of your
hands to operate this device?::

:Go ahead.:

My fingers took to the keyboard in a frenzy, entering commands and shortcuts, quickly reprogramming
the computer to display important bits of device operations codes and interface languages. The familiar
visual operating environment was replaced by a moving sea of constantly changing computer symbols that
appeared and disappeared before my conscious mind could consider them. Finally, they disappeared and I
was back to looking at the familiar desktop of Windows again.

"That was interesting." Julian commented.

"That was scary." I said, flexing my fingers uncomfortably over the keyboard.

"The AI took over your fingers?"

"Yeah."

"So?"

::I'm ready to access the internet through the wireless network in this building. Your existing
transmitter should suffice.::

"He's ready."

:Go ahead. First find all you can about hacking.:

"I'm going to have him learn how to hack first."

"Yeah, there's plenty of how-to on the net." Julian said wisely.

::I've learned a great deal already. I'm still downloading information. The information flows quite
slowly through this network.::

"He's more like you than I'd guessed. He's complaining about how slow the net is." I grinned.

Julian ignored the crack and started putting his laptop away.

"Don't do that. We're connected to their network, at least try to look like you're surfing the net
through something besides a supercomputer made up of nanobots in my bloodstream."

"Oh, good idea." Julian re-opened his computer and started to play solitaire.

::I'm finished. I know enough to penetrate any database connected to the internet now.::

:Good. Can you build us some fake identities?:

"Alright I'm going to have him build us some fake identities now."

"Sounds good to me. We're going to need identification though."

"Shit."

:We'll need to get drivers licenses first. And credit cards to go with them. With a lot of credit
on them.:

::Drivers licenses should be easy to acquire directly from the appropriate agencies. Credit cards are
sent in the mail, however.::

:True. So we should steal credit cards, then get ID to match.:

::Agreed.::

"Okay, we need to steal a few credit cards."

Julian looked at me, aghast.

"Don't look at me bro. You're the one with lightning-fast reflexes now, right?"

"Um, yeah."

:Can you help me pick pockets without getting caught?:

::Let me find some information on that skill. Okay, I've got enough video footage to see how
it's done.::

"Stay here, I won't go far."

I walked outside and activated my enhanced sight until I found a businessman busy talking on the
phone, carrying a briefcase in his free hand. In the non-visible bands I detected a wallet in his left
back pocket, under his suit jacket.

:Can you do that?:

::I can.::

:Okay, guide me to him, and take control of my hands when you need them.:

I felt myself urged to walk towards him, brushing close and jostling him just a bit. He shot me a glare
as he nearly dropped his phone, and did not notice the quick movement of my hand as it lightly flipped up
his suit jacket, darted into his pocket and slipped the wallet from its pocket. Two steps later he had
forgotten the incident and I was turning back to the internet cafe, prize in hand.

Once in the door my stomach twisted. Julian wasnt there. There was a swirling sensation as the computer
suddenly jerked me into a full embrace of the Symbiotic Web.

I rounded on the Julian-shaped avatar.

"Help me. Please."

He nodded and dissappeared, and then the scene dissolved and I was observing the real world again.

I watched through my own enhanced senses as the same little boy ran into the street,
ducking past the wheels of a delivery van and into the path of a swerving SUV, jumping out of the way just in
time to meet the hood of a convertible in the third lane. Traffic collided and slid to a shuddering halt
as the small body rolled up and over the windshield to land sprawled in the back seat.

During this slow-motion drama, I was sprinting full-force towards the LeSabre, where the teenagers were
immediately opening the doors to escape the trapped vehicle. The driver hadn't moved. The captor on the left
was pulling Julian towards that door and then I was there, diving through the rear windshield like it was paper,
my fist lashing out shatter the guy's wrist.

A strange calming sensation suddenly washed over me and I realized I was snarling at the kid who was suddenly
looking at me in confusion and horror as he held his destroyed arm with his uninjured hand. He was babbling in
terror, clearly in shock. The dazed look in his eyes earlier had disappeared.

::Almost as if he doesn't remember anything that just happened.::

I looked closer at him, using my enhanced senses. None of the familiar implants, he's human alright. But...

Following my train of thought, the AI zoomed forward and initiated a brief burst of radiation. My enhanced
eyes caught the reflection and found the small implant at the base of his skull. What the hell?

::Now is not the time. Julian is the priority.::

Before I could agree, my body was continuing in the movement that had never stopped, and had scooped Julian
from the backseat and past the blubbering teenager, and I was sprinting towards the nearest alleyway.

::Don't forget my favor.::

The boy. Shit.

:I won't. But I have to run now. Too many questions. Tell me where I can find you.:

There was a buzz of transmission and I knew the AI had stored away the information.

::Don't forget. You owe me.::

:Yes, I do. I'll find you.:

Then we were away from the street and I was in control of my body again, continuing our flight from...whatever
the hell that was. I was definitely going to go find that boy. Despite his childish appearance, he certainly seemed
to know what he was about. And we needed answers. Even costly ones.

But first, Julian.