Master Daniel, Chapter 2: The Soldier

War raged on Earth for many years.  One could see the explosive bursts of light across the dark hemisphere.  From outer space, it looked almost pretty like fireworks or blinking Christmas lights against a dark backdrop.  On the surface, it was hell.  Death and destruction occurred on incomprehensible scales every day.  The line between good and evil could no longer be defined.  Both were destroyers.

It's easier to think of death and destruction in general terms, but that was not an acceptable option for Daniel.  He had left remnants of his cells on Earth, microscopic organisms and tiny insects.  He heard the screams.  He felt hot blood and gore.  Explosions catapulted his cells and shockwaves slammed into him.  Fear, pain, rage, madness, loss, love, hatred, despair--the whole gamut of human emotions nearly overwhelmed him every moment.  Daniel could have cut the connection with his cells.  He was sorely tempted, but he chose to share in the horror and bear witness.

If he could not intervene on Earth, he would at least not turn completely away.

***

Blood from a dying soldier was seeping into a soil that had been recently churned up by heavy tires and showers of ammo.  His broken limbs stuck out in odd angles through the tatters of a camouflaged uniform.  It hadn't been enough for the enemy soldiers to batter and break nearly every bone in his body.  They had shot off his hands and feet and tossed him to the ground to die slowly, agonizingly.  His once handsome face, now bruised and bleeding, lay buried in loose soil.

"Help…" he said.  Blood gurgled in his mouth and poured out as he tried to speak.  He spit the blood out to clear his mouth.  "Help me!  I know you're there.  I can feel you.  Please hel…"

The soldier passed out.

He was groggy when he awoke, annoyed at the dim light his eyelids failed to block.  Another day in hell awaited him.  The cursed devil enjoyed toying with him.  He had passed out before, wounded to the verge of death, only to awaken hours later to suffer some more.  Enough was enough.  Why couldn't death take him and end his misery?  Why must he keep waking up?

"Let me just fucking die already!" he yelled, eyes still closed.

"You asked for help.  Next time, if there is a next time, you may want to keep your mouth shut."  The voice was calm, too calm actually to suit the words spoken.

"Who…Hey!  Let me loose!"  His eyes flared open and he struggled to move.  His entire body seemed to have turned to stone.  Only his eyes and mouth were free to move.  He stared up at a featureless tan ceiling.

"Try not to struggle.  The force field keeping you immobile is for your own good.  You had been gravely wounded and need more time to heal."  A face unlike any he had seen loomed over him.  It was a face befitting the Greek god Apollo, gleaming golden face and hair embodying the luminous glow of the sun.  Words dripped like honey from his succulent lips.  But what captured the man's attention were the bright iridescent irises that swirled around the black depths of the pupils.  He began to hyperventilate, feeling as though a siren's song was luring him into Charybdis' water guzzling maw.  Mercifully the iridescent eyes closed and the face withdrew.  The ten-pointed star on the forehead, which he had assumed was a tattoo, lit up suddenly casting an eerie blue-green glow on the ceiling.

"Who are you?" he asked, afraid and aroused at once.

"My name is Daniel.  But I think you really meant to ask what I am.  In short, I am the metamorphic fusion of demon and human.  Your turn.  Who and what are you?"

"I am Lieutenant Richard Moss of the North American Allied Army, 5th Infantry Division, 3rd Battalion."

Daniel snorted.  "I didn't ask for your rank.  What are you?"

"I am a man, a human being," the lieutenant snarled.

"There's more to you than that.  How did you sense my presence back on Earth?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were dying and you asked for my help.  You said you could feel me.  Granted my cells were crawling about in the soil beneath you, but no ordinary human being could have sensed that."

"What the fuck are you talking about?  I never asked for help or said I could feel you.  I was dying.  That's all I remember."

There was silence.  It unnerved the soldier.

"Hey!  Are you there?  Don't fucking leave me alone like this!  Hey, what's…no, don't put me under…I don't…want…to…sleeee…"

***

"Wake up, lieutenant.  Today's your lucky day."  The voice was different, lower in register, older, chipper.

This time he felt refreshed and alert when he opened his eyes.  His body itched all over, and he was relieved to discover nothing restricted his movements.  He sat up and forgot all about the new speaker.  There was not a single stab of pain, no aching joints or muscles, no dizziness from hunger and thirst, no roiling in his guts from dysentery.  He had hands and feet once again.  Laughing, he touched his hands together and then touched his feet.  Then he noticed he was naked. Feeling neither embarrassed nor self-conscious, the soldier felt up his hairy body.  It felt like his body, but it wasn't right.  There was too much meat on the bones.  During the course of the war he had lost a great deal of weight.  And the body was too pristine.

He whirled on the flat bed till he located the person who had spoken.  The man was a kindly-looking, silver-haired man of average height and more than average girth, dressed in silky silver robes that flowed down along his body.  The soldier licked his lips and made no move to hide the growth of his cock.

"Hello, daddy!  Who are you?"

"It's good to see your libido hasn't been diminished," the old man said with a grin.  "My name is Carl.  I am one of Master's slaves.  He's the one who saved you.  I believe you met him a few days ago."

"Ah yes, the strange one with even stranger notions.  I just wanted some info and he kept saying and asking strange things.  Will you give me some straightforward answers, Carl?  Otherwise, just turn around and leave because I might just go ballistic."

"That is why I'm here, lieutenant.  Before we start, would you care for some clothing?"

"No, I prefer to be nude.  Being a soldier made that difficult, but I'm not a soldier anymore, am I?"

"You are correct.  The war is essentially over with no clear victor, only scattered pockets of population on a desolate planet.  Here, you were our patient and now our guest.  Shall we continue?"  And then with a grin, Carl asked, "Would you be more comfortable if I were nude as well, lieutenant?"

"You'd be more pleasant to look at than these blank walls.  Call me Rick."

The robes hugged the curves of Carl's body as they cascaded down, pooling around his feet like a moon-lit pond.  He stepped out of the pool and strolled forward, his erect penis and low-hanging balls bobbing and waving.  Carl stopped an arm's-length from Rick and the tan floor behind him bubbled upward and solidified into a cushioned stool.  He sat down with his knees spread apart.  He grinned at Rick's wide-eyed stare.

"Perhaps it'd be quicker for me to give you a brief overview before we get to your questions.  My Master was born from the fusion of a powerful and destructive demon who was trapped inside and dominated by a male human being.  He is now neither demon nor human.  He is something new.  My fellow slaves and I consider him to be a god.  Master foresaw the coming of the world war fourteen years ago and, believing that his intervention would cause more harm than good, He created a ship and brought us to Venus, which He has re-named as Haven.  The ship is a living extension of his body and consciousness, a creation of his own cells.  Master is currently engaged in terraforming Haven into a habitable world.  The ship has grown into a sphere that encompasses the entire planet, absorbing sunlight, siphoning sulphuric acid from the atmosphere, very slowly altering the planet's retrograde rotation, and creating an electro-magnetic field stronger than the planet's.  You are currently in that sphere, a thousand kilometers above the surface.  You've been here nearly two months by Earth's standards.  Lastly, I was able to shape a small portion of Master's cells that comprised the floor into a stool by communicating telepathically with Master.  Now I'd be happy to answer your questions."

"It all sounds perfectly mundane.  Seriously, are you kidding?  Am I dreaming or just delirious?"

"I know, Rick.  Crazy, right?  But I assure you it's all real."

"I can't process it all right now.  It's just too…beyond me.  Just answer me this:  Why am I here?  Why did he save me?  And what happened to my body."

"Your body was so severely damaged that it was placed inside a capsule filled with an amniotic fluid rich with stem cells to aid in healing and rebuilding your body.  Master injected you with His own cells to mend your broken bones and internal wounds.  He removed them all afterward so don't worry about having foreign cells inside your body.  Why He saved you?  That I do not know. "

"He said I asked for his help.  Something about his cells crawling in the ground where I was dying.  He said no ordinary human being could have sensed his presence.  But I don't remember any of that.  Just pain…and loneliness.  I thought about Mike, my daddy, and wondered if I'd see him in the afterlife.  And then I must have lost consciousness."

"You loved him a great deal, didn't you?  I have a confession, Rick.  I asked Master to allow me to talk with you.  He said your memories of Mike were so strong, so emotionally charged, that you were broadcasting them as powerfully as the pain you were suffering.  I thought you'd be more inclined to talk to another daddy.  But the only person who can answer your immediate questions is Master.  What He says may seem strange to you, but He speaks only the truth.  He has no reason to lie.  And please, do not fear Him.  The demon may have been evil, but the man who dominated the demon was a good man.  I should know since I raised him as my own son.  I could see in your face that you have more questions now.  Maybe someday I'll tell you more about my unique relationship with Master.  Not today.  Master wishes to speak with you.  Are you willing?  He won't force you."

"Alright.  I could never say no to a sexy daddy."

Carl gave Rick a warm smile.  His bearded cheeks curved out and little dimples could be seen beneath the bristles.  "I'll take my leave.  Master is waiting outside."  He hopped off the stool, which melted back into the floor, and went to pick up his robes.  His rotund and hairy buttocks broadened out as he bent down.

"Fuck, man!  I haven't seen such a nice ass in years."  Rick absent-mindedly stroked his cock as he said this.

"Maybe we can have some fun later," Carl said with a wink.  A hole opened up in the wall and he walked through.  Daniel ambled into the room seconds later.  He was dressed up to his neck in a form-fitting black armor that revealed more than hide all the contours of his body.  The aperture in the wall remained open behind him.

"Dressed for a pleasant chat, I see.  Had you worn your cape and mask, I would have thought you'd come for a fight."

His face impassive, Daniel stretched out his right arm and pointed the turquoise decagram on his palm straight at Rick.  The lines of the decagram blazed and converged into a beam.  Rick threw himself to the floor and rolled to his feet.  There was a small hole on the bed where he had sat.  Daniel fired away at Rick, forcing the man to dance about the room to escape having a hole burned through his body.

"You're insane!  You saved me…now you're trying…to kill me…What is it you want?"

There was no response from Daniel.  The beams shot out from his palm faster.  Rick couldn't afford to divide his attention and ask questions.  His strong body moved fast to avoid the beams.  Sweat matted his brown fur and sprayed into the air.  His round muscles flexed untiringly beneath his creamy white skin and his loins, limp now, flailed about lewdly.

"You move well for a bear," Daniel said, firing away even faster.  Rick still managed to dodge every shot.  "Doesn't it strike you as odd that you are able to avoid my beams?  Have you never wondered why you could have sex for hours and not get tired?  Or why you could recover from the brink of death time and again?  Doesn't it make you think about yourself, Rick Moss?"

"Fuck you!" Rick cried defiantly, jumping.

"You just inadvertently gave yourself a clue.  In fact, that was the clue that led me to understand what you are, Rick.  One of your memories of your beloved daddy, Mike Gallagher."

"Shut up!  Don't you fucking speak his name!"  In a rage, Rick ducked a beam and rolled closer to Daniel.  He swiped his leg across in an attempt to knock his assailant off his feet.  His shin crashed painfully against Daniel's ankle, and was halted.  He cried out in pain and slumped with his shin in his hands.

"Feisty.  I like that.  I mean you no harm or offense.  I suspected that something happens to your body when high levels of adrenaline are present.  You know what I'm talking about, but you've never stopped to really think about it."  Daniel lowered his arm.

"I've been fighting to survive!  When the fuck did I have time to think?"

"You have time now, Rick.  You need to do this for your own sake, to know who and what you are.  I've found the answers to my questions so I'm not doing this for my benefit.  Although, I do like seeing your naked body move about so delectably."

"So glad you got some enjoyment!  I bet you won't just tell me and save me a headache."

"I will help you.  Think of that night when Mike took you to his home from the dance club.  That night he first fucked you and then you rode and sucked his cock.  Think of his words, Rick."

"That was fifteen years ago!"

"Yes, and you remember every detail of that night.  I didn't have to read your mind, Rick.  All your memories of Mike are powerfully ingrained into your mind, and you broadcast them for any telepath to read.  So, remember what he said.  What did he call you?"

"He called me a…sex demon.  Is that what I am?  A demon?"

"No, you're no demon, Rick.  You are, however, a man under the influence of a demon.  It's too weak to possess you, but strong enough to affect your body.  It's a demon of lust, so initially its influence was limited to heightening your libido and improving your stamina.  During the war, with your life threatened regularly, it improved your strength, reflexes, and regeneration in order to preserve the symbiosis.  It tags along and feels the world through your body.  Had you died, the demon would have searched for another body to ride shotgun.  In a war-ravaged world with billions of casualties, finding a decent host wouldn't have been an easy task.  Far more expedient to preserve the current host.  While you lay dying, just about to lose consciousness, the demon took over and called out to me.  I didn't know it at the time.  I didn't have time to think how you were able to sense me.  You were dying and I had only seconds to act.  It was your love for Mike that won me over.  I know what it's like to love another man, three men in my case.  The thought of them dying just as you were--I couldn't bear it."

"So I lucked out because I have a demon inside me and I'm gay and still in love with a deceased man.  Those billions of men, women, and children who died just didn't have the lucky combination to warrant your attention.  'Sorry, you are not a winner.  Better luck next time.'  You heartless bastard!  You could have saved them!  You could have at least tried to stop the war!  Instead you fled the planet!"

Rick glared up at the tall man standing still like an effigy.  His furious shouts had sprayed spittle all over his sweaty torso.  Rising to his feet, right shin still aching, he snarled at Daniel, "Don't follow me.  I can't stand to be near you."  He limped around Daniel and through the aperture.  Daniel made no attempt to speak in his own defense nor to stop Rick's departure.

***

He lost track of the number of days his sore feet had carried him through the hilly terrain.  When he could he walked on grass and avoided rocks.  Food and water were easily obtainable with plenty of plants bearing fruits, berries, and nuts, and clean springs nearly everywhere he traveled.  It felt good to feel the wind on his hot skin.  He sat down on a bed of moss and soaked his feet in a cold brook.  Droplets of water fell on his slouching back and slumped shoulders.  Their cool touch summoned goosebumps.  Leaning back, he turned his face up and opened his mouth, letting the rain cool him and ease his thirst.  It stirred memories of hot summer afternoons when sudden rainstorms would provide brief respites from the heat.  He and Mike would race out into the backyard and lie on the wet grass.  Invariably, they'd end up in each other's arms, rolling on the grass as rain pelted their hot bodies.  And then Mike would fuck him hard with his overgrown cock with its abnormally large head, breeding his desperate hole.  Caught up in his memories, Rick threw up his legs and fell onto his back, beating his cock with one hand as he drilled his asshole with his fingers.  He crunched up his abs and shot much of his load into his mouth.  The rest he lathered into his brown fur.

Afterward, he rolled to his side and curled up.  He wept, whispering, "Daddy."

He awoke with a start and rolled onto his back.  The clouds had cleared while he slept.  And the strange sight of the honeycomb sky once again reminded him he wasn't on Earth.  The honeycomb pattern wasn't visible while the sun was overhead nor during the dark of night.  Only when the sun was close to the horizon did its light hit the transparent roof in just the right way to highlight the hexagonal support structure.

"How powerful is he?" Rick pondered aloud.  "I've walked for days and haven't encountered a single wall or support beam.  The roof must be at least a few kilometers high.  And this thing covers the entire planet?  I could walk for months and not find a way out."

"You're almost to a decagonal lens," piped a child's voice.

"And not too far from a square city-ship," added another child's voice.

"So you're almost out of the hexagonal ecosystem," a third child clarified.

Rick jumped to his feet and assumed a combat stance.  Three little naked boys with chubby faces sat on a flat boulder.  They smiled at him and waved their little hands.  From left to right, they introduced themselves.

"Hi, I'm Jaic.  I'm the oldest."  He was bigger and beefier than the other two.  Green eyes twinkled with amusement in his fair face.  A short crop of platinum blond hair covered his round head.  "Jamie and Carl are my daddies."

"And I'm Jayce, the second oldest.  Jay and Carl are my daddies."  Jayce was a slender and delicate-looking boy with shimmering black hair falling around his pale oval face.  His dark brown eyes looked down at his hands shyly.

"I'm the baby.  My name is Caja, C-A-J-A, long A's.  My daddies are Carl and Jay.  I'm twelve years old by Earth's standards and nineteen by Haven's, but since it takes sixty Haven years for us to fully mature I'm only about six years old.  And--"

"Caja!" his brother Jaic scolded him.

For the briefest of moments, Caja's thick lips pouted and his hazel eyes watered.  And then he smiled and scratched his head through a wild mess of sandy hair.  "I talk a lot," he explained and stuck his tongue out at his eldest brother.

"Hi, boys," Rick greeted, seating himself back onto the ground.  Artificial insemination and in vitro, he thought to himself.  "You know who I am but I'll introduce myself just to be polite.  My name is Rick.  What are you boys doing so far from home?  Are your parents near?"

The three boys conferred amongst themselves before answering.

"We are home.  All of this is our home," Caja said.

"Our daddies are far from here but always with us," Jayce chimed in as soon as Caja uttered his last word.

"But Master is everywhere.  Master is everything," Jaic concluded.

"Great!  Just what I wanted to hear.  Do you boys know the layout of this sphere?" Rick asked.

"Yes, it's a--"

"truncated--"

"icosidodecahedron--"

"with 30 squares--"

"20 hexagons--"

"and 12 decagons--"

"projected onto a sphere--"

"Ok.  That's enough.  Thank you, boys.  How did you get here?  You couldn't have walked this far so quickly."

"We rode the transit tubes."

"It's fun!  And it goes super fast!"

"We can show you how to ride it."

"Alright.  I'd like that.  Just one more question, boys.  Why did you come here?"

"We wanted to meet you."

"You're the first visitor to our world."

"Who knows when we'll have another visitor."

The three boys led Rick to the base of a rocky cliff, where a large cave was carved out.  Inside was a clear vertical tube with an arched opening level with the floor.  An elevator capsule waited for them inside the tube.  The up and down buttons were familiar to Rick; he pushed down.  The elevator descended for a few minutes and opened onto a circular platform at the center of a cavern.  A shimmering projection of the sphere greeted Rick when he exited the elevator.  Ten horizontal tubes, each with a capsule inside, were spaced out evenly around the outer edge of the platform.  The three boys showed Rick how to manipulate the projection, their little fingers pulling, pinching, sliding, and tapping to zoom, scroll, and get details.

"We can interface directly with any system on the sphere."

"But you'll need to use your fingers, Rick."

"Daddy Carl said you should be familiar with the process."

"Thanks, boys.  I appreciate the help."

Rick Moss bid them farewell and entered a capsule at random.  He began a journey across the truncated icosidodecahedron sphere encompassing Haven that would last nearly five revolutions of the planet around the sun.  Ostensibly he sought a way out, a ship that he could somehow learn to pilot, but in reality it was a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, a cathartic voyage to come to terms with his psychological demons and the real demon inside him.


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