I’ve been away for the past three days, without Internet, so I’m really late putting up this post. Furthermore, I’m going to cheat a bit, handling our new topic “Sex in Space” by posting an excerpt from my scifi ménage Bodies of Light.
I
wrote this tale about the sole survivor of a starship crashing into
two alien energy beings in order to explore the idea that one could
enjoy sex without having any body at all. Personally, I’ve always
felt that my arousal and pleasure began in my mind and flowed
outward. In this story, I push that notion as far as I can.
Bodies
of Light Blurb
Physicist Dr. Christine Monroe has devoted her lonely life to research on hyper-space travel. Her continued failure leads her to sign on to the Archimedes, a sub-light-speed mission aimed at establishing a colony in the Sirius B system. Waking from suspended animation, she discovers that the ship is wildly off course and the rest of the crew are dead due to equipment failure. At first she thinks the two handsome strangers who show up on the ship are figments of her imagination - erotic hallucinations created by isolation and stress. However, Alyn and Zed are solid, real, and ready to sacrifice their lives for the strong woman they’ve found stranded in deep space. As her ship begins to disintegrate, Christine must choose between the planet she was sent to save and the two alien beings she’s come to cherish.
He
cupped his hands in front of his chest, about six inches apart, as
though he were holding a ball the size of a grapefruit. “Relax.
Take deep, slow breaths,” he told her. “Focus on the space
between my palms.”
Christine
struggled to let go of the arousal that was raising her pulse rate
and making her pant. She closed her eyes for a moment to centre
herself, then followed Zed’s instructions. Initially she saw
nothing but Zed’s burnished muscles through the gap between his
hands. Before long, though, she noticed that the empty space was
occupied by a faint glow. The light brightened gradually and
congealed into three luminous strands that twined together, rotating
at a stately pace in an ascending spiral. The filaments were born
near his wrists, coiled upward and disappeared at his fingertips, in
a smooth, endless flow.
“Concentrate
on the light,” Zed murmured. “Follow the light.”
The
slow-moving helix fascinated her. Her eyes traced its path as it
emerged out of nowhere, rose and vanished. At first the streaks of
brightness appeared pure white, but as she focused she noticed tiny
flecks of colour: amethyst in one, gold in another, ruby in the
third. Like jewel dust the motes danced in the beams until they
reached the upper limit and winked out of existence.
She
could feel Alyn’s presence, off to her left, and could sense his
concern. She knew Zed was watching her with those piercing jet eyes.
Willing herself not to look at them, she trained her full attention
on the hypnotic pillar of light. She dove into it, circling endlessly
upward, spiralling into non-existence at the apex then regenerating
at the base.
Christine
forgot the two men. There was only the light, swirling, pulsing,
drawing her ever deeper. The light rippled through her like pure
water. The strands curled around her like laughter. Golden flames
licked at her flesh without burning. Fingers of brightness soothed
and teased her, kindling shimmers of delight.
“Christine!”
Her name was a bolt of radiance, arrowing through the glow. “We are
here with you.” It was true—their auras mingled with hers.
Sparkling ribbons of silver and copper wreathed her presence, a
crimson crystal beating in the velvet darkness. She knew them—Zed
and Alyn, her attentive, untiring lovers—but now she saw how their
gorgeous man-shapes were mere shells. Their full glory would have
blinded her, if she had eyes. In her present state, unfettered by the
limitations of her poor human senses, she saw them as they truly
were: perfect, ageless, unutterably beautiful.
“I
did it,” she said, or thought, or sang. Pride twined purple through
the rainbow emotions that swirled around them. “Now I understand.”
In their shared universe of flickering luminescence, she reached out
to draw them closer.
“Lover,”
came a bell-like song she recognised as Alyn. “Now we can truly be
together.” His caress woke fireworks. Without a body, she felt the
pleasure everywhere. It was searing heat, aching fullness, marvellous
tension, buoyant joy.
“Darling.”
Zed was a rich chord arcing through her, a rain of sparks that made
her tingle and glow. He brought wetness, tightness, electric twinges
that burned through her. The sensations recalled physical responses
despite her disembodiment, except for their overwhelming intensity.
She swelled and throbbed with need, wanting her lovers closer, inside
her somehow, though she didn’t know how this could be possible.
Before she could voice her desire, she felt their energy encircle and
penetrate hers. Multi-hued pleasure exploded in her consciousness.
“Touch
us,” Alyn sang, winding through her, drilling into her core.
“Open
us,” Zed hummed, flowering incandescent at her centre. “Your mind
is limitless.”
She
reached into the luminous emptiness and allowed her thoughts to mesh
with theirs. Now she thrilled with their sensations and emotions as
well as her own. The connection should have been shocking, but
somehow it felt completely natural. Alyn’s shy hunger and Zed’s
raw lust seasoned her own arousal. The pleasure that shivered through
them as she danced in their minds rocked her senses as well. Delight
reflected back and forth. Each of them mirrored and amplified the
others’ ecstasy.
Below
these present-focused elements, Christine caught echoes of the
aliens’ age-old pain and loneliness. She gathered Alyn and Zed into
her self, singing liquid songs of comfort. Love wove its way into
their shared tapestry of feeling, gleaming pure white among the
lustrous strands of scarlet, emerald, turquoise and amber.
Wow, that's one of the most beautiful—and successfully erotic—sex scenes I've ever read!
ReplyDeleteNot to mention one of the most original!
DeleteThank you, Jeremy!
DeleteOriginality is really important to me. (That's one reason why my books sell so poorly!)
Gorgeous writing, Lisabet.
ReplyDeleteI have a whacky friend who believes (and hopes) that humans will soon become partially bionic, gradually leaving our bodies for a sexless existence. He's one of those people who think our bodies are dirty and that sex constitutes a distracting element in our lives. According to him, sex saps our better judgement. He's also of the mind that whenever sex occurs, in whatever form, somebody is a victim. Though he wouldn't outright admit to these charges, the way he leads his life confirms them. I wrote about him another time on these pages. He's the one who couldn't believe it when I began writing erotica. He thought it was the worst thing in the world (though his wife enjoys my stuff. ;>)
I believe that sex is a physical response. Though sexual desire resides in our brains, it's physical chemistry that enables it. Now that I'm losing a part of that chemistry, it's all too obvious. Sigh...
Clearly sex has a physical/hormonal component. Nevertheless, one could argue that the the hormones affect the mind as strongly as the body.
DeleteFor me, eroticism always begins in the mind. I haven't actually had sex in several years, but that doesn't seem to stop me from imagining sexual situations, dreaming about them, or writing about them.
And I feel REALLY sorry for your friend.
DeleteIt seems as though there's been more and more research indicating that mind and body are so interconnected that there's no clear division between them.
ReplyDeleteMy personal belief is that the mind creates the body.
DeleteThis is really cool, Lisabet! I love the way you take that idea of pleasure as mind-focused and find a setting that expresses it so well. Gorgeous cover, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Annabeth!
DeleteSo glad you are back!
What a pleasant surprise, to read this mind-tickling exercise in imagination! I love the imagery...and the idea that even when we transcend physicality, there is desire and ecstasy! Way cool. Thanks for sharing. And alas, you're right. Writing things you like to read is apparently not a money-maker, for those of us who have desires not "popular." But I truly enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteHi, Fiona! Glad you liked it.
DeleteThese days I just don't care about being "popular". I'd rather write for the few people (like you) who "get" my stuff. xxoo