Title: Cortex Incorporated
Part: 1 of 1
Keywords: furry, cubs, mm+, mc, machine, med
Universe: unsorted
Author: just_lurking
Summary: This is a story of a video game industry out of control. Of a cut-throat market, where companies will do anything--anything at all--to make their games more challenging, more playable, more enjoyable. This is the story of Cortex Games Incorporated and of a cub called Ben...

Ben was better than the AI.  Surprisingly better than the AI.

Of course, it helped that he was a cheetah with lightning fast
reflexes. As did the amount of cola that the eleven year old could put
away. Even so, to beat a Cortex Systems AI took more than just speed.
Cortex's AIs were sneaky and self improving.  They learnt, and not
just from you.

Every Cortex Systems Incorporated games cabinet was connected to directly
the AI--reducing the cabinet to little more than a screen with a joystick
attached.  Cortex said they the technology to miniaturise their AIs to
something that would fit in a cabinet didn't exist yet.

Astute arcade owners assumed that Cortex just wanted to hold on to
their profitable pay-for-connectivity model.  They didn't complain
too loudly though.  The cabinets were cheap, and the ability to switch
any cabinet to any one of the hundreds of licensed Cortex titles at a
key press was a big plus.

The cubs didn't mind either.  Cortex games were tough, very tough,
but the AI seemed to have a sense of humour at least.  It would play
with you, push you, challenge you.  Giving you your money's worth
before revealing the ace up its sleeve.  Before it revealed the trap it
laid at the beginning of the game, the one that meant you never had a
chance of winning.  Before it pulled the rug out from under your feet,
and made that game changing move.  Second guessing your luck was a part
of the Cortex experience.

A Cortex AI let you have your fun, but it was sneaky and underhanded,
and it played to win.

It didn't always win though.  As Ben was about to prove for the fourth
time in as many days.

Speed wasn't the key, or at least not the only key.  You needed tactics
as well, and they had to be tactics the AI hadn't seen before or the
AI would figure out a counter strategy.

Ben was good at both, and four games won in four days was a pretty
solid record.  True he had lost twelve games in that time, but it was
still a better record than anyone else in the arcade.

"Yes!" Ben shouted with over caffeinated and over stimulated glee,
"Beat it again! Who owns you game!? Who owns you!?"

He did a little dance in front of the seldom seen winning
screen. Attracting a few looks both odd and awed.

"That would be me." the Arcade owner grunted good naturedly.

The gruff looking warthog didn't mind Ben's show too much--he
was a good customer--just so long as he didn't scare away his other
customers. Ben's gaming habit was prestigious, but he doubted it would
be a stable business model.

Ben chortled embarrassedly as he noticed the looks he was attracting
and taking the hint to calm down.

"But I won." He said still grinning.

The owner just shook his head--cubs!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cortex Systems Incorporated supplied everything an arcade might need. From
the cabinets, to the data lines, to the drinks machines (under license),
down to the napkins and floor tiles.

It was a little known fact that a Cortex Security System when connected
to a Cortex Systems Management System could transmit images over the
same data lines as the cabinets.  Cortex Systems was happy to keep this
fact as secret as possible.

They found it very useful when identifying the players who managed to
beat their AI.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben struggled in the back of the van.  He wasn't restrained.
He simply couldn't find the strength to roll over onto his front.
For any cheetah that is a worrying thought.

If he could only roll over he would have been able to crawl to the
back of the van and open the doors.  Someone would see him and he would
be rescued.

The fox who had slipped the soaking rag over his muzzle--the only other
fur in the van--had his eyes on the road.  Not even bothering to glance
back at him.  The air of disinterest borne of routine hug around him. He
knew Ben wasn't going anywhere.

This wasn't supposed to be happening Ben thought.  Fear welling up
in him.  He was going to the arcade after school as usual when he was
pulled into an ally and drugged before he even had a chance to yelp. He
was supposed to be playing games right now!

He tried not to cry.  Every bump in the road, caused him to bounce against
the hard floor of the van, reminding him of his situation.  He tried to
roll over again.  His gold tail with its black spots twitched from side
to side like a house cat's , but otherwise nothing.

Ben felt a pit form in his stomach.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was crying by the time they arrived at their destination, and he had
wet his jeans.

The doors of the van were flung open.  His kidnapper and another fur,
a pit bull, proceeded to load his prone form onto a gurney.  Its metal
frame clattered and shook as they wheeled him over the rough ground.

Unable to move his head, Ben was forced to squint to shield his bloodshot
eyes from the glare of the cloudless afternoon sky.  He could just make
out the form of a large red brick building towering over him through
the haze of his tears.

There was a bump and a thunk noise as he was pushed through a pair of
swinging doors.  The ceiling over head was white now.  There was an awful
smell of hospital in the air.  Ben felt his stomach twist as fresh fears
assaulted him.

What sort of hospital kidnapped kids?  'The sort that wants them for
strange, horrific, unethical experiments,' Ben thought, 'or maybe they
just want to slice me open for the hell of it.' For a moment Ben thought
he was going to be sick, but nothing came.  He was hyperventilating.
His vision started to get fuzzy from lack of air. 'Oh god. Oh god. Oh
god. What do these freaks want with me!? Just let me go please. Please
anything, just let me live.'

They travelled a short distance into the building along a deserted
route. The near silence of their journey broken only by the clatter of
the wheels and Ben's weak sobs.

They rounded a corner and came to a halt.  There was a pause.  Then a
voice spoke up.

"You know my job would be a lot easier if you weren't so rough with
them." It said wearily.

"Yeah.  If you can think of a 'nice' way to nab 'em you let me
know doc, otherwise piss off an' leave it to the professionals." Ben
assumed this was the bulldog talking.  It sounded like a 'bulldog'
voice.

There was another pause during which the owner of of the weary must have
indicated he couldn't think of such a way because a moment later the
fox backed up his colleague.  "Look, do we tell you how to dose up
these fucks?  That's right, we don't.  You don't tell us how to
do our jobs either okay?"

There was the sound of footsteps retreating.  The weary voice sighed
and stepped into view.  Ben's vision was still blurry but the figure
was unmistakeably that of another cheetah, and the lab coat it wore was
unmistakeably that of a doctor.

The blur spoke to him in a kind voice.  "Don't worry little one.
No one is going to hurt you." It reassured him.  It sounded masculine.
Ben found the words calmed him despite his scepticism.

"Wh-what?" He choked out between sobs. "Y-y-you just
k-kidnapped me t-to give me ice cream?" Ben was amazed he was able
to be sarcastic even as he felt he was about to void his stomach.

"No," the blur said reassuringly as it stroked the side of his face,
"something much better than ice cream."

Ben would have flinched back from the paw if he could.  "S-sure
c-cause being sliced open is s-so much b-b-ett-" He started
crying again.

The blur sighed and ceased trying to reassure him.  "Lets get these
ruined clothes off of you."

Ben recognised the glint of a blade in the doctor's hands even
through his tears.  He tried to jerk away as hard as he could, but this
accomplished nothing more than rocking him slightly on the bed. Ben
actually welcomed the approaching darkness as his vision started to
fade again.

The doctor proceeded to cut away Ben's clothes with patient snips. His
slow progress suggesting he was using shears.  Once he was done the
elder cheetah pulled the ruined clothes off of the near catatonic Ben.

A few seconds later Ben lost conciousness.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a commotion when Ben stirred.  He heard, rather than saw since
his eyes were still shut, a dozen paw pads skitter over to him. He could
feel them surround him.  Talking in hushed whispers around him.

He feigned sleep.  Hoping what ever they were would lose interest in
him. They stayed.  He kept his eyes shut.  They still stayed.  Ben felt
an itch on his nose.  He resisted the urge to move.  Both parties stayed
like this for a while.

"Oh stop being silly!" A voice similar in age to his own said in
exasperation.

Ben opened his eyes.  He was laying on some sort of low bed.  A dozen
cubs of mixed species stood over him.  Jostling to get a peek at him. They
were mostly male, about ten to fourteen years old and dressed in nothing
except extremely-brief bikini briefs.

He looked down at himself to discover he was dressed in a similar
fashion. Adorned in light blue briefs and nothing else.  His head spun
as he tried to process all that had happened to him and still was.
Whatever he had been expecting it wasn't this.

In amongst his confusion and discomfort another sensation arose;
claustrophobia.  The cubs were too close.  They were stifling him. He
couldn't breath.  He lashed out at random with his arms and legs. The
cubs darted back from his panicked, flailing limbs.

"Wha?...Who are you!?" Ben demanded.

"Okay.  Okay.  Everyone back up and give the new boy some room." Ben
recognised the voice as the one that spoke moments before.  The owner
was an otter pup in pink briefs who was making shooing motions towards
the other cubs.  "You all remember how scary it was when you woke up
on the couch."

The cubs all backed away giving Ben his air and his first glimpse of
the room.  Every surface was covered in light canvas fabrics and, where
possible, cushioned.  The walls, the table, the seats were all covered
in cream canvas, and where the fabric wasn't cream it was some pastel
colour. Overall the light colours meant that room was bright and well lit.

There were no sharp angles in the room.  Everything was rounded and
curved off.  The room itself was a ellipsoid with a flattened floor and
ceiling. The couches, chairs and tables were all built into, and from, the
room. Little nooks recessed into the walls acted as shelving and storage.

Lots of little nick-nacks filled the shelves, most of them had an air of
'home-made'ness about them, very few looked store bought.  Pictures,
obviously made by the cubs, were taped to the walls.

There were two doors leading to other rooms and a glass wall which looked
out into a corridor.  They all shared the same fabric-and-cushioning
construction.

It looked like a seventies concept house envisioned by an upholster.

"I don' 'member waking up." A little grey mouse boy said
thoughtfully around the finger hanging from his mouth.  This earned him
a soft swift swat on the butt from the otter.  The little mouse scurried
away a few feet and rubbed his white-cotton clad rear.

"Welcome to the pod, brother." The otter said as he stepped forward
and hugged Ben.  "What is your name?"

"Ben." Ben said as the strange mustelid hugged him. "Who are
you? Where a I?"

"I am Jacob," came the simple answer and a smile.  "and you are
in the Cortex data centre, pod sixteen."

"Best pod of the bunch!" A cub behind him called out.

"Pods?" Ben looked to Jacob in confusion. He was obviously in
charge. "Cortex? Like the game company? What's going on?"

Jacob nodded in patient understanding, "Yeah Cortex 'like the game
company'.  You ever wondered how they got their games so clever?"

Ben shook his head to indicate he hadn't.

"No.  No one ever does until they come here." The otter
sighed. "It's simple enough.  There is no AI, just us.  Cubs who
beat the game end up here."

"Wha? Why?" Ben asked.

"Well, because you are some sort of game wiz and Cortex needs game
wizzes." Jacob explained.  Seeing Ben still didn't get it he went
on. "Look it's a team effort.  When the punter's play the game
they are playing against us co-oping.  If you beat the game you must be
something special."

"Yeah, they say you beat pod seven," the mouse cub asked in youthful
awe, "how did you do that?"

Ben was momentarily, but only momentarily, stunned into
silence. "What!?" he burst out.  "You mean you were kidnapped
too!? And now you work for these people?  Who are you guys!?"

"I'm Jacob and this is pod sixteen," he gestured around the room
patiently beginning the introduction again, "that's Zac and Fr--"

"I don't give a damn!" Ben burst out.  The mouse boy shied away
behind Jacob, and the other cubs looked slightly hurt. "Why are you
working with them? What's wrong with you people? Don't you miss
your homes?"

"Well..." Jacob drew out the word, "no. Not really.  I mean yeah
sometimes, but not as much as you'd think.  I mean we just don't
think about it much."

A muttered chorus of 'yeah's and 'that's right's rose up
in agreement.

"I mean Cortex take care of us, and we have each other: the brothers
of pod sixteen." Jacob said.

"Yeah, we get to do all sorts of interesting stuff on our off-time."
Another voice chimed in.

"Arts 'n crafts." Came a voice from the other side of the circle.

"Yeah! And other hobbies!"

"They got lot'sa books and comics." One of the cubs ventured
solemnly.

"An' anime," his compatriot reminded him, "all the latest
releases."

"We get plenty of sports too! Footie!"

"An naughty games too." A cat giggled.

"Yeah those too!"

"What about the video games?" A voice asked annoyed.

"Oh don't tell him about that!" Another boy replied. "Y'know
they won't buy us non-Cortex games."

"Well they should." The first voice huffed.

Ben tried in vain to follow the conversation as it bounced around
the room.

Seeing their guest was getting overwhelmed again, Jacob raised his
arms. "Okay everyone calm down. Calm down."

The hubbub slowly quietened.

"You're seriously okay with being here?" Ben asked.  He had turned
a little pale.

Jacob knelt down beside the couch.  He looked at Ben
sympathetically. "Look I know you're scared," He said softly,
"but just accept it. You will feel better I promise."

"I...I'm never going to see my mum again?" Ben whimpered on the
edge of tears.

Jacob hugged the little cheetah.  "Just be brave Ben, and if you
want to cry just go ahead.  Almost everyone did at some point." He
chuckled morosely.  "I cried too.  And if you need someone to talk to,
or to hug you, or anything else just come and find me okay?"

There was a knock at the glass.

A cheetah in a white lab coat, escorted by a security guard in a green
military style uniform, stood in the corridor beyond the glass wall. The
security guard tapped a few buttons and the partition slid away--allowing
them access to the pod.

Jacob stood up respectfully.  Smiling at Ben sadly as if to reassure
him his offer was genuine.

"Hello cubs." The doctor said cheerily.  Ben presumed it was the
same doctor he had seen earlier.  How many cheetah-doctors could there
be in one place?

"Hello doctor Miles." The cubs intoned gleefully.

"Are you all making your new brother feel welcome?" He asked.

There was a chorus of 'yes'es from the cubs.  The doctor was able
to pick up the underlying mood of the room though.

"Ben," the doctor spoke softly as he turned and knelt to face the
couch, "I need you to come back with me.  There was some stuff we had
to do that we couldn't because you fainted."

Ben whimpered and drew back as far as Jacob's embrace would allow
him to.  "N...no...please." He shook his head.

"Sssshh..." The doctor tried to calm the frightened cub. "It's
okay...no one is going to hurt you.  Please, just come with me." He
held out a paw and waited.

Ben looked around, searching for a reprieve from his fate, but all he
found was a room full of smiling faces.  Some of the smiles were meant for
him, others for the doctor, but there was not one face that was troubled,
and not one cub seemed to want to make a break out of the wide open cell.

He took the paw, shaking as he did so.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doctor lead Ben down the corridor.	Ben couldn't help but keep
glancing back at the guard who followed two paces behind them.	He was
a youthful looking cougar in his twenties.  He had a straight face and
seemed utterly disciplined. Doctor Miles seemed not not to notice him
or Ben's discomfort.

He lead them through the corridors, past more of the glass-fronted
'pods'.  Each of the pods looked similar differing only in the
specific cubs contained within and their artefacts.  Cortex seemed to
supply their prisoners with ample arts and crafts supplies. On the short
journey Ben spied a good number of cubby paintings and clay models on
proud display. There was even one pod in which every available surface
was covered with origami.

Their destination turned out to be a doctors office.  Ben recognised
it as the one he lost conciousness in earlier.	Even the gurney he had
been brought in on was still present.  Behind the gurney was something
that made Ben's heart skip in fear.

A large chair with all sorts of complicated looking straps and attachments
was built into the wall opposite the door.  The 'chair' rested on
a dais three steps up from the rest of the room.  He had been unable to
see it before as his limp form had been wheeled in the wrong way.

The guard took up position by the door, blocking any retreat.
Ben swallowed.	The doctor walked up to the end of the room, never
breaking stride or noticing anything amiss.

'Doesn't he see anything wrong?  Doesn't he notice the guard?'
Ben wondered incredulously as he looked over his shoulder at the stern
imposing figure.

"Come on up Ben, no need to be shy." The elder cheetah called for
him kindly.

Ben started walking hesitantly towards the back of the room.  He didn't
know what that machine was for, but he was certain he wasn't going to
like the answer.

"We couldn't do this earlier because you fainted." The doctor
explained as Ben approached.  "But we will soon have you right as
rain."

"What is it?" Ben asked hesitating at the steps.

The doctor looked over his shoulder as if noticing the cub's reluctance
for the first time.  He turned away from his preparations and walked
down to kneel before the frightened boy.  He looked Ben in the eyes.

"It's nothing to be scared of.  I promise." The elder cheetah
put his paws on the younger's shoulders reassuringly.  "All your
brothers have sat in that chair, and they all came through it fine
didn't they?"

Ben nodded.

"I know that everything that has happened to you so far must be
pretty frightening," the doctor continued in an effort to calm the
distraught cub down, "but just hold on a little bit longer, and I
promise everything will feel better okay?"

It was too much for Ben.  Everything that he had been through since
leaving school caught up with him, and the dam burst.  He leapt into the
waiting paws of the father figure before him.  Sobbing his heart out as
the doctor comforted him.  Ben believed his whispered promises to keep
him safe, to protect him, to nurture him with all the conviction his
terrified eleven year old heart could muster.  One small act of kindness
was all it took to reduce him to putty in the doctors paws.

"Come on." Ben's new mentor said as he broke the embrace and
stood. "Dry those tears away, and come take a seat in the chair--it's
not that scary really."

Ben let his mentor take his paw and lead him up the steps. "W-what
does it do?" He asked in a nervous little boy voice.

"It is just something to help you fit in." The doctor said
enigmatically as he lowered a metal helmet over Ben's ears.

"Why are you..." Ben asked as Milesbegan strapping his limbs into
the chair, but the doctor anticipated the question.

"It's just something to keep you still while the chair works."
He smiled reassuringly.  "If you moved too much it would have to
start over, and you would be here longer.  You wouldn't want that now
would you?"

"Uh...no. I guess not." Ben said uncertainly.  It made sense to him
but it still seemed a little wrong.

"You just be a good boy for me and stay still, and this will all be over
soon okay?" The doctor asked--mostly to keep the little cheetah focused
on something other than the straps around his wrists, ankles and elbows.

"O-okay"

"Ready?" The doctor asked as he moved to a control panel.  All the
preparations now completed.

"R-ready." Came his patient's unsteady reply.

"Be a brave boy for me now Ben." The doctor said as he threw the
switch.

'As if he has been anything but brave.' He thought as he listened
to the whine of the chair starting up.

Ben tensed up suddenly as the chair started it's work on his vulnerable
mind.  It looked like he was in pain, but Miles knew better.

'Right now Ben is completely disassociated from his body.  He is in a
world of pleasure.  It is just the muscles unavoidably tensing due to our
poking around in his cerebellum.' He reminded himself as he grit his
teeth.	'I just wish it didn't look like I was electrocuting him.'

Ben was in pleasure.  As if the air had been laced with good
feelings. Good feelings that he felt intensely as the air brushed over
his fur.

"I...I love my pod-mates..." Ben realised. "My...my siblings. My
pod brothers and sisters."

He spoke the words and realised their truth simultaneously.

"We...are one Family...One Facility"

Each utterance was a revelation so stunning it had to be said out loud
in awe.

"I will...further the Facility's Goals...It feels bad to hurt the
Facility...bad to hurt my family."

What was strange about the sensations of revelation was that they came
after the stunned utterances, not before.  He thought about the words,
the ones that were so obviously true, after he spoke them.

"I love my Facility brothers and sisters."

A funny tingling feeling started to build in Ben's briefs.

"I *love* my Facility brothers and sisters."

The tingle grew as Ben repeated the words.  He knew it wasn't normal
love he was talking about.  The love he had for his pod-mates was
something different to the love he had for his parents and sister. It was
a kind of love that meant showing physical affection as well. A love that
involved cuddling, petting, brushing and...something more--something
that Ben couldn't quite put his finger on.

The doctor held Ben's paw throughout his programming. Stroking it
gently as he listened to Ben mumble variations on the words he had heard
so many other cubs speak.  He knew Ben wouldn't be aware of him sitting
here beside him, comforting him, but he felt he needed to anyway.

The elder cheetah sighed as he watched the cub, who could very well pass
as his own son, undergo the brainwashing.

"It's for the best." He reassured the unhearing boy.  "You won't
have any more fears or regrets. The disassociation will see to that."

He watched as Ben's briefs began to tent, as the 'naughtier' parts
of the programming commenced.

"Well, you won't so long as you keep busy anyway." He
conceded. "So long as you don't stop to think."

There was another long pause.  The doctor watched the displays as Ben's
heart rate continued to rise.  A heart attack in one so young was rare,
and the rate of increase while unusual was not too great.  Ben began to
pant, his body warming up under the influence of lusts formally unknown
to him.

"Of course..." the doctor admitted, "we won't always
succeed. Despite our conditioning, despite our best efforts to keep
you occupied, sometimes you will remember. You'll feel so sad for
everything we've taken from you.  A home.  A family.	You'll cry.
We gave you siblings to help-to help you through those times.  To hug
you when you cry. To help you when you feel sad."

Another silence fell over the room.  The guard looked over the scene
emotionless.  Doctor Miles leaned down over the restrained cub and kissed
him on the cheek.

"I hope it is enough." he whispered.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben stumbled down the corridor beside doctor Miles.  He was in a daze
after his encounter with the machine.  As before, the guard trailed
behind them.

The young gaming prodigy wasn't certain what the machine had done to
him. He didn't feel any different apart from his light-headedness.
Ben sighed and tried to stop worrying about it.  He was feeling better
now--not good, just not terrible any more--and he didn't want to
spoil the mood.

"Where are we going?" He asked as they took a turn he didn't
remember.

"Oh, your pod went on-shift while you were being treated." The doctor
explained. "It's too late for you to start working this shift, but I
figured you'd want to be with your siblings, and it's an opportunity
for you to see the 'game room' anyway."

Ben nodded.  He did want to see them again.  Waiting in the empty pod
for their return didn't appeal to him. He stopped short as they rounded
another corner and entered a large room.

It was a cross between an arcade and a war room.

The perimeter was lined with desks, and clusters of desks seemed placed
haphazardly around the middle.	Each was covered in electronics:
computers, displays, controllers and other less easily identified
pieces. Cables ran from the ceiling down into the equipment.  Cubs
attended the glowing displays and blinking lights in just their briefs.

"Look after him okay?" The doctor asked as he turned to leave
the room.

"Yes sir." The guard said smartly.

Ben wandered among the desks, peering at his Facility mates as they made
the AI 'work'.  Many of the young gamers were wearing VR gear. Others
were examining tactical data shouting advice and support as the figures
danced before them.  Familiar game screens hung next to screens showing
all sorts of variables and information normally hidden from the players.

"How...how many games can...are playing?" Ben asked amazed.

"Tens of thousands." The guard supplied easily.

Ben looked around. He had forgotten he was being followed.  "Tens of
thousands?  They can do that?" He said in disbelief.

"Well, this isn't Cortex's only data centre," The guard admitted
grudgingly, "and they have tool assistance, but yeah, it's something
isn't it?" He smiled proudly.  "I remember when I worked the
room. The best Castle Quest player ever, that's me."

"You used to work here?" Ben blurted out astonished.

"Yep." The guard confirmed. "Castle Quest used to be over there,
near the right.  It's a shame they discontinued it."

"So now you...what? Work as a guard?" Ben asked intrigued. He hadn't
considered that Cortex might let him be anything other than a slave to
the AI.

"Yup," He confirmed, "I turned twenty and they said I could
either be a guard or a PR drone.  It was an easy choice--I can't
stand ties."

"Hey Ben!" A voice shouted.

Ben's head turned.  He recognised one of his pod-brothers, manning a
hidden data display, waving him over.  The rest of his pod were working
at tables in the general vicinity.

"Those are my brothers." Ben said as he threaded his way over to
the desk eagerly.

"Ah yes," the guard nodded solemnly as he followed, "family is
so important."

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben stayed with his siblings until the end of their shift.  At which
point Jacob declared it to be 'family time', much to the boy's
approval and to Ben's puzzlement.  The guard, whose name turned out
to be Eric, escorted them back to pod sixteen.

Family time turned out to be an all out orgy.  It was an eye opening
experience for Ben who up until that point had been a complete virgin
physically and emotionally.  Sex was a dirty three letter word that he
had laughed about.  He had never considered what.

His first time was with Jacob, who was gentle and considerate.	Jacob had
prepared him slowly.  Calming him down first and showing him how good
it felt to cuddle. To touch each other's bare fur. To caress it and
play with it.

From there he had been coaxed out of his undies.  He had been reluctant
to strip out of them, especially as they had a small audience of two
or three watching.  Jacob had insisted it was necessary though, and his
audience was already nude and stroking their small hard ons, so Ben was
divested of his briefs.

Jacob's skilled fingers were soon working on his little half-hardness
and probing at his tail hole.  The otter quickly brought his cheetah-hood
to attention though.  His big brother wasted no time in extracting an
orgasm from him.

Ben's cum was thin, but present. Jacob smiled as he scooped some up
sharing the taste with his newest little brother.  The otter and the
cheetah bonding over the watery emission.

Now he was laying atop his Mustelid big brother, cuddling gently as
three fingers pumped in and out of his rear slowly.  The mouse boy, Zac,
had joined them and was cuddled up to them both.

"Ready?" Jacob asked looking into Ben's eyes.

Ben nodded. Jacob saw whatever it was he was searching for in the little
cat's features, and rolled over onto his side.  He pressed his erection
to Ben's now loosened hole.  The tip slipped in easily, seemingly
welcomed by the ring of flesh, but he didn't press in any further.

Instead he pulled Zac over in front of Ben.  The younger boy giggled
and licked the cheetah's nose as their erections brushed. Jacob
guided Zac's little whip-tailed rear onto Ben's member. He groaned
in surprise.  Despite being younger, Zac's expertise was greater than
Ben's.  Zac was eager to share his knowledge though, and Ben was happy
to learn, so it didn't matter too much.

Jacob watched as Zac rode Ben's cock.  The little grey mouse cub
certainly wasn't timid when it came to sex.  He bounced his little
rear against Ben's hips over and over.  A smile lifted his cute
little cheeks. Zac took Ben's paw and wrapped it around his hard
mouse-hood. Ben took the hint and began stroking.

Satisfied that his younger brothers were enjoying themselves, Jacob began
to push slowly into Ben.  His rock hard erection pushed into the cheetah
cub's soft flesh.  He moved slowly to allow the boy's insides time
to adjust, but a combination of the preparation and Zac's distraction
meant that Ben probably wouldn't have noticed if Jacob had sunk his
length in with more haste.

He felt himself hilt in the squirming young kitten.  He paused, savouring
the moment.  Noting the feel of Ben's soft insides, the smell of his
sweat, the feel of his lovely gold fur.

He started to move, slowly at first.  Letting his member rest deep
inside him, then pulling out until only the tip remained inside.
Then pausing before pressing it back as deep inside the smaller fur
as it would go. Slowly he built speed, and soon the three cubs were a
writhing mass of pleasure.

Their audience watched on in appreciation.  They stroked their young
malenesses remembering how good it had felt to be mounted for the
first time.

Ben climaxed first.  He was the least experienced and had the least
stamina.  Zac's vigorous self-impalement was too much for him, and he
cried out as he pumped another few jets of his weak seed into the happy
mouse boy.  Each pulse of his cock was accompanied by a tightening of
his tail hole.

This pushed Jacob over the edge.  He thrust his hips forward and flooded
Ben's rear with his much stronger teen-spunk.  He buried his muzzle
in Ben's shoulder moaning and slobbering into it as his climax washed
over him.

Zac mewled in frustration. Jacob looked up to see that Ben had forgotten
about the mouse's hard little dick as he rode out his first orgasm.
He reached over the exhausted kitten and gripped the stiff member.
Zac immediately began to thrust his hips.  The cute little rodent
alternated between impaling himself on Ben's hardness and humping
himself into Jacob's paw.

It didn't take much after that for Zac to reach climax. He thrust
into Jacob's paw shook and then pressed his bum onto Ben's
invader--moaning loudly.  His small body quivered and his erection
pulsed as he gave in to the pleasure of a youthful dry orgasm.

The mouse and otter hugged and cuddled their new brother as he fell into a
deep post-orgasmic sleep.  Ben was totally contented, and entirely happy.
Loved and welcomed by his new family.


