DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.


John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 3: Robes of Acumen
Chapter 8

Robert White Feather knocked on the door at exactly seven. He 
carried a small bouquet of flowers to give to his hosts. He 
nervously rocked from side to side unsure of why he had been 
invited. He jumped when Sarah answered the door. She smiled at 
him, "Hello, cousin."

"Hello, Sarah."

"Come in, they are expecting you."

Robert entered the house and looked around. It was just as he 
remembered it. Sarah led him to the formal living room in which 
the entire family had gathered. Ed stood up and greeted him, 
"Welcome, Robert."

Robert nodded, "I brought some flowers for all of you."

Ling came over to him and accepted the flowers, "Oh, these are 
lovely. They'll look great in the dining room. Excuse me for a 
minute while I put them in a vase."

Sarah stopped Ling, "Allow me to do that for you, ma'am."

Ling handed the flowers over to Sarah. She turned to Robert, 
"Sometimes, I forget my place. Sarah always reminds me though."

Robert didn't quite know what to say. He remembered his 
grandmother's advice that when in doubt, a nod can mean 
anything. He nodded to her. Ling took his arm and led him to a 
chair. "Have a seat and make yourself comfortable."

John asked, "So Robert, how are things at the Native American 
College?"

Robert answered, "Things are working out real well there. My 
grandfather says that the number of freshman students has doubled 
this year."

Beth asked, "Is there any indication that the students are taking the 
cultural aspects seriously?"

Robert nodded, "Yes, there is. I have heard that several of the older 
medicine men of other tribes are now teaching others the older 
knowledge. It is a good sign, as the tribes will have a future when 
the old ones die."

"That is good news. I'm glad that it is working out," replied John. 
He added, "We are doing the same thing for Druids. I hope we can 
get some advice from your grandfather. His experience is 
invaluable."

Robert smiled, "He will do what you ask. He's still amazed that 
Sarah is attending college now and visiting the reservation to learn 
the old ways."

Beth asked, "Are many people returning to the reservation?"

"Yes. In fact, I will be going back in two months to join the tribal 
police as a detective." Robert grinned, "In a way I have you to 
thank. All of those attacks here gave me invaluable experience in 
assessing a crime scene."

Ed looked a little disappointed, but he realized that Robert was 
following his desire. He asked, "Are you looking forward to 
returning to the reservation?"

Robert nodded, "Yes, very much so. There's a young lady there 
that I'm interested in knowing."

Kelly smiled, "That's so nice. I was wondering if you were dating 
anyone."

Ling sat up, "Tell us all about her."

Robert looked a little embarrassed, "Well, she's graduated last year 
with a masters in family counseling. She's coming back to help 
fight alcoholism and the destruction of the family unit."

"Silly, I want to know the good stuff. What's her name and what 
does she look like?"

Robert laughed, "I'm not sure I want to tell you. You'll try to bed 
her."

John laughed, "No, we've got too many women around here as it is. 
Ed may be a super-stud, but I'm human."

Ed laughed, "I'm not a super-stud either. We need another man or 
two around here."

Robert asked, "Have you got any candidates in mind?"

John answered, "We had one, but he's not going to work out. 
Seems he has other plans."

"That's a shame."

Ling asked, "So are you going to ask her to marry you?"

Robert flushed, "I think so. She's a great woman. She's very smart 
and has a good heart. She really wants to help the tribe. The best 
part is, she's used to being around cops. You don't know how 
important that is in a relationship."

Beth smiled, "Oh, I think we know. John and Ed occasionally go 
out and play FBI agent. We were there when they both got shot 
going after white slavers."

Robert nodded, "I had forgotten that. You do tend to walk on the 
dangerous path at times. I recall a couple of assassination 
attempts."

Ling stated, "The last attempt was a major disaster for them."

Beth added, "That was when Rover was wounded."

John was quiet as he thought back to his days with Rover. He 
missed all the cats, but Rover was the first one and had been 
around the longest. Ed noticed John's quiet mood, "John, I know 
you miss the cats, particularly Rover."

 John nodded, "Yeah, that was a great cat."

Marguerite entered the room, "Ladies and Gentlemen, dinner is 
ready."

Robert's nervousness instantly returned. He expected a fancy meal 
with dozens of eating utensils. He was shocked when Marguerite 
brought in a huge plate of fried chicken, French Fries, and corn on 
the cob. By each plate was a stack of small towels for wiping the 
hands. As Robert immediately relaxed, John asked, "I hope you 
don't mind all the finger foods. We enjoy being casual as much as 
the next person."

Robert made a gesture of holding his hands out to the side, "To tell 
the truth, I was terrified that I was going to have to figure out all of 
the silverware."

Ed laughed, "This old cowboy hasn't figured all that silverware out 
yet."

Kelly hit Ed in the side with her elbow, "This nurse knows how to 
use all the silverware, but still prefers to eat in a much more causal 
atmosphere."

John laughed, "I'm still used to eating out of a camp cook set."

Beth stated, "I like eating formally on occasion."

Robert accepted the plate of chicken from Ling who was sitting on 
his left. He put a breast on his plate and passed the plate on to 
Kelly. Ling looked at his plate and joked, "Ah, I see you are a 
breast man and here I thought you were a leg man."

Robert looked confused for a minute and then realized she was 
teasing him. He decided two could play that game, "Breasts are to 
be enjoyed to the fullest, you just look at legs."

Kelly laughed, "I like the way you think."

After everyone's plates were filled with food, Ed stated, "Dig in 
everyone."

The group started eating with great appetite. John was feeding 
Ling and Beth with French Fries. Occasionally, he teased them by 
moving the fry away from the mouth as they leaned in to bite it. 
Ling burst out laughing when she almost fell out of the chair 
chasing a fry. Robert watched the antics and grinned in 
amusement. He laughed aloud when he watched Ed and Beth try to 
eat the same ear of corn at the same time. Kelly offered him a fry, 
but when he went after it she moved it out of the way and popped 
it into her mouth. She smiled at him, "You've got to be fast around 
here."

Robert retorted, "A teenage dream of mine has just come true, I'm 
sitting at a table full of fast women."

Kelly giggled, "Just for that, I'm going to run as hard as I can when 
you start to chase me."

Robert laughed, "I think my girlfriend will hunt me down if I chase 
you."

Beth asked, "So what kind of marriage do want?"

Robert looked around the table and answered honestly, "I want a 
conventional marriage. I don't think I would be happy in the kind 
of marriage that you have."

Ed asked, "Really?"

"Yes, really. I don't mean to offend you, but in a way I feel like 
none of you have actually made the deep kind of commitment to 
each other that is in a conventional marriage."

John laughed, "We aren't offended. You are telling us your 
thoughts on the matter. We agree with you to a certain extent. Our 
kind of marriage is not for everyone, but it works for us. We do 
have a deep commitment to each other, but that is very easy for 
someone to miss."

Robert was surprised by John's statement. He asked, "You don't 
think everyone should live in a group marriage like this."

"Heaven's sakes no. We know many people that would die and 
whither in this kind of marriage. No, we think it is up to each 
person to decide what kind of marriage suits them best. When they 
find another that they love, they should be honest and discuss their 
marriage." John was quite passionate about that. He added, 
"People's needs change over time and they should talk about their 
marriage frequently. If what they are doing isn't working for them, 
they should feel free to change it."

Robert was taken aback by the passion, "You take a rather 
pragmatic view of this subject. So how would you counsel me on 
marriage?"

Beth stated, "First, it is necessary to learn what you expect from it. 
Do you expect to be the primary wage earner? Do you expect both 
of you to work? What will you expect when she gets pregnant? 
There are so many questions that you have to answer. No one else 
has the answers for you."

Remembering how upset she had been about the business-like 
fashion John and Ed had talked about marriage, Kelly preferred to 
consider the more personal areas. She picked up, "Then before you 
propose, you need to talk to her about what she expects from the 
marriage. You also have to tell her what you expect. The important 
point is that you each have to listen to each other."

Ed stated, "There is a danger to this. You could easily learn that the 
two of you have very different ideas of what you want to get out of 
the marriage. If you get married, one of you will be unhappy. A 
marriage won't last long if that is the case."

John nodded, "However, more often than not you will find that you 
want the same things out of a marriage. Then it is time to propose."

Ling added, "Of course, you'll always have to talk about the 
marriage. Are you each getting out of the marriage the things you 
need? If not, what changes can you make in the marriage to 
improve the situation?"

Robert listened carefully. He had never had anyone present the 
process of getting married in this fashion. He realized that most 
people rushed into marriage making all kinds of assumptions. He 
wasn't surprised by the kinds of marriage problems that occurred. 
As a cop, there was nothing worse than approaching a domestic 
disturbance. He had often wondered how such people ended up 
marrying. He put forth his thoughts, "I've often had to respond to 
domestic disturbances. Why do you think they are so common?"

Beth stated, "I think it is because they came into the marriage with 
unrealistic expectations. When those expectations fail to 
materialize, then they grow to hate each other. It is 
disappointment."

"I think you are right." Robert looked down at his plate, surprised 
to find that it was empty. He hardly remembered eating although 
he did remember loading up his plate with seconds. He stated in a 
voice full of wonder, "Wow, that was a great meal."

"Thank you," replied Marguerite. She was filling the table with 
plates of cupcakes and sliced fruits. All of men reached for the 
cupcakes at the same time. At the same time, the women reached 
for the fruits. Everyone realized what happened at the same time 
and burst out laughing. Marguerite laughed, "All of you are so 
predictable. This job has lost all of its challenge."

John snickered, "Let's see you make a better soup than that canned 
stuff we all like so much."

Marguerite snorted, "You… you… You drive me crazy!"

Beth smiled at Marguerite, "Just ignore that culinary infidel."

Robert sat back watching the exchange while eating his cupcake. 
The dessert was delicious. As he watched the interplay among 
members of the family, it was clear that they really did form a 
cohesive whole. There was a subtle imbalance that he couldn't 
place, but the harmony in the room went far beyond anything he 
had ever seen.

John asked, "So, Robert, tell me your impressions of our little 
family."

"Well, you get along better than any five people I've ever met. You 
have fun together and really know how to communicate with each 
other."

Ed noted there was a little something he was holding back. He 
asked, "And the negative?"

"There is a very slight imbalance here."

John stated, "You are as perceptive as always. We are looking for 
the right person to bring things back into balance."

"So do you have any candidates?"

Ed looked around the table, "Not at the moment."

Marguerite came out of the kitchen with Greek Coffee. She filled 
the little cups distributed around the table. John watched her work, 
she poured each cup carefully making sure that everyone got liquid 
and not just grinds. John appreciated the aroma of the coffee. She 
quietly left the room after filling the last cup.

John asked, "Tell me about your sister."

"Why?"

"She confuses me."

Robert laughed, "She has recently confused lots of people with her 
insistence on being 'given' to you."

Ed nodded, "You have no idea what is motivating this?"

Robert shook his head, "I haven't really talked to her about it. She 
has never dated in the past. As far as I know, this is her first time to 
even express an interest in a man."

Kelly stated, "She's acting like a school girl that has her first crush 
on someone. She is setting things up so that the person can't say no 
to her."

"You could be right." 

John asked, "What does the tribe really think about it?'

Robert looked away for a minute, "Some are for it and others 
aren't. It has been a source of much discussion within the tribe."

John nodded, "I value my relationship with the tribe and would 
hate for something like this to become a problem. Is it possible for 
me to talk to the tribal elders about this before your sister comes 
here?"

Robert was amazed that John would think of talking to the tribal 
elders before acting. He demonstrated the kind of wisdom that 
would make many consider him for position of responsibility 
within the tribe. He smiled, "The tribal elders gather every 
Wednesday night."

John stated, "Thank you. I will keep that in mind."

Robert looked at his watch, "I'm sorry, but it is getting late and I 
should head home."

Beth walked Robert to the door and gave him a friendly kiss 
goodnight. She watched as Robert drove off. She returned to the 
dining room and sat down in her chair. She looked around the 
table, "Well, scratch him off the list."

Ed nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry I brought it up."

John shook his head in disagreement. He stated, "You never know 
until you ask. It is rather presumptuous to think that anyone that 
we happen to ask will immediately say yes."

Kelly nodded, "I guess."

John added, "Let's not worry about it for now."

Kelly and Beth stood up and held hands. Kelly smiled as she 
thought about what she was going to do with Beth. She teased, 
"Well, we are heading off to bed."

The three watched the two women walk off. Ling stated, "I would 
like a sandwich."

John looked surprised, "We just ate."

"I was thinking of an Ed sandwich," giggled Ling. She added, "Me 
on the bottom and John on top."

John smiled, "That does sound like fun."

Ed liked the idea, but he couldn't really admit it. He mock groaned, 
"Oh my poor ass!"

John stood up laughing, "Better your ass than mine."

Ling jumped up, grabbed John and Ed by the hands to lead them to 
the back of the house. She would have run if the men had hurried; 
as it was she literally pulled them. John expected her to head to her 
room, but she stopped in front of Ed's room. He asked, "Why Ed's 
room?"

She turned, "He has a king-size bed!"

 Ed let them in and they made their way through the living room. 
The living room was filled with the furniture from Ed's old house. 
They made their way into his bedroom. Ed's bedroom was simply 
furnished with a plain king-size bed and a four-drawer dresser. He 
did have track lighting around the room with the lights aimed at the 
wall. It gave the room a bright appearance without being 
overwhelming. 

On reaching the bed, Ling turned around and started to remove her 
clothes. She stomped her foot when she saw that John and Ed were 
watching her with amused expressions on their faces. "Strip now. 
I'm horny."

Ed went to the dresser and removed a large tube of lube. He set it 
on the edge of the bed and then proceeded to slowly strip. He had 
removed his shoes and shirt by the time that Ling was completely 
naked. John was already naked since his robe was easy to remove. 
Ed smiled at his two naked lovers, "You guys in a hurry or 
something."

Ling knelt down and undid the belt and button on the jeans. She 
pulled them down to his feet in one swift move. She replied, "I'm 
in a hurry."

John laughed, "I'm in a something."

Ling reached up and pulled Ed's boxers down to the floor. She 
leaned forward and took his cock into her mouth. Her 
administrations quickly got a rise out his cock. She turned to John 
and repeated her treatment on his cock. She worked her tongue 
around the sensitive head of his cock. Her hand was rubbing Ed's 
cock to keep it excited. When she released John's cock from her 
mouth, John bent down and picked her up. She squealed as he 
carried her to the bed and set her down in the middle of the bed. 
John and Ed climbed into the bed on each side of her. Both men 
bent down at the same time to suck on her sensitive nipples. As 
John slid a hand down to rub her cunt, he met Ed's hand making 
the same journey. They moved their hands down to frame her 
pussy, neither one actually touching it. Together they rubbed along 
the sides of her outer lips. She tried to rock her hips so that one 
hand or the other would rub her directly. The indirect rubbing was 
exciting her tremendously. Her cunt started leaking her juices and 
both men were tempted to move down to munch on her cunt. They 
restrained themselves as they were going after the slow burn that 
would lead to the bigger orgasm. 

When she was very close, they both stopped. John moved to the 
end of the bed and picked up the lube. He watched as Ed slowly 
entered Ling. Her spread legs were already shaking from the 
excitement. John lubed his cock with copious amounts of lube. 
Even as Ed was entering Ling, John pushed his cock against Ed's 
asshole. It slowly entered as Ed relaxed his rectal muscles.

It took the three of them a little time to find a good rhythm, but 
once they found it they moved together in perfect harmony. Ed was 
buried deeply into Ling. As John thrust into Ed, Ed was forced 
deeper into Ling. Ling screamed as wave after wave of orgasms 
washed over her. Ed grunted each time that his ass was drilled; his 
cock was massaged by the contractions of her cunt. 

John speeded up his thrusts into Ed. Ed moved in time, drilling 
Ling harder and faster. Ling screamed non-stop as her orgasms 
increased in intensity. Finally, her cunt clamped down on Ed's 
cock. His orgasm took him by surprise as he shot his cum into her. 
The contractions in his ass triggered John's orgasm. He filled Ed's 
ass with his cum groaning at the sudden tightness. John continued 
to make little thrusts as he emptied his balls into Ed. The motion 
rocked Ed in Ling, giving her one last explosive orgasm. She 
screamed at the top of her lungs and then fell back to the bed.

John slowly worked his way out of Ed. When his cock fell out, a 
large gob of cum followed it. John fell to the side. Ed slowly 
pulled out of Ling. An amazing amount of her juices mixed with 
his cum flowed out of her. Ed fell to the other side of Ling. John 
looked down at the mess oozing out of Ling and smiled, "Should 
I?"

Ed laughed, "I'd like to know if you can give her another orgasm 
while she's unconscious."

John moved down between Ling's legs and started sucking the 
juices from her cunt. Her body started to thrash about as his tongue 
delved deep inside her. He lapped at her cunt, occasionally 
brushing against her clit. Finally, he sucked in her clit with the 
effect of triggering another orgasm. He smiled up at Ed. "I did it."

Ed laughed, "Next time, it's your turn to be in the center and I'll 
clean her out."

John got up and went into the bathroom to wash. Ed joined him in 
the bathroom. Adjusting the shower the two men got in and helped 
clean each other off. Neither man was ready for another round of 
sex, but the company was a nice end to the earlier activities. 

They returned to the room and lay on each side of Ling. They 
gently stroked her body, but to no effect. She was out for the night. 
John stayed for a while, but left when Ed started to drift off to 
sleep. He stood at the door to the bedroom looking at the two of 
them lying there. Ling had turned to her side and Ed was spooning 
her. John smiled as he thought about what they would do when 
they woke in the morning.

He gathered his clothes and then slipped out of Ed's room. He was 
getting ready to head to his room when Kelly stuck her head out 
the door. She called to him, "What did you guys do to her? She 
hasn't screamed like that since the first time you slept with her."

John laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know!"

Kelly laughed, "Why aren't you doing that to Beth and me? Huh?"

John answered, "When I do, you start making little animal noises. 
Beth makes little panting sounds. Ling screams."

Kelly made a little animal noise and disappeared into her room. He 
could hear Beth giggling inside as the door shut. He considered 
knocking and seeing if he could get in the fun, but realized that he 
didn't have enough left in him to satisfy two women. 

Tired, but not sleepy he went into his lab to work on his fusion 
cell. He had everything worked out except for the thermal control 
that would keep it from getting too hot. He realized that he needed 
a fusion governor that would decrease heat production when the 
device got too warm and increase heat production when it got too 
cold. He realized that what he needed was a thermostat.

He went to his jewelers lathe and started to make a series of 
supports that would have a very different coefficient of expansion 
from the rest of the fusion well. He worked on them for two hours 
before getting them exactly right. He assembled the device and 
attached the thermocouples to a point closest to the fusion well. 
Tightening the screws into the supports, he increased the pressure 
until the reaction was generating heat. The amount of oil was 
miniscule, but it generated enough energy to raise the well about 
ten degrees hotter than the rest of the device. He measured the 
voltage output, pleased to see that it was a little over 1.5 Volts. He 
added a diode and the voltage was now exactly 1.5 Volts.

He attached additional thermocouples to the device to monitor 
changes in temperature. When the temperature in the supports got 
too high, the supports expanded releasing pressure in the fusion 
well. The temperature would start to drop, but the supports 
contracted increasing the pressure and starting the reaction again. 
The assembly as a whole did not heat up much. 

He sat back pleased with himself. He had cracked a problem that 
many others had attempted. He went to the computer and started 
typing up the patent application. His fusion cell was the same size 
as an AAA battery and had similar electronic characteristics. Now 
all of the portable electronic devices on the market could have 
fusion batteries that could last for a year of constant use. 

When he had finished, he called up Jim at his house. A very sleepy 
Sherry answered the telephone. He asked for Jim and an equally 
sleepy Jim answered the telephone. John stated, "Hey, Jim. Wake 
up. I've got some news for you."

Jim, on hearing the phrase that often preceded intense excitement, 
immediately woke. He asked, "What's up?"

John stated, "I've finished the Fusion Cell. I've got the Patent 
Application typed up. Can you come over in the morning and pick 
it up?"

Jim was quiet for a moment as he worked out how much he could 
get for the patent rights. This was just as big as the fusion battery. 
There were now fusion batteries of all sizes, but they all still 
derived from John's original patent. If this was a different patent, 
then all existing batteries had just become obsolete. He stated, "Let 
me get dressed, I'll be right over."

"I'll be waiting."

After Jim hung up, John turned to his fusion cell. He slipped a 
small cardboard sleeve over it. He soldered the two leads from the 
thermocouple to two metal end caps and slipped the caps over the 
cardboard. He now held an AAA battery in his hand. His last step 
was to cut a hole in the cardboard to allow air to circulate around 
the cell. He slipped that into a penlight and turned it on. A bright 
beam emerged from the penlight. 

Carrying the penlight and the Patent Application with him, he went 
down to the front door to wait for Jim. He didn't have to wait long 
before Jim's car pulled up in the driveway. At the last minute, he 
remembered to shut off the alarm system so that Jim's arrival didn't 
wake the entire house. 

Jim and Sherry came bounding up the steps as John opened the 
door. It wasn't until he ushered them into the house that he realized 
he was still naked. Her hand immediately flew to his cock with 
predictable results for the next hour.




