Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:19:29 -0600
From: Vic James <vicjames2@hotmail.com>
Subject: Peabody and the Host - 5

                      Peabody and the Host
                          By Vic James
                      vicjames2@hotmail.com
                   Copyright 2012 by Vic James

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                              Five
   Lan asked, "Are you hungry, beautiful?"
   "Yeah, I am."
   "What would you like?"
   "I don't know. What is in the fridge?"
   "Lots of things. Are you a vegetarian?"
   "No."
   "How about a steak. We brought some fresh from Earth today."
   "That  sounds  good.  You will have  to  show  me  around  the
kitchen. I'm not that great a cook."
   "You  don't  cook  or work, Peabody. You  are  the  boss,  the
supervisor."
   Oh. Do either of you know how to cook?"
   "I  memorized three cookbooks," Lan said. "I'll cook all  your
meals, if that is OK with you."
   "Wait  a minute! So there are hot studs here who want to  fuck
me and do all the work for me?"
   "Yes, but we also want to give you orgasms," Lin said.
   "Wow! I think I died and went to heaven!"
   "I  hope  that means we made you happy. You certainly made  us
happy!"
   "How about a baked potato and broccoli with cheese sauce?"
   "That sounds great!"
   Lan walked towards the kitchen. Lin got in bed with Peabody.
   "May I kiss you?"
   "Yes."
   They  kissed for a while and then Peabody sniffed Lin. "I love
the way you smell."
   "You smell very good to us, too. We are bonding to you."
   Lin stroked the side of Peabody's head. "That feels nice."
   Peabody  ran  a  hand over Lin, feeling his muscles.  Then  he
leaned forward and they kissed again.
   "I need to use the restroom."
   "Come on. I'll show you."
   They   walked  into  the  bathroom.  Peabody  though  it   was
incredible.  There  was a Jacuzzi, a separate bathtub,  a  shower
with two heads, and even a bidet. He wanted a bath, but he didn't
have  any  clean underwear! I guess I have to travel  to  another
planet  to get some, he thought to himself and laughed.  Then  he
realized  he  could always rinse them out in  the  sink  if  they
didn't  go  back to Earth today. But then he would  have  to  put
dirty clothes on and that didn't appeal to him.
   "I need to get clean clothes and some things from my house."
   "We can go after dinner if that's OK."
   "Sure."
   Lin  pointed  out a door. "You put dirty clothes in  here  and
they will be washed."
   Lin  walked  out  of the room. Peabody used the  bathroom  and
then  washed  his  hands. He was amazed by the towel.  He  walked
towards the kitchen and saw Lin sitting at the table. He sat down
next to him. Peabody watched Lan pick something up with his fifth
hand. He guessed three hands made cooking easier.
   "Do you have a job, Peabody?"
   "No.  I  quit  a  few months ago. I planned to travel,  but  I
could never work up any enthusiasm."
   "Well, you've travelled quite a bit today."
   Peabody  laughed and said, "Absolutely. And I've had a  better
time  than  I  would have travelling alone. I'm  tired  of  being
alone.  It's  strange to think that on crowded Earth  I  was  all
alone, but on Mars, with only seven of us, I'm not."
   "Mars is a very friendly place. Everyone loves you here."
   "That's a very nice feeling."
   Lan  put a caesar salad down in front of Peabody. Peabody took
a bite while Lan watched.
   "It's very good, Lan. Wow! You are talented. You can cook  and
fly a spaceship."
   "And I speak German and Spanish," Lan said to him.
   "Well, the cooking I'll be able to appreciate!"
   "How do you want your steak?"
   "Medium."
   Peabody  finished  his  salad  and  took  the  dish  into  the
kitchen.
   "Hello, beautiful," Lan said to him.
   "Hi. Do you need any help?"
   "You don't need to do that."
   "Can I supervise?"
   "Only if you let me kiss you."
   Peabody grinned at him and said, "I love Mars!"
   Lan leaned down and kissed him.
   Afterwards, he said, "I love you, beautiful."
   Peabody squeezed his hand and Lan got back to work.
   Once  he had put the dinner on the table, Lan sat and ate with
them.  Lan and Lin each had a large steak and they split a  baked
potato. They each had a little broccoli, too.
   "This is very good, Lan. Thank you."
   "I will cook all your food for you."
   "Thanks, but don't you have things to do?"
   Lin  said,  "There is nothing any of us would rather  do  than
spend  time  with you. If you don't want us around,  please  feel
free to say so. We don't want to intrude on your privacy, but  we
don't want you to be lonely, either."
   "I'm  glad the two of you are here. I just don't want  Lan  to
skip something important to cook for me."
   "Peabody,  you  are  the  most important  person.  That  means
cooking for you is important," Lan said.
   "You ate human food. Do you have your own food?"
   "We  used  up our own years ago. We've been eating human  food
for  many years. We go to Earth at least once a week to  pick  up
food. Mun keeps track of what we need and orders it."
   "What do you like?"
   "We  eat more meat than most humans, but we are omnivores like
humans. About eighty percent of our diet is meat. Like humans, we
need  vegetables to supply some nutrients. On our  world  we  had
very few vegetables available," Lin said.
   "Only  three  kinds could handle the cold and the  heat,"  Lan
said.
   "You  could buy other vegetables that were grown indoors,  but
they  were  very  expensive. They were saved for special  events.
There  are  more Earth vegetables we like. So we mostly  eat  the
same  things you do, with the exceptions of leafy vegetables  and
uncooked vegetables. None of us like those. If a vegetable  isn't
cooked, we don't want it."
   Peabody  noticed Lan watching him intently. He smiled  at  him
and Lan smiled back.
   They  finished and Lan left. A minute later he came back  with
Mun.
   "How was dinner, Peabody?" he asked.
   "It was great. Thanks."
   "You three can go. I'll take care of the dishes."
   They  got  up and Peabody asked "Are we going to New York?  My
house is nowhere near there."
   Lin and Lan looked at each other.
   "We could sneak in," Lin said.
   "We will make the ship invisible," Lan said.
   "Where would you land?"
   "Is your yard large enough, Peabody?"
   "No. There are trees."
   "An empty street, then."
   "Is it safe? I don't want anyone endangered."
   "It's safe. Don't worry. If a car comes, I will lift the  ship
until it's gone."
   They walked back to the shuttle. Lin and Lan demonstrated  how
they  normally walked to it. They made leaps and jumps which made
the distance fly by. Peabody tried it and finally got the hang of
it.  Or  thought he did. He lost his balance, and  pushed  harder
than he should have at a wrong angle. He ended up smashing into a
wall.  He  hit the wall so hard, it stunned him. He fell  to  the
ground.
   He  took a breath and screamed. There was a sharp pain when he
inhaled. He looked up at Lin and Lan. They looked horrified.
   Frup! Lin how could you? he asked himself
   "I  think  you  fractured  one  or  more  ribs.  Take  shallow
breaths," Lin told him.
   "We need to get you to the clinic."
   Lin reached down to pick Peabody up.
   "I'll  get him," Lan said. "You get to the clinic, get ready."
Lin nodded.
   Lan carefully picked Peabody up.
   "Did I hurt you?" he asked Peabody.
   Peabody gasped "No, breathing...hurts."
   Lin  and  Lan moved quickly. Peabody closed his eyes.  He  was
starting to get nauseous. He breathed through his nose and picked
up  Lan's scent. That seemed to easy his pain a little. He  tried
to  lean forward but the pain grew intense when he tried to bend.
He  concentrated on taking shallow breaths and he kept  his  eyes
closed.  Lan  bent  over and rubbed his cheek against  Peabody's.
That helped a little.
   He  was  placed on a table and looked up at Lin and Lan.  Plan
rubbed some liquid on his arm and the pain stopped instantly.
   "Wow! That stopped the pain like magic, Lin."
   "I know, my love. Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?"
   Peabody took a breath. "No, not right now."
   Lin  put on something that looked like a metallic hand on  his
hand.  It  extended  his fingers. Each metal finger  ended  in  a
different  shape. He saw one looked like it ended  in  a  ceramic
ball.  Another had a small light on the end. There was  one  that
looked like it had a small ball of steel wool on the end.
   Lin said something to Lan.
   "Lan  is  going to open your shirt. Try to remain still."  Lan
started  unbuttoning his shirt. Once his shirt was open, Lin  ran
different  fingers  over the front of his chest  and  his  sides.
Peabody  could then feel him rub one metal finger over a spot  on
his  side. Then he rubbed a different finger over the same  spot.
He repeated that on two other spots. Then he ran fingers over his
belly.
   He said something to Lan again.
   "Lan  is  going  to  remove your pants  so  I  can  check  for
fractures in your hips."
   Lan  undid Peabody's pants and pulled them down. Lin  ran  his
fingers over them.
   "You  have  no  hip fractures and no damage to your  lungs  or
other  organs, Peabody. You had three fractures in your ribs  and
those are healed. I'm going to have Lan turn you over now."
   Lin  spoke  to Lan and he carefully turned Peabody  over.  Lin
ran his fingers over Peabody's back.
   "OK, you can get up, Peabody. You're all healed."
   Peabody rolled over. He felt fine.
   "Wow! Thanks!"
   Lan said something and Lin laughed.
   "What is it?" Peabody asked.
   "Lan said you have a beautiful butt. I agree with him."
   Peabody was a little embarrassed, but he laughed.
   "Thanks. I'm glad you like it, Lan."
   "Are you really, beautiful?"
   "Yes."
   Peabody pulled up his pants and buttoned his shirt.
   "Why did I hit the wall so hard?" he asked Lin.
   "Your body still masses the same, even in lower gravity.  Your
full  mass hit the wall. We should never have allowed you  to  do
something dangerous. I am so sorry, Peabody."
   "It's  fine.  I  remember reading about that  now.  It  really
wasn't  that  dangerous. Besides, this is a much  more  effective
lesson than merely telling me not to hit a wall. Right?"
   "I suppose.
   They  headed  back  to the ship. Peabody  insisted  on  taking
jumps  up the corridor, though he didn't jump nearly as hard  and
he  made sure he had his balance before making the next jump.  It
was still faster than walking.
   They took off and Peabody sat with Lin.
   "Are you excited to be going home?" Lin asked him.
   "Yes and no."
   "What do you mean?"
   "Robert  and Max are very much still in the house. I've  never
been  able to let go. Max's dishes are still on the floor in  the
kitchen.  Robert's  things are exactly where they  were  when  he
died. His clothes are still in our closet. His cell phone charger
is  still  on  our nightstand. His toothbrush is in the  bathroom
next  to mine. Sometimes it's comforting but lately, it has  been
overwhelming me."
   "I'm  sorry  you had to suffer. Maybe the move  to  Mars  will
help."
   "I think it will. No, I'm sure it will."
   They had to stop so Peabody could show them where he lived.  A
display on the ship showed a picture of the planet and Lin showed
him  how  to  zoom in on his house. Having the park next  to  his
house  made  it  easier once he had zoomed in on his  town.  They
landed on the street in front of his house.
   "Will  you go with me?" he asked Lin. After he said  that,  he
realized an alien might be noticed.
   But  Lin  got a coat and hat out of a bin in the back  of  the
ship.  He  put them on, put a scarf around his neck  and  put  on
sunglasses.
   Peabody laughed "You look like an alien movie star."
   "Not the star of Alien, I hope."
   "No, you are even cuter and you don't drool as much."
   "I'm not sure that is much of a compliment, but I'll take  it,
anyway."
   It  was  dark,  so  they  didn't need  to  worry  about  Lin's
disguise.  They  went in the house and Peabody  gathered  up  the
things  he  wanted to take. His photos, laptop, ereader,  camera,
CDs,  movies.  He tried to think of everything he would  need  on
Mars.  Then he realized he wasn't planning to return. He  thought
about  that  for a minute. He decided it was best. A clean  start
was  what  he  needed. He picked up a scarf that had belonged  to
Robert and put it with his things.
   A  car approached on the street and Lan lifted the ship. There
didn't seem to be much traffic, which was a good thing.
   Lin  walked around Peabody's house. He saw two photos  with  a
man  and a dog. He assumed they were Robert and Max. Part of both
photos had been removed. He wondered if Peabody had become  angry
at  someone  and  removed them from his photos. Peabody  saw  Lin
looking at a photo.
   "That's  Robert  and  Max.  We took  that  two  years  ago  on
vacation." Lin had a sinking feeling.
   "Who else was in the photo?" he asked softly.
   "Me."
   Lin  almost  cried. Poor Peabody. Why would he do  that?  When
they  lost  Aracatel, all his brothers consoled each other.  Poor
Peabody  had been alone, had suffered alone. He hoped they  could
make him happy. Lin planned to do his best.
   "Lin,  I  want  to  take everything on the  left  side  of  my
closet, including my shoes."
   "I will get your things."
   Peabody picked his some of things up and headed for the  front
door. Lin carried most of his clothes. When Peabody saw Lin carry
almost his entire closet, he was amazed by his strength. They put
the things on the ship and went back in the house.
   Peabody  found  a box for his shoes and gave it  to  Lin.  Lin
took the shoes and his remaining clothes to the ship.
   "What about the things in your dresser?"
   "Let me find more boxes."
   Peabody  remembered  he  had some banker's  boxes  in  another
room. He got them and gave them to Lin.
   "Everything in the drawers on the left side of the dresser  is
mine."
   Lin filled the boxes. He smiled as he found a dildo in one  of
the  drawers.  He can have the real thing, if he  wants  it,  Lin
thought. He packed it up, too and took the boxes to the ship.
   He  walked  back into the house and asked, "Do you  have  your
prescriptions?" he asked Peabody.
   "No,  I'll  get them." Peabody gathered them up and gave  them
to Lin.
   Lin  looked at the prescriptions and asked, "Did you take  the
acid blocker lansoprazole today?"
   "Yes."
   "Did you take one yesterday?"
   "Yes. I take them everyday."
   Peabody looked at Lin. He was staring at the bottle.
   "What is it?" Peabody asked him.
   "An  offspring  of  Lan's may develop. Normally  stomach  acid
would destroy it, but you would not have had much, if any."
   "Is that dangerous?"
   "I  will be keeping a close watch on your blood levels to make
sure it doesn't become dangerous. If his child starts to develop,
do you want me to remove it?"
   Peabody  thought  for a minute before saying,  "I  don't  know
enough  to have an opinion. I suppose, if it doesn't hurt me,  it
might be a good idea. After all, Mars needs people." He smiled at
Lin.
   "Is this all of it?" Lin asked.
   "Yes, I think so,"
   Lin  carried the pills and the last of the things to the ship.
He waited in the ship, but Peabody didn't come out.
   As  Peabody  walked around the house, his memories  of  Robert
(and  Max)  came flooding back. He pictured Max on the  sofa  and
Robert  cooking. He closed his eyes and he saw them. When Peabody
was  getting ready to leave, he realized that his last connection
to them would be severed. He had their things and his memories of
them in the house. It wasn't enough, but it was something. It was
all  he  had of them. There was nothing on Mars to remind him  of
them,  to  bring them back in his mind. He closed his eyes  again
and  heard Robert's laughter and Max's play growling. This  house
kept  those  memories alive. Could he cut them out of  his  life,
permanently? No! He crumbled to the ground and began sobbing.
   Lin  walked back into the house. Peabody was curled up on  the
floor  in  the  living room, crying. Oh, my love! My  poor,  poor
Peabody, he thought.
   Lin put his hand on his shoulder.
   "I can't go. I need them, Lin!"
   He  squatted next to Peabody and pulled him up against him. He
rubbed his cheek against him.
   "Sit  down, Peabody." They both sat and then Lin asked,  "They
would want you to be happy, wouldn't they?"
   "Yes."
   "Are you happy?"
   "No."
   "They  are at peace, Peabody, and you should be loved  by  the
living. I am certain they would want you to be loved. Let us take
over  for Robert and Max, since they can't do it anymore.  Please
come  with  us, Peabody. I can't bear thinking of you  in  misery
here, all by yourself. Even if you aren't able to be our host,  I
still  care about you and my brothers do, too. If you aren't  our
host, you can be our ambassador, or something."
   Peabody sighed.
   "I love you, Peabody."
   Peabody looked at Lin. "You don't know me well enough to  love
me."
   "I guess my heart doesn't know that."
   Peabody  looked at Lin and he believed him. He also  knew  Lin
was  right. He was alive, and until he had entered the house,  he
had been very glad of that.
   Peabody wiped his tears with his hand. He looked at the  scarf
of  Robert's. It's just a scarf and it doesn't bring Robert back,
no  matter how long you hold onto it, he told himself. It's  time
to  say  goodbye. He put the scarf down and said, "You're  right.
Let's go."
   As  they  were walking out the door, Peabody asked "Wait  here
on the porch for a second. There's one thing I need to do."
   Peabody  closed the door and stood in the hall with  his  eyes
closed.
   "Goodbye,  Robert.  I love you very much. I  hope  someday  we
will  be together again, but it won't be as soon as I thought  it
would. I know you have Max to keep you company. I'm going to help
these  people. They need me and I think I can be happy with them.
Max?" Peabody thought he could hear Max's bark. "I love you, too.
Take care of Robert."
   He  locked  the  front door and wiped the new  tears  off  his
face.
   "Are you all right, my love?"
   "I told you it would be painful."
   "I  know.  Are you planning to return to the house? If  so,  I
want to come with you."
   "I think I have everything I need."
   Lin was relieved to hear that.
   They walked back out to the space ship parked in front of  his
house.  Peabody smiled thinking about it. There was a no  parking
sign on the street.
   "Wait. I need to say one more goodbye," he told Lin.
   He  walked  around the ship, which was almost  invisible,  and
walked  over  to his tree. He placed his hand on  the  trunk.  He
stroked the trunk a few times.
   "Goodbye,  old man. I'm off to somewhere better. I care  about
you.  Please don't give up; the squirrels are depending on  you."
Peabody realized Lin was standing next to him.
   "This tree is important to you?"
   "Yes. I don't know why. I just took a liking to it. It's  been
sick. I think it may be getting better. I hope so."
   "We can have it watched and cared for, if you wish."
   "That would be great. It would make me very happy."
   "Don't forget you can come back to visit it."
   "I think knowing that he is being looked after is enough."
   "I wish I could say goodbye to Chester."
   "You can."
   "He is asleep, I'm sure."
   "Would you like to leave him a note?"
   Peabody  laughed.  Then he said, "Chester is  a  squirrel.  He
lives in this park."
   "I do not know what a squirrel is."
   "It's  a  little furry animal that lives in trees. Here,  I'll
show you."
   Peabody still had his cell phone with him, so he showed Lin  a
picture he'd taken of Chester.
   They  got  on  board the ship, took off, and  headed  for  New
York.  When  they  landed, Lin got off the ship in  the  building
they'd been in earlier.
   Lan came back and sat next to Peabody.
   "What is this building?"
   "It's  ours.  We had it built for us. Our lawyers offices  are
here and we can land here. Our business offices are here also."
   "Oh."
   "Are you OK, Peabody? Your eyes are red."
   He took Peabody's hand and held it.
   "I said goodbye to my lover."
   "You left your lover for us?"
   "No.  He died about a year ago. But that was our house  and  I
felt he was still there with me."
   "How did he die?"
   "A car wreck."
   "I'm  sorry,  Peabody. I lost Aracatal,  so  I  know  how  you
feel."
   Peabody reached out and stroked his cheek. Lan smiled at him.
   "I think you are handsome, Lan."
   "You too, Peabody. Very beautiful. We are very, very lucky."
   "I  think I'm lucky, too. No one on Earth cares whether I live
or die, not even me. Mars is different."
   "I love you, beautiful."
   He  took a deep sniff of Lan. "I love the way you smell, Lan."
Lan put his arm around him and pulled him close.
   Peabody snuggled against him and fell asleep.
   Lan  sat  there contentedly with Peabody in his arms for  over
two  hours. Periodically, he leaned down and took in a deep sniff
of his love.
   "Peabody?" He opened his eyes and Lin was smiling at him.  Lan
had his arms around him and he felt safe and...loved.
   "You  looked  so peaceful sleeping. Lan and I are  very  happy
you feel so comfortable around us." He did trust them completely.
What  Lin  had said to him in the house convinced him  that  they
really did care about him.
   "The  lawyers want you to sign a form saying you are going  of
your  own  free will. And all those forms I said you  might  have
reason to fear, well, they're here. It took time, but I convinced
them  to combine them. Are you sure you want to do this, at least
for now?"
   "Yes, I do."
   "Come with me."
   They  walked  back  to a conference room. A lawyer  he  hadn't
seen before and two guards were waiting.
   "If  you  consent  to return to Mars, and  assist  them,  sign
here." He pointed at a multi-page document. "We would prefer that
you read it in its entirety. I lieu of that, I will ask questions
and record your responses."
   "OK."
   "John  Peabody, do you agree to travel to Mars and assist  the
Alaphin?"
   "Yes."
   "Do  you  recognize there are inherent risks and accept  them?
You  are  not  absolving them of responsibility,  should  you  be
harmed  in any way. They are prepared to compensate you  or  your
estate should you come to any harm."
   "Yes, I accept."
   "Do  you  allow the Alaphin's law firms to handle your affairs
while  you  are on Mars?" He thought about that. He  supposed  he
did. He didn't want to worry about paying bills or taking care of
his house.
   "Yes, I do."
   "Is  this your bank account number?" He showed him the  number
on a piece of paper.
   "Yes, it is."
   "We   will  be  depositing  twenty  one  million  twenty  five
thousand  dollars  into your account. Ten million  each  for  the
offspring  that have been implanted into you, another million  is
for  allowing  yourself to become impregnated.  The  twenty  five
thousand  is  for listening to their proposal. You  may  wish  to
invest  the money rather than placing it in your savings account.
If  so, Lin can tell you how to contact his investment firm or we
can  supply you with the names and references of other investment
firms.  You  will  receive additional salary as well,  for  every
month you remain on Mars.
   "You  will receive a copy of this document. Please read it  as
soon  and  possible  and  contact us if  you  have  questions  or
concerns."
   "OK."  Twenty one million, he thought. At one time, that would
have been important to him. Now it was just a number on paper.
   He  signed  two copies. They were each in large  binders.  The
lawyer  handed  him one. It was heavy. They walked  back  to  the
shuttle and boarded it.
   "Can we go home, now?" he asked.
   They both smiled at him and Lan said "Yes. Home!"
   Lan went to the front of the ship and Peabody sat with Lin.
   "Let's  throw this out the window when we pass the  moon,"  he
said, hefting the binder.
   Lin  laughed and said "Maybe if you get bored, you  will  want
to read it."
   "I  will  never  get that bored. I would watch my  fingernails
grow first." Lin laughed.
   "You have had a busy day. Sleep more if you wish."
   He  laid  down  on the seat with his head on  Lin's  lap.  Lin
stroked his hair and he went back to sleep.
   "Peabody."  He  woke  up in bed. Lan was  bent  over  him.  He
thought they must have carried him from the ship.
   "You carried me all the way?" he asked him.
   "Yes, I won the bet!" he laughed.
   "Thank  you.  I  want to take a shower before I  go  to  sleep
though."
   He  got out of bed and looked for his clothes. He needed clean
underwear.
   "Are my clothes still on the ship?"
   Lan  said,  "We  put them away for you." He  pointed  out  the
dresser. "The things that were on hangers are in the closet  next
to the bathroom."
   Peabody  got  a  pair  of briefs and  a  t-shirt  out  of  the
dresser. Then he walked into the bathroom with Lin and Lan.  They
showed him where everything was. Peabody thought the towels  were
incredibly  soft and plush. They had soaps, body wash,  shampoos,
and conditioners of all kinds.
   Peabody  used  the restroom and then took a quick  shower.  It
was  interesting watching the water fall in the low  gravity.  It
made washing easier, because the soapy water stayed longer on his
body  than it would have on Earth. There was a very large  drain,
over  a  foot in diameter, which probably helped drain the  water
under  lower gravity. When he got out, they showed him  the  body
dryer. Peabody loved it. It was like a hand dryer, but bigger and
not  as  hot,  and  it dried his whole body. He barely  needed  a
towel.
   He  put  on his underwear and walked out of the bathroom.  The
bed  looked wonderful to him; he was tired. He walked to the  bed
and got in. It was very comfortable.
   As  he  lay there, he suddenly realized he needed to  give  up
alcohol.  It  might  make  it difficult  to  socialize  with  the
brothers, but his health now mattered.
   "Are you going to sleep in your rooms?" he asked Lin and Lan.
   "Unless you want us to stay here with you."
   Peabody thought about it. He didn't want to be alone,  but  he
didn't want to impose on them.
   "You can sleep on the bed, if you want."
   Lin and Lan both smiled.
   "Are  you sure, Peabody? We don't want you to be uncomfortable
just to make us comfortable," Lan said.
   "I would prefer it. I don't want to sleep alone anymore."
   The two brothers got on the bed on each side of him.
   Peabody  rolled on his side, facing Lin. Lan lay on  his  side
close to Peabody. He pressed his body against Peabody's.
   "Is this too close?"
   "No. It's nice."
   Lan  put an arm over Peabody. Peabody took his hand and kissed
it.
   Oh,  beautiful! I love you, too! Lan thought. He  nuzzled  the
back of Peabody's head.
   Lin  lay  on  his side and backed up towards Peabody.  Peabody
saw Lin's fifth hand resting on his neck.
   "Lights off," Lin said and the room went completely dark.
   Their  soft  fur  and warm bodies felt nice, but  Peabody  was
hot. He was sure they must be, too.
   "Can you lower the room temperature?" he asked.
   "Absolutely. How much?"
   "Try five degrees."
   "Lower  temperature  five f," Lin said  aloud.  Instantly  the
room got cooler. Peabody lay between them seeing how it felt.
   "Try five more."
   "Lower temperature five f." It got cooler again.
   Then  Peabody said "Lower temperature five f." That  would  be
fifty five degrees. Peabody thought it felt about right.
   "Peabody, if you get cold, we will know and we will raise  the
temperature."
   "OK. Thanks, Lan."
   Lin  got  up  and brought up a display on the wall behind  the
bed.
   "Peabody,  if you press the wall here above the right  end  of
the headboard, it will lower the temperature to fifty five if  it
is  seventy and raise the temperature to seventy if it  is  fifty
five. "
   Peabody looked up and said, "OK.
   "One other thing: can we get a clock in here?"
   "Earth time or Mars time."
   "What do you use?"
   "Earth.  No  one cares what time it is on Mars since  we  live
underground."
   "I will show you some designs tomorrow and you can pick one."
   "Could  we get just a little light in here? If I have  to  get
out of bed, who knows what I will run into."
   "Light, two percent," Lin said.
   "That's nice. Will it keep you two awake?"
   "No."
   Peabody  lay  there  surrounded by them  and  breathing  their
scent. He smiled and fell asleep.


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