MARVEL AT THE WONDEROUS HOLE!

Zach waved goodbye to Xin as they finished their post-workout meal. No one else had been in the cafeteria, and they weren’t sure why. As the two were getting ready to leave, however, Zach and Xin noticed Caroline waiting by the exit, so Xin excused herself. Caroline didn’t seem interested in coming to him and simply waited by the exit.

Not wanting to avoid this conflict, he simply walked over to Caroline. “Hi Caroline, I take it you’d like to talk with me?” Zach spoke first before really taking in Caroline’s appearance. Now that he had, he had to admit to himself. She is one hot momma. Caroline had done up her makeup past what one would simply wear to look more professional; rather, this was in the realm of I really want to impress a guy. She was wearing a long-sleeve turtleneck sweater that clung tightly to her curves, her new bust really filling it out. She was wearing a thin, pale blue, floor-length skirt that seemed to swish with the slightest movement from her.

Caroline took a deep breath and nodded, “You would be correct, Mr. Blackstone.”

“Caroline, either use my first name, or it’s Dr., not Mr.; I would show you the same respect and not call you Ms. Brown.”

Caroline frowned, then nodded her agreement. “Sorry, I forgot that you actually went to graduate school and got your PhD. Is there somewhere we can talk privately? Besides your room, I mean?”

Zach rubbed the back of his head in thought. “I don’t really know. I guess my private elevator, but I don’t really feel like that’s a better choice.”

Caroline sighed, “Very well, your room it is. Shall we?” Caroline gestured towards the elevators and waited for Zachary to move towards them, and followed behind him.

As they waited for the elevator, Zachary said, “So, I feel like I should mention that Melinda and I found something out about my elevator. The more physical contact you have with me, the smoother it is.”

“I think I will be fine.”

Zach shrugged, “Suit yourself. I mentioned it because of the other thing we should do before talking is get you a few points, in case you do something like yell at me, and Delilah takes away points for that.”

The elevator opened, and Caroline sighed, “Fine, what will get a mostly smooth ride?”

Zach stepped in, “If I hold you while you’re sitting on my lap, it seems to work. The tighter the better.”

“That’s acceptable, I suppose.” Caroline waited for Zachary to sit on one of the couches and then sat down in his lap and put her arms around his shoulders. The elevator ride was quite smooth, but seemed to be taking a long time. Caroline kept glancing at Zachary, then looking away.

+1 VP Sit on His Lap, pretty sure the momma is supposed to be the one who's lap is sat on.

Zachary figured she was rather uncomfortable with their faces being so close, so he was surprised when one of Caroline’s hands slid up his neck and cupped his cheek as she pulled him into a kiss. She didn’t stop with a quick peck either; she continued for a while biting down on his lower lip, before finally pulling away as the elevator opened with a ding. Caroline didn’t say anything as she stood, straightened her skirt, and strode towards the suite, leaving a confused Zachary in the elevator for several seconds.

+1 VP Kiss, Damn did that make you feel young again or what?

Caroline had planned on simply going into the room, but found herself waiting for Zachary to catch up as it was locked without him inside. After taking a few seconds to collect himself and go over what had just happened in his head, he hurried after Caroline and opened the door for her, while asking, a little breathily, “What was that?”

Caroline sashayed into the room and, over her shoulder, said, “A preview, if you’re good.” To Zachary’s surprise, Caroline didn’t simply go sit on one of the couches in the room or at the dining table. Instead, she went straight to the bed, leaning back on her arms, causing her bust to stick out.

Zach stopped a few steps away. “I thought you said you wanted to talk?”

Caroline nodded, “And I do. You were also correct that I need points, and having at least a few as a buffer was a good idea. Now that I have that buffer, let’s talk.” Caroline gestured with her head for him to sit down next to her.

Zachary found this very confusing and sat down next to Caroline, but he didn’t recline; he just turned to the side to face her. “This is not how I expected this to go. Multiple people have mentioned that you were likely to try to lecture me about a lot of things.”

“Oh, we are most definitely going to go over your conduct, but you aren’t a child, and I’m not your mother. Did you expect me to yell at you? Or maybe tell you that you’ve been acting like an entitled idiot?”

“Yes, and maybe.”

“Well, I definitely won’t be yelling at you.” Caroline then coyly said, “Unless, of course, you’ve done a really good job, but I figure you’d be quite happy with my yelling then.”

Zachary was having whiplash with Caroline seemingly coming on to him while also clearly having issues with his conduct.

Caroline took full advantage of his confusion and continued, “Now, to your conduct…” Caroline made sure to pause just long enough for Zachary to be paying attention to the topic but not long enough for him to start formulating a reply. “Regarding my daughter, thank you.” Zachary was once again surprised by her response and was starting to suspect that Caroline was purposefully trying to keep him unbalanced.

Zachary hastily replied, trying to regain some semblance of stability within the conversation, “What for?”

“Being a gentleman. I left her with you, and you didn’t do anything until much later. After talking with her, it seems like she’s not particularly offended with anything you did with her either. So, thank you. As for the changes…” Caroline once again paused and looked down at her breasts. “Thank you for the warning, but I wish you hadn’t made them quite so big.”

“What can I say? Piper said she’s always been envious of your breasts, so I gave her them.”

“I still find that hard to believe, but honestly, that doesn’t overly bother me. I would like to discuss her transformation with you.”

“Okay, but I want to be clear from the outset: I’m not asking you for suggestions, or taking them from you. If you have a suggestion, tell Piper, and she can ask me. If you have things you have a problem with, that’s another story, especially if they affect you.”

Caroline frowned and actually sat up and faced Zachary. “And why not?”

“Because Piper explicitly asked me not to take your suggestions. Which I’m going to respect. Now, if you have an issue with a change that will affect you, tell me, and I will definitely consider that when assigning the points.”

“I would appreciate not getting even bigger breasts.”

Zachary stared at them unapologetically for a moment. “Yeah… those look bigger than I thought they would when making the change.” Then he resumed eye contact with Caroline, but she broke it soon after looking away.

Caroline considered things, “I’m not sure what else at the moment, but maybe nothing quite so drastic in the future?”

He nodded, “I can try, but there’s an issue you should be aware of with doing that.” He noticed Caroline’s wrapped attention when he said that. “So… the way the assigning of points works is that each additional upgrade costs one more point than the previous one.”

Caroline immediately understood. “Meaning that more focused changes might actually result in fewer total changes.”

Zachary nodded, “Exactly.”

“Would you be willing to tell me all of the changes you made to Piper?”

“No. Ask her.”

Caroline sighed, “Fair enough. What about just the changes that affect me?”

“That, I can do.” Zachary started to tick off the changes on his fingers. “Obviously, your bust, then nipple sensitivity, libido, and physical attraction towards me.”

Caroline furrowed her brow, “Isn’t the last one a mental change?”

Zachary shook his head, “No, Delilah has helpfully added which ones are and are not physical changes. That info wasn’t there originally, but I guess she decided I should have that. As a note, there is a separate mental attraction stat, so I think it is more like who you would be attracted to at first glance.”

“That does explain some things. Not exactly thrilled you made my daughter and me more lascivious and attracted to you.”

“Seriously? First of all, I fail to see how being more attracted to me isn’t a positive for both of you long term, since you’re being forced to be with me anyway. Second, having a higher libido doesn’t make you lewder. It might make you act on your proclivities more, but it doesn’t change them.”

“I suppose…” Caroline shook her head. “Let’s move on, as I don’t feel like there is more productive conversation to be had about this.”

“Fine, so what have I done that you take issue with?”

“Your treatment of Heather, for starters,” Caroline said with some heat in her voice.

“Elaborate.” Was the only thing Zachary said in response, making sure to remain calm.

“How can you think treating anyone like that at all is even remotely acceptable?”

“Again, I would like you to specify what you are talking about.”

“You’re treating her like a toy, locking her away in that belt, while keeping a dildo inside of her at all times, which, in case you weren’t aware, isn’t healthy.”

“I was aware of that, which is why I only did it after finding out that the belt magically takes care of the health problem. As for the rest of your complaint, I don’t want any relationship with her. None at all, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get a choice in that. I would be perfectly happy to do the bare minimum so she can get through this. She, however, wants to try and salvage something of our past. Explain to me why requiring pretty much anything of her would be out of line?”

“Because you have total power over her, and she’s already had so much taken from her. You don’t need to humiliate her more.”

“I also don’t need to give someone who deliberately went out of her way to hurt me a second chance either. Her being here and being unable to work are not my fault or responsibility.”

Caroline frowned, “I honestly thought better of you than this.” Caroline got up and strode across the room, making sure to face away from Zachary while crossing her arms. She looked up at the VP standings and saw she was in last place, even behind Xin, who she saw got a lot of points earlier today.

Zachary didn’t follow Caroline across the room. Instead, he went to make a pot of coffee. When it was finished and he had a mug in hand, he leaned on the corner of the dining table. He took slow sips while waiting for Caroline to return to the conversation. After ten more minutes of waiting, Zachary finally had enough. “Well, if you’re done talking and don’t want to do anything, I’ll take my leave and see you this evening.”

Caroline turned around, scowling. “I have plenty more to talk about, but I didn’t want to say something I would regret.”

“Then talk; there’s coffee if you want some.” Zachary gestured towards the kitchen.

Caroline huffed out a sigh and made herself a coffee. Caroline began very hesitantly. “It’s about Lynn.”

Zachary scowled, “What about her?”

“She’s… how to put this delicately… she’s acting like a possessive girlfriend who thinks that she gets to tell all other women in her partner’s life how things are going to be.”

“I’m aware of some of what she’s done. I’ve also discussed this with her multiple times so far.”

“Are you going to do anything to rein her in?”

“Not at the moment,” Zachary replied calmly, then sipped his coffee. “Besides what happened with Melinda, so far, everything has just been words, and what happened between her and Melinda was agreed upon by both of them. I don’t like it, but they are both adults. I’ve noticed she’s acting differently, though, but I’m also going to give my best friend a hell of a lot of latitude, given the situation.”

“So, you’ll just let her threaten us? Because she has. If you don’t believe me, command me to tell you the truth.”

“And what exactly did she threaten, and under what circumstances?”

“She threatened to buy various transformations or sabotage from the BP store and use them on us.”

Zachary rolled his hand, motioning for Caroline to continue. When she didn’t elaborate, Zachary asked, “And what were the circumstances in which she made that threat?”

“I don’t recall all of the specifics, but we were shopping, and she was offered a sale on anything that affected another contestant.”

“Mmmhmmm…” Zachary replied. “I’ll talk to her about it, but it already sounds to me like there is more to this than you’re saying.”

“She’s dangerous.”

“So you say…” Zachary remained skeptical.

Caroline groaned in frustration, “Please take this seriously, Zachary.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m taking it seriously. As I said, I’ve noticed she’s acting differently. I just don’t believe she’d actually hurt any of you.”

Caroline sighed as her shoulders slumped. “I guess that is the best I will get out of you. At least you aren’t just completely dismissing my concerns.” Caroline strode over to one of the couches and plopped down on the center cushion. Zachary followed after her, sitting on the opposite couch.

Taking the cue that Caroline was done with talking about Lynn, Zachary asked, “So anything else you want to talk about?”

Caroline nodded and took a minute to just breathe and drink her coffee. Zachary had noticed that she had been avoiding looking at him for too long and was starting to wonder why, but was distracted as she finally spoke. “I wanted to know, how do you see all this working?”

“I have absolutely no clue,” Zachary said with a bit of mirth in his voice.

“Fair enough. Let me rephrase: how would you like this to end up working? Between you and me, and you and all of us.”

“I’m still not sure, honestly. I told Piper I was probably not going to take anyone besides Lynn eventually as my wife, even if I could. We’ll see, though.”

“You already see yourself marrying Lynn?” Caroline asked, a bit surprised.

“Lynn has been my best friend for years. The only reason we never dated before is that we were both afraid that if things didn’t work out, we’d lose our friendship. So eventually, yes, I assume Lynn and I will get married. Though I’m most certainly not jumping into it any time soon. What about you? How would you like this to go?”

“I’d like for Delilah to let all of us go and let you and Lynn have your lives together, but I’m not getting that. So, dealing with reality, the main things I want are for you to show us all respect, and I honestly wouldn’t be upset if you and Piper actually got together properly, as I wouldn’t mind grandchildren.”

“Have you considered you could get pregnant and give Piper a sister?”

“No, because I’ve already gone through menopause,” Caroline replied dryly. She was clearly not thrilled with the idea of sharing a man with her daughter, let alone the idea of having a child and grandchild from Zachary.

“I’m not really looking to have that happen myself; I just wanted to ask about it. Also, I wouldn’t be so certain you can’t get pregnant by the end of this. Considering the changes all of you have already undergone, making you fertile again doesn’t seem that big of a leap. One of your transformation paths is MILF after all. Not to mention fertility is technically an option I can adjust upwards for Piper, and it’s labeled as a physical trait.”

Caroline pursed her lips as she considered that and realized he was right, and swore internally. “Can you promise me something?”

“Depends on what.”

“Don’t try to get Piper and me into bed together with you at the same time. It’s weird enough that we are going to be sleeping with the same man.”

“You do realize that Delilah and the audience are almost certainly going to push for that, right?”

“Yes,” Caroline replied, with contempt towards the demoness and the audience. “I’m aware. I’m simply asking that you don’t push for it. Or make Piper attracted to me.”

“I have no intention to force you or her into something either of you is uncomfortable with.”

“Thank you,” Caroline said, looking away from Zachary again.

Zachary simply had to ask, seeing her do that again, “Is there some reason you don’t want to look at me? Your eyes have been darting around constantly for quite a while now.”

Caroline looked just over his right shoulder instead of at him as she replied, “I can’t help but find you stupidly handsome, and it’s really distracting to look directly at your face.”

Zachary sat there dumbfounded and then asked, “You were never like this before. What changed?”

“You mean back when you were my student?”

Before she could continue, Zachary replied, “Then, but also even just a few days ago, you weren’t like this, where you can’t meet my eyes.” Caroline seemed embarrassed to Zachary, and it didn’t seem to be about one thing either.

Caroline fidgeted and said, “I think it’s because of the changes you made to Piper and me.”

“Because I made you more attracted to me and upped your libido? That’s really why you’re like this?”

Caroline forced herself to maintain eye contact. “Zachary, you were already good-looking in my opinion. I would now definitely say handsome. I think the bigger issue is that my libido was essentially nonexistent for quite a while. I feel like I’m back in high school. It doesn’t help that my nipples are driving me crazy, too.” When she finished speaking, she glanced away from him again.

“Piper didn’t seem to have this sort of issue, and the changes to those things weren’t that large.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Caroline retorted exasperatedly. “I noticed the change this morning, when I thought about preparing for my ‘date’ with you.”

“Hmm, well, I’m sorry, but there isn’t much I can do about it at the moment. It’s a bit of a shame I can’t see your physical attributes to avoid something like this in the future.”

There was a lull in the conversation as neither really had anything else to say. After a few moments of lingering silence, they said at the same time, “So— you go first.” Both chuckled, then Zachary repeated, “No, seriously, you go first.”

Caroline stood up. “Well, if you are interested, I did find something for us to actually go do together.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Zachary stood and moved towards the door, grateful to have an excuse to move on from the previous conversation.

The two entered the elevator again, and after Caroline pressed a button, she allowed Zachary to pull her onto his lap again. This time, she made an effort to press up against him, squishing her breasts between their bodies. However, she did not make eye contact with him during the ride.

Zachary asked, “So what are we going to be doing?”

Caroline took a moment before responding. “I found an entertainment district of sorts. A lot of it’s lewd. That’s frankly not a surprise given the entire situation we are in, but at least some of it seems relatively normal. One of the things is a museum. I figured we could take a stroll through that.”

“You do realize that is likely to be something like a museum of sex toys or something equally inappropriate, right?” Zachary asked skeptically.

The door dinged open. Caroline shrugged as she stood. “Plenty of ‘fertility’ objects are in actual museums that are really just sex toys, but no self-respecting archeologist wants to say ‘I found an ancient dildo’ instead of ‘I found an ancient fertility stone’. It sounds so much better. Besides, if it actually has any history about the show that might prove useful.”

Zachary stepped out of the elevator behind Caroline and was shocked by what he found. They appeared to be outside on a sidewalk. There were cars driving on the road, but he couldn’t see inside of any of them. There were also several semi-transparent individuals walking along the sidewalks, and they didn’t seem to notice him or Caroline. On each side of the street were large buildings and a few skyscrapers. Some advertised risque performances, with signs containing XXX, while others seemed to be hosting Broadway plays and concerts. One sign showed ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes, now performing dead for a limited time only.’

Zachary stood there in shock, taking everything in until Caroline took his arm in hers and led him down the street. Zachary asked, “What is this place?”

“As I said, an entertainment district of sorts. I don’t really know more than that, but up here at the street corner is a map. There is one at every corner, and it’s sort of like a mall map. This place is rather dynamic too, as Frank Sinatra definitely wasn’t performing here when I was here last time. I also find the phrasing of performing dead to be a little odd, but I guess technically accurate. It seems that all the shows here have dead celebrities as headliners.”

Zachary was still rather overwhelmed and shouted in surprise as a couple walked straight through him. Caroline stopped and calmed him. “It takes a little getting used to, but the people are harmless.”

Zachary clutched his chest. “Why are they even here?”

Caroline shrugged, “Your guess would be as good as mine. I think it’s so that the area feels more natural. After all, streets this large that were deserted would feel a little spooky. Plus, we could always people-watch.”

Zachary regained his composure and asked, “Do you think they are real people?”

“I’m not sure. They definitely act like real people. Personally, I think this is a real street somewhere, and the building labels have changed for us.”

“Makes as much sense as anything else here,” Zachary replied. “How far to the museum?”

“Not far. A block up and over.”

Zachary nodded, and the two proceeded to walk towards the museum, with Zachary making a point of avoiding letting anyone else walk through him. They stopped at the corner so Zachary could look over the map, and he found that this place was huge and he couldn’t fathom how it could fit inside an actual building.

When they arrived at the Harem Hotel Museum of Human History, Zachary couldn’t help but think how normal the building looked. He could definitely see the building being placed in almost any city, and it would not look out of place.

As the two stepped inside, several oddities about the place became immediately apparent. First, the inside was definitely bigger than the outside. The second thing was the new limited time sections that showcased images of all of the contestants. Finally, an actual ghost was waiting for them at the entrance, wearing a tour guide’s outfit. The ghost spoke in his usual weary British accent, though with far more respect than he had ever shown Lynn or Xin. “Master Blackstone,” He began with a bow, then repeated his bow towards Caroline, but it was less deep. “And Mistress Brown. I welcome you both to the Harem Hotel Museum of Human History. If you need directions or would prefer a guided tour, you simply have to ask.”

While his words and demeanor were respectful, it was clear to both Zachary and Caroline that the ghost would prefer they not ask for a guided tour. Caroline replied, “Thank you. I don’t think we’ll need the guided tour, but is there perhaps a museum layout that we could browse? Also, I didn’t catch your name.”

“There is Mistress Brown, right over here.” The ghost pointed to a display slightly behind him and to the right. “And you may call me…” The ghost sighed as he said the name, “Shirley.”

Caroline stared at the ghost in disbelief. “You aren’t serious?”

Shirley groaned, “No, I’m not Serious, as I said, you may call me Shirley.”

Zachary said, “So, Ferdinand, are there any exhibits you would recommend?”

Caroline eyed Zachary confusedly, as she thought he was being somewhat rude, calling the ghost by some other name, but Ferdinand seemed downright pleased to be called anything but Shirley. “Absolutely, Master Blackstone. I would recommend the history of tools, with the section on rope, to be particularly fascinating. Besides that, I personally find the section on etiquette and social norms throughout history to be riveting.”

Ferdinand actually seemed mildly animated, no longer just an overworked customer service representative.

Ferdinand stepped forward and handed them both passes. “Please take these; they will allow you into almost all the exhibits. Mistress Brown, please note that your pass will expire in 24 hours, whereas yours, Master Blackstone, is an eternal pass.” Ferdinand, lacking any actual legs of his own, floated off towards an information kiosk and resumed his previously dour demeanor.

The two examined their passes. On Caroline’s, there was a literal timer going down showing how much time was left on the pass. In the same spot on Zachary’s pass was just the infinity symbol. Caroline gestured towards the map. After seeing that the place was massive, Caroline nixed her idea of simply roaming the place in a loop or two, and instead figured it wouldn’t hurt to follow Ferdinand’s suggestions, as she was fairly certain now that this was Lynn’s and Xin’s ghost butler, as she had only gotten a glance at him when she was washing off Piper in their shower.

As they walked toward the exhibits on tools, Caroline said, “He was far more polite to me now than when we washed Piper off in Xin’s shower. If I recall correctly, he called me a common harlot then. Also, why did you call him Ferdinand?”

“Because he’ll answer to any name, and it seems that the last name he was called is his current one. He clearly didn’t like the previous one, so I picked something that seemed somewhat respectable and butlerish. As for his politeness, have you considered that it wasn’t you but Piper and Heather he was calling harlots? It might have to do with the room assignments since they are in the worst room.”

“I suppose…” Caroline said skeptically.

Zachary continued, “I think it might also have to do with you being on your date with me and… well… being more mature.”

“You know, calling old people mature isn’t as endearing as you might think it is. Especially when said old people know you are using it as a euphemism for ancient.”

Zachary smirked, “Very well, I shall remember that you would simply prefer to be called an old biddy.” Caroline did not find his jest amusing. As Zachary got his mirth at his own joke under control, he said, “Seriously, though, I meant mature as a combination of things and not just your age. Lynn mentioned that she went through etiquette lessons. I think he is big on social graces and being proper. Something I believe you rather value yourself.”

Caroline just nodded as she took Zachary’s arm in her own. The two entered the exhibit on the history of human tools and were surprised by the first display. They had expected something like clubs, fire, or the wheel to be the first thing. It was none of those, however. Instead, there was a massive display which extolled the allegedly greatest and most important creation in human history.

‘MARVEL AT THE WONDEROUS HOLE!’

The display explained that while the hole wasn’t the first discovery of humanity, that was the whacking branch; it was the first thing that humanity actually shaped for a purpose. It also claimed it was the most important invention as well, as it served several important functions. Not only did the hole give a place for people to relieve themselves of waste, and eventually put fires in to contain them, but it also gave the males a way to relieve themselves without the hassle of finding a mate.

Caroline scoffed as she continued reading the display that explained that males that made themselves a hole in a wall tended to be more clear-headed since they could relieve themselves whenever they needed to, instead of just when they could find and subdue a female. Caroline shook her head, “This is ridiculous.”

Zachary shrugged, “I mean, sure, but honestly, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched.” Zachary then noticed the figures of ancient humans on display, including a pair mating. All the males had an uncanny resemblance to him, and the women appeared to be one of the contestants, with this display closely resembling Piper. Zachary tried to move Caroline along before she noticed, but failed.

Caroline scowled at the display, “What the fuck!?” Zachary was surprised by Caroline swearing, as she seemed not to like swearing in general. “I’m going to kill Delilah.”

Zachary put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, don’t let her get to you with stuff like this. It might be like you said with the buildings. Where the figures having an overlay that simply looks like the people of the current season. I doubt that she makes custom displays every time she kidnaps people.”

“Not helpful, Zachary.” Caroline moved on from the display that looked like a caveman version of Zachary pinning a cavewoman version of Piper to the ground and fucking her from behind.

The two went deeper into the exhibit, and it took a while for them to exit the section about the hole, as it went on about the hole through the ages, and how its primary two original purposes continued to be refined throughout human history. It also went on to explain how it was also used in other matters, like pillories, and ‘less important’ things like wheels, and jewelry.

By the end of the first exhibit, Caroline was regretting her choice to bring Zachary here, despite the fact that Zachary seemed to be enjoying the exhibits. Caroline was also fairly certain that at least half of his enjoyment was coming from seeing her reactions to some of the things on display.

The two sat down on a bench at the end of the section about the hole, as they had been meandering on their feet for about an hour. Caroline said, “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Zachary shrugged, “I have pleasant company.”

“Right…” Caroline said skeptically, “It wouldn’t be because you like seeing me uncomfortable now, would it?”

Zachary put up his hands in defense, “I’ll admit that it is slightly amusing to watch you scrunch up your nose in frustration. This has still been interesting all the same. Like you don’t really think about how important certain concepts really are, like the hole, and how much work goes into improving the concept.”

“An empty space isn’t that complicated, Zachary.”

“Sure, but you should know just how important nothing can be. Zero changed so much in mathematics, and some of the things we saw weren’t just about empty space, but precise sizing of that space. Not to mention making holes in various materials.”

Caroline gave him an unamused look. “Most of this was just about how everything was really in pursuit of making a better hole for guys to use as a cocksleeve.”

“True… but it isn’t wrong that many advances in human history have had to do with sex in one manner or another.”

Caroline groaned, “Please tell me you don’t actually subscribe to the idea that most of the advances in computer science have been for porn.”

“I can’t because I do. It is a literal fact that a substantial amount of advances in computer science have been made because of porn, even if not originally intended for it. Things like AI image generation have taken leaps and bounds forward because of porn. Like it or not, the internet is for porn.”

Caroline pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

Zachary tried to be diplomatic and move on from the conversation, “So, what was your favorite part of the hole?”

Caroline glared at Zachary, “Seriously?” Zachary just nodded. “I guess it wasn’t all garbage. Especially the parts about machining and laser cutting holes. I’m not sure if I want to go through the rope exhibit anymore, as it is almost certainly going to be about bondage, and I don’t want or need to see facsimiles of my daughter or me trussed up by you.”

“Well, it looks like we can either head back through the hole, go through rope, or go through lubricants to continue. According to the layout, rope circles back around and has an exit to the atrium. Lubricant goes into several other exhibits.”

Caroline sighed, stood, and proceeded into the rope exhibit. She had thought about just blitzing through the exhibit and leaving, but figured it would be better to stay with Zachary even if it was uncomfortable. Caroline took his arm in hers again, as she asked, “I was wondering, why haven’t you really made a move on me this whole time?”

Zachary stopped in front of an exhibit about sailing and all the various sailing knots and how they can be used to tie up things as well as people. There was even an interactive display where one could select various knots that were safe to use on people, and two animatronics would go through tying the knot slowly, with the Zachary animatronic tying up one of the contestants. Zachary asked, “Did you want me to? I’ve been getting rather mixed signals from you, and so I wasn’t sure what to do. Not to mention, as you’ve pointed out before, I have a lot of power over you. I didn’t want to make an unwelcome move, as saying no could have consequences for you.”

Caroline didn’t respond for a long time, as she stared at the floor. “I don’t know. I sort of expected you to have already made a move. You acting the gentleman is throwing me off.”

Zachary took his arm out of Caroline’s to face her. “I’m not a monster, Caroline. I’m not going to put up with some things from each of you, either, as, barring Lynn and Xin, each of you has actually wronged me.”

“You don’t consider Xin to have wronged you?” Caroline asked, a little surprised.

“No. I did at first, but moved past that. It was a purely emotional reaction. Having found out she didn’t know Heather was married means I don’t blame her at all. That’s all on Heather.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow, “You don’t think your marriage falling apart was partially your own fault?”

“Maybe a bit, but I was also trying to fix the issues. Heather cheating on me, though, is 100% her own fault.”

Caroline’s lips turned down slightly. “People tend to cheat for a reason.”

“You’re not seriously excusing what she did, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” Caroline said, shaking her head, “What she did was deplorable, without question, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t an understandable motivation behind her actions.”

Zachary started to get angry and said, “Let’s drop this topic. Now! Before one of us says or does something that they’ll regret.”

Caroline didn’t really want to do that, but saw how upset he was getting, so she complied. The remainder of the exhibit was awkward, with neither of them talking much, with each only occasionally pointing out something they found interesting. Of course, part of why it was awkward was that it showcased the six women bound in all manner of positions, oftentimes naked, usually with Zachary tying the knots.

Back in the atrium, Caroline strode towards the information desk where Ferdinand was to return her museum pass. She didn’t wait for Zachary to follow behind her, but she did wait at the exit to the museum for him. She held one arm awkwardly with her opposite hand and looked towards the ground as Zachary caught up with her. Zachary asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I screwed this all up, didn’t I?”

Zachary cocked his head to the side. “Not all of it. I did actually enjoy the… well, most of the museum.”

“Yeah, but…” Caroline trailed off. She shook her head. Maybe it was a mistake thinking I could make something of this.

Zachary took her arm in his and started walking out the door. Caroline was startled by the sudden movement but allowed him to lead her outside and down the street. The two walked in silence for a few minutes when Zachary said, “I’m sure that this isn’t easy for you, but I’m not going to apologize for my handling of Heather. This is weird for me, too, but I’m willing to try my best between us.”

“You’re not being told to sleep with a person the same age as your adult child or risk both your own wellbeing and your child’s.”

Zachary nodded, “True. Which is why I said, I’m sure this isn’t easy, not that I understand what you’re going through. On the other hand, though I’ve been told to sleep with a half dozen women, the majority of whom have wronged me in some manner. Not to mention you are literally old enough to be my mother. If I refuse to be intimate with one of you, you’ll suffer a horrific fate that is arguably worse than death. That does add a certain amount of pressure on me, too.”

The two walked in silence for a bit longer. When Caroline asked, “Does it bother you that I’m old?”

“You’re not old; you’re simply older.” Caroline found his response patronizing. He continued, “Honestly, a bit. You look good for your age, though. Not to mention I found you attractive while an undergrad.”

“This isn’t going to look good for either of us when we go back; you realize that, right?” Caroline asked.

“Which part? The fact you were my former advisor; the fact there are six women involved with me; the fact I’m with a daughter and her mother; or the fact I’m with a former student, who also slept with my ex-wife? All of which are compounded by the rumors about me being a sleezy creep who pervs on women.”

“All of it. I’m glad you at least realize this is going to wreak havoc on all our lives professionally.” Caroline said.

“Hopefully whichever of you wins the wish will help take care of that with it. So, what would you like to do for the remainder of the afternoon?” Zachary asked, while moving them up against a building so none of the spectral people walked through them.

“Can we just head back to your suite? We could keep talking, and… and then… I should earn some more points if you are okay with that.”

“So very clinical, but I understand, and yes. I’ve already decided I’m not going to deny any of you the opportunity to earn enough points to not get eliminated and even to have a buffer. I might require it be on my terms, but I won’t prevent you from getting them.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

With that, the two headed back towards the elevator.