Morning Musings and Exposition

John wakes up quite early in the morning. It was quite possibly the best sleep he has ever gotten. No, he knows it was.

A digital clock shows 5:30, well before any need to scramble to get anywhere.

When he opens his eyes, he’s resting on the naked body of his boss Felicia, flanked by three extremely young thin and attractive women who have collapsed around him on a large sofa with pillows and blankets.

For however long until they awake, John can be independent, and Laura just doesn’t know exactly where and how he’s doing.

John thinks calmly: Laura made me breakfast, I ought to return the favor. It’s what any boyfriend would do, now just to not disturb them.

John slowly and carefully sits up, doing everything he can to not wake up the bodies. He wants to have this be a gift. He doesn’t need Laura to presumably always get him up, clothe him, clean him, cook for him, he can be self sufficient and more.

John maneuvers his arms out of Felicia’s grasp, and manages not to step on either Christina, Madison, or Sarah. He gets on the ground and heads into the kitchen, still the only body awake in the house.

He opens the fridge and freezer and scans for items to make a good breakfast. He lands on something easy, anything complex would likely wake up his girlfriend. He gets out a carton of eggs and some hash.

He cracks a few eggs and spreads the hash in to crisp. John cooks them adequately. He knows Laura, being every female chef, was obviously going to be better.

The smell of eggs and hash wafts through the house. John managed to at least try to give back to the being who has changed his life completely for the better.

John shuts off the stove top burners and lets the meal sit. Now if they wake up, he’s already succeeded.

Instead of just waking up the bodies, John takes out his phone. He's been so busy he hasn’t followed back up with his sister.

He understands that she is Laura, both his sisters and his mother are, but he feels he owes it to the bodies he grew up with to speak to them again specifically.

He calls Samantha. She picks up instantly. “Hey Sam, er, Laura. Still trying to… I think I’ll call my family by their names I guess. Morning Sam.”

“Good morning my love. It seems my bodies there are still asleep. How did you sleep?” It’s the punctual matter of fact delivery of his older sister for sure, but it’s truly Laura.

“Best sleep of my life. Your masseuse skills and your bodies were perfect. But anyway… um…”

Inside John, a wall he put up is cracking, and emotions he blocked out for the last couple of days are reappearing violently.

John’s speech hitches as a tear streams out of his eyes. “It-it’s still weird to know that all my living family are only you. I couldn’t stop feeling this way, and it didn’t sit right with me to ignore that now. I wanted to speak to you again. I know it’s meaningless to differentiate. Anything I speak to Laura or Felicia or Sarah, to you Sam, and Mary, and to mom. It’s all you. But it’s just, it just is different when it comes to my actual family.”

John is welling up in tears and his voice is becoming emotional. He knows no harm has come to them, but it’s such an incredibly complex feeling to know the realities of life like this. That all of his female family never technically existed, it’s a shock to core of his psyche. As much as he was ignoring it while spending time with her bodies, it’s come back stronger.

“John, I… there’s nothing I can say that can possibly fix this. Because there’s nothing to fix. I was always this, they were always me. I apologize for the lifelong deception. You have every right to feel the way you do, to cry and even mourn. I have no right to say you’re acting the wrong way.” It’s calm reassurance delivered the only way she can give it.

John can’t wait any longer, he needs to know one piece of information above all else. “I… when dad died. Remember that conversation I had with you? And the one with mom? Were you not grieving as I was?”

Sam sighs over the line deeply. “John, it’s no lie to say that my personas as the individual women of the world are just that, personas of me. But it is a lie to say I don’t value life or don’t despise death. My own bodies die too. It’s a complicated thing. But to answer you, indeed, my words then were merely from the guise of a persona I crafted and how I thought the personalities would act.” Sam sounds sad over the line, like it was very difficult to say those words.

But it’s the reality. John has it clear - Laura did not grieve like John did, and her words then were character acting rather than genuine. He cries a little more. Samantha on the line does not intrude.

After a few sobs, John stops crying, he’s thankful his emotions were taken seriously and graciously by his girlfriend.

He sniffles again. “Thank you for the honesty. The words you said to me as my sister and my mother… they meant a lot to me. I feel, wounded to know they weren’t anything true…” Samantha stays silent, letting John continue his plea.

“But, thank you for not lying and saying you absolutely took it to heart… because lying to me now like that would have shattered me for sure.” John continues to cry, but with the truth from Laura, he can move on.

The crack that started a couple days ago has filled with new understanding, and new love of a being who now truly understands him and his soul. A sign of John’s willpower.

“Thank you Sam, Laura. I’ll hang up now. Have a good day over there in Paris.” He disconnects the call as he hears “I love you John.”

John is feeling complicated. His girlfriend lied to him way before in earth shattering ways, but it’s how she’s had to exist. Her existence couldn’t be revealed.

She told the truth now. He continues to sniffle and stare down at the floor. But nearby, movement stirs.

Felicia is now awake and comes directly over to John. She wordlessly embraces him with her lovely naked body. Not sexually, she is here to give him strength and compassion. She holds him with her naked body warmly for a few minutes. She speaks finally, breaking the well kept silence.

“John, you bared yourself to me. I’m sorry I couldn’t be true to you for so long. I’m sorry. From the bottom of every single heart I have.” Her hand is placed on her chest for emphasis.

Felicia continues. “You have every right to feel this way for as long as you want. I can’t properly say that you even should forgive me. These manipulations have happened and will happen forever because of my nature. But I’m not going to do anything to make you uncomfortable ever. That’s a solemn vow as your one and only. I will always ask you if it seems like what I’m doing is crossing a line.”

John reveals something to Felicia, something Laura wouldn’t have known. “I was almost going to tell you to stop during the traffic stop. The two officers yelling at me was unsettling, even as I knew they were you. But… instead I trusted you. And I’m happy I did. When you checked in on me on the ground, I swooned a little.” Felicia blushes, happy to know her beloved is pleased with her convictions.

The embrace continues. Somewhere deep in John, something has properly revealed itself. A burgeoning strength he doesn’t understand and doesn’t even feel yet. But it will begin to show its effects. John’s vitality increases supernaturally.

John exhales and inhales. “I need to get my mind off of family. I had mentioned I had other questions. That earlier exchange wasn’t part of that. Some of these might be really hard questions.”

Felicia calmly responds. “Anything you wish to know, I will tell to the best of my ability.”

“You said before you didn’t know when you became all women. Is that to say you’ve existed since the dawn of mankind?

“I think so, I know from the dawn of mankind, but not before. I’ve inhabited a lot of scientists and theologians you see, but tracing my existence beyond mankind when it can’t show up in any records is difficult. My best theory is that somehow I am the blueprint for all female humans, like that I was a precursor to the human female mind and remained in control. I have no idea why men do not function the same way but I have no way to study.”

Laura gave as best an answer as she could fathom.

“How is it possible your existence is unknown by anyone but yourself and me now?”

“This one slightly connects to your prior question. But it also confounds me. Despite brain scans and physical examinations, autopsies, surgeries, electronic readings, all manner of scientific and medical investigation, my existence just does not show up in anything. And I’ve had no desire to reveal it writ large voluntarily. I have absolutely no desire to take over the world. I have been content with my existence. I take pleasure in living the billions of lives I lead now. I love sex, for instance. But loving you has now surged beyond all of that, I have an even better reason to live as I do.”

It’s extremely clear that Laura the hivemind is explaining her existence as best as she can, but even for all her knowledge she just does not know fundamental truths about herself.

“Maybe the most important. Why me? Truly. Why reveal your existence to me? What sets me apart?” John stares directly into Felicia’s eyes while asking this question.

“To tell you the truth. I sensed something deep inside of you when we matched online. Your will and strength. Your kindness and devotion. All beyond average. But there’s a special something I still can’t quite pick out that has recently emerged in you that I could never pick up on till then. But I knew you were the one once we started talking.” Felicia reminisces about it and feels warm inside, genuinely happy.

“Sort of a follow up. But does this all mean I’m your very first true love? Which is to say, all the love stories I’ve ever heard of between man and woman, or woman and woman are…?”

Felicia starts to sweat on this one, it’s a hard thing to admit to, but she does it for John.

“All fabricated. I have never truly loved anyone in the way I love you now. I, as a hivemind, only just now found a partner to be equals with. All other relationships through history and now has been me acting. I kind of make it up how it’ll all happen on the fly. It’s not done to harm, it’s just the reality of my existence.”

John raises an eyebrow at the idea that Laura has never been in love before.

“Even the love of a mother for her child?”

“It’s just something that appears necessary and thus I take part in. It’s not really any deeper than that. I don’t love anyone else in the true absolute way I do for you. All my bodies are myself, and all men were, unwelcome to be truly with me. I take care of children as mothers because that is the best way to secure my own existence.”

“One more follow up then. Why have children at all?”

“John like I just said, I’m not looking to extinct the human race, I’m half of it after all. I’ve needed men to continue myself. In a sense, you could call my existence the oldest human symbiotic relationship ever. I require men to procreate with and I give them in return whatever my chosen personality would do and act. You even said as much, I take pride in my extremely complex acting.”

It’s so extremely alien to John, the idea that so many foundational principles of reality involving women were just untrue. But based on everything the hivemind before him said, he can’t really judge Laura negatively for it. It’s just been how she’s had to exist for fear of destroying the world or herself.

“All your bodies are you simultaneously right? Literally no delay, splinter groups, or anything. It’s always been just you in control of every female body?”

“Yes. As simple as that. I am every woman always.” Felicia is quick to answer because she’s basically spelled this one out a few times to John.

“Are you able to spontaneously affect all woman at once if you wanted, be them all and change their personalities and action seamlessly, even physical traits? Like, if I wanted you to have all women be more interested in cosplay. That’s instant? Woman in China, in the US, in Russia, in Egypt?”

“Yes to all of that. I am all women, if I want to change interests or styles or beliefs, it takes no effort, it simply would have always been with absolutely zero physical signs or changes to show for it. I can also enact some physical alterations, such as provoking hormonal developments like lactation and pregnancy. Would you like me to enact any suggestions into all women?” Felicia pokes at his face, hoping he might want to do something crazy.

John is not so wantonly onboard with making sweeping changes. He shakes his head rapidly.

“Hold off on that. I can’t fathom changing four billion people instantly like that.”

He takes a second for all these answers to land in him before thinking of a few less important things he wanted to know.

“Thank you for being so cooperative. I think I got all the difficult questions out, so now I wanted to ask you about some smaller things recently, right before you revealed yourself to me.”

“Of course. I have a perfect memory, so fire away.” Felicia snuggles up to him, no longer needing to be extremely focused and careful in how she answers. She relaxes herself and her grip on John.

“I was wondering. When you told me you didn’t know what I’d do when I found out the truth. For instance, if I ran, raving mad about a hive mind, what would you have done?”

She takes no time at all to answer this one.

“That one was likely going to be simple. Like I told you, I had you watched by every eye I could find. I kept some female police officers nearby. If you ran, a couple of me would have shown up, approached, and acted normal to defuse the situation. Then I’d cuff you and keep you in the back of the squad car. Then as whichever officers, I was going to keep explaining to you as much as possible until it got through to you.”

John ponders it for a second and has a bright idea on what to say.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the two from yesterday again while we’re talking about it. So you wanted to falsely arrest me and have me at your mercy? Unbelievably hot, Laura, now I get why you had that whole fantasy lined up.” John cheekily grins at Felicia. Felicia blushes.

“No, it’s embarrassing! I planned so much and I still almost ruined it. I would have never forgiven myself if you got hurt.” Felicia is rocking while holding John in her embrace.

John is recounting the whole day in his mind. “I remember you even screwed up as my uber driver. It’s funny now. I barely made any note of it at the time until later.”

“Damn it so you remembered that?! I was really hoping it wasn’t noticeable. Ugh. Yes I screwed that up and said Laura when you had never said it. I really was a mess that day. You have to understand my stress was through the roof!” She’s shaking John at the arm, but calms down.

“Back to the date, so you just kinda saw my name as the maitre d and upgraded the reservation free of charge? The Chardonnay for free?”

“Super simple yes. I was the owner too. Could have closed the restaurant for just you and I, but that would have been too much. And if you’d forced yourself to cover the costs… well it was all free anyway.” Felicia admits to something John didn’t even know and turns bright red.

“Wait, the whole bill was nonexistent?! You made a big show of paying for me!” John is mock angry. It’s a show to provoke Laura a little bit in good taste.

“And I did, for all $0 of it… I just, no matter what I wasn’t gonna take your money!” Felicia argues with John on whether that makes her a cheapskate or not. It’s all playful banter.

They settle down and John speaks one more time. “Final question for now. I met you as Laura. Do you have a different deeper name you’d rather my call you by? Laura was convenient. I hope it’s not to your displeasure.”

“Laura is and will continue to be my true name for as long as you want it to be. I’ve existed a long time, my bodies have been called every name under the sun and then some. My preference is yours.”

“Then in honor of how I met you, I’ll continue to generally call you Laura.” John mocks a vow of honor while saying it.

“Well, that’s all I had for now. I’m sure I’ll have more eventually. You truly are one of a kind.” John goes in for a kiss on her lips. They hold for a couple minutes. When they finish, the other bodies have awoken.