C.U.B.E.

≈ Ch. 40: STAGGERING NEWS ≈

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Who’s Who in this chapter

Lance starts abusing sleeping pills, because only when sleeping he can see Kareem in his chemically powered dreams; all of Lance’s dreams feel more real than reality, but one dream in particular takes Lance’s breath away. And the morning after, amazing news arrives.

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~ A sad awakening ~

Lance rolled in bed and groaned, because the morning light had dispelled the beautiful dream he was having about Kareem. It was more than a dream, it seemed so real! Lance couldn’t remember all the details of his night-long lovemaking with Kareem, but it must’ve been epic, judging by the many loads of man-juice wetting the bedsheets.

But sadly, it was just a dream, and now, in the morning light, the bed was depressingly empty again.

Lance sat on the side of the bed and took his face into his hands, feeling his heart heavy. It wasn’t just that he missed Kareem very much, he also felt bad because lately he seemed only capable to always do the wrong thing and hurt people. Adam, for instance: he’d been so loving, so caring when Lance was desperate about losing Kareem and Adam went to the Silk & Lace to find Lance and give him all his love and support. He made sweet love to Lance and brought back a sparkle of joy into his life; but Lance didn’t even wait for Adam to catch his breath and left him alone, to run up to the 5th Floor pursuing the crazy idea of destroying the A.I., in the fool hope of having Kareem back.

And there, on the 5th Floor, he did it again, he treated Aldritch like he had no heart nor sentiments, and compelled him to kill the A.I., oblivious of how much the A.I. was important for Aldritch. For Aldritch, the A.I. was like a baby to nurture and protect, he even called it his ‘daughter’, and was horrified by the mere idea to harm in any way his beloved A.I.

How stupid Lance felt! Thinking that destroying the A.I. could be a suitable way to have Kareem back was completely, utterly stupid! And knowing that in order to pursue his fool idea he hurt Aldritch’s sentiments made him feel guilty, too.

Just as guilty as he felt for jeopardizing Rod Romano’s career. Lance was a professional hooker, and yet that time he'd thought with his groin, rather than his brain. Rod was so sexy, so horny and so… straight that Lance couldn’t resist, and played all his trump cards to lure Rod into his bed. But that brief intercourse with Rod, innocent as it seemed, had created a stain on Rod’s Uranian Behavior Assessment, putting at risk his career as a cop.

Lance raised his head and looked around the bedroom, that seemed a desolate place, because Kareem wasn’t there. He stood up and moved to the living room; he took from the metal box near the door his daily medication and swallowed it, pondering whether he should ask to the AI to provide another sleeping pill like the one he got last night.

That sleeping pill was wonderful: not only it let Lance soundly sleep the entire night, but he dreamt of Kareem, and he seemed so real! The pill must’ve had something inside, in addition to the relaxant; probably the AI had sensed that Lance was badly missing Kareem and provided him a way to have him back… though only in his dreams.

Lance gave another glance around, at the silent apartment, and thought that a dream was much better than reality. Without thinking twice, he tapped on the AI interface and he instantly got another sleeping pill, that he quickly swallowed.

Once again, the effect was quick, he felt sleepy and dizzy, and sneaked under the bedsheets, welcoming again the chemical-induced slumber.

Kareem was there, waiting for him, handsome and manly as ever. His beautiful dark eyes, his thick stubble, his bright smile were more real than reality, and Lance felt relieved and happy. A part of his mind knew that it was only a dream, but he didn’t care, he wanted to live with Kareem in his beautiful dream, oblivious of the depressing reality awaiting him when he would wake up.

 

~ Dream or reality? ~

For five days Lance barely left his bedroom. Every time the effect of the sleeping pill wore out, he woke up more disoriented and desperate, so he quickly ate and drank something, the bare minimum to survive, and took another sleeping pill, to go on dreaming.

In his dreams, he didn’t just make love with Kareem, they lived together a beautiful life. They visited Rome, the Copacabana beach, the Taj Mahal, like in the photos that Rod Romano showed him. Lance cooked delicious meals for Kareem, and bought gifts for him, mostly colorful thongs, like the ones he gave to Kareem on his first days at the Cube.

And there was sex, too. Oh, the sex! Kareem was tireless, sometimes was a tender lover, other times he took Lance with unbridled passion, almost claiming his dominion on him. “I’m your dream”, Kareem always said, ready to make love to Lance again and again, in all the possible positions. And their lovemaking always ended with Lance resting his head on Kareem’s massive chest and digging his fingers into Kareem’s thick body hair.

Despite being a dream, it felt so incredibly real! But alas, sooner or later the effect of the sleeping pill started wearing out, and that was the moment when the conscience began to knock at Lance’s mind, the moment when the dream started to fade out, swept away by reality. And that morning, on the fifth day after Kareem had been brought away, was no different.

Lance felt the sweet dream slipping through his fingers and pressed his head harder on Kareem’s warm chest, silently begging for a few last moments of joy. He didn’t want to face reality again, he wanted to sleep, he wanted to be with Kareem.

But in his fading dream Kareem lovingly brushed his hair and murmured: “Wake up, my sweet Lance…”

“No… Don’t wake me up, Kareem…” – Lance slurred – “Stay with me… Don’t go away…”

“I’m not going anywhere” – Kareem chuckled – “but if you don’t wake up I can’t look at your beautiful eyes…”

Lance was determined to hold on tight to his vision: “Don’t wake me up… You’re my dream…”

“Then it must be a wet dream” – Kareem chuckled again – “because the bedsheets are soaked with your juice. When was the last time you changed the bedsheets?”

Lance felt there was something wrong… Since when the dreams were so mundane? And why he could still feel Kareem’s warm chest under his face, despite being almost completely awake? He must’ve have taken a pill too many, and his mind was getting lost, unable to tell apart dream and reality…

“Open your eyes…” – Kareem’s voice insisted, and Lance did it. His face was still pressed on Kareem’s torso, his fingers were still sunk into his thick body hair, and he could clearly hear Kareem’s heart regularly beating through the rib cage.

With a gasp, Lance raised his head and turned around with wide eyes, and Kareem looked back at him with a warm smile and a loving glance: “Welcome back to the land of the living…”

“Am I… awake?” – Lance tentatively asked, unable to discern what was dream and what was reality – “You’re a dream…”

“Why, thank you!” – Kareem joked – “You’re a dream, too… though a bit worn out. You look like you badly need a shower and a hearty meal…”

“I… I don’t understand… You can’t possibly be here… Am I going crazy?”

“No, my sweet Lance, you’re not crazy, I’m here. In the flesh. It wasn’t easy, to tell the truth. But I’m not going to say a word more until you don’t get up and take a long refreshing shower; and in the meantime I’ll prepare some breakfast. And you will eat up everything, to the last crumb!”

Lance reluctantly got off the bed and headed to the bathroom, but before exiting the bedroom he turned around with a pleading glance: “You’ll still be here when I came back, won’t you?”

“I will. If you don’t trust me, I can come into the shower with you, but then breakfast will have to wait.”

“Uhm… no, I’d rather take a shower alone. I don’t remember the last time I took a shower, everything’s so confused…”

It took half an hour for Lance to finally come into the living room, squeaky clean, well groomed and nicely dressed; but his gaze was still vacuous, confused, because the abuse of sleeping pills had taken a toll over his mind. Kareem was waiting for him sitting at the dining table; the smell of the coffee and the freshly cooked full English breakfast felt like a caress to Lance’s heart.

“I still can’t believe you’re here” – Lance said taking a whopping big helping of everything – “How did you enter the Cube?”

“I remembered Perry saying that there’s a team in charge of the maintenance of the sewage system, located in the underground below the first floor of the Cube; and I also remembered Alastair explaining that the security door in the underground room, the one with that old computer, is locked on the inside, but is accessible from the outside. So, I bribed a worker of the maintenance team and he let me enter the underground level; I had a blueprint, but I got lost many times, until I finally found the security door and entered the Cube.”

“You bribed him? Alastair said that all your possessions have been sold, where did you get the money?”

“This is the interesting part. When they took me away, they locked me into a hotel room; it was nice, but still it was like a prison. Then, after a few days, Chief Bellwood of the Police Corps came to speak to me; he said he was sorry to have ordered my first arrest, months ago, and that he had to do it, because the Minister of the Moral Wellness ordered him. But now he wanted to make things straight, no matter the consequences; he ordered to transfer a hefty sum of money to a bank account to my name, gave me the keys of an apartment owned by the Police Corps and ardently begged me not to put the blame on the Corps for my arrest. Apparently, this line of action had been suggested to him by Sean McLaughlin.”

“It’s true” – Lance confirmed – “I heard him talking to Chief Bellwood, and he suggested exactly that. I know the Corps had part in your unjust arrest and detention, but except from a few rotten apples like O’Rourke, the Corps are made by righteous and nice people, including Sean, the Romano brothers, the oriental guy who saved you in the Barren, and even Chief Bellwood. He put his career at risk, doing what he did. Who’s really to blame is the Minister. Better, the entire Ministry of Moral Wellness!”

“I totally agree, and I’m not going to say anything against the Corps, when they’ll interview me; because a lot of TV stations and newspapers have asked me for an interview: apparently, my story went viral and there’s a great deal of resentment and indignation against the Ministry, the Corps and even the AI. I’ll have to carefully ponder my answers, there’s too much at stake.”

Lance nodded and stood silent, trying to take in all the news; but his mind, his usually bright and agile mind, was still numbed. Kareem noticed Lance’s obvious lack of focus and inquired: “Say… Did you take something? You’re not your usual self. Last night I arrived here, climbed into you bed and you went on sleeping; I tried to wake you up, but you seemed… drugged or something.”

“I took a sleeping pill…” – Lance admitted, but that wasn’t enough for Kareem: “Just one?”

“One… every eight hours. I… I just couldn’t stand living without you, and those pills let me see you in my dreams…”

“Lance, look at me” – Kareem said seriously – “Look into my eyes and promise that you will stop immediately taking those pills. I want back the Lance I love and it’s heartbreaking seeing you in such miserable state. Promise!”

“Will you stay here?” – Lance asked, and Kareem huffed: “It’s irrelevant if I stay or go, Lance! Those pills are taking away the best of you! Promise you won’t take any more pills!”

“I promise. You’re right, I feel horribly, I can’t understand anymore what’s real and what’s a dream. Just… don’t stop loving me, Kareem. Please.”

Kareem’s tender smile warmed Lance’s heart: “I’ll never stop loving you. I’m here, aren’t I? Now, finish eating your breakfast. I don’t want to know when you had your last full meal…”

“Yeah, don’t ask…” – Lance replied, ashamed, but irrepressibly happy to have Kareem back.

 

~ More staggering news ~

The rest of the day was for Lance and Kareem pure delight. They couldn’t have enough of each other, they spent long minutes in silence, just looking into each other’s eyes, and exchanged tender kisses like two lovebirds. Slowly the chemical-induced numbness left Lance’s mind, and Kareem kissed him lovingly, saying “That’s my man…”.

In the afternoon they went shopping at Monsieur D’Antin’s atelier, because Kareem said that his ‘Cube-style’ attire, made of a short skirt and a tight one-button shirt, caused a sensation in the outer world, and many people asked him who was the stylist who designed those incredible pieces of clothing.

They had dinner in the fanciest restaurant of the 2nd Floor, and finally, exhausted and contented, they went back home. And there, much to their surprise, they found Aldritch ‘Triple-A’ Archer waiting for them in the living room.

He was elegant, in his own peculiar way, wearing a long white linen tunic and a light blue cape over his shoulders. But what immediately hit both Kareem and Lance was his tense expression, the deep frown on his forehead and the sad, almost desperate expression of his eyes.

For a long moment, no one talked, and then Aldritch broke the silence with trembling voice: “I did it.”

Lance gasped and asked with surprise: “Did you… kill the A.I.??”

“God no!” – the former CEO exclaimed, horrified, and then he added under his breath: “But almost. I lobotomized her.”

“Lobo… what?”

“It’s when you surgically remove part of the brain of the patient” – Aldritch explained, annoyed by Lance’s ignorance – “I did it to the A.I., I lobotomized her.”

Neither Lance nor Kareem understood when Aldritch meant, but they instantly guessed that something major had happened, and that Aldritch had done something unthinkable; they stood in respectful silence, waiting for the man to go on.

“I thought a lot about what you told me, Lance” – Aldritch said after a pause – “The idea of destroying the A.I. just to have Kareem back was incredibly stupid, of course, but you had a point. You’re right, there is no law that punishes homosexuality, there is no actual reason whatsoever to punish homosexuality! You opened my eyes, Lance: I was totally convinced… For goodness’ sake, I was convinced that it was only right that we all are restrained into a Cube, out of sight, like abominations of Nature! But I’m not an abomination, I’m ‘Triple-A’ Archer! I’m perfect as I am! And you are perfect, too, Lance. And you, Kareem. And every single gay man restrained in one of the many Cubes scattered around the world.”

“But the A.I. thinks otherwise” – Aldritch went on, speaking with passion – “It’s not her fault, of course: she’s been programmed to collect data regarding the sexual activity of the human beings and denounce any form of Uranian Behavior. It’s not her fault… and yet I couldn’t let her go on doing it. I used the computer in the basement to inject into the A.I. a malicious code that in this very moment is destroying one by one the memory banks where the sexual data is stored. And when done, the A.I. will send out a worldwide broadcast impulse that will fry the sexual sensors in all the bio-chips of the entire world population. By tomorrow at noon, not a single info about the people’s sexual activity will be stored anymore in the A.I., and the bio-chips will stop sending such data to the A.I.”

Kareem was appalled: “You mean… no more Uranian Behavior? No more UBA’s? The Government will surely try and restore the lost A.I. functions!”

“They can’t” – Aldritch said resolutely – “It would require replacing the bio-chip in every single human being from eight years of age up. It’s just impossible. Starting from tomorrow at noon, the people’s sexual activities, inclinations and preferences will be, at long last, a personal matter. But to get it, the A.I. had to be… harmed. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I had to do it. My pain and my horror were… just collateral damages.”

“Stop saying so!” – Lance exclaimed with passion, getting closer to Aldritch and caressing his clean-shaved face – “You’re a hero in my eyes, Aldritch. You made a great sacrifice, and I say… that you deserve a reward. I know how to worship a powerful man such as you, I know how to pay a due tribute to your strength, your determination, your manliness…”

Aldritch didn’t step back, he gladly accepted the sensual touch of Lance’s fingers over his face and into the neckline of his tunic; but he shot an intense glance at Kareem, who could clearly read the unexpressed desire into Aldritch’s eyes: “I actually think you deserve a harsh punishment, instead! You first say that my man’s ideas are bullshit, and then it took you five fucking days to do what you should’ve done immediately!”

Lance was startled by Kareem’s unexpected threat and looked with wide eyes at him, and then at Aldritch… and he could clearly see that Kareem had guessed right: the restrained, eager smile on Aldritch’s face was unmistakable.

“Well…” – Lance said with an enticing grin, pulling Aldritch by his hand toward the bedroom – “…the two things are not mutually exclusive. I’ll worship him while you punish him. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like a wet dream…” – Aldritch murmured, letting his cape fall to the floor while walking with Lance and Kareem to the bedroom.

 

~ Combined efforts ~

Lance was the first to shed his clothes, eager to have, at long last, some actual real-life sex. The one he had in his dreams seemed wonderful, but it wasn’t the real thing. He looked at Kareem, who ordered: “Strip him naked”.

With careful, respectful hands Lance slowly raised Aldritch’s tunic and took it away; then pressed his own naked body on Aldritch’s, looking straight at him with admiration: “You’re so handsome… so powerful… May I kiss you?”

Aldritch nodded yes, and their mouths touched, gently, without rush; Lance’s kiss was tender, respectful, and Aldritch responded with growing passion.

“Enough!” – Kareem exclaimed after a short while, and roughly pushed Aldritch back, making him fall on the bed. With a swift movement, Kareem was over him, sucked his own middle finger to make it wet and unceremoniously shoved it into Aldritch’s ass. “Whose ass is this?”, he asked, and Aldritch, after a few failed attempts, managed to utter: “Yours…”. It was just a single finger, it caused Aldritch nothing more than a mild discomfort, but the imperiousness of the gesture, coupled with Kareem’s arrogant question, gave to Aldritch a thrill that made his body instantly respond.

“Look at you, bitch...!” – Kareem growled, knowing how deeply Aldritch, in bed, loved to be mistreated and dominated – “A finger in your ass and you’re already hard and drooling…!”

“I actually think this cock is a marvel…” – Lance interjected, lying on the bed on his belly and looking at Aldritch’s stiff member with rapt eyes – “A marvel that begs to be kissed…”

Lance licked the entire shaft with his tongue, down to the base, then up to the sensitive corona, and then started kissing the glans, alternating the kisses with brief licks with his tongue, just to make the mushroom head wet and more sensitive. And all the while Kareem kept fingering Aldritch’s ass, roughly, using just some spit as lube; two, three fingers invaded Aldritch’s hole, apparently uncaring of the possible discomfort the man was feeling. But Kareem never stopped checking Aldritch to spot possible signs of distress: rough as it seemed, it was just a role-play, after all, but he was determined to make Aldritch believe it was all true.

After a while, Kareem withdrew his hands and ordered with stern voice: “Kneel in the middle of the bed and part your legs wide! I’m going to split that filthy hole of yours once and for all!”

Aldritch, blushing for the excitement, quickly complied and assumed the position, linking his hands behind his head, even if Kareem didn’t ask for that. He was totally helpless and at the mercy of Kareem… and Lance.

“You’re so damn sexy…” – Lance murmured, kissing Aldritch’s hairless torso, his defined pecs, his wide nipples, the tempting ridge in the middle of the abs, down to the crotch. Aldritch moaned softly, enjoying the sweet worshipping with every fiber of his being; he ardently hoped that Lance would take again his cock into his mouth, but Lance seemed to have other ideas: he went on licking and kissing the pubes, the balls, the inner thighs; and then, at long last, he put his mouth in front of Aldritch’s rock-hard cock, opened it wide… and stood still.

Kareem took his cue and grabbed Aldritch’s hips from behind, exploring with his thick member the deep groove between Aldritch’s buttocks. “Here it comes, bitch… The impalement you were waiting for… You’re just a hole whose only reason of existence is my pleasure, you know that, uh?”

“Please…” – Aldritch pleaded softly – “Please fuck me… Hard… Like the first time you punished me…”

“You asked for it!” – Kareem bellowed, and his hefty rod speared Aldritch’s ass with a forceful, almost brutal thrust. Kareem’s hips slammed on Aldritch’s butt and forcefully pushed his hips forward, making his stiff cock sink in one swift thrust down Lance’s waiting mouth, all the way down his experienced throat.

The coupled sensation of the thick cock brutally violating his hole and the velvety throat engulfing his sensitive manhood was almost too much for Aldritch, who stiffened and reclined his head, opening his mouth in a silent scream, unable to even breath for the force of the sensory overload.

Kareem’s hips became a piledriver, thrusting his rock-hard cock at a frenzied pace into Aldritch’s hole, breaking open his inner defenses and stretching his anal rings to their limit; and at the same frenzied pace, Aldritch’s cock was shoved down Lance’s throat, over and over, making fiery flashes of pleasure radiate from his groin to his entire body.

“Too much… It’s… too much…” – Aldritch blurred, swept away by the hurricane of conflicting sensations: the rough dominant fuck by Kareem and the eager, expert blowjob by Lance.

“Shut up and take it!” – Kareem hissed, reaching around to Aldritch’s nipples, to add to the already mind-blowing stimulation the man had to bear – “A sex toy doesn’t beg his owner to slow down or take care!”

Kareem had spoken harshly, to make Aldritch feel demeaned and objectified, like he loved to feel; but he slowed down nevertheless, because in reality he did care for Aldritch. After all, both Kareem and Lance were making love to Aldritch to thank him for the huge sacrifice he made; and if Aldritch craved to get his prize disguised as a punishment, that wasn’t the weirdest thing about him for sure.

“I can’t fuck you as deep as I want, in this position” – Kareem growled after a while, pulling out from Aldritch’s loosened hole; he unceremoniously pushed the man down to the bed, on his back, raised one of his legs and pressed again his own demanding cock over Aldritch’s anus: “Yeah, now I can fuck you so deep you’ll feel my cock in your throat!”

Again, Kareem’s hips sprang forward, sinking his formidable tool into Aldritch’s fiery furnace, and the forceful fuck started again. Lance, on his part, went on worshipping and paying homage to Aldritch’s body, sucking passionately his nipples, grabbing voluptuously his balls, stroking his shaft and caressing his thighs.

Aldritch, by now, was breathing heavily, on the verge of the most explosive orgasm of his life. It wasn’t just what Kareem and Lance were doing to him, but how they were doing it; the sheer contrast between Kareem’s dominant attitude and Lance’s respectful sweetness was just mind-blowing.

“I… I can’t resist…” – Aldritch murmured, looking at Kareem, who sternly replied: “Don’t you dare to cum! Hold back!”

With a rascal grin, Lance tightened his grip around Aldritch’s cock and sensually said into his ear: “Give me your seed… Please…”

Aldritch gasped, torn between Lance’s irresistible plea and Kareem’s stern prohibition: “Don’t… aww… I… I can’t… NNNGGHH… Kareem, please…”

“You don’t have permission to cum!” – Kareem ordered again, and Lance begged: “Let me taste your manly essence… Cum for me… Cum… Cum…!”

“No no no… AAAAGGHHH!!!” – Aldritch screamed, gladly losing his battle against himself, and his cock throbbed hard, shooting volley after volley of thick man cream; Lance didn’t waste a single moment and closed his mouth around the spurting cock, siphoning the delicious nectar and eagerly swallowing it, without wasting a drop.

“Bad, bad boy…” – Kareem growled, and went on pounding Aldritch’s ass with powerful thrusts of his hips; Lance took his cue and went on sucking on the man’s cock with passion, feeling him squirming on the bed, now that the overwhelming pleasure of the climax was giving way to an almost unbearable post-orgasmic torment.

“Fuuucckk!! Stop it…! Please!” – he protested, but when Kareem shot him a displeased glance, he started begging: “Please, breed me… Fill me to the brim… Show me how much of a man you are…! Nnnggh!! Please, I’m begging you… Ggghh!!! I’m too sensitive… too sensitive!”

“Here is your prize, my wonderful man” – Kareem replied with a wide smile, giving up to the role he’d been playing so far – “Yeah… yeah… Fuck YEAH!!!”. Kareem stiffened, in the throes of the pleasure, and shoved his cock all the way into Aldritch’s hole, inundating the loose canal with gallons of thick man juice. Lance recoiled, finally letting Aldritch’s cock rest, and stood on his knees, grabbing his own throbbing cock and stroking it in earnest at an inch of Aldritch’s face: “May I cum…?”

Aldritch smiled wide, grateful for that last act of reverence: “Please do it… Do it, my handsome young man…”. And Lance let the dam break down, spraying his youthful semen all over Aldritch’s smiling face.

“Thanks, Aldritch…” – Lance murmured gratefully, when he could catch his breath – “Not only for… this, but for what you did to the A.I.: you set all of us free, you changed the world for the better!”

“It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, I’m afraid” – Kareem replied gravely – “Aldritch, please stay with us, tonight. There’s a lot to talk about, tomorrow.”

Lance didn’t understand what Kareem was hinting at, but felt a shiver down his spine when Aldritch gravely nodded: “Yeah, there’s a lot to talk about.”

-~~~≈≈≈ooOoo≈≈≈~~~-

In the next chapter: Kareem announces that he can’t stay at the Cube: the new world without UBA’s and sexual control calls for action inside and outside the Cube. Lance is invited by Perry Yukon to attend the new BDSM show at the infamous ‘Uranus Club’.