The Unofficial Biography Of Kimmay

Book 4: The Nature Of The Matriarchy

by G L Hudson

 

CHAPTER 4

 

The fifteenth floor conference room smelled of breakfast. The caterer had already come and gone. Behind she had left juice, milk, fruit, yogurt, pastry, bread, meats, eggs, omelets, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and three types of toast. The girls filled their plates and chatted around the table while they ate. Kristal, Jennifer, Tiffany, Traci and Kimmay finished breakfast and cleared the table before Kimmay started the meeting.

She handed a box to Tiffany and Traci, "You didn't get your gifts yesterday."

"Yes, we saw these last night!" Tiffany said enthusiastically. "These are amazing, tell us the story behind them."

"I can't tell you much because I don't know that much. I'm not even sure where they are from. Celestial cartography isn't my strong point. I do know that they aren't from our galaxy. The name of their home world is Antale. It's a moon circling a large gas planet the size of Jupiter. The wood is supposed to be an aphrodisiac. Handling the wood or breathing the fragrance for only a few minutes has powerful effects. It may work better on Antales than humans, but I do have to admit that I was rather horny last night."

Jennifer and Kristal exchanged secret smiles.

"The gems are diamonds. According to the Keeper, there are less than ten known planets where these red diamonds come from. She started to explain something about the impurities that make these diamonds red, but I liked the story from the local jeweler better. In their ancient lore a malevolent wizard had collected every diamond on the planet, and he used a magical dragon to guard them. A great warrior slew the dragon as it guarded the nest of diamonds, and the dragon's blood penetrated into the diamonds, leaving them blood red."

"And what is the animal on the cover?"

"That is the knight's brave dog that helped the Knight slay the dragon. The dog drew the dragon's attention while the knight cut off the dragon's head. Unfortunately the dog was a little too good at drawing the dragon's attention, and he lost part of his ear."

"I prefer that version too," Traci said.

"Are they valuable?" Kristal asked. Kimmay didn't have to answer. The question was rhetorical and was leading up to Kristal's real question, "How did you pay for them?"

Kimmay grinned and said, "I traded for them."

"What did you have to trade for these?" Tiffany asked.

"Knowledge. I told the Keeper what the Eleventh Prophecy meant."

Tiffany was confused, "You said the Eleventh Prophecy but you meant to say the Thirteenth, didn't you?"

"No, the Eleventh was correct. You see, everyone was wrong about the Thirteenth Prophecy." Kimmay hesitated and then added, "Or maybe they are wrong. That is still in the distant future and its verification remains to be seen."

Everyone's eyebrows arched up as they looked at Kimmay. "How did you find out about the Eleventh Prophecy then?" Jennifer asked.

"Let me start from the beginning. After Kristal's presentation at the United Nations I had a private conversation with the Keeper. And by the way Kristal, I thought you were wonderful. The ending with the Keeper exposing the Builders couldn't have been scripted any better."

"Thanks, and we know all about your conversation," said Kristal. "It was recorded on the cube and we have all seen it. That is when you asked for your favor, right?"

"Right. So the entire conversation was recorded? Was anything else added to the cube?"

"Our first meeting with the Keeper and my speech at the United Nations."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"Ok then, I'll pick up from there. The Keeper became convinced that Earth was the location of the Thirteenth Prophecy. She asked me what I imagined the Prophecy might mean. I made a wild guess and the Keeper liked the answer. She thought it might explain some inconsistencies in the events surrounding us and the Travelers.

"But she was wrong about the Thirteenth Prophecy, and she didn't know it at the time."

Traci couldn't help but interrupt, "She was wrong?"

"Maybe. Actually the Thirteenth is still open to some interpretation, but let me continue.

"Since she thought Earth was the proper location, and she thought that I would have some involvement – later rather than sooner – she decided that I needed to know about the Prophecies. So the Keeper started explaining what she knew about them. She started with the first Prophecy and explained that they believed it had been fulfilled. She took me to the planet of its inception and gave me some of the history and the reasoning as to why they believed it was complete."

"What was the first Prophecy?"

"I'm not allowed to say. But I can say, all of these Prophecies are rather vague and they leave room for doubt. So we worked our way from Prophecy to Prophecy. We went all over the Universe and saw some interesting things.

"It was strange in a couple of ways. Time was passing way too fast. The Keeper said it was a result of my initiation of the Thirteenth Prophecy; more about that in a minute. But time was passing about eight or ten times faster than it should have. During the day the Keeper explained the Prophecies and in the evenings we returned to Earth. I was not allowed to interact with any of you, but I was allowed to observe what was happening. So I was able to keep up on everyone's activities."

"You were spying on us?" Jennifer accused.

"Not exactly, but I did know what was happening in your daily lives. It was like watching video summaries on the evening news. But back to the time compression, in your time line I was gone several months, about ten I think. For me I was gone only one month. When I asked the Keeper about this she explained some fascinating things. Tiffany, you'll find this interesting.

"By speculating about a multi-dimensional universe I changed things. It turns out that I was indeed correct. Multi-dimensional time allows multiple universes and alternative realties. However it requires that time flow in only one direction. As we discussed the concept, it actually began to occur."

Jennifer looked at Tiffany and said, "She opened the universe? Merely by talking about it?"

Tiffany shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "This doesn't make much sense, Kimmay. First, why didn't the Keeper already now about alternate universes?"

"Myopia I guess. The Keeper said that her people had at one time considered such things, but it required, as I said, the unidirectional flow of time. They were already traveling back in time, so their conjectures had to be wrong. Or so they reasoned."

"It still doesn't make sense, Kimmay. Just because you say something doesn't make it real. You aren't God, are you?"

"Absolutely not. And I have to change the subject here temporarily. I have seen the conjectures in the popular writings, and even from some of the religious fanatics. I will state with no reservations and no doubt, I am not a god. Not know, not before and not ever. Period and end of discussion. Make sure that anyone who ever brings up that topic understands and understands unequivocally, I am not a god."

Kimmay looked directly at Traci and Traci said, "Absolutely. I hear you." Kimmay went around the table and made each girl concur.

"What happened, we think, that at that point in time and space, I initiated a series of events that would force intelligent beings to rethink their version of the physical universe. It became inevitable. There was something odd about the way the Keeper was visiting us. She couldn't explain entirely, but if you remember the Keeper said she was plural. She was constantly in touch with other Keeper throughout time on a real-time basis. Tiffany, you can probably understand this better than I can."

"No I can't. I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Neither do I. Let's just finish this up by saying that at that point the universe did start changing. It was if the universe knew it was supposed to do something, as if it were sentient and intelligent. It was almost as if the universe was listening to us. I still don't understand all of this, but to continue … The Keeper thinks that those time lines that were flowing around me were actually flowing around a nexus that was centered by me. It was the center of the Keeper's universal contact. And from that point this change instantly transformed the universe.

"Here is where things get really interesting."

"I've got a headache already," Jennifer said.

"This change seems to have transformed the entire universe instantly. But Einstein said that was impossible. That was the point of General Relativity. Newtonian physics required gravity to be felt – or transferred if you will – instantly. Einstein said no way, and proposed curved space to rectify the paradox."

"So for your transformation to occur instant, space must be very curved. More than we thought," Tiffany conjectured.

"I don't know," Kimmay mused. "It seems like a stretch but I can't think of any other way to move across the universe instantly."

It was like a light bulb went on in Tiffany's head. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "I can think of a way." She waited for someone to prompt her. Jennifer took the bait.

"The Travelers can do it," Tiffany answered. "If the Travelers can do it, so can someone else. Maybe even you," she said to Kimmay.

"No. Absolutely not," Kimmay retorted. "There is no way that I could ever do such a thing."

Kristal had been listening and had a question. "Suppose you are correct, Tiffany. That means that you – someone – has to step outside our universe to then re-enter at another point."

"I know where you're going," Tiffany jumped in. "But if you can enter at one point, it's only a slight conjecture to assume that you could enter at many points simultaneously. That way you could activate the change over the entire universe at once."

"No," Kristal responded to Tiffany. "You didn't catch the point that I was driving at. If you have to go outside the universe to spread this change, then doesn't that require an intelligence to execute it? I mean, as far as this universe is concerned there is no 'outside'."

Kimmay caught on immediately. "If you're right, then this wasn't a natural change in the physical laws of this universe. Someone – some intelligence – caused the change. Someone just changed the laws of our universe."

The room went silent.

"That's rather difficult to accept," Tiffany said. "You can't just decide to change the laws of the universe. That would be impossible."

Kimmay stared into space for several moments. "I agree with you Tiffany, but only to a point. I have to admit that the concept makes a lot more sense than something I said causing rational and intelligent minds to change their reality all by themselves. That was a real stretch, and even the Keeper had problems with that concept. They just couldn't think of another theory. Kristal, I think you might have a point."

"Does that mean there is a God?" Traci asked.

Kimmay brought the conversation to a halt. "That is something that we can't determine no matter how much we discuss it."

"Kimmay is right," Kristal added. "So Kimmay, continue with your story about the Keeper. What else did they tell you?'

"Wait," Tiffany interjected. "Before you continue, explain to me again, what changed."

"I think that a trade was made. For access to adjacent realities, we lost the opportunity to travel through the dimension of time."

"So time can no longer be traversed?"

"Except in the normal passage of time."

"So what were the time lines that the Keeper saw around you? Time was slowed down, so it was definitely being manipulated. How did that happen?"

A small smile crept in at the corners of Kimmay's mouth. She looked at Tiffany with admiration for her jump in logic. "I don't know," and she shrugged her shoulders.

Kimmay changed the subject, "The Keeper and I continued going through the Prophecies. We'd spend the evening on Earth and then travel to some other planet to discuss the next Prophecy. We went through the seventeen Prophecies."

"After we finished the Prophecies, I told the Keeper that she was incorrect about two of her Prophecies. We negotiated for a bit, and she said that if I convinced her that she was wrong, and if I could give her useful information, she would in turn give me Breucchio diamonds. I had no idea what Breucchio diamonds were, but they sounded like a fair trade."

"So what is the Thirteenth Prophecy already?" Tiffany asked impatiently.

"The Eleventh," Kimmay corrected her. "The critical part says 'Layers of manipulation shall lay open additional layers and restore the balance'." Kimmay paused for effect. She waited until someone asked her what it meant. "The Keeper made a fundamental mistake in interpreting this Prophecy. She assumed that 'open additional layers and restore the balance' were one cause and effect phenomenon. Something would happen – the additional layers would open – and that act would result in the restoration of balance. She was anticipating consecutive results – one leading to the next. She was wrong, two independent things would happen and neither was related to the other."

Kimmay paused for effect, "The 'lay open additional layers' was the opening of the alternative realities or multi-dimensional universe. There is no longer one universe or 'one layer' but additional universes and layers. The Keeper misinterpreted that to mean the 'opening of the universe' in the Thirteenth Prophecy."

"How do you know it wasn't the opening of the universe?"

"Because of the rest of the Eleventh. The 'layers of manipulation' was the key for me. You Kristal, and you Tiffany, and Ginger and I are the first layer of manipulation. We are the first generation of manipulation. Do you understand?"

"Yes and I don't like it one bit," Kristal said loudly and forcefully. "I told you before and I will tell you again, we cannot allow our genes to mingle with the human genome. We cannot alter humanity."

"Wait a moment Kristal, let me continue. You were concerned about me cloning myself. And if you remember, the Keeper also rejected that idea. But then she gave us the opportunity to reproduce naturally. Our genes will go through the same process of combination and natural selection that has succeeded for millions of years on Earth. We are allowed to reproduce as long as we do it properly."

"How does the term 'layers of manipulation' come into this?" Kristal asked.

"Because the four of us were manipulated. It doesn't mean all layers or generations are manipulated." Kimmay paused and Kristal appeared to find that answer acceptable. "However, there will be one more layer of manipulation."

Kimmay's attempt to provoke Kristal had its intended effect, "No there will not be any more manipulation," Kristal decreed.

"Wait, wait," Kimmay said smiling. "What I meant was that the Keeper told us we would have complete control over our bodies, remember?"

"Yes," Jennifer said. "What did that mean?"

"Well one thing it meant was that we can determine the sex of our offspring. And we are all going to choose female."

"We are?" Kristal asked defiantly.

"We have to if we are going to fulfill the Prophecy. We have to restore balance, and we need to have daughters to do that. Our Prophecy is to recreate a matriarchal society on Earth and restore the balance between male and female. Once we have restored the balance, then society can move ahead as necessary to prepare us for our best future."

"Say what?" asked Jennifer.

"The layers of manipulation – us and our future generations- shall lay open additional layers – alternative realities – and restore the balance. We shall restore the balance between male and female power in human relations and society.

"When I returned from my travels with Linda, I knew that I was expected to change Earth and human society. I accepted the Earth part, and I began initiating projects to preserve our environment and clean up our air and water. But that was only a minor contribution to what was really needed. Human society had to be changed to make any significant and long-term changes. Linda's lessons were not lost on me; I came back with several ideas. But there was one idea that was much better than all of the rest, a matriarchy.

"However, I refused to consider it for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I knew that I was being used by Linda and I did not want to take a chance on helping her rather than us. Secondly, it was far and away the most difficult solution. It would take many generations to fulfill and that was if we could even get a healthy start. At the time I saw one insurmountable problem; certain institutions of power, fear and testosterone would certainly block our attempts, and those institutions were beyond my reach. I had no idea how to counteract their effect."

"What institutions would those be?" Tiffany queried.

"Organized religion. As far as I could see, they were far too entrenched in human society to be even the least bit vulnerable to anything I could entertain. They would squelch any attempt to loosen their patriarchal hold on society and they would be brutal about it. So for those reasons, at that time I decided that it couldn't be pursued.

"But now things have changed. We have one very powerful weapon to fight organized religion. We have Ginger."

"I don't agree and I won't cooperate with this," Kristal said. Her contempt for Ginger was still visible.

"You have no choice," Kimmay responded. "It is our Prophecy. When I explained this to the Keeper she agreed. You have your Dragon Diamonds as proof.

"Males have dominated society for two thousand years. In that time we have solved none of our social problems. Ethnic groups still hate the same ethnic groups. The different religions still hate each other. We've had crusades and genocidal killings and ethnic cleansings and still nothing has changed. The same hatreds exist and flourish. Our science has been hijacked to produce weapons of mass destruction and spy on our own citizens. Power and greed drive our basic economic principals and politics. Just like two thousand years ago."

The girls remained silent. They all looked from one to the other and it was evident in their faces that they would have to succumb to the inevitable. It wasn't that difficult to accept or understand. It made perfect sense and it was an elegant solution to a difficult problem. It was obvious that society would have to change. It was also obvious to these girls that a male dominated society had prevailed for two thousand years and merely perpetuated problems. It had solved nothing. Yes, they would join forces with Kimmay and begin the change. They would indeed be the first layer of manipulation. Even Kristal had to capitulate. But how they would do it was an entirely different matter.

 

After a short break they returned to the conference table. Kristal took the lead, "I guess we all agree that this is necessary and we will contribute what we can. Kimmay, how do we proceed?"

"You tell me," she answered. The girls gave little groans and Kimmay said, "I mean it. I've only got some rough ideas how to do this. I'm not sure how to come up with several generations worth of plans."

"Well what rough plans have you thought about?"

"Ok, take this all with a grain of salt. First, we have to agree that we all have daughters."

"No brainer," said Tiffany.

"Next, we have to use our generation to lay the groundwork for the future generations. As I see it, that means we have to marry very well."

The girls started laughing. After the laughter died down Kimmay continued, "We need to have money, power and influence in key areas. The money has to be large enough that we can finance current plans, and yet leave enough for future generations to use. We have to marry into some of the richest families in the world."

"I don't see where that should be a problem," Tiffany said with a grin. "We can put out ads in the paper; four manipulative girls looking for ultra-rich boys. Must belong to the right family. Purpose; matrimony." Everyone laughed along with Tiffany.

Kristal tried to be a bit helpful, "We do have some money between us, don't we? Kimmay and Tiffany own the Eleven Lights Company and its Foundation. The Foundation consumes money, but your company is making money hand over fist, isn't it?"

"It's doing decently," said Tiffany. "I think it will go a long way for starters."

"But is it enough for starting two family dynasties? We both need to set up a large fortune for each of our families. The daughters will need to be financially secure, rich and powerful to carry on," Kimmay said.

"They don't have to be ultra-rich," Kristal said. "It helps, but it isn't an absolute necessity. And while I'm not at your financial level, when I leave the Presidency I would like to return to the entertainment industry. I have my youth and looks back and I should be able to resurrect a career."

"That's what I was hoping," said Kimmay. "And I was hoping that you could do even more than just star in movies. I was thinking along the lines of you resurrecting your mega-star status and then make movies where you could influence society. You could pick movies that show the woman taking charge of situations and controlling her own destiny. The heroine would not only be romantic, which I think is a necessity so that we don't intimidate the male population, but also intelligent and strong. She would run the business and the family. You would be the role model for our daughters."

"I don't see why not," Kristal said enthusiastically. "But you can't do it too heavy-handedly or with too much preaching. Humor works the best."

"I agree entirely," Kimmay responded. "I was thinking that maybe you make one romantic movie with a strong female lead, and then one humorous movie where you could play with gender roles. For instance, how about a remake of Some Like It Hot?" Almost as an afterthought Kimmay added, "You would take the Marilyn Monroe character."

Jennifer smiled at Kristal, "You've been compared to her more than once."

"I see another reason for those types of movies, you use them to help shape gender roles for both female and male. We can make movies that allow men to explore their feminine sides and in the end we show that women find that new role acceptable and even preferable in some instances," Kimmay added.

"You've given this more than just a little thought," Tiffany said. "You want to use the movies to help feminize men, don't you?"

"No, we can't feminize men, but we can introduce them to a softer side of life. We can start to steer them away from their confrontational attitudes, and one place to start is fashion. The movies can be used to influence the fashion industry, to convince men that they can wear fragrances and jewelry. We make sure that all of the leading men have long curly hair and soft eyes lined with mascara. All the leading men should have hairless chests and legs. After a while we introduce soft coloring for their nails and lips. Gradually we try to influence the fashion industry, and also the demeanor and physical characteristics that we want. We stay away from the large macho men and only use smaller men with thin waists and nicely contoured bodies; no steroid enhanced muscle heads."

"You have given this a great deal of thought," Traci chuckled. "Any idea where I can find one of these men?"

"You tell me," Kimmay snickered. "I guess I have given this some thought. And there is one other part. Kristal, you have to marry well and marry into the movie industry. You need to become a money player as well as a star. That way you could influence more movies and a wider field of entertainment. If you controlled large movie studios, you would also have control over the music industry, since most of the studios also have their hand in music.

"We need to influence society and steer them in the direction we want. Since we're in this for the long haul, it's easiest to start with the youngest generations and have them pull our changes into society as they grow older. Plus, kids are easier to influence than adults who are already set in their ways.

"The music industry will be a good place to start. Like movies, you emphasize strong willed girls; girls who know what they want and go out and get it. And we make them more controlling, especially in the area of sex. We need to change things so that girls see themselves controlling sexual relations with men, not waiting for the male to take control and make the decisions. They might have to become the aggressor in future relationships, although I'm not sure how that would play out. But at the same time, we again could move men's fashion towards long curly hair, peasant blouses and high heel boots."

Kristal nodded her head and closed her eyes in thought, "I'm not sure about everything you've laid out here Kimmay, but I see potential. In other words, I would be our spearhead into the entertainment industry, with some spillover into the fashion industry."

"Yes! Eventually you would have to become our entertainment mogul with tons of money and influence in the industry. Then you bring your daughters into the family business and they continue to allow us access to the industry for our continued manipulation."

"I get it," she said. "We split into different industries and then coordinate everything back here at this level."

"Correct. We all know what part Ginger should handle. She has to find a way to break the testosterone hold on religion. And I would recommend that she do it from an Asian base, maybe the Middle East. It keeps her out of the United States which I'm sure would make all of us happier, and it gives us a global approach."

"I will not grant her a pardon, she does not leave jail," Kristal inserted. Her distaste for Ginger was more than evident in her tone of voice than in her words.

"She doesn't have to leave early. She should pay for what she did. This is not a short-term project, so there is no need to release her early. Besides, why can't she start her work while she's behind bars? She's not in solitary confinement, is she?"

Kimmay received a small nod from Kristal. "Ok then, I'll contact her and explain the situation. She will help us, I know she will."

"Where does that leave you and me?" Tiffany asked.

"Let's think about that. We both have access to the scientific community, and I think we can both keep an eye on that. But there are no rich influential scientists to marry."

"Damn," Tiffany said with a grin.

"There are several areas that we can try and get involved in, but I'm not sure what is best. Financing and banking is always useful. Politics is useful, but we will have an ex-president, who should be able to keep us in the loop there. Media control beyond entertainment is useful. You know; news, magazines, books, journals, e-publishing and that area. The fashion and cosmetics industry will be useful. What do you think?"

"I don't know," Tiffany answered. "How about you and Traci?" she asked Jennifer.

Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "I'm always partial to military and intelligence areas."

"Traci?"

"I think you've covered most of the major areas. Maybe education would be useful. Another way to reach children is through toys. Maybe you can sell Ken dolls that wear dresses. Even better, maybe you eliminate certain toys, like toy guns and video war games."

"All good ideas," Kristal said. "So are any better than the others?"

"Money is always the best. One of us should go after the biggest pile of money we can find."

"Not just the biggest pile, the pile with the greatest influence attached to it. We should concentrate on the banking industry. Maybe insurance or stock market would also be useful."

"Tiffany, shall we flip," Kimmay asked with a glint in her eye.

"I volunteer," she said. "It's the least I can do. What does that leave you?"

"How about I become the flexible option. I take the best offer when it comes along." She shrugged and looked for opinions. None were forthcoming.

"Anything else we should do?" Jennifer asked.

"I guess the other thing we do is set an example in our private lives. We make sure that we establish control over husbands, families and business. We stay away from power hungry politicians, corporate climbers and athletes. We find men that are not physically intimidating or filled with testosterone and we begin converting them into the type of man we want in the future. We don't feminize them, but in public we soften them. We soften their image and make them the new role model.

"We will have to set an example for our daughters. We must bring them into the family business early and give them confidence and knowledge. We will have to bring them into our plan relatively early in their lives. They will have to take the next set of steps when they reach positions of power. After we have started introducing our ideas into society, our daughters will have to go into politics and government and start making it law. They'll need to codify things so that our societal changes become formal and lawful. For example, eventually family ancestry should be tracked through the woman's family instead of the man's. Even simple things like that will take a lot of effort and societal change.

"Of course we have to work together. We have to network our ideas and business opportunities together. We have to remain in contact and leverage our ideas with each other.

"And finally, we have to keep this strictly secret. If we are successful we are going to have some smart people begin to put two and two together. There are going to be conspiracy theories flying all around us. We can't give people additional ammunition."

"You mean we start a secret cult?" Traci asked.

"I'm not sure if that is the correct terminology, but we do have to keep our cloaks tightly wrapped around all of our activities."

"We need a code name," Jennifer said. "All good black-ops have one." She was only half serious.

"The Dragon Diamond shall be our symbol and name," Tiffany quickly decided.

They all smiled.

 

 

CHAPTER 5

 

Melissa had Kimmay and Traci come to dinner the following Sunday. She also invited Stefanie's mother, Betsy. It was supposed to be a leisurely Sunday afternoon get-together so that everyone could meet. As usual, Kimmay was too busy to stay more than a couple of hours. But she did stay long enough to talk with Stefanie about her future.

Stefanie was getting to be a fair cook, and she prepared Cornish hens and baked potatoes for the dinner. Betsy supplied pumpkin pie and three types of ice-cream for dessert. Dinner started with trivial chit-chat, but Kimmay quickly turned the conversation to Stefanie.

"Stefanie, I understand that you are a busy girl these days. What are you up to?"

"I'm working at an entry level position with a local magazine publisher. One of the magazines that they publish is the local entertainment guide for the greater Milwaukee area. I help out on a number of things. I get to do a little sales and layout work, I call around to the clubs and restaurants that are late with their updates, and I even go out and take a picture for an advertisement now and then. That's my eight to five job. Then in the evenings I go to a cosmetology school. I'm in school from six to nine, five nights a week, plus Saturday morning from eight to twelve."

"That's a full week. How long is school going to last?"

"It's a six month course and I should finish up in March."

"Then what? Are you going to come work for 'Lissa's?"

"No, I'm only going to school for the first-hand knowledge and a bit of hands-on experience. What I really want to do is get into publishing or photo-journalism. I want to publish a magazine promoting the transvestite and transsexual life-styles. I want to do what they do with the weekly entertainment guides, but I want to add features about the local transvestite and transsexual community, active participants, clubs and organizations and of course their activities. I want our community to have a more visible presence and a better opportunity to participate in the over-all community.

"That is something specific that I would like to do. Then there are some nebulous things and I'm not sure how to accomplish those. For instance, I want to create and promote a more open atmosphere for men to experiment with styles and fashions. I want to make it acceptable for men go to beauty salons and have their hair colored and permed, to get manicures and pedicures, to even have their legs and chests waxed. And even further, I'd like to see it become acceptable for men to go to spas for facials and saunas and massages. I want men to have the right to enjoy these things without the usual social stigmas that are attached to them. I would love to have been able to get a long, curly hairstyle when I was younger. I think many men would like to try these things if they weren't afraid of being called gay or queer.

"But I'm not sure how to do that. I've thought about putting together a picture-book of spas and salons around the country that cater to the trans-community. I've also thought about a book on the prettiest and most convincing CDs and TGs around the country. I think a monthly magazine on new styles and fashions for men would be another possibility. But I'm just not sure how to do all of this.

"I want to make a difference and I think publishing is a way to do this. Not just electronic publishing but print and maybe even media and television." Stefanie had finished her fantasy list. Then she came back to Earth, "But all of that is just a dream. It requires money and time and connections and PR and I don't have any of it."

"I like your ideas, Stefanie. I'll help you," Kimmay offered. "I can supply seed money if you need it. You'll need to put together some story boards and examples, you'll need to do some traveling for your book ideas, and you'll need financial backing to give you credibility. When you're ready, when you have solid ideas on what to do, call me. I'll help you."

"Really?"

"Really, I mean it Stefanie. You are doing exactly what I want to see, what I want to promote. Count on me, I'll help."

"Wow. Thanks." Stefanie turned to Melissa and Betsy, "This is fantastic. I've got all kinds of ideas. I can't believe this!"

Melissa brought Stefanie back down to Earth. "You heard what Kimmay said, get your ideas organized and prepare a solid plan. Don't just think she will just throw money at you. You have to have commitments and contracts and agreements before you jump off the cliff."

Stefanie spoke to Kimmay, "I will. I'll get it organized and bring you some great ideas."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"In fact," Stefanie said in a coyish voice, "I have an idea that I'd like to throw out on the table now if I can."

"Let's hear it," Melissa said.

"Actually, you are a key in this," Stefanie told her. "I was thinking of trying to find a way to help teenagers that might be interested in cross-dressing, or just experimenting with feminine clothes. I thought that Gabrielle's might offer a free makeover and hairstyle to any boy that wanted to wear a dress to prom. You always hear about one or two boys every year that wear a dress to prom. Sometimes they are just goofing around, but I think there are many who would be serious about it if they received a little encouragement.

"In addition we could offer a free glamour photo session if they agree to let us use their before and after pictures in our advertising. You would have to supply the make over, but I'd be glad to offer the free photo shoot. In fact, I could follow them around the salon and get 'in-process' pictures with their hair in rollers or having a manicure or sitting under a hair dryer. Afterwards, I'd take them up to Melissa's Studio and give them a free one-hour photo session. What do you think?"

Kimmay and Melissa looked at one another. Kimmay gave her a smile. Melissa looked at Stefanie, "I think we could do something. There are some problems, for instance prom is always a very busy time for "Lissa's. I would be pressed for manpower."

"Can't you hire a temp?"

"It depends on how many bites we get."

"Four," Kimmay said.

"What?" Melissa asked.

"You will only get four or five customers," she answered.

"Well that I think we can handle, especially since prom is spread over two or three weekends throughout the area. But I'm not sure the boys will agree to having their pictures used."

"I think they will," Stefanie said. "After all, they are going out and into a public that already knows them. Anonymous advertising shouldn't bother them. And if they balk, maybe we could sweeten the pot with a free grab bag of cosmetics. You get free samplers from the different companies, so you could use those."

"How will we know if they are really going to prom?"

"Who cares? I mean we could make it contingent on them showing us a ticket, but if they show up here with a prom dress for their make over and glamour photo session, we can expect them to go to prom."

"And you would get …?" Kimmay asked.

"Pictures. We could use them for advertising Gabrielle's and I could use them for books and magazines later."

"So there is a little self-serving in all of this," her mom said.

"Yea, but it is good for everyone. I want to promote the community, and this might give me access to young boys who would look very pretty when made-up and in a dress. Young girls are used all the time for advertising and young boys would serve much the same purpose."

"So tell me your ideas for advertising," Kimmay said.

"We advertise on Gabrielle's web page, we advertise on the web sites for the local CD clubs and we even put an advertisement in the newspaper."

Melissa's eyebrows went up, "Local paper? That's rather bold isn't it?"

"Maybe, but we keep it rather small. We place a small picture of a shapely woman in silhouette and the tag line says, 'For Boys Only'. Then we say that any boy that wants to wear a dress to prom can have a free makeover, hairstyle and glamour photo shoot at Gabrielle's. We keep it simple."

"Then what?" Kimmay asked.

"Then we see," Stefanie replied. "We make them pretty and real, we get a few pictures and they get a wonderful experience that they will never forget."

Betsy, Tiffany and Kimmay looked at each other. "Ok," said Kimmay. "I'll put up the money for an ad."

"I'll supply the makeovers," Melissa added.

"Cool," smiled Stefanie.

"Do you see any long term benefits or actions from this?" Kimmay asked.

"Well, here is where pure speculation, fantasy and hope come together. Let's assume we get a few boys to take us up on this, and the local fascists don't burn down the building. Maybe next fall we send a flier to the faculty advisors for all of the local high school newspapers, and we offer a free makeover to one of their boys for their homecoming dance. The boy would have to write an article for their school paper and discuss his experiences and talk about what it was like to be a girl for an evening. Maybe we could get some school buy-in and make it easier for even more boys to partake. I get even more pictures, Melissa has to spend even more of her own money, and maybe we gain another ounce of tolerance and acceptance in our younger generation. Maybe."

Kimmay nodded her head in appreciation. "I like your thinking, Stefanie. Mom, what do you think?"

Melissa was also in agreement. "Let's see how prom goes, but I like the idea. And if we can do this and make it work, then maybe we can spread the word around the country and get other salons to sponsor the same concept."

"Yes!" Stefanie said with obvious excitement. "We can take it nation-wide!"

 

Stefanie's idea turned into a wonderful success. It took several years to gather steam, but Kimmay supplied money and made sure that they received international coverage in the Eleven Lights Foundation press and web sites. Gabrielle's did indeed have four boys sign up the first year. One of the boys was very cute and Stefanie collected some very good pictures, and she featured the boys in Gabrielle's web site. Her before and after pictures were packaged in an album and it was down loaded more than any other free CD web-site in the Midwest.

Her idea for Homecoming makeovers was well received, with eight local high schools sending volunteers to Melissa. Stefanie sweetened the deal by getting some of the local shops to donate dresses and foundations at cost. Diane's Classic Dresses made last year's dresses available for cost, and Jill Watson at Classic Curves did the same thing for bras and corsets. Many of the boys borrowed clothes from girl friends and sisters, but a few bought new clothes. Those were probably the boys that actually wanted to keep them long after the dance.

Once again Stefanie followed the boys through their makeovers and provided some very sexy pictures in their dresses. She was able to use seven of the eight boys on Gabrielle's web site. Stefanie was happy with the results and took it upon herself to share the idea with clubs around the nation. She sent pictures, examples of fliers, letters and even a copy of their newspaper ad to every club that she could contact.

Stefanie convinced thirty clubs around the country to work with local salons and sponsor free makeovers for any boys willing to wear a dress to prom. In Milwaukee, Gabrielle's had seven boys the following spring. Nationwide they sponsored eighty-five boys with the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area leading the way with twenty-three boys.

This provided Stefanie with more encouragement, and she pressed her idea for Homecoming to the same salons. In the fall, nationwide they sponsored 112 boys with seven of the boys coming through Gabrielle's. In addition to the clothing sponsors provided at-cost, Stefanie bought all of the prom dresses in the local consignment stores and collected donations from local cross-dressers for shoes, hosiery and other items. She filled the basement of Gabrielle's with the clothes and provided them at one dollar an item to the boys.

Almost all of the dresses were sold. The only ones left were the very small and the very large sizes. Some of the boys were obviously wearing the dresses for more than one occasion – probably at home.

The idea of sponsoring boys who wanted to wear dresses was becoming a very popular idea throughout the nation. Stefanie looked around for other venues for these boys and came up with the idea for a 'Prom Pageant'. In June, any junior or senior high school boy that had worn a dress to prom was eligible for the Prom Pageant at the Baton Nightclub in Chicago. The boys had to write an essay of less than 250 words and send it in to the pageant. Then the boys had to dress up in their prom dress, come on stage and answer a few questions from the judges. The questions were based on the boy's essay. There were no talent shows or swimsuit competitions. The entire premise was kept simple to allow the boys to dress up once again, with no difficult or embarrassing tasks.

Kimmay made it worth the contestant's time. The winner received a scholarship for $50,000, the second through fifth place winners won $25,000 and the sixth through tenth place winners received $10,000. That amount of scholarship money drew attention from all over the country. The first year 38 boys showed up, and the following year the field exploded. In one year the pageant reached the unmanageable level, and changes needed to be made.

Kimmay came to the rescue. Each year Kimmay began assigning one of her better female executives to work for the new charity for two years. The first year she would be the assistant and the second year she would be the executive. The girls were kept on Kimmay's payroll and given a special office in the executive wing of her Milwaukee headquarters. The girls promoted the Homecoming Journalism Experience in the fall, the spring Prom Dress-Up and the June Prom Pageant. Because of the large scholarship pot that Kimmay provided, many boys entered the Prom Pageant. The rules were changed forcing state run-offs, with $5000 scholarships going to the winner and $2500 scholarships going to the runner-up. The rules were the same as the national pageant.

As the national pageant grew more popular, its importance to Kimmay grew. She asked Krysallis, Tiffany and two other Hollywood celebrities to join her as a judge each year. The judges each took twenty essays and reviewed them, prepared questions and interviewed the boys during the pageant. The fifth year of the pageant, Kimmay doubled the scholarships and gave an additional $10,000 to the eleventh through fifteenth place-finishers.

By putting her best young executives on the charity, additional benefits came along. Two companies offered limited modeling contracts to whichever boys they chose; they didn't have to pick the winners. After Krysallis was back in Hollywood, she offered a speaking role in a movie to two of the boys. One clothing company hired five of the boys to stay in Chicago an additional week and model clothes for their fall catalogs. And the executives also increased the national and world-wide exposure of the pageant.

It ended up being one of Stefanie's best all-time ideas. Stefanie was given full copyrights to the national pageant, and she published the pictures in magazines, books and on media outlets. Stefanie's dream to increase awareness and acceptance of the CD and TG communities drove her work; not the money. Because of that, she was the perfect person to handle the media rights. In addition, she also worked very hard to open up the idea of all men enjoying the softer side of life. She promoted everything from male salons to male fashions and male attitudes. With the help of Kimmay's money and her top-level executives, Stefanie became one of the leading proponents in the new male-rights movement.

 

But all of that took several years to nurture and grow. Meanwhile, Melissa and Stefanie continued to live together and their love for one another grew. Stefanie graduated from her cosmetology course, and spent a few weeks in 'Lissa's under the tutelage of George. Stefanie's hands-on experiences gave her extra confidence for some of her future work. In addition, Stefanie used her first-hand knowledge to change her own appearance and hairstyles. Stefanie loved being a woman, especially since she was still able to totally enjoy her trysts with Melissa.

Eventually, Stefanie wanted to become even more beautiful and curvaceous, but she didn't want to use female hormones and lose her ability to reach a male orgasm. Her most logical course of action was surgery. She visited a renowned surgeon in Pittsburgh for liposuction, breast implants and rhinoplasty. The surgery required a couple months of recuperation, but the time was well spent at home with Melissa. Their love grew to the point of marriage.

Melissa, being the romantic she was, drew upon an old experience that she had enjoyed many years ago. She told Stefanie that she was going to attend a seminar in Chicago for a week, and she wanted Stefanie to come join her for the weekend. Stefanie arrived at the hotel, and was handed an envelope when she checked in at the front desk. The envelope sent her to a luxurious day of relaxation and beauty at a local salon. She received a new upswept hairstyle along with a spa treatment including a facial and full-body mud-pack, and finally an erotic full-body massage.

Fully relaxed, Stefanie returned to her hotel room to find a very expensive dress in the closet and instructions to dress for a romantic dinner. Stefanie put on her best, sexiest and most daring make-up including glitter and false eyelashes streaked with iridescent blue highlights. After squeezing into the tightest corset she could draw, she slipped into a tight red dress almost identical to Melissa's original gown. With her four-inch heels Stefanie looked like a movie star. She followed her list of instructions and called the front desk. A bellhop brought a box that she immediately recognized; her Dragon Diamonds. Touching the box immediately sent chills through her body. The aphrodisiac qualities of the wood were quickly absorbed by Stefanie's senses. She was horny, hungry and exquisitely beautiful.

The entire hotel lobby fell silent as she stepped off the elevator and walked into the lounge to wait for Melissa. The click-clack of her heels on the marble floor echoed across the silent lobby as wide-opened eyes, and half-opened lips followed her progress. She was stunning. She was bright. She was confident, sexy, radiant and awesome. She was too beautiful to approach. Everyone stepped aside as she passed by. Stefanie gracefully sat down in a booth and ordered a coke as she waited for Melissa.

Melissa did not disappoint either. She walked in with a tight, sequined black gown that showed more cleavage than was legal in twenty states. The tight gown reached her ankles and had a slit up to her thigh. She had also spent the day in the salon, with her hair piled high over her head and a sparkling tiara set on top. And of course, Melissa also wore her Dragon Diamonds.

Stefanie couldn't stop the bright smile that was lighting up the entire room. She said nothing as she embraced Melissa and inhaled the heavenly scent of her perfume. "You look radiant," Melissa said. "Are you as horny as I am?"

Stefanie giggled quietly into Melissa's ear, "Can't you see the huge lump in my dress?"

Melissa pushed her hips and crotch against Stefanie, "Oh my God! Is that you or did you stuff a sock in your panties?"

Stefanie laughed out loud. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And that dress is to kill for. How much did you spend on these dresses?"

"An insignificant amount of money now that I have seen this dress on the most fabulous figure in the world. They should pay you to wear this gown."

"Ok, so whom should I talk to? How much should I ask for?" Stefanie was giddy and light-headed. She was in love with the lady and the moment. Somewhere fireworks were exploding.

"I'll pay," Melissa said mischievously.

"Can I kiss you?" Stefanie asked. They lightly touched their lips together. Both wanted more, but they were able to hold their raging hormones in check. "So what are we going to do?"

Melissa took Stefanie's arm and put it through her cocked elbow. She patted Stefanie's hand and said, "We're going to have dinner at a glorious restaurant, you have been there before. The view is wonderful."

"Not as wonderful as my date," she smiled. "I know where we're going, I know where we're going," she sang.

Melissa led them across the once again silent lobby to the front door. The chauffer from their limousine opened the door for them as he led them outside to the limo and helped them into the rear of the automobile. Melissa and Stefanie cuddled against each other and held hands as they were driven to the Hancock Building. The limo came to a stop in front of the building and the chauffer again opened the door to let them out. Stefanie took Melissa's arm and pulled her close to her as they both looked up at the top of the building. "How does it feel to be wearing jewels worth more than this entire building?" Stefanie asked.

Melissa gave her a knowing smile and said, "It's amazing isn't it? Who would've thunk that a couple of silly little girls from Milwaukee could be wearing such rocks? Or even be involved with the things we've seen?"

"You rock my world, Melissa," Stefanie said with all of her heart.

"Let's go eat."

The restaurant maξtre d' led the two girls to a very familiar table. Stefanie refused to let go of Melissa's arm until they reached their plush chairs. Stefanie sat and looked out over Lake Michigan on a beautiful, clear night. There was a full moon and the light shimmered off the lake adding a magical appearance to the evening.

"Stefanie," Melissa said abruptly. "There is something important that we have to talk about," she said in a half-serious tone. Stefanie said nothing, but looked into Melissa's eyes. "This is serious, Stefanie. I have to tell you that I am in love with someone. I am very much in love and totally out of control. I have decided that there is only one thing that I can do about it. I have to propose. I can't wait any longer and I have to do it right now. Stefanie, will you marry me?"

Stefanie was speechless. She covered her mouth with her hand and took a deep breath. She shook her head yes. Then that beautiful smile that Melissa had fallen in love with spread across her face. "Yes," she whispered. She reached across the table and grasped Melissa's hands. "Yes," she said louder. "Yes!"

Melissa held out a small box in her open palm. "I can't give you anything as spectacular as our diamonds. It's very small in comparison, but at least it's clear," she giggled.

Stefanie accepted the box and opened it slowly. The smile on her face grew even larger as she gazed at the ring. "It's the most beautiful ring in the world, Melissa. And the most precious. I love it. Thank you from the depth of my soul. You are the most wonderful, loving and magnanimous human being on this planet. You have made me, literally." Stefanie started crying softly. Melissa handed her a tissue and rubbed Stefanie's knee.

The rest of the evening was a treasure of emotions sifted through the soft light of a full moon and heady fragrances.

 

Melissa had the honor of standing on the opposite side of the aisle for her second wedding. She never for an instant forgot to honor her first wife and lover. And finally she was able to leave that tragedy behind her. Cynthia's father gave Melissa away. He was as happy as Melissa.

In May of 2037 Melissa once again was a married woman. But this time she was really a woman. And foremost in her mind was the anticipation of becoming a mother once again. She wanted to give birth to her first daughter. Melissa was hopelessly tangled in a web of love, lust and hormones. Melissa's wedding night was spent entangled in the arms and negligee of her lover, as she welcomed every thrust and penetrating jolt of Stefanie's strong, youthful penis into her welcoming loins. Melissa squeezed and bucked as she tried to milk every bit of sperm from her lover's body.

But it was all for naught. As much as they tried, Stefanie could not impregnate Melissa. After months of effort the reason became abundantly clear. The antiandrogens that had been fed to Stefanie for her entire life had left her sterilized. As much as Betsy wanted to protect her only son, and now daughter, from prostrate cancer, she had never understood the consequences of her actions, or the drugs that she had fed her son. Betsy had unwittingly castrated her new daughter.

Melissa was devastated at first. She was heartbroken and felt a terrible weight upon her shoulders. How could life have treated her so unfairly? How could the Keeper have given her such hope and happiness to only have it ripped away from her by fate? What was it that gave Melissa such emotional highs only to destroy her later?

Just as Melissa was ready to slip into despair like so many years ago, Stefanie stopped her. "You can still get pregnant, my lover. Not by me, but by an anonymous donor. You can still have the experience of growing a beautiful baby in your womb, giving birth to her, nursing her and raising her to be a beautiful woman, just like yourself."

"Her?"

"You always said that you would have a daughter. You still can. I will love her like my own. And I will always love you."

Melissa smiled and accepted the offer. Through artificial insemination Melissa gave birth to her first daughter. And by so doing, she answered one of the great questions as to how the Seekers had genetically engineered Kimmay. It was easy.

 

 

CHAPTER 6

 

Tiffany was intent on marrying into the banking or financial industry, but had no idea where to start. However, Tiffany wasn't without resources. The CEO of the Eleven Lights Foundation was Mr. Henry Dunn, an old friend of both Tiffany and Kimmay. Mr. Dunn called in a few of the many markers that he had collected over a long career, and found an editor and author to write a series of articles for syndication. The articles would be about the most eligible, the most beautiful and the richest single women in the world. Mr. Dunn made sure that the first article concerned Tiffany Reimer, and the second featured Kimmay.

The Eleven Lights Company, the energy chip manufacturing company of which Tiffany owned one-quarter, also had its share of bankers and market contacts. She used those contacts to enlarge her social circles. Nothing happened overnight, but Tiffany slowly began attending more business junkets and conferences, awards banquets and a few social affairs for charity. She confined her travels to Europe and made as many of the events as she could.

It took over a year before Tiffany was on most of the A lists in the European 'High Society Sweepstakes'. Over the next two years she met a number of interesting men and enjoyed their company and passion. But none of them met the high standards for Tiffany's definition of 'marrying well'. She was looking for a vast family fortune with the minimal number of children to share the inheritance. If anyone else had known her requirements and goals, she would have been labeled the ultimate gold-digger. And she was a gold-digger, Tiffany had no illusions about what she was doing. In some ways it made her decisions easier since she knew exactly what she wanted and what she would settle for.

And it wasn't as if Tiffany had nothing to bring to the table. She was wealthy in her own right, extremely intelligent and very pretty. Plus she had contacts with a United States President and an enigma named Kimmay. Kimmay had been surprising people for many years, and there was no telling what else she would accomplish. Her future contributions would not be insignificant.

And in addition to all that, Tiffany had some diamonds. In fact, the diamonds found her a husband.

Tiffany was attending an elegant state dinner at the German Embassy in Zurich. It was a cold and clear winter night, and the guests came dressed to show off their money and images. Tiffany was wearing a beautiful black dress that had long sleeves off the shoulder. The skirt was relatively slender and ended just above her ankles. Her shoes were €500, three-inch strapless heels. Her hair had been swept into an updo with curls cascading around the top of the style. And the crowning touch were her Dragon Diamonds.

When Tiffany arrived, a man immediately spied the diamonds. He was an amateur gemologist and he was intrigued by their cut and color. The man did not think that the cut and color went together; at least he had never seen anything like it before. The man watched Tiffany for a while, trying to determine if she was with anyone and if she was approachable. She appeared to be alone, so his next step was devising a way to be introduced to her. An older man, probably a Swiss banker by the looks of him, approached Tiffany and they began to chat. The man was standing too close and talking too loud. Either he was drunk or totally infatuated with the young lady. Tiffany was looking around, obviously not interested in extending the conversation.

The amateur gemologist slowly walked towards the pair, hoping to find a way to meet the girl. As he walked by he caught Tiffany's eye. She smiled at him and gave him just the courage he needed. He stopped, and stood off to the side of the couple making it clear that he did not intend to interrupt, but that he did want to talk with one of them. Tiffany quickly took the opportunity to address him, "Hello, are you looking for Mr. Rothschild?"

"No madam, I was hoping to discuss something with you."

"Of course," she said. "Will you excuse me?" she asked the man she was talking with. He nodded and she quickly left him. She turned to the second man and said, "I don't think we've met, my name is Tiffany Reimer."

"My name is Faxon Wexler and I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation. I could have waited," he apologized.

"I thank you for interrupting," she said with a smile. "I didn't need to hear any more details about his family heritage." She looked at him waiting for him to respond, but he was quiet.

Faxon had just realized two important things. The first item was the name of the woman. He knew the name and who she was. Tiffany Reimer was a world-famous woman and he was now feeling slightly intimidated by her. The second thing he had just noticed was how pretty she was and how delightful she smelled. Faxon was intrigued by the gemstones and they had originally caught his eye. But now he noticed the beautiful white skin that the red pendant was resting on. That skin didn't have a single blemish on it, and it smelled oh so nice. Now he was truly intimidated. Faxon was not a ladies man. Feminine beauty totally intimidated him. He knew it and women knew it. He could think of nothing to say.

Tiffany waited for his response, and when he said nothing she took over, "Do you come here often?"

Faxon blushed and smiled. She had a sense of humor. "No, I'm sorry I was just admiring your jewels," he said without thinking. He was looking at the pendant that was resting at the top of her cleavage.

"I see," Tiffany said. She was convinced that he was staring at her breasts. "Are they big enough?" she asked.

"Your jewels?"

"Or whatever."

Now Faxon turned a deep red. His eyes quickly jumped to Tiffany's eyes and he immediately noticed how pretty they were. Her upper lashes were thick and curled up in a beautiful curve. Her lower lashes were very long with each lash individually hi-lighted with black mascara. He had never seen such beautiful lashes. The color above her eyes was dark and sexy and above that she had beautiful brows that were thin and very feminine. But his eyes kept coming back to her lashes. They mesmerized him and he couldn't look away.

He tried to apologize but he was lost in her lashes. "I'm sorry," he began. "I didn't mean to be rude, but I am an amateur gemologist and when I saw your jewelry I was fascinated. Their color is so vivid that I thought they had to be rubies. But I have never seen rubies cut like these; they're cut like a diamond and they sparkle like a diamond. It is a very unusual cut and I just wanted to ask …" and his voice trailed off. He continued to stare at her eyes without blinking.

"They are very unique," she said, feeding him just a little information at a time. "And they come from a very great distance."

That should have opened an obvious line of questioning, but Faxon couldn't seem to find that line. As Tiffany spoke he noticed her lips moving. They had a wonderful shape to them. They were bright red and they looked very moist. Her lips glistened as they moved and he watched without hearing what they said. "I meant to ask you about your gems, but I can't seem to find my wits." His eyes returned to hers, "I'm sorry."

Tiffany was amused. She thought she was a pretty woman, and she hoped that men would find her appealing, even sexy. She looked much younger than her true age, another side-effect due to her favor from the Keeper. But this man was obviously smitten beyond control. She suddenly found the idea of him being so smitten that he couldn't talk very cute. She was finding him cute as well.

Faxon was somewhere in his early thirties, and slightly taller than Tiffany in her heels. He was probably five foot eight or nine inches tall. He had long hair, to the bottom of his ears, but it was very nicely styled and well taken care of. He was thin, wore glasses and had very nervous hands. His hands were all over the place. They had several rings, some with large stones. His longer hair couldn't hide the large size of the diamond studs he was wearing in his ears. They were much larger than earrings normally worn by men.

"Faxon? May I address you as Faxon?"

"Please," he responded.

"Would you like to hear the story about my diamonds?"

"Yes," he answered. He was still in a daze and the word diamond went in one ear and rattled around his brain for several moments before it actually registered on his conscious mind. "Wait, did you say diamonds?"

"It's a very interesting story. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes," he said, obviously still mesmerized by Tiffany.

"Why don't you get me a glass of champagne and maybe we can find a quiet place to sit."

"Of course," and he began looking for a waitress. Turning away from Tiffany, and with something specific to do, he was able to shake the cobwebs from his head. He quickly waved over a waitress and took two glasses from her tray. He handed one to Tiffany. Follow me, I know where we can sit and watch the guests arrive. It is a quiet enclave." He led her up the staircase to a small table overlooking the lobby. There were two overstuffed chairs on either side of a small table. Faxon offered Tiffany the chair facing the lobby. He wanted no distractions as he watched this vision of sophistication and grace.

Tiffany curled her glistening red-lips into a smile and looked at Faxon. He said nothing as he stared back. 'This is cute,' Tiffany thought. "The jewels are indeed diamonds. They are called Breucchio Diamonds. Do you like them?"

"Yes, they are very intriguing, but there are no such things as red diamonds," he said.

"Yes there are, you just don't find them on this planet." She fluttered her eyelashes and watched his response.

Faxon would have made a lousy poker-player. He had no control over his emotions and they played across his face like a neon sign. He was surprised by her comment concerning where the diamonds came from, but he was more stunned by Tiffany and her beauty. That much was clear.

"I don't understand. They aren't from this planet? Where are they from and how did you get them?"

"The diamonds were given to me by Kimmay. Have you heard of Kimmay?"

"Who has not?"

"And you know of the Keeper."

"Of course."

"And you remember the speech by Kristal at the U.N.?"

"You mean President Horn?"

"Her friends call her Kristal," she threw that in just to be a name-dropper. "After the speech, the Keeper and Kimmay had a private conversation."

"Yes, I heard about that. Was … uhm … it true? What the Keeper did as a favor?"

Tiffany smiled. An interesting question she thought. And a fair question. "Yes. I'm not sure what all you have read or heard, but there was a favor. But let me continue if you please. The Keeper came to believe that Earth and humanity will become the instrument of the Thirteenth Prophecy. Because of that, she decided that Kimmay should learn about all of the Prophecies so that she would better understand the Thirteenth. And I suspect that the Keeper wanted to help prepare us." Tiffany looked at Faxon and saw that he was lost in her words.

"So the Keeper began taking Kimmay around the universe explaining the Prophecies one by one. Several of the Prophecies may have already been fulfilled. In those cases, the Keeper took Kimmay instantaneously to that planet and then explained everything that she knew about the Prophecy and the results of its enactment. Then each night she and Kimmay returned to Earth. Or sort of returned; Kimmay could not interact with us because of a time anomaly."

"A time anomaly? Like what?"

"I'm not sure, Kimmay did not explain. But the result was that time passed many times faster on Earth than it did for Kimmay. Since their times were not in synch, she couldn't interact with us. While a couple of weeks passed for her, several months passed here on Earth. For us she was gone about ten months, but for her it was only a couple of weeks. Understand?"

Faxon shook his head in amazement. He continued to listen intently, half lost in Tiffany's eyes and half fascinated with her story. "Where do the diamonds come in?" he asked.

"We will get there, have some patience. I don't know what you know about Kimmay but let me tell you, she is possibly the smartest human who has ever lived. She has done things that have amazed some of the most advanced extra-terrestrials in the galaxy. And when she listened to the Prophecies she realized that the Keeper were wrong about some of them. Think about that, extra-terrestrials that are light years ahead of us technically and have been studying these Prophecies for thousands of years were wrong, and Kimmay saw it immediately."

Faxon nodded his head in appreciation. "I have read some things about Kimmay. She is amazing."

"Yes she is. Anyway, she made a bargain with the Keeper. If Kimmay could prove the Keeper were wrong, and if she could satisfy the Keeper with her explanation, the Keeper agreed to give her a gift in appreciation. So Kimmay proceeded to explain why the Keeper were wrong. The Keeper were so impressed that she took Kimmay to another galaxy and they visited an artisan who made this necklace and earrings.

"The diamonds have some impurity that makes them red, but Kimmay could not remember what it was. The artisan told her the local lore about the diamonds, and we fell in love with his fable. An evil and greedy wizard supposedly gathered every diamond on their planet and hoarded them. He had a magical dragon that protected the diamonds from theft. A brave knight slew the dragon and the dragon's blood flowed over the diamonds and into them, coloring them red. I think that explanation makes more sense than some silly contaminates, don't you think so?" Tiffany gave him her prettiest smile. She was playing with him.

Faxon was mesmerized by both Tiffany and the story. "That is amazing. The diamonds really aren't from Earth then?"

"No, they really aren't. Kimmay said that there are only ten planets in the universe that have red diamonds."

Faxon's courage was starting to grow, "May I have the honor of looking closer at it?" Tiffany reached behind her neck and unfastened the necklace. She gently placed it in Faxon's outstretched hand. She heard an audible gasp as it touched his hand. Faxon held it up to the light and studied the gem. He reached in his pocket and took out a jewelers glass and placed it in his eye. As he looked at the diamond he made clucking noises and then a sigh.

"What do you think?" Tiffany asked.

"It is truly amazing," Faxon whispered. He couldn't bring himself to speak loudly in the presence of such a gem. "It truly is a diamond. But even more amazing is that it appears to be as perfect a diamond as I have ever seen. A diamond this size almost always has a flaw in it, but I cannot see a single one." He reluctantly handed the diamond back to Tiffany. "Are the earrings also red diamonds?"

"Yes," Tiffany whispered. The reverence in front of the diamonds seemed contagious.

"May I look at an earring?"

She handed him an earring and he again took it with extreme care. He studied the smaller diamonds on the earring and then handed it back to Tiffany.

"Are they real?" she asked.

"May I call you Tiffany? I know it is very forward for having just met you, but I …"

He lost his track of his thought and couldn't come up with a valid reason as to why she should allow him to forgo proper etiquette. Tiffany helped, "But you are my personal jeweler, so of course you may call me Tiffany."

Faxon smiled and almost chuckled. "Thank you. Tiffany, I am not an expert. I am simply an amateur jeweler who plays at this game. To me they look real, and they look as perfect as any diamond that I have ever seen."

"So do you think they are valuable?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

Now Faxon did start laughing. It was a soft effeminate laugh, but it quickly escalated into a laugh of relief. He was finally breaking through his shyness. "Maybe," he said slowly. "I'll give you a hundred Euros for the full set."

He did have a sense of humor. Tiffany laughed with him.

"Seriously, if these diamonds were simply regular diamonds they would be worth one or two million Euros. Every diamond seems to be absolutely perfect. And the pendant … it might be the most perfect diamond of its size. No, I under estimate their value. I would guess that the set is worth upwards of ten million Euros.

"But your diamonds are red and the only ones on this planet and maybe the only ones in this galaxy. Just guessing, I would think that they are worth ten or twenty times what I just said. It is mind-boggling what they may be worth. You could probably trade them for half this city."

"Interesting," Tiffany mused. "But actually, they aren't the only ones on Earth. There are several other identical sets."

Faxon's mouth opened slightly. He looked at Tiffany and said, "Really? There are others?"

"Yes, Kimmay brought back sets for several of her friends. They are all identical, or so I believe."

"And these other friends, do they know how valuable these diamonds are?"

"I think so. I don't know if they have had them appraised, but they are aware of their unique origin and intrinsic value."

Faxon thought for a minute and then said, "Tiffany, I don't mean to alarm you, but if certain other unscrupulous people were to find out about these diamonds, they would go to almost any length to acquire them. That includes stealing or worse."

"Do you really think so? Or worse?"

"Oh yes. Tiffany, there are private collectors of art and jewelry that pay millions to have professional thieves steal artwork for them. If they become aware of these diamonds, they will certainly commission thieves to obtain them. In all seriousness, you and the other owners need to safe guard these diamonds. They need to be kept in secure bank vaults or safe deposit boxes. And even those locations are vulnerable to the true professionals. The best thing you can do is not tell anyone about these."

"It might be too late for that. Everyone knows how valuable they are, but you have to tell your friends and family when you receive a gift like this. It might not be common knowledge, but I'm sure additional people know about them."

"Then I urge you to take my warning to your friends. They need to know how serious this is. Once the ultra-rich collectors find out about these diamonds, they will commission their thieves to steal them."

"You know a lot about this," Tiffany said. "Are you sure that you aren't one of those thieves?" She smiled at Faxon and in her heart never believed that such a thing was remotely possible.

"Hardly," he said. "But let me ask, would you be willing to sell your earrings and necklace?"

"To you? Do you have enough money to buy them, Faxon?"

"No, not to me. But I think I could find a buyer."

"These diamonds are not for sale, I'm sorry."

"Would any of the other owners be willing to sell their diamonds?"

"I seriously doubt it."

Faxon looked wistfully at the diamonds and then returned his attention to Tiffany. He again stared into her eyes. She was a beautiful woman. The diamond topic seemed to be over and he was searching for something to say. Right in front of him was one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. He wasn't a ladies man by any stretch of the imagination, but somehow he had to let her know how beautiful he thought she was.

"You have the most beautiful eyes, Tiffany. Your lashes and makeup are perfect."

And just like that, Tiffany had the measure of the man. Only certain types of men would notice a woman's makeup and even fewer would comment on it. Almost always those men either applied that makeup on women or used it themselves. Faxon didn't appear to be a beautician or makeup artist, so that left only one possibility in Tiffany's mind.

Faxon was most likely a cross dresser or transvestite. That was something with which Tiffany was intimately. She studied him to look for additional signs. His hair was longer than most men wore it, and it was very well coiffed. There were no split ends and it shined from good care and conditioners. His eyebrows looked very neat, no long hairs like you noticed on most men. They weren't arched, so if he had been plucking them it was not obvious. He had large earrings and his hands were covered with rings. The ring on his right ring finger was very slender and held a nice diamond. On a woman it would have looked almost like an engagement ring.

Tiffany thought the signs might be there. She took his hint and changed the subject. "Thank you Faxon. I used a black mascara and I applied two coats. It's a rather expensive brand of mascara. Here let me show it to you." She picked up her purse and searched through it until she found the mascara. She handed it to Faxon, "See?" as she handed it to him.

As nervous as Faxon was, and as intimidated as he was by Tiffany's beauty, he accepted the mascara without any observable elevation in his nerves. "Open it up," she told him. He unscrewed the two halves and slid out the brush-on applicator. "You see the brush, it's different than most applicators because it has longer bristles and they are stiffer than normal. Because of that they are better at separating the eyelashes and keeping them from clumping together. Like everything else, the better the tools the better the performance. Interesting isn't it?"

He put the mascara back together and handed it to Tiffany. "Yes it is interesting."

Tiffany flashed him a huge smile; she was right about Faxon Wexler. "I use this brand of cosmetics for everything," she told him. "Eye shadow, lipstick, gloss - everything comes from the same company. They're more expensive than most, and they aren't available everywhere, but they're worth the extra cost, don't you think so?"

"Absolutely. The final result is stunning," he said. "But along with the right tools you need the talent and a beautiful face to start with. You have both."

Tiffany was impressed with his compliment. For having acted so nervous he was making a nice come back. Maybe it just required getting him on the right subject. She decided that she did like him, and she was going to flirt with him. "Why thank you Faxon. You are very kind. You seem to know a great deal about women. You know one of our most important secrets; cosmetics."

He blushed. He realized that he had given something away. She now knew that he was familiar with cosmetics. Hopefully she wouldn't guess why. Fortunately, he was saved by the bell. A waiter was walking through the main hallway ringing a small bell and indicating that it was time to be seated for dinner.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Tiffany was having an enjoyable time and she wanted to talk with Faxon a while longer. "Not really. I would be happy to sit here and talk with you."

"I would like that," Faxon agreed.

"Do you think you could find a couple glasses of champagne and just a few hors d'oeuvres?"

He jumped from his chair and instructed her, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

Tiffany watched with amusement as he charged down the stairs on a mission of vital importance. He was a funny man. She had noticed that he had an effeminate laugh, and his comments made it look very likely that he was a cross-dresser. He was as shy as anyone she had ever met. Then she thought about Todd Reimer. Faxon was very much like Todd. Tiffany wondered what he was doing at an embassy affair. He didn't look or act like he belonged here.

In less than ten minutes, Faxon returned. He was carrying a tray above his shoulder as he approached their table. He set down three glasses of champagne and three crystal, serving goblets with huge shrimp skewered on the rim.

Tiffany took a shrimp and tasted it. "These are very good." She picked up a glass and took a sip. "So tell me about Faxon."

"I would much rather hear about Tiffany," he answered back.

Tiffany took another shrimp and smiled. "These really are good." She leaned slightly forward and looked him directly in the eyes, "I asked first."

Faxon ate a shrimp and washed it down with a sip of champagne. He was stalling and thinking, "There isn't much to say. I'm German. My father was German, but my mother was Swiss." He stopped and looked at Tiffany.

"And? Come on Faxon, I find you interesting. Interesting enough to skip dinner. Talk to me."

That was enough encouragement for Faxon. She had made it perfectly clear that she liked him. He was ecstatic. "I was born in Stuttgart and hence my German nationality. My mom and dad met at an Oktoberfest celebration in Garmish-Partenkirchen. They fell in love and were married less than a year later. I have one older brother. He is a serious head-case and has all the humor of a heart attack. I went to school in Germany and then the United States. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin."

Tiffany interrupted him, "In Madison?"

"Yes. You have been there?"

"No, but close. Our North American headquarters are located in Milwaukee. I go there regularly. And Kimmay also went to school in Madison."

"I know. She is one of their most famous students. Did you know that as famous as she is, she never graduated from college?"

Tiffany took another sip of champagne. She could feel the stirrings of a slight buzz and she felt warm. She liked talking with Faxon. "Yes, I knew that. But tell me, do you think she needs a diploma to validate her education?"

"No more than you do Tiffany. You two are the most amazing story that I have ever heard about. I know nothing about science, but I know about both of you. I am in awe of what you can do."

Now Tiffany began to blush. "Faxon, I'm … thank you. That is very kind of you."

"I have read everything I could get my hands on concerning your energy chips. Nothing technical mind you, I don't understand that part of it. But I have read about what you did while the United States was hunting you down. I know about your teleportation. I have read about your company and your success. I know that you're talent and knowledge are something that no one else can even begin to match. I know that … that you are simply amazing."

"Faxon, you're going way overboard. Please, don't stop," and she grinned.

"No I'm not." Perhaps the champagne was reaching Faxon's inhibitions but he wanted to talk. "Tiffany, when I first saw you arrive I must admit that I was interested in your jewels. I fancy myself a knowledgeable, but amateur gem expert. Those red diamonds took my breath away. But then, when I met you up close … I lost my breath again." Faxon's courage ran out and he shut his mouth.

"Wow," Tiffany smiled. "Faxon, I'm very happy to have met you. I like you. Let me back up the conversation if you will. You seemed to know a lot about expensive art and jewelry. How serious do you think the threat to these diamonds is?"

This was a topic that Faxon knew better than he was letting on. "I was very serious. I can guarantee that someone's diamonds will be stolen. How soon I can't say, but some one will come after them."

"We call them Dragon Diamonds. Did I tell you that?"

"No you didn't."

"The reason that I ask is that most of us can protect the diamonds. But one or two people don't have the resources to protect them. I will have to warn them. I will e-mail them tomorrow."

"Don't do that. Don't e-mail them. Send a letter. It's safer."

"How do you know what to do?"

"That's my job. I work as an expert in personal property protection."

"What does that mean?"

"I work with clients in finding ways to protect tangible assets; mainly artwork, but also securities and collectibles."

"No kidding? That's interesting. How did you get into that kind of work? Wait, you're not one of those international jewel thieves that gets hired by the government to work as a security expert, are you?"

"You make it sound so romantic. I wish that I had such an exciting life. No, I was trained by boring men that wear coats and ties."

Knowing what she did about Faxon, Tiffany sympathized with him. It would have been so much more fun being tutored by beautiful female counter-espionage spies. "So how did you get into this type of work?"

"I blame my father. No, that's not nice. I credit my father. He owns the company."

"Really? What company is that?"

"He owns the insurance company that I work for, Rothstein."

"I have never heard of Rothstein."

"I'm not surprised. Most people, the common people, aren't supposed to know about us. But being as rich as you are, I'm surprised you haven't heard of us. I'm even more surprised that we haven't contacted you."

"Well I've never heard of your company. What do you do?"

"We make sure that rich people get richer and stay rich. We supply insurance, banking, stock trading, arbitrage, security services, high security storage, protection and everything else that the ultra-rich need. We spoil rich spoiled people." He said it with just a hint of distaste.

"Interesting. Would I be a potential candidate for your company?"

"You should be a prime candidate. We should have contacted you before. But I have a feeling that your profile didn't meet our standards. We can be the ultimate snobs."

"I'm insulted," Tiffany said with a fake scowl.

"You should be, Tiffany. Dad and my arrogant big brother believe in servicing only the 'old money' as you say in America. Only the aristocratic families are good enough for our attention. I've tried many times to tell my dad to open up, but it's his form of snobbery. If he doesn't recognize you, then you're not important. It makes him feel more important."

"I take it that you don't have the same business beliefs as your dad. True?"

"No, we don't. Maybe we shouldn't spend any more time on this. It just makes me angry."

"Well let me ask you one more question, how big of a business is this? I mean if your father has these visions of megalomania, he must think he is pretty important himself. No?"

"Tiffany, it's not just one business. Dad controls many other companies. He hides his control with all kinds of dodges. But overall there are probably twenty-five or thirty companies and the total value is over fifty billion Euros."

It was Tiffany who was now in disbelief. "How much?" she stammered.

"Billions and billions. It goes up and down a hundred million just on the whims of the daily stock market."

Tiffany's mind whirled with the implications. The possibilities were promising. This man had more promise than she could possibly have guessed. Who would have guessed that this ultra-shy, probable cross-dresser could have access to such a fortune? And best of all, she liked him. Oh my!

"Perhaps we should change the subject then. Tell me more about you. What kind of books do you like to read? What kinds of movies do you like? Do you travel? Do you dance? Do you sing Karaoke? What kind of clothes and fashions do you like? What do you do when you are all alone and no one else is around? More importantly, do you have a girlfriend?" She threw him a number of topics that would have been interesting to pursue. Especially the questions on fashion and clothes and what he did when he was all alone. If he was anything like Todd, she had a good idea what his answers might be.

"No girl friends. I've never had much luck with women."

"That's too bad. Who knows, maybe your luck will change. So why do you think you've never had much luck with women?"

The champagne was probably having a slight affect on both of them, but certain secrets can withstand large quantities of liquor. Some secrets are so important and potentially disastrous that a person never relinquishes them. But there is one truth serum better than any chemical. It comes in many strengths and dosages, and even at a beginner dose it can have strange and powerful effects. The new serum was probably beginning to work its way through both of them.

"There are probably a lot of reasons. I really like girls. I think I like them more than most men might, but in some different ways I guess. I respect women. I think those reasons may be the cause of my shyness. I'm terribly shy in front of some women. The beautiful women. My mind goes numb and I get stupid. I can't think of anything intelligent to say, so I usually say something totally stupid or inappropriate. It's probably so ridiculous that you can't imagine such a thing."

There was at least one compliment in there and Tiffany had felt it. She also felt the frustration in Faxon. It had also been evident in Todd. "I do understand Faxon. Tell me more about Faxon, please."

The two of them had finished off the shrimp. Tiffany took the third and last glass of champagne and leaned back in her chair to listen to Faxon. She sipped the champagne and watched Faxon. He finally looked relaxed. His stupid phase seemed to be fading away.

"Well," he began as he thought for a few seconds, "as I said, I'm German, my father is a rich snob, and my brother is growing up to be just like him. My mother was a beautiful woman, and I miss her. I think she liked me; liked me more than my brother. Gunther was everything that I was not. He was older, smarter, faster, stronger and he was just like dad. Gunther was a terrific football player. I think he could have gone pro. Semi-pro at the least. My dad always favored him, and I understood why. I never had any problem with that. I think mom favored me. At least I was convinced that she favored me, and that was good enough."

Faxon had been slowing down his speech and getting comfortable, and it suddenly dawned on him that he was getting too comfortable. He pushed himself up in the big overstuffed chair and he changed the tone of his speech.

"Anyway, I eventually became interested in gems. I'm not sure why or how, perhaps it had something to do with dinosaurs and fossils. I was a dinosaur freak when I was little, and mom and dad bought me a couple of fossils. I had some petrified wood and a couple of neat fossils. Then I got more interested in rocks and strata and minerals and eventually my interest evolved into the more interesting minerals; the semi-precious and then the truly precious.

"Precious gems led me eventually into security. Gunther and I were always expected to work for dad and eventually take over the business. Dad received the business from my grandfather and it was expected that it would be passed from generation to generation. The question seemed to be, what can Faxon contribute? I liked gems, I knew gems and that seemed to be a natural for me. After college, I returned to work in dad's insurance company. I received some great training about protecting artwork, collectibles, gems and the like. Believe it or not, it was fascinating. As much as I have this bad taste for thieves, I do admire their abilities. I was taught how they work, where they get their information, how they find their target, how they steal and how they sell their merchandise.

"I think it was simply a place to put poor little Faxon. See, I never measured up to Gunther or dad's expectations. I guess it was preordained that Gunther would eventually run the business, but the question was what to do with Faxon."

The truth serum was beginning to take its toll on Faxon. He was opening more than Tiffany wanted to hear at this time. She liked him, but she thought he was going too far for a conversation with a woman that he had never met before. She decided that she would save him the regret that he would feel tomorrow. His vulnerability made him desirable to Tiffany, but she wanted to help his self-confidence. It was time to stop the direction of this conversation.

"Interesting Faxon. So that is how you knew so much about my jewels. I sincerely thank you for your advice, and I will heed it. So tell me, what do you know about Tiffany Reimer?" She smiled at him, hoping he would take the bait and allow her to change the topic. He helped.

"I know a lot about you. I told you that I read everything that I could find about you. I know for instance that your original name was Todd."

'Wow,' she thought. He is going straight to what he wants to know. There was no longer any doubt that Faxon was a cross-dresser and maybe more. He was interested in hearing about Todd and his change to Tiffany. It was obvious to Tiffany that this was what he most wanted to hear. But she decided that he didn't need to hear it just yet. For an extremely shy man he was speaking too freely. Tiffany didn't want to open up his emotions and dreams just yet. She had already decided that if she could, she would help him down the path he desired. But not just now. Now was the time for inspiration. She changed the topic to Kimmay.

"How much do you know about Kimmay?"

"Almost as much as I know about you."

"Then the answer is you know nothing." This was going to be an interesting story, and Faxon would not know about it. No one outside their circle knew the real facts. "Go get us two more champagnes and I will tell you a story that you have never heard. And while you are getting more champagne, where is the little girl's room?"

When Tiffany returned to her chair, Faxon was waiting for her. He had four glasses of champagne sitting in front of them. He gave one glass to Tiffany. She smiled and took a sip. "You were going to tell me a story about Kimmay that I have never heard," he reminded her.

"Yes, I was going to talk," she said as she kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs up under her. "Faxon, please hold those shoes so that I don't lose them."

He picked them up and set them on the table, then looked into her eyes.

"You do know that I was born as a male, do you not?"

"Yes."

"And did you know that twice I was given the opportunity to live a female lifestyle?"

"No."

"And did you know that the first time I was given that opportunity that I destroyed the human race? That I killed everyone on this planet?"

The alcoholic haze hanging over Faxon lifted perceptibly. "What?"

 

(continued)

  

  

  

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