Chapter 1 - Prelude
This story was a commission, and is loosely based on the plot of an old sci-fi show episode.
“Taylor, would you like to be fed?”
The voice - her voice - came through a device built into the wall above the door. A gentle glow accompanied it, warm and reassuring. Taylor, however, merely clenched his fingers into the effortlessly soft bedding he lay upon and turned to face the wall. Every wall in the room, the floor, and even the ceiling was a soft baby blue, and sank gently under touch. That's what his world had become: all soft edges and rounded corners. They had done that…slowly methodically in a way that was too gentle to notice until…
“No…” he murmured softly, but it was a lie.
“Are you sure?” The voice came again, rolling as if off the tongue. “You sound awfully thirsty…”
Her voice was like velvet; honey trickling into the ear, just as the milk of their kindness had dripped down the throat of man… yet it was a poison, a slow, cruel kind that had paralysed our defences, and turned us into the perfect vessels for their twisted form of love to take hold of.
The promise of an end to his thirst made his body throb with need, and yet…
Taylor could only double over in bed as his stomach groaned at the thought of drinking, and he buried his face into the sheets to silence himself. Yet that only brought the already heady scent of his bedding into overpowering closeness, and he shuddered at the sudden influx of such a delightful - and powerful - aroma. That was their method, to subtly surround you with an imperceptible web of temptation that by design kept you from noticing you were in it until it was far too late to escape.
“Very well,” came her voice once more, softer, sounding almost disappointed, yet underlined by a confident certainty which only her kind could have apperceived. “I’m sure you’ll be thirsty soon… in fact, you’ll beg me for it.”
He winced, knowing she was right.
“W-what time is it?” He stammered out, as if trying to pretend he was still just a passenger, and still held some authority over his own fate - even if such fantasies were as artificial as the toys he was given to preserve the veneer of independence left to him.
“Oh, don’t be silly Taylor,” she replied, practically gushing at the opportunity to so sweetly condescend to him, “in space there is no time, and on board our vessels we go by the schedule that fits your personal biology. There is no chronology that can be calibrated!”
Biting his lip, and trying not to squirm too much under the silken soft sheets which incessantly rubbed against every inch of his now overly-sensitive body, he tried to ignore her smug, motherly hauteur even as every word of it buried itself into his mind and its implications dug much deeper.
“No,” he insisted, despite himself, “on Earth.”
“Awww, sweet thing, are you homesick? We’re going to your new home. You’ll soon forget about anything from before.”
Her words stung him deeply, as he privately wondered just how much he could still remember, how many of his memories were still real. Now, as always, when he tried to recall events from before a mild pain built in the back of his mind, until it became too hard to focus.
He whined as the pain scattered his thoughts once more, and in so doing sounded all the petulant child she loved to see him as, and he cursed himself for it. Everything he did fed into their narrative. There was no way out of it.
No escape.
“Back on Earth, what time is it?”
“About 12 noon.” She said at last, evidently having relished tormenting him for so long, and at last the gentle light went out.
***
12 noon. That was about when it started. This is the way dreams begin, or perhaps… nightmares. You don’t think about the present, what’s happening right in front of you, all around you. We were so preoccupied with what would happen that we hadn’t stopped to think about what was already happening… what had already happened, and that it might be too late, until it really was.
The world spun as usual. People went about their day as they had for millenia. There were a myriad of crises to worry about, and all we could think about was what was going to happen in the months or years to come. Indeed the sheer quantity of worries, married with our familiarity, had robbed them of any real urgency.
It was to that backdrop that the world’s governments were quick to respond to a light appearing in the midday sky, which heralded the arrival of those events yet to come which would render all before so seemingly minute.
Had we acted then in the moment, rather than thinking of the future, we may have warded off the fate that befell us all. But we didn’t.
No, as we gathered around radios and television sets to listen as visitors from another world spoke to us for the first time, we had no idea what awaited us. Maybe we were doomed from the start…
***
[Two years Earlier]
Their voice came through with eerie clarity across every radio, every TV, every phone. Every device capable of transmitting their message did so under the influence of some hitherto unknown alien technology.
“Greetings, children of Earth. We are the Carers. We have come with open arms to embrace you into our bosom, and bring to you the bountiful, ample fruits we can provide.”
It happened just as it had in so many hollywood movies, although none of those had not prepared us for the moment when it came. A gleaming silver vessel - massive in scale - touched down upon the grasses outside the United Nations headquarters hours after they had addressed the globe. Within, representatives of the world’s governments sat in session to await the visitors who had come to speak to humanity.
Indeed, so little time had been allowed from their first spotting to their arrival that it was all the collective leadership of humanity could do to get in place to attend the event, let alone coordinate or even consider any kind of objection. No doubt, that was precisely as the aliens had intended.
The mind of every man and woman reeled. What would this monumental occasion turn out to be? The prelude to some invasion? Would these creatures be horrors from another world, teeth and claws, seeking to conquer? If nothing else, Hollywood had at least imbued the human race with some healthy scepticism - and imagination.
Yet as the visitors entered the forum, walking onto a stage where so many human beings had spoken about great notions and deeds before, all of human history seemed to pale in comparison to the situation unfolding… as did the faces of those in attendance. No one could have guessed just how wrong they had been about the aliens’ appearances.
Their envoy was a party of three. The Carers, as they had named themselves, had to be at least nine feet tall or more each. Their bodily proportions, however, were even more absurd. Each seemed progressively to be a more ludicrously exaggerated example of the feminine form than the last as they stepped onto the stage in a calm but confident procession, one following the next.
Their legs were long, holding their obscenely generous proportions well aloft, and their thighs pillowed out beneath shining silken cloaks widely enough that Taylor - with eyes glued to the screen like everyone else - doubted he could have wrapped his arms around a single one. The thought of doing just that made his heart race, and he questioned why at such a historic moment he was feeling so sexually aroused. Even given their mind-rocking bodies, he hadn’t expected his shock to so easily give way to lust; yet as his eyes wandered he couldn’t deny he liked what he saw.
Broad waistlines spoke to the softness of the flesh above, yet where their thighs had pushed their clothing outwards, their bosoms burst forwards with even greater extremity, and long flowing robes hung from their massive breasts like tablecloths draped to the floor. Their hair flowed down to their shoulders, just as bright and soft as the clothing they wore. With every step, their gossamer thin clothing shimmered in the light, and the outlines of their bodies were very clearly visible beneath. It was enough to get Taylor’s heart beating at the sight. However, for those not still gawking at their incomprehensible measurements, it was their faces which truly captivated onlookers. Despite bodies fit for a pantheon of goddesses, they looked so oddly… human.
After basking in the collective awe of an entire species long enough, sporting smug grins all the while, one stepped forward - she being the tallest of the three and with the largest assets by far. It was only then that cameras with their wide shots gave a true sense of the scale of these massive women. The podium would usually have come up to a man’s chest, but barely made it to her hips as she took her place behind it, and Taylor swallowed audibly as he couldn’t help but picture himself in the pulpit’s place. The visitor held a book in her hands, opened to a page, and smiled. Piercing eyes, devoid of colour, greeted the world as she flashed a smile.
“People of the Earth,” she began, and her gaze began to drift across the world’s leadership like a wolf among the gathered sheep, “we greet you in peace, and with love. We come from a world far from here. One far more developed and advanced than yours.”
It took Taylor a few moments, but he soon realised what others nearby were muttering about. Her mouth wasn’t moving, yet she was able to communicate. Was someone reading a statement for her? Her next words seemed to anticipate their reactions, however.
“While we know your language, we do not communicate as you do. We communicate telepathically, directly transmitting our thoughts into your minds.” She placed her hands upon the lectern that sat just below her prodigious waist, and past which her mountainous thighs easily spilled out to either side. “We have come to welcome you into our arms, and have you join us as part of an intergalactic community. As you heard in our announcement when we arrived in orbit of your world, we are the Carers. We have come to share with you the wonders of our technology, and… to care for you.”
At that, she affixed her eyes directly upon the camera directly in front of her, and Taylor felt his breath catch for a moment as they got a close view of her for the first time. She was utterly, stunningly beautiful. Easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Different here and there, most obviously in her sheer size, but so close to human as to be far from unpleasing to the eye.
“We will help guide you into a new phase of your… evolution… as a species.” Taylor could almost have sworn he heard a faint chuckle in her voice, and her smirk concurred, but it was quickly forgotten as the involuntary spasm of the all-too-human action sent a shockwave rippling across her soft body. The resulting amount of jiggle of her monumental breasts quickly forced any higher thoughts from his mind.
The delegates murmured for some time. The Carer’s lidded eyes merely surveyed the crowd, until at last order was called. Questions were asked, and she answered each calmly and patiently, always with a flattering smile.
“What forms of aid do you wish to share with us?”
“There are far too many to list here, but the first we would like to share are the following. We can provide for you a limitless source of power which would alleviate all of your energy needs. It would then leave you with limitless time for… recreation. Also, a defence matrix which would prevent any and all weapons of war from functioning within its boundaries. Ways to improve crop yields a hundred fold, clean any water effortlessly, or cure any disease.”
Shocked gasps followed such a pronouncement, as the obvious implications of her words were immediate. The long term ramifications of these, however, were not quite so apparent at the time. Indeed, many in attendance who might have questioned them seemed a little too distracted by her body to pay the future much heed.
“What if we should choose not to avail ourselves of your aid?”
“We will not… force ourselves upon you.” Taylor could have sworn she licked her lips at that thought. “But in time, I believe all of you will see the benefits of coming into our… embrace.”
“Are we to expect you will give us all this for nothing in return? That you have no ulterior motives?”
At that, the woman's smile broadened, as if it was the question she had been waiting for.
“As I am sure you are beginning to see, given our technological gap, if we wished you any harm we could have done so. You would have been simply helpless to resist us…” A slight shiver came over her at that remark, but she swiftly recovered, “yet we have not done so. We come in peace. All we ask in return is your trust, and… in time… your love.”
She closed the book she had carried with her and left it upon the podium before, together with her two compatriots, they left the hall.
***
Peace on Earth.
That was what had just been promised, and over time, the people of Earth slowly came to believe for the first time may actually be possible. It took quite some time before the Carers were approached, as many nations were reluctant to essentially forfeit quite a bit of their autonomy to an alien race. However, it was inevitable that eventually some group or another would see it as a way to gain leverage, to outdo their opponents, outflank a neighbour or political rival.
Ironically, their presence had brought about a near total standstill upon the Earth politically as everybody seemed to be weighing their options. Of course, at first many doubted the Carers could even actually provide what they promised. Then a nation accepted their defence field… and suddenly firearms, missiles, bombs simply ceased to function. When they in turn threatened to invade their neighbour, having achieved invulnerability, their neighbour asked the Carers for one. All of a sudden, the war that had lasted decades was over. Not just over, war had become obsolete.
One by one after that nations accepted their help. Scarcity vanished and with it conflict. If your neighbour accepted their help, they were unassailable. Your weapons of war were useless and their domestic output skyrocketed. With frightening rapidity, all but the most deeply held of disagreements vanished overnight from the prevailing human zeitgeist. Economics, along with a dozen other fields of study, became simply obsolete.
Taylor, however, was still employed. Indeed, his was one of the few positions he had been assured was now of such high importance that he would be given anything he needed. He was a code breaker for the US military, part of a cryptography team, and he specialised in languages. In fact, he was one of the most highly qualified people for the task at hand in the country.
However, it took days to even begin to understand how their language might operate - even given his impressive repertoire. Even with a replica of the book the visitor had left behind, and practically all of the resources the military could spare being poured into decoding it, they hadn’t even gotten to the first page - figuratively or literally. They still didn’t even know what the title said.
Given the book was decidedly unreadable, and yet had been left behind by the visitor seemingly without worry, it was unclear if this was merely a sign of simple genuity, or immeasurable contempt and aplomb.
There was no trust among the armed forces of the United States. To them this really was simply too good to be true. As far as they were concerned, all that had to be determined was when and how - not if - the attack would come. The politicians could play nice, but the military were determined to look the gift horse squarely in the mouth. The Siege of Troy hadn’t been won through force of arms, after all.
Yet as a week passed, then another, slowly news arrived to military personnel of at first needy countries - then those less so - accepting aid from beyond the stars. So too did news of the wondrous effects it had, and as weeks wiled away, the stiff resolves of even the hyper-sceptical and paranoid military wavered somewhat, replaced by an altogether different and unprofessional kind of stiffness in the face of such seemingly innocent alien beauty.
Only as the first vote was being held in the Senate did any breakthrough come. Taylor himself had been the orchestrator of the world’s first partial translation of their language - albeit only a minor one. He and his team decoded the title of the book just in time to be a debate point for countless days to come.
The title read “To Care for Man.”
***
Taylor sat and stared at the page, in such beautifully intricate lettering, and read the words of a creature from another planet for the first time. It had been six days since they had made the breakthrough and released the translation.
He couldn’t keep himself from feeling a glimmer of hope. It felt so reassuring to have found it for himself. To care for man… that was the title of their manifesto. He couldn’t help it. A flame flickered within him as he read those words in a language new to the Earth for the thousandth time over.
Mankind, so unused to charity, so downtrodden by millenia of conflict, likewise was feeling the tantalising temptation of trust. Maybe, just maybe… maybe the Carers really were telling the truth. Maybe all they wanted was to ‘Care for Man’.
Words his father had once told him echoed in some almost forgotten part of his brain: “Ain’t nothing in this life that’s truly free, sometimes it just isn’t obvious what the cost will be.”
He struggled to see the cost here, however. Rather, he saw the value. A single farm in ten days produced enough food for a town. A single power plant produced enough energy for a nation. No new wars had begun, and all others had ended. Every hospital which used their medicine sent home every person it treated alive and well. It all seemed… just too good to be true.
Yet the evidence was plain to see. Everything they had promised had come true, and more. All they asked in return… was trust. Trust, and love.
To trust them, and love them, that was all they asked. As Taylor watched the small TV in his office, those words were repeated again as a Carer spoke in front of Congress for the first time, her massive breasts threatening at any moment to burst from her snug robes. He couldn’t deny the temptation.
To trust them, he corrected himself, not to love them. He couldn’t imagine himself loving an alien woman… no matter how enchanting they were.
***
A few more months passed, and yet time seemed to slow as many of the pastimes which had so preoccupied man were gently but insistently prised from their fingers. Many became unemployed, but found only increasingly generous social welfare in its place, leaving them looking for a new purpose in life… which as it eventually transpired, the Carers had plans for as well.
Some did find jobs in the booming construction industry which arose around the need for massively upscaled sidewalks, roads, doorways, and countless other things which had to be made so much larger to accommodate the very welcome new residents of the planet as they arrived.
Indeed, arriving is precisely what the Carers had begun to do. They came in their dozens, then hundreds, then thousands. Countries which opened their borders to them found a population of Carers more than eager to integrate, and thirsty for more… ravenously so, in fact.
The only downside, seemingly, was that the news had become quite boring. The endless disaster cycle revealed just how hollow it had been when they swiftly ran out of disasters to report. As the well of misery dried up, slowly news turned to reporting the misery of those nations who had yet to accept the visitors’ charity instead.
Indeed, as the massive popularity of having Carers be interviewed on a news show became apparent, some channels saw the opportunity and had Carers take the place of news anchors. The immediate impact of having such a… visually stimulating host of a show was also self-evident, and within a few days, it seemed every channel was hiring Carers.
It did have something of a censoring effect, though, when every opinion was transmitted through the comforting but diminishing voice of an alien woman. Talk shows which had once been Carers on one side, humans on the other, now seemed to have very few humans voicing their opinions - if there were any at all. Increasingly, hours would go by when you would see nothing but Carers on screen. Soon everything, every news broadcast, every soap opera, every movie, every magazine featured the beautiful face of a Carer staring back at you… with deep, loving eyes.
Not to say that the “invasion”, as some erstwhile-labelled extremists decried it, went entirely unopposed. Indeed quite a few tried to make a name for themselves as outspoken opponents and critics. Yet as the media gradually became saturated with Carers, they began to squeeze such malcontents out of the public eye… both figuratively and literally. Those who most strongly opposed what they saw as a feather-soft takeover always seemed to find their arguments crumbling and voices wilting when forced to sit sandwiched between two Carers on a couch, deeply inhaling their scents, those effortlessly soft thighs and breasts pressing in on either side of them. Indeed, many of those who so vocally opposed the “invasion” soon became its most vocal supporters after such encounters, or otherwise always seemed to simply quietly disappear, perhaps lost between those very same breasts and thighs.
All of this was transmitted, helpfully, through new Carer technology adapted televisions. Every household could afford one now - because they were free. Indeed, homes without them soon found Carers delivering them to their front door, and even the most ardent xenophobes somehow found it very difficult to turn down their offer after those Carers invited themselves into their homes…
To Taylor, the culture shock, or lack thereof, was perhaps the most surprising part. The news of alien life, its arrival, and subsequent integration into human society had been so easily absorbed. Perhaps a world culture so used to dramatic upheaval and change, which was so often accompanied by horror, was better prepared than any could have anticipated or expected for the arrival of seemingly benevolent visitors from the stars. Of course, the very nature of the visitors had made their coming far easier to swallow. A spoonful of sugar helped the medicine go down, after all, and the Carers were almost infectiously sweet.
Candour aside, it was no secret that many found the visitors well beyond attractive. Borderline obsession-inducing was perhaps more accurate. Yet the visitors seemed to relish such attention rather than shirk from it. Indeed, they seemed to go out of their way to accommodate those who developed what otherwise might be seen as an unhealthy fascination. News channels, talk shows, and many other broadcasts began to feature men and women who had struck up a relationship with one of the Carers. It started with a few highly visible celebrity couples here and there, but soon a day didn’t go by without some famous actor or actress being flanked by a massive woman and expressing to the cameras just how much letting a Carer into their lives had improved it. They were more centred, less stressed, with more time for leisure and less worries or cares. As they gushed over the myriad benefits to having a ten foot tall goddess of a woman in your life, it was often far too easy to miss the firm but gentle hand possessively placed upon their shoulders from above as a doting Carer smiled down encouragingly at their smaller companions.
Soon every sports game’s skybox was filled to the brim with (and heavily reinforced to account for) a host of Carers waving and cheering to their partners on the pitch, although players who partnered with Carers always seemed to slowly lose their stamina, and even a little tone, and with frightening regularity seemed to decide to retire much earlier into their careers than any could have predicted. Of course there were no shortage of suggestive claims made as to why, when partnered with a buxom giant alien woman, although those very jokes always rang a little hollow when underlined by the jealousy in the voice of those who told them.
There were home segments where a man or woman explained how they rarely felt the urge to leave home anymore to eat, as they now found all their desires sated by their Carer at home, ravenous for what she could provide - although none ever went quite into detail as to what their new diets consisted of. High profile politicians also were accused of secret affairs with Carers, and photos soon led to public admissions which soon made any pretence of secrecy unnecessary. After hosting a delegation, even the President was said to have a Carer living in the White House, advising both himself and the First Lady. Indeed, as the world’s famous and powerful growingly sat beside a thickly bodied giantess, a delicate yet firm hand grasping their shoulder as they tried to contain their excitement while being interviewed, it was hard for many not to scowl with envy.
Although, with more Carers arriving every day, it was soon not too hard to find one. Indeed, as time went on, it rather became increasingly more difficult to find time away from them. They had an obvious effect on everyone in whichever room they were in. It was hard for them not to be the centre of attention, either due to their sheer physicality, easily taking up twice the space of a normal person if not more, or simply their knowledge, personality, charm and intelligence rolled together.
Indeed, how could one not feel like a child around them as a result? Their overly-maternal demeanours did little to abate the issue. However, whenever asked about themselves or their ambitions, each always had the same answer; they were Carers, and they had only come to Earth to care for mankind.