Mr Bovey recovered. 'Shall we go?

'Love to.

The restaurant he'd booked was Richard's. Small but stylish, occupying two floors of an old white stone house in the Udno district. The owner was also the chef; and as Mr Bovey explained he had a small boat which he took out down the estuary a couple of times each week to catch fish for the specials.

'So do you date other multiples? she asked once they'd ordered.

'Of course, he told her. 'Not that there are a lot of us on Viotia yet.

'What about marriage? Is that only with multiples?

'I was married once. A multiple called Mrs Rion. It was, he frowned, as if searching for a memory, 'pleasant.

'That sounds pretty awful.

'I'm being unfair to her. We had a good time while it lasted. Sex was great. His smile was shameless. 'Think on it, thirty of her, thirty of me. All of us at it every night. You singles can't get that close to physical paradise even in an orgy.

'You don't know how good I am in an orgy. As soon as she said it she could feel her ears burning. But it was the second time she'd startled him this evening, and they weren't even an hour into the date. Cressida would be proud of me.

'Anyway… he said. 'We called time on the marriage after seven years. No hostilities, we're still friends. Thankfully, we didn't merge our businesses as well. Always sign a pre-marriage contract, no matter what you are.

'Yes. I found that out the hard way.

'You've been married?

'Yeah. It was a mistake, but you were right, I'm young. My cousin says mistakes are the only way to learn.

'You're cousin is right.

'So are you going to try and convert me tonight?

'Convert you?

'Sell the whole multiple idea. I thought you believe multiples are inevitable.

'I do. But I'm not an evangelical. Some of us are, he admitted.

'And you date — uh…

'Outside the faith? Of course I do. People are interesting no matter what type they are.

'Highers seem quite boring. If that sound bigoted, I should explain my ex is currently migrating inwards.

'Not a wholly balanced opinion, then.

Araminta raised a glass. 'Ozzie, I hope not.

'Going Higher is wrong, it's a technocrat route. We're a humanist solution to immortality and evolution.

'You still rely on technology, though.

'It's a very small reliance. A few gaiamotes to homologize our thoughts. It's a simple procedure.

'Ah hah! You are trying to convert me.

He grinned. 'You're paranoid.

'All divorcees are. So are any of you female?

'No. Some multiples are multisexual, but that's not for me. Too much like masturbation I'd imagine.

'I've just thought of something, and you have to answer because it's not fair.

'What's not fair?

'Well, you can see that I'm not with anyone else this evening—

'Ah, his smile turned devious. 'So in among all the hard work the rest of mes are doing back at the macrostore, is there another of me in a different restaurant chatting to another woman? Right?

'Yeah, she admitted.

'Why would it have to be a different restaurant? he gestured round extravagantly. 'Be honest, how could you tell if one of them is me?

The idea made her draw a breath and glance round.

Mr Bovey was laughing. 'But I'm not, he assured her. 'All I'm interested in tonight is you and you alone. His gaze dropped to the front of her dress. 'How could I not be?

'That's, she took another drink of the wine, 'very flattering, thank you.

Which got the evening back on more or less standard lines.

The mighty creatures fly free amid glorious coloured streamers which glow strongly against the infinite dark of the outer reaches. They loop round the great scarlet promontories which extend for lightyears, curving and swooping above the mottled webbing of faint cold gas. As they fly, the notions of what was brush against their bodies to tingle their minds as if they are travelling through the memories of another entity. Such a notion is not far from the truth, especially this close to the nucleus of their universe.

This one she tenants turns lazily along its major axis, aware of its kindred surrounding it. The flock is spread across millions of kilometres. Over a planetary diameter away, another of its own is also rolling, mountain-sized elongated body throwing its vacuum wings wide, tenuous tissues of molecules as large as atmospheric clouds that shimmer delicately in the thin starlight. Somewhere out across the vast gulf it is aware of the whispers of thought arising once more from a solid world. Once more there are individual minds growing strong again, becoming attuned to the fabric of this universe. As it basks in the gentle radiance pouring out of the nebula, it wonders when the minds will have the strength to truly affect reality. Such a time, it agrees with its kindred, is sure to come. Then the flock will depart the great nebula to search out the newcomers, and carry their completed lives back to the nucleus, where all life eventually culminates.

It was a pleasurable notion which made Araminta sigh contentedly even though the creature was slipping away into the darkness where it dwelled. Misty starlight gave way to a row of flickering candles. The gossamer breath of nebula dust firmed up into strong fingers sliding along her legs; more hands began to stroke her belly, then another pair squeezed her breasts. Sweet oil was massaged into her skin with wicked insistence. Tongues licked with intimate sensually.

'Time to wake up, a voice murmured.

On the other side of her another voice encouraged, 'Time to indulge yourself again.

Amid a delicious drowsiness Araminta bent herself in the way the hands were urging. She blinked lazily, seeing the Mr Bovey she'd had dinner with standing beside the vast bed. He smiled down. As she grinned back up at him she was impaled from behind. She gasped, startled and excited, seeing a look of rapture cross his face. A further set of hands started to explore her buttocks. She opened her mouth to receive the cock of a really young him. Which was extremely bad of her.

She didn't know how many hims she was accommodating this time. She didn't know if it was nearly morning or still the middle of the night. She didn't care. Flesh and pleasure was her here and now, her whole universe.

After the meal at Richard's, his capsule had brought them back to his place, a large house set above the city's south bank with lawns that reached down to the river. It wasn't even midnight. Several of hims were in the lounge, a couple were cooking, three were in the swimming pool. More were resting or sleeping upstairs, he told her.

It was like holding court. Her sitting on a broad leather sofa, hims on either side, and more sprawled on cushions at her feet as they chatted away. She took a long time to fight down her instinct that they were all separate people. He enjoyed teasing her, switching speaker mid-sentence, even arguing among himself. But the simultaneous laughter his bodies came out with was endearing. It was a wonderfully languid seduction.

Then the one she'd gone to dinner with leaned over and kissed her. By then the wine and the anticipation were making her heart pound and her skin burn.

'You choose, he murmured silkily.

'Choose?

'How many, and which ones.

She'd glanced round, and seen identical expressions of delight and eagerness on each of him. For that long moment every one of him was completely indistinguishable; he could have been clones. That was when she accepted on a subconscious level that he truly was one.

'You of course, she told her dinner companion. 'You did all the hard work getting me back here, after all. Then she pointed. 'You. The handsome one. 'You. Young and very well muscled — she'd seen that when he climbed out of the pool.