Many Years Earlier (and no longer in Essex)

Eleanor woke up feeling groggy.  She felt like she ought to have a hangover, but it wasn’t quite there.  Certainly she remembered going out drinking with Jane, her best friend, the night before.  She’d been flirting with the barman at the pub, and Jane had been flirting with the barmaid.  Neither of them had been successful.  But she couldn’t remember getting home.  She was sure she hadn’t had that much to drink.

Then she realised, firstly she wasn’t in her own bed and secondly, she was naked.  Not ever a duvet covering her.  Immediately she came wide awake.  This was definitely not good.

She looked around.  She wasn’t on a bed.  In fact, it was a sort of inverse of a bed.  She was in a bed-sized pit with a soft, pliant floor, much like a mattress.  The sides were of a similar substance, and there were what looked like handholds around the edge.  The pit was ideally suited for sleeping in.  It was about 30 centimetres deep so if you rolled in your sleep you’d hit the soft side and not go rolling about on the floor.

She used the handholds to pull herself up into a sitting position.  She realised she wasn’t alone in the room.  There was another pit parallel to hers, and lying in it was Jane.  Jane was as naked as she was.  Her breasts were going up and down with her breathing, so she was still alive, but embarrassingly, she was lying with her legs apart so Eleanor got a clear look at her pussy.

For much of their friendship, Jane had been trying to convert Eleanor to her ways, but Eleanor was too straight for that to happen.  It was now no more that good natured joshing between the two friends.  But finding the two of them naked together worried Eleanor.  What had they been doing the night before, and why couldn’t she remember it?

She stepped out of her pit and went over to Jane.  She poked her friend in the side, first gently, then more forcefully until Jane started showing signs of life.

“Okay, I’m awake,” she sputtered.  “Wait, why are you naked?  Have you finally decided to give in to me?”  She looked down.  “And why am I naked?  What have we been doing?”

“Did we do anything last night?” Eleanor asked.

“Not that I remember.  And I’m sure I would remember if we’d done – you know – that!”

“But do you remember anything about last night?  Like how we got here?  And where here is?”

“I remember leaving the pub, but after that, nothing.  What is this place?”

The room they were in could best be described as Spartan.  No furniture.  No windows.  There was a door – locked – and that was all.  But they didn’t have to decide what to do next because the door suddenly slid open.

“Good, you’re awake,” said the person who’d entered.  “I’m sure you have many questions.  I’ll take you to someone who can answer them.”  Eleanor and Jane looked in astonishment.  The newcomer was a blonde woman and she was as naked as they were.  Even straight Eleanor found her attractive, so she’d no idea what Jane must be thinking.

“I don’t suppose we get to dress first,” said Eleanor.

“I’m afraid not,” came the reply.  “As you can see, we don’t go in for clothes around here.”

Finding out answers outweighed any qualms Eleanor had of walking around a strange place naked so she followed the woman out into a well-lit corridor.  Jane was behind her.  Probably checking out both our arses, thought Eleanor.

It did not surprise Eleanor when they came out into a wider corridor to see many more naked women walking around.  Mostly they were ignored by these.  I’ve been kidnapped by a nudist Lesbian cult, thought Eleanor.  Jane must be loving this.  But then, something even more unusual caught Eleanor’s attention.  The side of the corridor was one long window.  And outside the window was not anywhere she knew from Essex, but she did recognise it.  Eleanor had been an astronomy nerd and a science fiction fan as long as she could remember, and she could recognise the surface of the moon when she saw it.

“Oh!” was all she could say.

“That must be a video screen,” said Jane.

“Please don’t stop to admire the view,” said their guide.  “We need to get to your interview.”

Was this code for some sort of interrogation, was Eleanor’s next thought?  Being kidnapped in a spaceship brought to mind the words “anal probe”.

They were led into a large room which looked like an office.  The chairs and a desk looked conventional, even if the shelves had nothing that looked like books or files on them.  A large window looked out on the lunar surface.  There was yet another striking naked woman sitting at the desk.  The boss, Eleanor guessed.  They were signalled to sit down in two comfortable looking chairs across the desk from her.

“I imagine you have a number of questions,” she said.

“Are we actually on the Moon?” was Eleanor’s response.

“Yes, we are.  We’re currently on what is the far side of the moon to the Earth.  We are less likely to be detected by observers on Earth.

“To answer your most obvious questions, yes this is a spaceship.  No, most of the crew of this spaceship are not from Earth.  Aliens, you’d call us.  We’ve been studying Earth civilisation for centuries, waiting for the right time to reveal ourselves to Earth.”

“Why do you look so human?  And why are you all naked?  And where are the men?”  Eleanor’s questions tumble out.

“The answer to the first question is ‘Nobody knows’,” said the woman.  “All planets inhabited by technologically advance life, the dominant beings all look like Earth humans.  There are many theories.  The one I like is it’s part of a great cosmic joke perpetuated by some ancient race who have long since left the galaxy.  And the second part of that joke answers you second question.  When a star drive was first developed, at a time lost in history, it was discovered that only naked females could operate it.  The drive wouldn’t work if the crew wore clothes.  And the operation of the drive caused slow death for any men on board.  We have since worked out ways to keep men in stasis and revive them at our destination, but men have a lower status in our society.  We keep them for breeding, mainly.

“So, what we would like is to run some tests on you to see what attitudes are like on Earth at the moment.  Nothing painful.  Then you have a choice.  We can return you to where we picked you up and wipe your mind of you experiences on board this ship.  But we are always on the lookout for willing volunteers to add to our crew.  We’ve recruited many people from Earth over the centuries.  If you stay, you’ll probably meet some.  One effect of the star drive is a very long life for people on board.

“No need to answer now,” she concluded.  “You’ll be taken back to your room until we want to run our tests.”

“Are you going to anal probe us?” Eleanor asked with trepidation.

“Only if you want us to,” she said with a smile.

Back in the room, their guide showed them how to control the furniture.  As well as the sleeping pits, they could also bring out of the floor chairs, a desk, even a television screen which had available a selection of shows from around the world.

“She gorgeous,” said Jane, talking about the boss lady.  “Are you going to stay?”

“All those years reading science fiction!  Of course I’m staying.  I think I can guess what your answer is going to be.”

“A ship full of naked women.  Of course I’m staying, too.”