Free Creation by Greg Chase Page A

the most nerve-packed areas of our bodies. Pressing them to each other, stimulating them, displaying them are all ways of expressing acceptance.”
    He had trouble looking her in the eye as she spoke so freely about sexual contact. In desperation, Sam turned to Doc. “So this is what you mean by a female-dominated—or rather, an equally dominated—society?”
    Doc set his thermos of coffee into its restraining cup on the table. “The two chimpanzee species were our starting point. But like the bonobo, we knew we’d have to develop this different form of society in isolation. Exposed to the aggressive nature of life on Earth, such an experiment wouldn’t last long. War is always easier than peace.”
    “Why not take the idea to its logical conclusion? Why have clothes at all? Wouldn’t a nudist colony make more sense if sex isn’t to be repressed?” Sam took in his companions’ flowing outfits for the first time. They were similar to the clothing Jess had given him. The garment fit loose about his chest, legs, and arms but cinched in close around his ankles, wrists, and waist. He’d thought of it as sleeping attire, but it appeared to be the regular uniform.
    Yoshi played with the ties on Mira’s shirt. “Everyone likes opening packages. Sometimes that’s the best part of getting something new.”
    Instead of swatting his hand away, she puffed out her chest, daring him to continue. To Sam’s slight disappointment, Yoshi declined the offer. “We wouldn’t want to distract Sam too much from our conversation.”
    Doc smiled at the diminutive gardener. “Yoshi’s horticulture skills came later in life. Originally, he was a scholar of Earth’s religions. His insights on man’s struggle meshed nicely with Mira’s ideas on the bonobo.”
    Wrinkles eased on Yoshi’s face, giving Sam his first glimpse of the dark-blue eyes that nestled inside the good humor. “Your Caucasian ancestors believed in the Judeo-Christian church?”
    Sam nodded. “My parents still attend, though I haven’t since I was a kid.”
    Yoshi took on the look of a sage as he put his fingertips together. “I’ve always been fond of the story of Adam and Eve. Not for all the normal dogmatic reasons the church uses to instill guilt in its members but for the very simple concept of being aware that they were naked.”
    “So we wear clothes because we’re embarrassed—is that your point?” Sam asked.
    Yoshi slowly shook his head. “Eating from the tree of knowledge informed them that they were exposed to each other. So they covered up. And all of mankind’s advances stem from that simple act.”
    Sam took a long drink of coffee then set it down to stare hard at the small gardener. “Explain.”
    The man’s mysterious smile reminded Sam of his father’s when he knew he’d just won a game of chess. “Any other human need couldn’t be restrained without doing harm to the body. Lack of food or water, the need for the body to perform its biological requirements, you can’t deny those things to an individual. But sex, that you can live without. It’s hormone driven, not something you can ignore, but you can live without performing the deed. So cover up what you desire.”
    “Well, humanity wouldn’t last long without sex, but okay. On an individual level, I can see what you’re saying,” Sam said.
    “You wonder what’s under that garment,” Yoshi said. “Curiosity. You try to envision what she looks like naked. Imagination. You come up with ways to get her out of those coverings. Creativity. Mankind can trace all of its development into the modern, space-traveling monkeys that we are back to that simple realization of our naked bodies.”
    Doc looked at the two cocreators of his budding society. “We speculated that the more the sexual urge was repressed, the bigger the effects on a society. Too much repression resulted in aggression, a lust for power, and a general lack of learning. Too little, and we end up sleeping, eating,