For a change, the experiment was conducted in Jim’s home.

In Jim’s spacious bedroom A.J. had arranged four video cameras, two tape machines, and a still camera that would take snapshots every ten seconds. A.J. himself carried a portable video camera with sound, so that he could speak mental notes for later analysis.

The plan was to have the sex be as similar as possible to Karen and Jim’s first night under the circumstances. Both had been drinking and both had been fixated upon each other in a fashion Karen did not believe could be duplicated, for reasons she would not explain. She would, however, try her best.

Jim and Karen were at Jim’s downstairs bar, drinking Bushmill’s. Jim was on his fourth, Karen her second.

“Is he already upstairs?” Karen asked.

“Yes,” Jim replied, sipping his drink. “The bedroom looks like a technical junkie’s wet dream.”

“That won’t make it easy.”

“I know. Having second thoughts?”

Karen drank her drink. “No, I’m not, but it’s not going to be easy getting myself turned on.”

Jim poured Karen another drink, then another of his own as he finished his. “Can’t you use the empathy to get yourself turned on?” he asked.

“Yes, but there has to be a basic drive. That’s what I’m missing right now.”

Jim sipped his drink, and laughed to himself. “I don’t quite have that problem,” he said.

“I noticed.”

Jim laughed aloud. “When I first became successful in this business I was overwhelmed by the number of women and men who would follow me around trying to get me into bed. It was right at the beginning of the ongoing AIDS pandemic and no one gave a shit. I certainly didn’t.

“I found myself in a very short time able to get hard by just thinking of the word sex. It was self defense actually, I liked getting laid every night and no one can fuck so much without exhausting themselves.”

“You survived,” Karen noted.

“I suppose so.”

Karen finished her drink. “I have no such experience do draw upon.”

Jim set down his empty glass. “Could you draw on me?”

“I could try.”

Jim stood and walked over to a reclining chair. He sat in it, patting his knee. “Come over here,” he said.

Karen obliged, sitting on his lap. Jim put his arms around her, and Karen put her arms around Jim. Jim began to speak, kissing Karen every few moments.

“You and I,” he began, “are driving up the coast on highway 101 on our way to a vacation in Monterey. It’s late at night. You’ve had a late patient and I had a recording session. It’s about three in the morning and the moon is about three-quarters full.

“A few miles north of Ventura Highway 1 separates from the 101 for a four mile stretch, running along the beach. There are no homes; just an abandoned bar and the rare fisherman doing some night fishing, and they’re pretty spread out. There’s no logical reason for the road to branch like this, but it does and we take it, wanting to see the ocean waves as they hit the shore.

“It’s very pretty, very tranquil. After we’ve gone a mile or so without seeing anyone, you ask me to pull over so we can walk on the beach. I do, and we make it across the highway to the beach easily.

“The tide’s going out. It’s harder to fish under these circumstances and that’s why there are so few fishermen out. The waves are breaking low but loud, crashing into the shore. You and I walk down the beach, my arm over your shoulder and yours around my waist.

“One wave comes in higher than either of us expect, and we get a bit wet. As we run away from the shore, I trip and fall onto the sand. I’m not hurt, but I don’t get up. I’m just lying on my back, laughing. You offer to help me up and I pull you down too.

“We’re both lying on the sand and I kiss you. You kiss back, putting your arms around me. Gentle kissing becomes passionate kissing and tonguing as you grab on to the back of my shirt. I’m sitting up with you facing me on my lap when you pull my shirt off.

“I’m about to return the favor when you have me lie down on the sand. You toss my shirt behind you and begin kissing down my chest. When you reach my belly button it feels like you’re tickling me instead of tonguing, but the sensation feels good just the same.

“You unsnap and unzip my jeans, then pull them down around my ankles, along with my underwear. You then tongue down the line of hair from my belly button to the base of my cock, which is already hard. The blow job you give me is among the best I’ve ever had. My cock throbs, but I don’t come just yet.

“You stand up over me, and take off your jeans. You sit back down on my lap, but I don’t go inside you just yet. I watch instead as you take your top off. Your breasts almost shine in the moonlight, and your nipples are erect in the cool breeze.

“You lean down to kiss my lips, and as you do so I grab your ass. After we kiss I guide your cunt to my lips so that I may return the favor of oral pleasure you gave me.”

Karen began kissing Jim while he spoke, sighing and tonguing at intervals.

“While my tongue is in you,” Jim went on, “I look up your slim body to watch your breasts move as you rock to my motion. As if you know what I want, your cunt moves away and a nipple finds its way into my mouth.

“I want you more and more. Finally, when I can stand it no more, you bring me into you. It’s a pleasure and a shock at the same time as we both begin to thrust. Every thrust seems almost new as we both...”

Karen put her hand to Jim’s lips, silencing him. She took his right hand and placed it on her left breast. Jim could feel through the fabric that the nipple was erect, and he massaged the breast while Karen kissed him.

Karen broke off the kiss and stood away from the chair, holding Jim’s hand. She nodded, then smiled. Jim stood, and hugged her.

Karen led the way to the bedroom.

In working out the final details for the experiment, A.J. had offered many things to help Jim and Karen be comfortable with his being in the room. He had offered to go as far as being undressed himself, to equalize the situation.

Karen finally turned the suggestion aside. The best thing, she decided, was for A.J. to be as out of the way as possible. When they came into the room, A.J. said nothing, simply nodding to Jim to acknowledge he was ready to begin.

Jim looked into Karen’s eyes. She seemed to focus in on him alone, as if they were alone in the universe. He kissed her lips and found a tongue in his mouth, and hands under his shirt. He could begin to feel the emotional output Karen was letting loose.

Jim reached to the front of Karen’s blouse and unbuttoned it. He stared at the curves along the insides of her breasts as he removed his shirt. Karen held up her arms and Jim pulled her blouse off her form. He then drew her close and kissed her.

A.J. sat down in one corner of the room, eyes wide as his own penis began to stiffen. “No porno flick does this,” he said into his tape recorder. “They don’t even know I’m here.”

Jim stepped back from Karen and removed his pants, letting them drop to the floor. Karen approached his then, reaching into his underwear for his cock. She squeezed it once lightly, then pulled his last piece of clothing off of him. She brought her breasts around Jim’s hard cock, then took it into her mouth and sucked.

Jim brought his hands onto Karen’s bare shoulders and massaged them as she in turn massaged his cock with her tongue. After a few moments Jim knelt on the floor, reaching his hand into Karen’s jeans. Her cunt was moist and warm, and he let his fingers explore around. Whenever Karen moaned, he would pay special attention to whatever spot he was at.

Karen stood, and Jim removed the last of her clothing. With a flourish, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. The bed itself had no covers on it, and had one camera on either side that the couple ignored.

Jim was on top of Karen with his penis inside her vagina in virtually no time. The only thing he could think of was thrusting, while Karen contracted her muscles around his throbbing cock. The experience was so intense that Karen screamed in delight.

After about ten minutes of thrusting, A.J. noticed something different emanating from Karen. The equations for orgasm he recognized, as he had seen them many times before, but there were new equations as well, none of which he recognized. It was almost as if Karen were glowing.

Orgasm hit Jim and Karen simultaneously, with both thrusting beyond control. Karen had her legs wrapped around Jim’s back, and her arms around his neck. To A.J. she was definitely glowing as the wave of emotion hit him.

A.J. had to struggle to keep his mind on watching the two of them fuck. He wanted to masturbate with everything he had, and actually had his pants down before he realized what was happening. He pulled his pants back up as Jim and Karen floated up.

A.J. watched in amazement as they reached the top of their climb. Both of them were glowing. Through the equations, A.J. saw that not only was Karen overloaded, so was Jim.

“Holy shit, what about me?” he said into his tape machine. He could see no glow around himself, but he was fully aware of the control he had lost when Karen projected. He looked at one of the cameras and thought about it floating.

It floated up three inches.

A.J. looked at it in shock. Although it floated for ten seconds before setting down to the floor again, A.J. didn’t return his attention to Jim and Karen for nearly five minutes.

Jim was looking at his brother, waiting for the signal to begin floating down. A.J. finally gave the sign, and Jim brought them down.

When they had reached six inches from the surface of the bed, Jim told Karen to let go. When she did, she floated down to the bed softly. A.J. noted that Jim was still glowing although the glow was fading. Once Karen was down, Jim landed beside her.

He looked up at A.J. and made a motion for him to leave the room. A.J. complied.

“I’ve got what I want,” he said, closing the door behind him.

Jim returned his attention to Karen and held her close.

“Thank you lover,” she said.

“Anytime,” Jim returned.

It was almost an hour later when Jim came downstairs. He found A.J. at the bar, into his fifth vodka and tonic since coming down. A.J. saluted Jim as he poured his own drink.

“Well?” Jim asked.

“I can see why you lost control,” A.J. said. “That wave, when it hits you, is overpowering.”

“You begin to understand.”

“Is it always that intense? That...seductive?”

“No. We helped each other out on that one. I told her a dirty story before we came up and once she focused on me, I focused on her.”

“Good thing she’s not a megalomaniac. When she comes, the world comes.”

Jim laughed and drank his Bushmill’s. “It affected you too?” he asked.

“A hell of a lot more than I’d like to admit,” A.J. returned. “Damned near undressed reflexively.”

Jim laughed harder. “That I’d almost like to see.”

“You can if you want. I’m sure at least one camera caught it.”

Both men laughed, and were interrupted by Karen’s voice saying, “Did either of you get anything accomplished with this, or are you going to joke about it all night?” Jim had not bothered getting dressed, so Karen wore Jim’s bathrobe. It grazed the floor.

Jim walked over to Karen. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I survived, didn’t I?” Karen made no attempt to hide the sarcasm. “I never want to do that again.”

“Okay. You want to talk about it?”

“Why? Aren’t I just something to fuck? You used me.”

Jim sat down. “That was never my intention.”

“I know. Look partner, I used me too. You gave me the fuel to get myself turned on, and I used it because this was something you both believed in doing. But I’ve come down from it all now and I’m just not too proud right now.”

A.J. took the bottle of Bushmill’s and poured a glass. “You want a drink?” he asked.

“Fuck yes,” Karen replied, taking the cup from his hands. She drank it quickly and asked for another, which A.J. poured.

“So!” she said, after sipping her next drink. “What did we learn today?”

A.J. walked to the couch, to face both Jim and Karen. “I learned, first of all,” he began, “that I have no frame of reference with which to read empathy. I’m sorry Karen, but you’re a mystery to me.”

Karen sighed. “So it was all for naught.”

“Oh no! I did figure out the soft landing part.”

Jim stood and joined Karen. “Okay, shoot,” he said.

“Empathy is emotive. Now, I don’t just mean that it involves emotion, I mean it also projects. It has to be in order to control other people or supplant thoughts.

“What you’ve faced during orgasm is an emotive overload. Karen, I noticed you had no control over who or what was effected by that emotional wave. Hell honey, even I got some of it.

“Thing is, it wasn’t an emotional output - it was an overflow of your own emotion. You had a personal overload, so Jim and I had to pick up the balance. Hey big bro’, you must be pretty fucking good in bed for that kind of overload.”

“I think it’s a cycle,” Jim said. “Karen feeds me and I feed her.”

“Good point,” A.J. replied. “Thing is, when we gained your emotion we also gained your projection ability. At least we did until you had reigned yourself in. Then it faded from the both of us.”

“Faded?” Karen asked.

“Yes, faded. I don’t have an explanation for that one yet, but I’ve got the basis from which to work now. Thank you both.”

“You’re welcome,” Jim replied.

“Now let me see if I’ve got this,” Karen said. “You added what I do to what you do and became telekinetic?”

“Looks that way,” A.J. answered.

“Then could we do it together like we do the flight experiments?”

“It would be straining on you. Like I said, this isn’t simple projection, it’s an overload. You’d have to be real turned on, or real mad, or something to that nature. Impractical at best.”

Karen frowned. “I’m not doing what we just did again.”

“You don’t have to, and I didn’t ask. I’ve seen what I needed to see. The rest I can work out in theory.”

Jim walked over to his brother. “Good,” he said. “Now get the hell out of here. We all need the sleep and we’re flying to San Francisco tomorrow.”

A.J. sighed. “Yeah, all right. Let me go get my gear.” He went upstairs.

Jim turned to Karen. “You’ll get to meet Larry.”

“Oh,” Karen replied distractedly.

Jim went to her side and hugged her. “Are you going to be all right?” he asked.

Karen nodded.

“Want me to take you home?”

“No,” she said. “Can you manage to just hold me one night? No more sex, just hold?”

“I think so,” Jim replied.

“Good. I think I’d like that.”