The Facts of Life by Anel Viz

The Facts of Life

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

1. Overview: how sexual identity is determined

The dominant species on Surfix has evolved to have seven distinct sexes, whereas all other species on the planet who give birth to live young have only four. This anomaly is due to the presence of a third, free-floating chromosome, Z, which attaches itself to one of the two pairs of sex chromosomes, XX, XY or YY. When it attaches to an identical pair, however, it is rendered inactive, so it only affects the sex of the child in the XYZ triad. With a Z-chromosome attached to them, the identical pairs still function as XX or YY, and therefore the third chromosome is traditionally written with a small letter. The seven sexes are thus XXz-XX, XXz-XY, XX-XYZ, YYz-YY, YYz-XY, YY-XYZ and XY-XYZ.

Because of some as yet undiscovered biological law, the Z-chromosome always moves from active to inactive between generations, so if is attached to an XY in one or both of the parents, it will attach to the XX or YY in the child. As a result, the child can never be of the same sex as either of its parents.

Except for same-sex couples, all combinations of the seven sexes are potentially fertile, which allows for twenty different types of union, each having its own characteristic form of copulation. Any sex that has at least one X-chromosome is capable of gestation, the sexes that have at least one Y-chromosome all have some type of insertive appendage. However, inasmuch as the insertive appendages do not differentiate until puberty only the quadruple-X gender can be verified at birth without DNA testing. This accounts for less than 15% of the population, and since curiosity about the gender of one’s young children is considered unethical, they grow up not knowing to which of the four potentially insertive sexes they belong (or five, if one parent is a quadruple-X) and anxious to prepare themselves to be a productive member of whatever sex they end up as. It follows that sexual experimentation among children is well-nigh universal and gender roles are unknown. That no child can identify sexually with its parents contributes to the absence of gender roles.

To have a child of the same sex as one of its parents is considered definitive proof of illegitimacy, and the birth records are changed to read ‘adopted’. Since the sex of a child is seldom evident before puberty, illegitimate children are never rejected by either of their parents. Many families have brought suit, swearing that they are the biological parents, but despite the testimony of expert witnesses and mounting scientific evidence that the Z-chromosome in rare instances may not migrate between generations, the courts have yet to rule in their favor, and it is unlikely that the Supreme Court will overturn the precedent in the near future. On the other hand, in a case now pending before the Court the parents are claiming virgin birth, and given its current composition, they are expected to win.

The onset of puberty differs from one sex to another, but since there is considerable overlap and the process is nearly identical, so certain determination of gender is possible before the insertive appendage assumes its final form, an event that usually coincides with the appearance of the secondary sexual characteristics. The earliest indications of a child’s sex are the taste and color of its first seminal emissions, but the method is not 100% reliable. Once all the secondary characteristics are in place there remains a .002% possibility that the person’s apparent sex does not conform with its chromosomal configuration. This is most often due to the influence of some marginal activity by the inactive Z-chromosome, so misidentification of XYZ’s is all but unknown, though it is theoretically possible that a Z-chromosome that attaches to an XY will fail to activate.

As a rule, whichever partner has the greater number of X-chromosomes will carry the child and the partner with the greater number of Y-chromosomes will impregnate that parent. If both parents have one X- and three Y-chromosomes or vice versa, the partner who has the active Z impregnates. Length of gestation is the same for all sexes, and both parents have the ability to nurse.

That two persons of the same sex cannot have children does not mean that homosexual activity is frowned upon. Indeed, it is expected that all persons will be involved in a homosexual relationship in addition to the open monogamous relationship they have with their spouse. On the other hand, not to choose a mate of another sex is frowned upon. People see it more as narcissistic than unnatural. They reason that while there is nothing unusual about not being turned on by one or two sexes, it is inconceivable that one cannot find even one of remaining six attractive. Similarly, onanism is only considered a perversion if there is no one there to watch.

However, to have relations with persons of the remaining five sexes after one has chosen a mate is considered promiscuous. Everyone has had ample opportunity to sample all seven before marriage. It is time to make up one’s mind which one likes best (or, for homosexuals, second best) and restrict oneself to those two. On the other hand, no one expects a divorced person to remarry a member of the same sex as the previous spouse. To do so after learning that you are incompatible with that sex would be just plain stupid. It is also rare to remarry with a person of the same sex as one’s post-pubescent children, as some groups view this as symptomatic of pedophilia. There is no scientific evidence to support this opinion.

Marriage with a person of the same sex as a parent is statistically rare. Such unions account for few than 5% of all marriages instead of the expected one in six. They have proven on the whole to be more stable, however, and are two-thirds less likely to end in divorce.

Nature is not perfect. On rare occasions a Z-chromosome that attaches to an identical pair will activate and give rise to one of the four possible types of hermaphrodites. These individuals are always sterile. Though in one sense they are viewed as freaks, they are not shunned. On the contrary, they are sought out for sex, for the universal experience of sex in seven different combinations means that every post-pubescent individual will have developed a voracious appetite for novelty. The most respectable way for a mature adult to carry on more than two sexual relationships at once would be with one’s lawful spouse, another member of the same sex, and a hermaphrodite, but swapping with another set of three is almost as acceptable.

Even more rarely the Z-chromosome may attach to one of the non-sexual chromosomal pairs. Unlike hermaphrodites, such children are identifiable at birth since they display the sexual organs of one the lower tetrasexuals. Although raised as part of the family, they properly belong to another species and grow up to lead celibate lives, though some may mate with a sexually compatible tetrasexual mammal (assuming the species has been domesticated).

Hetpasexual languages contain almost no sexual obscenities, because the reduplication of terminology would be unwieldy. Classical Surfixian, for example, had 28 words just for the sexual organs (6 for the receptive orifices, 12 for the circumcised and uncircumcised insertive appendages, 1 for the undeveloped pre-pubescent insertive appendage, 4 for hermaphrodites, 4 for the lower mammals, and 1 general term to designate any sexual organ), 21 for children according the sex of their parents, hundreds for a person’s familial relationship to these children (for starters, 2 words for siblings depending on if the same parent carried them, 11 possible co-siblings and 20 possible kinds of cousins), and thousands for the various combinations and recombinations of reproductive and non-reproductive coitus. Since not all heptasexual languages categorize gender, the relationships between genders and familial relationships in exactly the same way, translation is a challenging and slippery proposition.

Each sex is said to experience its own unique orgasm, or, more accurately, orgasms, since the type of orgasm depends on the gender of one’s sexual partner. It is generally recognized that homosexual orgasms are the most intense, though which of the seven homosexual orgasms is the most pleasurable is a matter of debate. In an attempt to determine which sex has the best orgasms, scientists have spent years attaching electrodes to every sexual organ, internal and external, of people of every sex, and also to their brains, every inch of skin, and any part of the body the individual identifies as a favorite erogenous zone. The results are inconclusive.

Summary of subsequent chapters (in preparation):

2. The 12 Sexual Organs: description & situation on the body – development before & during puberty – anomalies – secondary sexual characteristics

3. Sexual Arousal: hormones & other secretions – arousal in the 7 standard genders –erogenous zones – sexual stimuli & their classification (tactile, visual, olfactory, musical, linguistic, ludic, balletic, chemical, psychological & fetishistic) – oralism, analism, facialism, manual manipulation, bipedalism & other types of extra-genital foreplay – aphrodisiacs & nutrition – sexual fantasies – desirability, ideals of beauty & preferred body types – cultural considerations – seasonal estrus in certain genders – diagnosis & treatment of erectile dysfunction & hyperfunction – sexual frustration – how it all fits together

4. Fornication: the 20 reproductive combinations – their basic methods of copulation & most common variants – receptivity & foreplay – sex toys & other paraphernalia – sexual exhaustion – contraception

5. Childbirth: gestation & intra-uterine development – the healthy pregnancy – the 6 types of normal delivery & possible complications – care of the newborn – parenting – infertility & multiple births – coping with jealousy in non-carrying parents who have one or more X-chromosomes – taking turns at getting pregnant

6. Childhood & Adolescence: siblings, children of one’s parents’ homosexual partners (co-siblings) & cousins – sexual exploration before & after puberty – insertion envy in quadruple-X children – pubescent sexual experimentation & establishing sexual identity – dating – one’s “first seven times”

7. Sex Education: where do babies come from? where else do babies come from? who does what with whom? who doesn’t do what with whom? why not? how will I know when I’m ready for sex? when will I know what sex I am? – how much to tell one’s children & the intellectual development required to figure it all out – dealing with the yuck factor – acquiring a sexual vocabulary – useful metaphors & analogies to help younger children understand – common misconceptions – countering peer group influence & misinformation – suggested sex manuals for different age groups

8. Marriage & Divorce: the extended sexual family – sharing responsibilities for childrearing in different reproductive combinations – other possibilities – sex with a spouse’s homosexual partner – 3- & 4-way scenes among homosexual partners & their spouses – mate swapping – consorts, consortia & other alternatives to marriage – sexual incompatibility – heterosexual infidelities – divorce & remarriage

9. Homosexual Unions: homoerotic attraction – the 7 basic methods of homosexual coupling & their most common variants – 140 adaptations of the 20 reproductive combinations for homosexual relationships – comparison of the intensity of homo- & heteroerotic sexual pleasure – bonding – sex with the spouse of one’s homosexual partner – relating to the children of one’s homosexual partner – arguments for & against allowing homosexual marriage – homosexual couples who live together after the death of a spouse – statistical data on homosexual abstinence

10. Hermaphrodites: the 4 basic types – hermaphroditism as an 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, or 11^th sex – possibilities for sexual interaction with the 7 standard genders – medical intervention – tetrasexualized heptasexuals

11. Transgendering: the myth of heptasexual normalcy – sexual disorientation & not “feeling at home in one’s body” – the Z-chromosome & other possible biological bases for transgendering – marriage with the sex one identifies with as a substitute for homosexual union & other benefits of being transgendered – resources to help transgendered individuals decide which sex(es) they identify with – identifying with an imaginary 12^th sex – psychotherapy & surgical intervention – pansexuality vs. pandrogyny

12. Aging & Disease: average years of fertility in the different genders – the 7 types of menopause – sexual activity after menopause – terminal erection – other diseases specific to the 12 sexual organs – sexually transmitted diseases, disease-transmitted sexuality & sexually transmitted cures

13. Sex & Society: the influence of culture on sexuality – intermarriage – sexual myths & taboos – modesty & related neuroses – normative behaviors, including a brief history of fluctuating sexual norms – cross- & crisscross-dressing – the risks & benefits of bizarre sexual practices – abstinence & other destructive sexual practices – group scenes – religion & cults – sex & worship – cosmic sexuality – the sexual identity of God

14. Sexuality in Other Species: asexual reproduction – the sexuality of plants, slime molds & some more common minerals – sexual differentiation in the lower animals – tetrasexual species – tetrasexual mating habits & their applicability to heptasexuals fossil evidence for extinct heptasexual marsupials – tetrasexualized heptasexuals & bestiality – the origin of the Z-chromosome

15. Scientific Sexology: science, social science, antisocial science & social antiscience – the current state of sexual knowledge – sexual biology – sexual chemistry & geology – unresolved questions & conflicting theories – conducting sexual experiments – on the quantification of sexual data & the necessity of 6 control groups – validation of experimental results by other-sexed scientists – experimenting on oneself – recent discoveries – the usefulness of sexual research – why the scientific study of sex is boring

16. Ethical Issues: consent & seduction – the pleasure principal – abusive sex & sexual abuse – sexual politics, economics & metaphysics – sex & the law – the presumption of illegitimacy – child custody after divorce – polygamy – artificial dissemination – cosmetic surgery for hermaphrodites & transgendered persons – the development of additional sexes through genetic engineering

17. Sex in Literature: the erotic tradition in literature – contemporary trends – authorial gender & its effect on the authenticity how desire & orgasm in the other sexes are depicted genre considerations – stereotyping in pulp fiction – sexual science fiction – pairing in children’s literature – book illustrations – asexual plot lines – erotica vs. pornography vs. smut, & maintaining a healthy balance in one’s reading habits

Diagrams & Illustrations

Glossary

Posted: 07/06/07