2017-09-18 - spike - The New Shop 13

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 13
Date: 18 September 2017

Chapter 13
I sat in the same seat M had, noticed the bag by the chair and examined the contents.

Inside, four knives. I nodded.

“I think stinky first, eleven. It’s on its way to you now.”

I held a thumbs up to the camera.

It appeared looking very nervous, glancing around, then it spotted me and shrank back against the elevator door.

I waited until it was looking my way again and pointed at the chair.

It started towards me but it didn’t look as sure on its feet as the others. It stumbled, it meandered, finally it made it to me. I pointed at the seat again and it collapsed into it. On its neck chain, a dog tag with a one.

I started signing slowly.

“How are you?”

It didn’t respond so I repeated the question.

It shrugged and wobbled a little.

I sighed and opened the laptop.

“I said, how are you?”

I rotated the laptop and shoved it forward.

“I… I can’t live like this. I can’t handle it. I need…” It froze. I don’t know why but judging by its state, I think I could guess. I rotated the laptop back again.

“You have no choice but to ride out your withdrawal, slave. Yes, he did offer you a job. You’ll never see any recreational drugs again. No more fixes. No more highs. He did promise you’d be clean remember.”

It started to shake. To sob. I rotated the laptop again.

“It hurts! I’ll die if I don’t get another fix!”

The laptop began to take on the appearance of a spinning top the amount of time it was being rotated.

“The plug will hurt for another few days. The tubes, you’ll not care about after two. You won’t feel them anymore.”

“I want out! I need heroin! I need it. I can’t live without it. Please! I don’t care about the fucking plug. Everything else hurts more than that thing.”

“Well, sorry, but tough. You asked for this. The only way to exist in this suit is to take it fully. It is permanent. You couldn’t take a fix of heroin now even if you had a needle right there in front of you.”

“Then kill me, please. I can’t take it anymore!”

I pulled a knife out and place it on the table. “Kill yourself then. Slash your wrists, I don’t care. You’re unworthy of the honour my Master’s given you.”

It recoiled at the callousness of the suggestion.

“I thought so. You don’t want to die. No-one with any sense does. Now, cut yourself out of the suit if you’re so sure you want to remain a junky for the rest of your life. A slave for a long happy life or a waste of humanity for a couple of years. You know the life expectancy of a drug addict is very short unless they go through rehab. See this as the ultimate form of rehab.”

“Happy?”

“M’s exceedingly happy to be in this situation. Even I’ve come to terms with it and begun to see it in a positive light and I was only enslaved a few days ago. Less than a week, I think. I know I can live like this for the rest of my life now. I suspect I’ll be happy even though I know I’ll never see her again. That I’ll miss her every day for the rest of my life. I’ve never done drugs, but the things that plug up your ass can do would probably make a hit pale in comparison.”

It seemed to be looking at me much more intently. It pushed the knife away.

“It can do… What?”

“It has electrodes built into it, slave. It can produce pleasures the like of which I’ve never felt before. I warn you though. It can also cause intense pain. Punishment for disobedience or reward for acceptance, for doing what you’re told, for accepting the life offered to you and working as hard as you can in what ever we put you to.”

“And I’ll… I… I don’t…”

“He offered you a job for life, you got it. You are a slave, now. Slaves have no choices, no decisions. You’ll never be homeless, you’ll always be fed and you’ll never see drugs again. The facilities here will be used to push you to the peak of physical fitness. You won’t believe the gym downstairs. The recreational facilities are also very good. You can see that just by looking around here. Ten pin bowling, table tennis, I’m sure there’s checkers, cards and chess sets too but I haven’t looked for them. This can be a good life. I’ve accepted it and you can too.”

“But I can’t talk!”

“Neither can I. Why didn’t you grasp what I said to you before I opened the laptop?”

“I can’t… I don’t…”

“Too distracted by withdrawal? Is that it?”

Its shoulders sagged and it nodded.

“I’m no expert on drugs. Have you ever been through unmedicated withdrawal before?”

It shook its head.

“I’ll try to find out something about it later. Master might insist you just ride it out as a punishment for the attempted burglary, but I will plead your case. Now, go back to your cell. Press the panel in the elevator without pushing a button. Get into your cage, close it behind you and get some sleep. Looks like you need it. Oh, and when you feel your mind is clear enough, pay attention to the other slaves in your cell. They will be speaking in sign language. They can teach you.”

It nodded and returned to the elevator.

“Very well done, eleven. You even had it push the knife away! That’s a sure sign of acceptance in my book.”

I checked the laptop and made sure the slaves were de-selected but M was. Then began typing. “Thank you, sir. Might need a word with Q about it though. Maybe he can offer some relief?”

“It’s possible. Certainly worth asking about. I’ll send your attacker up next. Judging by its reaction to the mirror I think it might be quite pliable but I’ll be on hand just in case it gets violent.”

I put the knife back in the bag, closed the laptop and gave the camera another thumbs up.

The next one arrived a few minutes later. My attacker. God I’d been looking forward to this one.

Again, it stepped out of the elevator, looked at me and I pointed at the chair.

It sprinted over but the moment it was clear it was raising its fist to punch I pressed the fob. It froze. It grabbed its neck, its nose but I didn’t let it get off with just ten seconds. Its dog tag, two.

I calmly opened the laptop and began.

“Don’t expect any mercy from me you psychotic cunt. You’ll do as you’re told or by god I’ll make you suffer. The other slaves, your other friends may grow to like this life. I don’t intend you to like it one bit. My master gave you to me to train after what you did. Now sit. I may consider restoring your air, but only if you obey.”

I typed slowly though. Very slowly. Watching it squirm, watched it struggle, collapse to its knees. The moment it heard, it crawled onto the seat.

I held the fob in front of its face and pushed the button. It took a huge breath and sank to the table sobbing.

“This is the last opportunity I’ll give you to speak freely. Any sign of disrespect after this and it’ll hurt. A lot.”

I turned the laptop to him.

“Where the fuck am I? What have you done to me?!”

“Simple. We enslaved you. We sealed permanent tubing down your throat. We shoved a permanent butt plug up your ass and we sealed the whole lot to the suit. That too is permanent. Utterly impossible to remove. It saved my life when you slit my throat in the store so don’t even bother complaining to me about anything that happens to you.”

“I’m sorry. I panicked OK! When I saw my brother in that choke hold I thought it was a chance to get away!”

“Well, your brother’s having an even worse time of it than you right now. We’ve been informed he’s claustrophobic. He just spent six hours frozen with his goggles blackened. He’s resting in a larger cell. My Master advised that rather than a cage for now. If you disobey, I’ll not only make you suffer. I’ll make sure your brother suffers too.”

Its head sank and it nodded.

“I’ll never understand the criminal mind. You gave up every single ounce of freedom you’ll ever know for a few thousand dollars you’ll never see. Oh well. This is your life now and I’ll make sure it’s suitably hellish for you. Now, how much of the sign language have you picked up in the cell so far? We’ve taught a few of them the basics.”

I closed the laptop and put it to one side as he slowly started to spell out…

“A l.i.t.t.l.e.”

I started too. Again, slowly but not spelling out much.

Wave flat hands, mime waving a magic wand, arms wide, invisible wall, then I spelt out a.n.d and did the magic wand again.

I opened the computer again.

“What do you think I just said there?”

“Something magic everything, brick wall and magic?”

“Don’t spell everything. Mime and spell. Idiot.”

“And I’ll never be able to talk again?”

“I can guarantee it! You’d need serious surgery to remove those throat tubes.” I pulled the knife out of the bag and dropped it onto the table. “Surgery is impossible. Try. Nothing can penetrate that suit.”

It picked up the knife, clearly unsure of itself.

“You slit my throat. Do you see any mark on my neck? Do it.”

It sawed at its wrist and its hand began to shake as the metal filings fell.

“You’re nothing. A voiceless, faceless rubber object. A thing. Not even referred to as he or him. You’re an it. Even if you stood next to your brother now you wouldn’t recognise it. You look identical to every single one of us apart from that chain and your name is blank. The names of all those other ones. Blank. Forget who you were, everything about your old life. It’s gone. So get used to it. Now get back to your cage and slam it shut. I’m sick of the sight of you.”

To say it looked dejected as it walked back to the elevator was an understatement.

“Nice use of leverage there, eleven. So they’re brothers. That could prove useful.”

“Yes, sir. But I’ll not mention anything about it to its brother when I’m in there. I’m just as clueless as it is. I might say I’ve had the knife demonstration. That there’s nothing to fear about being frozen because in that state nothing can harm you. Hell, I bet we’re even bulletproof when we’re immobile aren’t we?”

“According to Q, yes. More than that, it’d take being dropped off a cliff to hurt us and even that wouldn’t damage the suit.”

“Bet being dumped in water wouldn’t be good, frozen or unfrozen. No way to keep the water from our lungs. Can’t take a deep breath and block the airways with these tubes.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Just as well there’s no risk of that. Come back up. It’s down on B4 now so the lift’s available. Drop off the laptop and we’ll get you kitted out and polished.”

“Polished, sir?”

“Rubber… Doesn’t hold its sheen as much as our suits. Ours, the sheen is permanent too, I’ve never had a polish. Spent quite a few nights polishing normal rubber though.”

I looked at my arm. I hadn’t noticed but it must be true. It had exactly the same gloss as it had the moment I put it on. Rubber would’ve faded back to its normal dull matt by now.