2018-08-30 - spike - The New Shop 76

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 76
Date: 30 August 2018

Chapter 76
Q looked up at me across the table and grinned. “Problem with the food?”

He’d obviously seen me toying with it. “Oh god, no, sir. It’s delicious. It’s just… I… I won’t be able to use the gym for”

“Don’t worry about putting on a little weight. It’s to be expected when you’ve suffered what you have. You know how easy it is to lose it again and you need nutrition to heal quickly.”

“I suppose so, sir.” I stabbed a quail’s egg with my fork. “How much has the blob lost since I came ‘round, sir?”

“Still concerned about that thing?”

“We want it to be of use, sir. More, we want it to be fit to fight.”

“Oh, god yes. That’s one boxing match I’d give my right arm to see. I will say this. Kyle has been located with the help of this Chundergod fellow and cameras have been observing him for several days. As for the blob, it’s lost another ten pounds since you were blanked.”

“So, Chunder’ll be number seventeen soon, sir?”

“Once we’ve located it.” He sighed. “If you hadn’t arrived when you had, it would’ve likely gained its number already… Or someone bearing its core would. After your return, everything got put on hold. There will be no races there until at least after the New Year, possibly later. Even if it is located.”

“Weather, sir?”

“I’m afraid so, it’s very bad out there right now.”

“Sir… Do you have power usage statistics for the tails?”

“Yes, why?”

“I don’t think mine activated during the last race, or if it did, it was after I was shot when the heating system was compromised, sir. The fur was warm enough by itself. If those could be brought up, we might see which dogs suffered and needed an activation and design the pelts for the coldest weather. The ones that did result in an activation we put to one side until it gets warmer.”

“You think you’d be able to survive? In the temperatures currently hitting the northern USA and Canada?”

“It’s possible. Those statistics might be the answer. I know it was cold enough to freeze a lake last time but I didn’t feel it until the hunter incident.”

“Hmmm, certainly worth an investigation but right now, eat up. Drink up. It’s time we called the silvers and questioned them, don’t you think?”

“What if they’re on display, sir?”

“Oh, none of them are on display. I made sure of that.”

“Can my armband select and deselect them, sir?”

“Yes. We have repeaters there.”

“Then I have an idea.”

“I’ve just realised, I haven’t given you a fob. I’ll get blank to fetch you one when I’ve finished.”
* * *
They stood before the TV, all four of them. The TV was off again.

Q spoke first. “It’s time for a little evaluation of your training, all silvers require it periodically.”

They nodded.

“Eleven will be the one to ask the questions.”

All of them jumped at that. Sixteen was the one to twiddle. “Where is he, sir? We haven’t seen him in weeks!”

“He’s here. We had some urgent business.”

“He’s there, sir? On the island?”

I sniggered to myself. “I’m here, Slasher. I will be returning but it may take some time. Now, the way this is going to work is as follows. You will all remain facing forward at all times. I will select one of you, you will take two steps back and answer any questions I put to you. That way you can’t influence the answers the others may give. The screen, sir. How reflective is it?”

“Very good thought, Eleven. Very good thought. Silvers. About turn!”

A couple of them did a passable military one, the rest just turned.

“Thirteen. Two steps back.”

It did.

I selected Thirteen only. “What do you do when you have a group of slaves ready for their washes? Your exact procedure.”

“I plug the head tube in, take the core, insert the ass tube, plug the core into the charging port that corresponds to that cubicle and move on to the next, sir.”

“Two steps forward.” I deselected thirteen and selected Fifteen. It gave the same answer.

Then I selected Fourteen.

“I connect the head, take out the core, plug in the ass tube and move onto the next, sir.”

“And what do you do with the core you just took out?”

“I keep it, sir. It’s quicker that way.”

I sighed. “And how long have you been doing it like that?”

“I did it the way I was told the first couple of times but found I could get down the line a lot quicker, sir. I’ve been doing it like that for a… About two weeks, sir.”

“How many times have you conducted the flushing duties, Fourteen? Where you on that detail three mornings after the shelving incident?”

“Yes, sir. Why, sir?”

I selected everyone. “Because, Fourteen, you nearly got me killed! We had him. The vandal! Only he wasn’t just a fucking vandal! He’s a terrorist responsible for the deaths of over eight hundred children and as a result of your incompetence, I was sent to Atlanta! The place that was bombed. And I was the one with his fucking name permanently fixed to my back for all to see! Oh my god I really hope you suffered when I activated the program on all of you! Fuck me!”

“What do you mean, sir? I don’t understand!”

“There’s a reason you handle the cores individually, you idiot! Currently we don’t know who the fuck anyone is over there! Beta was stuck in solitary confinement for over a week because he had my core and they thought he was the terrorist after my… predicament came to light. I lost a kidney because of you!”

Fourteen started shaking its head. It stepped back in shock. “I… I just thought I’d found a quicker way, sir! I didn’t know there… Oh fuck! Oh Jesus Christ, sir!”

“I’m here with Q now because my injuries were so severe I did die. They revived me but it’ll be a month or two before I’ve recovered enough to join you again. Find that fucker! And fourteen?”

“Yes, sir?”

“When I do get back there, you will stand in the boxing ring and not defend yourself while I beat the living shit out of you. Understood?”

Its shoulders sagged and it nodded.

It twiddled. “I’m sorry, sir. I deserve it, sir. A kidney, sir?”

“Lynch mobs out for blood and I was their target! The whole city was out to kill me! I…” I sighed. “I’m not going over all that again.”

Q nodded. “M, flushing cylinder duty for Fourteen until Eleven returns. And I know the armband is incapable of conveying emotions but let me tell you, Eleven is shaking with fury right now.”

My fingers hovered over my armband for a few seconds but I shook my head and typed. “Sir, we should wait, it still needs to supervise. Flushing cylinder after that monster’s been identified, I’d say, sir.”

Q nodded. “Yes, that then. I’m very disappointed in you Fourteen. I’m almost tempted to demote you back to blank because of this.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I thought I was being efficient, sir.”

“I know what you thought but we have procedures set in place for a reason. Now you know that reason and as it’s a very hard way to learn a lesson, I am not going to demote you. I think after what you’ve done you may be a lot more careful and redeem yourself eventually. We all learn from our mistakes.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“One more fuck up from you though and you will find yourself a blank again. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Q out.”
* * *
I can’t say I slept well at all that night. I tried, but all the emotions of the previous days tumbled about in my head so much I didn’t know how I felt. My stomach churned, I tossed, I turned and each time I rolled the wrong way and set off my back injury, that woke me up too.

Finally, I woke with light streaming in from the window and a man in a white coat sitting beside me with a stethoscope around his neck.

“How are you doing?”

I smiled at his English accent. “Guess.”

“Looking at you… Lack of sleep for one.”

“I was tossing and turning all night. That didn’t help?” I pointed at my back.

“Yes. I imagine the pain killers we gave you have worn off by now. I’ll give you some more.”

“How are you here, anyway? I thought only slaves..” the question trailed off.

He chuckled. “I’m Doctor Reynolds. I’ve belonged to Master Q for years. He had me on call for any medical problems at the last shop he recruited slaves in. Just as well, too. I was the one who treated Number Four.”

“After the slug tortured him almost to death? M told me that story.”

He nodded. “I still find it hard to believe that M’s adjusted so well to the life that he’s become gold. What’s he like?”

“Best friend a man can have, but my god that latest fuck up… I wanted to murder him for what he’d done until I found out it was number fourteen who did it. How am I? Really? I don’t want any fake sympathy or bedside manner. Tell it to me straight.”

“You can survive fine on one kidney. Many people do. It’s one of the few organs that can be relatively safely removed from live donors and the suited slaves… Their kidneys are put under a lot less stress than a normal person due to the food.”

“But what if I lose that one too? I won’t be able to take Dialysis when I’m suited!”

He took a deep breath. “Then I think you’ll require a replacement. I wouldn’t worry. It’s likely to last you a long time and we didn’t let your old one go to waste.”

“What do you mean?”

“It might have been pulverised by the… what was it? Gunshot wound?”

I nodded.

“Well, we’re currently conducting experiments on an artificial kidney using your favourite wonder material. There was enough structure remaining in your old one to conduct a thorough medical scan and we believe eventually, we may be able to produce a viable replacement.”

“So if it does fail, whisked back here, out of the suit again?”

“Let’s just hope it isn’t required, shall we? Of course, if we’re not successful, there’s always the possibility of a transplant. We do have your exact tissue type now.”

“Anything else?”

“When your leg and arm have healed you may find them a little… more… flexible than you’re used to.”

“Flexible how?”

“We gave your joints a dose of graphene too. It’s a lot smoother than the natural lining for the joints and it won’t get worn down. One problem common with people with injuries as severe as yours is arthritis. It can creep up, it can begin the moment the leg’s healed. For you, we believe we’ve saved you from that.”

“Oh fuck! So you think I’ll be fine?”

He nodded. “Probably better than fine.”

“Why isn’t my leg in plaster, doc? I thought that was standard procedure for breaks.”

“Plaster’s only used because it’s normally the only way to ensure the bones are held in place. If they move, they can’t heal. It has a serious drawback though and your bones are being held together much more firmly and exactly than plaster could manage.”

“Drawback?”

“It holds the injured limb immobile for months. That of course leads to muscle degeneration and stiffness in the joints, contraction of the ligaments. Months of physiotherapy to get them back into full use after it comes off. Your limbs are mobile, no need for physio.”

“How long before I’m back on my feet?”

“It can take months for a break to heal. With a leg as bad as yours under normal circumstances, most doctors would have amputated. We’ve never treated someone in this way before so it might be six months, it might be considerably shorter. We have no way of knowing.”

“And my arm? Oh shit, my pelvis and ribs too?”

“Much quicker, I think. Give your arm a month before you put any stress on it. The pelvis should heal in about that time too with what else we did to it and with your ribs fixed with graphene, I think you’ll be fine lying any way you feel comfortable. They’re designed to flex more than a leg to allow breathing after all. Now though, turn onto your front. It’s time I changed that dressing.”

I rolled over.

He yanked off the dressing.

“OW! And that?”

“Operation scars need to be kept clean and dry. No showers without a waterproof covering, I’d seriously advise a bath rather than a shower too.”

“Yes, doc. When do I get one?”

“Hmm?”

“A waterproof covering?”

He slid up his sleeve. “Touch your armband to mine. You can contact me to ask for one then.”

A tap, and his armband ident appeared on mine along with his name.

“Good. That also means I can talk to you. Now, you say you’re going to take on a new suit? Even though you’ve been freed from one?”

I nodded.

“In that case, as you’ve chosen to retain your slavery, yes, yes, he did inform me of his intention to release you… Quite frankly, I agree. Surprised you chose to take the suit again though.”

“Why?”

“Well… It is… shall we say, restrictive. Much more fun can be had as a slave with a tattoo.”

“Tell the blanks here that. Bet they’d all disagree with you.”

“But… You can’t even have sex being plugged like that! Can’t suck off your master either, permanently gagged!”

I sighed. “I’m not gay, doc. Though that kiss he gave me when I gave myself back to him… Oh my god… I’ve never had anything but that plug up my ass. Never want anything but that now.”

He chuckled. “Understandable. Anyway, as you have given yourself to him, as you are a slave again, I will continue with the nanite treatments. They should aid in your recovery considerably.”

“What about side effects?”

“So far, we’ve detected none.”

“But what if one of them goes rogue, doc. What if they start self-replicating? I’ve heard of the doomsday grey goo scenario y’know!”

“Oh dear lord, no. No risk of that. They’re very stupid machines and they can’t operate as a group, form a hive mind or anything like that. They have two underlying programmed actions without outside direction.”

“And they are?”

“Move to the bladder when near the end of life, identify and collect any dead nanites and deliver them there. They won’t remain in your system for long even if they do die. The others will sweep your system but they are incredibly useful. They’d probably have that operation wound fully knitted together and healed, pain free in a quarter of the time it’d take naturally. You need to be in a scanner with a computer on hand to control them to do anything like that though.”

“OK, doc.”

He chuckled again. “I wasn’t asking your permission. You rescinded your rights again the moment you handed yourself over to him. No choice, remember.”

I nodded again and grinned. “And god it feels good. Tell me from one year ago I’d said that and you’d probably get a punch in the face.”

He swabbed my back with something that stung to high heaven eliciting a series of yelps and then gently applied a new dressing.

“Have you ever worn a suit, doc?”

“Oh god, no.”

“Why don’t you try? Ask Q, I bet he’d grant you a temp suit. Trust me, it’s an experience like no other.”

He nodded. “Even after all the agonies Four endured, when he finally started to experience higher pleasure levels down there again he said much the same thing. That took quite a while though after his injury. Quite frankly, I’m scared silly of the idea after seeing what happened to him.”

“Yes, but that can’t happen to anyone else now, can it?”

“Is it really that good?”

“Do you think I’d request a new one if it wasn’t?”