2019-02-15 - spike - The New Shop 100

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 100
Date: 15 February 2019

Chapter 100
Q tapped on his armband again. “The statue will show you to your rooms. Make yourselves at home.”

“Thank you.”

They followed… something out of my line of sight. I couldn’t see which one had stepped down this time.

The moment they were gone, Q stepped in front of me. “Excellent job, blank. Excellent job. And you made some very good points.” He pointed his fob at me, turned and left my field of vision.

The pleasure began to build. Oh god, this was good. I… I think this was another new one. One I’d never experienced and it left me in the throes of ecstasy in no time.

I’ve got no idea how long it lasted but when I came back to myself, I think the hall was empty.

I continued to stand there. Nothing unusual for me, being an adept at standing in a display case in the store. I let the memory of those pleasures sweep me into slumber.

I snapped awake to voices. I looked down at the table to see a wide variety of food and the officers enjoying Q’s company. All of them seemed to have relaxed after the shock of his earlier revelations. The captain continued to translate throughout and occasionally, Q’s armband spoke to correct or highlight an intentional flaw in the translation.

“Who did you buy this island off??”

“I’m sorry. No. That is not something I’m willing or able to disclose.”

“Why?”

“Part of my agreement when I purchased this island was that I would not disclose that information to anyone. If I broke my side of that agreement and they found out they’d be well within their rights to reclaim it. All our hard work would be for naught.”

The colonel nodded. “Very well. So what do you have planned?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll have one of my golds”

“What? What do you mean, golds?”

“Did you notice the gold ten on the back of the one who escorted you here?”

“Yes. I was wondering about that.”

“Ten is one of my most valued slaves. I rank them much as you rank your soldiers. If they have no markings, they’re the lowest of ranks. Blank. That is also their name. If you like, think of them as privates. If they have a mark of ownership, it means they’ve earned their place here. They’ll never leave this island.”

“And the ones who don’t?”

“If they prove to be lazy, insulting, unworthy of the life I’m offering, they are still my property. I sell them. Once they’ve earned their mark, they know they’ll be mine for the rest of their life.”

“Sell? Now wait a”

Q held his hand up before the captain could complete the translation. “They understand their commitment to me, colonel. They work and they work hard and I reward them for that work. If they prove ineffective, I cut the dead wood. Yes, I sell them. My property and as with any property, it is within my rights to sell it.”

“Who do you sell these men to?”

“Other masters. I only select men of means such as myself. Men who’ve been thoroughly vetted. Men I know will take good care of them. Don’t worry about that. I’ve spoken to slaves who have been sold, their owners have returned here to visit on occasion and brought them with them. They’re well treated. Some have learned from these other masters and I’d deem them worthy of my ownership again. I’ve even bought a few back before now.”

“And these… slaves? They’re OK with it?”

“A well trained slave knows his place, colonel. If they’re sold they know it’s no fault but their own. It’s seen by me as a severe punishment, being exiled from this island. All blanks know the price of such slovenly behaviour and endeavour never to fall into that category. Some have always wanted to take part in a slave auction. They love the lack of control. The insecurity of their lives. Never knowing who might take ownership of them. One I spoke to admitted he was lazy because he wanted to be sold.”

“Did he regret it, later?”

Q chuckled. “Of course, but it was too late then. He is happy in his new life but not nearly as happy as he had been here. He should’ve spoken to one of my golds before he decided to slouch about instead of work.”

“Why?”

“One of my higher ranking slaves begged me when he heard of the slave auctions to put him up for auction too. I did. Several times. In his case though, as he was a slave worthy of my ownership, I didn’t sell. I leased. He’s spent a few months here and there under the control of other masters over the years.”

“This is still very disturbing.”

“We have our own ways here. A whole new way of thinking, if you like. A different culture. If it makes you feel more comfortable, think of them as having been fired. Many of the slaves here have been here for years so they have no lives to return to. Continued slavery under a different master is the most preferable fate for them. If they were just given back their freedom and dumped in their home town, things could get very unpleasant for them very quickly.”

“I suppose you have a point. Losing your job can be traumatic at the best of times.”

“Exactly. No home, no job and I did promise all of them a lifetime of slavery. I did not promise them a lifetime of slavery under my ownership. They have that. None of them will know freedom again and none of them would want it.”

“So, they receive nothing for the work they do?”

“They receive no tangible rewards. No. A slave, as property, can’t own property of his own. They have a permanent job, they’re fed, housed and receive other rewards. They gain access to all the facilities within this compound on a regular basis and the plug I mentioned has much more than one use. Not only does it prevent any contaminants from entering their bodies, it offers something more. Something even you’d see as good, if you were to experience it.”

“And that is?”

“Electro-stimulation is a fine art, colonel. It can be used to cause pain as a punishment or intense pleasure. I pay my slaves in that. Pleasure. A pleasure many find hard to describe.” He chuckled. “They’ll do anything to get more. Oh god it feels good.”

“You’ve experienced this… this pleasure?”

“Experienced it? I’ve even put myself with the slaves and spent several months among them as one of them before now. What’s more, I like it as a diversion from time to time.”

“And you were treated the same as the rest?”

“Of course. I was the lowest rank too, not silver or gold. Not even a mark of ownership to distinguish me. Not even my golds knew I was me. They assigned me to the same work details, living in the same conditions as the rest.”

“But you could end it whenever you liked.”

Q shook his head. “I don’t make it that easy. My suits can have the ability to hide their markings. A little electronics wizardry, nothing special. If I program my computer to blacken my markings for a month, that’s how long I remain. One month. No way out, no way to cancel it. Even if I reached my computer it wouldn’t recognise me until the month ended.”

“And you were mute? Just as that one is?” He pointed at me.

“Of course.”

There was a new noise then… A beep. Q looked at his throne with annoyance. “What the… If you’ll excuse me gentlemen.”

He returned to his throne and pressed a button. “Yes?”

“Sir, we’ve had a look at their hazmat suits.”

“What about them?”

“The decontamination process, sir. Badly compromised. Their rubber seals have degraded to the point even attempting to wear them again will result in tears. Even a small hole’s enough to compromise them and we couldn’t patch them up, sir. It’d be like patching a severed limb with a sticking plaster, sir.”

He sighed. “I see. Bring the worst of them down to the throne room.”

“Yes, sir.”

He sat back at the table and looked at the captain. “I take it you’ve translated that?”

He nodded. “What does this mean?”

“I’m afraid it means unless you’re willing to wear our protections, you’re stuck here. Step outside and you’ll be dead in an hour unprotected.”

The colonel looked at him in horror. “What’s the meaning of this? You invite us here and”

It was Q’s turn to be annoyed. “I gave you strict instructions. I asked you repeatedly if your hazmat suits could withstand our decontamination process. You said they could. Clearly, they barely survived and now any attempt to wear them again will result in a compromised suit. Don’t lay any blame on me, colonel! I have ordered my head scientist to bring one of them here for you to examine.”

“So, we’re stuck? Here? For how long?”

“I said, you can wear our protections. That will mean taking everything every slave here takes to make it safe however.”

“You expect us to have a plug shoved up our asses?”

“Of course. And tubes down your throat. It will silence you, true, but I will provide you with armbands to speak with similar to the one Ten used to talk to you. The only choice now is how long you wish to wear them.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you only wear them when you exit this safe zone to examine the island and the factory, fine. You’ll only be in them for a few hours and you’ll experience little if any discomfort. I will offer to extend your invitation by a few days if you wish to experience the suits more fully. That includes experiencing the pleasures the plug can provide. Trust me when I say this… You’ll be on your knees in ecstasy if you choose to accustom yourselves to the suits fully. It does take a couple of days to reach that state though.”

“And we’ll look just like them?”

“Of course. Although… I suppose as long as you’re in the green zone you could wear your uniforms over the top. That would be inadvisable for a trip outside though. Your uniforms would have to be destroyed.”

“And treated just like them?”

“You’re my guests. You’ll be treated as any other guest. With courtesy. We won’t put you down in the cages with the slaves. You’ll remain in your rooms. Live in the lap of luxury. Food on the other hand will be the same food the rest are fed. In a suit such as that, it’s a liquid diet. The food my suited slaves eat is perfectly balanced and as it goes down a tube directly into your stomach, there’s no need for it to have any flavour.”

The major, the one I hadn’t spoken to looked a little less unsure than the rest. “And we can experience this… this being frozen in place as your statues are?”

Q chuckled. “If you wish, yes. In fact, if you choose to put the suits on now and keep them until you’ve left in a few days’ time, I would advise that. The plug and tubing takes a couple of days to adjust to. Being frozen does make that easier. I hope having experienced them, you may understand my slaves’ choices, and no longer look at them with that disgusted expression.”

What came next was an angry exchange between the major and the colonel.

Q looked at them, looked at the ceiling and tutted. “Blank, how much of this are you getting?”

“Some of it, sir. The colonel’s started with you can’t be serious. I will not have you making decisions on my behalf. The other one replied, I find the idea interesting and if we’re going to experience these suits anyway why not… Best I can translate that as is go the whole hog, sir. It’s degenerating into insults now, sir.”

Q placed his palms on the table, stood and shouted. “Gentlemen, please! Just because one of you wishes to experience the suit doesn’t mean you all have to straight away! You haven’t even seen one yet. Examine it and then decide!” He tapped something on to his armband.

The captain had to shout to be heard too and slowly, they quieted.

The major nodded, looked at the captain and smiled. I can only assume it was a thank you followed by something…

Then the captain spoke again. “Then I volunteer… Not me you understand. Him.”

“Please, gentlemen. Take your seats. Especially you.” Q nodded at the major. “This is the last food you’re likely to taste for several days, so make the most of it.”

The next movement I detected beyond the men at the table was a man in a lab coat. Cradled in his arms was the most unwieldy hazmat suit I’d ever seen. Built in boots and gloves and a huge transparent hood. Almost a dome.

“Sir, the worst of the suits, as ordered.”

“Thank you, Francis.” Q took it and held it up.

The colonel examined it. “But it seems fine.”

“Put it on, see for yourself.”

“Very well.”

He didn’t even take his shoes off. He thrust his feet in, stood and pulled it up. I could see a problem immediately. The suit was segmented, possibly for flexibility and one of the rubber seals on the leg had split. The colonel clearly hadn’t noticed. He continued to pull it up. He thrust his arms in, down into the attached gloves and pulled the suit over his head.

This was quite a struggle and when he finally had his head in and reached for the zip, something made him freeze. He looked at his hand in horror. The rubber of the glove he’d been about to use on the zip had split wide open, one of the fingers, right down the middle.

Q looked at the thing, he walked around it and pointed.

“There’s a split on the leg seal. Another at the back near the waist joining the body and legs of the suit… There, shoulder and the gloves. The suit is as my scientists indicated, useless. If you’d stepped outside in that you would’ve been extremely ill in no time, we would’ve needed to have you remove the suit and put on one of ours.”

The colonel gulped. “And then?”

“A very lengthy and painful decontamination process and likely a few weeks in our medical bay before you were fit to leave, if you ever were.”

He sighed. “I apologise. I was assured these could withstand any form of chemical attack. And yet yours are different?”

“My men have been outside and back in through those decontamination chambers countless times with no sign of degradation in their suits. They even play outside.”

“Play? Out there? Doing what?”

“We’re in a tropical paradise, colonel. What would you do on beaches such as ours? Surfing, jetski, sea kayaking. The jetskis also have other uses of course. We have monitoring posts too. Useful for the transfer of samples to our scientists. Hell of a lot quicker than walking and safer than taking an off road vehicle.”

He nodded.

A few minutes later, a gold statue arrived. This one holding a bundle.

“And here they are. Blank, hand them out.”

The statue did so. Each took one and examined it.

The major felt it in awe. “But it’s so light! So thin! What happens if you snag on a rock?”

“Oh, trust me. Those suits are incredibly resilient. When you’re in yours, I’ll demonstrate.”

“Now?”

“If you wish. Blank, escort him to the atrium so he can change in private. Then get the additions.”

It nodded and beckoned. The major followed.

“Any more volunteers? Now that you’re holding them?”

They shook their heads and the colonel spoke.

“We’ll wait to see how he handles it.”

“If you wish, we can finish the procedure here. You’ll witness everything that goes into him. Once everything is, he needs a little time for the suit to cure.”

“Cure?”

“Pull on the mouth.”

When he did, he let out a yelp. He pulled, it stretched, he pulled some more, there seemed to be no limit to how wide it would go.

“That’s how you get in. Once on, the suit cures in a special light. Afterwards, it isn’t possible to stretch the mouth wide enough to get out again.”

“So how… He’s not going to be trapped in that thing forever, is he? You said this was just until we left!”

“The suit he wears is in two halves, joined together by a rubber seal, don’t worry about that. Our rubber seals however are formulated to handle the chemical stresses placed on them and can be replaced, so even if he does want to remove the suit, he can still have it reapplied when you leave.”

The series of events from then, I’d seen dozens of times. He returned, they tubed and plugged him up, he left and returned again in a cured suit, this time with an armband and Q tossed him a carving knife from the table.

The usual sawing, the metal dust as the knife blunted, the looks of surprise and shock from the other three.

“As I said, gentlemen. Extremely resilient. Nothing can penetrate that material. In its flexible state however, it doesn’t mean nothing can’t penetrate you through it though.”

The colonel looked at him. Walked around, studying, and examining every detail. He pointed at the cock and balls.

Q chuckled. “I did say, I am a homosexual but that’s only a small part. After all, you do need to piss and if you’re in it for days, weeks or even years… Well you get the idea.”

“So what now?”

“Now, I suggest your major spend the next two days frozen so he can adjust to his additions.”

The major stepped back. He looked at his armband and prodded it.

“Two days?”

“The plug you wear is rather large for someone who’s never… had anything up there before. It can be painful to the uninitiated. The tubes will trigger your gag reflex for a while too but again, your body will adjust to them. So yes. Immobility helps.”

The captain was the next to walk around him. “What does it feel like in there?”

“I… can’t describe it. I like it. I don’t just like it, I love it. It’s amazing.”

Q nodded. “If you’d care to follow me. You might as well see him freeze. For a normal slave at this stage, the next part of the process would be hair removal and a complete deep clean of your bowels using the plug up your arse. As you’re unlikely to be in it that long, we won’t do that to you. You will require a flush in a day. Just like taking a bath, internally as well.”

The major nodded and they all filed out of the room.

After that, nothing. I think I must’ve fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I felt my stomach being filled and water begin to fill my suit and bowels.

My eyes snapped open and I saw the statue opposite now had tubes attached to it. I wondered how long I’d remain one.