2019-09-08 - spike - The New Shop 131

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 131
Date: 08 September 2019

Chapter 131
The muscle relaxant had been administered and Bomber was waiting in wet room one and had been for a while.

I waited by the elevator and finally, the doors opened to reveal four frozen mutts.

I pointed my fob, unblanked the goggles and released them.

“Welcome home. This is where you’ll remain until a day after the races. It’s time you see the removal of a dog suit. Ours don’t have zips. And now, you’ll see why getting Moonbeam out of his was impossible for you. Follow me.”

I led them to the first cubicle in the wet room where Bomber sat. Seventeen was waiting too. The fur had already been removed and lay in a heap beside them.

“I’d like to introduce you to Bomber. He was in the last race and as he’s one of us rather than an outsider, my master has a little… forfeit for dogs who come in last place. One month as he is now. We’re not psychos though. We understand the need for normal exercise so, one day a week, he’ll be released and allowed full access to the gym.”

Three of their tails shot up in alarm. One remained in its previous state. Wagging. I didn’t need to tap him to know which one that was.

“Trust me. You love it, don’t you Bomber?”

His tale wagged.

“See?”

I connected the hose to his head and flipped the switch. “This injects a solvent into the space between the two suits. The dog suit is glued and sealed. This releases it. Watch.”

It was a couple of minutes before the flap on his back sprang clear. I removed the nose tubes and with the help of Seventeen, we got it out of the dog.

“Now, I’ll leave him to help him get back on his feet. Follow me again… I… Actually, would you like a full tour of our facility as dogs, or would you prefer to have that after you’ve been processed, on two feet?”

One tapped its paw four times, another two nodded. The fourth shook his head.

“You want out already?”

He nodded.

“You three, stand by the elevator. I’ll get this one out.”

I led them back and the one dog followed me through to wet room four. I unlocked his tail and unzipped, helping it to its feet.

It stretched, flexed and stood up straight.

“Good. You’ll get used to being a dog, don’t worry. By the end, you’ll love it. Maybe you need a little physical training before you’re ready for a longer time as one. Now, step back into that cubicle.”

It looked behind itself and took a couple of steps back. I flipped the switch freezing it in place, connected it up for its first cleaning and fed it its glycol bowel exploder.

“I highly recommend you close your eyes for the next part. We’re removing your hair. All of it. But don’t worry. It’ll be a nice, professional buzz cut by the time you’re released.”

I closed the cubicle door and allowed it to… ahem… enjoy its first cleaning in private.
* * *
The tour elicited exactly the responses I’d expected from the dogs. Wagging furiously at the sight of the rec room and gym. Two of them, their tails shot up and sank between their legs at the sight of the dungeon.

The moment they were in their cubicles and everything was connected, I left them to it and went to seek out Omega.

I found it in the gym, on the treadmill.

I joined it on the next one.

“How are you?”

It hit the button on the treadmill to slow to a walk before twiddling.

“It scared the shit out of me, sir. Being arrested.”

“There was nothing to fear, Omega.”

“But what if they’d found out, sir? Who I am?”

“In that suit, they would never have found out. We’re anonymous. As far as they’re concerned, permanently so. They could’ve never removed it. No-one would’ve told them. They couldn’t even get you out of the dog, let alone the inner suit.”

It shook with what I could only presume was laughter. “Thank you, sir. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Now, how are you, physically?”

“I never knew how painful it was to straighten up, sir. I’m working the kinks out, though.”

“Any regrets?”

“Regrets, sir? Regrets about what? The only thing I’m regretting is that I have to return to collage after my month as Bomber. I…” it slumped. “The more I experience this, the more I never want it to end, sir.”

“I understand, Omega. I feel the same way but you’re too young and you do have your orders. What are you going to be missing that first week, anyway?”

“Just a few classes, sir. Nothing I can’t make up. There is an away game that weekend, but I’ll be out and back on my feet by then, sir.”

“Where to this time?”

“Seattle, sir.”

“Fuck me, that’s a long one. It’ll take days to get”

It held up its hand. “We’re flying, sir. It’s the only way.” I could tell it was sighing. “Another weekend I won’t be here.”

“You have months to look forward to over the summer, Blank. When is that now? Three? Four months away?”

“Four, sir.”

“Well, you know the rules. You study. You study hard and get a good degree. Then, my master can claim you fully, either as an agent or a suited slave.”

“I hope it’s in a suit, sir. Even the promise of globe-trotting and living in his apartment complex… I’d give it all up to be like this for the rest of my life.”

I chuckled. “You won’t find any disagreement here. Keep up the good work, Omega. I think you may end up being a better slave than I am.”

It froze and slid off the treadmill. “Better? Than you, sir?”

“You’ve had an early start, Omega. Ten years earlier than me. Imagine what you might be like in ten years’ time. I can’t guarantee it but I bet you’ll be a gold by then.”

It stood a little prouder, hopped back onto the treadmill and hit the button to speed it up to sprint, then twiddled “Thank you, sir.”

“Right now, though, I think it’s time for me to catch up on some sleep.”
* * *
For the next two days, I put the newbies out of my mind. They could stew in their suits, frozen and helpless and come to their own realisations of what that meant. Once their pain had subsided, I’d speak to them, but until then… Back to the business at hand.

Working on the software for Eighteen.

We isolated, streamlined, optimised. We were making progress but there was a lot more to do. The good thing was, Blank was finding its feet with it. Beginning to understand how it worked and offering some suggestions for improvement even I hadn’t considered. Seventeen, too, was a big help and together, I knew we’d be able to perform our first tests within a week.

Finally, it was time. Time to let the newbs know exactly what was happening to them. I started with our newest English friend.

Rubber gloves in hand and a blank to hold the laptop, I stood before it and slipped on the gloves.

“Wake up.”

The newly released arms twitched, flailed and finally calmed down as it saw the laptop. They reached for it.

“Where am I? What’s happening? That was agony! Why can’t I move?”

I nodded. “The first two days are bad. Trust me, you’ll never look back. How’s your ass?”

The fingers froze for a moment. “I… I don’t feel it anymore but it was like I was being torn apart! That never happened before!”

“You’ve obviously not been in the suit long enough. It felt like that for most of us, believe me. If you’d been experienced with huge things up your ass, it wouldn’t’ve been a problem. And your throat?”

“I…” again a pause. “I don’t feel that either. What was that burning? That was horrible!”

“It’s required, believe me. The suit is a sealed environment. We needed to clean you thoroughly, not to mention remove your nails and hair. I’m going to release you now, so brace yourself. Stiffen your knees or you may fall over.”

“OK.”

I flipped the switch. It staggered out of the cubicle.

“Now give me the gloves and follow me.”

The moment I had them, I turned towards the corridor and the elevator beyond.

The blank snapped the laptop shut and followed too.

I glanced back at it. “Give me the laptop, Blank. Get some exercise in the gym.”

It twiddled “Yes, sir.” handed it over and jogged off ahead of us.

Blank prodded my shoulder and pointed at the laptop.

“Don’t worry, we’re just going somewhere we can sit and talk in a more civilised manner. Before we get there though… Feel yourself. Feel the suit, now you’ve got no hair.”

I chuckled as it froze to the spot and stroked itself. It stepped back in amazement.

“I know. Good, isn’t it? Now, come on.”

Up to the rec room, I sat, placed the laptop opposite me and pointed.

It sat too.

“Now. Before we begin. It’s obvious from your reaction at the club, so tell me… What do you think the suit means?”

'“What do you mean?”

“When you begged to be sealed into that suit, you said you knew what it meant. What do you think you know?”

It nodded. “It’s designed for long term wear. And now, I get to live in it for a while?”

I chuckled. “I thought so. I’ve got some excellent news and some news you may find disturbing.”

“Go on?”

“The suit isn’t designed for long term wear. It’s designed for a life time. This is it. You will never be out of the suit again. It’s permanent. Utterly impossible to remove. I wasn’t kidding when I said you were one of us.”

It stroked its chest and shuddered with pleasure. “Life?”

“Yes, life. But there’s more to it than that.”

“So, I get to live the rest of my life among a bunch of rubber perverts? All in suits like this? Never to be free of it?”

“Yep.”

“Oh god, I think I’m be… wait… Never to be free of any of it? I’ll neve”

“You’ll never speak, you’ll never taste, and you’ll never smell again. No. As I said, there is more to it than that though. A lot more.”

“What more could there possibly”

“You said you’d encountered the suits in London. What was special about them?”

“Apart from them feeling amazing?”

I pulled my shirt to one side and pointed at my mark.

“Oh! Oh that. Yeah, I saw a few like that, but they were silver. The mannequi…” it froze. It looked at me. “They weren’t mannequins?”

I shook my head. “And what do you think this marking means?”

“Seems pretty obvious. The suit belongs to this Master Q bloke.”

“No. The suit and its contents belong to master Q. As, indeed, do you. The moment your suit was sealed, you became his property.”

“What do you mean? How can anyone own me?”

“I think it’s fairly obvious, don’t you? I’m a slave. Every single man in one of those suits was a slave. And now, so are you, and you will be for the rest of your life.”

It sat bolt upright, then sprang to its feet and looked around in a panic.

“There’s no escape. The suit is much more than the most amazing thing ever created. It’s a means of control. Every aspect of your being is ours to do with as we please, so, accept it. It is an amazing life you’ve been given. James Stafford no longer exists. No-one will ever see his face again, not even you. You’re a voiceless, faceless rubber object.”

It reached for the keyboard. “But it’s impossible. I can’t be a slave!”

“Well, you are. Now, sit.”

It shook its head and took a step back. It looked ready to bolt for the elevator.

I set its target destination to the rec room so it couldn’t even summon it. It was where it was supposed to be.

“Sit down.”

As expected, it bolted for the elevator. I didn’t intervene. I knew what was coming.

When it got there, it paused, looked around for a button, then obviously remembered I’d touched a panel on the cell level and hit it.

It jumped a foot in the air.

“If you’re not authorised to press a panel, that’s what happens. Now, come back here and sit… down…”

Its shoulders slumped and it dragged its feet back to me.

I pointed at the chair. It sat. Its head sank into its hands.

“I understand it’s a shock, but you”

It’s fingers dived for the keyboard. “But slavery’s illegal! You can’t keep me here!”

“Slavery is illegal, yes. But people who willingly give themselves to a master… That’s a different matter. They’re willing slaves. You begged for this. You sank to your knees and begged. I took that as the standard form of submission of a slave. On your knees is how it’s done. You, as far as we were concerned weren’t just begging for the suit, you were begging for everything that went with it. Well, you got it. Nothing can undo it now.”

“Please, let me go.”

“Where would you go, dressed like that? You’re better off with us. You’ve got a fucking good life to look forward to.”

“Good? What could be good about… slavery?”

“You don’t need to have a care in the world anymore. No more worries. No more decisions. No more anguish about money. No more money, period. Master, of course, doesn’t pay his slaves in anything that can be exchanged for property or commodities.”

“But I’ve got debts! I told you, my ex took everything! I’m barely”

I held up my hand. “Even more reason to embrace this life. No-one will ever find you. They’ll never track you down. They could turn the whole world upside down in their search and come up empty. Hell, once we’ve got that gut off you, you’ll be utterly indistinguishable from the rest. You’d even have trouble picking yourself out of a line-up.”

“But… I…”

“Debts? Pah, they’re meaningless when you take the suit. You owe only one man anything now.”

“Who?”

“Our master.”

“And what do I owe him? I said I couldn’t even afford another”

“He’s already taken it. You. But in order for you to fulfil that debt… Let’s just say you owe him your allegiance. Your loyalty. He’s rescued you from a hellish life and given you something wondrous, so be grateful. Honour him with your obedience. That’s all he asks of a slave. Your loyalty and obedience. Just do as your told and don’t slouch around pretending to do it. Do it well.”

“So just like work then? Only this time, I don’t get paid for it?”

“You’ll have a home. A job. You’ll never go hungry. You’ll never be cold and you’ve got a whole new family. Us. My master has other ways to reward his slaves.”

“The place is quite big, but here? The rest of my life?”

“No, the rest of your life won’t be here. This is just a training compound, if you like. Slaves pass through, we train them, teach them correct behaviour, explain to them their new lot in life and after a race, you move on. You might be with us a little longer than most in order to get you in shape though.”

“So… I’m not trapped here forever? I… I don’t think I quite understand.”

“You only leave here when we permit it and the way we leave… Oh god, you’ll love it. Slaves don’t travel as passengers. We travel as freight and where you’ll find yourself then… Tropical paradise in the making. That’s why my master needs so many. Lots of work to be done. You’ll be bringing an island back to life. I love it there.”

It seems I’d grabbed its attention. “Tropical paradise?”

“My master owns a private island. Currently only one small corner of it about a half mile wide is a tropical paradise. The rest is a toxic wasteland. That’s why the suit exists. The only people who can venture out into it are people in suits like ours and that grants us a lot more freedom than the human slaves he keeps. They can’t leave the safe zone. We can and when we have free days, which we get, we can have a lot of fun out there.”

“What kind?”

“You name it, if it’s outdoorsy, it’ll be possible. Well, it’ll be possible unless it involves horses, obviously. A horse would suffer just as much as a human out there. That includes water sports of the vanilla kind. Jet ski, surf, sail, scuba. If it’s an indoor pursuit you’re passionate about, that’s there too. Art, crafts, there’s even a swimming pool, archery range and bowling alley.”

It nodded.

“See? So what if you never see a penny again? What good did money ever do you?”

“Well, it kept me alive.”

“It kept you on the verge of poverty, forced you to work in order to acquire more just to keep your head above water. See any parallels? So what if you’re no longer free? You were never free in the first place.”

Its fingers froze, hovering over the keyboard in thought.

”Well, now you have a master to take care of that. He does care for his property. He’s grown quite attached to some of his slaves, including me.”

Q sounded amused as his voice entered my ears. “Very well said, Artemis. I think it’s time for a few introductions. Main screen.”

“Yes, sir.”

It looked at me. “Yes, sir what?”

I tapped my ears. “Master’s summons. Follow me and bring the laptop.”

Over to the screen, I sat on the sofa and indicated Blank should do the same. Not that it knew its name was Blank yet. Baby steps with this one.

The moment it sat beside me, Q appeared. Behind him, as usual, Ten and Four and beside Four, another slave. It… no… He turned and I caught a glimpse of the golden number.

“Six! Good to see you again. I didn’t get to thank you enough for what you did for me when I was there.”

Six’s shoulders shook. “My pleasure.”

“How’s it adjusting, out of curiosity?”

“No idea. I haven’t bothered to speak to it. It’s just another blank as far as I’m concerned. I’ve seen it about, dragging its feet wherever it goes, though. It seems it’s not adjusting to its new status.”

I sighed. “Maybe you should speak to it. You were a blank long before it even took the suit, true?”

Six nodded and turned to Q. “Sir? I’ve never been summoned to an audience like this before. Is there something different about this one?”

Q chuckled. “Yes. Yes, there is.” he pointed at the screen. “That.”

“Sir?”

Q tapped on his keyboard and turned the screen towards them.

Four stiffened. He looked at his master. He looked at the screen. His fingers shook as he tapped on his band. “But sir, you promised!”

“Things change, Four. I understand your shock, but… Why don’t you ask it? I assure you, it is him. Oh… And I think it’s OK, just one more time.”

“Sir?”

“I permit you to use your old names.”

“Thank you, sir.” Four turned to face us. To face Blank. “What the hell have you done? You’re a married man!”

Blank shifted in its seat. “Was married.”

Four’s shoulders sagged. “For god’s sake. What about the kids!? You were fucking bouncing off the walls when John was born. I’ve never seen so many cigars flying about!”

It was Blank’s turn to stiffen. “You know me?”

“When I saw you run past me that first time with number five under your arm, you scared the shit out of me! Of course I know you. I was your best man!”

“Best… Oh stop taking the piss! That’s not funny! He’s”

“Dead? Suicide note? Beachy head? How did I describe that suit before I vanished?”

“Perfect, just couldn’t find a way in? Had weird writing on it and a big four on the back”

Four turned and prodded the back of his head. “Of course I’m Dan! I got into it alright, and Alpha sealed me in, just as you are now. Took a week to learn to love it and when I did… Oh god, I gave my master something special.”

“Dan?”

“Use your brain, Jim. You walked around me in the store. Not long after that, there were two, weren’t there.” Four pointed at Six. “That’s Calum. And what happened on the day of the funeral?”

“Calum? And Dan? But… I… I’m sorry this is too much.”

Four clutched his sides in laughter. “You don’t know the half of it. Now, the funeral…”

“Only a few of your friends turned up. Your best friends, nothing. No sign. I couldn’t phone them after that either.”

“They’re here too. A hell of a lot of us are. We convinced everyone to join us and we all love it. Now tell me what the hell happened. You were ecstatic with Rachel! You realise you’ll never see her or your kids again, don’t you?”

Blank started to shake and it was clear it wasn’t from laughter.

“She found my stash, Dan! She found it all!”

“Stash?”

“All my rubber. She found it. She was horrified. It wasn’t long before the divorce papers started flying and she started spreading the lies. Lies about me being a pervert. About me hurting her and the kids. I’m even on the fucking sex offender’s register because of her and to make it even worse, she’s poisoned the kids”

“She poisoned them! And she’s still?”

“She poisoned them against me! The last time I saw them, Becky kicked me in the shin, John ran away screaming and even Bell started crying at the sight of me and she’s only two. The evil hell spawn’s been telling my kids stories about being hurt. I think she’s told them so many times the kids really believe I hurt them. I can’t even go within a mile of the place now. I will never see my kids again.”

“Wait… Who’s Bell?”

“Isabel.”

“You’ve got three now?”

“Had. Get your tenses right!”

“Oh fuck! I’m sorry, mate. I think you can imagine I’ve been out of touch for a few years. I’ve been here for f… Well…” Four shrugged. “I don’t really care anymore how long I’ve been here, but let’s just say a long time. I would’ve congratulated you on your third, but now…” Four shrugged. “When you get here, we’ll have a reunion.”

“Just exactly how many is everyone?”

“You might not know them all. We shared a similar circle of friends but not everyone knew each other. You did know Zak? You knew those pervy twins too didn’t you?”

“Oh god! Them? They’re there? How the hell did Zak get there?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later, quite a story but we don’t have time now. I’ll say this though. Nick, Steve and Gaz, didn’t go to my funeral because they agreed to meet in the shop. I think you can guess what happened, there.”

“Wait… They were going to your funeral and they met in a fucking fetish shop?”

“My favourite place, so why not. They met me there. They tried on the suits, just like you and when they were in the bondage chair for the tubing, I… convinced them to join us. Once they knew I was still alive…”

“Fuck me, so it will be a mass reunion? And they’re all in this… Just like me?”

“All still exactly like you as well. Calum here’s the only one to gain a promotion. Well, me and Calum are. They like being as they are.” Four turned slightly so he was facing me. “Have you told him his new name yet, sir?”

“Not yet, no. The slavery thing was shock enough, I wanted to take baby steps. Do you want to tell him?”

Four nodded. “When Calum first joined us in the shop, his suit had no markings, just like yours, Jim. Forget the name Jim from now on. It’s gone. My master has a name for slaves like you.”

“What do you mean a name? Artemis said something about James Stafford no longer existing too! You expect me to… What exactly?”

“Accept it. That’s what I want you to do.”

“Accept what, though.”

“Alright. Your suit is blank. No markings, and that is also your name now. Blank. What’s more, you share that name with every other slave in a blank suit. Well over a hundred at the last count and more will be joining us.”

“Blank?!”

“You’ll get used to it. You may even learn to enjoy it. I never experienced it myself, but Artemis has. His suit’s markings can be erased at the flick of a switch and when that happens, he becomes a blank.”

I nodded. “I love the anonymity. I love the fact that I can blend in so totally, not even my master could tell me apart from the rest. We’ve even made a game of it here. Me, concocting this story or that and them trying to figure out which one I am.”

“And just how long am I going to be one of these… these blanks?”

I shrugged. “Depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether you submit. Whether you accept what’s happened to you.”

Four interrupted. “Whether you pull your weight, Blank. Daz, Nick and Steve are all called Blank too. What’s more, two of them turned down a promotion. It’s one of the only times my master permits a slave to choose anything, especially a blank. They like it now. Being blanks. How many, sir?”

Q glanced across at Four. “Hmm?”

“How many blanks turned down the offer of promotion?”

“Oh! Let’s see now…” a rattle on the keyboard later and… “Ah yes. One named slave demoted to blank by its own request. Furthermore, it also requested that it never be named again. That it remain a blank for the remainder of its life. I am showing it some mercy in that respect and allowing it a chance to recant that part of the request in a year though. One named slave punished by demotion to blank. If it learns to behave, it may earn its name back, if it doesn’t it’ll be a blank for life. Twelve blanks have turned down promotion, wishing to remain blanks for life. Another ten have asked for a delay. The won’t want a promotion yet but may in the future.”

Blank sank into the sofa. “So… I’m an “it” too?”

I chuckled. “That’s one of the things I was going to ease you into, Blank. Yes, as a blank, even as a silver, the first rank when you’re named, you are an it. An object. A thing. Another promotion to gold, as Four, Five, Six, Ten and M are… Then you’ll get your he and him back. So what if you’re an it? It’s just a word. You also get your gender back when you’re a dog. Dogs are animals and animals have genders.”

“This is all too much. I can’t get my head around it.”

“Sir, permission to take it through the sign language basics and”

“Sign language? You mentioned that.”

“It’s how we talk to each other, Blank. This armband doesn’t work for me when I’m a blank. I’m just like the rest, as we said.”

Blank inhaled deeply. “I’m like this for life.” Another deep breath. “I might as well…”

I looked at it. “Might as well what?”

“You said it was a whole new life for me. I…” Another deep breath. “You all said you love it… I…” and another. “I might as well get thrown in at the deep end.”

“What do you mean, Blank?”

“I’d like to spend a while not being able to speak at all. I want to experience what it’s like. I might as well if it’s for the rest of my life and this is the only opportunity I’ll get, before you teach me this sign language.”

“You realise some of your superiors rely entirely on sign language, Blank?”

“They can point, can’t they? What kind of work do you do here that needs explanation?”

Six clutched his sides and his shoulders shook. “You’re asking to do exactly what I did when I first started. That’s a bloody good sign you’re adjusting to the idea.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“I was a blank before the sign language evolved. Our only means of communication then was via the laptop. I asked for one week without it. If I wanted to get any ideas across I needed to be very creative with my mime. What’s more, I loved it.”

Q smiled. “Very good attitude, Blank. I like a slave with a creative mind. Before we impose this ban however, finish up with Artemis. Tell him about yourself. We know a lot, obviously from our previous encounters with you, but, any skills I may find useful. Any assets or items you wish to be disposed of. I will permit you to choose a charity to donate them to. Oh, and… Learn to use the word sir. I consider such a mark of respect important in my slaves. Anyone superior to you, when you’re able to, call them sir. That’s anyone with a silver mark on their chest. If it’s white, it’s a blank who’s been favourably looked upon. If it has a name that’s white, same thing. Still the same rank but anything silver or above… Call us sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Get into the habit. Now, Artemis.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you taken its levels yet?”

“Not yet, sir. I was going to before I sent it to its cage to get some sleep, sir.”

“Good. Do so. Are you going to treat the other three in a similar manner?”

“The couple, I may be even gentler with them, sir. The other one, no, sir.”

“Good. Oh, the consignment should arrive tomorrow. I’ve included something extra. Two little bands of gold. Put them on their ring fingers during their wash.”

“To signify marriage, sir?”

“And to allow them to identify each other, yes.”

“Yes, sir. I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“I didn’t think you had. That’s enough for now anyway. For the rest, they can see me as a group. Tomorrow. Q. Out.”

The screen went blank.

“So, how do you feel about it now?”

“It’s certainly different. One of my best friends is… It’s… I… What did he mean, take my levels?”

“Ah. Now this… This you’re gonna love.”

“What?”

“You’ve experienced what the plug can do. It’s not just for pain.”

“What else?”

“The plug powers your suit. Everything about it. In that thing, you’re a walking ID tag. That’s how the panel knew you weren’t authorised. It powers your ears. It powers other things too. When I said it offers total control of a slave, I wasn’t kidding.” I held up the fob. “And this is what controls you.”

“Why, what”

I held up my hand. “Just, describe the sensations. When it gets painful, tell me to stop. I’ll know your threshold then.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

I chuckled and ramped up the power of its pleasure, starting with the mild tingle.

The result, Blank squirmed on the sofa, then sat bolt upright and dived for the keyboard. “Oh fuck. Oh fuckin’ ‘ell!”

“Remember when I said my master had other ways to reward a slave?”

“That? You do that to people?”

“Yes. I do that to people. There are programs too. That was just to test how much you could take. Everyone’s different. Some can take it all the way to level nine before pain starts to creep in. You? Level six.”

“And you, sir?”

“Level six too, I think. I’ve had it more intense too. Creeping into pain and found I loved that as well. Only for special occasions though.”

It nodded. “How do you earn more of that?”

“Do as Four said. Pull your weight, learn to submit and you’ll have an hour of it every week. Do well in a race and you can earn a hell of a lot more. Let’s get the admin out of the way, shall we? Skills, jobs, hobbies? Anything my master may find useful, and don’t discard anything. One of our slaves stated he was fluent in six languages and a model maker. Both came in useful. The models he made of various bondage positions were exquisite. My master even sold some of them in the store upstairs.”

It pointed at the ceiling.

“Yes. Just like the one in London. How better to recruit slaves than by running a fetish store? This place, apparently, is a hell of a lot bigger than your old haunt though.”

It nodded. “When I first encountered the shop, I worked at an electronics firm, sir. Specialised stuff for industry.” It sighed. “Then Brexit happened. We couldn’t keep afloat, lost most of our business. We sold to Germany and France, mainly. Everything we sold got smashed by the competition when the trade tariffs forced our prices to rise.”

“Electronics could be fucking useful to my master. You may even be as”

“No, sir. I wasn’t a technician. Marketing department.”

“Ah. No, I don’t think that’ll be particularly useful. You never know though, you might offer your services to him when pushing the dog suits. One of our slaves offered a suggestion for an additional market. Master Q’s also looking into selling body armour based on this material. Only one way to find out. Ask. Anything else? Qualifications? Hobbies? What did you do when the electronics firm went under?”

“That’s when my life hit the shitter, sir. Lost my job, signed onto the universal credit and a month later, all hell broke loose. She found my stash. It was like flipping a switch. Wedded bliss, with a few problems admittedly to hell on earth in less than a day, sir. I admit it. I fell into a depression. The only jobs I could manage after that were fast food and warehouse. Temp, shitty, pointless boring, low paid crap. And even those dried up after she got me convicted of sexual assault.”

I sighed. “And that’s when they put you on this register thing?”

It nodded.

“OK, hobbies?”

“I’m a dab hand with an Ikea flat pack, sir.”

“That can’t be a hobby, can it? What do you do, build flat packs for the whole town?”

It chuckled. “DIY in general, sir. I can plaster. I can grout. I can even rewire a house safely. I might not have all the qualifications to be able to work in the field but I know how.”

“Now that’s more like it. We have the man who normally maintains this place as a blank right now. He already belonged to Master Q though, so the suit’s temporary. It’s a reward for good service.”

“Temporary? But”

“He’s still a slave, Blank. Just as the suit is permanent for us…” I tapped my mark. “His mark of ownership’s tattooed on. He’s still permanent property. He just gets to act outside.” I chuckled. “Still doesn’t get paid. My master provides for his outside slaves just as he does for us here.”

“This is all so weird! I never knew anything like this could exist!”

“But you must’ve known about fetish slavery. Six told me he’d wanted to be owned for a long time before my master claimed him.”

Blank’s shoulders shook. “I know. And I always thought he had a screw loose wanting that. I… I suppose I’ll learn to understand him better now, sir.”

“Now, as you’re new, I’m going to place this fob on the sofa between us. Normally, I’d freeze a slave and place the fob on his open palm to demonstrate this, but for you… I’ll give you the chance to see how much you can take.”

“How much of what, sir?”

“We have our own culture, Blank. Our own laws. One of the most serious law a slave can break is an attempt to escape and as this fob is one of the things that controls slaves, it’s protected to prevent its misuse by those unauthorised to do so.”

“Like the panels?”

“Yes, but this one’s more serious. It also gives you some idea of what happens if you attempt to get close to an exit to this complex. You’ll see the door to the outside world eventually. Never even think about going through it. Well, not unless the protections are down and we have permission, anyway.”

It sighed and nodded.

“If you can hold the fob for ten seconds, I’ll give you one hour of pleasure when you’re in your cage. It won’t be the same intensity as what I just did to you. It’s much better than that.”

“Better how, sir?”

“It teases, it plays with you. Oh fuck me, it’s good.”

It reached for the fob four times before it finally snatched it up. Instantly it began to writhe. To convulse. It looked at me in what I could only guess was abject horror, but it didn’t let go. Even when its free hand shot to its throat. As it began to struggle to breath.

I counted nine before it dropped it.

I swept it into an embrace and stroked it until its sobs subsided.

It reached for the keyboard one last time. “Oh fuck that was horrible. I’ve never felt anything like it! And that happens when you get near an exit too?”

“The exit’s worse, Blank. Much worse.”

“Worse how?”

“Once you’re in the hallway, facing that front door, you freeze as the punishments hit. You’re helpless. You can’t get out until you’re dragged out and that might be several minutes away. You lasted nine seconds.”

“Nine? But it felt like ages! Does this mean I didn’t…”

“The reward was an hour for ten seconds. I think you did amazingly well, so I’ll give you half that. It’s enough to get a taste for it. One hour a week in addition if you do well and trust me, once you’ve experienced it, you’ll do well. You’ll do anything to get more. I know I will.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I began tapping, dragging and swiping on my armband, adding it to the active list and set its destination for cell block two.

I switched back to text mode. “Oh, you don’t want to learn to speak. The cell contains six cages and some of those will have slaves in them. They’ll be chattering away in there and you don’t want to learn it right away.”

“No, sir.”

“The moment you’re in your cage, I’ll blacken your goggles. Think of it as a personal lights out. If you can’t see them, you can’t learn from them. How does that sound?”

It nodded.

“I think… One week without communication. After that, you will need to learn. It’s an important skill. Now, the voice you hear next will be computer generated. Obey it. If you don’t, it will warn you. If you continue to fail, it will punish and it doesn’t have an ounce of compassion. It’s a program I wrote to get slaves where they need to be. Saves us a hell of a lot of time.”

“Remote control, too, sir?”

“Yes. Oh, and if you see a blank with a chain around its neck… It is in a different version of the program as a punishment. Mine has safety features that one lacks, so, feel free to interfere with it if it wants to touch a panel. It hates that.”

“What did it do?”

“Tortured us. Hacked our system and even when it knew the program wasn’t a game, it continued. We captured it. It’s not getting out of the so-called game until its main victim reaches its ideal weight.”

“The obese one?”

“Yes. In fact… Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to it. I think it may be able to help you. I’ll assign it as your personal trainer when it’s not helping me in the computer room. You’ll like it.”

“Thank you, sir. But it won’t be able to talk to me.”

“No, but it will be able to point.”