Chapter 3

“ ... pet?” Karen’s mind went blank.

“ ... yeah. Basically, being a citizen does have some significant perks to go along with the increased workload and responsibility, one of which is that he or she can choose up to six residents as personal companions. These companions are commonly referred to as ‘pets’ and are used for things like home maintenance, sexual gratification, managing personal assets, whatever the citizen wants.”

“Whatever the citizen wants? The resident doesn’t get a say in this?”

“None. Residents do not have civil rights. Well, technically, neither do citizens. More importantly, pets can only be chosen from residents selected for government service. Generally, citizens keep a couple pet slots open in case family or friends get selected, but of course the relationship does change afterwards. A pet is essentially a domestic slave. Its government service is in providing care and comfort to a citizen. As a citizen, I likewise have a responsibility to ensure you are properly cared for, at least physically.”

“ ... is this like the ‘breeder’ thing I’ve heard about?”

“Hmm? Actually, no. Breeders are a completely different thing. For example, as a citizen, I am encouraged to assign multiple breeders to myself, as there is a genetic component to citizenship qualification, and a slightly higher chance for a resident to be qualified as a citizen if there are citizens in their family history. That being said, myself included, most citizens decline to participate in the breeding program; we tend to care about what happens to our children and ‘gene donors’ for the breeder program have no say in that. I could literally request 30 breeders be assigned to me, and I’d get them. But breeders have a lot of privileges as well, for example as long as they regularly have sex with their assigned partner, they are allowed to do whatever else; there’s no requirements for obedience or whatnot, and while a breeder female is pregnant, she doesn’t have to do anything except maintain her health and the health of the child within her.

“Breeders also need to be qualified. They need to have officially identified desirable genetic traits, be in a certain age range, all that jazz. Basically, you have to be an ideal baby factory that’s capable of pumping out a bunch of kids. If you qualified for that, that probably would have been a lot easier.”

“It would have been? Why is that?”

“Well, like I said, breeders aren’t considered a ‘perk’, per se. It’s a legitimate government service position for the purpose of improving the Empire through eugenics. You get your own life, a decent wage, et cetera, as long as you stay pregnant and breed with your assigned partner. Pets don’t get that; they live at and for the pleasure of their ‘owner’.”

“Owner!? Are you trying to tell me that you’re considered my ‘owner’!?” Karen couldn’t help the outrage creeping into her voice.

“Yeah, basically. Look, I know that’s a lot to take in, but being a pet actually isn’t a bad lifestyle. Like I mentioned, I am expected and required to provide for you and take care of you. It’s actually generally a pretty easy-going lifestyle, all things considered. Most government service selectees have it much harder.”

Karen was rigid in incredulity. This was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. She didn’t want to accept it. “What happens if I refuse to be your ... pet?”

Michael sighed. “You can’t refuse. You’re already my pet, you’ve been registered and processed as such.”

“I could just ignore you, run away. Would they send some SWAT team after me or something?”

His eyebrow shot up again. “I don’t think that’s necessary. In fact, I don’t think you can run away. When I said you were processed, I meant that it should be pretty much physically impossible for you to resist my commands or will. Running away shouldn’t be possible either.”

Karen felt another chill that had nothing to do with the way she was dressed. It must have reflected on her face, because Michael nodded and continued.

“Every pet is conditioned for obedience and loyalty. I understand it happens during the registration process while you are under sedation, so it would be plausible that you were not aware of it ... but at this point, you should well and truly be my pet in every sense of the word.”

“I-- I don’t believe you,” Karen stuttered, suddenly terrified that it was true. “You can’t just brainwash people into being slaves!”

Michael shrugged again. “I’m not clear exactly on how it’s supposed to work, but everyone I’ve discussed the matter with has full confidence in the procedure. Shall we test it?”

“Wh-- what do you mea--”

“Spread your legs. Show me your crotch.”

“Th-- that’s---” Karen knew it was an insane directive, but it also felt bizarrely proper and reasonable. “You can’t ask me to...” but even as she was protesting, she realized in a panic that she was slowly parting her knees. With great effort, she halted the motion, but the moment she stopped concentrating on resisting, her thighs once more started spreading. Helpless tears welled up in her eyes as her private parts came into full view for the man across the coffee table from her. “Please...”

Michael directly looked at the area between her legs and nodded in satisfaction. “I don’t find the idea of pets particularly palatable, and it bothers me to make you, whom I consider a friend, into a pet, but when I weigh the pros and cons I’ve come to the conclusion that regardless of how humiliating this is for you, you will still enjoy a significantly more comfortable and satisfying lifestyle as my pet than you would as a administrative assistant, or terraforming and colonizing a planet on the other side of the galaxy. That’s what your husband and son will be doing for the rest of their lives, by the way.”

“!! Evan! Jared!...” Karen started sniffling in misery, still unable to close her legs and cease the lewd display she was presenting to her former subordinate. Worse, she was horrified to notice a definite sense of arousal which seemed incredibly inappropriate considering the situation, just by being exposed to him.

“Oh, it’s a rough lifestyle, yet it’s not an especially dangerous or miserable one; but here’s the thing: generally the population of a new colony is a bunch of male workers and a carefully selected group of female breeders, with attributes of physical hardiness and resilience. Each male will take his turn with multiple breeders; it will allow the highest genetic diversity in the lowest amount of time, maximizing the depth of the gene pool and allowing for a healthy colony to develop. You would never have gone with them, but if I hadn’t selected you as a pet, you’d likely be made into an administrative assistant. The processing for those types is considerably more soulless than that of a pet. You can close your legs now.”