Chapter 7: Reviewing the Rules

“I’d call you to attention, but I expect none of you know how to do that properly,” the man said. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Leftenant Wilhelm Bismark. Its more properly Lieutenant, but I prefer to use Leftenant. My duty is to act as the liaison between you and the Confederacy during the next four weeks as we travel to Crucibleat. Once there the commander of the planet will issue your final orders. I will let you know right now, I have no idea what those orders will be. The AI does monitor your actions during the trip and there are some training sessions and orientations available. Your posting will depend on your interests and performances in the training sessions. Please do not ask me or any of marines on the ship about what will happen once we reach Crucibleat.”

“Why not?” a female voice called out.

“Because as I said, we don’t know,” the man said calmly. He seemed unsurprised by the outburst. “Please, if you do have questions save them for the end of my presentation. It makes things simplier.”

The room remained quiet. I tried to find the person who had spoken but was unable to spot the speaker. “What are you looking for?” Lenore whispered to me.

“Trying to get an idea who asked the question,” I replied quietly as I watched Wilhelm walk towards the middle of the room.

He reached the center of the room and scanned the room again. “Now, there are a number of things we have found we need to go over right after pickups. Each military base will be different, but there are some common rules. They have to do with concubines.”

The Leftenant stepped up to one of the tables. “First, as you will find out over time. The AI units are vital to the smooth running of just about everything, and they enforce the rules regarding concubines. They will ignore concubines unless the owner of the concubine has given that specific AI instructions to respond. And even then there are times they will ignore all concubines.”

“Nothing we haven’t already noticed,” Lenore whispered.

“Why is that?” someone shouted.

Leftenant Wilhelm glared in the direction of the voice. “If that was a concubine I do hope the owner properly punishes them. And that is the proper term. As far as the laws are concerned concubines are owned by citizens. They have about the same rights as a pet back on Earth. But with fewer protections.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop. I could see Aine shiver as Leftenant Wilhelm paused in speaking for just a moment. He waited and then continued. “So, I can start with the second part. Concubines, you are property as I said. The citizen who you followed aboard owns you. Any instruction they give you should be taken as a demand. If your citizen tells you to jump, jump into the air immediately and then ask ‘how high’. If they want to loan you to another man, don’t fight it. And never, cause harm to a citizen.”

“Like I’d want to,” Kathy whispered. “I love my mistress.”

I could see Jessica put an arm out and place it on Kathy’s shoulder. I reached out to caress Lenore as the speech continued. “I will warn you that the rule against causing harm is very strictly enforced. The AI units won’t ask why you did it. Honestly, they don’t care for concubines. You are considered necessary for the morale of the citizens, but that’s it. If you harm a citizen, you will be executed. Also your citizen can just decide that he needs to get rid of you. Hopefully, he or she will be willing to work out a trade, but they can kill you should they choose.”

Aine gasped. Ashley put a hand on her shoulder and then leaned in to whisper to her. There was a lot of whispering going on as Leftenant Wilhelm just stood and watched.

“About what I expected to hear,” I said.

“Hopefully there will not be many concubines angering their owners,” Leftenant Wilhelm said. “Now, owners, you are responsible for your concubines. Anything they do will reflect on you, and if they damage the property of another citizen you can be punished for it. You also will need to keep them fed.”

“What about clothing?” someone shouted. It sounded like a woman’s voice.

Leftenant Wilhelm smiled. It seemed almost sinister. He turned to look in the direction of the voice. “Citizens get to decide if their concubines are going to wear clothing. Like I said earlier. You own the concubine. You get to do what you want with them.”

I was nodding. Leftenant Wilhelm waited a moment and then spoke again. “That is about all I have to say for now. The AI units in your home pods will alert you to any training sessions.”

“What about our homes?” a man shouted as he stood and turned to look at the Leftenant. He was a bit older than Morgan but powerfully built.

“The Glowworm is a modified freighter the aliens were using before they first approached humanity. The modification was to the cargo attachments and the cargo pods. Your homes started out as cargo pods for trade. They have been made into large two story housing units. Each unit has its own replicator, AI unit and a backup power system that can keep the unit running for several days should it not be attached to a ship or a planetary power network. The pod you are in is yours. It will be dropped onto Crucibleat when you arrive and should you move to another planet, it will be sent into orbit and picked up by a transport. If you want to decorate or modify the unit you can,” the Leftenant said.

“Why not ask a question?” Lenore asked me.

“Nothing I feel we need to know. We know about the replicator units. The only question I can think about would be the medical checks,” I said.

“That you should ask,” Lenore said using her elbow to nudge me in the side.

I looked around the room. No one else appeared prepared to raise their hand. I thrust my hand into the air. “Sir! Leftenant!” I called out.

“You have a question?” Leftenant Wilhelm asked. “And who are you?”

“Mark Parker, sir. I was picked up earlier today. I was wondering about medical checks. I thought everyone was processed through medical. Also can’t we request cosmetic changes to our ladies?” I asked.

“They aren’t ladies boy!” a man shouted from the far side of the room. “But I heard that too. How do we go about fixing up the chassis on our fucktoys?”

I could see the Leftenant scowl. “Remember that concubines are here to help keep you relaxed and focused. Calling them fucktoys is devaluing just how much a good concubine can do for you. As for the other questions. Those were intelligent questions, thank you. Medical checks should have already started, but the medical units were being recalibrated. We will have the AI start to alert the citizens when they can come down. I know some of you only have two concubines and still have young dependents. We’ll bring those households down in stages. With the first visit being that for a single concubine then the citizen and second concubine will enter the pods. I recommend that the single concubine be very good with the dependents.”