Chapter 3

“Your concubines Louisa and Cherise are at the door with children seeking admission. Shall I let them in?”

“No, hold it. I’ll go and let them in.”

He’d spent some time going over the pod with Sarah and Deb, discussing what alterations to make. He’d outlined some things he wanted and they were to consult with the others and draw up some plans.

At the door, he thanked the Marine who had delivered them, greeted Melissa and introduced himself to the two new children. Helen was a quiet smaller copy of her blond mother, already budding with Louisa’s femininity but still carrying quite a bit of puppy fat. Joy was smaller in build as well as size, and with dark hair. Although wary in her greeting to him, she seemed a lot more composed and confident than her older sister.

“Come inside and look around. This will be your home from now on.”

“Why wouldn’t the stupid door open for us? The soldier said we had to wait for you to talk to the eye-eye or something.” Joy sounded annoyed.

“That’s right. Has your mother explained to you that I am in charge of you now?”

Joy nodded doubtfully. It was obvious she had strong reservations about that.

“Well a computer runs everything in the pod and I also decide what it’s allowed to do. Because this is your new home I think you should always be able to get inside so I’m going to tell it that. AI, please open the door for Joy or any of my children or concubines whenever they want to enter their home.”

“Acknowledged. All your children or concubines are authorised to gain entry.”

Those who hadn’t heard the AI speak before were startled by the voice, not loud but penetrating and seeming to come from all around them.

Joy seemed impressed by that and was quiet as they all entered. They had barely reached the main room before the AI announced Louise’s arrival and Chris sent them off to explore with Sarah and Deb to explain things.

At the door he went through the same routine. Solange, despite being a year younger was as tall as Melissa and Helen, and Chris got the impression that she would more than hold her own with them. She was leaner in build than he might have guessed from her mother, still pretty flat-chested and looked athletic. She was taking in everything with keen interest and didn’t seem too disturbed at all the changes. Her brother Marcus didn’t appear as comfortable. He spoke in answer to the greeting but held back close to his mother and showed less expression.

When they were all gathered in the main room, Chris spoke to them, for the children as much as the adults.

“This is strange and new to all of us but exciting too. There are some things we all need to understand very clearly. We are leaving Earth to prepare for war with the Sa’arm. I will be training to be a soldier of some sort and you will be living and working to make a human colony on a new world. That means that things will not be free and easy for any of us. The rules we all live by will be a lot stricter and the penalties for breaking them a lot harsher. You’ll hear a lot more about that at the briefing after dinner.

“The Confederacy has put me in charge of you and you must obey me or I will have to punish you. If I don’t and you get out of hand I will be held responsible. But apart from that many of the rules will be for your own protection.

“At the moment some of you are dressed and some are naked. You saw your mothers had to take their clothes off when they came on the ship. You will need to get used to that because you will see a lot more of it. Sponsors like me, and all children, will be clothed. Concubines like your mothers and Sarah, Deb and Cherise must go naked or wearing the grey shifts that you have seen. I have decided that they can all wear shifts outside our pod and inside clothing is optional. Edna will not wear anything.

“Now we need to sort out names. There is too much confusion with Louise and Louisa. Louisa, Will you be comfortable with Lou?”

“Yes, I was always Lou with my friends and family.”

“Good. Cherise I have never liked your name. You’re not responsible for it but I find it pretentious and grating. I think it would be better to shorten it to Cherie. It can go with the new personality you will be showing the world. Okay?”

She looked a bit disconcerted but she nodded and said nothing.

“Edna is in deep trouble for her very bad actions in the past. She is in disgrace and will be experiencing a series of punishments. She has lost the right to any name as dignified as Edna. What can we make it? Not Ed or Eddie. Too friendly sounding. It’s a bit hard to make anything out of Edna. Na?” An idea struck him. “Let’s make it Red. Melissa, Cherie will be acting in place of your mother now. Go to her for ordinary permissions and advice and see that you do what she tells you. Do you understand?”

“Yes Chris,” she quavered.

He felt a surge of affection for her. She had always been the one person in that family that he had got on with throughout his ordeal. “Don’t worry Mel. Things will work out. There are lots of people in your new family to love you and new friends to make.”

“Okay, now access to the pod’s functions. AI, everyone has access to the toilet and washing facilities. All adults have access to the replicator functions and climate control. For the moment children only have that access under adult supervision. All of you start planning for the redesign and decoration of the pod to suit us all. All of you can alter the colour of your own rooms to suit yourselves. Where you share, settle it between you. For the purpose of all these permissions Red does not count as an adult.

“For communications, everyone has permission to ask you for information, Louise has permission to contact me via you when I am away from the pod, others only if they claim an emergency. You should inform me immediately if you detect anything yourself that I ought to know. Until things settle no one leaves the pod without my permission unless summoned by an official. Understood?”

“Acknowledged,” came from the AI and others murmured agreement.

“Now we should be getting ready to go to the cafeteria for dinner and the briefing that follows. Get changed into shifts where appropriate. Deb and Sarah can show you the cupboards where they are kept. Stick together when we are outside. There will be a lot of people moving about. If anyone does get lost you can ask the ship AI for directions to the family or pod.”

“Acknowledged.” And Chris realised that this too was taken as a required permission and was glad he had said it.

With twelve in the family they filled a whole table in the cafeteria and it took a long while for all the new arrivals to work out how to get meals from the replicators. A lot of people ate pasta and meat sauce or steak and potato mash. It was some time before they had all managed to get something and eat it and were sitting around waiting for the briefing.

“All right, your attention please!” Sergeant Ingram stood and his voice amplified.

“I have a number of things to tell you about. The first is an expansion of something you were all told about before accepting your new condition as either volunteers or concubines. Many people have trouble adjusting to the new realities so I must repeat some of the words you have heard before. Do not disregard them. It could cost you your life.

“Concubines. In all practical ways you are now the slaves of your sponsors. Your job is to please them and produce babies. They hold your lives in their hands. It’s up to them how they treat you. Displease them enough and they can beat you, discard you or at the extreme have you recycled. That is put into the recycler to be broken up into your chemical components. Discarded concubines will only be held for a limited period and if not taken up by another sponsor they too will be recycled. Former spouses, parents etc, do not presume on your previous relationship. It no longer applies. Also any attack on any sponsor is a death sentence. Almost every trip someone fails to grasp these things or act on them and they end up dead. Don’t be one of them.

“Sponsors. You are responsible for the actions of your concubines. You must control them rigorously. Regardless of what happens to them, you will pay a penalty for their misdeeds if they infringe on ship, crew or other sponsors. Do not interfere with other sponsors’ concubines and children or you will be punished, particularly any attack or molestation of children.

“Now, each group. Your timetables for training sessions starting tomorrow are as follows...” And he went on to detail the training schedules for sponsors and concubines and then their sessions in the med tubes for both the initial standard treatments and the ones for individual reworking of their bodies. He also gave a brief outline of the pattern of their lives to expect over the trip and when they arrived at the colony.

The groups left the cafeteria in a very sober mood. Back in the pod Chris spoke to them all in the main room.

“From what the sergeant was saying some concubines are going to have a very hard time of it and some may even be treated very badly. All I can say is that except for Red, I have no intention of making your lives a misery. You will have to learn to live under the discipline of these new rules and I will have to enforce them. I want to live in a happy family though, not one riddled with tensions and fear. I especially want all our children, both you here and your brothers and sisters to come, to know that they are cherished and loved by all of us.

“The exception is Red. My former guardian, while she had me in her power, treated me very cruelly for her own ends. You’ve all seen my back. Red beat me regularly from the age of eight when I came to live with her, using paddles, and then canes and whips. I will be explaining the extent of her crimes in greater detail to the adults later.

“Red, do you acknowledge the cruelty and crimes I am speaking of? And accept that punishment is your due?”

She replied firmly, looking particularly to Melissa and the other children. “Yes Chris. I have treated you cruelly and criminally. On Earth I would be sent to gaol for what I did. I deserve whatever punishment you decide on.”

“I do intend to punish her and although I want to spare you children seeing all of it, you will all be seeing at least some of that punishment. I want you to understand that none of you are ever going to be treated like that.

“Now, it’s been a big day. I think it is time for the children to go to bed. Cherie will you go up and settle them in their rooms. Give Melissa an extra cuddle because you’re coming back down for a while when you’ve done so. She’ll be back up to sleep with you later Mel.”

With barely token objections except for a haughty glare from Solange, the children went up the almost magical levitation field to their rooms on the upper floor. Louise immediately turned to Deb.

“I must say that Cherie seems somewhat subdued since that little fracas at the transport room. What did the ‘stupid, selfish, hurtful bitch’ have to say for herself?” demanded Louise, quoting Cherie’s own self-description. “Did she really sound as if she gave a damn for anyone else’s feelings?”

“I think she did.” Deb looked at Chris. “You scared the shit out of her. It shook her from her hairdo to her pretty little painted toenails and turned her upside down. She said that at first she was horrified for herself but then her whole idea of the world shifted and she was suddenly horrified at what she was and what she had done.”

“What the hell did you say to her?” Louise asked him. “Even if she means it, I can hardly believe in some instant conversion like that. It’s like those bullshit religious meetings where the shill starts a stampede of conversions and a week or two later they’re all drinking and fornicating and doing their neighbours down like before.”

“I told her I was thinking of swapping bodies between her and Deb.”

That produced a startled shriek and belly laugh from Louise that got the others going too. “That might do it,” she gasped and then went on laughing. Only Red remained silent and Lou, remembering that this was the girl’s mother, asked her what she thought about it.

“Whatever m ... Chris thinks is right,” she said. The others stared at her but she was oblivious. Her gaze was fixed on Chris, anxious about her near slip.

“Chris. Did you mean it when you said you might give me Cherie’s body?”

“Not for one moment Deb. That was to reinforce her shock and motivate her. I don’t want you to ever be anyone but yourself, just with an improved body. Definitely one made for you alone.” He swivelled round to point to Sarah. “But don’t you tell her any differently. She needs this shakeup. Don’t doubt that I will do the first part of the swap if this is the sort of flash in the pan that Louise was talking about.