Chapter 11

The orientations took up much of the day, including not only additional ones specifically for the sponsors and concubines, but also joint-sessions. The most notable part of the whole day’s seminar, though, was the “slideshow of screams,” in which scenes of malcontents, bad seeds, troublemakers, arrogant concubines, greedy sponsors, counterfeiters, terrorists, and worse were shown to the audience. The most alarming part was the section for the “consequences,” in which various fools were either stung, stunned, vaporized, recycled, or tossed out of airlocks. They then marched all of us over to the Civil Service section, where we met the staff and saw the worried faces of “pool” concubines of both sexes.

The message was unmistakable. Fuck up, and you might find out ... what pool life is about, fools. Several folks, sponsors and concubines alike, became physically ill as they witnessed the truth, the cold, hard facts about recycling and everything else. We also saw the infamous Vicki Wright case, in which a sponsor had “over-modified” herself, broke Confederacy laws, and ended up retesting. She became a concubine instead and her son became a sponsor himself. (See akarge’s Man of the House for that story). There were other incidents, including one where a pair of counterfeiters in Richmond were executed during a sting that also became a pickup, and notably, a riot by an anti-Confederacy mob that had to be severely punished (see Duke of Ramus’s Sunday Stroll for that incident). Of course, what happened to Cliff was also displayed for us, almost as an afterthought.

“As you guys can see, this is life or death. The stakes are that high, folks. This is serious business. You are now, thankfully, safe from Earth First, at least. There are still other dangers, not even counting the Swarm. Today, one testing center in Boston was bombed by an apparent IRA/Earth First cell, just three hours ago. Seventeen Marines and Civil Service officers were killed, along with sixteen testees. That whole sector is under temporary Confederacy martial-law, too. They won’t get away with it, like it or not.

“Earth First is delusional, of course. We have repeatedly told people that we can’t take everyone on the planet with us, because the resources provided by the Confederacy are finite. They also have to prioritize the defense of the Confederacy itself above that of Earth. Besides, humanity cannot survive forever if it is bound to one planet. The point of the CAP system is to entrust those resources and the defense of the Confederacy to those people with the best qualities and aptitude for such a role. By necessity, those who otherwise wish to evacuate must perform other services for our mutual cause,” a senior official who I couldn’t identify yet announced to everyone present.

“Who is that guy?” I heard Megan ask someone else.

“Some Welshman who has risen high in the Civil Service. Centurion or Tribune something or other. Poor fools have to struggle constantly to manage unclaimed conks and other common problems. Give me combat instead any day of the week and twice on weekends!” the stranger answered her.

“In any case, we’d do well to heed the warning from the authorities, right?” I observed in a hushed tone to escape notice.

“You lads have anything to share with everyone else?” we heard the Welshman confronting us.

“No, sir. I was just asking about your name,” Megan explained with an extra dose of charm in her voice and her eyes.

“Listen properly next time at the beginning of the lecture and that won’t be a problem,” the officer scolded an embarrassed Megan.

Loud laughter followed that rebuke. It quickly died down after the officer cleared his throat and resumed the discourse. The rest of the lesson took a good hour or so before we let out for supper (lunch had been a rushed affair), and Megan made a point of slapping my ass during the walk to the mess. I think that she wanted to put me on the spot for a change. It apparently worked, as I proved by blushing in spite of myself.

“Was that really necessary, babe?” I asked Megan, “though I appreciate you taking the brunt of the officer’s wrath.”

“Part of what kept me below a 7 CAP score was my impulsive streak. So sue me!” Megan joked in a self deprecating manner.

“Our big brother may be a lot of things, but rash isn’t one of them. He’s amazing, anyway!” Kara bragged about me.

“He’s awesome!” Mara winked at me as if acknowledging that she hadn’t always felt such admiration for me.

“No arguments there. Your brother is fucking dreamy, though so are my conks and you guys. I really, really want him to breed me and the sooner, the better. Well, after someone else, who already bred me when we dated ... and Liza after so many turns with both of us. Either way, I really want him inside me and sooner rather than later,” Megan told us as we really dug into the grub, not wishing to name her late boyfriend, the father of her unborn child.

“Well, he already bred me and he plans to do the same with Nina and his sisters, of course. I wonder who else might be impregnated by our man. It would be pretty sweet if more ladies got knocked up by our Master here,” Elena spoke her mind about her adoration of me.

“The concubine known as Kara O’Connell was impregnated last night during a threesome with her sponsor and brother, Ira O’Connell, as well as their sister, the concubine known as Mara O’Connell. The logical conclusion is that the father of her embryo is said sponsor. The sponsor known as Megan Daniels has been pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, of course, so she’s not a factor, while the female concubine Liza Burbage was impregnated early this morning, likely by the male concubine Zhang Yishan.

“The female concubine known as Missy Doge was impregnated by her ex husband and fellow concubine, Jay Doge, yesterday afternoon, while the sponsor Denise Ibanez was impregnated last night by the same male concubine. The sponsor Blair Corday was impregnated yesterday by the male concubine Russell Purchase, along with his ex wife and fellow concubine, Lisa Purchase,” the AI announced, letting me know that I was now an uncle as well as a father to the second power.

“He’s my Pharaoh, of course! It’s awesome that he’s knocked Kara up! I can never forget how he makes me feel when he’s inside me, where he belongs! He’s the best lover I could ever imagine, let alone bed!” Nina praised me for my sexual prowess.

“I’m also the only man you’ve ever slept with, honey,” I teased her playfully about her recent virginity.

“Touché. Just remember that I saved myself for you, Master. It was my cherry to give away and I chose to give it to you. Proudly and with no regrets, my love. This has been your property since before you claimed it all, for what it’s worth. You can do whatever you please with it, but I made that my maidenhead was all yours. All three holes,” Nina once again impressed me, this time with her conviction.

I took her hand in mine briefly as we chowed down, squeezing it to drive home my passion for her. I wanted her to know that I appreciated her commitment to following her heart and mind there. Her zeal was difficult to overlook or ignore, no doubt about that. Nina was truly my Egyptian princess as much as I was her Pharaoh. It was a beautiful thing.

“Get a room, you two!” someone yelled now.

“I have several ... in my pod, same as you if you designed it well or let your conks do so! I don’t shit on your lawn, so don’t shit on mine. We weren’t that loud, man!’ I retorted.

“Not loud. Just far too mushy with your conks! They’re not wives or girlfriends, let alone soulmates, so stop being all romantic with them! It’s disgusting! They’re livestock, brood mares, nothing else! You gotta make sure that they fear you and respect you, not worry about making them love you! Watch this!” the cranky little guy with an apparent Napoleon complex grabbed one of his conks and brutally shoved a wide spoon up her butt with zero lubrication.

She screamed loudly and sobbed while another sponsor, a woman, turned to her ex husband and followed her comrade’s lead. She also ran a sharp fork over her conk’s balls, adding more pain to cause him to scream in agony. When I glared at both sponsors with revulsion and anger, the woman walked over to me and the man followed her in fascination or something. She smirked and grabbed Jay Doge by the balls, kissing and biting his face while the man twisted Missy Doge’s tits and stuck his fingers into her pussy. If looks could kill, Denise’s death stare would have done just that.