Prologue

Karen Wilcox, a forty year old psychoanalyst and the co-ordinator for the new Marriage Revival Programme, perhaps more aptly dubbed by the press as the Marriage Boot Camp looked from the control room at the first trial intake for the programme. Deliberately she'd chosen a very mixed bag of dissimilar people. When first mooted, the programme looked like a non-starter but eventually government backing and finance became available and the first trial batch of participants selected. With the help and assistance of her friend, psychologist, Frieda Pickering, they travelled the county to do the preliminary interviews before making the choice. Two couples were forced on them by court orders but the other three were more or less volunteers.

The stated objective was to gather couples whose marriages were likely to break up, particularly those in a violent relationship, and force them to live together with others in a sexually charged atmosphere with sex tuition to try and bring them together again. The four-part programme is outlined on the card all the participants have in their cell.

1. Reflective period

Subject is given adequate time in isolation and free of interruptions, to look back on his/her marriage to try and determine what went wrong and ways of restoring it.

Subject should look deeply at his/her part in causing the breakdown and not just blame their spouse.

Subject to remember the good periods and evaluate them as to why they were good.

Subject to assess what went wrong and what they would do to remedy the situation if they have the chance.

2. Punishment

In most cases, both partners must take some blame and therefore both will receive equal corporal punishment for their misdeeds. This to ensure any built up anger is worked out under controlled conditions. The punishments will be given by the partner and witnessed by others on the programme.

3. Sex

Sexual intercourse, or lack of it, is the root cause of many marriage breakdowns and often leads to anger, frustration and infidelity. Practical instruction and encouragement will be given to enliven a flagging love life and opportunities are given for an interchange of ideas to promote a fuller sex life for both partners.

4. Love

It is anticipated that by the end of the course and having learned the various techniques to pleasure each other, the subjects will return to a loving and fulfilling relationship.

For the past week, Karen had spent a lot of time in the control room watching the screens that monitor the ten participants as they suffer their ten days of naked solitary confinement during which they are supposed to reflect on the highs and lows of their marriage. "It's rather a long time and initially it is bringing anger to some of them but we believe they will settle down and be more amenable to the later programme. The ten days also gives us time for the results of the blood tests to come through. Although the HIV one is much quicker these days, it still takes a week for a reliable result and for the anti STD and contraceptive injections to become fully effective," she explained to one of the control room operators.

Monitoring the participants is considered an 'interesting' job in this prison although they also have to monitor other areas of the building and the monitoring was primarily to ensure they didn't harm themselves and usually Karen sits behind the officers who are watching and listens to their comments on the men and women in the cells. Margaret Taylor was certainly correct when she commented on the women warders being lesbian dykes but most of the men were heterosexual and so the women's cells received undue attention. The sights seen were enough to make the controllers horny and Karen had no trouble in persuading a man or woman back to her apartment each night.

Now, on the evening of the sixth day of their isolation, Karen decided to do a methodical check on the occupants. First she tuned in to Male Cell 1 and picked up the file containing the transcripts of the interviews with Frieda Pickering.

She opened the folders for Alan William Taylor 38 years old, 6 ft. balding and a little overweight. Manager of small supermarket struggling to compete with the major superstores. 1 sixteen yr old son Raymond. And for his wife, Margaret Mary Taylor aged 36, 5'11" dyed blonde. Buxom. Canteen manager at local factory. Married for fourteen years. She sat in Female Cell 1.

Chapter 1 »