Chapter 9

Most of Lyle’s duties that afternoon were relatively dull, involving documents, learning the details, regulations, rules, obligations, and responsibilities of his new position from Fiona, Sandy, and Andre. Only their flirting and Stacey’s constant company, plus the occasional overtures from the pool concubines made it interesting at all. It was just a day where they had to finish the orientation process for Lyle, at least for the bulk of the day. It wasn’t until nearly the end, with an hour or so left of Lyle’s shift, that things got interesting.

Two male concubines had grabbed a third one and started beating him with their fists, while a female one egged them on, urging them to really give the man hell, though he fought back viciously for his part, including punch to the kidneys. When she didn’t think that they were serious enough about abusing the guy, she started kicking him repeatedly, which was when Lyle stepped in and yanked the woman’s hair, after which he pulled her off the victim. Andre had one of the men in hand, as Fiona took the other man, and Sandy knelt to help the victim up with some assistance from Stacey. Fiona then scowled and kicked her captive in the nuts, which really drove home her ability to be tough, even rough, when necessary.

“What in the hell is the meaning of this?” Fiona demanded now, as the three male and one female sweated profusely in fear ... they were all in the same boat now.

“Ma’am, this man grabbed my arm during an argument and these men came to my rescue from the abusive prick. I simply encouraged them to help teach him a lesson for doing that,” the woman insisted.

Lyle suddenly recognized her as one of the first concubines to be eliminated in his screening process that he shared with Hortense, and then he also recalled that she once worked with him in the same old travel agency before his pickup. He hadn’t noticed this before because she had dyed her hair red and had been augmented considerably by her former sponsor, to the extent that she had gained a cup size and improved her cleavage. Otherwise, though, she was the same prissy Alexandra Walker as before, full of herself and convinced that her shit didn’t stink. How she had made it this far, he didn’t know, but then he recalled that she was in the pool, so obviously there had been some consequences. They just hadn’t sunk in completely.

“Alexandra Ticino Walker, I can’t believe that I didn’t recognize you before, but here you are, still sure of your own superiority! Well, get the fuck over it already! Even after failing the CAP, being dumped here, and being rejected by Hortense and me, you still know better than everyone else, do you? As you saw, Centurion, she is often given to pushing others to do her bidding, without incurring too much risk for herself, and naturally she is never to blame for anything!” Lyle smirked, while pulling Stacey to himself and fondling her ass just a little to make a point.

“I see. Well, that gives me more insight into her and this situation. AI, what precisely occurred immediately before concubine Dario Figueroa grabbed concubine Alexandra Walker’s arm?” Fiona grimaced as she evaluated the likely scenarios in her mind.

“The concubine Alexandra Walker attempted to slap the concubine Dario Figueroa for a comment that he made regarding her breasts. Evidently, she took offense to the remark, leading to the attempted assault, which he blocked by grabbing her right arm. That was when she accused him of attacking and abusing her, which led the concubines Evan Dillon and Lorne Grant to confront and accost the concubine Dario Figueroa.

“There was apparently also a racial subtext, as the concubine Dario Figueroa repeatedly expressed an attraction to the concubine Alexandra Walker at least partly due to her mixed racial origins and her large breasts as well as buttocks. The concubine Lorne Grant is a rival for the romantic and sexual favors of the concubine Alexandra Walker, whereas the concubine Evan Dillon is himself more inclined to favor the concubine Lorne Grant, due to his own homosexual orientation,” the AI reported to the Centurion, something that it didn’t do prior to the request, but always did so when called upon by the Civil Service.

“AI, you can drop the constant description of each concubine as ‘the concubine’ and simply use their names. Would you regard the male concubines as being aware that Alexandra Walker had misled them and misrepresented events, or were they acting on the basis of a honest, if mistaken belief that she was assaulted?” Fiona inquired.

“Hey, I didn’t lie! He assaulted me!” Alexandra Walker insisted angrily.

“Be fucking quiet, concubine!” Lyle took pleasure in commanding her, which indeed shut her up.

“Lorne Grant suspected that things were not entirely honest or forthright, but he considered it worthwhile as an opportunity to eliminate a romantic rival. Even so, he was surprised as were the others at how strongly Dario Figueroa fought back against the assault, which angered Evan Dillon because it harmed Lorne Grant. It also infuriated Alexandra Walker, because she honestly thought that her version of events was accurate. She appears to adhere to a societal norm that preceded the contact between the Confederacy and Earth, wherein it was socially accepted for females to assault males, but not for males to do so to females, based upon the general fallacy that because males are often physically stronger than females, that said males are never in any serious danger from females due to such assaults,” the AI continued.

“So, she lied because she thought herself justified. Typical Alexandra!” Lyle sneered, while Stacey held tighter to him for comfort and assurance of her own loyalty and gratitude, “This whole thing is also perpetuated by residual notions of chivalry, AI, at least as it existed in the early 21st century.”

“My analysis of chivalry is that it was much distorted by popular culture and Victorian interpretations that carried over into the literature of the time, much of that passed on through harlequin and other romance novels, as well as romantic comedies, social media, advice columns, and popular commercial advertising. The actual code of chivalry as people think of it today was never widely embraced by the vast majority of the medieval nobility or gentry, and as a general rule of thumb, was mostly confined to French and English knights who used it as propaganda while paying nothing more than lip service to its supposed gallantry, especially toward women, many of whom they ravaged rather brutally,” the AI declared matter-of-factly.

“That would be correct. In any case, I have no use for such shenanigans in my office and the Civil Service concubine pool holding areas. I will now impose sentence, and the AI can either confirm, refer to higher command, or else nullify my decision. Lyle, put Lorne in the recycler,” Fiona now tested Lyle’s resolve.

Lyle felt serious anxiety and stomach pain for a moment, but he nonetheless grabbed Lorne Grant, who fought back desperately and screamed in terror to avoid his fate. In the end, however, Lorne was recycled, his pain and torment undeniable as he was rendered into his various parts. The other concubines watched in horror, especially Evan, who now fell to his knees to plead with Fiona to spare his life. Instead, Fiona turned to Andre and gestured. Andre fought back a tear, but he seized Evan and tossed him into the recycler as well, the message being clearly that it was a challenge meant to test his own ability to put the greater good above his own fondness for Evan.

“Well, they just bought time for the others, I suppose, as badly as they behaved. But what of Alex here? She was the instigator, wasn’t she, and as I said, she thinks that she is above the rules and the laws and regulations and such. What punishment should she endure?” Sandy spoke up at last, demonstrating a toughness often belied by her girlish ways and her nymphomania.

“That is simple. I am giving her a deadline, and AI, please take note. She has precisely seven days to either find a sponsor or conceive a child. If she fails to do either one, despite her potential benefit to the Confederacy that she has repeatedly wasted, I will have her recycled. While female concubines do tend to have more leniency, it can be exhausted, and this particular concubine has tested my patience far too much of late. AI, will you issue daily announcements, reminding Alexandra Walker of her deadline until she either meets it or is consigned to the recycler?” Centurion O’Keefe requested.