Notes From The Underground

Every time Cathy left, she begged Erin to come with her. But Erin always declined and a tiff usually followed. Although they always kissed and hugged when Cathy departed, this was a formality and did little to alleviate the tension between them. Cathy must have been an optimist however, because when ever she returned it was with a renewed vigor and a lighthearted attitude. In short she was genuinely enthusiastic about seeing and being with Erin again. For her part Erin was less sanguine, but nonetheless happy to have Cathy with her again, if only for awhile. Erin gave instructions to Kelly to show Cassandra to her quarters and see to her needs. "We'll talk tomorrow" said Erin taking her bag in one hand and putting her arm around Cathy's small waist as they walked together to Erin's quarters.

As soon as they were inside, Erin kissed Cathy passionately on her mouth and within seconds the two women were clawing at each other clothes. This was a far easier task for Cathy than for Erin. Cathy as usual was dressed in business attire: jacket, blouse, skirt, bra, panties, stockings, and shoes. Erin on the other hand wore her usual thong and short tee-shirt. The later Cathy literally ripped off her lover's back. The thong fell away with the tug of a string. Erin smiled at this thinking of Del who she knew silently disapproved of the way she dressed. On one occasion, Del had left her notes on the conference room table and Erin, unable to resist temptation, had peeked at them. Scanning the notes, her eye caught her name, and she had stopped to read:

"Erin is the clear leader of the group and the women respect and look to her for guidance and purpose. However, she seems almost casual about her role in the community. Her daily attire provides a tangible example of this attitude. While most of the other women are usually dressed more or less conventionally, Erin attire is perhaps best described as provocative and not in alignment with her role as the group leader. A typical outfit consists of a thong or small apron and a tee shirt barely adequate to cover her breasts; she is consistently just a few square inches of material away from total nudity. In the world outside of their colony such dress would be considered highly inappropriate for someone in a position of responsibility and would even be considered questionable in all but the more private of settings. This behavior clearly violates the Venkatesan Modification which in itself is both troubling and interesting. Worse, instead of being 'liberating' it appears symptomatic of a deeper unhappiness…"

"Well I see you beat me again" commented Erin as she stood naked in front of her lover.

"It wasn't hard" said Cathy smiling.

"That's because you cheat!" retorted Erin playfully.

"Well I can hardly teach the way you're dressed!"

"Well you might get your students to pay more attention that way" said Erin unbuttoning Cathy's blouse and unfastening her bra.

"I only need that kind of attention from you" replied Cathy with a happy and longing look in her eyes.

Erin finished removing the last of Cathy's clothing and looked lovingly at her long-time friend. She was a thin blond woman with short hair, medium breasts, and narrow hips. They had been room mates in college but had separated upon graduation. It was Cathy's expertise that had rescued Erin from the dungeons of Zax and diapered slavery. The two had become lovers shortly after her release. Erin hugged Cathy tightly and said, "I missed you terribly"

"Me too!" replied Cathy kissing Erin aggressively on her mouth again. The two women hungrily explored each other's bodies as if for the first time, falling onto the bed without bothering with the covers. Erin fell on her back, with Cathy on top. Although Cathy was the smaller of the two, she was wiry and strong. Kneeling over Erin, she cupped her large breasts in her petite hands, moving them is slow circles, rolling and pinching the nipples between her thumb and forefingers. Erin moaned in pleasure looking passionately into Cathy's eyes. Cathy moved her hips back and forth like she was riding a horse, her pussy brushing against Erin's belly button. Suddenly and without warning she changed her tack, and turning around, lay on top of Erin. Pushing Erin's legs apart with her arms, she plunged her face into Erin's pussy, aggressively eating the most intimate part of her body. Simultaneously she pushed her own pussy into Erin's face and closed her thighs around Erin's head.

Erin was surprised by Cathy's sexual aggressiveness; she had never acted this way before and was usually quite passive when it came to lovemaking and sex. However Erin decided to go with it. Moaning in pleasure, she attacked Cathy's pussy just as vigorously. With in seconds both woman were moaning loudly and climaxing. Cathy had taken Erin's entire pussy in her mouth, plunging her tongue into her vagina and literally chewing on her clitoris. Erin exploded with one orgasm after another and struggled to keep pace in reciprocating. Eventually both women were sweaty and spent, and Cathy rolled off Erin breathing hard. Turning around, Erin took the smaller woman in her arms and kissed her passionately. "That was wonderful!"

Cathy looked at her seriously "I love you Erin."

Erin kissed her again. "I love you too" she said.

Both women fell asleep, but later they awoke and coupled again. "We better shower and get ready for dinner" said Erin.

"Must we?" said Cathy.

"Well…" said Erin looking at her "we could eat in…" and with that Erin tore at Cathy's pussy again. For her part Cathy was just as aggressive and seeking out Erin's sex, and went to work on her again. This time however, she lubricated her index finger in Erin's pussy and plunged it into her ass, moving it in and out it time to her tongue in Erin's vagina. Erin moan loudly in pleasure and cried out, "oh yes! Yes! God I love you Cathy!"

When they were done, Erin lay exhausted in Cathy's arms, stroking her short blonde hair lovingly. "God I missed you so much!" she said.

"Me too" said Cathy. "I hate it when we are apart."

"I know" said Erin. "I know." The women talked till very late that evening before falling asleep. Cathy slept soundly next to Erin, who watched her. Del is right she thought. I have to work on my feelings. I should be with Cathy, living a more normal life. She resolved to talk to Del when this latest crisis was resolved and to finally put the past behind her. Cathy was so precious and more importantly she was right: they belonged together as a married couple, with their own children. These thoughts brought melancholy tears to Erin's eyes, which flowed down the sides for her face onto her pillow. Closing her eyes she fell to sleep.

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The next morning the chime to Erin's quarters sounded and announced: "Kelly requests entry." Erin looked groggily at the time: 11AM. God! She thought, they were supposed to meet at one. Cathy was still asleep besides her, but stirred and moaned half consciously, "don't go!" as Erin sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The door to the bedroom was open, and rubbing her eyes she said, "Come."

Kelly stepped into the living room, and seeing Erin though the open door rubbing her eyes said "Heavy night, huh?"

Erin stopped rubbing her eyes and nodded her head. "Yeah; can you make us some tea while I shower?"

Sure said Kelly stepping into the kitchen. She noticed that Cathy was also awake, and that she had quickly covered herself with the sheets when she saw Kelly. Erin had closed the door to the bedroom, knowing that Cathy disliked being seen nude by anyone else. In fact an episode just like this had precipitated a tiff between the two lovers in the past. Kelly had walked into Erin's bedroom one morning as they both lie naked together on the bed. Cathy had been clearly annoyed and had asked Kelly if she could wait in the other room while they showered and dressed. Kelly was good natured and had smiled amused and left with a shrug of her shoulders. At the Ranch such 'invasions' of privacy were normal and the women thought nothing of walking in on each other, even during sex. In fact, Kelly had had some incredible sex in this impromptu manner. But for Cathy, such behavior was appalling, and rightly so Kelly reminded herself. All the women at the Ranch had witnessed each other performing the most degrading and humiliating acts possible. In the outside world, such behavior was taboo and women were much more reserved and paid much greater attention to one another's privacy. Erin however had been a bit miffed by Cathy's 'rude' behavior towards Kelly. Perhaps, if she had been more fully awake she would have realized as Kelly had that Cathy was within her rights to feel that her privacy had been invaded. But for whatever reason, a tiff ensued and Cathy had packed her bags and left. Several days later, Erin reconsidered and contacted Cathy to apologize. Now, Cathy ignored these social faux pas while visiting and the women at the Ranch paid greater attention her privacy.

When Erin came out of the bedroom she was naked, her hair still wet, and a towel draped across her shoulders. She was careful to close the bedroom door behind her and Kelly could hear Cathy taking a shower in the bathroom beyond. Taking a cup of hot tea, Erin sat down and sighed.

Kelly smiled and said, "You missed dinner last night, but don't worry everyone understood and you didn't miss anything important."

"Thanks" said Erin and then added sheepishly "I guess we missed breakfast too".

Kelly nodded but had a smile on her face "Ah honeymooners!"

Erin smiled. This was a private joke among the women. When Cathy first arrived, the two women were known to spend days together in Erin's quarters. Erin's sexual behavior became exclusive, as Cathy refused to participate in any group activities. Coupled with the fact that Cathy often left on a sour note, Erin was often teased that since they acted like a married couple, she should abandon any further pretenses and just get married. Thus whenever Cathy came back, their initial reunions became known as the 'honeymoon' period of the visit. "Let's make the meeting a working lunch then" said Erin.

Kelly nodded and made a mental note to have food prepared. A moment later, Cathy stepped into the room. She was (by her standards) casually dressed in a loose white blouse and a pair of knee length shorts. Cathy suppressed a frown when she observed Erin sitting naked and sipping tea. Intellectually she realized that Erin, Kelly, and the others had no 'secrets' from each other so to speak. But the women's lack of modesty, especially Erin's, was hard to adjust to on an emotional level. As the visit wore on, Cathy knew she would become desensitized, but she always found Erin's behavior a little galling. However she ignored the situation and greeted Erin with a kiss on the cheek and Kelly with a friendly "hello". "Have a cup of tea for me?" she asked.

"Sure" said Kelly handing her a steaming cup.

"So what's on the agenda today?" asked Cathy sitting down next to Erin.

"Well" said Kelly "Cassandra has been reviewing the law all week and she is going to debrief us over lunch. After that, I guess it depends on what she says…"

Cathy nodded her head. She had spoken with Cassandra during their trip to the Ranch. However she had learned little. Cassandra was concerned about Erin and asked Cathy a lot of questions about Erin and herself as well. Surprisingly, Cathy had found that she did most of the talking.

"What's going on with her" the legal scholar had inquired.

"Nothing, she's pretty much the same" Cathy had replied.

"I was afraid of that!" retorted Cassandra. "I see she has grown more stubborn and perhaps single minded these past years. I had hoped you would have helped her get some common sense. Get married, have a daughter. Return to work, and all that. What's going on with you two anyways?"

Cathy had told her, confiding in the older woman. "I'm trying but it's hard. I love her deeply and I think she feels the same about me, but I can't get her away from that damn Ranch or hers or the orgies. Not that I don't agree with her cause. Its noble and all that, but I think she has taken it as far as she reasonably can. It's time to move on and put the past to rest once and for all. She's not going to change the social structure; the powers-that-be won't allow it. I want to have children and live a normal life. But it's hard to persuade her; as you say she's stubborn. We usually end up having fight, and then I leave."

Cathy had a few tears in her eyes and Cassandra patted her on the knee. "Yes she is a determined woman. But I am afraid she is going to get herself into trouble again. And this time, there might not be any reprieve."

Cathy dried her eyes and said "Yes I'm worried too. Is there really any chance in saving these girls?"

"It's not a matter of there being a chance. There are a lot possibilities and any one could prove fruitful. However, in order to succeed at something like this, your arguments need to carry not only legal weight but social inertia."

Cathy looked at Cassandra and said, "I don't follow."

"Put simply, Zax is very powerful. They have a lot of social inertia, meaning they can influence public opinion, as well as public officials. In addition, they have enormous financial and other resources to bring to bear on any issue they choose. In short, they set the agenda. Erin's little panty raid on their dungeon 18 years ago, while dramatic, is no more than a mere annoyance to such an organization. Katrina Feltte and Prudence Ardella are powerful, intelligent, and very, very smart. Their schemes and plots are intricate and well thought out: Machiavellian, if you will. Against this, what does Varinia have? A few good legal arguments and perhaps a bit of public sympathy?" Cassandra snorted dismissively. "If she keeps annoying Zax, they are going to swat her away like any pest. She doesn't stand a chance!"

Cathy looked concerned and a little pale. "So what are you going to do?"

"Try and talk some sense into her if I can."

"And if not?"

"Pray."

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That afternoon, Erin, Kelly, Stacy, Pam, June, Del, Cathy, and Cassandra gathered in the conference room eating lunch and chatting. When they were nearly finished, Erin announced "I think we should begin." The room grew silent and Erin nodded at Cassandra who took a sip of her drink to clear her mouth of any remaining food.

Putting her glass carefully on the table she said "I have spent considerable time reading the original text of the law and I believe I can answer your questions. However, I have some concerns about what you intend to do with this information." She looked directly at Erin when making this last remark.

Erin held her eyes and said, "It depends on what you tell us. Clearly we can't decide before we hear the facts."

"Fair enough" said Cassandra, "but I warn you that things may not be to your liking."

Erin nodded and said, "Can you tell us about this requirement for an exam of the girls before they are converted? There appears to be a lot of discussion about what is meant by 'exam'. In particular if it includes a psychological as well as physical evaluation."

"Yes" said Cassandra "but it you must understand up-front that there is not a definitive answer here. The problem is the law is sufficiently old that modern equivalents to the archaic terms do not really exist."

Erin raised her eyebrows intrigued as were the other women in the room. "The best translation of this portion of the law says more or less: 'upon attaining the age of majority the child shall be examined to determine if she is of sound body and mind before being transitioned from her minor conservatorship into adult diapered servitude.'"

There was a buzz of conversation in the room at these words. The mention of the word 'mind' in the text of the law caused a good deal of excitement. However, Cassandra raised her hand for silence and continued, "Before you get too excited let's go over this in detail. The last part is fairly straight forward but worth examining to demonstrate some of the problems of equivalency between the archaic and modern terms. A 'minor conservatorship' refers to the entity that has legal custody of the child while she is a minor. Between the time the law was written and the present, its meaning has remained pretty much the same. In this case, Zax was appointed as the conservator. In pre-modern times, this might not have been the case, but it was not impossible either. However, the conservatorship would most likely have involved regular oversight by a legal representative in pre-modern times, unlike in the present. So you can see there are already some problems with equivalency."

"Does that mean that mean that there are problems with Zax's appointment as conservator?" asked June.

"No. This role has been formally redefined over time, so there is no problem. Essentially the requirements for oversight have been removed in this instance." The women looked at each other, contemplating Cassandra's words. "Now let's move onto the part you're most interested in, the examination. The original intent was fairly clear. The girl was to be examined by a medical professional to see if she was physical fit and mentally capable. However, the word 'mind' here might better be translated as 'brain'".

"Meaning?" asked Erin.

"Meaning that her brain was functioning normally; put more succinctly, that she wasn't severely impaired mentally. The modern implications for mental health do not necessarily apply since they were not particularly as well understood at the time."

"So it doesn't mean what we thought" said Pam.

"Well not exactly" said Cassandra "it's more complicated. There is the principal of modern equivalency that applies. It states in essence that if the pre-modern authors had, had the technology they would probably have applied it, so it needs to be considered in the modern interpretation. However, such consideration can't radically alter the original intent."

"Great!" said Kelly "So exactly where does that leave us?"

Cassandra smiled and said "Now you begin to understand some of the problems here. I my opinion this would probably be interpreted to include a modern psychological examination."

An excited buzz again filled the room at Cassandra's pronouncement. She waited for the chatter to die down before continuing. "The point is probably moot however, since Zax has already conceded this point by having the first girl examined by both a medtech and psychtech."

"So you are saying we have no case" said Erin.

"No, just that this is the wrong approach to take. A reading of the complete text shows that the purpose of the examine is a precursor to a formal legal review to determine two things: one that the girl is physically and mentally fit to become a slave and, two that she was treated properly during the period of her conservership. In pre-modern times, the later point would have been largely a formality given that there was regular oversight during the period of the conservatorship. The former would have been accomplished by a medical examination when the child came of age. Today the oversight occurs at the end of the conservatorship when the legal review is conducted. In principle Zax must show that each girl is physically and mentally fit and that they complied with all the rules and regulations of the conservatorship at the review."

"So if we could show that the Children were either physically or mentally unfit or that Zax did not comply with the terms of the conservatorship, they could loose their rights to the girls" said Pam.