The Curator Ch. 15

Chapter 15: The Mother of...

Sue was in her own world, immersed in Maggie's book. She practically had the thing memorized at this point, but she was trying to read between the lines. If Dr. Barnes had left any hidden clues, Sue couldn't find them. She had no idea what would happen to her during the second rite and what the final trial would be. The obscurity must be by design. She simply needed to wait and see what would happen--not an approach she was happy with at all.

In her mind, she was committed to the process; she would meet the challenge of becoming a Nuymean priestess. Her decision was already made despite not knowing the price she would pay--there was always a price, wasn't there? The general lack of information was a concern, but she was past the point of no return. She felt a sense of finality that made her stomach do flip flops. Her trust was simply expected. Part of the test? Yes, she would face it. Would she measure up? She might fail to meet the expectations of those around her, but she vowed that she would not fail herself. Priestess or failed science experiment? The outcome would tell her: real or imagined, delusion or phenomenon, potential greatness or obscurity.

Several sections of the text had ritualistic language in them along with notes on pronunciation. In all of Dr. Barnes' writings, this was the first mention of how Nuymeanic was actually spoken. How did Maggie know what it sounded like? Regardless, Sue repeated each section over and over, sounding out the words. She knew that she would need to speak them for the ritual, but for what kind of audience?

The Viking chastity belt was a serious distraction. The lock kept clunking around on the chair. She had to lift it up when she sat down to get it out of the way. It made her feel like some ill-mannered ranch hand adjusting his balls after a long ride.

Her naked breasts and mostly naked body gave her a constant feeling of exposure which reminded her of her predicament just as much as the relentless squeeze of the corset. In the end, the effect made her just plain horny. Something about the confinement and lack of access to her own body was making her crazy. A few months ago, masturbation was just a basic needs thing like washing her hair. Now sex was an obsession. She would get on her knees and beg to be released from the belt if that's what it would take. She never wanted to come so badly in all her life, never thinking of sex as an urgent need before.

Somehow she focused on the book through it all. It was the fear. Phrases like, "I now give my body up to the service of the gods," and "May the gods find me worthy to possess," tended to catch one's attention. She practiced saying them over and over hoping her Nuymeanic was correct. Most certainly, getting such a ritual wrong would be a really bad idea.

Shemust be ready for the solstice and the second rite despite the short time frame. If this was her life's moment, she was going to grab it with both hands. Waiting another year was not an option she even wanted to think about. She was already formulating a plan. Not only did she want to approach the ritual properly as its subject, she also needed to attend properly to the science involved. She would start by examining the Nuymean ritual circle on the other side of the annex. Chances were slim to none that anyone would see her semi-naked.

As soon as she could get some clothes, Sue would go upstairs to the storage room holding all of the prepared liquids, gels and herbal solutions. She would prepare samples to send off for analysis, especially the main preparations used in the ritual. The more she knew about them the better. The book didn't say what they did, but she knew that they would be mostly likely applied to her body. They weren't lamp oil and incense.

Next, she would look through the other records for more information, now that she had a little better idea what to look for. There had to be more to go on. For example, an ally would conduct the ritual. What or who was the ally? Where did they come from? Some kind of avatar? The book raised more questions than it answered. It was mostly a set of illustrations, hieroglyphs and detailed instructions with no reason or purpose explained.

A knock at the door startled Sue.Finally! She got up carefully to answer the door. The heavy lusterite phallus shifted inside her. She couldn't help but to pry at the ancient steel of the belt once again compulsively--she still had one or two unbroken fingernails. Her goal was only a few millimeters behind the ancient steel, but it may as well have been a mile. Once again she pounded the plate in frustration barely managing to rattle the industrial lock hanging at her crotch. None of the sensation reached the right areas. She stood up straight, trying to look nonchalant, but inside all she felt was indignation.

When she opened the institutional steel door, Sue found Maya waiting anxiously, a little out of breath, wearing her typical tight jeans and long-sleeved top. As usual, her make-up was impeccable. The colder air from the annex poured into the warm suite. Suddenly she was extremely conscious of her naked breasts as her nipples immediately reacted to the draft. She wanted to cover herself, but realized it would betray the embarrassment and insecurity she really felt. She motioned Maya inside so that she could close the door. It definitely felt awkward being mostly naked around someone fully dressed.

Maya was bursting to speak. "I got here as soon as I could. Bill didn't give me much warning before taking off. I guess you all had quite a night last night."

Sue had the impression that Maya was fishing for more details about what happened, maybe they didn't tell her everything. "I don't remember some of it very well, but I can't wait to catch up with those guys for locking me up and leaving me here like this. Please tell me you have the key to this stuff?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but they had good reason. Don't worry, it'll be over with before you know it, and I'll help you as much as I can."

Not the answer Sue was looking for. "What is that supposed to mean? I can take care of myself. Good reason? This is ridiculous," she fumed.

"So you don't know? I guess you couldn't. You never heard what happened with my Mom."

Whoa! How did she miss that? Sue's head was spinning, but she didn't want to act like she didn't know. She couldn't be talking about anyone else. Maya was the daughter of Dr. Maggie Barnes? Sue could see Charlie's features in her face now. Did everyone else know? Things like this reminded her just how much of a geek she really could be, serious density. She had to start paying attention to last names. Sue didn't want to let on that she didn't know the relationship and tried to keep her best poker face.

"What happened?"

Maya took a deep breath. "After a lot of training, women start to go through a process my Mom calledalignment. They start to channel an effect, like an aura, when they are in contact with a lusterite phallus. I know its not scientific, but it happens with observable results. The aura can influence the mind. Men's sexual desires can be completely consumed by the power of it. The guys doubted they could resist for long if any of them was alone with you. With women, the aura is more of an individual thing affecting only the woman in contact. My Mom said it physically affected a woman's brain."

Affected the brain? More than a bit scary. Sue remembered the strange events with Bill last night. Maybe that's what happened. None of this was mentioned in the writings.Eureka! Like a flash, Sue had a realization. The lack of men in the Nuymean works and artifacts: this had to be why.

Sue immediately had serious doubts about a possible scientific basis for this aura, but Maya and the guys obviously believed in it and so did the Nuymeans. Perhaps it could be some kind of psychosomatic phenomenon like certain voodoo believers experience, imagined but real to the subject. Regardless, it was a question that needed an answer; she clearly experienced something first-hand the other day. At least, shethought she did.

Where to start? Were they all trying to set her up? She had to allow for that possibility even though she had no reason whatsoever to believe this was all an elaborate hoax. If it were, then how they pulled it off raised even more questions than it answered. What was the motivation anyways? Unlikely.

Could there be a delusion here? Possibly. They all could believe in Nuymean mythology so much that their judgement could not be trusted. Sue certainly wasn't sure if she could trust her own judgement after the ordeal in the sex maiden. She was in and out of consciousness during those events and now Maya was talking about brain alteration. Once again, Sue needed to be both objective observer and participant--not an easy task. If it were a collective delusion, she shared at least some of it.

How could contact with the metal of the phallus change anything? The phalluses are solid metal after all...or are they? She made a mental note to perform a density analysis. Perhaps there could be a device inside. Any internal device would need to be very small given the obvious weight of the phalluses. They had no hint of hollowness. The only other similar phenomena she could think of was the supposed effects of wearing copper bracelets, crystals, and things like that--scant evidence of any truth to be found. There are documented reactive metals though, like nickel with jewelry allergies, rarely cobalt, chromium. It seemed doubtful that lusterite was reactive at all, though, given its density.

Sue realized that Maya had paused waiting for her. "So, how does this all of that relate to your Mother?"

"My Dad got too close to the aura. They didn't even know each other beforehand. Don't you see? The belt is for your own good. My Mom almost died trying to complete the rites and then ultimately failed because she was pregnant. Pregnant with me! You might not know it, but you need all the help you can get." Sue had never seen Maya so emotional.

"So that's why they sent you to see me, because you're immune to the aura and have the wrong equipment to knock me up?"

"Despite their concerns about the aura's effect, that's not the main reason I'm here. There is more that you need to know. Mainly I'm here because everyone thought I was the best one to hold your key."

"Look, for one thing, I have a birth control implant. I don't need anyone locking me up to keep me from getting pregnant."

Maya seemed a bit surprised at that. "Really? You have a boyfriend?"

Sue was a bit annoyed at Maya's reaction, but she understood, maybe. "No, nothing like that. When I was in the field, you couldn't always get pills or anything like that. Things could get out of hand. I was almost gang raped once even. I had to hide in a ditch to get away. My faculty advisor suggested I protect myself clear back when I was finishing up my PhD. I've just never stopped. I stopped getting a period and don't want it back."

Maya seemed a little hesitant. "I'm not sure if that really changes things. You've already been a danger to yourself with the sex maiden for one thing."

"Don't worry, I've learnedthat lesson."

"Like I started to say, it's not just about men and pregnancy. Thisalignment thing I mentioned is no joke."

Sue was starting to get a bad feeling about this. She actually thought of tackling Maya right then to take the key from her physically, but she didn't even know if Maya had it with her for sure. She also wasn't sure if the element of surprise would be enough to overpower her. Maya was more athletic and a few inches taller than her.

"Nuymean acolytes would go throughalignment as part of their training before they even reached the first rite. The lusterite phalluses act like some kind of hyper-sexual amplifier and tap into some kind of mental power. The aura results indirectly. I'm surprised you didn't read about it in your research."

"I only saw a couple indirect references to something like that. Maybe the Nuymeans regarded it as common knowledge so didn't record anything extra. I'm also surprised your Mom didn't write about it. I need to know what else she told you that isn't documented."

"She learned a lot from the actual dig site and her attempts to complete the rites. I didn't realize that so little of it was written down, but I guess it makes sense. You have to remember she was paranoid and didn't understand a lot of it either--and she did fail to become a priestess in the end. Government agents were checking in on her regularly because of the military interest in lusterite. There was even a Cold War program regarding psychics and remote viewing that was interested. She thought they might confiscate everything someday. This book you've found here;I didn't know it existed existed. She never wrote down some of her important findings. She didn't want the power of a Nuymean priestess to fall into the wrong hands."

The way she said it struck Sue as a bit funny. "It sounds like something from a bad movie or a superhero comic."

Maya smiled a little, evidently out of politeness, then remained serious. "She always told me she saw something which changed her life at the old Nuymean dig site before it was destroyed. By the way, it was deliberately destroyed for secrecy. It's a carefully guarded secret that my Mother was part of that."

"I've always been suspicious of the story. More than a few times I thought about trying to go back to the location to find it. What did she see?"

"She didn't really talk about it, but there was a mural in some kind of hidden sanctum. Something she saw on that mural did it. She never even told my Dad what she saw. He denies it at least, but I believe him."

Sue needed time to pick apart this information. "I need to perform some experiments to try to isolate some of these effects for proper scientific analysis and to learn what's going on."

"That's all nice sweetie, but youralignment is well underway. It's probably too late to stop it if you used the chair as much as I suspect you did. Normally the whole thing only takes a few weeks. It's going to be a lot more difficult than you might guess."

Sue almost flipped out completely, but took a deep breath. "I can't wear this damned belt for a few weeks! No way! It's already driving me nuts and chaffing some places better left alone!"

Maya was firm. "It'll get worse before it gets better I'm afraid. You're probably horny as hell already. Let's find out. Sue, how horny are you? How uncomfortable is the chastity belt really?"

Sue couldn't believe Maya was asking that so point blank. Her answer just came out again like it did the other day when Bill questioned her. Her doubts about the effects of the aura were completely erased. "I don't know if I've ever been this horny before. The belt really is uncomfortable, but I want it off more because I'm frustrated and want to masturbate very badly."

"There, that wasn't so hard was it? Are you starting to believe that the aura is real?"

Strangely, Sue didn't feel like answering that one so didn't. "I don't know."

"See, the effect is a bit varied. My Mom said thatalignment affects the frontal cortex of the brain, where inhibitions regulate behavior. Without those inhibitions, you can't help but answer certain questions. You also might do stupid things like lock yourself in a sex maiden. You have to be protected from yourself."

Perhaps Maya was right. Was this the reason she couldn't get her mind off sex? How could she make a scientific determination? "It has to be a phallus? Why don't I just wear a necklace or something?"

"My Mother tried that it just delayedalignment from occurring. Nothing works but a phallus."

"I still don't know what to think about any of this." Sue's doubts had doubts, but she also felt like there really was something going on here. There had to be a way to make sense of it. Why just a phallus?

"Still, you do see howalignment is affecting your mind?"

Sue certainly understood that something made her answer those questions, but she didn't feel forced. The answers just poured out of her. "I didn't notice anything at all until you started asking me questions."

"It has a lot to do with how the question is asked and the inhibitions involved. Only certain inhibitions related to sex and safety seem to be impacted. Others seem to be unaffected, like control of anger or the desire to eat. You could probably study just the aura alone for years, but we just need to get you through it--one hour at a time if that's what it takes. It's not going to be easy. That's what the surprise is all about."

Sue's anxiety level kept climbing.One hour at a time. What the fuck? The big lock on her crotch said it all. Her wishes were under lock and key. Sue was starting to feel trapped. They were probably right about the dangers. Taking a deep breath, she asked Maya, "OK, let's work this out. Why do I have to be locked up? There has to be a better way."

"Don't worry sweetie, you have help. Dr. Martin and my Dad think that if we keep you exposed to the lusterite as much as possible that thealignment will be done quickly. We can take the belt off then."

"I guess that's why they locked a phallus inside me. Nice and considerate of them. Make me get it over with. I can't even begin to say how pissed off I am right now."

"It's only natural, but you still have to get through it. We know you can do it even if you don't. My Mom saidalignment was the best thing that ever happened to her, after it was over with. I feel the same way. Trust me, this is the best way to do it, fast and hard."

Sue started to move towards the small table. She needed to sit down. She needed to think. Sue hesitated, then lifted her crotch lock and sat down carefully on one of the wooden chairs. She could feel that she was still amazingly aroused despite the mental distractions. One quick touch of her clitoris would send her over the edge if steel didn't block her way. She was embarrassed that her nipples were still completely erect. Maya pretended not to notice, at least--assuming she noticed in the first place. Maya sat across from her and appeared to be thinking about what she would say.

Trust again. This time trust of her friends. Gods would trump friendship in most ideologies. Her friends could be agents of the greater plan could they not? Still, it's hard to feel your friends have your best interests in mind when they lock up your cunt. Gods, though, they don't give a fuck about your desires usually. She'd go with that for now. She was facing more of whatever predestination they had for her, if there is one. She would keep playing the game to find out. Fuck their tests.

Maya broke the silence first. "The training. Do you really know what it's all about?"

Sue had to admit she wasn't quite sure. "I originally thought it was all about sexual endurance, but now I know it's much more than that."

"Endurance is an important part of it, but you're absolutely right that it's more than that. In the end, there is some kind of bonding that takes place between the priestess and the gods. The lusterite phalluses and sexual abandon are the channel of connection along with an aid to the consummation of the union. My Mom thought of sex as the vehicle between priestess and god."

"More hidden information that I've never seen in any of the written works. I didn't realize it was also so intimately personal. Damn this thing is uncomfortable." Sue tried to adjust the waistband of the chastity belt and twisted some, trying to find a little relief from the corset.

"Bill is driving off to an expert chastity belt maker about 9 hours from here to get you a custom modern belt that should be a lot more comfortable. Normally you have to order them and wait a while, but the builder is doing us a favor for a little extra cash."