A Game for Learning about Yourself Ch. 08

Posting this story has been a more satisfying experience than posting some of my earlier works because I have received a number of thoughtful comments. However, having solicited comments, I cannot complain that I have gotten a number of comments regarding the last few chapters that I was racing too fast to a pre-ordained conclusion. I think those comments are fair because I was doing that.

Generally, after the first few chapters of a story, I plot out the whole thing because one has to make sure one puts the facts and characters in early chapters that one will need at the end. To do that, it is necessary to decide how the story will come out. It's very awkward if one gets to Chapter 10 and finds one needs a character that died in Chapter 3. There needs to be a compromise between maintaining some suspense and having a stupid deus ex machina ending.

Thus, having written the ending, I was polishing and jamming out new chapters quickly in order to get done with what I expect will be my last contribution to Literotica.

That was before receiving the afore-mentioned comments. As the Bolrian Lottery Corporation always attempts to please the customers, I am making a few changes to the plan while trying to stay true to the themes I want to develop. I will also slow down.

Still, I cannot please everyone and, particularly given the pay level for this job, it is most important that I please myself.

Chapter 8 - More decisions and another party

Breakfast discussions

Stephanie had slept well following her gang bang at the Schwabensteinburg outside Baden Baden. When waking, though, she could not ignore the dozens of small bruises and abrasions received the previous evening. Dressing and walking, Stephanie knew she was not hurt but would be stiff a few days. She was as hungry as could be. She followed her nose and the noise to the breakfast room. She sat next to Charlotte Stein at a big table that included all of the party that had come south from Amsterdam with Spielmann except for Catherine who was already very busy with sex with Club members.

One new person was at the table. She introduced herself as "Viktoria" although most of the other people at the table referred to her as "the Baroness." Whether "Baroness" was being used seriously or mockingly was not clear to Stephanie. Stephanie could see that Viktoria was very tall, with hair dyed a metallic black, about Stephanie's age and had the hour-glass figure favored by the Sportman's Club.

Viktoria's low-cut red leather dress and black fishnet stockings were a bit much for breakfast but probably she had not changed since last night. Stephanie was unsure if it was real or faux leather Something about the way Viktoria acted indicated to Stephanie that pain to an animal of any sort was not a big issue for her.

Viktoria spoke mainly in German and French with Spielmann and a couple other Sportsman's Club members that Stephanie saw last night.

Stephanie did not understand Viktoria's conversation with Spielmann. Charlotte said under her breath, "She's really done it this time."

Viktoria did deign to speak with Stephanie a few minutes. She made a credible effort to act interested in Stephanie's background and Stephanie's very abbreviated summary of her trip to Europe before explaining that she'd spent the night in baccarat and now had some business to do before getting back to her chateau near Strasbourg.

Otherwise at the breakfast table, they mainly discussed the weather, the building, and the lovely breakfast full of different breads, egg dishes, lox, rolls, cheeses, ham, juice, fruit and sausages. Charlotte asked Stephanie how she felt about the experience the night before. Stephanie answered that she could have done without some of the whipping, really did not like having her breasts slapped, and much preferred regular sex to anal, but on balance it was wonderful evening, one of the best she'd ever had.

Stephanie cautiously asked Charlotte if it was her who had served as one of the submissive sex-objects the night before. Charlotte answered, "Of course, do you think I have a doppelganger who appears at events in Europe? I think I had almost as much fun as you did."

"You do have six children?" Stephanie timidly mentioned.

"I have given birth to nine children. I suspect you would be interested in the whole story."

Startled, Stephanie said, "Yes, I would be."

"The first child happened when I was young. That one was put up for adoption due to pressure from my parents before I had a chance to figure out what I wanted. The second child was born when I was 21. That one also was also put up for adoption because I was still listening to my parents. They pressured me into marrying my first husband after he got me pregnant. That child, Cindy, was largely raised by my first husband, who persuaded a judge that I was much too loose to raise a child. Cindy, now 23, while maintaining a good relationship with her father, has come to adopt my philosophies and many of my tastes.

"Rolf and I have six children living with us in Reno. I am the biological mother of all six of them,"

Charlotte stated all this in a professorial manner as though she was discussing the children of Agrippina the Elder.

Charlotte next smiled in a mildly patronizing manner and said, "I am pretty sure what you are thinking, but I will allow you to articulate it yourself."

"I am not sure that I can articulate it myself," Stephanie said, "but don't you think it is rather unusual to be the center of so much sexual activity when one is a mother of many children?"

"You mean I should not have any fun anymore?" Charlotte said mockingly.

"That's not what I meant," Stephanie said "but particularly with so many children, I mean ..."

"You mean that I should not do what I want, and I should go always in modest sensible clothing so that my children can grow up to be modest and sensible? No, I am sure you don't mean that.

"Ok, Steffi, I will tell you what I think. I like sex. I like being the center of a lot of sex. I like to have a lot of people give me interesting sensations and I don't mind if those sensations hurt a bit.

"I like being pregnant. I feel beautiful when I am pregnant. Childbirth does hurt, but I am very used to it. I am very thankful that with modern medicine few women die in childbirth which must have been awful.

"I have the money to do all that and I don't see any reason I should not. My children will not be an imposition on the world whatever you think.

"Also, I know I am very fortunate, but I think we should to allow women to make their own decisions and support a variety of choices. Particularly with the birthrate so low, society should fully support women who chose to have children, as many as they would like.

"The old model was that women had three options for a life. Women could be mothers, whores or nuns. Now many women feel that they must choose between being devoted to a bourgie career and becoming a religious fundamentalist housewife.

"Those taking the career track may have one or, possibly, two children and raise them between conferences, hearings, and report writing. Any thoughts of sex at work are verboten and since 80% of life is work, sex is pretty much out.

"Those taking the mother track are allowed more children and to pretend they enjoy sex with their husbands, but they are looked down on by all the career women who think the family-centered women have wasted their lives. I agree that some of them have wasted much of their lives, at least those that are stuck with some jerk who thinks cunnilingus is disgusting but he has a God-given right to blow jobs, and who insists that women focus their lives exclusively on Kinder, Küche, und Kirche."

Regretting that she had encouraged Charlotte to rant, Stephanie said, "I do agree that women should have many choices."

"Oh, yes, you are very pro-choice. However, you are one of those who have been indoctrinated to think it is a not a respectable choice for a smart woman to do anything but pursue a career until she is in her late 30s or 40s. By then she may not be physically capable of doing many things she could have done earlier. Also, it may be necessary then to resort to all sorts of medical procedures to have children. Perhaps, you also have been led to believe that sex after children should be infrequent and vanilla."

"I did not say any of that," Stephanie protested.

Charlotte smiled and said, "No, you didn't say that. I don't think you even believe it. Your body language certainly doesn't say that. Last night you were Venus and an incarnation of the popular image of Messalina. Still, you continue to have to pretend to be forced to do much of what you want to do and to make excuses to yourself when you pursue what you desire. This makes you far more unusual than me.

"My nine pregnancies would not raise an eye in many cultures now or in Western society until the last 75 years, only the fact that all the children are alive. That would have been considered a miracle. On the other hand, your failure to have had numerous pregnancies at your advanced age of 32, without being a nun, would have raised concern and pity in most human societies until very recently.

"In ancient times you'd be contacting wise women, desperately praying to Juno, Isis, Saturn or Circe, and buying amulets and secret potions. More recently you would try to cure your freakish situation by praying to Saint Gianna Beretta Molla for fertility. Priya should be praying to Parvati. She won't need to do so for very long."

The conversation over breakfast continued for a while. Stephanie learned that Marc Spielmann, who was currently among those shagging Catherine, would be going to Frankfurt before coming back to pick up Catherine after her three weeks in Baden Baden and the Schwabensteinburg.

Well, if she and Marc eventually develop a relationship it won't be because he thinks she is pure and innocent or that she didn't have an opportunity to meet anyone else. Catherine has more sex on the agenda for the next three weeks than most women have in a decade, Stephanie thought.

Ashley was going with Jens Zocker to Switzerland. Stephanie learned for the first time that Zocker was Swiss and worked as an assistant manager at a casino in Basel.

Naturally, Stephanie thought, Catherine targeted the multi-millionaire scion of the old casino aristocracy and Ashley got the guy who has to work. No, that's not fair to Catherine, Stephanie corrected herself, if she'd been focused on marrying money, she would have stayed with George Stein Wilson in Reno. The bigger issue is Ashley going into another casino.

For Stephanie, it had been a very nice all-expenses paid trip from Amsterdam to Baden Baden. However, she had not worked out with Spielmann what was going to happen between when she completed the Level Three game in Baden Baden on November 5 and her return flight to Reno on November 10. She began to get up to discuss this with Spielmann when Professor Martin Walzer appeared at the door to the breakfast room.

Rolf Spielmann stood up, greeted Walzer, spoke to him a few minutes at a distance too far away for Stephanie to hear, and brought him over to speak to the party at the table.

"I drove over to say 'Guten Tag,'" Walzer said. "It's less than a two-hour drive from where I live. I thought I'd visit with you all after what I know was a very active evening."

Speaking to Stephanie, Spielmann said, "Catherine and Ashley will be staying in Europe at least until the end of November, but you have a flight back in a few days. Charlotte and I are scheduled to fly back to Reno on the same flight you have from Amsterdam. You could see Stuttgart, Frankfurt and a few other places with us, but you would be on your own much of the time. We have work to do between now and our flight.

"However, Professor Walzer says he has a few days to show you Tübingen and could take you back to Amsterdam to fly home from there or we could arrange for you to fly back to Reno from Munich. But perhaps you have made other plans for your next days."

Stephanie had enjoyed talking to Walzer the little time that they were together in Nevada. She did not relish the idea of getting more lectures from Charlotte or Spielmann. Naturally, Walzer would lecture her also, but at least it would be something new and she could probably get Walzer to take her to places that did not have casinos with which Spielmann had business.

The Rules of Level Four

Walzer drove Stephanie through the beautiful countryside of Baden Württemberg to Tübingen, home of the university founded in 1477. Stephanie was impressed with the many old half-timbered buildings and the layout of the old city. Walzer showed her his office and the university grounds formerly walked by Hegel and Pope Benedict. They stayed in his one-bedroom apartment that night.

Walzer offered to let Stephanie use his bed. He could sleep on the couch. "I thought that after all your exertions last night that you might want a night off."

"No, if there is an attractive man available, I will not spend a night alone, but you have to promise not to slap my breasts or drip hot wax on my nipples or pussy."

"I think I can do without doing any of that tonight."

They had vanilla sex, in the missionary position even. That was comfortable if not very interesting, Stephanie thought.

Over breakfast, they discussed what they had done since he left Nevada in August. He had nothing to discuss more interesting than evolutionary biology and psychology. He continued to believe that there were relatively few features of modern psychology that could be reliably traced to some pre-historical Darwinian advantage.

Stephanie told him of everything she had done, of her work at the bank, her hiking with Roberta, the other games, other parties, her trip up the Rhein, her commitment to go to Mexico to play the game at Level Four, and of her evening at the Schwabensteinburg.

"So, what does Level Four involve?" Walzer asked.

At that point Stephanie realized that she had agreed to go to Mexico and play the game at Level Four without knowing the rules of the game or the potential consequences.

"What an idiot I am. I agreed to go to a dangerous state in Mexico and play a game in which I have a one in ten game of losing 'for keeps' according to Spielmann."

"Whatever 'for keeps' means," Walzer said.

"I'm going to die," Stephanie said somewhere between a joke and an expression of horror.

Walzer responded, "You are going to die someday despite being a fertility goddess.

"You know that there is no way that they can force you to get on the plane for Sonora. You've done everything that you have done to this point with the only penalty for ceasing to surrender your body being that you won't have access to a game where you are given money in exchange for fulfilling the fantasies of a bunch of rich guys and yourself.

"There is no reason to believe that these more or less legitimate businessmen in Nevada are going to sell you to a brothel, a drug cartel, an Arab sheikh or a maker of snuff movies. You are free to fantasize about that, though, if any of it appeals to you. Do you have the rules for Level Four?"

"I think they are in the bag with the 20,000 Euros I was given last night. I saw a paper in the bag when I counted that money. I was happy that they gave me 20,000 Euros when the Nevada Club is giving $20,000 to Level Three participants."

"You counted the money and celebrated the favorable exchange rate but never considered what you had committed to do in Mexico?"

"Do you have to rub it in? Yes, I'm a complete fucking idiot. Kill me. Just drive me to a large water body, tie a weight around me and let me walk off a dock."

"You are starting to sound like Naomi. Perhaps you two can open a drama school. Presumably you still have the envelop with the money."

"It's right there in my suitcase."

Stephanie got the envelop and read:

Having played at Level Three, you are now a full member of the Club and may attend all Club events. This will remain true for life unless you elect to quit.

The Principles for Level 4 are the basic Club principles, but special corollaries are detailed here with regard to principle Three that are only applicable to Level 4. Please read carefully:

ONE, we are a private club acting within the law.

TWO, the Club does not lie.

THREE, we do not force anyone to do anything against their will. If asked to do something you don't want to do, you can quit the Club at any time no matter what you have promised in the past.

However, if you lose at Level Four you will be a slave for life to the Club. You will be branded with a hot iron. That will hurt. While not causing you any physical harm or modification except for the brand, we will control your body to please the tastes of Club members for as long as you are in the Club. This will involve discomfort and pain. You will be without modesty or choice as to sexual activity in the Club. You will be expected to allow Club members to use your body without offering resistance and to cooperate with them in doing so.

Normally, slaves are initially kept in Sonora for six months or until they are five weeks pregnant.

You are likely to be impregnated and a pregnant slave is expected to carry the child to term because that is the desire of Club members and the Club makes the rules for being in the Club. If, however, you decide to quit the Club and terminate the pregnancy, all costs will be paid by the Club.

If you do not terminate the pregnancy, you must decide whether to keep the child or to put it up for adoption. If you put up the child for adoption, you will be given $100,000.00 and your expenses of having the child.

If you keep the child, you will be a mother with emotional and moral responsibilities for life. If you keep the child but chose to leave the Club, the Club will assure that you have enough money to raise and educate the child but can give only limited support with regard to the non-monetary responsibilities of motherhood. If you keep the child and stay in the Club, the Club will fully support raising the child and the further children that you may have while in the Club. You are likely to be asked to have further children.

There is no limit on the number of times a woman may play at Level Four except that becoming a slave ends play.

FOUR, everything that is not forbidden by the law or principles One, Two or Three, is permitted.

The Club will pay expenses for the plane flight to Alamos Airport (XAL), for your stay in Sonora, and $40,000 to compensate for the costs required to arrange for such a long absence from your normal activities.

That's the first part," Stephanie concluded.

"Now there's a masterpiece of selective information and deliberately ambiguous terms," Walzer said. "Do you want to read the game rules, Steffi?"

"No, I do not want to read them. I think I want to puke. First, though, I see one must qualify for this level through more pre-game humiliation. I told you about the porn pictures taken of us for Level Three. For Level Four, we have to perform oral sex and PIV sex on camera for pictures to be placed on their obscure website that everyone in the Club knows about."

"They share that with some guests too, Breeding Slave."

"Fuck, you saw the website. I'd be mad at you but what did I expect? I hate myself."

"What's done is done. Save your hate for people who hurt other people You only hurt yourself. What do the rest of the rules say?"

"Otherwise the rules are like Level 3 rules except there are two votes taken to add two strikes to the one who gets the most votes. In Level Four, there is a vote by the contestants taken when the first contestant reaches 16 strikes. The vote of contestants will be secret and taken during a break. The vote by the audience is taken when the first woman reaches 19 strikes.