A Game for Learning about Yourself Ch. 08

"So, they could vote the woman with 19 strikes into being the center or, shall we say, slave," Stephanie concluded.

"That is one thing that could happen," Walzer commented.

"This about as much a Diplomacy game as a game of chance."

"Yes, and what is particularly fun is that your fellow contestants can also vote you two strikes. You realize, of course, that that will allow contestants to sell their votes. In effect, the Club members could add 4 strikes to a woman's total. Assuming the strikes otherwise are random, that's a pretty big slant. The Club can almost dictate the result assuming they can agree among themselves and with enough contestants. The level of conspiracy and backstabbing at this game might embarrass the Sonora drug cartels. The Sportsman's Club, though, doesn't commit murder, they say."

"So, what would you do if you were me?"

"I can't answer that. I am not you and there is no way for me to put myself in the shoes of a very beautiful woman who really likes submissive sex to the point of obsession. I predict that you are going to Mexico after you agonize about the decision a great deal.

"What I will offer you instead is advice from one of the smartest people who ever lived. Emilie du Chatelet, most famous for explaining Newtonian physics to Europe and for being Voltaire's mistress, said 'To be happy, one must rid oneself of prejudice, be virtuous, healthy and have a capacity for enjoyment and passion.' What she meant by 'virtue' should be understood with the knowledge that she had numerous lovers. It was not the virtue of a prude. You are healthy and have a great capacity for enjoyment and passion. I'd say that leaves one thing to work on."

Walzer showed Stephanie Lake Constance and Munich. Stephanie loved both places. Lake Constance seemed like it was from a fairy tale. She wished she could wear a dress like the one she saw on Madame Pompadour in the Alte Pinotek. The waitress uniforms in the Hofbrauhaus showed a bit of cleavage but not like the sexy dirndl she'd worn in the Level Two game.

During the drive, Stephanie brought up the discussion she'd had with Charlotte over breakfast at the Schwabensteinburg about Charlotte having so many children. Stephanie ask him what he knew about that and the children of Club members.

"As I have said, I'm not a Club member and I'm not privy to many of their secrets. They only invite me to a couple of events a year I think to make themselves feel more like intellectuals and less like sex fiends; like Hugh Hefner inviting famous writers and jazz artists to his Playboy television show.

"As far as I can see, though, there is sort of two Clubs within the larger international organization. More than half the guys are just there to watch gang bangs at Level One and take part in the Level Two and Level Three sex themselves.

"I know, though, that there is a philosophical cult or commune element that involves impregnation and even raising children through the Club. I am too poor to join the Club at any level, but I'm told that to go to a Level Four event, you have to pay a lot more because Level Four events involve a lot of extra expenses. You confirmed that for me when you read me the rules. It's pretty clear that some of the extra expenses involve pregnancies.

Spielmann, Charlotte and a half dozen other people are the gurus of this big family idea or free love tribe. It's my impression that there are more women than men involved in this higher level of Club participation. Also, as you learned from Charlotte, it's possible to be a big mover and shaker in the Club while being a slave to the Club. I can't tell you more than that."

"Pretty weird," Stephanie said.

"I don't know what's so weird about it. A woman can be submissive in bed and a tiger on the battlefield. As we've discussed, women have as much Darwinian interest in having children as men. Also, I'm told in BDSM it is really the subs who control the action. There's nothing about BDSM, though, in any of my anthropology texts although one might speculate on the biological cause of BDSM."

Stephanie asked Walzer if he knew anything about Viktoria, the "Baroness." "Is she some sort of dominatrix like Madam Madelina?"

"Again, I don't know much," Walzer said. "I saw the Baroness at one game a year ago. But she wasn't a dominatrix. She was a participant who nearly lost at Level Three. I did learn from Ashley's friend Zocker, another occasional guest of the Club without the money to join, that Viktoria is rather notorious. This is not because of her sexual activity but from her gambling. I think they just call her 'Baroness' because she has a big house and can be very haughty when she's not begging for time or money to get out of debt.

"It seems that the Club is a magnet for women with gambling problems. 80 or 90 percent of the women who ever participate stop after Level One or Level Two. The ones who continue beyond Level Two are very interested in the sex, very interested in the risk, or very interested in the money and tolerant of the possibility of the very submissive sex. Viktoria is in the latter two categories, I think, but you never know. She may check all three boxes."

"The Baroness likes to play baccarat. When she wins, she spends the money. When she loses, she builds up debts that she tries to avoid by using her charms."

"Sounds like Vivian, the character Lauren Bacall plays in the Big Sleep," Stephanie interjected.

"If you say so," Walzer said. "Anyway, the Baroness went through the Three Levels over a number of years to pay off gambling debts she accumulated between games. She never was gang banged so far."

"It's easy not to get the most strikes at Level Two if you don't want to."

"That's true, but the Baroness is now up to Level Four. There's no limit to the number of times one can play at Level Four until one loses and it's 'Game Over.' We don't know how many times the Baroness has had her body on the line in Mexico. For what you tell me of the breakfast conversation at the Schwabensteinburg, it sounds like she had a very bad night at baccarat while you were entertaining the Club and will be appearing at a Level Four game again. If she ever loses at Level Four, she' going to have to give up baccarat one way or another."

Stephanie spent her last night of the trip with Walzer in a hotel in Munich. There she experienced something that she had not had for years, cunnilingus.

Because Stephanie needed to get to the airport early, they had decided to get to bed early. Walzer had picked the hotel in large part because he knew it had larger bathrooms than the typical moderately priced European hotel. This allowed for a lovely shower to wash off the day and fully inspect and appreciate each other's bodies. Of course, Walzer had much more to appreciate than Walzer. Stephanie thought Walzer was in better shape than most men his age. Walzer thought that Stephanie was a love goddess and told her so.

After the shower, they drifted to the bed. Stephanie was surprised as Walzer lowered his head to go between her thighs. After so many men poking her with their pricks without little or no discussion, a man trying to focus on her pleasure seemed bizarre.

Walzer was hardly an expert but he started slowly around the periphery and experimented as to what Stephanie wanted. After it was determined that tongue flicking across the inner lips and clitoris was good for a start, Stephanie came as he ran circles around her clitoris.

A few moments later, Stephanie smile broadly and said, "I thought you were only interested in straight sex that would be approved by Charles Darwin?"

"I did not say quite that. I said I saw no reason for using an anus for sex when a place designed for the purpose was so near at hand. Also, with your permission, I fully intend now to make a biologically proper delivery of genetic material."

With that, Walzer indeed worked his slightly larger than average penis into the vagina of her much better than average body. His orgasm followed after only a few minutes, but he was able to maintain his movement and erection long enough for Stephanie to have her second orgasm of the night.

As she drifted off, Stephanie thought that sex with Walzer was alright, sort of like really good mashed potatoes or a walk in a beautiful landscape that you've seen 100 times before. She could have a relationship with him as long as he never asked for monogamy.

Before getting out of the car to go into Franz Josef Strauss airport, Stephanie thanked Walzer for the tour and the ride but added, "I only wish I knew what is going to happen once I get off the plane in Reno."

Walzer replied, "I can't advise you but will express useless opinions. You don't want a romantic relationship with a man or a woman, and you enjoy passions that do not fit into the model you were taught. There are many different types of arrangements for relationships, parenting, and living. The model you were taught is not one that is necessary or the only natural one. As a practical matter, accommodations are necessary to allow for the fact that society thinks the model you were taught is the only proper one. If you enjoy feeling guilty and being punished for not being a 19th Century woman, have fun with that, but please don't hurt yourself trying to fit into the model."

Another Spielmann-Stein Party and many rash decisions

Stephanie did not go to the Level Three game on November 18. She'd played at Level Three in Germany. She only heard about the Nevada November 18 game when she met Naomi and Sarah for lunch the following week.

In the restaurant in Reno, Naomi and Sarah were full of news. "Oh, my God, Oh, my God, last Friday was incredible. I can't believe some of the things happening," Naomi started rattling off shortly after they sat down. "Where should I begin?"

"Maybe with the news about Shameless," Sarah offered.

"Yes, Oh my God, it was announced as soon as we got there for our tests that Shameless was not going to be the master of ceremonies for the game because she is in Mexico, and get this, they say she'll be there, and I quote, 'indefinitely.' The new MC was stark naked except for tattoos everywhere and about 10 piercings and just goes by the name 'Esclavo' which means slave in Spanish."

Naomi spat these words out as though she could not get them out of her mouth quickly enough.

"All of that is thought-provoking," Stephanie agreed. She thought It would be suicide to get on the plane to Mexico for the Level Four game. She hoped that Shameless was not now dead or a slave in some country where she would be really miserable. "You know, I came to really like Shameless. I thought she was pretending to be a dumb, cynical person but if she is in trouble maybe she really is dumb at least. If she is to be believed, she went to Mexico numerous times to play at Level Four learning whatever is to be learned there, and now she'd not coming back?"

"They could just be fucking with our heads, you know," Sarah said. "Indefinitely' doesn't mean that she's dead or a slave chained to a mattress in some brothel. Could it be that the perverts in the Club think that scaring us with ambiguous messages is part of our humiliation that they are enjoying so much?"

"You could be right, Sarah," Naomi said, "but I'd sure like to see Shameless healthy and sassy before I go to Level Four."

The three women just sat quietly for about a minute before Naomi said, "The second shock was seeing Katie."

"Katie who?" Stephanie asked.

"Katie was the client I had who said she had been cured of her desire to be the center of a gang bang or otherwise engage in submissive sex after seeing a Level One game. When I saw her getting her tests, I asked her why in God's name she was in the Level Three game if she'd been cured of her submissive fantasies. You'll remember I suggested she play in a Level One game as a result of the therapy I saw that had worked on a woman who spoke during the convention I'd attended in Vienna."

"You didn't mention Vienna, not that that matters," Stephanie interjected.

"The convention was in Vienna," Naomi said, "but anyway, Katie answered me at the game this month that she had thought she was cured for a few weeks but Shameless called her and asked if she wanted to participate again. Katie said she wouldn't, but rather than say that she refused to play a game that might result in her being the center of gang bang, she told Shameless that she could not play because she had received an opportunity to work as a visiting scholar for the World Bank in Switzerland. Shameless told her that there was also a game in Europe. Katie gave Shameless her address in Switzerland although it was about 5 hours from where the European game was played.

"Can you believe it? Katie played her way through Level Two and became a center at Level Two and spent a week being whipped and gang banged in some place in Germany. She said she hated herself much of the time and loved the sex and submission. Her gig in Switzerland ended and now she played at Level Three in Nevada. During the game, I saw she had the pierced nipple rings to prove she was a Level Two center. Can you believe all that?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and said, "For some reason, I have no problem believing that at all. We are sick women. Who played in the game last Friday?"

"Me, Sarah and Maggie, of course," Naomi said, "the foreign women we met at the Spielmann party, Alsha, Hollie, Lenka and Brigitta, and Precious, Ashley, and Katie who I've already discussed."

"Maggie is not at lunch with us."

"Good observation, Steffi, Maggie is not at lunch with us. I bet you can guess where her red hair and bald pussy are now. In fact, the news about Ashley and Maggie are the third and fourth shock."

Sarah chuckled. Stephanie said, "oh my," and, after a brief pause, added, "How did the game go?"

"Let me give you a little background on Ashley first although I did not learn most of the details until after the game when I spoke to Charlotte," Naomi said.

"Ashley, I thought she was still in Europe," Stephanie said. "She made enough in the game in Baden Baden to settle her debts and a bit more."

"No, according to Charlotte, Ashley blew all the money she made in Baden Baden in Basel. Zocker stopped her from going into debt there and made sure she got home. Going back to work in the casino in Reno, though, did not help a bit mentally and she was soon gambling again and worse than broke.

"After Ashley lost all her money on roulette and the machines, she should have gone home and been the prodigal daughter. Instead, she borrowed money from guys whose collection methods are said to be very severe. God knows how she thought she was going to pay that debt off. Ashley said, though, she had a hunch that her luck at the casinos would turn when she went back to the High Rollers in Vegas. You can guess how that worked out.

"Having lost everything and in debt to criminals she could not pay, Ashley really had no choice except to sell her last asset. She called Fugger.

"Charlotte said that if they had known, she and Spielmann might have done something. As it was, Fugger gave her a chance to get out of the gambling mess free. He told her he'd pay off her debts after she played the Level Three game with the catch that if she ended in the top four, she'd go to work for him in San Fernando Valley. Ashley naturally took the deal somehow thinking she'd get out clean.

"And now I can tell you about the game.

"There seemed to be a much larger audience than usual. I think a lot of people were over from Europe and there were some other people there who were not of the usual crowd.

The game was remarkably close. Maggie, Katie, and I got the most strikes at first but almost all the others close. We three were at 14 and Ashley, Precious, Holly and Alsha were at 13 when Esclavo called a break with the drama at a high point. Three of us were looking to go topless on the next strike. The crowd seemed more and more hungry and nasty. I don't understand all of It. One thing I learned later is that Fugger had used up all his privileges to bring guests for the year to bring five of his business associates to the event. One of them was a big guy who you'll hear more about later. The other guys were porn producers and financers like Fugger.

"I'd sensed something was up with Ashley because she seemed a lot more nervous than usual. During the break, I asked her if there was something going on that I didn't know about. She said something to the effect that it seemed there was an even chance that God wanted her to become a porn star and an escort. I thought she was just commenting about the chance of her losing and said that they were at least three women with a better chance of spending the next three weeks getting fucked than her.

"Of course, Maggie and Katie were panicked too. I was thinking about when they would let me take a half hour off from getting fucked to cancel all my appointments the next three weeks. In some sort of gallows humor, we joked about how we'd look with a piercing above our clits. I'm told it is supposed to make you more sensitive, like I really need that.

"After the break, the house got a 6 and Maggie, Ashley and I got a point. The hoots as Maggie's and my boobs were revealed were pretty loud, I thought, given that they'd seen our boobs before. The guys with Fugger were toasting and pointing to Ashley who was now tied for fourth place and sitting in only a bikini. Ashley, who had never acted modest before, was looking as anxious as that English woman had in that earlier game.

"Next round, the house got a two and only a woman who was safely out of the lead got a strike."

"That was me," Sarah said, "that was strike number twelve for me. I accidentally held a 1."

"Well, anyway," Naomi continued, "Ashley mumbled she wished she could have stored the 14 she'd drawn for the next round. It did not work out that way as the house got a 7 the next time and Ashley, Maggie and I all took a strike. There was huge applause and hooting as Maggie and I took off our bottoms. I felt like I was for dinner in a lion den or something. When Ashley took off her top, Fugger and his friends were beside themselves. Alsha also removed her top to applause.

"Esclavo called another break for no apparent reason except that it might have to do with the argument I saw in the hall involving Spielmann, Rolfi, Johnson, Fugger and one of Fugger's business friends.

After we got back in our seats, they took the vote from the audience as to who would get two strikes. I was amazed when the vote from the audience was announced, two strikes for Ashley.

"My first reaction was surprise that the audience wanted Ashley more than Maggie and me. Then I saw Ashley had turned white, her eyes opened like she'd been told she'd be shot at dawn the following morning and her brunette hair seemed to flash between jet black and gray but maybe some of that was my imagination.

"Ashley adopted a resigned thy-will-be-done attitude and seemed to lose focus the rest of the game. She acted like you, Steffi, when you are in one of your passive cow moods."

"Thank you, Naomi, I love the way you always work to make me feel better about myself," Stephanie said.

"You're welcome, Steffi. To get back, it seemed to go pretty quickly from there except that Alsha caught me and Maggie pulled ahead of Ashley," Naomi said. When Maggie was at 20, Alsha at 19, and me and Ashley at 18, the House had an 8 and all of us took at point. Maggie had lost at Level Three.

"There was a break while Maggie hyperventilated and Alsha just sat stunned. Ashley had the most embarrassed got-my-hand-stuck-in-the-cookie-jar look you've ever seen and Esclavo, Rolfi and Fugger had a discussion about 10 feet from the stage about how to stage the three-woman sex presentation.