Panopticon

"And yet ..." I said.

"That bitch showed up and I ended up here. Took my husband and my life."

"Now that's rich," said Gary. "Nobody said you should try to kill her, that's why you're here. And didn't you yourself admit that you only married him because he was loaded?"

She threw her hands in the air.

"That whore destroyed my marriage."

Gary took a deep breath. "As someone who's been living next to you for, what was it, eleven years, I know you're not easy. So he meets some poor girl on a business trip, she gives him the attention that he doesn't get at home, and he falls for her."

"Some poor girl? A cheap whore from Vinkara. Lower deck trash."

"Don't talk about her like that," said Gary. "She never used a token on you when they came to visit and the Gods know you would have deserved it."

"Vinkara is a hellhole," I said. "Working there is as tough as it gets. You gotta be really desperate, most would rather walk out of an airlock."

"Oh please," said Zephyra. "How is that tough, lying on your back all day?"

"For starters, Vinkara is one of the main distribution hubs for slaves, so that's what they use in the brothels. If you wanna work there as a free woman, you basically have to sign your rights away and that's how they treat you. I've worked in places like that a couple times, I'll never do it again."

"I heard they have really long hours," said Gary. "Fourteen to sixteen hours a day and they can't refuse anything or they get a beating."

"They beat them?" asked Zephyra. "Even the ones who aren't slaves? Nonsense."

"Every single contract I signed had a discipline clause," I said. "Shifts are long and when you start to goof off, you get a few with the leather strap to help you focus, that's how these businesses are run. A few hard ones on the open snatch, after that you're swollen for a few days."

Zephyra instinctively closed her legs.

"But that's nothing," I continued, becoming more agitated. "Slave brothels are an entirely different story, they work you way beyond your breaking point. When you're exhausted, everything hurts and even a shock prod to your snatch doesn't help anymore, they tie you to the breeding bench, gagged and with a hood over your head. No pleading and no crying will get you out of that. So consider yourself lucky that you never went through anything like it and show some fucking respect, okay?"

I had no illusions that this would change her mind. She was just turning away to ignore me when I heard a knock on the outer wall. It was Vicky, still naked and in shackles, eating an apple. It looked like her work detail was on its lunch break.

"Hey Cassie. What are you guys arguing about?"

I sighed. "The stereotypes some people have, but I think we're done. So, how's your day going?"

"Great," she said and sat down on the grass. "Feeling really productive today, I washed, like, a thousand windows. And I only got zapped five or six times."

"Do you think they have a different definition of productivity, maybe?"

She shrugged. "What they don't understand is that you can't rush art."

"Art, huh," I said, trying not to laugh out loud. "Whatever you wanna call it, you left quite an impression on the male population."

Vicky laughed. "Yes, that was super fun. But we didn't wanna torture them, we gave them permission to jerk off. It's cool that they have this code of honor."

"You forgot poor old Gary. He was very invested in your show."

"Oops! So sorry, Gary! Friends of Cassie's always have permission, okay?"

"Don't worry about it," said Gary, "and thank you!"

She turned back to me. "I'll do something special for him next time we work here."

"So this," I waved my hand in her direction, "is your new work outfit?"

"Yeah. I collected so many demerits, I think my days in uniform are over."

"I guess it could be worse. Only six Saturdays more and you're done, if I remember correctly."

"Including this one. In any case, I think Lisa would be so jealous about this setup," she said and spread her legs as wide as the connecting chain permitted. "Look, the cuffs and the collar are padded, how cool is that?"

Robot Army

The first couple of weeks had actually been quite relaxing and a nice change of pace from the stress at work. On a typical day, I'd sleep in late, masturbate a little, and nibble on my ration bar before joining the workout routine led by the pretty con artist from cell seven. Then I'd wash up, maybe take another nap or talk to my neighbors, then masturbate some more or help out the guys doing the same.

With time, boredom was starting to creep in as it usually did in lockup. Sometimes though, interesting things happened that people talked about for days or even weeks. This being a prison, the bar for "interesting" was pretty low.

"The bots are here," announced the guy from cell eleven.

The arrival of the bots was always a highlight of the week. There was something soothing about how the small fleet of autonomous lawnmowers was going about its business. They reminded me of eager, oversized beetles, about fifty centimeters long, with an antigrav unit instead of legs. It didn't look particularly well-coordinated, but they did get their job done and always left the lawn in decent condition -- even though they often mowed the same spot several times.

"Look," shouted Gaty, more excited than I thought he should be, given the gravity of the news. "The red one's back. It's gonna happen today, folks, I swear."

There was a jingle of chains as everyone on our side of the building rushed towards the windows. And sure enough, there was one red bot among six gray ones.

"What's gonna happen today?" I asked, still not fully infected by the excitement around me.

"That red bot," said Gary, conviction in his voice, "is going to take a dive in the stream."

I wasn't buying it.

"I've been here almost three weeks and there was never a lawnmower in the stream. And why would it, these things have sensors. Detecting water isn't that hard."

"It's not that unlikely," said Owen. "I know farm equipment and weirder things can happen if you don't clean the sensors once in a while."

"Come on, if the sensors were dirty, there would be an alert and the thing would shut itself down."

"It's a lawnmower, not a spaceship, Cassie. And a few weeks before you came here they had to pull a mower out of the water. A red one."

"Could have been a different red one."

"Maybe, but I've never seen more than one red mower at the same time. Look, the others are all gray."

"Wanna make a bet if you're so sure?" asked Gary. "Let's do this the old fashioned way. If that bot doesn't take a dive today, I'll jerk off on my ration bar and eat it."

"So how's that a wager? Girls eat cum all the time, there's nothing to it."

"I don't," said Zephyra. "It's disgusting."

"And your husband ran away with a hooker," said Gary. "Anyway, we're straight guys, for us that's serious."

"Fine," I said. "I'll accept it. And what would I do?"

"Let us jerk off to you? That's the traditional wager for females."

"There's no point, I'm already doing that for free. Half an hour ago, if you remember."

He shrugged. "Then you come up with something. But make it quick, they're getting closer."

"Okay. If that bot falls into the water today, and I mean today, not tomorrow, not some time in the future, I'll shove that ration bar up my ass and eat it."

"And you won't be mad at us when it happens? Because that bot is taking a dive, I got a really good feeling about it."

"I will smile eating it, I won't be mad, and you can keep jerking off to me like before."

"Okay, then it's on!"

It took a bit longer than anticipated, but eventually the red bot headed towards the stream and started mowing the riverbank. Everyone was at the edge of their seats.

Suddenly, it made a left turn, directly at the water. And then it stopped.

"Told you," I said, very pleased with myself. "Let me know if you need help jerking off."

"No, no, no, wait for it," said Gary. "The day's not over yet."

He sounded less certain than just minutes ago. As if the horse he had bet on had broken its leg but there was still a chance because nobody had shot it yet.

A few minutes later, one of the community service landscapers came by. He pulled the bot back from the water's edge and cleaned the front side with a rag. A press of a button and the bot started up again.

When the guy turned around, that stupid piece of robotic trash made a full 360 degree turn and accelerated. Right into the stream.

I couldn't believe it.

"What the actual fuck?!"

I heard jeers and laughter all around, while I just stood there and still couldn't believe it. Thousands of years of tech research and that was the result?

Gary was grinning. "I told you! I told you all!"

"Alright," I said and picked up my ration bar. "Let's do this."

"Leave it," said Gary. "Just acknowledge that I won and that's it."

"You won and a bet's a bet, I'm not gonna weasel out of it."

I got on all fours, my butt turned towards Gary. Then I licked my right hand, spit on it for good measure, and pushed three fingers into my ass to warm myself up a little. The ration bar wasn't that big, but relatively dry.

The preparation made it easy, I pushed it in until just two centimeters were sticking out.

"How long do I have to leave it in for?" I asked. "Is there a five second rule or something?"

"As long as you like," said Gary. "I think it's fine."

I pushed the bar out and when I was just about to take a bite, I heard a knock on the door and turned around.

It was Earl with a pair of handcuffs.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on! How am I supposed to know that's not allowed?"

"Common sense?" asked Earl. "I warned you about doing disgusting stuff. Your ration's going in the toilet and that's that. The only choice you have is whether you want the cuffs or the shocks. So what's it gonna be?"

"Any chance we can resolve this with a blowjob?" I asked, but Earl didn't even answer.

On the job I had done a lot more than eating a slightly grimey ration bar, but if he was already grossed out by that, it wasn't in my best interest to mention it now.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll take the cuffs."

"Put them on me," said Gary. "The whole thing was my idea, I talked her into it."

"Leave it, Gary. I'm an adult, I make my own decisions. But seriously, how am I supposed to know that's not allowed?"

"It's true," said Owen, "This wasn't mentioned."

Earl sighed. "So you're all lawyers now? Do I have to spell out every little thing?"

"I would appreciate it," I said with my sweetest smile. "Can I at least use the toilet and wash up before you cuff me?"

"Hurry up, my crosswords won't solve themselves."

I used the toilet, then I knelt down on the mattress, hands on my head.

For the next three days I ate my ration bars off the floor.

Homework

The rest of the week went by without any robot-related incidents or anything else noteworthy and I was hoping the girls would pay me a visit on Sunday afternoon. I wasn't disappointed.

"Lisa moved in with me the other day," said Loreena as she was filling me in on the latest. "I don't need two bedrooms and with Todd gone I'd have to pay the rent alone."

"I love it," said Lisa. "Got my own room and it's cheaper than my old place. And the, err, benefits are great."

"Oh? You're a couple?" I asked. "Or do you mean friends with benefits?"

"Nooo," said Loreena. "It's not like that, we're no lesbians. We did have a little playtime though, Lisa kept begging me."

Vicky grinned. "Lori asked her sergeant if she could take some stuff home to practice. I can't believe they fell for that."

"Come on, she didn't believe a word. But I was allowed to sign out some high sec chains and a head harness with a gag."

"Really?" I said. "You girls are shitting me."

"It's true," said Lisa, blushing a little. "And they talked me into recording it. Show it to her, Vicks."

Vicky pressed the screen of her comlink bracelet to the glass so I could see it.

The proof was irrefutable. It was Loreena in her uniform, minus the name tag. She had the top buttons open to show some cleavage and she was supervising Lisa who was taking off her clothes.

"I had to film it from behind," said Vicky, "she didn't want her face on camera. I kept Lori's face out of the frame, too."

By now, Lisa was fully undressed and in a position very familiar to me -- kneeling on the floor, hands on her head, legs spread at shoulder width. Loreena wrapped the chain with the attached handcuffs twice around her waist, secured it in the back with a padlock, and cuffed her hands at the front, one by one. Then she threaded the connecting chain between Lisa's legs and cuffed the ankles as well.

"I'll fast forward," said Vicky. "The next ten minutes is just Lori figuring out that gag contraption and me laughing my ass off."

The scene continued with a frontal shot of Lisa. Her face was no longer recognizable with that black panel over her mouth and the web of leather straps running to the sides, over her head, and everywhere.

"I'm glad Lori spared me that thing when she transferred me," I said. "So how was the gag? Were you able to breathe okay?"

"Yes, breathing works fine. Talking not so much, with that rubber thingy pressing down my tongue. The good thing is that you can almost close your mouth, it's actually a lot more comfortable than it looks, you can wear it for hours, no problem."

The video continued with Loreena helping her up and Lisa shuffling around the apartment, always followed by Vicky and her camera and motivated by the occasional slap on the butt.

"Look, she's sopping wet and we haven't even done anything," said Vicky while Lisa tried to hide her face with her hands.

"Wait for the next part," said Loreena. "She almost came from the cavity search. I don't do searches at work, but she wanted the full experience and Vicks refused."

Lisa was on the floor again, face down, butt raised. It was the least realistic part, with Lisa grunting from pleasure when her bottom holes were probed and her breasts fondled, all recorded from various angles. Throughout the entire examination, the poor girl got chided a lot for being a criminal and a slut. Loreena informed her that as part of her sentence for aggravated sluttiness she would spend the rest of her life chained up in prison.

"We didn't have a script," said Vicky. "Lori had to improvise on the dialogue."

After she had been sufficiently poked and prodded, she was led into the shower to pee, which Vicky covered in a merciless close-up.

The rest of the home video had Lisa on a bed, a vibrator in her cuffed hands. The video changed perspective multiple times, covering everything from her sweaty face down to her quivering legs.

"The rest is half an hour of the same," said Vicky. "Did you guys continue after I left?"

"It went on for hours," said Loreena, "with some water breaks in between. In the end I fed her and locked her in the bathroom for the night. Chained but ungagged, of course. She slept like a baby."

"Gods," said Lisa and sighed. "I've never cum so hard before in my life. It's a shame you had to return that gear, I will forever keep watching that video."

"See?" said Vicky. "Told you so! I'll send you the final cut, I didn't have time to edit it yet."

"So you're a video artist?" I asked.

"In a way," said Loreena. "She lives in constant fear that one day she'll have the best sex of her life and she doesn't have it on tape."

Vicky laughed.

"It's true. I always wanted to study film, but there's not enough money in it. These days I mostly shoot home porn. I don't publish it anywhere, it's just for my own collection."

"By the way," said Loreena. "Vicky is turning into a regular butt slut. She started her training."

"Yes," said Vicky. "I bought a bunch of plugs and It's the best feeling, they stretch me out so good! I've been wearing them all the time, it's kind of addicting. Wanna see?"

Without waiting for a response, she reached under her skirt and pulled something out. It was a black butt plug, medium size, with a red jewel at its base. Not bad for someone who had started just recently, I thought.

"The next larger one fits already, but it makes me waddle, so I'm not wearing it outside for now. But it looks like I'll have to buy bigger ones soon."

"Vicky is a butt slut," said Lisa and stuck out her tongue.

"Damn right I am," said Vicky and held the plug under Lisa's nose. "I dare you to lick it."

"Yuck! Lick it yourself."

"Coward."

"What do I get if I lick it?" asked Loreena.

That was the exact same question young Cassidy would have asked.

"One credit," said Vicky. "Two if you suck it, and three if you wear it home."

"Deal."

She licked the tip, then took the plug into her mouth and sucked it for a few seconds without looking too queasy.

Vicky and Lisa grimaced. "Eww!!"

"Tastes like ass," said Loreena and slowly pushed the plug into her own butt.

"Lori, it's you who's the real butt slut around here," said Vicky. "No lube, just with spit, seriously!"

Loreena shrugged. "You should have known that my butt is open for business. It's been getting quite the workout lately."

"How's your extracurricular activities going?" I asked. "You went back to that place? The hotel?"

"Yes. I worked eight nights in two weeks."

"You're really turning pro," I said. "Welcome to the sisterhood of whores."

Loreena chuckled. "Thanks, sister. I think I'll do three nights a week, I've got a day job after all."

"Did you figure out your prices?"

"I'm still experimenting, I guess it'll take a while. I learned that Wednesday is a slow night, so I ran an anal special for seven credits and boom, there was a line outside. Turned that into the most profitable night of all."

"Must have had quite the sore ass," said Vicky and gave Loreena a slap on her behind.

"Speaking of butts and cash," said Loreena, "where's my six credits, Vicks? Pay up!"

"Yeah," said Lisa. "Pay up, Vicks!"

Vicky rummaged through her purse.

"I can give you, like, two credits and sixty cents. But then you'll have to lend me something for the train."

Loreena laughed. "You're unbelievable. I should have done it like at work, show me the money up front. No pay, no play."

"Sorry! Can I get my plug back, please? I feel kinda empty without it."

Prison Break

It was a neatly planned operation. I recognized the raider gunboats immediately, they were from George's special ops unit -- fast, heavily armed, and a pleasure to fly for any pilot. For a typical op you'd get one, at most two, but here they had three of them providing close air support while another one landed on the lawn just twenty meters away from my cell. Eight people in black tactical gear and face masks streamed out, carrying blaster assault rifles.

"Hello, Cassie. Sorry it took us a minute. You might wanna step back."

I recognized his voice immediately. It was Terras, my sometimes lover and good friend.

He placed a breaching charge while I quickly moved towards the inner wall, eyes averted and ears covered. The explosives detonated and the glass shattered without a single shard of glass reaching me.

"Surveillance is still down. Two minutes," announced Terras. He and a technician stepped into the cell where I was still chained to the floor.

"Don't move, boss," said the technician. "I'll have you out in forty seconds, tops."

"Didn't you say you were done running ops?" I asked Terras and pushed my hair to the front while the tech started cutting into the collar's lock with a plasma torch.

"I'm making an exception, wouldn't miss this for the world. The big guy tried to negotiate, but they didn't take his calls. You know how he gets, now he brought the fleet."