Vandergast (7 of 10) - Cinema Extraction Part 2

Thanks for proofreading to Tomken, Akarge and deGaffer.

The next day on board the Mammoth-3 started with CAP tests for those without an ID and medical scans for sponsors and concubines. The Mammoth-3 had more space for passengers than the older Mammoth Class ships since the hangars for the two shuttles had been removed. All of the passenger cabins were small apartments with two bedrooms. For people with high CAP scores, up to four cabins could get joined to one single apartment. The cabins had replicators but currently nobody was allowed to use them. This enforced social contacts when everybody had to go to one of the four canteens to get food, clothing or anything else. Only a sponsor with all his concubine slots filled got full access to the apartment's replicator.

Currently, up to six unassigned concubines or two sponsors had to share one apartment. There had been twenty-six sponsors with pre-packs who already had their own apartment.

Nina Frannik thought about last night's event. It had been completely different from what she had planned for her twentieth birthday. She went to the cinema with her best friends and ended up in a dorm with two women she didn't know, one of them snoring loudly, the other was with two little children. Nina's CAP score of 4.4 made her a concubine. She had given up her freedom without knowing anything for certain.

It was common knowledge that the Sa'arm were approaching and it seemed to be a bad idea to stay in their way. But half of her family sympathized with Earth First. Her uncle was a preacher of the New Church, preaching that all aliens were demons and the only chance for the humans would be to believe in God and fight the aliens on Earth. Then, when the opportunity came, she followed the lead of her friends, stripped down to nothing and walked through the transporter. She was even a little disappointed that she wasn't fucked at the pick-up. That would have been a birthday event!

Nina checked her watch. It was half past six in the morning. She silently stood up and reached for her the clothing she wore to the theater when the AI observed, <Concubine Nina Frannik, the clothing allowed for concubines is a gray shift or nothing.> Nina was startled. The snoring woman moved fitfully. Nina looked around and found a stack of shifts on a stool.

"Oh well," Nina thought, "new rules. But attracting a sponsor while wearing this? No chance." Nina knew she needed someone to lead her. In the past it had been her family and sometimes her friends. Now it would be a sponsor. She took her make-up from her handbag and went to the bathroom. She opened a closet but there were only several empty boxes and a marker inside. She looked around. "Where can I find shampoo and a ladyshave?" she mumbled.

<If you need something you have to go to the canteen and get it from a replicator,> the AI advised.

Nina jumped again. She quickly dressed with the shift, took one of the boxes and walked to the canteen that was just fifty meters down the corridor. There were only a few people in uniforms at that early hour. Nina greeted them and went to one of the replicators to search through the menu for the toiletries. Then she returned to the apartment, took a shower and prepared for the day. She could do nothing about her prominent teeth but she was eager to prepare her body to be as attractive as possible.

Nina's plan for the day was simple: Present her body as if it was a pick-up to get a sponsor soon. She hoped for the best. She checked her image in the full-length mirror. She had a few kilos too much but she wasn't fat. She was 165 centimeters high weighing 63 kilos, with all the weight in the right places. Round ass, impressive bust, and no hip bones showing where a boy could hurt himself. Her shoulder-length curled brown hair looked good. Her slightly dark skin color was a gift from her southern Italian ancestors. No bikini stripes. Nina took the black collar that a Marine had given her when she had arrived on the ship and attached her CAP ID to it. Then she took a deep breath and left the apartment, wearing nothing more than that.

Rebecca and Susan Mills had been called for the CAP test at eight o'clock in the morning. They both wore shifts when walking to the med bay since none of them thought that they would make it to 6.5 or above. The Marines had given them a quick introduction to the basic rules when they had arrived late the night before.

Susan came out of the tube first. She was told that she had reached a CAP score of 5.7. A Civil Service woman handed her a CAP card and mentioned, "5.7 is not that bad, you know? I have 6.0 and I have this wonderful job. I've heard your story. Centurion Debir will call for you later today. She said something about finding your mother." Susan was excited. She hadn't really believed that her mother was dead.

Ten minutes later Rebecca emerged from the med tube. The AI pronounced, <Congratulations, Rebecca Mills, you have reached a CAP score of 6.5.>

The Civil Service concubine congratulated Rebecca for her test result and the AI continued, <You can now volunteer for the Marines, the Navy, the Fleet Auxiliary, the Civil Service or, as promised by Centurion Debir, leave the ship and stay on Earth. Susan Mills, you have the option to become a concubine or leave the ship and stay on Earth. You have to decide immediately if you want to leave the ship, since we will leave orbit within twelve hours.>

"Would I get support from the Confederacy if I stay on Earth?" Rebecca asked.

<No, it would be just as if you had been CAP tested at a test station on Earth.>

"Then that's not really an option. I will stay on board. Do I have some time for the other decision? I don't know anything about Fleet Auxiliary or the Civil Service."

<You should make your decision within one week.>

"I want to stay with my sister," Susan said.

"Okay then, let's go get some breakfast," Rebecca said.

<Is this a request to take Rebecca Mills as your concubine?> the AI asked.

The sisters were stunned. "To be honest, I haven't thought about that," Rebecca answered. "I hadn't even expected to become a sponsor when I woke up this morning." Rebecca looked at her sister. "Would you like to be my concubine?"

Susan lowered her head. "I know I've been a tease sometimes. I promise to be a good girl when you take me as your concubine."

<Concubine Susan Mills is now assigned to sponsor Rebecca Mills,> the AI acknowledged. <Apartment B-19 has been assigned to you. Your property will be delivered there within fifteen minutes. You can get a white necklace for your concubine and a black bracelet for yourself from the local replicator in the med bay.>

At nine o'clock, L'ielit talked to all passengers in canteen one. Her speech was broadcast all over the ship.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to explain some rules to you. We have noticed that several of the concubines wore their old clothes this morning, ignoring the direction of the AI. You are only allowed to wear the gray shifts found in your current cabins or go nude. This has three main reasons. It makes it easier to differentiate between concubines and sponsors. It is a lesson in obedience and it will help you overcome your shyness.

"Children and sponsors wear normal clothes. Unassigned concubines have to wear the black necklaces and carry their CAP cards at all times. The necklaces contain a communication link. You'll get a warning if we find you without that necklace once. You'll be in trouble if we find you without it twice. Assigned concubines have to wear white necklaces. Children please wear the green bracelets. Please make even the babies wear one. It helps locate them if they get lost.

"Sponsors please wear the black bracelets. In addition to a communication link, they contain a few other useful gadgets like a CAP card reader. Sponsors with their slots full get a white bracelet. You see, we make it easy for you to identify possible partners. Just look at the color of the necklace or bracelet.

"Sponsors, please search actively for concubines. You know how many you are allowed to take. If you find one and she's willing to follow you, just vocalize it. The AI will record and confirm it. I suggest you talk a lot of people in order to find somebody you can cope with. Sponsors, use the card readers to check the candidate's compatibility. I also suggest test drives as they would happen on a normal extraction.

"Sponsors with at least one concubine get their own apartment. Sponsors with all their slots filled get full access to the apartment's replicator. That is meant as a little encouragement to fill your slots quickly. This procedure makes it necessary that unassigned concubines and lazy sponsors have to move from time to time. I hope this procedure is much more pleasant than a normal pick-up and must be over within one week.

"Every day there will be briefings where we will inform you about the rules of your new life. They are mandatory. You will be informed about when and where you'll have to go. Thanks for your attention."

Peter Ford woke up late as usual. He needed a few seconds to remember that this was not his small flat in New York where he had lived with his pre-pack for nearly two years. This was an apartment on a Confederacy colony ship that had been assigned to him when he arrived with his two concubines. Venus snuggled against him as usual. Carol was up early as usual. Venus was a 170 centimeter tall black nymph with a well proportioned figure. She had been a porn model for those cheap pick-up movies for three years when Peter stumbled upon her in a bar.

He recognized her face from some films in his private collection. He had the courage to talk to her and learned that she had been fired because, in the producer's opinion, she looked too old. At that time she had been nineteen. Venus had tried to drown her depression in martinis. Peter had been twenty-six and had been single since he had left his family and moved to New York for a job. Their relation started as a one-night stand but turned into friendship with sex included the very next day.

A few weeks later they found Carol crying, sitting on the staircase of the house where Peter lived. Carol was a slender fifteen-year-old red-head. She was the daughter of a neighbor Peter barely knew. Carol told them that her whole family had been picked up at a Pizza Hut extraction while she had been late. Peter and Venus invited Carol in and tried to comfort her. During their talking the idea was born to build a pre-pack.

Now he was on board a colony ship and Venus and Carol were truly his concubines. "Hey Venus, wake up. No time to sleep. We need to learn a lot about our new life."

Venus yawned and opened her eyes. "So it wasn't just a dream? Oh my. Now I have to behave and obey your orders? No more seducing for cuddling?"

Peter laughed. "If you do that I'll trade you for a concubine with more spirit." He hugged Venus tight. "I like you exactly as you have been all the time. But now let's get up. I'm a little hungry, and that includes hunger for more information."

They found Carol in the living room. In the past two years she had grown into a beautiful, wild seventeen-year-old. "Hi boss," she greeted Peter. "Hi, Venus. Boss, could you please order the replicator to create two white necklaces for us and a matching bracelet for yourself? When I went out to the canteen to get breakfast I got my first warning. I ran into a Marine who told me that assigned concubines need to wear a white necklace all the time. He also criticized my dress code. Concubines have to wear these ugly shifts or nothing. I wore yesterday's clothing." Carol held up one of the gray shifts. "Looking at this, I'd prefer to go nude. According to the Marine, the necklace should be a better protection from molesting sponsors than a chastity belt. Anybody who tries to force our legs open will end up tied to a wall, except for our own sponsor of course."

Peter and Venus giggled while they listened to Carol. Her cheeky talk had caused her some trouble in the past and would cause even more in the future, but Peter would do anything to keep her exactly that way. "Okay, ahem, replicator, please produce two white necklaces and a bracelet?"

Carol frowned. "I think they like to be called AI and the replicator is just a machine like on Earth. I don't know if they feel offended by being called replicator."

<The concubine called Carol is right, even though I can't feel offended,> the AI mentioned.

"Yeehaw! It's finally reacting on me!" Carol cheered. "You know, I've tried to get a necklace out of this machine for an hour or so but it simply ignored me."

Carol and Venus took their necklaces from the replicator and tossed the bracelet to Peter. "So you want to go nude in public?" Venus asked. "I can't stand behind you there. After all I am the porn actress, not you," she grinned.

<Peter Ford, your concubines seem to be very insubordinate, even for Vandergast standards. They need advice how to behave as concubines it seems,> the AI said.

"I hope that was a joke," Peter said. "Two leashes would be nice though. Just in case."

"Hey!" the two girls shouted.

"Please explain to me why you didn't react to Carol's wish and why my concubines should change their behavior," Peter asked.

<A concubine has very limited rights. Every interaction with the AI is restricted to what privileges you grant them. That doesn't mean that the AI does not observe their doings and listens to their talking all the time. In rare cases an AI will react to a concubine's words or actions without her sponsor's permission. You will learn about that later. The behavior of your concubines is not very obedient. I learned that you are comfortable with that. But they have to learn that they are your property now. According to Confederacy law they have only the rights you grant them. For interaction with other sponsors it might be in the interest of a longer life to not be that cocky.>

"I'm not cocky!" Carol shouted.

<Should I replay her words from when you were still asleep, Peter Ford?> the AI asked.

"Uhm, maybe a little…" Carol gave in.

Peter laughed out loud. "No thanks, that's not necessary. But you have a point there. Outside my home my girls have to behave. Ladies, you have to behave even better than back on Earth. I think that's important. I don't really want to punish you and I absolutely don't want to lose you."

Carol and Venus nodded their understanding.

Peter suddenly changed the topic. "High-heeled sandals! That's what really would complete your costumes for a walk in public. AI, I need pink ones for Venus and red ones for Carol."

Five minutes later, Peter, Carol and Venus were on their way to the nearest canteen for breakfast. Peter wore his normal clothing while Carol and Venus wore a necklace and high-heeled sandals with a leash attached to the necklace. The women walked two steps ahead of Peter, their heads proudly erect as if they wore the finest clothes. Their self-confidence drew a lot of attention.

Rashid Clark entered the canteen dragging his reluctant concubine Amelie with him. They got some toast and two pots of coffee from a replicator and searched for a free table.

"Listen, Amelie, it was not my idea that you aren't allowed to wear a skirt. I agree with you that these shifts look bad. But look around. All other concubines wear them too." Rashid looked around for the first time since he had entered the canteen. "Well, except for those who wear nothing at all...?"

"Rashid!" Amelie was upset. "Yesterday you talked me into a date and today you are looking for other women? I'm so disappointed."

Ruth, a concubine wearing a gray uniform of the Civil Service approached and sat down next to Amelie without asking. "Listen missy, jealousy is something you should forget really fast. Your sponsor is not only allowed to have more than one concubine, he is highly encouraged to get more. The society at a colony is completely different from what you know."

Amelie tried to interrupt the other woman. "But..."

"No 'but'. Get it in your head or you'll end up alone with a growing number of children from different men."

"WHAT? I'm not that type of girl!" Amelie shouted.

Ruth sighed. "No you are not that type of woman. You are a concubine now. That means you please one sponsor so much that he keeps you or you annoy him enough to get fired. As an unassigned concubine your only purpose according to Confederacy rules is to breed. On most colonies that means you are a brothel whore without birth control. It doesn't matter if you like that. It's a fact. Disobeying is seldom tolerated."

Amelie was shocked. "But that's slavery! You are a woman yourself. How can you tolerate this?!?"

Ruth took Amelie's CAP card without asking and checked it with a card reader. "Sir, did you check her sub-scores before you accepted her as your concubine?"

Rashid answered, "No, we practically came up as a pre-pack but I didn't really know her. It was a decision on her looks and her behavior in the cinema's snack bar. But I convinced her to come with me. Now I feel responsible for her."

Ruth turned to Amelie again. "You have to face the facts. This is really important. Okay?"

Amelie cried. "Okay, I'll try."

Ruth left the couple and talked to the AI sub-vocally, "We have to keep an eye on Amelie. She's dumb, frigid, dominant, jealous and aggressive. I hate to say that but she's a candidate for recycling."

Sophie Spero sat near the entrance of the canteen with a cup of tea and watched the people entering for lunch. Sophie had been in the cinema with her girlfriends from the Mensa Society for a recreational evening. Mensa had quickly turned into a hidden network when Earth First appeared on the scene, where the words 'Mensa' and 'intelligence quotient' were never said in an unsafe environment.

Whoever planted the rumor that highly intelligent people were frigid didn't know Sophie and her friends. Sex was as important for her as quantum physics, history, Tae-Kwon-Do or playing poker. These were her main interests beside her medical studies. The evening at the cinema should have been the beginning of a weekend full of flirting and maybe a one-night stand or two in the nightlife of Manhattan. Lesbian one-night stands in her case. Now it was Saturday noon and Sophie and her friends were all sponsors on board a colony ship. They not only had a chance for some nice fucks, everybody expected them to select several partners. Four in her case.

In Sophie's opinion this had killed the mood a little. Sophie was half American Indian half Afro-American, age twenty, with shoulder-length black hair. She was one-hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall and weighed sixty-six kilos. She wore the outfit from last night, a tight black lacquer dress with matching nylons and heeled ankle boots.

<Sophie Spero, sponsor Aerie Bookapple wants to talk to you,> the AI announced through Sophie's bracelet.

"Put it through," Sophie said. Aerie was one of her friends. They had been separated in the morning when Sophie had been called for her medical check.

"Hi Sophie, where are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm in canteen three, enjoying a cup of green tea, watching the meat market. How are you and the others?"

"Lorna and I just had a briefing. They told us something about responsibility and respect. It seems they think a lot of sponsors are ruthless predators. The others are who knows where. You were the first one I called."

"Well, I've seen one or two sponsors doing degrading things to a concubine, even by my standards. Maybe a briefing like that is necessary. Talking about concubines: did you select some already?"

"No. I talked to a few but they were no match."

Sophie sighed. "No concubine will be a good match for you as long as you look for someone to talk with. Hell, you were president of the philosophers' debating society when you were eleven years old. You won Jeopardy online three times. You don't have a CAP score of 7.9 for your physical skills or your aggressiveness."

"Yeah I know. Lorna said that too," Aerie laughed. "How about this: We all meet for dinner at eight o'clock and everybody has to present at least one concubine?"

Sophie heard Lorna laughing in the background. "Sounds good to me. To up the ante, it's not allowed to discard that concubine for one week. Okay?"

"Okay," Aerie said. "See you later!"

Sophie looked at the people that paraded in front of her table with renewed interest. 'I can watch them all day long, that won't lead to a decision,' she thought. "You!" Sophie pointed randomly at a woman in a gray shift. "Come here!" Sophie's order intimidated the probably thirty-year-old woman and she quickly obeyed. Sophie stood up and went around the table. "Stand up straight, feet shoulder width apart. Tits out, belly in! Are you interested in women?"

"I never did…" the woman started to say but Sophie interrupted her.

"I didn't ask you if you did it. Are you interested in women?"

"I'm open to new experiences," the woman answered, almost looking frightened.

Sophie grinned. "Go get your dinner and return to my table if you are interested in a female sponsor." The woman quickly departed and Sophie sat down again. A minute later, the woman returned with a cup of tea and sat down across from Sophie. "You are not hungry?" Sophie asked.

"I thought it would be impolite to eat while you don't. My name is Maria Russeau. As I said, I'm open to new experiences, but I'm not experienced. My husband prefers vanilla sex."

Sophie took a sip of her tea. "My name is Sophie Spero. My CAP score allows me to get four concubines and I'd like to take four females. So you are married?"

Maria thought for a second before she answered, "Not anymore. Confederacy quick divorce. My former husband Paul will show up in a few minutes with our two children Helena and Robert. We wanted to meet here. I had a longer stay in the med tube than expected."

"Something serious?" Sophie asked.

"They said they found an early stage of leukemia and flushed it. I'm not really surprised. I worked in a chemical plant that was closed due to poor safety standards. All the workers had been exposed to carcinogenic chemicals for a long time. I saw several former co-workers die from cancer. It was plain old dumb luck that I was caught in this extraction. We have no health insurance."

"Yes, that was luck. Those med tubes are pure magic compared to our own butcher medicine." They both sipped at their tea. "Would you agree to be my concubine if it means you have to leave your husband? I'd take the children too."

"To be honest, if I had an offer of a sponsor who takes us both I'd prefer that. I'm aware that the sponsor is the focus of a concubine, but still… Unfortunately I have no such offer. So I'd say yes with an aching heart."

"I like you," Sophie said. "You are a fine person, it seems. I will not ask you for a quickie and then shoo you away. This is only the first day, so I wish you good luck finding a sponsor who will take you both."

"Thank you, madam," Maria said. She stood up and walked away, getting lunch and searching for her family.

Sophie waited for a minute, and then she pointed randomly at another woman. "You! Come here!"

Fred Blanche unhappily chewed on the sandwich he had taken for lunch and watched the people in the canteen. At one of the entrances, a dark-skinned bitch was ordering women around. In a corner, a young man was fucking a voluptuous girl with a white bracelet. She seemed to be his willing slave. Women were walking around naked. Male concubines like him were not allowed to wear trousers. Children were watching. This was all so wrong. To make things worse, he wasn't able to find his girlfriend, the woman who had talked him into viewing that dumb film where they had been picked up. Anger was slowly boiling up in Fred.

When a couple took a seat at his table and talked about their chances of being selected together by a sponsor, he left and threw his tray violently into a recycler. Fred left the canteen.

For a while he wandered through the corridors of the ship, but his mood didn't lighten up. There were more people cuddling or even fucking in public. Suddenly he spotted his girlfriend. She followed one of those sponsors, a meager boy with a pigeon breast. Fred saw his girl's inner thighs glistering from a quick fuck not long ago. Something snapped in his head. He walked over to her, pushed the boy out of the way and slammed her into the wall of the corridor. Then he drove his fist in the girl's face. He didn't manage to hit her again. The last thing he heard was the angry buzz of a stinger.

The Marine who had shot Fred looked for the sponsor boy first and helped him up. "Are you okay, sir?"

"Yes, thanks. What the hell was that?"

"It seems that this man would have fared better by not having left Earth. We don't tolerate this type of behavior. Do you know him?"

"No."

The Marine looked for the boy's concubine. She had a blooming black eye, but the laceration at the back of her head looked worse. She was conscious but dizzy. "Do you know that man?" the Marine asked.

"It's my boyfriend. We were together at the cinema," she answered.

"Ah, that explains it," the Marine said. Meanwhile another Marine had arrived. "Escort them to the med bay. I think she has a concussion. I'll take care of the garbage." When the three had gone, the Marine took a look at the CAP ID of the paralyzed man. "Oh my, what a bad mixture of sub-scores. No wonder he flipped. AI, inform the Centurion about the incident if you haven't already. I need a decision here. I suggest recycling him."

L'ielit looked over the records of the past night. She had asked Carmen, her concubine and personal assistant, and Lieutenant Sneider, a platoon leader, for a quick meeting. "It's not working the way we hoped. Three days and we only have forty-three sponsors with their slots filled. Ninety-seven have selected one concubine. Half of them have stopped searching for another one. Nearly two-hundred unassigned concubines are hiding in their quarters and only come out for a quick meal and the briefings. We had one stupid who attacked a sponsor unprovoked and eight that are under closer observation, that's a pretty good number I think. This is definitely harder than carrying Einherjar. Finally, we have a problem with the strictly gays. All ten gay sponsors are six-point-something and have chosen a male concubine. That's it. They stopped searching. Most of the gay unassigned concubines hide in their quarters."

"We can close the concubines' quarters during the day," Carmen offered.

"Good idea. They are allowed to use the bathroom for preparing for a date or cleaning themselves after one, but no longer than half an hour," L'ielit ordered. "The AI will control that. Any ideas for the lazy sponsors?"

Lieutenant Sneider piped up, "I saw a female sponsor doing some kind of speed dating. It seemed to work. She's one of those with her slots filled. We can also arrange dates. The AI knows all the CAP sub-scores. It can search for matching partners and then invite them to the same briefings."

"Good ideas, Lieutenant," L'ielit said. "We'll spread the word about working strategies and we'll use your idea about the arranged dates. I hope that works. Now to the gays. Carmen's idea works for them too, but not for the sponsors."

They all thought for a while. Suddenly Carmen asked, "Can we lie to them? I mean, WE can lie to them, but will the AI play along with it?"

<That depends on the type of lie. Lying to a sponsor has to have a serious reason. Please explain further,> the AI answered.

"Well, I thought about telling them something that scares them of course. They stopped searching for a concubine because they were told that their second one has to be female, since the concubine's main purpose is to breed. We can tell them that, as long as they can't pop out children in their own household, they have to service females in the brothel once every month for a whole day. And they can't send their male concubine for that."

L'ielit and Lieutenant Sneider grinned. "Man, that's cruel. It's kind of a boot camp for gays' situation," Sneider said.

<I would support this strategy for the duration of the trip. On the colony, the Governor has to decide if this is a new rule,> the AI complied.

"Okay then, we'll do it like this," L'ielit said.

"Hello ladies," Lieutenant Sneider greeted the ten male sponsors in the briefing room. "I'm glad everybody had time to follow the invitation. Do you have an idea why you are here? I mean, you were evacuated from Earth to do what exactly?"

"To fight the Sa'arm?" one of the sponsors offered.

"Yeah, that's the main purpose. But unfortunately, our target is a breeding colony. So the side task suddenly turns out to be the main task. Anybody?"

"Breeding," another sponsor said.

"Very good. Now we don't want to destroy your way of life, but breeding has been the main purpose for your extraction. I suggest you start searching for a concubine again, a female one. The alternative would be that you have to service the colony's brothel for one day every month to spread your semen. How does that sound to you?" The lieutenant's words nearly caused a riot.

"You can't do that to us!"

"Quiet!" the lieutenant shouted. "I know this is hard for you. On Earth, you had the chance to hide your sexual preference from the straights to live in relative peace. Here, you are allowed to live it out for the price that you impregnate a woman from time to time. You have two alternatives. You can select a female concubine for your household and put a bun in the oven every three years or you go to the brothel every month. My advice would be to search for a concubine who's happy to use a strap-on on you. Maybe you can find one that likes to look almost like a boy. The AI can help you with that. I have to strongly advise you to not shape change a concubine against her own wishes in such a radical way, since an unhappy concubine is the best way to destroy your entire household. Of course that's true for your male concubines too."

There was still some reluctance among the sponsors, but the offered solution slowly sank in as being not that bad. A few hours later, all of them were searching for female concubines.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Sophie Spero," Sophie introduced herself to the sponsors in the briefing room. "The extraction leader asked me to tell you something about my successful strategy to fill my slots. First of all I want to know who is happy with his or her one concubine? Hands up please, don't be shy… That many? Well, I'm surprised a little. Now who has fallen in true love with his or her concubine? I ask you to be honest. We won't tell your concubines." Several sponsors laughed and only a few hands went up.

"Okay, that's what I expected. Listen, lovers. Go get a nanny for your children so your love has more time for pleasing you. That'll be a good start. If love is the foundation of your household then maybe you'll learn to love the second woman in your household after a while."

"My wife won't let me do this," a sponsor interjected.

"So there is the real reason for most of you, isn't it? Jealousy! Who was talked into not taking another concubine by your current one?" Nearly half of the sponsors lifted a hand after a little thinking. "Get this into your head: YOU are the boss in your household. Your concubines have to please you. They have to cooperate. They have to make it a pleasant place FOR YOU. It will help if you make it a nice place for them in return. But you don't need to pay in advance. On the contrary. I advise you not to. Doing so will help you and them to settle into your new roles.

"The rest of you seem to be satisfied right now, right? Let me tell you that this will wear off after a while. You will get bored after a while and probably dump your current concubine for a new one." Several sponsors shouted their protest. "Trust me! Most of you will do exactly that. The reason is that you can do it! You are the boss! Fortunately, the administration is as unhappy with such behavior as most of you are right now. The administration wants robust families to raise children in a stable environment. Therefore we have the concept of diversity.

"If you are bored with one concubine, you might prefer your other concubine for a while. The family stays intact this way. Maybe you'll try out both at the same time. Who of you has done it with two or more partners at the same time? A little lesbian or bisexual game for the female sponsors among you?" Very few hands came up. "That's a disappointing number. You really should try it. It can be really satisfying when you are in control of it.

"Anybody who can't cope with what I said? Well there is a final reason. It's not the best reason though. It is your damn job to breed in the colony. One more concubine means doubling your productivity! Yeah, I expected you would look like I turned into a dragon by this. But somehow it's true. It helps to think of the pleasure of this job and delegate the unpleasant parts to your concubines.

"Now to the strategy to find a matching concubine. It doesn't help to bury your head under a pillow. Go out there and talk to the ladies with the black necklaces. You can do that everywhere, anytime. Most probably it will be in a canteen, a corridor or at a briefing. Don't hesitate to talk to them, even if they are in a hurry. They will take their time to talk to you since you are a sponsor. If they really are in a hurry, you can walk with them. You don't have anything else to do, right? If you don't feel repelled by their reactions, check their CAP IDs. Don't concentrate on their current appearance. Try to imagine how they could look after a session in the med tube. Don't look for the perfect match. It's unlikely that you'll find it. Instead, look for major flaws. If you can't find one, then the concubine is okay for you. That's how I filled my slots.

"You might think that you'll get only average results by this. Now be honest. How did it work back on Earth? No CAP sub-scores. A whole lot of cultural and religious rules you had to follow. Not to forget a girl or boy's parents. And a lot more problems when a marriage didn't work and you wanted to get rid of your partner. It's definitely better here. That's my opinion."

The latest briefing hit a nerve in Aaron Stein. His former girlfriend and now concubine Bonnie knew all too well how to twist him around her finger. Sex was great and he really liked her, but she had managed to keep him busy in a way that it felt natural to not search for another concubine. Aaron returned to his apartment where Bonnie waited for him in a very inviting pose. "Bonnie, we need to talk," Aaron said.

Bonnie sat up on the bed. She was alerted. "What's up Aaron?"

'How do I sell this to her?' Aaron thought. He decided to make it the blunt way. "We need another concubine. Any suggestions?"

Bonnie immediately turned into lascivious mode. "Oh Aaron, are you not satisfied with me? I can surely add some more passion. I just thought you need a rest of stamina for those briefings and your job, whatever that'll be."

Aaron had to admit that she was pure allurement. "It has nothing to do with your talents in this department. It has to do with a concubine's main purpose."

"My main purpose is to make you happy," Bonnie purred. She crawled to Aaron and tried to open his zipper.

"Bonnie, stop!" Aaron demanded. Bonnie froze. "This is really serious. I know that you know that breeding is a concubine's purpose. Think about it. In about nine months you'll pop out a baby. You'll have to split your attention between me and the baby. Maybe that works for you with one baby. But one year later there will be two. Another year later there comes the third."

"Oh my, that fast?" Bonnie asked, now looking worried. "I thought we were allowed more time between."

Aaron tried to explain, "With my CAP score I'm not only allowed to have two concubines, the administration expects me to have two. This means, they expect two babies every three years. Do you think that would be fun for one concubine alone? I feel bound to fulfill my quota." Aaron looked at Bonnie. "Do you fear for your position in my household, Bonnie?"

Bonnie started crying. "Yes! I can't imagine how this could ever work with a second woman. It's a frightening idea. The change is all too sudden." At the same time she tried to open his zipper again.

Aaron suddenly realized how limited Bonnie's repertoire was. It was exactly as the instructor had explained it. "Bonnie, I'll go get another concubine now. I expect that you welcome her and respect her. This is an important test for you. If you fail I have to replace you."

Carol and Venus sat in the canteen and waited for their sponsor Peter who had had an augmentation session in the med bay. As usual, they wore only their white collar and high heels.

"Look at that one," Carol pointed at another concubine. "She avoids eye contact. Her pose indicates that she is scared and doesn't want to talk to anybody or, if god may prevent, to be touched. I bet, not a single sponsor will approach her before she leaves the canteen."

Venus frowned. She didn't like Carol's bets on bad outcomes. Even more since Carol won most of these bets. Venus looked at the woman, Carol had pointed out. A white chick, probably sixteen years old, short blonde hair, trimmed bush. She didn't wear a shift but was obviously uncomfortable with it. Venus looked at Carol. "Wager as usual, Peter's first kiss?" she asked.

"Sure," Carol said. "Okay then, let's wait and watch."

"Sorry babe, today I'll cheat a little," Venus said with a big grin. She stood up and approached the young concubine that was the subject of their bet.

"Hello young lady, may I take a seat beside you?" Venus asked.

The woman looked up and nodded. Venus saw dried tears in her eyes.

"What's your name?" Venus asked.

"I'm Diana Tultoni."

"So we have something in common. We were both named after ancient love goddesses. My name is Venus." Venus reached for Diana's hand and shook it.

"What do you want?" Diana asked. "You wear a white necklace. Is your sponsor in search of another concubine? I'd gladly come for an interview."

"Sorry, no. Peter has his two. But I'd like to help you a little. Is that okay?"

Diana nodded. Venus carefully reached for Diana's face and cleared the signs of tears. "That's better. Now sit up straight and look at the people, sponsors mainly. Search for eye contact. They won't talk to a closed sea shell, you know? Smile. If they smile back, that's a good sign."

Diana did as she was told and her whole appearance changed.

Venus patted Diana's hand. "That's a lot better. You'll do fine I bet. Bye." With that she went back to Carol who pouted.

Together they watched Diana. After a few minutes she had attracted a sponsor. They talked for ten minutes and then left the canteen together.

"Do you think the interview will be successful?" Carol asked.

"I don't know. Another bet?"

"I don't think that your quick instructions changed her enough that she can handle an interview successfully," Carol said. "What's the wager for this one?"

"How about the first fuck of the evening?" Venus suggested.

"Aww, that's a high raise, but I accept the bet."

When Peter finally showed up half an hour later, Venus hugged him first and French kissed him, then Carol joined.

"Careful ladies, my whole body aches," Peter said.

Carol giggled. "Now you know firsthand that if you want to be beautiful you must suffer."

"True words," Peter sighed. "How lucky you are that you both are already perfect."

"Can we talk about that? I'd like a little more volume on my bust and a leaner waist," Venus piped up. They all laughed.

"You'll get everything you want, within reasonable limits," Peter answered. "I won't comply if you want to be even prettier. Now let's get some food, I'm starving."

Peter ordered a T-bone steak with green pepper, potatoes and a small salad. Venus and Carol selected something lighter with vegetables.

"Now what have you done the whole morning?" Peter asked.

"Not much," Carol answered. "We watched the people moving around in the canteen and bet on this and that again. By the way, isn't it time to check the last one?"

Venus nodded. "AI, I want to speak to Diana Tultoni if she's not currently busy."

"Hello, Diana here. What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Venus calling. I just wanted to know how your interview went. We saw you leaving with a sponsor..."

Diana giggled. "You won't believe it, but Tony is as shy as I am. When we came to the point of admitting this, everything was okay. Tony took me as second concubine. Thank you very much for your help."

"Don't mention it! I'm happy you made it. Good bye." Venus turned to Peter with a lusting smile. "I hope your augmentations are ready for a fine slow ride."

"Don't tell me that I was the price for your bet again," Peter laughed.

"You were," Carol confirmed with a sheepish grin.

Fourteen-year-old sponsor Rebecca Mills came out of the med tube as a fully grown beauty queen. She had taken a modified Marine package. She was now 180 centimeters in height, very strong and flexible, but without those bulking muscle packages. She would not stand against a Marine with the full package, but she outclassed every normal person.

Her sister and concubine Susan waited for her. Susan hadn't had her height changed. But she had a wider hip now, a wasp waist, firm protruding breasts and full hip-length platinum blonde hair with a metallic brilliance. With her toned skin-color her hair almost glowed. A complex tattoo that spread over her whole body made her look like a robot girl. That was what Susan had asked for.

Susan French kissed her sister. "You look beautiful. You are definitely no longer my little sister. Are you really as strong as the AI said?"

Rebecca bent her knees and reached around Susan's waist with one arm. Then she lifted her sister without effort. "My whole body still aches, but the strength is already there. Does this answer the question?" Rebecca asked. Susan kissed her sister again.

"I have to admit that you look stunning too. The holographic preview didn't show this beauty. I'm happy you talked me into allowing this," Rebecca said. She carefully checked her new body's flexibility. "I'll tell you something. Even though my whole body still aches, I feel much better prepared to face a man now. It's not only the strength or the size. This augmentation adds to my self-confidence. Somehow 'man' is no longer related to 'daddy' and 'daddy's friends'." Rebecca ordered blue jeans, a silken tank top and sandals in her new size from the replicator. Susan tossed her shift in the recycling unit.

"You are sure about going nude?" Rebecca asked.

Susan turned right round. "It would be a shame to hide this, wouldn't it? To be honest, I don't know if I'm really prepared for the attention of a larger audience. But I learned a lesson from those two concubines that never wear more than high heels. Their behavior just feels right to me."

"Okay, then let's go for a walk. We need a man," Rebecca said.

Rebecca and Susan entered the canteen. Susan was an eye-catcher and even provoked several whistles from male sponsors. Rebecca scanned the room for unassigned male concubines. She found one sitting at a table near the replicators. He didn't look like much in his gray shift. Probably 185 centimeters in height, a little overweight, around twenty-five years old.

"Hello, my name is Rebecca Mills. What's your name?"

"I'm Paul Morgan. Can I offer you something from the replicator?"

Rebecca realized that her body demanded food badly. "Yes please. A double portion of lasagna and a big coke. Susan, what do you want?"

"I would like a tout meunière with boiled potatoes and orange juice."

Paul ordered the meals from the replicator and served them professionally to the women. He took a soft drink for himself.

"Would you please tell us something about you?" Rebecca asked while eating.

Paul told his story. "I'm twenty-two years old. I lived in New York for my whole life. I dropped out of school when I turned fifteen and started working in an Italian restaurant. At first, I worked as delivery boy, later I waited tables. I hoped for an extraction but I had no luck. I'm bisexual and I'm open to everything. I like riding bicycle, reading science fiction and listening to last century's rock music like the Stones, Queen, Deep Purple or Guns'n'Roses. Do you want to see my CAP ID?" Paul handed his card over to Rebecca.

Rebecca scanned through the sub-scores. Paul seemed to be OK. "Why didn't you try to volunteer yourself? You have a 6.2 CAP score. With a little work you should be able to reach 6.5."

Paul sighed. "Well, I started with 5.6 and managed to raise it to 6.2 over the years. But for the last two years the score didn't change. I think I've reached my limit. I have no problem with that. Maybe it's better this way. I never dreamed of being a boss. Being a sponsor means being responsible. That's not my alley."

Rebecca looked at Paul. "You seem to be okay. Why are you still unassigned?"

Paul sighed. "First, I sat too close to the strictly gay. I got several invitations but that's not what I want for the rest of my life. Then I had an interview with a tall woman. She talked sweet to me but her female concubine had several bruises. Several others seemed to think that a man is a minor being and tried to degrade me. All in all I'd say I'm a little picky and I'm still trying to keep the remains of an ego."

Rebecca told their story in return. "Well, we are sisters. I'm fourteen years old and my sister Susan is fifteen. We ran away from home. Our dad was an idiot and maybe a terrorist. I don't know exactly. I have no sexual experience except with my sister but I don't plan on being a lesbian. We both fantasized about boys a lot. Susan did it several times with boys from school. I dream of a comfortable home. Susan can cook a little and keeps her room clean but I lack in those talents."

Paul put the empty trays into the recycler. When he sat down again they watched each other for a minute, an uneasy strain was building.

"Isn't it time for, you know, a test drive or something like that?" Paul asked.

Rebecca sighed. "You are right. Susan, what do you say? Is he worth a test drive?"

Susan had been quiet the whole time. The feeling that had started as butterflies in her stomach by going nude in public had risen to a sexual arousal that made her ears ring and her skin tingle all over. "Here?" she asked dreamily, "Okay." She went around the table and lifted Paul's shift over his head.

"I didn't mean..." Rebecca mumbled, surprised by Susan's reaction. "Well, why not. Do it," she said.

Susan made Paul lean back on the chair and checked his erection. It was of average size and stiff. Susan slowly lowered her pussy down on Paul's cock and buried it as far as it could go in one move. Then she slowly rode him. Paul caressed Susan's waist and back, and sucked on her nipples. Susan climaxed within a minute but she continued moving. After five more minutes of slow riding, Paul shot his load and Susan climaxed again. Susan licked Paul's cock clean and said, "I like him, sis." Then she snapped back into reality and realized what she just had done. She blushed from tip to toe.

Rebecca looked from Paul to Susan and back. "Paul, do you want to be my concubine?"

"Yes," Paul answered.

<Concubine Paul Morgan is now assigned to sponsor Rebecca Mills,> the AI confirmed.