; ; If I hadn't had the counterfeit specs for my modified, hardened CAT, ; when we were passed through to the customs desk, we would've been ; straight back on the suborbital and down to the surface. Or worse.
; ; I noticed the I-toy wearers immediately--Gurney was oblivious. The ; woman in the immaculately pressed skirt with the Neuron at customs ; slid to one side of her desk and I saw the slightly bulging pantylines ; that indicated she'd played--more likely been forced to play--with an ; I-toy.
; ; Maybe her good humor tipped me off instead.
; ; "Thank you!" She said, smiling at Gurney and I, running her hands over ; her desk smoothly, her fingernails perfect, passing back our ; counterfeit official Datasocket, everything about her perfect.
; ; "Everything is in order. Please proceed to sterilization. Enjoy your ; stay in the PleasureZone." I could tell Gurney wanted to Stim her--but ; she'd probably Stim him first. I imagined pulling her string and ; hearing her say, "Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me." Over and over like the ; wretched doll she now was.
; ; In an hour, by just paying close attention, I had made a rough ; calculation that more than one in two women running BlissTech orbital ; operations--the shuttles, the concessions, the gates, the maintenance, ; everything--were wearing the I-toy. Not only were they glowing with an ; inner blissful light, but they also were well-mannered and drop-dead ; gorgeous. Augmented breasts, slim, trim, muscular figures.
; ; I told Gurney as we floated down the zero-gee tunnel to the guest ; quarters.
; ; "That many?" I could see his internal calculations--almost hear his ; dismay at losing so many third-party Stim fucks to somebody else.
; ; "What about the men?" He asked, a little shaken and trying to hide it.
; ; "I'll bet as many or more of them. It's harder to tell--but I'll bet ; the buff shuttle operator we met was wearing an I-toy."
; ; "How long do you think we have?" He asked.
; ; "Probably until these dissolve," I said, running my fingers over the ; SecondSkin face template that smoothed my facial features, "the ; counterfeiting is good and your buddy's SecondSkin work is top-notch."
; ; Gurney smiled, his new sharp jaw lowering to show perfect teeth, ; saying, "I told you."
; ; "You did," I replied. "Let's stick together," I said, holding his hand ; as we floated downward to the guest quarters, "I don't want to pull ; down your pants for a check every time we're separated. . . . Master."
; ; I smiled, knowing he'd get an erection from that--and without the ; Stim.
; ; The room we were in had a wonderful view of the surface--a view that ; would improve as we arced through high orbit. It would've been ; fantastic if we could have seen the ground--the pollution was so bad I ; didn't know how we breathed at all down there.
; ; "Two-thirds gravity," Gurney said, springing on the foam bedding.
; ; "Yeah," I said, looking at the PleasureZone brochure scrolling on the ; Player's stage. Five clubs--the SinEma caught my eye, wraparound ; visuals from within a spherical stage. Six unique types of CAT ; entertainment in private and small group sessions--read orgy with ; strangers. Private dancers. Private massage. Private ; Stimming. SimBooths for the "ultimate aural oral experience." The ; CATdrug lounge--with your choice of simulated heroin, opium, cocaine, ; ecstasy, LSD, mescaline, and fleshburn integration. And more.
; ; PleasureZone was a cesspool of decadence--nothing special, really, ; like all the others--and perfect place to introduce the I-toy.
; ; Using Connectivity while Gurney stared out the window at the grey and ; blue surface, I discovered that access to the highest ring on the ; outpost--the subsidiary that Gurney had identified--was connected by a ; zero-gee lift and a service conduit one grid over and two rings up.
; ; It was a long ride to the top--and it might be our last if we didn't ; get on the next suborbital, blast down to the surface, and stick our ; heads in some really heavy sand.
; ; But we'd be found, eventually--our asses sticking up above the desert, ; exposed.
; ; It was the way of these things--and I was almost broke.
; ; End of Part 8 ; [1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 ; 5 ; 6 ; 7 ; 8 ; 9 ; 10 ; 11 ; 12 ; 13] ; ;