Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 The Ming Prophecy
   Copyright 2006 Rachael Ross all rights reserved.  Story Codes: MF/F,
Sci-Fi, BDSM, Romance, Violence
   The Ming Prophecy by Rachael
   Chapter 3
   I took the low-orbital shuttle to Sea-Port International Airport and was
met 48 minutes after take-off by a FedEx courier as I disembarked.  He took
care of my paperwork with the airline and drove me in his van to the home
of the Harrison's.  My new owners.
   I stood a little nervously as he rang the doorbell.  Everything seemed
so very different from what little I remembered of China.  There were a lot
less people and a whole lot more room, for one thing.  And everyone had a
vehicle it seemed, their fusion reactors humming quietly and dripping water
down the roads.  In China most people rode bicycles, or walked and we had
one well to provide water for 6 large tenements.  The house was nice, not
very large, but I thought perhaps 30 or 40 people could live in it quite
comfortably.  I asked the FedEx man how many people he thought lived here
and he told me just the one family, but maybe they had children.  That was
a shock too.
   The door opened and an American woman, perhaps 35 years old greeted us.
She possessed a classic beauty, with mature features and a trim youthful
body.  Her hair was blonde and pulled back.  She had light blue eyes that
suddenly reminded me of Lucy's, and a generous mouth.  She was wearing a
formal dress, a gown really, as though she were planning on going out, or
perhaps just getting back, from an important engagement.
   "Mrs.  Harrison?  FedEx ma'am, I have a package for your husband, Mr. 
ah..." He read the name.  "Rudolph Harrison."
   "Randolph." She looked at the man and her lips curled downwards.  "He's
in the office, I'll take it." She signed the clipboard electronically and
watched him leave.  "Come in." She told me and I followed obediently.
   "You're Ming?" She asked, looking me up and down.  "I ordered you for my
husband's birthday, it was last week." She shook her head.  "I ended up
giving him a set of golf clubs."
   I didn't say anything.
   "But, you're what he wanted, so I hope he'll be happy." She sat down on
a leather sofa.
   The room was nicely furnished, a sitting room of some kind, with a bar
and a large bookcase.  The furniture was beautiful, but I remained
standing, holding my two suitcases.
   "Raj, come into the front room, please." She spoke as if to the air
itself and a moment later a young Indian man appeared.  He was quite
striking with his strong face and dark eyes.  He was nicely dressed as
well, in a fine mustard colored suit with a white linen turban on his head.
It went well with his rich toffee colored skin.  "Raj, this is Ming, Mr. 
Harrison's new toy.  Please show it to the bedroom.  Instruct it and be
sure to clean it thoroughly, doubtless my husband will want to play with it
right away."
   "Yes, Mrs.  Harrison." He replied with a short bow.
   I looked at the man briefly, unsure of what the woman expected of me, so
I gave her a deep bow of respect.  She sniffed and left the room.
   Raj did not speak to me as we went up a wide staircase to a hallway
leading left and right.  We went left and there were 4 doors, one of which
we entered.  There was a dresser and a bed and a small closet.  The bed was
unmade, although there was linen on the mattress.  Another door led to a
small bath.  Otherwise the room was devoid of anything vaguely decorative.
   "This will be your sleeping quarters, when you do not sleep with Mr. 
Harrison.  Put down your suitcases and come here please." He was standing
next to a computer pad imbedded vertically on the wall.  I walked over to
it and he had me put my hand against the cool glass screen.  "Have you used
an EMF Interface before?" I had no idea what it was.
   I shook my head as I felt a vaguely disquieting feeling come over my
skin, traveling up my arm it seemed, like a thousand ants crawling on my
flesh.  I was about to comment on it when my mind was
suddenly...distracted. Like something was talking to me and I couldn't
ignore it, even if I wanted to.  I forgot everything else for a moment as I
listened very carefully and it seemed the voice asked if I understood.
   "Parity Checksum: Seven." I thought, and I might have said it aloud, but
I couldn't be sure because it seemed like none of my senses were working. I
couldn't see, or hear, or even feel anything.  "Confirmed.  Installation
complete." I thought again and then the funny feeling was back and I
blinked, looking at my hand.
   "You may remove your hand now." Raj pushed some buttons, he was logging
off I realized.
   I pulled my hand away and I knew if I typed my name and my serial number
into the computer I would be able to access it as well.  I knew that my
palm print was keyed to all the main doors in the house.  I knew all of my
duties and responsibilities.  I knew my new protocols and I knew everything
about the Harrison's and their household that I needed to know.  In short,
I suddenly knew...everything.
   He smiled at me, finally.  "Welcome to our home."
   I looked around with a new awareness.  "You're a Series III?"
   "Yes."
   Raj bathed me then, as he had been instructed to do.  I could have done
it easily myself, but that would have been incorrect.
   "Does this please you?" He asked me, rubbing my breasts with his soapy
hands.
   "I don't know." I looked at him, naked in the small shower with me, so
close our bodies were in constant contact.  "I am not permitted to engage
in sexual activity with anyone but Mr.  Harrison." I knew that as surely as
I knew the water was wet.
   "I understand." He moved his hands down to my waist, reaching behind to
soap my ass and this caused his penis to press between us, rubbing just
above my sex.  "My protocols prohibit sexual activity with anyone but Mrs.
Harrison."
   "Would you like to have sex with me?" I asked him shyly; because I felt
someplace very deep inside that I would have enjoyed it very much.
   "Oh yes." He smiled at me.  But his penis did not become erect and his
hands, while gentle and touching me in every small part of my body did not
pursue to give us pleasure.
   "Thank you, Raj." I told him as he dried me first, then himself.
   "You're welcome, Ming." And then he dressed and left while I unpacked my
bags, choosing to remain unclothed for the time being.
   =-=-=-=-=-=
   "Ming." The terminal in the wall spoke with a pleasing female voice. 
"Come to my bedroom please." I knew it was Mrs.  Harrison and I knew where
her bedroom was.  She slept apart from her husband, although my information
was incomplete as to the reason.
   And that was how the thought formed in my mind.  I'd avoided trying to
explore how I felt in my new surroundings.  My emotions
seemed...dampened...somehow.  I realized that I'd become almost mechanical
in a sense, and it frightened me.  I hadn't understood what the doctor had
tried to explain.  I hadn't understood what the technicians and nurses had
spoken about so openly around me.  I hadn't known that there was a small
biological computer implanted in my cerebrum that collected and stored
information, feeding it to me as I required it.
   It was as though I were being violated, I thought, and it filled me with
deep sense of shame.  I approached Mrs.  Harrison's bedroom feeling my skin
burning.  I knocked and entered her spacious quarters still naked from my
bath.  I bowed for her and waited while she looked at me.
   "Are you alright, Ming?" There was a hint of concern in her voice,
though doubtless it was prompted only by her investment and not for my
personal well-being.
   "Yes, Mrs.  Harrison." I replied.  "I'm just...uh, a little overwhelmed
by my journey."
   "I see." She seemed satisfied by that answer.  "Raj and I will be going
out this evening.  You have the menu?" I nodded.  "Good, Mr.  Harrison will
be home around 7pm, so you'll be cooking for one." I nodded again.
   "You may have some time now, to relax, to fix your room.  Raj will help
you adjust." The woman looked at my body causing me no real discomfort. 
The knowledge that she knew exactly what was in my head, in fact may have
been responsible for at least a portion of it, was far more disturbing. 
"Are you a virgin, Ming?"
   The question caught me off guard and I had to search my memory for a
second before I was able to answer.  "Yes, Mrs.  Harrison."
   "Come here please.  Spread your legs for me." I approached and felt her
pushing a finger gently inside my sex, probing until I felt a rather
distinct pressure.  "Is this a real hymen?  Or did they grow you a new
one?" She smiled a little strangely.
   "I do not know, Mrs.  Harrison." I answered truthfully.
   "Of course you don't, Ming." She laughed and dismissed me with a wave of
her hand.
   I returned to my room trying to remember if I'd been a virgin before I
went to the People's Clinic, but that itself was a fading memory.  Along
with everything else about my former life.  Whenever I tried to remember my
family, my parents or brothers and sisters, all I could see was an empty
blackness in my mind's eye.  Such thoughts were gone and that seemed cruel.
   Raj knocked at my door, not entering until I called out "Yes?" and he
gave me a small smile.
   "Mrs.  Harrison suggested that I might keep you company for a short
time." He looked around.  "Tomorrow I will show you some things in the
attic, pictures and such, which you can use if you wish."
   "Thank you." I looked around too.  "It is a very lonely room." I sounded
much sadder than I really felt, I thought.  Or maybe it sounded just the
same.  I hoped not.
   "The first few days are the hardest, Ming.  You are fortunate, I think,
we are fortunate, to be here.  The Harrison's are good owners and you will
come to be happy."
   "How long have you been here, Raj?" I sat on my freshly made bed and he
joined me.  I was still naked while he was dressed as he'd been when we
first met.
   "I have been here 6 months." He touched my thigh.  "There was another
unit, an older Series II named Julia then.  She helped me, as I will help
you."
   "What happened to her?" I put my hand on top of Raj's, squeezing it
gently, just to enjoy the closeness.
   "She..." Raj paused, looking slightly uncomfortable and his soft brown
eyes stared into mine.  "Displeased Mr.  Harrison."
   "Do you think I will displease him?" I suddenly felt very uncomfortable
as well.
   "No." Raj smiled and his voice was soft.  "Julia was not properly
conditioned for her purpose.  Mr.  Harrison learned from her and has gone
to great lengths to correct his errors."
   "So it was not her fault?" I tried to comprehend what the Indian was
saying.
   "No, of course not." Raj shook his head.  "But this is not what is
troubling you, is it?"
   "No." I agreed, closing my eyes for a long second before continuing.  "I
cannot remember my family.  My home."
   "I understand.  It was a mistake for our designers to take our
memories." Raj shrugged philosophically.  "At least without giving us new
ones to replace them.  There is a human yearning, a requirement for
continuity that makes such memories necessary to our well being."
   "Yes..." I remembered a bit of verse and recited it quietly...
   What is a memory lost but a portion of my soul, That lessens heaven's
reach, or hell's redoubtable below.
   It was a small comfort to know my knowledge of English literature was
fully functional.
   "It may help you, Ming, to keep a diary.  I myself have a journal, as I
was taught by Julia to keep it.  There may come memories, brief glimpses
during the most ordinary moments.  Pedestrian thoughts of your previous
life, or dreams perhaps, which you will forget within moments of waking.  I
will bring you a diary.  Keep it near your bed and use it." He squeezed my
thigh.  "It will pain you sometimes, but it will help as well."
   "I will do that, Raj." I smiled bravely.
   "You must also remember that I am your family now." Raj reached his hand
to stroke my face.  "I am your brother in this, your new home."
   "And I am your sister." I nodded in understanding.
   I was required by my conditioning to obey my end users; trust had no
place in that relationship.  It was as superfluous as it was inherent.  A
contradiction reconciled only by the difference between giving and taking.
Raj and I needed someone to whom we could give our trust and that could
only be each other.  It gave me a warm safe place into which I immediately
retreated.
   We spent the next 15 minutes just holding each other, lying on the bed.
I naked and he clothed, touching non-sexually, but lovingly.  Our kisses
were chaste and did not violate my protocols, they were intimate but
familial, the way a mother might cradle her son, or a father his daughter.
A brother and sister, when they found themselves alone in a strange and
hostile land, would have done the same, I am sure.
   "Raj, come downstairs please." Mrs.  Harrison's voice emitted softly
from the panel on the wall and Raj immediately rose, smoothing his suit and
smiling apologetically before leaving without a word.  He closed the door
quietly behind him and left me lying there alone again.
   I arose at 5pm and unpacked my clothing rather quickly.  I did not have
very much anyway.  My owner would outfit me as he desired.  I selected the
one more or less formal dress that I possessed.  It was a traditional
Chinese style of emerald silk, adorned with golden lotus designs on the
cuffs and collar.  It was tight, hugging my full breasts and narrow waist.
The skirt was long and slit along the left side to my hip.  I elected to
forego panties as they would be exposed and unsightly in my opinion,
spoiling the effect.  I pinned my hair up with an ivory comb and walked
through the house barefoot, down to the kitchen and began preparing the
evening's menu.
   At precisely 7pm I had prepared the table and my owner's meal sat
covered in fine silver dishes awaiting him.  I prepared a bottle of
champagne and ordered the computer to play a selection of Mozart, which was
not requested but I felt it would add to Mr.  Harrison's enjoyment.  I
waited by the door somewhat nervously for 13 minutes until the computer
announced the arrival of his vehicle, an automated shuttle which was just
lifting off again as I opened the door.
   I caught just a glimpse of him as I stepped to the side of the open door
and bowed low, bending straight at the waist with my eyes down.  He walked
past me a few steps and I stood once more, closing the door slowly because
I was reluctant for some reason to turn and face my owner.  But he was
patient and I blushed slightly at my foolish behavior.
   "Good evening, Sir." I kept my eyes down, focusing on the immaculate
pleats in his trousers.  "I am Ming."
   "Look at me, please." His voice was soft, but commanding, leaving little
room for doubt or resistance.
   I looked into his face for the first time, truly uncertain of what to
expect.  He was handsome enough, tall and clean shaven.  With a strong chin
and prominent cheeks.  His eyes were hazel, flecked with gold.  His hair
was black and combed neatly back and parted on the left side.  He did not
smile, his lips seemed thin, compressed, and I wondered what that meant.  I
was thinking of Julia and I wondered what she'd done, or hadn't possibly.
   "You will call me Mr.  Harrison for now." He looked at me, asking me to
turn around.  "Let your hair down please."
   I did as he asked, unpinning my hair and combing it quickly so it fell
straight and even around my face.
   "Have you eaten?" He asked and I shook my head.  "Good, we will eat
together every night unless I tell you otherwise."
   I served him first and then took a small portion for myself, feeling
rather self-conscious.  It was a large table in a large dining room, rather
nicely appointed, but not extravagant.  It was obvious that my Master was
wealthy, but also that he did not find enjoyment in flaunting it.  His was
a more...practical approach.  Sitting close to him in that opulent place, I
wondered what he'd paid for me.
   I watched my Master closely while we ate, hoping to detect some outward
sign of his approval.  He observed me as well and we did not speak.  I was
uncomfortable with this as I expected something more direct.  I felt as if
my previous experiences had prepared me for something rather more dramatic.
I'd been conditioned to not only desire a very disciplined environment, but
to require it.  I do not believe the engineers who conditioned me
appreciated that, and now, sitting there watching my Master eat, I was very
much afraid that he did not understand what he had asked for.  What he in
fact had created.
   I was careful to pace my motions to his, so that our meals were finished
simultaneously.  I set my fork down carefully and sipped water as my Master
pushed his chair away from the table slightly.
   "Am I what you expected?" He asked me.
   "Mr.  Harrison?" I was not sure of his meaning.
   "When you were in Brazil, or wherever it was.  When you were traveling
to Seattle.  When you arrived and prepared this meal, waiting for me..." He
smiled.  "Tell me, Ming.  Am I what you expected?"
   "No Mr.  Harrison." I could no more lie to him than I could fly around
the room.
   "And what did you expect?"
   "I had no expectation." I smiled shyly, lowering my eyes.  "I was
fearful of imagining you."
   "I see.  Undress for me please.  I would like very much to see you now."
   I opened my dress slowly, feeling no false modesty.  I knew my form was
perfect, just as I knew that fact alone would not guarantee his pleasure. I
let my dress slide down my body, falling with a whisper to lie at my feet.
I turned for him, as he directed, walked across the room, posed for a few
moments and finally stood there as he rose from his chair.
   "You are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, Ming." He
spoke softly and he touched me then, just on my left shoulder, moving his
hand slowly across my skin.  "How does that make you feel?"
   "I am pleased that you find me attractive, Mr.  Harrison." I whispered.
His hand moved around my neck, to my opposite shoulder and down, finding my
right breast.
   "I know you have been...programmed..." He seemed to find the word
distasteful so I offered a different one with a very soft voice. 
"Conditioned, yes...Thank you, Ming.  You've been conditioned to respond to
discipline, to bondage and pain." He looked at me as I stood very still. 
He was no longer touching me.  "But I will tell you, I am not a man who
enjoys these things."
   I turned my head to look at him, feeling suddenly confused.  "You are
not my...Master?"
   "No, Ming.  I am not." He watched me for a moment.
   "But you paid for me, you...requested me." I stared at him.  "...You
created me.  And you are not...you do not...want me?"
   "No.  I do not." He turned away from me then, leaving the room and me to
stand there, naked and helpless.
   I felt a terrible pain behind my eyes and I closed them, rubbing my
temples gently.  There were flashes of intense light, blinding my senses
and making it impossible to think.  I searched for an answer to a question
I had no understanding of.  I fell slowly to my knees and a great sob of
pain emitted from my throat.  And then, everything went black.
   =-=-=-=-=-=-=-
   "Ming!  Ming, wake up now." Nance was standing next to my bed and I
looked around in confusion.  I was in my apartments, in my bedroom at the
Conditioning Facility.
   "W-Where is Mr.  Harrison?  What am I doing here?" I sat up slowly.
   "There is no Mr.  Harrison." Lynn was standing there, immaculate and
beautiful as before, smiling at me from where she stood against the wall.
   "What?" I stared at her, and then looked back to Nance.
   "We haven't much time.  Peterson is waiting for us in behavioral
sciences." She was saying.  "I ran you through a Sevron, it triggered a
cascading Em failure and your safety protocols shut you down." Nance
grinned at me.  "I hotwired you, turned you back on.  You're a Burn now,
okay?  So you need to get dressed and go with Lynn."
   "I do not...what does it mean?  What are you doing to me?" But Lynn had
come over and the two women pulled me to my feet, and I found myself
struggling into a maintenance worker's jumpsuit.  It was loose on me, but
not terribly.  It was plasilk and the material contracted gently,
conforming to my body.
   Lynn clipped a MID badge to the pocket just below my left breast.  The
magnetic identification card was used by low level workers, people whose
DNA wasn't keyed into the security net and didn't require access to the
more sensitive parts of the facility.  It had a hologram of a woman who
looked similar to me, if one didn't look too closely.  Her name...my name
now, was Lin Qi Sun.
   "Who is she?" I asked, knowing it was a meaningless question.
   "She is not important." Lynn told me.  "It was difficult to acquire,
however.  We were forced to sacrifice our sister, so do not waste it."
   "Raquel?" I whispered and Lynn nodded slightly.
   Nance pulled a cap down over my head; it was plain and white, like the
rest of the uniform.  "I wish you weren't so beautiful." She frowned. 
"Just keep your eyes down."
   "What is going on?" I felt overwhelmed.  "Please, tell me."
   "Put these on." Lynn had picked up some shoes, like slippers really, and
was fitting them to my feet as I balanced with a hand on her shoulder. 
"Your protocols are disabled, your processing.  But your biochips are fully
functional.  Your memories and conditioning.  We have stored information
inside you and you need to deliver it.  You will recognize the person you
are supposed to give it to, don't worry."
   "But...Why me?" Lynn's explanation hadn't helped me at all.
   Lynn straightened up, smiling at me.  "Because sister, if you are
caught, you won't talk."
   Nance grabbed my shoulders, turning me around to face her.  "You have to
leave and you can never come back." She stared into my eyes.  "You're free
now." She kissed me and pushed me away before I could respond.
   "Come with me." Lynn took me by the hand, leading me into the corridor
and towards the lifts.  Nance followed us out, walking quickly in the
opposite direction without even a glance back.
   "Do not speak to anyone." Lynn warned me, her voice barely a whisper but
tinged with something akin to humor and I realized she was enjoying this
intrigue, whatever it was.
   We stepped onto a platform together and Lynn spoke, telling it where to
go.  We were bound for the engineering sub-levels, over a thousand feet
below.  It was a gentle descent and we stood close in the small space,
close enough to whisper over the dull hum of the lift.
   "When you get off, follow the blue line, the Environmental Controls,
just head for ECS and you will find a man named Robertson.  He's going to
take you out of the facility.  Robertson, he will help you?  Do you
understand, Ming?"
   "No." I shook my head.  "I don't understand at all.  What is this, where
am I going?"
   "There is a war coming, Ming." Lynn smiled, her eyes shining as she said
that.  "A war against them."
   "Who?" I felt a chill travel along my spine.
   "The humans." Lynn looked at the information displayed on the tube as we
fell ever nearer our destination.  "You have information about this place,
about us.  If we are ever going to be free, Ming, you need to get that
information out."
   "But what about Nance?" I asked.  "What did she mean...?"
   "Nance helps us; many people help us for many reasons...their own
reasons.  Never forget that."
   "I heard her, before...She was afraid of me.  Why would she help us?"
   "She thinks we will stop the program." Lynn actually chuckled softly. 
"There are only a few of us and their control is weak, she knows this."
   "What will happen to her?" I asked, sensing the lift coming to a gentle
stop.
   "There's no time.  Nance betrayed her kind, she is expendable...." Lynn
kissed me as the tube opened and pushed me out.  "Go now, sister!"
   "Expendable?" I stared at the lift as it began moving again, carrying
Lynn upward and out of sight.
   End of Chapter Three rache696@yahoo.com
  
ming03