


                        VIRTUAL SEARCH  

                              by 

                           Joe Doe


ASHLEY DECIDES TO USE VIRTUAL REALITY TO BECOME A HEROINE IN A JOE 
DOE STORY.  BUT THE HUNT IS RIGGED AGAINST HER, AND RESISTANCE IS 
FUTILE.... 

THIS STORY WAS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY ASHLEY'S AND NERDLY'S FEEDBACK.  
THE STORY OUTLINE ALSO ALLOWED ME TO WORK IN REFERENCES TO A FEW 
OTHER STORIES; I HOPE THIS PLEASES SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO WANTED 
TO SEE SEQUELS.  THANKS EVERYBODY!



Part 1

Ashley browsed tentatively through the adult titles in the virtual 
reality store.  Although a number were interesting, she was looking 
for something specific....

"Is there anything in particular I can help you find, miss?" the 
grandmotherly lady who ran the store inquired. 

"Well, yes, actually," Ashley replied.  "I saw on the Web that you 
have some new titles based on the Joe Doe stories." 

"Yes, we do, dear," the woman replied, leading Ashley a few feet 
over.  "Those are right over here." 

Ashley glanced through the titles.  "Which Witch" and "One 
Question" she recognized immediately, but it was a new selection, 
entitled "The Hunt," that caught her attention.   

Ashley turned it over and read the description. 

	A HEART-STOPPING, SUSPENSE-FILLED ADVENTURE GAME 
	THAT PLACES YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACTION!  YOU 
	ARE THE HEROINE OF A JOE DOE ADVENTURE OF YOUR 
	CHOOSING.
  
	"THE HUNT" IS THE NAME, AND AVOIDING AN UNJUST AND 
	UTTERLY HUMILIATING STRIP-SEARCH IS THE GAME! 

	MATCH YOUR WITS AGAINST DECEITFUL AND DUPLICITOUS 
	AUTHORITY FIGURES DETERMINED TO TRUMP UP A REASON 
	FOR YOUR STRIP-SEARCH.  IF YOU CAN STAY OUT OF 
	TROUBLE FOR THE TEN MINUTES, A SQUAD OF VIRTUAL 
	FEDERAL AGENTS WILL ARRIVE AND ARREST THE VILLAINS. 

	BUT, IF YOU MAKE ONE TINY MISTAKE...IT WILL BE TIME 
	TO BEND OVER AND SPREAD 'EM! 

	THE GAME IS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH VR INDUSTRY GAME 
	GRID STANDARDS, SO YOU CAN EXPERIENCE YOUR ADVENTURE 
	IN ANY OF THE STANDARD URBAN, FOREIGN, HISTORICAL, OR 
	RURAL SETTINGS.  JUST CHOOSE YOUR IDENTITY AND LEVEL 
	OF DIFFICULTY, AND YOUR ADVENTURE BEGINS! 

"We have a 'play before pay' policy, so if you'd like to try this 
out in one of our screening rooms, then you're welcome to do so," 
the store clerk explained helpfully. 

Ashley examined the game more closely.  This hadn't been the 
adventure she had planned on, but the part about beating the 
rogue males at their own game piqued her interest.  It might 
be fun to see some smug, self-satisfied doughnut-muncher led 
off in handcuffs after a failed attempt to molest her. 

"Will this game work with the downtown Chicago grid?" Ashley asked, 
reading the compatibility standards again. 

"Of course," the clerk said.  "I just need to type in your identity 
information and the difficulty level, and we'll be ready to start." 
The old woman led Ashley to a demonstration room.  "I'll give you 
an hour to play the game." 

"I'd like to play the game using my own image.  My name is Ashley, 
and I'm an attorney.  I'd like to play the game in downtown 
Chicago."  Ashley sat down in the VR chair and put on the VR 
helmet. 

"Of course, dear," the old woman said, as she strapped Ashley's 
arms and legs to the chair and attached the sensors. 

Ashley always hated being strapped into the game, although she 
understood the reason.  "Is there a stop feature?" 

"I could turn on the stop feature, but the point of the game is 
that, if you lose...you get searched.  Usually I just assign a 
bunch of extra spare lives.  Just stay 'RESET,' and the round 
will start over." 

"Well...I suppose, but I'd rather have the 'stop' enabled because 
I really don't want to be searched...." 

Suddenly Ashley saw the settings flash on the screen.  The game was 
starting.... 

	HEROINE'S NAME: ASHLEY

	IDENTITY: URBAN PROFESSIONAL

	STANDARD URBAN ANTAGONISTS

	GRID: DOWNTOWN CHICAGO

	STOP: DISABLED

	EXTENDED PLAY: DISABLED

	RESET OPTIONS: 7

	DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MAXIMUM

	SURVIVAL TIME: 10 MINUTES

	TOTAL TIME: 60 MINUTES 

"STOP" was disabled, and the difficulty level was set to the 
maximum.  The total time she was going to spend in the chair 
was sixty minutes.  But she could win if she could stay out 
of police custody for 10 consecutive minutes at any time 
without having to ask for a "RESET."   

Of course, Ashley could use the RESET option only 7 times, so 
she'd have 8 lives in all.  After seven failures, she would have 
just one more chance.  If she failed again, she'd be forced to 
face the music, totally defenseless, utterly at the mercy of her 
tormentors.... 

It didn't sound TOO hard.  Though she really did want to enable 
"STOP" and reduce the difficulty level, she soon found her 
virtual self shuffling though a crowd of commuters and out 
the door of Union Station.  It was 8:30 AM. 

Ashley looked around.  Although she had played these games for 
years, she was amazed at the level of reality they were able to 
achieve.  She felt like she was really in the city. 

But, although it felt totally real, the world also felt 
strangely...different.  She was dressed in a smart business 
suit, but the skirt was VERY short.  Her expensive silk blouse 
had several buttons undone, and she saw that she was wearing a 
pushup bra that exposed quite a bit more cleavage than she was 
used to.   

And, to her dismay, she noticed other differences.  Ashley was an 
attractive young woman, and she was used to male attention.  But 
the men in this virtual world were not glancing at her discreetly 
or respectfully.  Everywhere she looked, men were openly ogling 
her and appraising her charms with sly, knowing smiles.    

She didn't like it, but she knew there was nothing she could do 
about it.  She had willingly traded away her feminist credentials 
to become a heroine in a Joe Doe story, and now it was time for 
her to pay the piper.  

She looked up and tried to button her blouse, in a desperate 
attempt to be less of a bimbo.  Unhappily she noted that the 
buttons were not merely undone, but completely missing. 

Ashley was so busy tugging down her short skirt and adjusting her 
sheer blouse that she didn't notice that the light on the street 
corner had changed.  The commuters quickly surged past her and 
crossed the street.  She raced after them, but, as soon as the 
last virtual pedestrian left the crosswalk ahead of her, the light 
changed to red, and cars began to honk wildly.  She raced to the 
curb, but it was difficult in her high heels, and she barely made 
it. 

Four policemen greeted her at the curb.  One of them took her 
purse, and two others grabbed her arms.  "You're under arrest 
for jaywalking, miss."   

"Under arrest?" she said, shocked.  "Don't I just get a ticket?" 

"I'm afraid not, miss," the officer replied.  He nodded to the 
others, who expertly cuffed her hands behind her back.  "We're 
going to have to take you down to the station and process you 
though regular channels!"   

Ashley glanced at the clock on the building.  It was 8:31 AM.  
The game wasn't even 2 minutes old, and she was already in 
police custody. 

A squad car pulled up to the curb, and she felt a sharp slap on her 
behind.  "Let's go, honey buns!" the officer said contemptuously.  
"It's time for the old pat and poke!" 

As Ashley shuffled towards the car, she yelled out the magic word: 
"RESET!" 

		******************************

Everything stopped.  The world immediately went black for a few 
seconds, and then she found herself standing on the street again.  
This time she was about a block farther away from the train 
station.  Once again, the clock on the building read "8:30." 

She looked around and decided to examine her surroundings a bit 
more carefully before she made her first move.  After all, she 
was going to be strapped into the chair for an hour, and she was 
determined to avoid a strip-search at any cost.  She knew now 
that her "spare lives" would go fast, and she didn't want to 
waste them. 

For the most part, the game seemed to be using the standard Chicago 
game grid, and Ashley recognized most of the stores and buildings 
immediately.  There were some differences, however.  Every block 
contained a doughnut shop, and each doughnut shop held a 
congregation of policemen.  Police stations seemed to be placed 
at frequent, convenient locations throughout the grid. 

If she did make a mistake, she noted grimly, it wouldn't take long 
to get her to an examination room. 

However, the main difference was the people.  The passing men were 
still eyeing her lasciviously, and the women seemed either to 
disdain her or to look upon her predicament with smug amusement.  

And there were police everywhere.  They were directing traffic, 
checking parking meters, cruising the streets in squad cars, 
and walking the beat.  Most of them were men, but, unfortunately 
for Ashley, the few females seemed to be either fat and 
unattractive bull dykes, or wiry butch girls.   

The female police officers in the world of Joe Doe would be of no 
help to Ashley.  Every police officer, regardless of gender, eyed 
her lustfully and mentally undressed the luckless attorney.  

Ashley was meticulous about crossing the street, desperate not to 
repeat her earlier mistake.  Halfway across, a dirty candy bar 
wrapper literally blew into her hand.  She immediately dropped it, 
surprised to see something so scummy-looking brush against her.  
The candy wrapper hadn't even hit the ground when the police moved 
in for the kill. 

She soon found herself up against the wall with her legs spread, 
while two horny policemen carefully groped her.    

"Littering is a serious charge," one of the officers snickered.   

The other grinning officer had just slid his hand up Ashley's short 
skirt when she yelled, "RESET!"  

		****************************** 

The world went black again, and she found herself a block farther 
down, once again being openly ogled by police.    

The game was proving to be very unsettling.  Ashley knew Chicago 
well, and she always felt in charge and in control.  In this game, 
however, she was reduced to the level of hunted prey.  What was 
worse was that her antagonists were clearly enjoying her distressed 
struggles and seemed to feed on her feelings of panic and 
helplessness. 

She knew that every cop in the city was gunning for her, and she 
decided to try a different tack.  She ducked into the lobby of an 
office building to avoid the police. 

An old man in a security guard's uniform immediately asked to see 
her building ID card.     

"I don't actually work in the building," she said, nervously.  "I 
just wanted to get in out of the sun for a few minutes." 

The old man said nothing, but smiled and blew his whistle.  A squad 
of building security appeared and quickly surrounded Ashley.  Her 
arms were pulled up over her head. 

"I think we should call the police," one of the guards said. 

"Don't worry, we will," another guard replied.  "But first we 
should search her ourselves." 

To her horror, Ashley felt one of the guards unzip her skirt.  The 
treacherous garment instantly flew down her legs and deposited 
itself in a heap around her ankles.  She felt the guard's fingers 
in the waistband of her delicate panties.... 

She quickly cried, "RESET!" 

		******************************

Ashley once again found herself standing on a city street.  In 
order to win the game, she had to avoid a search for 10 consecutive 
minutes.   

Or, while avoiding a search, what she REALLY had to do was not use 
up all her lives before the store clerk released her at the end of 
sixty minutes.  But she was spending her reset options fast, and 
the police were busting her almost instantly each time. 

She quickly lost two more rounds.  In one, a homeless man started 
to grope her when she wisely ducked down an alley to avoid a police 
van that was conducting "Tick Searches."  When a sharp kick from 
Ashley deposited the old wino into a garbage can, she was arrested 
for assault.  They even invited the drunk down to the station to 
"help out" with her search.   

Ashley couldn't call "RESET!" fast enough on that one. 

In the next round, she decided to stand perfectly still.  A 
malicious bicycle messenger squeezed her luscious bottom and 
then pushed her off the curb.  Once again she was arrested for 
jaywalking, and forced, in handcuffs, to publicly apologize to 
the grinning young man who had fondled her bottom.  The smirking 
bicycle messenger was treated like a hero, of course, and was 
invited down to the station to make a statement and to "observe 
the proceedings."  Ashley fumed silently.  It was so unfair! 

She yelled "RESET!" when the leering messenger volunteered to 
"frisk" her before her trip to the station, and the police 
readily agreed.... 

The rules of the game were becoming clear.  She was surrounded by 
authority figures, primarily males ones, who were desperate to 
catch her making some trivial mistake that would "justify" taking 
her into custody.   

Of course, if she did nothing, they would simply find some way to 
frame her.  It was a delicate balancing act.  Nominally she was 
still an intelligent and successful career woman.  But in fact the 
rules of the game had effectively transformed her into a hunted 
bimbo.  To survive, she had to force herself to be totally and 
utterly submissive to all male authority.  She had to avoid arguing 
with anyone...or getting into any type of dispute with anyone...or 
she would instantly be deemed to be the one at fault.    

At the same time, she had to aggressively protect herself, or the 
abusive men would shear her like a helpless lamb. 

There was always an escape path, or a way out, but there was only 
one.  If she didn't play every hand perfectly, she would fall into 
the clutches of the men who now surrounded her, scrutinizing her 
every move. 

She flinched.  Once she was out of lives, she knew, she would be 
totally at their mercy.... 

Ashley knew that she was smarter than any computer, and she was 
certainly smarter than the clumsy villains in the Joe Doe stories.  
The problem was that the deck was completely stacked against her.  
As an attractive, unescorted female, she was presumed guilty.  Her 
only protection was her superior intellect.      

The game was aptly named.  In the world of Joe Doe, Ashley was a 
clever, beautiful fox being hunted down by a pack of howling, horny 
dogs.... 

		******************************

The world went black again, and then the lights came back up.  She 
looked around and was dismayed to find that the street was once 
again filled with smug policemen watching her like hawks.  Ashley 
steeled herself to the challenge.  She knew that slightest misstep 
would doom her, but, now that she had the rhythm of the game, she 
felt that she could win.  She would have to be VERY careful, 
though, and not make any mistakes.   

She quickly got off the street, ducking into a dress shop.  As 
she had hoped, there were no police inside.  It was the kind of 
place that a macho male cop wouldn't be caught dead in.   

As she browsed casually through the dresses, she looked at her 
watch.  Three minutes had passed, and she was still standing.  
She was pleased to see that the lights in the store occasionally 
seemed to flicker, which meant that the power was being drained 
away from the visual display.  The elapsed time and the flicker 
meant that the artificial intelligence engine was taxing itself 
to try to figure out some way to get a police officer into the 
store and then to give the officer some sort of bogus pretext for 
arresting Ashley. 

She smiled with satisfaction.  It wasn't so hard to win, if you 
knew how to play the game.  Although every character in the game 
was working against her, Ashley knew downtown Chicago better than 
the computer did.  If she could keep her wits about her and force 
her pursuers to move quickly across difficult and unfamiliar 
territory, she might have a tiny chance. 

The store seemed empty, which meant that her move had been 
unexpected.  The artificial intelligence engine was busy 
trying to generate a snotty dress store clerk, or a malicious 
security guard, or SOMEONE who could hassle poor Ashley. 

She suddenly heard a voice from behind her.  "That suit fits you 
perfectly, miss," the store clerk gushed.  "Do you want me to 
wrap it up for you?" 

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Ashley said. 

"The suit you're wearing...one of our store's," the shop clerk 
replied.  "Would you like to take it off and have me wrap it up?" 

Ashley looked around the store in confusion.  Sure enough, the 
exact outfit she was wearing was on now on display in the front 
window of the store.   

She could have sworn that wasn't there a moment ago. 

She was about to say that she didn't need to purchase her own 
clothes, but then she noticed that a man in a store security 
uniform had mysteriously appeared in one corner and was ogling 
her in a most unsettling way.   

She paused.  If she got into an argument with the clerk, she 
knew that the guard would come over, and she would have no way 
of proving that the clothes on her back belonged to her. 

In the world of Joe Doe, that meant every stitch she had on would 
have to be taken into evidence.... 

"Wrap up my suit?" Ashley asked the clerk, stalling for time. 

"Yes, I'll take it and wrap it up," the clerk said, with a cruel 
smile.  "And why don't I also take your shoes, hosiery, and the 
lovely bra and panty set you just tried on...and wrap those as 
well?"      

Ashley paused and looked at the smiling clerk.  If she argued that 
they were her clothes, she would be arrested instantly.  But she 
didn't have any other clothes to change into.  So, if she agreed 
that they belonged to the store, the clerk would gleefully strip 
her naked and throw her back onto the street.   

She thought very hard before answering, since she knew her fate 
depended on every word. 

Finally, she reached into her purse and handed the clerk a charge 
card.  "Why don't you just charge my purchases?" Ashley said, 
cheerfully.  "I'll wear them out." 

The smile instantly disappeared from the young woman's face, and 
the lights began to flicker.  Ashley knew that the clever fox had 
won this round. 

But, as she was standing at the counter, she noticed the lights 
flicker again, and the smile returned to the clerk's face.  The 
grinning young woman motioned to the security guard to come over.

"This card has been reported as stolen," the clerk told the 
guard, gleefully.  "I probably just typed in the wrong number, 
but we can't be too careful, can we?  We'd better take her into 
custody...and strip-search her!" 

Ashley tried to talk her way out of the mess, even as the guard 
and the clerk took her into the back office, where Ashley was 
quickly stripped down to her pretty pink bra and panties.  It 
was only when the sassy young clerk gave the order to "drop your 
drawers...and SQUAT!" that Ashley reluctantly called, "RESET!"

		****************************** 

The round started over again, and Ashley went back into the dress 
shop.  She knew that shop was a good locale for her, but, to her 
dismay, the sales clerk and security guard appeared instantly this 
time.  After only a minute of browsing, the cruel clerk once again 
asked Ashley if she wanted to have her outfit wrapped up.   

Ashley knew there had to be some way out of this.  Then she 
remembered that she was a Joe Doe heroine, and, as such, she 
was wealthy, well-educated, and independent.  Sure enough, when 
she looked into her purse again she saw that she had more than 
enough cash to ring up her purchase. 

The store clerk glared daggers when Ashley handed her the money.   

Ashley was still basking in her triumph when she saw the lights 
flicker ominously and then heard a voice behind her.   

"May I see your purse, miss?" the security guard asked.   

Ashley turned around slowly.  If she said "No," she knew that she 
would be arrested on the spot.  But she also knew that if she 
passively submitted, the guard would frame her for something.  
She had to think.... 

She turned, and, when she did, she purposely dug her high heel 
into the foot of the virtual security guard.   

The guard winced and went down on one knee.  To his obvious horror, 
a small bottle of perfume that he had palmed dropped from his pudgy 
hand and noisily hit the floor. 

"I'M SO SORRY, SIR!" Ashley said, contritely.  "I made you drop 
your perfume!" she exclaimed.  She made a big fuss out of 
apologizing and helping the man up, knowing that it not only 
ran down the clock, but also ensured that he would have no reason 
to arrest her for assault. 

The guard said nothing, but angrily limped away.  It was obvious 
to Ashley that he had been planning to frame her by dropping the 
expensive perfume into her purse, and Ashley had hit upon the 
perfect passive-aggressive tactic to foil his plot. 

The unhappy clerk gave Ashley her change and angrily told her, 
"You'd better move on, now, or I may have to ask the guard to 
arrest you for loitering!" 

The charge was preposterous, but Ashley knew better than to argue 
with any of the characters in THIS game.... 

		******************************

IN PART 2, ASHLEY EVADES A SCHOOL UNIFORM, A STRAITJACKET, A 
FREE TRIP TO MEXICO, A TICK INSPECTION, A STRIP-SEARCH SEMINAR, 
A SHOWER BEHIND A PLATE GLASS WINDOW, AND A CHANCE TO WIN 75% 
OFF.  WILL HER TRAINING AND INTELLIGENCE ALLOW HER TO BEAT THE 
SLOW-WITTED AUTHORITIES?  WILL JUSTICE PREVAIL?  

		******************************

Part 2

When Ashley emerged from the store, three policemen were waiting 
for her.  They wanted to ask her some "routine questions."

She inquired politely about the charges, and the police said that 
they weren't charging her with anything...yet.  But, if she didn't 
want to answer their questions, they would "be regretfully forced" 
to take her into custody. 

The police explained that they could hold her for 48 hours without 
filing any charges.  Of course, they would have to take her back 
to the station for "processing...."

Ashley quickly punctured that plan by cheerfully explaining that 
she would be more than happy to answer ANY questions right here, 
since she was always DELIGHTED to help the police in any way.

They led her to a paddy wagon parked in front of the store.  When 
she stepped into the back of the van, she was surprised to see a 
rather tubby-looking policewoman sitting next to a polygraph 
machine.

While the male guards strapped the hapless Ashley to the machine, 
the grinning dyke explained to her that she had "better tell 
the truth, or we'll have to take you downtown and hold you."

The questions were openly sexist and demeaning, but Ashley knew 
better than to protest.  She was a skilled lawyer, and she easily 
parried the computer. 

"Why aren't you traveling with a male escort?"

"What is a woman doing with so much money?  Did you steal it?"

"Did you turn tricks to earn that money?"

"Why don't you make eye contact with the males who look at you?  
Do you think you're too good for them?"

Ashley was careful to give truthful answers that would not 
incriminate her, even though the questions were totally outrageous. 
When the fat policewoman saw that she was not going to get a rise 
out of Ashley, she quickly switched to some more probing queries:

"Have you ever fantasized about being strip-searched?"

"In your fantasy, what are you wearing?"

"Which garments are removed...and in what order?"

"Is your search performed by a male or female officer?"

"Are other officers present?  Are they allowed to watch?"

"Are non-police personnel allowed to watch?  What is their 
reaction to your search?"

"Is the search video-taped?"

"Does anyone you know witness the search?  Who?  What do they say 
to you?"

Ashley knew that the purpose of the questions was two-fold.  If 
she lied about anything, the computer would know, since it was 
literally reading her thoughts.  But, if she answered truthfully, 
the computer would be able to build a database of her most 
humiliating fantasies, which it would doubtlessly use once 
her search began.

She ground her fingernails into her palms.  It was so unfair!  She 
was being forced to reveal EVERYTHING to the police officers in the 
van.  The cops were clearly delighting in the increasing levels of 
degradation they were heaping upon her. 

"Do you remove your own clothes, or do others strip you?"

"Do the officers make comments when you undress for them?  What do 
they say?"

"How does taking off your clothes in front of the witnesses make 
you feel?"

"Are you made to assume various positions after you're naked?  
What positions?"

"Do you perform exercises, and, if so, what exercises?"

"Is a cavity search performed?" 

"Do they wear rubber gloves?  What sort of lubricant is used?"

"Does more than one officer perform the cavity search?"

"Are you forced to exchange sexual favors for your freedom?"

"Which sex acts do you perform?  With how many people?"

"Do you swallow?"

"Do you ever masturbate when you read the Joe Doe stories?"

"Which parts of the stories do you concentrate on when you touch 
yourself?  Are there any particular words or passages that you 
find particularly stimulating?"

"Are you excited now?"

"Are your underpants wet?"

"Would you like to slip your hands into your underpants and 
masturbate right now?"

When Ashley reluctantly said "No" to the last question, the siren 
on the lie detector went off, and she was immediately taken into 
custody.  The fat lesbian guard who had mentally strip-searched 
her already had her latex gloves on when Ashley yelled "RESET!"

		******************************

When the game restarted, Ashley was still panting from her 
humiliating encounter in the police van.  She looked around 
and was relieved to see that the ominous vehicle was nowhere 
in sight.

Of course, the game didn't need to ask her any more questions, 
she thought bitterly.  Her adversaries on the police force 
already knew everything they needed to know.... 

She was on her last life, and she knew this was it.  The game knew 
everything it needed to make her search as humiliating as possible, 
and to turn Ashley's worst-case scenario into a Technicolor 
reality.

In order to survive, she knew that she had to move quickly, 
carefully, and unpredictably. 

She hailed a cab and told the cabbie to drive her to the airport.  
From the way the cab was flickering and traffic seemingly slowing 
down, she knew she had made a good choice.  After all, she was a 
passenger behind a bulletproof shield in a cab, totally isolated 
from the outside world. 

The cabbie tried to pick a fight with her, but she feigned 
laryngitis and told him to hurry to the airport.  She could 
tell the cabbie was angry and frustrated, since he knew the 
trip would take more than enough time for her to win. 

Win!

After about 3 minutes behind the wheel, the enraged cabbie 
deliberately ran a red light and plowed directly into a city 
bus.  No one was seriously injured, but the cabbie immediately 
turned on Ashley and started to yell that the accident was her 
fault, since her short skirt had distracted him. 

Ashley saw several police officers trying to get closer, but, 
fortunately for her, the large bus was blocking the intersection, 
and the rather pudgy cops were having a difficult time making their 
way to her cab. 

She decided not to stick around to see how this turned out.  She 
deposited $20 in the tray for the $3 cab ride, told the driver to 
keep the change, and dashed out of the cab and down an alley. 

When the homeless man came after her and asked for money, she 
immediately tossed him a $100 bill and sprinted around the corner. 

When she looked around, no one was pursuing her.  She'd made it!

She quickly ducked into another dress shop.  She had used this 
trick before, of course, and her tricks were less effective with 
each repetition.  But it was worth a try.

The clerk inside the store raced up with a box in her hand and 
told Ashley that the alterations were done, and her outfit for 
the costume party was ready.  All she had to do was try it on....

Ashley knew that it was probably a trap, but the key was to stall 
for time.  It would take a few minutes to change clothes, and it 
was hard to imagine an outfit much worse than the parody of a 
business suit that she was wearing now.

When the clerk opened the box up, Ashley was horrified to see that 
it contained a juvenile-looking school uniform, identical to the 
one that the luckless Susan had been forced to wear in "Back in 
School."  Ashley winced as she pictured herself dressed in the 
agonizingly short skirt, white blouse, blue blazer, tie, and cap.  
Another box contained little black shoes.  Finally, the clerk 
teasingly laid out on the counter a plain white pair of cotton 
underpants and a white t-shirt.
 
"If you'll just give me your purse for safe keeping, we'll get you 
out of your silly ADULT clothes and into your darling little school 
uniform," the clerk said, eagerly.  "Won't you just look PRECIOUS?" 

"B-but, if I g-give you my purse...and-and put on that childish 
uniform...then everyone will think I'm a-a teenager," Ashley 
stammered.  She remembered from the story that all the prisoners 
at the school reformatory were over 18, but, as she pictured 
herself prancing around in front of smirking adults in that 
juvenile uniform, she knew that would provide little comfort.

"Don't worry," the clerk said maliciously.  "The authorities are 
outside, and they will make sure you get back to class.  Of course, 
it is rather naughty of you, running around in your mother's 
clothes.  They will probably punish you for that."  The clerk 
had a cruel smile. 

Ashley looked over her shoulder and out the window.  Just outside 
the door of the store were two officers with arm patches that read 
"Truancy Police."  To her horror, she noticed that one of the 
officers was tapping a wooden spanking paddle against his palm 
and smiling at her.

"It's nice to see that they've included something for Nerdly in the 
simulation," Ashley thought, sarcastically. 

The outfit she was wearing was bad enough, but she knew that, if 
she put on the childish uniform, whatever small amount of authority 
she had left would be stripped away from her for good.  Even if she 
somehow got past the truancy police, she would be reduced to the 
role of an awkward, blushing schoolgirl, subject to the whims of 
any adult that crossed her path.

"Um...where's the changing room," she said, stalling for time. 

"The changing room is reserved for trying on BIG girl clothes," 
the clerk replied, in the most patronizing voice imaginable.  "Why 
don't you just strip down right here in front of the counter, 
birthday bare, and I'll help you change into your darling new 
outfit.... 

"After all," the clerk continued, with a malicious smile, "we 
can't have you wasting everyone's time by DAWDLING in the changing 
room, can we?  We'll just strip you down to the skin right out 
here where everyone can see, nice and quick, like a little bunny!"

Ashley threw some money on the counter to pay for the uniform and 
promised to pick it up later.  The lights flickered furiously as 
she darted out a side entrance to avoid the two scowling truant 
officers and the store clerk, all of whom were now running after 
her.

But Ashley knew the grid better than her pursuers, and she quickly 
gave them the slip.  She desperately looked around for another 
hiding spot.  The doughnut shop was out of the question.  And 
stopping at any of the private office buildings would entangle 
her with building security.

She hurried down the street.  With every passing minute, the 
computer had more time to rearrange the terrain to match the 
world of Joe Doe.  But Ashley had read the stories closely, 
and she was confident that she could avoid any obvious traps.

She hid behind a dumpster when she saw the "Tick Inspection Van" 
round the corner.  She noticed a small clinic on the corner that 
offered free eye exams, and that seemed innocuous enough.  But, 
when she looked closely, she saw that it also offered "Mental 
Health Services," and there was an open, curtainless shower stall 
in the corner of the reception room.  Next to the stall was a tank 
of what looked to be delousing fluid. 

An empty straitjacket dangled ominously from a hook....

If Ashley could see the shower stall from the street, so could 
everyone else.  She would ask for a simple eye exam, of course, 
but, in the world of Joe Doe, a minuscule bureaucratic error 
would doubtlessly lead to a humiliating shower in the window, 
for one and all to see.  And she would certainly need to be 
searched before they strapped her into the straitjacket and 
drove her to the asylum for her..."treatments." 

She spied another store on the corner and started to walk 
towards it.  But then she saw the big sign in the window.
 
                      STRIPCO is OPEN!  
         Providing handcuffs, lubricants, and gloves 
             for all of your strip-search needs!

Ashley ducked into a small travel agency.  Inside, a sleazy-looking 
salesman was selling a vacation package to a beautiful blonde 
executive in a crisp business suit. 

"You've won a fabulous two-month vacation at a Mexican resort 
called 'Boys Town,'" the smarmy travel agent explained.  "Room 
and board are included, although you will have to agree to sign 
these forms authorizing us to conduct a medical exam when you 
arrive.  We'll also need a list of your male neighbors and 
co-workers, so that we can send them promotional materials." 

Ashley remembered how the heroine in Joe Doe's "Lost in the 
Translation" had been stripped naked in the lobby of the police 
station at Boys Town before being forced to work as a prostitute.  
Ashley had no doubt the "promotional" mailings would be offers for 
her male "friends" to come down and purchase her wares.  It was a 
good scheme; the travel agent would doubtlessly sell an airplane 
ticket to every man who knew the beautiful executive.

Looking over the travel agent's shoulder, Ashley saw that he was 
doodling a picture of his pretty victim dressed in a sleazy hooker 
costume standing under a streetlamp.

She was about to warn the virtual contest "winner" of her fate 
when she glimpsed the shrewish store clerk, still holding her 
school uniform, round the corner....

Ashley quickly ran into the lobby of an opulent hotel, and the 
game strained to recreate the lush surroundings.  But, after a 
few minutes, a hotel security guard suddenly appeared and asked 
Ashley if she had a room key.  She noticed the security guard had 
a small tube of lubricant in his pocket, and he looked her up and 
down with a most unpleasant smile....

Instantly, she dashed up the stairs and lost herself in the 
convention crowd on the second floor. 

She ducked discreetly into a ballroom where a tax seminar was being 
held, but then suddenly the lights flickered.  In a twinkling, the 
audience became policemen listening to a Sheriff Birch giving a 
seminar on strip searches....

"Are there any volunteers from the audience?" the corrupt Sheriff 
asked, looking directly at Ashley.

She sprinted out of the room and ran from the hotel.  She was being 
hunted furiously now, and she had to keep moving!

Moving quickly down State Street, she approached the entrance to 
Marshall Field.  She knew that walking rapidly through the large 
department store would drain the system's resources by forcing the 
computer to generate floor after floor of merchandise.

As she reached for the door handle, she noticed a sign in the 
window:

	SALE! 75% OFF FOR SELECTED FEMALE SHOPPERS!  
		WALK IN THE DOOR AND WIN!

She suspiciously cupped her hands and looked through the glass 
doors.  In the distance she could see a very distressed blonde 
wearing a pair of sandals and a Chicago Cubs baseball cap....

And nothing else.

The hysterical blonde had realized too late that "75% off" referred 
to her clothing, not to the prices.  Ashley watched in horror as 
security guards led the blushing girl to a trampoline under the 
watchful eyes of a large audience of male shoppers.

Ashley also saw a man wearing a "Contest Judge" button eyeing her 
lasciviously from just inside the door.  She shivered.  As soon as 
she walked into the store, she'd be declared a "winner."

She ran a block farther.  She was still in the South loop, and she 
recognized a famous German restaurant she had always enjoyed eating 
in.  She knew the restaurant well, and she knew it would tax the 
game to the fullest to generate the detailed interior, which 
contained murals of the World's Fair.

Ashley strode into the restaurant and headed left towards the 
famous "sandwich bar."  She was literally inches away from 
stepping into the room when she saw the lights flicker.  She 
paused.  The game had changed the restaurant grid in some way, 
and, before she took another step, she had to figure out how.

She looked at the beautiful wooden bar in front of her.  It 
certainly seemed the same.  Except for the grinning men looking 
at her, it was exactly like it was when she had eaten there a 
few weeks ago.

The grinning men were the key.  Why were they all smiling at her, 
if her plot to hide in the restaurant was so ingenious?  Why were 
there no women in the bar?

It was then that Ashley remembered that the bar had been restricted 
to men until the 1960s.  Sure enough, she stepped back and looked 
at the sign above the door she was about to enter: 

			"NO WOMEN ALLOWED"

Ashley smiled.  If she'd gone into the bar, she would have been 
arrested. 

The restaurant, on the other hand, was "integrated," and there were 
other female diners eating there.  An angry maitre d' brusquely 
seated her by the window.

A waiter bustled over and tried to pick a fight, but Ashley wasn't 
biting.  From her watch, she knew that she had to survive only two 
minutes more in order to win.  She was going to love walking around 
town with the Federal agents, arresting everyone who had harassed 
her today!

Ashley ordered a glass of water and a plain salad with no dressing. 
She didn't want to be arrested for dropping crumbs on the floor, or 
for over-eating, or for getting a dab of gravy on her chin.  The 
lights were flickering every few seconds, as the game strained to 
come up with a way of getting Ashley to commit some sort of bogus 
"crime" in that innocuous setting.

She looked out the window.  To her delight, she saw that the FBI 
van that was going to rescue her was waiting outside, and the 
female agents were looking at their watches, too.  One of the 
agents even winked at Ashley and gave her a triumphal "thumbs 
up" gesture.

"In a few minutes, the pigs in this town are going to learn a 
lesson about women's rights!" Ashley thought, with satisfaction. 

She was so distracted that she hardly noticed the man who grabbed 
her purse....

She was after him in a flash, but the waiter blocked her path, 
shrieking that she couldn't leave "without paying!" 

Ashley screamed for someone to stop the thief, but, though the 
place was filled with police, no one lifted a finger to stop the 
fleeing criminal.  She couldn't get past the waiter, and she knew 
that, without her purse, she would be arrested for vagrancy and 
petty theft.  So she picked up a beer stein and flung it at the 
purse snatcher.  It was a perfect strike, and he fell to the 
floor as if he'd been poleaxed.

Several policemen quickly surrounded Ashley.  The cops had been 
totally immobile when she had screamed for help, but, as soon as 
she had foiled the criminal, they immediately sprang into action.

"You dented that beer stein!"

"Trying to run out without paying is a serious offense!"

"Not to mention assaulting that poor man for no reason at all!"

"We're going to have to take you back to the station!"

"But he took my purse," Ashley objected.  "I didn't do anything 
wrong."

Several other policemen were tenderly helping the purse snatcher 
stand up while the other officers roughly cuffed Ashley's hands 
behind her back. 

"But this is TOTALLY unfair!" Ashley pleaded, desperately.  "I'M 
not the criminal!  THAT MAN is the criminal!  I AM THE VICTIM!"

"I just found that purse sitting on the seat next to her, and I was 
rushing it up to the lost and found," the thief said, lamely, as he 
rubbed his head.

"Sounds reasonable to me," a tubby officer replied. 

"That snotty little YUPPIE assaulted this poor, innocent man," 
another cop said. 

"We'd better take her downtown and search her for weapons," the 
tubby officer suggested.

"And arrest her for trying to run out on her check!" the waiter 
added.

Ashley looked out the window, and saw the full ramifications of her 
mistake.  The female FBI agents who had been waiting to rescue her 
had just been stripped butt-naked by the "Tick Inspectors."  The 
furiously blushing agents were being given a full cavity search 
while the delighted pedestrians laughed and jeered.

Ashley knew she was doomed....

But, suddenly, a loud buzzer went off, and everyone in the game 
looked up.  "DAMN!" one of the officers said.  "Time's up!  She's 
going to get away!"

		******************************

To Ashley's immense relief, the world went black, and a message 
appeared in front of her.

	STANDARD URBAN SIMULATION COMPLETE

	TIME ELAPSED: 60 MINUTES

	WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE WITH EXTENDED PLAY?

Ashley quickly shouted, "NO!"  The screen went black again, and 
she exhaled.  All she had to do now was wait for the old woman 
to unstrap her.  She might not have "won" in the conventional 
sense, but at least she wasn't going to be searched!

But then a new message appeared on the screen.

	ASHLEY,

	FROM YOUR PULSE, RESPIRATION RATE, AND AROUSAL READINGS, 
	I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE REALLY ENJOYING THE GAME.  SINCE 
	YOU'RE HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME, I'LL LET YOU PLAY A BIT 
	LONGER.  I AM GOING TO LUNCH NOW, AND I'LL LOCK YOU IN 
	THE STORE UNTIL I GET BACK.

	EXTENDED PLAY: ENABLED

	NEW TIME: 60 ADDITIONAL MINUTES

Ashley struggled to get free, but she was strapped in tight.  She 
hoped that she would get one more round.  She might be able to beat 
the machine if she just had ONE more chance! 

But that final hope was dashed when the lights went up and she 
found herself standing in the middle of the crowded restaurant 
with her hands cuffed behind her back.

"Welcome back, sweet stuff," an officer grinned.

"Maybe we should invite the purse-snatcher -- I mean, the poor, 
innocent victim -- back to the station to help out with her 
cavity search," one of the cops said, as he playfully squeezed 
Ashley's shapely bottom.

"Good idea!" the tubby officer replied. 

The diners burst into applause as the blushing Ashley was led out 
of the restaurant in handcuffs. 

Although she knew the scene was virtual, she still felt strangely 
guilty as she watched one of the "Tick Inspectors" slap a naked 
FBI agent on her bare bottom and push her into the back of the 
grim looking "Tick Inspection Van." 

The two FBI agents were completely naked, and the smirking tick 
inspectors had cuffed the blushing women together so that the two 
partners would be touching nose to nose.  Ashley winced as she 
imagined the two dignified law enforcement professionals being 
forced to rub their naked bodies against each other all the way 
from Chicago to the border.... 

But Ashley had bigger problems.  She shuddered as she thought of 
all the humiliating details of her fantasy life that she had been 
forced to reveal to the computer.  It would all be used against 
her now, to strip away every last shred of her pride and dignity.

Ashley's hands twisted helplessly in the cuffs, but she knew there 
was no escape, and resistance was futile.  There were only 59 
minutes left, but she had no doubt that the examination room 
was ready and waiting....



Edited by C. Lakewood

