The Prodigal Daughter

A snippet from the story 

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

Luke 15:24 KJV

February 12, 2081, Denver, Colorado, USA

Cassie lies on her bed waiting for her ‘showcase’ to start. She’s wearing her ‘display’ outfit, black spiked heels, thigh-high black lace stockings, black lace garter belt, black lace quarter cup bra, and black choker with a white cameo. While she waits for the get ready signal she has on her beat-up blue flannel shirt. It’s unbuttoned and hangs loosely about her petite body. Cassie’s long blonde hair cascades over her shoulders, spilling onto the bed.

She looks at the wall the camera is built into, the lens reflects the light from the room’s only lamp. Above it hangs her general discharge from the U.S. Army, an army that no longer exists. She reads the name emblazoned on the certificate, 3^rd Lieutenant Cassandra Lynn Anderson. Though it is nearly eight years ago that she was ‘bounced’ from the J.A.C.K.S. program to her it feels like a thousand.

She thinks back on those three days. The intimate horror of being mentally connected to a W.I.D.G.E.T.S. as it died haunts her every night. Colonel Gray was right, she didn’t belong there. At least his success during that campaign carried enough weight that they accepted the Colonel’s recommendation that she be assigned to a comfort unit instead of a labor battalion. Still, she wonders, Am I better off being used by these perverted men every night than being worked to death as a common laborer?

Cassie looks at the framed certificate next to her discharge, her Courtesan Diploma. She spent six months in courtesan training, at the top of the class in all subjects, but she excelled at all the activities requiring empathy. Erotic massage, intimate conversation, serving the client's needs, listening to their inner desires. Most importantly, she excelled at knowing when to be physical with a client, and when to just be there with him, or her.

When she completed her training, she was sent to this house, Isabella de Luna, of Denver.

For years the girls there entertained men in a somewhat dignified manner. They would meet the men, get to know them, and then take care of their desires. Though she still felt dirty when the night’s work ended at least there was a sense of propriety.

When the war with China ended that all changed.

Everyone was certain it would be a short war, but they always are. The sides were clearly divided, the USA, the UK, and UES against the Russian Consortium and China. After seven months they started talking about calling up all prior service, including candidates that were bounced out of programs like J.A.C.K.S. In month eight China pulled the rug out from under everyone. It seems that China’s Artificial Intelligence knocked out the AIs of the USA, the UK, the UES and the Russian Consortium. China stabbed the Russians in the back, seizing all of Siberia east of Lake Baikal. All those countries were defeated, leaving China the big winner.

The Chinese overran South Korea, Japan, The Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. They annexed Hawaii and California. And their secret ally, Canada, annexed Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

They established an occupation government in each of the defeated countries. All former US military were taken into custody and interred in ‘reeducation’ camps.

Cassie found herself in one of those camps.

For the first two weeks, all the detainees were subjected to constant interrogation, sleep deprivation, and political indoctrination. During the second week, several prisoners cracked. Though the inmates were never allowed to be together in groups, they did pass each other when they were moved from room to room. It was then that Cassie encountered some of the broken.

Their eyes were filled with terror, some had tics, others were pale like all their blood had been drained from them. A few shook uncontrollably.

To her surprise, Cassie never felt that she was at the end of her rope. It was not that she wasn’t afraid, it was not that she wasn’t exhausted, it was not that she wasn’t in pain. She just knew she would be alright.

At the beginning of the third week, she caught the camp commander’s eye.

On Wednesday she got a decent dinner and they let her sleep that night. On Thursday she was allowed to shower, was fed a decent dinner, and allowed to sleep. On Friday She did not attend any ‘reeducation’ programs, instead, they left her in her cell. At noon she was served a light lunch. When she was finished the guards ordered her to shower. They watched her shower, to be sure she didn’t escape. After her shower, the guards gave her one of her courtesan dresses and told her to put it on. The guards watched her dress too.

Once she was in her dress the guards brought in the makeup manager from the house Isabella de Luna. He did her hair, applied some blush and eyeshadow, then some lipstick. When he had finished the guards took her to the commandant’s office.

At first, the camp commander was courteous to her. He offered her wine, which she accepted, then offered her hors-d’oeuvres, which she declined. She fell back on her courtesan training and experience to manage the encounter, and it seemed like it was working, but that didn’t last.

Suddenly he dragged Cassie off of the couch by her hair. The commandant ripped her dress, slapping her in the process. He tossed her back onto the couch, yanking her torn gown off leaving her naked. When he grabbed Cassie, she phased out. To her, it seemed like she was leaving her body to someplace outside of reality.

When she returned to reality Cassie was back in her cell, she was naked, lying under her blanket. Cassie tried to recall what happened the night before. She had the impression in her mind that she had had sex, that she had been raped, but her body didn’t feel like it. From all that she had read, her courtesan training, and from talking to the other girls that had played out their client's rape fantasies she should have been hurting and feeling humiliated. But she felt nothing, her whole body was contradicting what her mind was telling her.

Cassie dressed in her camp overalls and waited to be taken to indoctrination. The guards came, but they didn’t take her to ‘class’, instead they brought her breakfast. Later when they brought her lunch she overheard them saying the camp commander had hung himself the night before. They also discussed that they’ve been ordered not to harm her in any way. All of this made Cassie very confused.

In the middle of week four Cassie was processed out of the camp, even though they hadn’t broken her. Her records were updated indicating that she was loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and she was transferred back to house Isabella de Luna, of Denver.

When she returned to the house Cassie was shocked to find it was under new ‘management’. It no longer followed the courtesan rules. There was no getting to know the client, no elegance, no propriety. Instead, the staff, whether male, female, or teen, were required to put on a lewd display for the potential clients. At the end of the performance, the potential clients would bid to possess that staff member for one hour. When that hour was up the staff member was required to shower and get prepared to ‘perform’ again.

Cassie was forced to learn a routine. She spent a week getting it down right. Tonight is her first time on the auction block.

While Cassie was adapting to the new ‘management’ she started to notice things she hadn’t before. There were several small things but the most important was she wasn’t aging.

Continue reading the story in the book:

https://books2read.com/u/m27NQd

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