by Mark Wandrey
"No," Aaron admitted and looked down, ashamed of himself. After a second he looked back up, defiance in his eyes. "Besides, I don't trust you. You'll just give me a damn red envelope and both of us will be on our way home."
Kenneth scowled, a look of anger crossing his face. "You doubt my word?"
"After that amusement park ride?" Aaron asked, cocking a thumb toward the quietly resting flier, "you're god damn right I do."
Kenneth laughed and clapped Aaron on the shoulder. "You have promise, kid," he said and turned to walk toward the ramp leading down from the landing pad. "Maybe you'll all take a note from this boy, and the only one of you to stay in her seat. A girl, at that!" Minu felt her cheeks turning red. "Everyone take your shit and follow me, this is going to be the longest week of your lives."
They were given ten minutes to drop their bags in the barracks, hit the rest rooms, and run to the assembly hall five hundred meters distant. For many, that included cleaning off vomit and blood from their clothes. Minu rushed through the door in five minutes, the last boy made it with seconds to spare. She knew in her heart that he wouldn't be there in a week. No sooner had he entered than the doors closed and a booming masculine voice spun them all around.
"Most of you won't be here at the end of the week!" Minu almost laughed, just managing to catch herself. A few others didn't have her self-control, and she noted the speaker's hard and sharp eyes taking quick note of those weak-willed candidates. "I am Second among the Chosen, Jacob, and I will be your worst enemy for the next week. I wish to dissuade you of any false beliefs that you will one day be Chosen. Some of you might make it through the Trials, but still never be Chosen. Only our Concordia masters decide who is actually Chosen, and they take this choosing seriously. "
He took a long moment to look over the crowd of kids, more than a thousand strong. Minu hadn't even been aware as she arrived that such a large group was already in the room. Hers was the last batch to arrive just in time.
"Why are you here, more than a thousand of the smartest kids your own age? What do you want from the Chosen? Are you going to get something from this service? Forget it, just fucking forget it. We're only here for one reason."
"Serve the Tog!" roared a dozen voices. They all looked around in shock, realizing that the assembly hall was ringed with black jumpsuited men all standing at attention. "Repay our debt!" they all yelled in chorus.
"To serve is your duty to humanity and your fellow Chosen as a representative of our masters and your species. In repayment of the debt owed to our masters, we work to repay it so others need not."
The Chosen fell silent and Jacob let them think before continuing. "We're not here to 'get something' from being a Chosen. This isn't the way to get a leg up in life, or to strut around in these fancy black jumpsuits. They aren't that comfortable really." The crowd chuckled and he smiled a little. Minu was more worried by the smile than anything he'd said so far. "We're here because the survival of our species demands it.
"Five hundred years ago we were saved from the brink of extinction. Our benefactors and saviors, now our masters, decided we were worth saving and plucked us from the doorstep of oblivion and gave us this world as a nursery. The universe is not a safe place. Thousands of species live, strive, succeed, and fight in our own backyard. In repayment of the debt we incurred for being saved, we few Chosen serve the Tog. Through our service, our descendants will gain citizenship, and, eventually, freedom to someday join the community of species that make up the Empire of the Concordia.
"We are not slaves, as you all know, but there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. We are all taught in school about what happens to species who do not repay their masters. Some incur that debt like we did, by nearly perishing during our infancy, while others foolishly consume goods offered by greedy species who then make them debtors in their climb to becoming full members of the Concordia. It's not fair, but what in life is? So we serve. And you just might die on a world a thousand light years away. Such is our way of life.
"Your service won't be without benefit. As a Chosen you will have access to technology undreamed of by the average human. You will go places and see things that your parents and family could scarcely imagine. And you will lessen a debt to your children and be remembered forever. It's not an easy life, but it is the life we have chosen. Those among you who will take up that challenge, raise your right hand and repeat the creed with us once more."
"Serve the Tog!" Minu screamed at the top of her voice with the others, “Repay our Debt!” She was only dimly aware of the few who were quietly being escorted out of the room as she cried it out, over and over.
Finally Jacob brought them down to quiet again. "Your Trials began the moment you arrived at Steven’s Pass. Every moment of the next week you will be under a microscope. Each move you make, every time you eat, whenever you take a shit, we'll be making notes on you. Being Chosen is not just brains and balls; it's also character. The brightest, strongest, bravest man may not make a suitable Chosen if he won't fit the mold. Only one in five who took the written tests was invited here. More than a dozen haven't even made it to this hall after they arrived. Five more left a few minutes ago. We will be whittling away at your numbers every moment of every day until just a hundred of you remain. From that group the Tog will take as many as they want. In past years they've picked as many of ninety-four, and other times only one. We don't understand why, and it is not our place to make that kind of judgment. We serve our masters.
"Now," he said and turned to nod to a Chosen who'd moved up to his right, "let us begin."
The other Chosen hopped up lightly onto the platform next to Jacob. He was a huge black man with no hair and more muscles than Minu had ever seen on a man. He had a jaw seemingly made of dualloy and the most intense green eyes that reminded her of her own. He spoke in a booming baritone voice. "I am Chosen trainer Dram, and I'm your worst nightmare. From now on you’re not candidates, you’re not kids, you’re not even human. You are all bugs. When I ask you your name, you will reply with bug then your name. You, what is your name?!" he demanded of a boy up front.
"Bug Bishop, sir."
"Very well, we have a quick thinking group here. My ten assistants and I are going to tear into you like a kloth after a cow. We are going to push, prod, shove, screw, fold, spindle, and mutilate you until you either die, quit, or make it to the end.
"If you expected a neat series of tests you're about to be sorely disappointed. There will be tests, but they have no schedule, you'll have no time to prepare, and there are only two grades. Pass or fail. Each test you fail, each time you make a mistake, any time you piss one of us off, you earn yourself a drag." He held up what looked like a white arm band made of fabric. By the way it moved, it held something heavy. The ten Chosen assistants appeared from exits and began moving through the crowd, picking kids and clamping a drag on one ankle. "Those earning their first drags are the ones who laughed at Second Jacob back at the beginning of his speech. This is to remind you we are not kidding.
"If you remove the drag, you’re out. If you lose the drag, you’re out. We won't fail you in these Trials; from this point forward you will only fail yourself. Now, time to get into your uniforms. Everyone strip that shit off!" No one moved immediately and Minu felt a sudden jolt of fear shoot up her spine. Was he serious? She hadn't spotted a single girl in the crowded hall yet. An instant later, the ten trainers pounced on the candidates closest to them and started slapping drags on their legs. In moments, the room was full of clothes being tossed aside as they all struggled to strip as quickly as possible in the dense throng of kids. She hesitated another second until a Chosen turned and looked. Her fingers began to work of their own accord. He took a menacing step toward her and she moved faster. He passed by toward a boy who had not begun to undress.
A whole range of emotions moved through her as she unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall from her shoulders, unlatched her pants and slid them over her hips and to the floor with her shir
t. First she felt embarrassment, then anger at being forced to submit to this humiliation, then pure cold fear as she was down to her panties and bra. She was quickly becoming surrounded by naked boys. She did her best not to look, and failed miserably. The boy to her right turned slightly toward her, his manhood clearly and lewdly just hanging there. She coughed and turned the other way only to see another boy bouncing on one foot as he tried to remove a sock. Everything in and around his hairy crotch was bouncing one way or another. She added a new emotion to the list: disgust.
"Get it all off!" Dram yelled. Minu gasped and realized that bra and panties wouldn't be good enough. The indignation was incomplete at this point; there was one more step to take. Then she saw her.
About twenty feet away, Minu saw another girl in a momentary parting of the naked boys. She was as dark-skinned as Dram and she was as naked as the day she was born. She stood there staring off into space, a look of bored indifference on her face, arms folded under her breasts and making no attempt to cover her crotch. It was like a cool drink of water on a hot dry day. A moment later, Minu was just as naked and almost as unperturbed. At least she was doing her best to appear unperturbed.
There were a few squabbles going on over the forced nakedness. As a way of looking away from the disturbing parts she looked around at the feet nearest her. A few had a drag now, one owned two, and another three. What sort of sense did they make? Was the embarrassment supposed to keep them in line? A mumble of conversation nearby made her turn to look. There, two boys were unabashedly staring at her breasts. She felt her face and neck get hot. Then she looked down and saw for the first time that boys could 'change'. What was gross and hanging, was now larger and standing. Of course she was completely mortified.
"Learn to control yourself," a Chosen growled at the now equally embarrassed boy as everyone around him laughed and pointed. He'd earned himself the nickname Boner, and a pair of drags, which were installed from behind the boy for obvious reasons. Minu felt a little better.
Time began to stretch out and slow down as they all stood there naked. The first kid who tried to sit on the floor got a drag, after that they all stood. Finally she realized everyone around her had gotten themselves an eyeful of her body and they were just trying to stay awake. She wasn't interested in looking at any naked boys; she wished she could move toward the other girl she'd seen. That other girl seemed so self-assured, naked there in front of all these nasty boys.
Aside from hunger, boredom was her only concern. After a half hour, she could see that many of the other candidates were already struggling to stay awake.
"What are you all waiting for?" Dram's voice suddenly boomed out. A couple of them squeaked in surprise, one even screamed. The tension level was growing steadily. "Four of you are going to quit, I know it. I can fucking taste it! We're not leaving until at least one of you quits."
"I have to go to the bathroom," someone said from the crowd. To Minu's surprise, there were no repercussions to the comment. When nothing happened to the one who spoke up, others mumbled agreement, even a few voices raised in complaint. What purpose was served in having them all stand there naked?
"So, what am I supposed to do about it?" Dram asked. Someone moved toward a door and a Chosen instantly intercepted him. Another drag was handed out. The complaints got louder. "I already said no one is leaving until someone quits."
"Then how are we supposed to go to the bathroom?" a boy right next to Minu asked.
"You can't leave," Dram reiterated, "if you have to take a piss, your options are limited. What's the problem?" he growled dangerously as the voices rose in complaint again. They quickly quieted once more. "You want to be Chosen? How many human-equipped bathrooms do you think are out there in the universe? Going to be challenging finding a urinal on Herdhome. Most of the species I've met consider the elimination of waste to be a function below notice. We humans are rather fussy about the whole process. The Tog are actually amused by our shyness concerning our basic biological functions. Once you've seen a couple Beezer bumping uglies on the sidewalk, you'll have to learn to adjust your sensibilities.” A couple people laughed; he paid them no mind. “You’re going to have to learn to adapt, and that means reevaluating your barriers. At the very least, it means learning to hold it until an opportunity presents itself.”
He finished his lecture and crossed his arms to wait. Minu thought about how full her bladder was and thanked the fates that she'd skipped that extra soda pop on the dirigible. She bet there were others who were cursing those same fates. Another half hour and she could hear moans from around the room. Fifteen more minutes and several were sobbing. Someone was begging a Chosen and getting no sympathy. Finally, a boy a few feet away cried in dismay and Minu turned to see him urinating uncontrollably on the floor. He burst into tears, covering himself with both hands and ran for the door, urine still pouring everywhere.
“We have a winner,” Dram said in his deep voice. “Who's next?”
* * *
As Minu was discovering, the Chosen were true to their word. It was another hour before they left the room. Two more boys quit at the same time, which seemed to please Dram, who dismissed them to be escorted back to their barracks.
Each group of roughly one hundred 'bugs' was assigned their own Chosen who took charge of them. They were led down the tiled hall on frozen feet. Minu was a little surprised how easy it was to get used to being naked; she'd completely forgotten her clothes were still sitting back in the assembly hall until they entered their barracks. Part of one wall was polished dualloy and she caught sight of herself walking naked with the rest of her class. She reached the bunk where she'd left her bag and got another nasty surprise. It was gone. “Well, that figures,” she said to herself. Someone yelled in anger and she shook her head. “Should have expected that,” she said, and sat down on the mattress, quickly crossing her legs when she remembered she was naked. A second later, a pair of long, shapely black legs walked up and Minu looked up at the girl who'd been her inspiration a short time ago.
"Need a bunk mate?" she asked Minu.
"Do I ever!" Minu answered, and jumped up to shake her hand. The other girl shook her head and pulled Minu into a hug. Their breasts pressed together provocatively, stunning her with yet another unique experience. Several boys whistled and hooted at the scene so Minu quickly pushed the girl back. "I'm Minu," she said, feeling a little hot and confused.
"Cherise Macubale," the girl said, and smiled before looking over the top bunk. "You mind if I'm on top?"
"That sounds like fun," a boy nearby said, drawing a chorus of laughter.
Cherise turned and looked the boy in the face, then slowly moved down to look at his crotch. "Oh, I don't think you'd be up to it." The laughter turned to roars of applause and the embarrassed boy was pummeled with pillows and blankets. Cherise never worried about harassment after that moment, at least not to her face.
Cherise grabbed the blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her body. It barely covered her from breasts to waist, she was that tall. Minu thought that it somehow made her look that much more sexy, so she elected to do the same for herself. The blanket on her went low enough to look like a rather short skirt. Most of the boys elected to just drop on a bed and lay around naked until something happened. Minu sat on the lower bunk next to her new friend and tried not to watch a boy nearby lewdly scratching his testicles.
Cherise noticed where she was looking and chuckled. "Boys are just wired differently," she said. "I have six brothers. It matters not their age, they are just different. Mothers help to make them a little less crazy. My mother spent half the time trying to keep the littlest boys clothes on. Once they are smart enough not to poop wherever they might be standing, she gave up and let them run around naked." Cherise looked to one side of the dorm where there was still a line waiting for the bathroom. “Glad I didn't have another drink on the dirigible.”
Minu smiled at the private joke. "You’re from the Desert Tribe, aren't you?"
"Wow, that few?"
"We are a simple people; most learn from their parents and attend no schools. It is hard to be advanced enough by this age to pass the written exams."
"Then how did you?"
"My father was a very successful miner. He owns many acres of land with salt and borax deposits. So he has access to computers. On my fifth birthday, I surprised him and asked for a computer instead of a doll. He then surprised my mother and gave it to me. The rest is, as they say, history. Where are you from?" They spent an enjoyable half hour getting to know each other until their Chosen tramped nosily into the barracks.
"On your feet, bugs, and come get your clothes!" Minu noted that he wore a utility belt with a large number of drags fastened to holders. She got up and followed behind Cherise toward the Chosen. On the way, she caught sight of Aaron and waved, glad that another of her friends was in her own group. She was also glad to see he'd wrapped a blanket around his middle, showing that he at least had some modesty. He almost seemed disappointed to see her, then realized he'd been stealing looks at her now-covered body. Her cheeks got hot again completely against her will.
"Pip and Gregg are here too," she heard him say, and she smiled big, really happy now that they were all here. As they bunched up nearer to the Chosen, they got close enough for her to introduce Cherise. The two shook hands and exchanged some quick details before they reached the end of the line.
"Brown suit?" asked a boy just in front of them. "Why not black?"
