by Robin Roseau
Then they stepped away, and the visor didn't begin to work until they were gone.
I looked around. I was in, as expected, a gym. It was fairly complete, with a great many machines of the sort found in any human gym on earth. I noticed there were no free weights. But everything was labeled.
The walls and ceiling were glass. The gym was brightly lit, and seeing through the glass was difficult, but I asked the visor, and it applied a polarizing filter that removed the glare.
I had, it appeared, an audience. Oh, it wasn't a huge audience, perhaps five or six aliens. But they were clearly watching me, leaning against the railing of the walkway above and looking down at me.
I waved at them. I didn't think they would realize it was a sarcastic wave, but I felt better for it.
Jasmine had as much as told me I would be on video. I wondered how many watched me that way. I wondered what they found so fascinating.
I looked around and spied the entrance to the showers. There was a rack with towels and a hook for my robe. I left the robe, grabbed a towel -- it was amazingly soft -- and turned to the machines.
* * * *
It felt good to exercise. It felt really good, actually. I'd never been an exercise freak. I liked to swim, but exercise had always been a necessary evil. But today, my body enjoyed it, and as I carefully stretched afterwards, I found that interesting. I wondered at it then dropped a message to Jasmine.
"Have you been doing something to me that would make me crave exercise?"
Her answer arrived as I grabbed my robe and was stepping through the door into the showers.
"You've been cooped up. Young human bodies such as yours require movement."
"That's not an answer," I sent back. "What alien tricks have you been performing?"
"No alien tricks. Maybe it was something in my oil."
At that, I laughed. "Funny."
It wasn't a changing room but just a shower area. There was a space for me to disrobe, and another set of hooks for my robe, and then a communal shower space. I was the only occupant.
At least the walls and ceiling were opaque.
"Are the cameras off?"
Ten seconds later, I received a call. I accepted.
"I thought I wasn't allowed calls."
"I am the administrator. I may speak to you if I so choose. I'm sorry. I can't leave you unobserved."
"So everyone is going to watch me?"
"No. You may have me or your human guards. The guards would be in person."
"What kind of mischief could I cause in here?"
"We're not discussing that."
"I promise to behave."
"I have promised no one is going to hurt you. You haven't believed me."
"Are you being petty?"
"I am doing my job, Sapphire."
I sighed. "I really don't care who watches me. I just don't want to feel like I'm on some sort of display. It's not my way. I'm not one of those people who is proud of her body, and I don't like anyone looking at me. I really don't like the thought of a bunch of people looking at me like I'm a bug under a microscope."
"No one is looking at you like you're a bug."
"Or a porn star, Administrator."
"No one thinks that, either."
"Is this some sort of alien reality show, Administrator? Who has been watching me? Do you make money from putting me on alien television?"
"Sapphire," she said, her tone gentle. "Anyone watching you does so with honor."
"People are people. Do you really mean to tell me no one is thinking, 'I'd love to bang that'?" I shook my head. "God. That's just disgusting. We're not even the same species. How is that different than if I look at a nature video and have the same thoughts?"
I had another thought. "Was my arrest videoed?"
"You weren't arrested. You were collected."
"Semantics. Was it videoed?"
"Yes."
"How many viewers have there been?"
"I'm not answering that. Please, Sapphire. No one else is watching now."
"Are you receiving complaints about it?"
"I'm not answering that, either."
"Was this ever about a privilege for me?" I asked. "Or a privilege for your viewers?"
"Sapphire, they're interested in you. You should be flattered. All the candidates receive attention, and while you aren't necessarily setting records, you're receiving more than your share of attention."
"Disgusting. This whole thing is disgusting. Do you swear no one is watching me?"
"Right now, only me. Would you prefer the guards?"
"Watch if you want. Should I put on a good show? Maybe I should try to be sensuous. Maybe I should envision you washing me. Maybe I should pleasure myself for you."
"Why are you suddenly so angry? You knew we were watching you. Only a few minutes ago, you were teasing me, even though you could see some of the people watch while you exercised."
I stared at her for a while then lowered my eyes. "I don't know. I think my resiliency is slipping. Everything is catching up to me."
Then I looked up, my tone sharp. "Watch if you want. But keep your tentacles to themselves."
"Of course."
I ended the call without another word.
I sighed, slipped out of the body suit, set aside a fresh towel, and headed for one of the showerheads.
I had intended to be efficient, but the water felt so good that I gave Jasmine more of a show than I intended. Oh, I wasn't lewd, but I allowed the water to beat down upon me for a long time.
My visor warned me when I was running low on time. I hadn't told it to, so that must have been Jasmine. I gave myself one more turn under the water.
There was a sign indicating a hair dryer. It was actually a tiny alcove, and when I stepped in it, gentle streams of hot air poured over my hair. There was a brush, and one wall was a mirror, so I was able to brush my hair out. I decided to braid it.
A minute later I pulled on my robe and then wondered what I was supposed to do. My visor solved that question.
"Step through the open door. The guards are waiting."
* * * *
I spent the rest of the day sitting or lying on the bed, lost to the visor.
At some point I napped, and I dreamt of the alien woman, but this dream was different. In it, we were alone in the center of the arena, looking at each other. We took turns walking around each other, and I knew she was appraising me as much as I was her.
She was tall, lithe, and muscular, and I admitted to myself: I enjoyed looking at her.
We didn't speak this time, and I was disappointed when the dream ended.
If there were more dreams, I didn't remember them.
* * * *
The visor helped me sleep until breakfast. Nervous, I ate exceedingly little, just some of the toast and a couple nibbles of sausage.
After cleaning up, I sat on the bed, staring at the wall. I didn't want the solace the visor offered. And I certainly didn't want to talk to any of the people responsible for my situation.
It was late morning before I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. The women in the cells near me were being taken from their cells, four guards entering each cell to shackle the occupant, and then she was led away by two women. There appeared to be several teams of women, but I only saw the two men.
They saved me for last, and it was clear when they skipped over me, walking past my window whereas they had been going from cell to cell otherwise.
I saw the last woman led away, and I couldn't even see the men, although when I looked up, there were still aliens watching everything. Watching me.
I wondered why they had skipped me. Were they skipping me? Had my fate somehow been changed?
No such luck. There was motion from my right, and when I looked, I saw the same four guards that had been escorting me. They moved to the front of my cell, and I stepped back. The men entered, then the women.
"Are you going to fight us?" one of the men asked.
"Why have none of you introduced yourselves? I don't know any of your names."
"Protocol."
"Fine. You're Larry. He's Curly. And you two are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum."
"Then she's Tweedle Dum," said one of the women. The other didn't respond.
"I'm going to call you Dee and Dum for short," I added. I looked back at the man. "Why was there a delay?"
"We handle the candidates as we're told. We don't typically ask why."
"Fine. Would fighting you do me any good?"
"Not to your dignity."
"How often does someone fight you?"
"Three or four in every batch."
"We had to drag three today," Dum said. "One balked as we pulled her from the cell. The other two began to fight at the entrance to the arena."
I turned away. "I shouldn't have asked."
"Are you going to fight, ma'am?" Curly asked.
"No, but I'm not sure I'm going to cooperate, either."
"That's fine, ma'am." The two men stepped forward and paused. "We're going to touch you now."
I said nothing, and they took my arms.
It was Dee and Dum that applied the shackles while Larry and Curly held me stiffly. I didn't fight, but I grew cold inside.
"Wait," I said.
"We can't, ma'am."
"I want to wear my glasses," I said. "I do not want this alien technology on my face. Will you change them for me? My glasses are there."
"Of course," Dee said before anyone else could respond. She lifted her hands to the sides of the visor. "Tell me when to remove it."
I entered interactive mode and commanded the visor to release. Everything went dark, and I felt it loosen over my face. "Now."
She was gentle, and equally gentle as she slid my glasses into place.
"The visor is better," Curly said. "Glasses can break. But we have a sport's strap."
"I go as a human. That technology is not human."
"I'm sorry," said Dee. "I forgot the strap." So she removed my glasses. Dum handed her a simple sports strap, and a moment later, I could see again.
"Thank you."
"Will you walk?" Dum asked.
I sighed. "I'll try." My nerves were wreck, and I thought I was going to be sick. I could feel panic edging around me, and I wasn't sure how long I would remain calm.
I'm sure whatever I did, they'd seen it all before, and I wouldn't surprise them.
They turned me and began walking me to the door.
"Wait!" Curly said. "She took off her visor."
They held me in place while he pulled a hood in place. He was gentle.
* * * *
They kept me hooded all the way onto the sands of the arena. I could feel the sun, and the noise was, as it had been two days ago, deafening. I thought perhaps there was an even bigger audience than before.
We walked across the sand -- there was no carpet this time, and I bemoaned what would become of my slippers. We came to a stop. My guards continued to clasp my arms, but new hands released my wrists from the chain around my waist. I was led forward one more step, and then my hands lifted, still handcuffed, and placed on top of a piece of stone. The stone moved, and my arms were locked in place. Then, and only then, did they remove the metal restraints. A moment later, the hood was removed, and I turned to watch my guards hurry away, not watching me.
I looked around. There were, as Jasmine had said, sixteen of us. We were arranged in a ring, each of us just far enough apart from the ones to the side that we couldn't reach out a leg and touch. Some of the women were crying. Some were looking around. I exchanged glances with a few.
Each of us was restrained in the same fashion. We each faced a pillar just a little higher than my waist, and the pillar had grown around our wrists and forearms. We were locked thoroughly in place.
Atop each pillar was a red ribbon. I could see my name upon mine. I stared at it for a moment. I wondered what it was for.
In the center of the circle stood Jasmine. She wasn't looking at us but was instead looking further around. And so, I did as well.
The stands were not full, but they were far fuller than two days ago. We had a real audience. I thought there were humans in the mix.
On the arena grounds were sixteen metal cages, their doors open. They were each perhaps eight feet tall and sufficiently large to easily hold several women. They looked just like the cages from some of my dreams.
Past the cages, arranged in a much larger circle around the perimeter of the arena, were clearly the combatants. Challengers. The aliens who thought to make the sixteen of us their mates. I would see they would not. But I looked from one to another, and I thought I recognized one or two. I couldn't see all of them, as they were obscured behind the cages, but it didn't matter.
I'd fight anyone who tried to touch me.
Here and there were racks of weapons. I saw a wide variety of weapons, although the only cutting weapons I saw were modest knives. There were no swords or spears. But there were large hammers and staffs in a variety of sizes. I didn't think I could even lift one of the hammers, but a staff might prove useful. Each weapon rack included what appeared to be a net, hanging at the end of the rack, and a trident, the tips blunted. There were shields large and small, coils of rope, more coils with whips, and a range of weapons I couldn't have named.
I was sure I wasn't the only woman horrified to see them.
I turned back to Jasmine. She was watching me. She paused, and then she spoke, her voice amplified for all to hear.
"Mating candidates," she said. "Your future mate is in this arena today." Then she spoke twice more in two other languages, I thought perhaps Japanese and one of the Slavic languages. After that, she delivered her message in the three languages.
"In a few minutes, the pillars will release you. You will have fifteen minutes to explore the entire arena. The exits will be closed. You may spend the time however you like, but if you attack one of the challengers, he is free to defend himself. If you bring a weapon within three human steps of a challenger, he is free to defend himself. Defending himself means he is allowed to capture you."
She looked around to all of us.
"From time to time, the women here collect weapons and seek to swarm the challengers. If more than two of you approach a challenger with weapons, they are all free to respond. Any woman holding a weapon is free to be captured. I do not recommend this tactic."
She paused, letting us think about that.
"At the end of your fifteen minutes, you will return to the inside of the circle defined by these pillars. At that point, a bell will sound, the exits will open, and the event begins. Any of you who is able to exit the arena via one of the exits is free to return home."
"Does anyone ever make it?" one of the women asked.
"Occasionally," Jasmine answered. Then she repeated the question and answer in the other two languages.
"You may utilize any strategy you desire. You may utilize any weapon you see here, although you will be stopped if you raise a weapon against any of the other humans. Don't try it."
"Stopped how?" the woman asked.
Jasmine pointed. "There are tracking weapons in each of the six towers. Each of you will be tracked at all times from each of the six towers. The systems are automated and exceedingly fast. The weapons do not kill you. They overload your nervous system. It is exceedingly painful and virtually instant. You will be in agony for hours afterwards. And then tomorrow you will find yourself back in this arena, but the exits will not open for you."
Important safety tip, I thought. Don't try to hurt one of the other women. Not that I would have.
"You may spend your time choosing weapons or devising strategy. You may spend your time reviewing the challengers. Most of them understand English, and some understand other human languages. You may question them, if you like, but you have only fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes wasn't much time, but I would be thankful the event wouldn't last
much longer than that. I was going to burn as it was. The sun was directly overhead, and there were no shadows I could use.
"Each of you has a ribbon. If you desire, you may offer your ribbon to one of the challengers. If you do, you are surrendering to that challenger."
"Not happening," I muttered. Jasmine turned to me.
"This is the first of at least three events each of you will experience. Unless you are taken as part of a partnership, this is the only event in which you will face multiple challengers. After this, you only face your prospective mate. The ribbon is an opportunity to choose who that may be."
I immediately began craning my head around, wondering if there was anyone, anyone at all, I could offer myself to, or at least whom I was willing to fight again. The odds right now were so poor, sixty-four to sixteen. There were four challengers per woman, and I was pretty sure they were quite good at preventing escape.
Jasmine let us look around for a while, then she spoke again.
"There is one other way in which you can avoid this challenge today. You can freely offer yourselves to one of the species that accepts only a willing mate. All of you have previously chosen otherwise, but you now have one last opportunity to change your minds. Many of you have suitors who would offer a proposal. They will approach now."
She gestured, and one of the entrances opened. Several aliens stepped onto the arena ground and walked towards us. I counted, and there were seven. Each of them stepped into the circle, then they each turned to one of the women, walked up to her, and began speaking quietly.
No one stepped up to me.
I turned to Jasmine. Again, she was watching me. And then she stepped forward. My heart began to pound even harder than it had been. She set her hands on mine, and she offered a tentative smile.
I wondered if she practiced that in a mirror.
She spoke softly, her words pitched only for my ears. And miraculously, the assembled aliens in the stands were silent, giving us this time.
"Sapphire Fletcher," she said. "I am fascinated by you, and I think you by me. Will you hear my offer?"
I considered her carefully. I couldn't speak, a lump in my throat. But I nodded.
"I will speak simply. I want you. I have never wanted someone the way I want you. I offer this. I will resign my position here, and I will take a position that would make you proud of me."
