To Save Lucifer
CHAPTER 7
AWESTRUCK

    He stood squarely in front of me and I could not keep myself from scanning his entire body. It felt as if my eyeballs were bulging from their sockets. This had to be the most gorgeous, beautifully proportioned, visually stimulating and totally spellbinding being that I had laid my humble eyes on, anywhere. I stood awestruck and motionless, allowing my eyes to fully devour the feast in front of me. I remembered seeing a picture of these guys somewhere. Of course it didn't do them justice at all. The powerful after effects were like shock waves but in no way was I alone, captivated by these intensely provocative sensations. Everywhere you chose to look in the entire room, meltdown was indeed occurring. A frozen look of disbelief was plastered across the face of each one of us in equal measure. Absolutely no one was capable of speech at this particular moment. I noticed that he was immediately enchanted by Catlain’s beauty, right off. I knew it, I just knew it would happen like that. I couldn't blame him either. Her beauty had always been riveting to me too. If I looked half as good as he did I would never settle for anything less than total perfection. It was clear to see that someone of his commanding appearance could nearly get away with just about anything he wanted to, especially where women were concerned. It wouldn't take much for me to entertain the thought of being a slave to his tamest of desires. The wilder ones would take some time to be worked up to. “It will be a pleasure to be working with you in the future sir,” I heard myself speak as he kissed the top of my hand.

     He continued till he had left his impression not only on our hands but also on our hearts. He chose to stand directly across from Catlain. Maybe it was my imagination but every once in awhile, he would wink at her. It could have been a twinkle in his eyes or something. It was just too difficult to determine while there were so many twinkles in my own eyes. This was sure to be an interesting situation. What was I supposed to do to get his attention away from Catlain long enough to even notice that I existed? To my knowledge, no one had thought about such a situation. I mean, what were we to do if the man we were assigned to seduce was attracted to someone else? I guess it would be simple enough for the others. They could just switch men. Not so simple though in my case. After all, the resistance had specifically chosen Lasiter to be my target. I wish I knew why they had done such a foolish thing. From the very beginning it just didn't make good sense to me. Who was I to question orders anyway? The resistance movement must surely know best. We were never told who we were receiving our orders from most of the time. It was much better that way for security reasons obviously.

    Lasiter was beaming with enthusiasm as he told us how extremely happy he was to finally meet us. According to him, we were a very special group of ladies, well deserving of the highest of praise. He congratulated us upon the completion of our studies. Currently, we had been the first group to do so. His voice was strong and forceful but there was also something quite playful about his personality. There I stood, staring deep into his mystical cobalt blue eyes. How unbelievably penetrating they were. It didn't fit that such a gorgeous being could be so cold and callused to the people. You sure couldn't tell by looking at him. He had the smile of an angel. How dangerous it was to compare him to an angel. From all that I had been told, he could only be an angel of darkness. “I would like to invite all of you girls to be my personal guests of honor. It would please me tremendously if you would sit at my table this evening at the graduation ceremonies. As a token of my appreciation I would like to present each of you with a special gift later this evening during the celebrations. There is also one more surprise that I would like to share with you now. I realize some of you have come great distances to be here. You were chosen because of your impressively high intelligence levels from amongst many other applicants. I can say that I am very satisfied with our choices. It would honor me if you were to remain within the compound in your own private living quarters with a room mate of your choosing if you do not like who we have chosen for you. During your training for TRACS you were provided host families. I am sure that you grew close to them but like anything else in life, it is time to move onward. By no means do we want you to feel pressured to do something that you are not totally comfortable with. The choice is yours to make. We would like you to know however that we have put forth a lot of effort and thought towards making these accommodations as comfortable and visually appealing as possible. We believe that the more comfortable you are, the happier you will be. The happier you are, the more creative and productive you will become. In which case, we all benefit.”

     Wow, didn't I hear something similar to that before? Maybe he had been programmed too. Wish I had been the one doing his programming. What a wonderful robot he could be. “I would like to show you the dwelling units at this time. You are free to take possession of them immediately if you like. I can have all of your personal items transferred at any time that is convenient to you. Please, do not worry about offending your host families. They are aware that these units were being prepared for you and they are in agreement with the transfer.” He led us into an area that was highly landscaped with a multitude of lush and diverse plant life. There were enticing pools with cascading waterfalls emptying into them. Everything was so different from the high tech, mechanical look of the towering tubular structures of Command Central, from the outside looking in. There were so few areas left uncontaminated and preserved for people to visually experience the beauty of nature. Places where one could go to see what it was like before the tremendous surge in technology took hold and later, took over. I couldn't believe my eyes that this refuge existed right in the middle of what I thought of as an utter war zone. Then again, I wasn't too surprised that the Command would have access to the very best of everything available. After all, they thought themselves to be above everyone else in importance. Those who were trapped on the outside were of little use unless they could somehow be controlled to do whatever was valuable to the Corps.

    We walked through an array of lovely gardens and orchards seeming so alive and vibrant. Not at all like the inner cities where everyone was just so tired of being tired. The inner cities appeared bleak and dreary, inundated by pollutants, by-products of the extreme use of non environmentally friendly technology. The people there were not motivated by a quality of life but concerned themselves with survival alone. I was puzzled as to why the Command should enjoy what was not available to everyone, it just didn't seem right. The more I thought of it the more aggravated that I became. We reached an area with a large elevator somewhat hidden into the side of a huge rock formation. There was just enough room for all of us to squeeze in as the elevator sped downward at an incredibly, lightning quick speed. It felt as if my jaws were flapping wildly on my face we were going so fast. There was no way of knowing how far underground we had traveled but I would venture to say that it was close to a mile.

    When the door opened, we were motioned to exit. Lasiter explained where we were headed. “This is where the living quarters are located for key personnel within the Compound.” Key personnel, ha, that must be us I thought as we all followed close behind. Quickly coming to a sudden halt as Lasiter reached out and entered a code which unlocked the door to the first unit. Once again, I couldn't believe my eyes. We were simply overtaken by the plush furnishings and ultra elegance of the rooms. Surely he figured it would be virtually impossible for any of us to refuse such a luxurious offer? After all, we were not in any position to argue the point. It didn't take a genius to figure out that these arrangements had been made so that we could be kept under easy surveillance. The problem was that these units were far from being considered as prison cells, physically speaking. A rat that was being kept in a cage wouldn't quickly realize it was being contained if its surroundings were so appealing and comfortable that its attention would be pre-occupied by all its playthings. Obviously, we were the new lab rats. Our every thought or action would be put under the microscope for further study and observation from hence forward. Fortunately, we happened to be clever enough to be just one step ahead of that plan, thus far.

      Lasiter asked if there were any of us who would not be happy or more comfortable with these arrangements. Of course no one dared to utter the slightest word of dissatisfaction with anything that he suggested. After he showed a few of the units, he suggested that Catlain and I might be impressed with the unit that he was about to show next.  “If you are pleased with this one by all means, feel free to move in, it is yours. I have studied all of your tastes and interests. It is my job to know my personnel and what would make them happy and productive. We want you to feel good about your position here and we always want you to be assured that you are important to the Corps. We tend to look at the Corps as a well maintained machine. When all the parts are of the highest quality, the machine runs smoothly. We recognize each of you as a top quality part.” He opened the door to the unit that he had already chosen for the two of us. I almost fell over when I looked inside. It was the most awesome looking digs I had ever seen, what a pleasure indeed. The bed was suspended in mid air. It looked like a huge pillow of cosmic blue, iridescent gel. The covers were translucent and light as the air itself. There were so many unique and beautiful things to look at that we both just stood there speechless for what felt like forever.

    I finally broke the silence with the statement that the place was just beyond anything we could have ever imagined to exist. There would be no need to ask us twice. “We would be very happy to accept your more than gracious offer sir. You can go ahead and send for our belongings as we would like to move in immediately!” He assured us that all of our possessions would be at our fingertips before we were finished looking the place over. He also reminded us of the ceremony as he went to exit the room. “By the way” he said, “you will find some exquisite garments in the closets that you might wish to choose something from for the evenings ceremonies. They are definitely suited for a number of various events and I am sure that you will be as pleased with them as you are the unit..”  Smiling at him, we told him how excited we were and that he had better believe that we wouldn't be late for any part of this evenings festivities. We would be there precisely on time. He informed us that he would be sending us personal escorts shortly prior to the time that the ceremonies would be commencing. As he walked away I watched him carefully, how he carried himself. You could instantly tell that he was a man of extreme confidence. As I shut the door I felt myself explode with enthusiasm. Quickly dashing across the room, I threw myself upon the bed like a small child. It seemed to bend around me, cradling my body completely. Engulfing me within its azure blue deepness. I felt as though it were caressing my tired aching muscles. Sending me into a state of ultimate relaxation. I thought about how poorly we had all been feeling just this morning.  What a complete turn around we had experienced.

   “I can not get over how neat this place is Catlain, What do you think about all of this, you haven't been saying very much about anything lately.” “I don't know what to think about any of this, Lyluth. Outrageous would pale for a definition. This place is what I would call totally unbelievable. Have you had the chance to scope out the bathing area yet?” “How could I?”, I exclaimed, “As a matter of fact, I hadn't made it past the front bedroom yet. Looks like there are just too many things to stimulate the old optic nerves. If there were a name for this place it would have to be wonderland. “ Though I was sure it was an elaborately concocted trap, a trap you are aware of ceases being a trap and becomes instead an inconvenience. Good for us we were already hip to these details before we got ourselves into this ordeal. All of it felt so good though, perhaps too good. “Well, you're really going to like this,” Catlain squealed.”  I followed her bubbly little voice until I had reached what looked like a tiny replica of one of the tropical garden areas that we had encountered on our way from the TRACS Unit before we went underground. It appeared that Command Control had as many levels below ground as there were above. The bathing area had a large pool endowed with a constant soothing trickle of water descending from an overhang sculpted to resemble rock. Not that any of us had ever seen such a thing before as this tropical paradise and that was one of the reasons why everything that we were seeing seemed so spectacular.

    The back bedroom was identical to the one in the front, structurally. There were only small differences in the furnishings. A separate recreational area came equipped with virtually everything that one could possibly desire for entertainment. Incorporated into the wall was a self programmable system with an unlimited visual library. Someone had told me that these systems existed but they were so costly that no one had them. Funny, I contemplated how odd it was for us to be thrown right into the middle of all this luxury and decadence. How easy it would be to get lost in the midst of all these material goodies. This was absolutely one heck of a powerful attention diversion tactic. It would be much too easy to learn to like the fine life at the expense of the majority of commoners who actually deserve it the most, according to their output of energy or productivity levels. Every time I turned around someone was talking of productivity levels. As if it were the end all method of measuring ones worth. Like some process of elimination procedure in which only the best producers are allowed to prosper? If taken a step further, they may be the chosen few who survive at all after the Command Control Corps is finished. It doesn't take much energy to tell someone else to do something, or watch them do it. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate full well being in a place such as this for as long as I can. I just feel it should be available to everyone to experience if they choose to do so. No doubt I'm going to enjoy it immensely while I am in it though, why not? People put their lives on the line for a lot less than this. It was good to know that we were capable of producing and cultivating such beauty and elegance. It sort of made me feel a bit noble in some small way.

    I was glad that Catlain was with me to experience the multitude of thrills that I was. I don't think it would mean much at all if there were no one to share it with. It was obvious that she was as happy that I was there to share these moments with her as I was. We were sure to be in for some interesting times but none of that much mattered at this particular moment. Right now, I was more interested in taking a plunge into that beckoning blue lagoon. Catlain was always so slow about getting ready for anything that I would be smart to beat her to it. There was absolutely no use in me waiting on her slow ass to do anything. There were men to do places to go and gifts to receive. Far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth. This time it was no horse I’d be looking at though nor was it a horse's mouth that I would be dealing with.  “Alright girl, “I called to Catlain, ”I can't stand it any longer, I've got to start getting ready for tonight. What do you think? You first dear or is it going to be me?”

    As far as being able to keep herself occupied, I was sure that there was more than enough available to keep her busy for some time to come. Since there was no audible response on her part, I took that it was a clearance for me to do whatever I felt like doing. Catlain was funny like that when she got caught up in something. Trying to take her attention away from whatever she was caught up in was a heck of a job. She had found something to get into already. Located off to the left of the entertainment room was a slightly recessed, brightly lit area. Everything there appeared to be bathed in multi colored lights. Catlain quickly acknowledged that it was in fact a bar. Completely stocked with bottles of all shapes and sizes containing an array of wonderfully brilliant colored liquids.  She stood transfixed by the scenery. “I think Ill check out what this little blue number tastes like. It has such a pretty color to it. You go ahead and get cleaned up while I kick back and relax a while OK?” Finally, she graced me with a response. No matter, I had already begun my own excursion through the magical jungle paradise that was calling to me to clean up my act and my bod. Catlain poured some of the azure blue liquid into a tall, slender, etched crystal vessel. Taking a small sip, she immediately declared it to be an absolutely, glorious tasting surprise. She visually traced it as it slid smoothly over her tongue and down her throat. It had a mysterious cooling sensation to it as it filtered through her system.

  What a tremendously wonderful feeling of tranquility and calm came over her entire body. “Gee, I wonder where they've been hiding this stuff? This is some great stuff to say the least.”  It was time for me to end my bathing experience and check out the new duds I would be wearing. I walked over to the closet in the front bedroom, sensing that this was to be my room intuitively. I opened the door to find the most glamorous clothing in existence on the planet. It was all too perfect. Surely, somehow, some way we would pay dearly for all this pleasure. It was never this easy, or at least it hadn't been before. I remember someone telling me a long time ago if something seemed too good to be true; you could just about bet your ass that it was. Your own personal truth was the only thing that one could be sure of. I stood with a glazed look at all the wonderful gowns on the rack in front of me. My eyes were magnetically drawn to a most outrageous fiery red gown that anyone could possibly imagine. Without looking any farther, I knew that this was what I would be wearing to the ceremonies tonight. Red was definitely my color. Practically everyone thought it was a great contrast up against my long shinny black hair. Every time I wore something red I was assured multiple complements. I held it up to me. It was awesome, not to mention, extremely sensuous not only to look at but also to the touch. We will soon see what old Lasiter thinks of this dress once it has become animated with a sizzling hot woman inside. I am guaranteed to get his attention or someone's.

    As I strolled through the rooms I happened upon the bar quite the same way Catlain had. The entire layout was gripping on the senses. It was difficult to keep from reaching for all the beverages that were so pleasingly stretched out before me. I too had been swayed by the allure of the same bottle that Catlain had experienced earlier. Slowly I swallowed a tiny portion of the strange brew. Ummmm, I took another sip of the blue hypnotic potion that lay quietly waiting for someone to partake in its pleasures. Seducing the mind of its taster. Once again, it flowed through my body as it had in Catlain’s; stimulating me with its tantalizing powers of tranquility. This could very well prove to be addictive if one wasn't extremely careful. Luckily, I had been able to maintain my desires to a point of not being controlled by them. The idea of keeping things novel enough that they remained as a treat was appealing to me. From experience I had become aware that abusive behaviors form as an individual tries to go just a little bit farther. Doing a little bit more to try and reach the same or better experience that they might have previously felt or experienced. In their frustration they become overpowered by their desire to capture that pleasurable feeling again and again. Of course all of this is just my own personal philosophy. It makes sense and works for me because it all comes straight from my own personal paradigm of reality. Not that there are a lot of people around who think quite the way I do. Myself being one of those extremely rare individuals who don't believe that the moment of orgasm is the ultimate climactic point of ecstasy. To me, it has always been the moment just prior that is the most intense moment of the experience. I know you probably wonder why anyone would think like that but the reason is that from the moment of climax, everything is downhill from then on. That heightened sensation is lost and can not be experienced exactly the same ever again. Why am I thinking about orgasms at a time like this? Could it be possible that this drink has some other titillating effect that I am just starting to touch upon? I found myself slowly strolling through my new home in an Euphoric, dreamlike state. Everything seemed slightly foreign or alien in its appearance. We were aware to such a small extent of the actual level of technology that had been achieved on Lucifer. The general public was definitely being kept in the dark about a huge number of things.

    The Corps operated strictly on a need to know basis. Nothing was ever offered up unless you had the need to know the information, which was relatively rare. There were very few individuals that were ever thought to need to know much of anything for that matter. Intelligence was highly prized and sought after by the Command. I tend to think that this was so they could constantly keep you close at hand and under surveillance. If there were any chance that you might be a threat of some type to the security of the power crazed, secret elite in charge of the whole show, they definitely wanted you at arms reach so that you could be hastily removed. That was one way to minimize the potential threat nice and neatly.

I walked into the entertainment room. There were so many gadgets; so many things to keep someone occupied. Every type of amusement you could possibly think of. I noticed a holographic vacation planner lying on the console in front of me. Why not, I thought to myself? I’d probably have quite some time before the queen would be finished with her bath. I’ll just sit down and check this baby out. Hmm, lets see what it would be like to experience a mountain resort area. I put on the visual simulator visor, which had built in surround sound. I searched the program menu screen until I found a place that looked rather interesting to me. I pushed start and there I was in an instant. I was suited up in the best cold weather gear that anyone could ask for. There was actually wildlife in the area. What a marvelous treat to see these creatures in the open terrain. There were no animals living anywhere that I had ever been to on the planet. They simply were not capable of existing with all of the pollution and energy overflow, all of which was created from the high tech machinery. There just were not that many open spaces left undamaged by the need for innovative technology. Technology that's original intent was to make everyone's life easier and more comfortable. At what price?

    The stress level of the common citizen was up 100 percent since the last statistics were compiled. That is a far cry from being comfortable to me. Look at what I am doing again, I am supposed to be enjoying a mini vacation but I can't seem to keep my mind on the illusion of the moment, not the one I am stuck in the majority of the time. I bent down slowly to see if I could coax one of the beautiful mountain creatures to allow me to touch it. It cautiously inched its way towards me. I could feel its reservation. It was relying heavily on its instinctual intuitiveness. Apparently, it deduced that I was not a threat to its well being. It lowered its head before me and allowed me to stroke it gently across the top of its back and then its head. I immediately felt a connection with the animal. I recognized its submission as a gift of trust. Offered to me out of respect for my being. What a tremendously emotional exchange had occurred between us. I felt a deep respect for this creature's existence. This was a great experience. Catlain’s voice echoed from behind me, somewhere off in the distance questioning my whereabouts. At first I was quite puzzled at how she happened to get into the holographic program with me. It wasn't long before I realized that her voice was coming from outside of my vacation wonderland. I thanked the creature for allowing me to pet it. It slowly turned and walked away. I reached up and switched off the power to my visor, which abruptly brought me back to the entertainment room.

   “Here I am Catlain, just enjoying some of the toys that we have newly acquired. By the way, wait until you see the clothes they set us up with. You know me; I'm totally fashion conscious. Especially when I can afford to be, and let me tell you honey, these people spared no expense to set us up. I hope its ok with you, I know how you like your privacy much more than I do. I figured that you might be more comfortable with the back bedroom. Of course we can negotiate if you like.”  “Oh no Lyluth, that's just the way I wanted it anyway. I see that you have been working on those psychic powers of yours again.” Statements such as these were better kept to ourselves. It wouldn't be beneficial to my well being for that kind of information to become common knowledge. I would be sure to become number one lab rat. “How was our bath my queen?” I giggled as I bowed down in front of her.  “Oh my lady, it was utterly exquisite”, she answered jokingly.  “Speaking of exquisite,” I interjected into our play, ”I think we might have a small problem with Mr. Lasiter. It is obvious he is much more interested in your beauty than he is with my plainness and I just don't know what we're supposed to do about it.  “I really don't see that there is such a big problem. I’ll just brush him off and let him know right away that my sights are set on Llewellyn. You'll see, once he gets to know you Lyluth; he won't stand a chance. Go on girl and just steal his hard little heart right away from him. By the way, they brought all of our stuff to us whilst my lady was in the lagoon. Yours is right over there in the hallway. I guess this is it, we are definitely in it now. No other way out but through.”  The night would be ours for there would be no stopping this dynamic duo. Lookout Lasiter and the rest of the magnificent meat, I mean men of the Command Control Corps. We were soon to be on the loose and that was exactly how we felt at the moment too.

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