Bound for the Future · Part 1 (1/2)
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"Think of it as a kind of theme park of the mind," Dr. Grace explained reassuringly. "We simulate your fantasies as realistically as possible, however extreme they may be. You experience them as if they were really occurring at the time. And afterwards, it's all over and nothing's changed. You get up and walk out the same person you came in."
Barbara certainly wanted to believe her. After all, she'd booked the appointment months in advance, taking time out from her own demanding schedule as a top corporate executive of the very mega-conglomerate that owned The Institute, just to come down and see for herself what all the buzz was about. She hoped she hadn't made the trip for nothing.
The facility seemed impressive enough, in a nondescript sort of way. Its imposing, mirrored facade was no less imposing than those of the other super-high-tech research and development operations that shared the rolling, park-like expanse of the industrial center.
The offices were sleek and efficient-seeming, bustling with competent-looking young employees. And Dr. Grace herself was a pretty impressive piece of work. With her statuesque height, tightly-wound black hair and angularly attractive features, she exuded an air of confidence that was downright contagious.
"I've read your reports," Barbara replied coolly, "and they certainly seem encouraging. But I'm not sure I can feel comfortable marketing this technology without understanding it better, especially if it's as revolutionary as you claim."
There was something just a bit chilling about the fleeting smile that crossed the doctor's lips.
"It seems to me you need to experience the process for yourself. We do have a prototype system on-line down in the lab if you'd care to try it out."
Barbara swallowed hard. This was what she had come down here for, but the idea was still more than a little intimidating. Fortunately, she wasn't given much time to think about it. Dr. Grace was already on the intercom, giving instructions.
Barbara couldn't help noticing the doctor's muscular physique, quite apparent under the severe black dress over which she'd casually tossed her white lab coat, as the two of them headed for the elevator.
Barbara's first look at the system did little to ease her growing anxiety. Located in a dimly-lit, round chamber, its most obvious component was a person-sized X-frame mounted on a steel pier in the middle of the room. The frame was padded in some kind of thick, rubbery material and unbuckled restraint straps dangled from it in profusion, along with an intimidating tangle of wires, tubes and hoses, snaking away toward banks of electronic instruments lining the walls.
On the way in, Dr. Grace stopped at a steel locker, opened it by punching up a code on an electronic keypad, and removed a perfectly gorgeous full-body suit in some kind of gleaming rubber.
"This is the heart of the system," she explained, holding the suit up for Barbara's inspection. "It's made of a revolutionary polymer developed right here in our labs. It's highly conductive, transmitting even the subtlest of micro-volt electrical impulses directly to the neuro-receptors in the skin. Every sensation you would feel if you were actually having the experience is generated in the main computer and programmed into the material of the suit. It creates a total sensory environment indistinguishable from reality. Of course, you'll need to undress in order to put it
The doctor wheeled over a steel cart for Barbara to put her conservative suit on as she discarded the jacket and skirt.
Barbara found herself wondering why she had chosen to wear a daring ensemble of low-cut black bra, matching garter-belt and seamed stockings for the occasion. When she slipped off her black panties, Barbara wondered if Dr. Grace would appreciate knowing the truth about a matter of considerable speculation in Barbara's office, namely whether or not Barbara's spectacular mane of blonde hair was natural or dyed. The evidence was there in
Barbara's neatly-shaved golden triangle. Tight, trim and tanned all over, Barbara had a body in which any woman would have taken pride, and she certainly did. Moreover, she was about equally disposed toward the affections of men and women and wouldn't have objected to the doctor's taking an other-than-scientific interest in her.
But if Dr. Grace noticed anything in particular about Barbara, she didn't mention it. Instead, she held out the suit as soon as Barbara was fully naked, pink nipples stiffening in the slight chill of the room, and helped zip her up in it. Barbara had never felt anything like it. An experienced erotic adventurer, despite her conservative appearance, Barbara was familiar with the textures of leather and latex against her bare flesh, but this was something quite different. The suit adhered to her skin on contact, conforming to every one of her many curves. It seemed to flow onto her like paint.
"I took the liberty of having the home office send down your measurements when you made your appointment," Dr. Grace explained to Barbara's comment on how well the suit seemed to fit.
Even the hood covering her hair and face was almost eerily comfortable.
Barbara couldn't help noticing that the suit, all-enclosing as it was, left certain strategic areas uncovered.
There were windows for her eyes, nose and mouth, openings through which her generous tits protruded boldly, and a large area of uncovered terrain between her thighs. Barbara could only speculate about the purposes behind these engineering decisions. She had, in any case, already decided to surrender herself fully to the moment at hand. That was why, to be honest with herself, she had come all the way out to the lab.
Following the scientist's instructions, Barbara stretched out on the padded X-frame. The members were just wide enough to support her body comfortably, though spread out in a rather alarmingly vulnerable manner. The sensation of alarming vulnerability increased steadily as the doctor buckled down the restraining straps, working her way methodically down from the wrists.
"In order for the artificial sensorium to function, you must be totally immobilized so as not to generate kinesthetic sensation from your own movements," Dr. Grace said, cinching down the wide strap around Barbara's middle. With the straps placed no more than six inches apart up and down the entire length of her body, Barbara would have to rate the apparatus as pretty effective, restraint-wise.
She wondered if the growing wetness of her pussy was obvious, spread out as she was. No mention was made of the subject, in any case. Dr. Grace made herself busy then, plugging wires into tiny outlets studded up and down the suit. Barbara felt her head being strapped down into a padded headrest with speakers built in next to her ears and a visor with tiny projection screens hinged to swing down over her eyes. The screens were blank at that moment, and Barbara was probably better off not being able to see the parts that came next.
It was bizarre enough, feeling the rubber tubes slide into her nostrils and the soft rubber pad being packed in between her lips. She was just as happy not to see the hoses leading away to the chemical generators that would produce the virtual smells and tastes that would accompany her simulated erotic fantasy.
Barbara felt a slight vacuum and then a strange tingling when the rubber suction cups were snapped down to her suit over her exposed tits. Her already-stiff nipples tightened a bit further as they were drawn up into the cups. Then came the most unsettling part, the insertion of some kind of apparatus through the opening between
Barbara's legs. She couldn't see it, but from what she could feel, it had at least three major components, a rather large, well-lubricated plug that slid easily and deeply into her pussy, a somewhat smaller version of the same thing that went into her a little further back and some kind of padded clamp that took a light but firm hold directly on her clit.
The whole device locked down to the frame with a solid click, so that even
Barbara's most powerful internal contractions wouldn't be able to expel
The system wasn't even turned on yet, but Barbara certainly was. She was also impressed by how deftly the Doctor had managed to get all the gear in place. Though utterly unable to move so much as a millimeter and despite the fact that every orifice in her body was fully stuffed with some kind of rubber-coated gizmo, Barbara felt weirdly comfortable. Unable to do otherwise, she seemed to relax automatically, sinking into a kind of trance as her body adjusted to its implacable immobility.
It was a strangely weightless feeling, despite the intrusive presence of the system's internal parts. Barbara heard faint mechanical noises through the padding over her ears, then Dr. Grace's soothing whisper through the speakers.
"You'll feet a slight stimulation throughout the suit as the system maps your body for areas of special sensitivity."
Sure enough, a wave of sensation swept up Barbara's body from the bottoms of her feet to scalp. If felt like the charge building up in the air before a lightning storm. Then, even more peculiarly, she felt her face warming up beneath the rubber hood, not from internal body heat, but from some kind of radiance, like a sun lamp.
"Now," Dr. Grace's disembodied voice reported, "the system is scanning your cortex for recurrent erotic themes to incorporate in the adaptive software." The radiant heat gradually faded.
Barbara heard a beep in the headphones. At the centers of the black visor screens over her eyes, a tiny, red dot of light appeared.
"The system is now fully operational," the doctor announced. "We'll be monitoring your vital signs, so that if they exceed your previously established stress tolerances, the program will automatically shut down. No matter what you see or feel, you will be in no actual danger at any time. All you have to do is lay back and enjoy the ride." The good doctor had quite a gift for understatement.
It was a ride and a half. The red dots winked out and suddenly the screens blazed with sunlight so bright it momentarily hurt Barbara's eyes.
When her vision cleared, she realized she was standing in some kind of an arena. From the architecture of the marble arches and rows of empty stone benches, she guessed it was of Late Roman
Empire construction. The air felt hot and dry on her skin, which was barely covered in any case by some kind of flimsy little tunic that left one breast fully exposed and the other hardly covered. She could feel the hot sand through her thin, gold-strapped sandals. She could also feel, most distinctly, the tightly wrapped leather thongs holding her wrists and ankles to a pair of posts planted in the ground, uncomfortably far apart so as to stretch her arms and legs wide, like a snared game animal.
Barbara was not alone in the arena. Nearby stood a half-dozen powerful looking men in leather fighting harnesses.
From their hardened, battle-scarred look, they could only be some of Rome's fabled gladiators. Their trainer, a tough, gnarled factotum with a mean squint, held a short, thick leather flagellum in one hand, swishing it casually in the air as he addressed the gladiators. "Got a treat for you boys today," he barked. "This arrogant little slave your Master purchased from the Greek trader yesterday evidently thinks she's too good to serve her owner's pleasure. Perhaps with a little persuasion, she'll serve yours instead."
Accompanied by rowdy cheers from the gladiators, he marched over to stand face to face with Barbara, who couldn't help a shudder of dread at this truly menacing experience. Without a word, he seized the front of her flimsy tunic in his mailed fist and shredded it right down the middle, laying her completely bare, the fabric sl
Bound for the Future · Part 1 (1/2)
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