Pleasure State
Chapter 1
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“That’s so dumb, come on,” Theo said, scoffing at the TV. He was reclining on an armchair in the corner of the living room, while Ben, Marc and Trish shared the sofa. Sam was sitting on the floor, cross-legged.
“It’s just a commercial,” said Sam. “Chill out.”
Theo grunted as the TV went back to the movie they were watching. He shifted in his chair, sprawling out further, letting his tall frame take it over and long brown hair dangle over the side. Marc was shorter, slim and wiry, with sharply trimmed black hair and tanned skin. They often argued, but Trish always calmed things down. She was curled up at the end of the couch, trying to focus on the movie. Sam leaned over to grab some popcorn and blocked the view, so Trish gave her a not-that-gentle kick in the side. She got out of the way quickly. Trish was strong, a blonde-haired amateur boxer, and Sam was a skinny nerd who had never been in a fight in her life. Ben said very little. He never did. He was the quiet man of the group and ed them occasionally for social gatherings. Mostly he stayed at home, and when he was with people, he remained silent most of the time. When he did talk though, he tended to make everyone laugh.
The group had been friends for years, ever since they were in school together in one of the lower-class technical academies in the Circuit District. It was home to most of the seedier businesses in town that wouldn’t fly in the Upper Quarter or the Ziggurat. The apartment the group were in, shared by Sam and Theo, was above a sex shop that moonlighted as a brothel. The sounds of sex often came through the walls. It had reached the point where Theo found it hard to sleep without it. Sam hated it, she had always been awkward about sex, and Theo had left the details of what they were living above out when they moved in. The rent was too low to leave now, somehow not jacked up like everywhere else. Despite the damp, the cracks in the walls, the flickering lights and the regular thumps and moans and low growls from below, it made sense to stay.
“Man, screw Caliacorp though,” Theo groaned.
Trish looked over at him and shook her head, “we all hate them, but whatever, just watch the movie.”
“No, we should be doing something about them,” said Theo, “they’ve ruined basically everyone’s life.”
“I mean he’s right,” said Sam, “you either work for them, or you’re screwed. They make everything, sell everything. There might as well be no government, just them.”
Marc leaned forward and spoke in a conspiratorial tone, “I hear there’s a resistance, wants to take ’em down.”
The lights flickered. A loud groan floated up from the building below.
“That’s just a rumour,” Trish said, “no way would that happen. They’ve got cameras and guards everywhere.”
“I think it’s real,” Ben said, making everyone turn to look at him. “Surely people can’t just sit here and do nothing while a corporation controls their lives, can they?”
“Dude, find ’em and I’ll ’em,” laughed Theo, “I wanna mess up anything with Calia’s name on it. That bitch.”
“If she’s even real,” Sam said.
Trish turned the TV off. “Ok, forget the movie, we’re gonna talk about this, let’s talk about it.” She stood up, her blonde hair swishing around her shoulders as she adjusted her short skirt. “CaliaCorp has ruined this city, they’re taking over the damn world, how did it even get so bad?”
“They make everything so cheap,” Theo groaned, “and nobody makes enough money to choose something else.”
Marc shook his head, “it’s more than that though man, they’ve bought up half the city, their employees live in all the good places and come down to our area to… well you know…”
“To fuck and drink and drug themselves senseless,” Ben said.
Everyone laughed. Sam uncrossed her legs and stood up beside Trish. “You know them the second you see them too, always so clean cut and boring.”
“Some of them are pretty hot,” Marc said, “I mean I’ve seen some seriously sexy people come down here, can’t believe they need to pay for a good time.”
“Right, right,” said Sam, agreeing almost immediately. “Yeah, I guess rich people can look pretty hot with all that money for gyms and haircuts and whatever.”
“Wonder what it’s like, to just have all that cash,” said Theo, “you could do whatever you want, right?”
“Yeah,” Trish replied, “that’s why they come down here, because they know they just need to dangle a little money, we can’t exactly turn it down.”
Everyone went quiet, thinking about the ways CaliaCorp affected them. The company had grown from a small business to a manufacturer of products, to a media company, an energy company, to who knew what else. Their fingers were in whatever pie they could find. If there was a business opportunity, CaliaCorp would find it. No matter what it was, from the high-end property market right to sex work and casinos. Wherever they went, they pushed out the competition. They seemed to just enter a market and the competitors folded in a matter of weeks or months. Legislation was changed to accommodate them, more and more people worked for them every day, and those who didn’t still consume their products, watched their TV network, used their services. It had been years of expansion, from city to city, country to country. Nothing could stand in their way, and everyone in the room knew it. Total domination.
“I think I’m going to head home,” Ben said. “I’ve got some things to do tomorrow.” He stood up and Marc followed suit. “Yeah, I’m gonna head too. Enough heavy talk for one night.” He walked out after Ben. Sam and Theo looked to Trish, wondering if she would go too. She hesitated, as if she wanted to stay and continue the conversation, solve the world’s problems and right wrongs. Instead, she grabbed her jacket from the couch, said goodnight to Sam and Theo, and left. The door clicked shut behind her and a cloud of dust floated down from a crack in the ceiling.
“Weird night,” Theo said.
“Yeah,” Sam replied, “keeps getting worse, huh?”
“Sam, what the hell are we gonna do? This place is a craphole and what are our choices? Work for CaliaCorp or live here forever?”
“It’s not fair, is it? Some company having that much power over our lives.”
Sam looked around the room. The place was dingy, dirty and dark. Previous residents had left stains on the walls and the furniture in ill repair, couch torn, chairs cracked, tables scraped. Cracks lined the ceiling and black mold dotted the corners. The low-power bulbs hardly helped, but anything brighter was more than their landlord would pay for. Sam and Theo had been there for two years and every day something new seemed to go wrong.
“I think I’ll turn in,” said Sam.
“Yeah, no worries. I might just chill out here and watch TV for a while. Need to relax.”
“Just keep the volume down alright?”
“Sure, goodnight.”
“Night.”
Sam went to her room, leaving Theo alone in the living room. The low moans of pleasure from downstairs leaked through the thin walls and floor. More noticeable now, in the silence left in the wake of visitors. He picked up the remote and flicked through channels until he landed on one of CaliaCorp’s many. Like a lot of their entertainment, it was essentially just softcore pornography masquerading as plot-driven drama or reality show. Theo paused on it because he saw a tall woman in a business suit. Her pencil skirt accentuated her long, shapely legs and a tight jacket and silk blouse hugged her figure. She leaned over the desk of her employee and gave him a great view of her cleavage. Theo loved tall girls. There was something enticing about the show too, the music maybe. It just made him feel relaxed and horny.
Theo reached down into his pants and started stroking his cock absent-mindedly. It was how he usually watched TV. The woman on screen slowly unbuttoned her blouse. Each time she popped a button her cleavage bulged further out, and Theo stroked himself a little faster. Soon all the buttons were open, and she stripped off her jacket, then stood over her employee holding the bottom of either side of the blouse and showing off her toned, tanned stomach and breasts in a black lace bra. She looked stunning, towering over her employee, a meek man behind her desk. With a smirk the woman crooked her finger and beckoned him to stand before her, then when he was looking up at her gorgeous face, she pointed a finger to the ground, and he fell to his knees.
Theo liked tall girls, but he always saw himself as dominant in the bedroom. He just liked how long their legs were, but this show got him hot. His cock was rock hard and the low, pulsing rhythm that played in place of dialogue a massage for his ears. The man on his knees began to kiss and lick the woman’s patent black heels and Theo’s mouth fell open, drool leaking from the sides and falling onto his chest. It was so sexy to see that woman just completely dominate her employee, as she kicked him over and sat on the desk above him, dangling her shoe from her foot and swaying it rhythmically as the employee dragged himself up off the floor. Theo stared wide eyed, totally entranced by the swinging shoe at the end of a long leg encased in stockings. The woman’s legs were crossed and the subtle line of muscle that ran down her thigh was enough to send Theo into a rapture of pleasure. She was incredible. She let her shoe fall to the floor and put her foot into the mouth of the employee, who sucked on it eagerly. With her other foot she kicked his hands until he reached down to his crotch and opened his tros, revealing his hard cock. Then she began to stroke slowly up and down it with her nylon-clad toes.
Theo felt every stroke as he pumped his own cock in rhythm with her motion. Her long, perfect legs going up and down and up and down and her toes being sucked, her pretty little toes. He drooled even more, and the rhythm of the music picked up as the employee began to quiver and twitch. Theo did the same, he felt pre-cum slide from the tip of his penis and the tall woman peeled off her shirt, leaving just the bra and skirt. She expertly manipulated the employee with her feet and looked straight at the camera, straight at Theo. With a smirk she started to caress her cleavage and nod. Theo nodded with her. Leaving one hand to squeeze her nipple underneath her bra, she held the other one up and began to close her fingers down. The employee and Theo were ready to explode.
She let one finger fall, two, three. Theo was on the edge, so close and he knew he had to wait. He did not think about why he knew, or how, it just made sense. Another finger down, one left. Theo desperately pumped himself and her foot rapidly stroked her employee’s throbbing member until she dropped the last finger and Theo and the man on screen exploded, shooting hot, sticky cum everywhere. The woman pulled her foot from the employee’s mouth, and replaced it with the other, which was now soaked in cum, sticky white globs all over the black stockings. She held it up to the employee’s mouth and he licked at it, grimacing as he lapped up every drop of his cum. Theo looked down at his hand, covered in the same substance, then back at the screen. He shook his head.
“No way,” he mumbled.
He rubbed his hand on the couch to clean it off and went to bed.
Chapter 2
Ben looked up at the enormous tower of glass and steel that stood in the centre of the city. CaliaCorp headquarters. The largest building in the city, and the world. It was 182 stories tall and inside thousands of workers milled about in offices, restaurants, several gyms, pools, conference rooms, a cinema and whatever else you could imagine taking up space in the headquarters of the biggest company on the planet. CaliaCorp overtook all their competition, and quickly, relatively speaking. The building should not even exist, it was objected to by almost everyone in the city when the plans went in, including the mayor and most major politicians. They quickly changed their minds after meeting with CaliaCorp. Ben wondered what they had done to sway such influential people, then smirked when he realised how easily the wheels of government were greased.
He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs that led to the entrance. Through the main revolving door, a massive lobby greeted him, with marble floors, wooden walls, and gold trim on absolutely everything. It was incredibly glamorous and tremendously impressive. As was the gorgeous receptionist sitting behind a desk beside the lifts. She had a short brown bob haircut, huge blue eyes accentuated with eyeliner flicked up at the sides, and an almost unprofessionally-low-cut black dress. She leaned forward and batted her eyelashes at Ben as he approached her. He wore a suit and slung a satchel across his shoulder, trying to be as professional as possible, but this woman was incredibly distracting.
“Hi there, how can I help you today?” she asked with a beaming smile.
Ben’s hands were shaking, and he gulped before he spoke. “Hi, um, I have a job interview on… I think it’s on floor 40.”
The woman leaned forward, still smiling, and put her elbows on the desk in front of her, pressing her breasts together, further accentuating an amazing cleavage. Ben glanced, then looked back to her eyes, turning red. She raised her eyebrow just a tiny bit.
“Go right on up,” she chirped, “and good luck honey.”
Ben nodded his thanks and hurried to the lift. His cock was being very uncooperative and starting to grow and he practically threw himself into the thing and pushed the button for 40 as quickly as he could. He hoped nobody else would walk in but just as the doors began to close a hand with long blue fingernails reached in and it reopened. Ben’s eyes widened as an even more beautiful woman walked into the lift. She had long black hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail, almost as tight as the suit she wore, a grey jacket and skirt over a blue satin blouse that matched her nails. Her blue heels matched them too, and the black tights she wore made them pop. Ben found himself looking down at them, then up her legs to her tight ass and slim waist and ample chest and then he came face to face with her.
“You could have held the lift for me,” she said.
Ben frowned, “I didn’t realise, sorry.”
She groaned and turned around to press a button, then stayed facing away from Ben as the doors closed and the lift began its slow climb to the fortieth floor. Ben found himself staring at her ass as they moved up, it was incredible, he imagined she must be very fit to have such a curvy behind but a tiny waistline. Then he tried to shake the feeling off and why he was there in the first place. He needed a job, and he needed to get out of the awful part of the city he lived in. There was nothing else available but CaliaCorp. He didn’t want to tell his friends because of course they would be angry, but if he could get away, and help them get away too, maybe they would understand. He just wanted a better life, to be free of the worries and stresses of scraping cash together for rent and food. All that worry, all the time, it took a toll. The job would make life so much easier. Great salary, free meals, health and dental. And now it turned out that lots of absurdly attractive women worked there too. He hoped it was the right decision.
The lift stopped at floor 33 and the woman got out without even looking back at him. Ben watched her ass sway back and forth as she walked away into some sort of lab area. He could just about make out some men in a glass-walled office in VR headsets. The woman walked into that lab and the doors of the lift closed before Ben could see any more. A few moments later it opened on floor 40.
Ben stepped out onto black carpeting and white walls with gold-framed paintings lining them. Each one showed a surprisingly erotic scene, for an office. Painted in oil with a renaissance style, they were elaborate scenes of mostly BDSM. Men and women chained to walls and floors, caged, kneeling on all fours being whipped. Each one extremely detailed and tremendously impressive, masterworks of erotic art. Ben found himself staring at each of them for a moment as he walked down the long corridor toward a big black door, which he assumed would take him to the room he would be interviewed in. By the time he got there his head spun with arousal from the paintings. He was not particularly kinky, but the detail and beauty of the women in the paintings really got to him.
He pushed open the black door and emerged into a room with floor to ceiling windows and a single desk, with three women behind it.
“Ah, Mr. Wheeler, take a seat,” said the one in the centre. She was in her forties, Ben guessed, and had an aura of power. She must be in charge. Her shoulder-length brown hair was sharply trimmed, framing an angular face with piercing blue eyes. She wore a business suit which hid her figure, but her eyes alone were enough to make Ben feel weak, especially after the barrage of sex he just saw. Maybe that was the idea, to put him off balance and see how he reacted.
To the left of her sat a younger woman with a pixie cut and cute, rounded face. Freckles peppered her nose and cheeks, with bright pink gloss on her lips and a low-cut top. She looked dressed for a party, not a job interview, but the style suited her, she was undeniably pretty. To the right was a woman with long red hair and a green blouse, open and revealing an ample cleavage. The rest of the women’s bodies were hidden behind the desk, but Ben caught a glimpse of high heels as he pulled out a chair to sit down opposite them, opening his satchel and pulling out three copies of his resume. He placed them on the table and pushed them toward each woman in turn.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” he said.
The younger woman smiled at him. She looked so sweet and innocent. “I’m Lucy, head of marketing. If you get the position we’ll be working very closely together, so I hope you like fun videos and memes.”
Ben smiled, “Sure do, that’s what attracted me to the job.”
The job was working as a video and image editor for CaliaCorp’s marketing division, targeting marketing at 18-30 year olds. Ben was a fiend for social media, so he knew everything about the platforms and styles people were into.
“Aisling Sugars, Acquisition and Retention. Your resume doesn’t have a huge amount of experience, Mr. Wheeler,” the red-haired woman said. “What makes you think you could work here?”
Ben cleared his throat. He knew that question would come and was prepared for it. “Well, I may not have a lot of professional experience, but I am an avid of all the same platforms as CaliaCorp, as you’ll see on my resume, I have produced lots of videos myself and for some friends, just not in an official workplace.”
“And I’m Stephanie Miller, the woman in the centre said with a smile. “Good answer, but can you operate in a corporate environment?”
Ben looked at her and felt as if she were looking through him, like he was nothing to her. It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling, but oddly arousing as he began to picture her in one of the scenes he saw outside.
“Mr. Wheeler?”
“Sorry, just thinking about the question,” Ben managed. “Well, I am a team player and a self-starter so I can thrive in any—“
“Benjamin, that’s what everyone says,” Aisling, the redheaded woman said. “Can you be directed by a superior?”
“Oh, uh, yeah of course.”
“Good, because that’s very important here.”
“Yes,” Stephanie said, “we have a very strict hierarchy. You must be able to follow any direction from your supervisor.”
“Got it,” said Ben.
The woman with the pink lips, Lucy, leaned forward and grinned. “You gotta do what I say ok?”
Ben laughed, “sure, Ms?”
“Mistress,” Lucy said.
Ben paused for a moment, surprised. Lucy started to laugh, then Ben ed in.
“Just Lucy is fine, babe,” she said. Ben nodded his agreement.
“Ignore Lucy,” Stephanie said, “we are a serious workplace, we ask for your commitment to the company, and you are rewarded in kind. Does that sound good?”
“Yes, Ms. Miller,” Ben said.
“Good, very good. I really must emphasise that we prioritise discipline here, and you will be expected to dress and act appropriately. You have probably gotten used to a casual environment, but we are extremely disciplined here.”
“I understand,” said Ben. He started to lose focus on the interview. One of the three women wore a wonderfully scented perfume and there seemed to be a low humming background noise that he could feel at the back of his head.
“Mr. Wheeler,” Aisling said, “you do understand what we mean by discipline, don’t you?”
“I think so?”
“It’s important to obey your superiors in the workplace, is it not?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Yes Miss Sugars,” Aisling said.
“Oh, yes Miss Sugars,” Ben replied.
“Very good.”
“Benjamin, I think we’re making ourselves clear, but Lucy has a short presentation to assist you with understanding your role in the organisation. Assuming you want the job of course,” Stephanie said.
“Y-yes, I do, uh, Ms. Miller.”
“Good boy; Lucy.”
Lucy bounced up from the desk, and Ben saw her pleated pink miniskirt bounce with her, revealing the briefest glimpse of her light blue panties. She had incredible legs, toned, and tanned to perfection. He focused on them as she walked to the left-hand wall and pushed a button, lowering a large projector screen and closing black blinds that blocked the light from the outside world.
“You ready Benny?” Lucy giggled.
“Yes Miss.”
“Mistress, Benny,” she laughed.
“Yes Mistress,” Ben smiled.
Lucy pressed another button, and the screen filled with pink, then a pattern began to emerge, a swirling spiral going round and round and finally the CaliaCorp logo emerging from it. A woman’s voice began to speak.
CaliaCorp welcomes you, new employee. As part of the family at CaliaCorp, your obedience to our rules and regulations is paramount to your success. Pay attention as we outline how you can serve CaliaCorp as an effective and enthusiastic employee.
A series of images followed, all underneath that swirling spiral. Ben felt dizzy, something was wrong, yet he could not look away from the screen. It showed women in suits with tight pencil skirts and long legs and big chests directing people doing manual labour and toiling at computers. A strange selection of images, but Ben thought maybe they were making a metaphorical point about discipline or something. That was the best he could muster. The spiral made him confused.
Employees will obey their superiors at all times. Any command given will be followed.
The images changed again, the employees were suddenly shirtless. Something was definitely wrong. Ben tried to get up but felt someone holding him down with their hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t move until it’s over,” Stephanie said.
You will become a loyal servant of CaliaCorp through your work here. You will be rewarded for your efforts as we see fit. There is no resistance.
The people on the screen were shown kneeling now, kissing the feet of the suited women. What on Earth was happening, Ben wondered. With the sense that remained he tried to open his mouth to speak.
“Ms. Mill—“
“Shhh boy,” she said. He obeyed instantly.
Obedient, diligent employees are happy employees. Good employees will be rewarded. Service to CaliaCorp is paramount to your happiness. CaliaCorp. All will us.
Ben reeled. He felt someone touching his legs, hands moving to his crotch. He looked to his left to see Aisling rubbing him. She frowned.
“Eyes on the screen, boy.”
Ben obeyed as she opened his tros and began to stroke his cock. It was rock hard.
Pleasure is your reward for service. Give your all to CaliaCorp. Give your all to CaliaCorp. Good employees give their all to CaliaCorp.
“Give my all,” mumbled Ben.
Aisling smiled at Stephanie. Lucy giggled and clapped quietly. Ben twitched and thrusted in the chair, squirming with pleasure as the screen filled with images of people on all fours, with women in business suits using them as footstools, holding their heads down with their heels or berating and whipping them.
Give your all to CaliaCorp and embrace your new position.
“Give us your all, Benny,” Lucy smirked.
Ben erupted, shooting a hot, sticky mess all over the floor at his feet. The video stopped and he shook his head, looking around the room as light came back when the blinds opened.
“W-what’s going on?” he asked.
“Clean up your mess, now,” ordered Stephanie.
Ben looked down at the floor where globs of cum sat on the carpet. He looked around for some napkins or tissues.
“With your tongue,” Aisling demanded.
Ben dropped to his knees and put his head down, but he stopped short of licking up his mess.
“Do it puppy,” Lucy giggled.
“Now,” Stephanie added, before putting her heel on the back of his head and pressing his face into the carpet.
Ben licked up his cum until he could see none left. Stephanie released him and he rocked back up to his knees.
“Good boy. Welcome to CaliaCorp.”
Lucy walked over to him, smiled, and clicked her fingers. “Oh and, forget, Benny.”
He blinked rapidly, then the world faded away.
Chapter 3
“We can’t just let them get away with it. It’s completely unfair!” Theo shouted.
He was at home watching TV again with Trish, Marc, Sam, and Ben. As usual, Theo sat in his favoured armchair, Sam sat on the floor and the other three shared the couch. A news report detailed CaliaCorp’s latest acquisition, a huge swathe of the city including a large section of the Circuit District. That usually meant massive demolition followed by the erection of huge towers for CaliaCorp employees to live in. It seemed as though more and more of the city worked for them, and they all needed somewhere to go. That meant the group of people sitting in their dingy room would have to move on if things continued as they had for the last few years. They were lucky this time, the area CaliaCorp purchased was a few blocks away, but it seemed just a matter of time before the company owned every inch of the city, and only their employees could live there.
“We should protest,” Trish said. She bristled with anger. Some of her other friends lived in the area that would now be exclusively for CaliaCorp staff. They would be homeless or forced to leave the city altogether. None of them had been in touch for a little while, she thought, maybe she should check in and see if they needed to crash with her.
“I think we should just do something crazy. Like smash up their building or… I don’t know,” Theo said. “Really send ’em a message.”
“That doesn’t sound… safe,” Sam said, “like, they’ll just throw you in jail.”
“Yeah but at least someone will do something,” said Theo.
“I guess,” Sam replied, “there just has to be, you know, a less dangerous way to do something.”
“We could hack ’em,” said Marc, “I mean, I’ve got some skills.” He clasped his fingers together and cracked them with a smirk.
“You’re barely able to hack into your own emails,” quipped Theo. Marc scowled.
“We should just leave it alone,” said Ben.
“What?” Trish shouted. “Let them get away with ruining our lives?”
“Are they though? They bought some buildings,” said Ben, “all we’re doing is putting people in danger if we try anything crazy.”
“The hell happened to you dude?” Theo snorted. “You used to hate them.”
“I… I do, I just don’t think there’s anything we can do. You can’t resist a corporation like that.”
“The hell we can’t,” Theo said. “I’m not just sitting around while our world gets destroyed.”
“Yeah but, maybe Ben’s right,” said Sam. “How do you fight a company that big? They control everything. They just… take over and nobody can do anything about it. We’re just some broke Circuiters.”
Everyone fell silent. Theo shook his head. He knew Sam was right, but he had a hard time itting it. Ben’s words demoralised the room, turning their righteous indignation to solemn sadness.
Trish stood from her seat and faced everyone. She dressed as she usually was, in a pair of black boots, fishnet stockings and a black skirt, a ripped t-shirt with some band’s logo on it. Her blonde hair swayed about with the movement of her head and her thick black eyeliner accentuated her deep eyes. Black lipstick completed the look, she was a total badass, at least in the eyes of Sam, who quietly harboured feelings for Trish since she met her, never spoken.
“We can’t just… give up,” Trish began, “We’re losing friends, losing places to go, to eat, to go out, we’re losing our city. Our homes. Seriously, come on.”
Everyone remained silent for a while. Finally, Ben stood and walked to Trish, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Trish, look, I get it, I do, but there’s no sense resisting them, they always get what they want.”
Trish eyed him suspiciously. Ben had always been a little weird, but this was beyond even that. She brushed his hand off her shoulder and stepped away. “Everyone else agree with Ben?”
“I don’t agree with him, but he’s not wrong, is he?” said Theo. “Plus, it’s not even our places they bought.”
“Yeah Trish, face it, we’re just a bunch of losers in the worst part of town. We can’t like, buy property from them or anything,” Theo added.
Sam scratched her head. She wanted to have a solution, to be able to help Trish and maybe just impress her too, but she had nothing. “I’m sorry Trish, you know I’m on your side, but… I have no idea what to do.”
“You see,” said Ben, smiling, “it’s ok to be mad, but knowing we can’t do anything about it is ok too.”
Trish looked at Ben’s strange, awkward smile. He creeped her out. “Dude, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I don’t like it.”
“Oh, sorry,” Ben said, “I’m just… being realistic.”
“Whatever, I’m out of here,” Trish said. She was angry. Angry at her friends for being so meek, angry at herself for not having any answers. The door slammed behind her before she even realised she had stormed out. Not that it mattered, they were getting nowhere. Instead, she walked out onto a rainy street. Dilapidated buildings were all around her, dwarfed by the towers CaliaCorp built, all gold and glass and steel. Pink and blue neon lights buzzed above filthy storefronts and tiny restaurants in the grime below. Steam wafted from vents and grates in the ground, flickering lights flashed in puddles. Noise leaked from cracks in walls and open windows. Arguments, sobbing, shouting, sex. So many people crammed into a tiny space. All humanity meshed together. The last real part of the city left. She ed by old people struggling with their groceries and young people dressed in fraying, torn clothes. The street beneath her feet was muddy and messy. Everything had been getting worse since CaliaCorp came along. There was no local government help to tidy up, no programs to assist anyone. Everything just went to CaliaCorp. Everything was CaliaCorp.
Trish arrived back at her place, a faded brown door beside a red-lit noodle bar. She fumbled her keys into the lock and went up the dimly-lit stairs to the single room flat above the bar. Posters of old bands who long since played their last show covered the walls. All Trish had to her name was a single bed, tiny couch and tinier TV and her guitar and clothes, and one more thing under her pillow. She threw herself down on the bed and pulled it out. A vibrator she bought in the local sex shop, the one beneath Sam and Theo’s place. It was low on batteries, and she could not afford more, so she only used it when she was either very horny or extremely stressed. Right now, it was the latter.
Pulling her skirt up, Trish slid her finger over her panties and moaned. It felt good to just stop thinking about all her problems for a little while and focus on herself. As the pleasure grew and she felt increasingly aroused, fantasies began to swirl in her mind. She pictured herself, powerful and strong in leather, no, latex, with a riding crop in her hand, standing over a woman. The woman knelt at her feet, cowering before her over-the-knee boots. She looked up and Trish’s mind raced to fill in the blanks of who she was dominating today. It was always dominating. Sometimes a man, sometimes a woman. The power turned her on. She rubbed herself faster, still over the black lace panties, taking her time before touching herself more intimately.
Sam’s face appeared; sweet, innocent Sam. Trish had fantasised about her for years. She was so nice and kind and that made it all the naughtier to think about making her prostrate herself, making Sam obey her every command and punishing her for failure. The thought was enough to send her finger underneath her panties and inside the top of her pussy, teasing her clit and grunting with the added sensation of skin against it. In her mind, Sam lapped at her, licking up and down Trish’s lips and flicking her tongue in and out while Trish held her head down there, letting her stop to breathe for a moment before she started again. The thought of Sam’s sweet face covered in her juices was so hot Trish completely forgot why she was upset getting home. All that mattered was making sure fantasy Sam did as she was told. Of course, she messed up and Trish struck her on her bare behind with the riding crop and pulled at her hair until she yelped.
The fantasy became more fun, and Trish needed a little extra to push things over the edge. She pushed the vibrator under her panties, then flicked it on. The gentle rhythm caressed her in just the right way and she let out a soft moan. Fantasy Sam licked her harder and faster. She pictured herself looking down at Sam, their friendship ruined by Sam’s submission, the shy girl now fully under Trish’s control. The idea of it made her even more turned on and she turned up the vibration. Sam would be such a good little slave for her, she could have her move in and do all the chores and maybe let her cum once in a while as a reward.
Somewhere deep down, Trish thought she would say yes if she asked, but the reality was that she was scared to risk their friendship or be rejected. Sam was a dorky girl, but you never know if someone really wants you. Fantasy Sam was different. She only cared about Trish’s pleasure. Her tongue expertly moved over Trish’s clit as she approached climax and she held down the vibrator, fully lost in the fantasy that it was Sam’s mouth melting her into a puddle of lust. It was what she wanted more than anything, to control and dominate and be serviced by a willing and eager pet. Sam would be so good, so good at fucking and licking and stroking and begging for release while Trish denied it and whipped and caned her.
Trish felt right on the edge, thinking about Sam strapped down to her bed while she used her mouth like a sex toy, gagging her so she couldn’t talk, just thrusting her tongue into her over and over and over until… the batteries died.
“Fuck,” Trish said and threw the dead device on the floor. It bounced across the hard wood and stopped. She used her fingers to try to finish herself off, but the fantasy faded and now she felt angrier than ever. Angry at CaliaCorp and the fact she couldn’t afford batteries if she wanted to eat and angry at fantasy Sam for not getting her off quick enough, useless subby cow. She gave up and pulled her hand from her panties, pushed her skirt back down and lay there, staring up at the cracked, damp ceiling in her tiny apartment. The smell of noodles wafted up from below. Dinner would have to satisfy her instead of her toy.
Chapter 4
Ben arrived at CaliaCorp in a suit and tie with his satchel slung over his shoulder. Standing at the base of its steps, he looked up at the enormity of the building. It dwarfed all that surrounded it, a monument to woman’s triumph over nature, or her hubris, Ben was unsure. With a deep breath in, he ascended the steps and entered the lobby. He knew where to go, floor 64, where he would meet with Lucy, the extremely cute girl who sat on his interview . From what he ed, she was bubbly and outgoing, dressed casually and seemed like a fun boss, despite being quite young. She had to have been hired straight out of college, because no way she was older than 25. Ben was 29, so it was not as though he were ancient compared to her, but her energy and enthusiasm made him feel as though a generation separated them. Maybe it was her never being broke and living in the Circuit District or somewhere like it. She probably grew up with wealthy parents in a CaliaCorp block, with all the swimming pools and indoor gardens and AI maids, and whatever else they put in them, Ben had never so much as stepped through the door of a CaliaCorp building before his interview.
ing through the cavernous lobby and all of its golden, sparkling decor, he stepped into an empty lift and pushed the button for the 64th floor. No-one followed him in this time, and the lobby was quiet, the receptionist barely looked at him. As the lift travelled up, he could swear the music that played in the lift picked up interference or had a weird track under it. It was as if a woman’s voice were droning on just too low to be heard clearly. If he strained to listen, he thought some words were coming through, but that made him more confused, so he relaxed and waited for the lift to journey up the impossibly huge tower and deposit him where he needed to be. Even inside the lift was glamorous. More gold ran down the walls in faux-drips, as if spilling from the top of the tower and covering everything below it. Frosted glass separated the gold drips, reflecting Ben back in broken segments. The journey up took several minutes, but finally the lift pinged, and the doors slid open.
Ben’s jaw dropped as soon as he looked into the workspace. It was a rave. Loud music thumping from huge speakers dotted around the place, blackout blinds covering the windows and blacklights illuminating everything in blues and pinks and greens, with fluorescent flashes everywhere, from graffiti daubed on the walls reading things like Calia Forever and Lucy is Life to the skimpy clothing everyone wore. The women were in brightly coloured bikini tops and shorts or skirts and the men were all wearing swimming shorts. Most were in fantastic shape, better than Ben, but that was probably explained by the fact everyone danced around as though in some sort of hedonistic ritual. No-one so much as looked at him as he emerged from the lift in his grey suit, feeling completely lost and out of place. There were no desks, just a giant dance floor with a disco ball and strobe lights flashing constantly. Ben just stopped and stared, not sure what he should do.
Then the music stopped. At the opposite side of the room he saw her, Lucy, as gorgeous as she was in the interview, sitting on what looked like a throne, with a man on either side on all fours. She pushed a button on the chair and the blinds slowly opened, then stood.
“Alright team, back to your desks.”
Everyone scampered away into rooms behind the dance floor, leaving just Lucy and Ben. She started walking toward him, her miniskirt sashaying along with her hips and her breasts in a tight bikini top rocking back and forth. Ben tried not to stare, but the wicked grin she wore seemed to tell him she liked it. Her eyes were big and wide, accentuated by thick eyeliner, and as before, bright pink lipstick shone on her soft, wet lips. Ben licked his own as he stared at her. Her pink hair, which glowed under the blacklights, looked more like candy floss in daylight. It was cute and sexy at the same time, cut short and showcasing her sharp features, softened somewhat by rosy cheeks and the freckles that crossed her nose.
She was beautiful, Ben decided.
“Not really dressed for this environment, are you buddy?” she chuckled.
“Um, no Miss…”
“Just Lucy, babe, we’re chill here. You’ll get used to it super fast.” As she said that, she peered into his eyes and he felt weak, as though he had no choice in the matter. Ben gulped.
“So, what am I going to do today, uh, Lucy?”
She bounced from one foot to the other, bobbing her head back and forth. “Let’s get you a tour!” she exclaimed. “Follow me.”
Lucy walked around the edge of the dance floor to the left-hand side of the room. There was a separate room there, and a matching one on the right side of the dance floor too. At the first room on the left Lucy opened the glass door and revealed a plush, modern office. This was more like what Ben had expected. Cool air breezed from vents on the ceiling and six women worked at large, lavish desks of marble with rose pink trim. They were typing at computers that were dwarfed by the size of their workspaces, which were covered in reports, books and trinkets. One even larger desk was at the opposite end of the room.
“That’s mine,” Lucy said, “but this room is managers only, let me show you where you’ll be working.”
She shut the door and walked Ben over to the room on the right-hand side. From outside it looked like the room the managers worked in. Ben expected plush, comfortable, modern work areas, and he would walk into more marble and pink. Somewhere a voice in Ben’s head screamed at him that no, this was not normal, that he had walked into a barely contained orgy, and he should leave, but a warm wave of pleasure flowed through him as he quelled the stirring confusion.
“Take a look,” Lucy said and opened the door to the other office.
Ben’s jaw went slack. He stared in at what looked like a sweatshop… or a dungeon, than an office. There were lots of people, all huddled over computers in tiny spaces. Each cubicle, if you could call it that, was so small the occupant’s neighbours almost rubbed shoulders with each other. There was no large desk in the room, instead a set of cages were at the opposite end, and inside three men were chained. Every single person in the room was dressed in little more than underwear. Many appeared to be completely nude. Dim lighting hung from the ceiling, and the low glow of computer screens illuminated each person’s face. They all seemed to be in a daze, mindlessly typing away at keyboards, barely moving otherwise.
“Are you ready to see your desk?” Lucy asked.
Ben hesitated. He had no idea what to make of it all. He knew that it was wrong, but there was something pushing him to stay, an insistent niggling feeling that he should work here, should work for Lucy and serve CaliaCorp and every time the thought entered his head to do just that, a jolt of pleasure shot through him.
“I… this is very unexpected.”
Lucy smiled, unfazed by his reluctance. “I know we do things a little differently here, but you’ll be so happy serving CaliaCorp, and you will be rewarded for your hard work.”
Ben shuddered as another wave of pleasure coursed through him. He wanted to be rewarded. He wanted to make Lucy happy. He also wanted to run for the lift, get the hell out of the building and never go back. Those two conflicting desires left him frozen in the doorway.
“Are you ready, Benny?”
He swallowed and remained frozen. The part of his mind that knew it was a bad idea was rattling against the cage it was locked in, roaring, bellowing, screaming to be freed and save Ben from whatever on Earth Lucy and CaliaCorp were doing. While he stood there, Lucy leaned close and whispered in his ear, while putting a hand on his crotch.
“Baby Benny, Lucy is your boss now, and you’re going to be a good boy for me, aren’t you?”
Her voice sounded sweet and soft and her breath warm and inviting. She smelled of raspberries. Ben shuddered at her words.
“Come on, let’s get you to work,” she said as she moved her hand away and walked into the room.
This time, Ben followed her, watching her legs as she strutted to an empty seat. She pulled out a chair and smiled, gesturing for Ben to sit in it. He walked to the chair and looked into Lucy’s eyes. Her big, beautiful eyes. Eyes that shouted surrender while promising the most exquisite pleasures. He sat down at the desk, feeling the warmth of the two barely clothed people on either side of him. They did nothing to indicate they noticed his presence. Now sitting, Ben looked up at Lucy, who gazed down at him with a half-smile.
“You’re going to finish your induction now, and then get started with working on some very important projects for me.”
“Ok,” Ben mumbled.
“Good boy.”
She leaned down over him, letting her breasts rest on his shoulder as she did, and pushed a button to turn on the computer. The softness of her body made Ben feel an electricity on his skin. Lucy was so pretty, so cute and clever. He felt eager to start working for her. A moment later, when she stood up, he could feel that electric surge dissipate and started to wonder why exactly he felt such an urge to work in the most bizarre office he had ever seen. CaliaCorp, he knew, was evil, but there was far more going on than he could figure out, and whenever Lucy came near him all those thoughts that he tried to piece together seemed to fall apart. Each time he tried to reconstruct them they became more confused. The only thing that made sense anymore was the feeling of pleasure and purpose that he got when Lucy was there.
“Look at the screen babe,” Lucy chirped.
Ben looked and saw a familiar pattern. Suddenly, the thoughts coalesced into a clear, consistent message. Run. Run away. They want to brainwash you. They want to control you. Run. Ben. Run.
“Stare at it baby,” Lucy said, her words like dripping honey.
Ben shook his head and turned away, spinning the chair around and trying to stand up. Instead, Lucy pressed her hands against his shoulders and pushed him back down.
“No resistance. Only obedience.”
She stared at him, through him. Her eyes pierced his, her words pushed their way into his mind. He could merely stare at her.
“Sit down and watch, and you’ll be rewarded.”
He did his best to resist, but the thought of a reward flashed in his mind. Lucy’s soft, tender hand on his cock. Her legs wrapped around him. Her pink lips around the head of his penis. Her feet in his mouth. A collar clamped on his neck. Despite everything going on around him, every cogent thought in his head, Ben felt his cock stiffen. Lucy glanced down at it and licked her lips.
“You’re getting it Benny. Thinking about all the things I could do to you.”
He was. He could no longer help himself. She was so close, her hands on him. It was too much. The smell of her perfume, the subtle glint of sweat on her body, the gentle flaring of her nostrils. He felt as if he were falling in love with her. For a moment he wondered if the other people in the room had gone through what he had, and as he looked into Lucy’s wide eyes, he knew he truly loved her and only she could fulfill him.
“That’s it, weaker and weaker,” she said. “Turn and look at the screen.”
Ben could no longer fight it, Lucy was his boss, Lucy was so smart and strong and sexy. He turned his chair and looked at the screen, at the spiral he knew from somewhere else deep in his memories. Lucy’s hands began to massage his shoulders, and he felt her warm breath on his cheek as she leaned close to his ear.
“Watch and submit for Lucy, all you ever want is to work for me, isn’t that right?”
Ben nodded. Of course, she was right. A flash of resistance, a fleeting thought, told him that he needed to question it, that she was not right, that he should get up and leave before it was too late.
But for Ben, it already was, and as Lucy’s hands kneaded his shoulders, that final conscious thought slid away, and Ben was lost.
Chapter 5
“Hey, have you heard from Ben?” said Marc.
He was on a call with Sam. She didn’t speak for a while. Marc tapped his fingers against his desk. In his apartment it was dull, the primary light source being his three computer monitors. All different sizes, one vertically positioned on the right, the others horizontal. The one on the right had lines of code trickling down it all the time. Sometimes work or a project, sometimes a screensaver. Multiple empty mugs littered the desk, alongside discarded wrappers from CaliaBars, a high-protein, low-sugar snack designed to provide low-cost sustenance to people on the fringes of society. They had become popular with anyone doing marathon coding sessions or similar all-hours projects. Marc had a hard time getting anything done without having a few.
“No answer still,” Sam said, finally.
“You called him just now?”
“Yeah, it just rang out.”
“Where is he? It’s been four days. Trish and Theo can’t reach him either.”
Silence again. Marc glanced at the left monitor. On it, pop-ups appeared for CaliaCorp products and services. He rolled his eyes. Each one of course came with the familiar image of her. Calia. Real woman or corporate mascot, the debate raged on forums and discussion sites for a long time. No one knew. Whoever she was, she had been the same age for a long, long time, so definitely hiding some terrible secret. Like that book with the painting Marc couldn’t recall the name of.
“Marc, I’m worried.”
Marc took his own moment of silence. He was worried too. Ben acted aloof, distant at times, but he was always online. Terminally so. It seemed unthinkable for him to be unavailable. When he was busy, he’d give a curt reply and that would be that. He never just ignored all . Ever.
“Me too, Sam.”
“What should we do? Should we call the police?”
“You think they’ll even care about someone missing? It happens all the time.”
“Yeah, but… Marc we can’t just do nothing, can we?”
Sam’s words were drowned out by another popup. The CaliaCorp computers were good value, but they came with a ton of ads and even with a dedicated modding community to remove them, some slipped through with each new update. This one buzzed in Marc’s ear and made him unable to focus on the call with Sam.
You can be free of worry and stress today. Don’t be afraid to make a change that could make all the difference. Free yourself of concern over money, bills, or housing and CaliaCorp. Now hiring. Just click and apply now. There’s a place for everyone at CaliaCorp.
The popup hung on the screen with a glowing, pulsing ‘apply now’ button tempting Marc to click it. Instead, he ignored it and focused on Sam.
“Sorry, popup. What did you say?”
“I don’t . Sorry, it’s hard to focus. I’m just… I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t call or message or anything.”
Marc looked at the popup, then clicked to close it.
“I have one idea.”
“What?”
“CaliaCorp.”
“Hang on, what do you mean?”
“Sam, he was acting weird and… they’re hiring, right?”
“They’re always hiring and he’s always weird.”
“I guess. Where the hell is he?”
“We should report it Marc, we have to try.”
“He could just be sick, I guess?”
“Can you imagine him so sick he wouldn’t be online? Wouldn’t send a single message or post on some social ?”
Marc took a slow, deep breath. Another popup demanded his attention. He turned away from the screen and exhaled, letting the air ripple over his lips.
“Let’s get Theo and Trish, and go to Ben’s place, ok?” he said.
“Ok,” said Sam.
She ended the call and Marc turned back to face his computer. The popups were growing in number at an alarming rate. Each one featured the same woman. Calia. Brown hair, blue eyes, red lips. She always looked the same. Always the picture-perfect woman, smirking at him from an image of her at a beach or in a forest. Each image advertising something new. One drew Marc’s eye particularly well. Calia, the world’s most overtly sexual corporate mascot, in a plunging red dress, leaning forward so her cleavage was easy to stare at. She beckoned with a crooked finger and Marc grabbed his mouse. He felt a sudden compulsion to click on the image, then stopped himself.
As he did, he could have sworn she frowned, but after a blink, she was back to beckoning him seductively to click. Instead, Marc closed all the popups and opened his messaging app to talk to his friends. There, Sam asked for them to meet an hour later to check Ben’s apartment out. Another popup opened, covering the messaging app with a looping video of Calia smiling and moving her hips back and forth in a rhythmical motion. Marc was transfixed. She wore a black pleated skirt this time, and white blouse. He found it hard to take his eyes off the image. It drew him in, just as it was designed to. Marc knew what was happening but felt powerless to resist it. Calia’s image was one he had become accustomed to. Her face adorned so many products and she appeared in so many ments on TV, online, everywhere. The video had sound, he realised, coming faintly from the pair of headphones resting beside his keyboard. The faint voice urged him to do something, and Marc picked up the headphones and put them on before he could stop himself.
Wouldn’t you like to do that? Wouldn’t you like to show me how wonderful you are? Just one click, and you can really impress me.
Marc hovered over the popup for a moment, his hand trembling on the mouse. Something about her tone, her voice, it made him feel like he needed to click the link. Like it was the most important thing in the world.
He rubbed his face and shook his head rapidly.
“Not today, you…”
His words trailed off. The group chat moved on to speculating about Ben’s whereabouts. Sam said he was probably feeling depressed about the conversation about the state of the city. That Ben was sick of them always complaining. He even tried to get the group to let things go, and maybe he was right.
Theo argued, as always, with every point. Always the loudmouth. He made jokes that Ben had been murdered. As if that could be possible. Crime was so low since CaliaCorp took over. Even in the Circuit District, there was next to no violent crime. Just back-alley brothels and speakeasies. There was no way Ben was the victim of something like that. It just didn’t happen anymore. Though, Marc wondered, if not that, then what? His thoughts went back to CaliaCorp, and Calia. They must be involved. She must be involved. Maybe she seduced him in her little skirt. Pulled it up a little to show off her—
Marc stopped the runaway train of thought as fast as he could. He needed to get out before he got lost in the popups again. He told the group he’d see them soon and shut down his computer. On the way out, he grabbed his coat, an old and battered leather jacket, and put it on. He always felt better wearing it. It was comforting. One of the few things his mother had been able to buy him, and one of the few memories of her he had left. He went out the door, and down into the street.
The Circuit District was old. It went by a different name once, a few of them in fact, but eventually just sort of merged into a maze of crumbling apartment blocks and warehouses. It was never really intended to be a residential area in the first place, but once the gleaming glass towers sprouted up everywhere else, those who weren’t rich enough or employed by CaliaCorp were displaced and ended up creating homes inside what had been factories and production plants for mostly electronics. Marc was lucky. He had enough skill to make some money through less-than-legal means and get himself a proper apartment. It was awful, but at least it wasn’t above a brothel, and it had a proper bathroom and living room as well as a bedroom. That was peak luxury for the Circuit.
The area outside the block contained the main strip of the district, a few miles of noise and colour. The street ran narrow, and the buildings felt cavernous. Stock from shop fronts spilled out onto the street, cheap phones and old technology mostly. There were street food stands along the way, like markers showing how far you walked. Marc headed for a former warehouse half a mile down the strip. It was on a corner with a falafel stand. A dirty one. They were all dirty. Hygiene products, cleaning products, they were all luxuries. A small saving grace was that water, somehow, remained free. Marc ed something about CaliaCorp making that happen, but it felt very unlikely, they sold everything. Maybe something in the water. Maybe, Marc thought, he needed to stop checking out conspiracy forums.
Marc was glad it was daylight out. At night it became hard to see the gaping chasms in the pavement that grew from cracks. No one repaired them, so they turned from fissures into fractures into holes that claimed many ankles over the years. Marc ed Sam got a particularly bad sprain in one and couldn’t walk for a month. Day was also quiet. The district came to life after dark, when the neon lights flickered and flashed, and the suited corporate types wandered into the area looking for fun. The money that came in from them was the sole reason anyone could survive in the Circuit, but it wasn’t nearly enough, and there were too many people and too much competition for anyone to ask for more money for whatever they were selling.
One place Marc ed was open already. A seedy theatre with red curtains for a doorway. It never closed. A rickety sign above it d vintage pornography shows. He ed visiting with a friend and both of them getting quite excited by what they saw and sharing an intimate moment of mutual masturbation. Now that vintage stuff did nothing for him. The CaliaCorp content was all that seemed to work to get him going. Those stupid popups.
The theatre was one of the landmarks that told Marc he was almost there. He could smell the falafel stand and ahead saw Sam, Theo, and Trish already waiting.