She Smiles

When Planet Corabin was first discovered, there was a debate on whether to colonize it. The planet’s atmosphere is almost Ice-Age like and if not for the mining minerals on the planet, humans may never have set down on the ice planet.

The Outer Planets, the Lost Terran Empire

                                                            2nd Edition, Published in Year 8070

City of Beihong, Planet Corabin

Year 8072

On your knees, heads to the floor and hands beside your head. April wondered how long has she been in this position. Must have been hours already as the pins in her legs started long ago, still she ignored the discomfort as this would be what he would have wanted.

She met her husband Ho Ming on Planet Talon. She was a 20 year-old waitress while he was on vacation. A whirlwind romance later, she decided to return home with him. Protests from family and friends did not faze her at all, she was wildly in love. The Terran Empire and the Patriarch Alliance were not the best of friends but her mind was made up.

April smiled as she remembered the day she landed on Planet Corabin. Corabin is a poor mostly mountainous mining planet where the air is cold, the climate is bad and the people are poor. Even the spaceport she landed on was smaller than most spaceports in the Empire. As they walked into the arrival hall, Ho Ming was soon running up to a man and hugging him, leaving her behind carrying the bags. As April walked quietly up to the 2 men, she quickly saw the family resemblance. The older man looked crossly at her and April immediately remembered to look down at the floor. April had looked a man in the face, in his eyes even. April smiled at her stupid mistake now.

Ho Ming and his father walked off without a word. April followed. They reached the carpark of the spaceport where Ho Ming was soon hugging another man. Like Ho Ming and his father, his brother was wearing a comfortable cotton shirt with a pair of nylon jeans and boots that shone in the daylight. Behind Ho Ming’s brother was a group of women who were kneeling in a circle. Facing inwards, the women’s heads were bowed on the floor in the middle of the circle. Later, April would learn that this was the position women took to prevent themselves from having impure thoughts in public. Head on the floor and ass in the air; it was the proper position of a woman. April smiled at her initial ignorance.

The 5 women stood on the word of Ho Ming. They faced her lover and it was the first time she had a good look at the women. The women were wearing black shirts with a gray dress that reached down to their ankles. They had black gloves on their hands and were without shoes. Only a pair of black socks covered their feet. Their hair were tied in a bun and covered with a red lace hat with some flower patterns on it. The hat had a thin white veil that was pulled down in front of the face. The veil was held in place by a flowery scarf which also covered the neck area. Totally covered up with not an inch of flesh showing in public, April wasn’t totally ignorant, and knew this was how women dressed in public but it was one thing to know of something, and another to exactly see it. April smiled at the memory of her initial shock.

As one, the 5 women kneeled on the floor and bowed. Ho Ming made them hold the position for a while before giving them permission to stand. Then, he turned around and walked towards April. He opened his bag and found a black ball-gag. With word or ceremony, he put the gag on April. April was too shock to do anything but to open her mouth. Later, April would learn that this was the moment when Ho Ming announced to the family that she was his. April smiled at the memory of her initial anger.

Her smile grew bigger as she remembered her shock when the 3 men entered the hovercraft and flew off without her. The 5 women kneeled and bowed their head to the floor again as the hovercraft flew off. After it had left, the women stood up and one of them walked towards the bag Ho Ming had opened. She closed it and carried it towards the other women. Together, they walked off. April was wondering what to do when the woman who was carrying the bag looked back and saw her standing there like a statue. A wave to come on and April gladly ran towards the women. She didn’t know it then but it was another of her mistakes.

The women walked in two rows back to their house. It was a long trip but April was glad for it for she managed to see the city in full. The rectangle houses were built side by side with a pole in front of every door. Her unasked question of what the pole was for was soon answered when the women pass a house where a woman was tied to the pole. Her hands were tied high above her and a man was whipping her back with a laser whip. The woman’s screams were terrible. April was shaking in fear but she saw that people were just walking by the whipping with merely a look before moving past. April smiled at her foolishness now. Women who disobeyed their men deserved a public whipping, how else were they to learn their place in Corabin society.

The women reached the house and April saw that the hovercraft had arrived already. The women waited in front of the door in their two rows and one of them pressed the doorbell. Ho Ming came to the door and the women kneeled and bowed again. April quickly followed. A word from Ho Ming later and April followed the women onto their feet. Another word from Ho Ming and the women fell on their knees and bowed. Stand, kneeled and bowed; stand, kneeled and bowed, April remembered her shame that she was doing this in public and smiled.  

As the women were on their knees, Ho Ming finally gave a different order. This time the women raise their heads but stayed on their knees. Another order later and the woman who pressed the doorbell crawled on her hands and knees to the door. She pressed her hand on the door scanner and a small opening opened beside the door. The women’s door was tiny. It was so small that the only way to enter it was to get down on your belly and crawled through it. This was what the women did and April followed suit, last in line.

As April crawled through the opening, she saw the other women were already kneeling side-by-side inside the house. Ho Ming signaled April to fall in line. The men then lifted the women’s veil and April saw that all of them had ball-gags in their mouth. The men released the ball-gags and April was glad to finally have it gone. Ho Ming’s father gave an order and the women fell onto their bellies again. April followed the women as they crawled on their bellies to the side of the room. She saw that there was a ramp down to the cellar. April crawled down the ramp and was shocked at the condition of the room. The cellar was small; small as in very short. There was no way for the women to stand upright without hitting the ceiling. Even a tall woman could hit the ceiling if she was on her knees.

As April left the ramp, the ramp slowly lifted up and the opening to the living room was shut tight. It was this moment when April discovered why women were called moles on Corabin. One of the women then approached April and hand her a set of clothes. The woman introduced herself as Gulan of Ho and she was Ho Ming’s first wife.

April smiled at the memory. She had no idea how to react to this. She knew Ho Ming had a wife but no one had told her what to do when they met. She asked Gulan if she should bow or something. The question must have been unexpected because all the women laughed. Gulan informed her that they were all females of the Ho household and that ceremony was for men only. Gulan’s smile made the transition to the Ho household much easier than it could be and April smiled as she remember the way her elder sister helped her in those early days. 

Gulan offered to help April in changing. The clothes April was handed was exactly like what the other women wore but from the look of them, these looks like second-hand hand-me-downs. Months later, April would discover that they were indeed hand-me-downs. Upon marriage, the man was to hand over 4 sets of women clothing to his wife. These are hers to keep and there will be no replacements. If and when the man decided to take a second wife, the man will hand 4 new sets of clothing to the first wife. The new clothing is to replace the original 4 sets of clothing which the first wife will hand over to the second wife. If the man decides to have a third, fourth and fifth wife, the clothing will continue to be handed down the line. April smiled at the thought of this brilliant plan where the first wife had to encourage her husband to take new wives if she wanted new clothes.

April was glad for Gulan’s help. Have any of you tried wearing clothes without standing up? It’s not easy. Not only that, April had never worn a lace hat before or even a dress that reached her ankles. The Equality & Female Justice Laws were taken very seriously by women in the Terran Empire, and they took it to mean that women are actually like men with no differences whatsoever. Some women in the Empire have never even worn a dress in their life. Rebellious young women like April had other ideas of course.

April also learned that there were certain rules involved in the outfit. For one, she was not allowed underwear. No bra or panties. April smiled at her initial discomfort at stripping in front of the other women. It’s almost second-nature to her now.      

April also learned that women don’t run on Corabin, in fact they were not even allowed a full stride when walking. April had briefly wondered why the women were taking small steps during the walk from the spaceport, but she had chalked it up to the fact they were shorter than she was. The answer was shown to her. The knee-lock was a pair of simple kneepads with a rope between them. When April put it on, it protected her knees from all the kneeling but April discovered that she could take less than half a stride when wearing it.  

Once she changed, April took a good look around. The women slept in one corner where there were 3 mattresses. April knew that co-wives were expected to sleep together when ‘not in use’ by their husbands. There was also a series of low cupboards nearby where they could keep their clothes. An open bathroom and toilet where the women can wash and relieve themselves. All in plain view of the other women but it was there. There’s even a satellite TV where they could pick up any women’s channel in the Alliance. Compare to the horror stories April had heard in the Empire, this was much better than what she had expected.

There was then a siren. All the women went to the back of the cellar. April followed and soon she saw that the back of the cellar led to a kitchen. One where you can stand straight up without hitting your head! Gulan signal April to the back of the kitchen. Looking back to the front of the kitchen, April saw an opening where she could see into the living room. The opening wasn’t very big however and the top of the kitchen was only about 20cm above the floor of the living room.

The men had finished their dinner and the leftover food was placed before the opening. The women reached up and took the plates off the floor into the kitchen. The plan of the house was that the women could cook the food and placed it on the floor of the living room. Once the men were done, the leftovers would be taken by the women. That was what happened. The leftovers were thrown into a pot and the women sat around it. The stew wasn’t great, but it was still better than the stories of starving women April had heard of in the Empire. April smiled at the memory of the women’s laughter when she told them her fears of going hungry.

Once dinner was done, the women went to watch the satellite TV. It was then April discovered what counts as women television in the Alliance. There were no news or current affairs programs. Instead, the channels were filled with movies, soap operas and talk shows. The movies and soap operas were full of stories where the women were the damsels in distress, protected and rescued by their men. Other movies had stories where successful, powerful (unhappy) women discovered their happiness at the foot of a man and the lives they led happily as servants and slaves. April smiled at those, outside the fact she wasn’t that successful or powerful, it was practically her story with Ho Ming.

The talk shows were even more interesting. April learned of the ‘Alliance Veil Laws’ which state that any female out in public must have her face veiled. Even she knew the reason this was due to the rapid expansion of the Patriarch Alliance. The original 3-planet economic alliance rapidly became a 12 planets alliance when the Terran Empire invaded the planet of Wastien. The last leaders of Wastien even joined the Alliance in its’ dying days before its conquest by the Empire in 8057. So technically the Alliance has 13 members; or 12 if you speak to the Empire. With the great differences between each others’ culture, the planets could agree only on one thing. Men should rule! The leaders quickly thrashed out plans for better integration with each others. The veiling law was the best cultural agreement they could come up with. After 15 years, everyone agreed it was also one of their most successful, popular laws.

Females throughout the Alliance now openly, proudly wore veils. If veiling yourself is what it takes to make the Alliance stronger, females were more than happy to do their part in protecting their planets from the Empire. Of course, planets like Kadir, Madhi, Whiteside and some others all had no history of female veiling whatsoever, so they had to start from scratch. People had to come up with ways to veil in a hurry. The talk shows showed all the outfits the different planets came up with; the ‘Nighteyes’ of Wastien, the double-veil of Madhi called ‘The Blind’ (April found that to be a stupid name), and of course the classic ‘Toh-gan’ of Thordaw. April found out her outfit was called a ‘Po-gan’ as it is similar to the ‘Toh-gan’. April smiled at the memory of those talk shows. Even now, she found them to be a great source of information.

The TV watching was stopped when the siren went off again. This time the ramp came down. The women went to the ramp and crawled up the ramp on their bellies. Before they went up, Gulan told April to just stay at the entrance of the ramp. She also warned her to stay on her belly and not looked at the men. Not knowing what to expect, April quickly agreed.

The women were let out of the cellar for housework. April saw that the women were cleaning and sweeping the house, however they were only allowed to do housework on their bellies. The only time there was an exception was when a woman went on her knees. April saw that the men just ignored the women as if they were animals below notice. April would later learn that this was the only time the women were allowed out of the cellar. The only time the women were allowed to be above the feet of the men. Even then, the women were only allowed to be at the feet of the men on their belly. Later, April would also learn that the trip to the spaceport was a very rare occasion when the women were all allowed out of the house. It was to honor the arrival of a new family member. April smiled as she remembered the rare, unexpected honor.

Ho Ming’s father then gave an order and the women crawled back to the ramp. April crawled down the ramp with some difficulties. The knee-lock made crawling difficult and slow. Only when the ramp was back up did April discovered that Gulan was missing. The other women told her that Gulan would sleep with Ho Ming today and she will have her turn tomorrow. April had expected something like this but she had expected to be warned about it first. Her simmering anger soon turned to pity when the women told her any woman who slept with her husband must be beaten the following day. To prevent a woman from having thoughts that she was special, any woman who slept with her husband must be beaten with the laser cane the following morning. She was also not allowed breakfast, going hungry till dinnertime. April smiled. Guess there was some truth to the rumors of women going hungry in the Alliance.

April slept well that night even though she slept in the same clothes she was given earlier. In the morning, the siren woke her up. The women went to the kitchen and started cooking. April smiled as she remembered the laughter that greeted her pathetic attempts at helping. What can she says? Women were just not expected to do housework in the Empire, that’s a job for house-bots and cleaning droids. To people in the Empire, a robot that do household duties is not a luxury but a necessity.  

The food was placed on the floor at the opening once it was ready. The women then went and washed up. Halfway through her wash, April saw the ramp coming down. Gulan and the other two women who stayed with the men crawled down into the cellar. The grimaces on their faces told of the pain they were in. April changed into new clothes and left the dirty one in the bathroom as told by the other women. She went into the kitchen again and saw that the men had started their breakfast already.

She also saw Gulan and the women who stayed overnight going to the bathroom and starting to wash all the clothes she had left behind. As the men finished and food was left for the women, Gulan was still washing. April felt guilty as her elder sister was working when she was having breakfast. Even when she was reminded that the roles will be reversed tomorrow, the guilty feeling did not changed.

Once breakfast was done, it was more talking and television for all the women. April discovered that all the children in the house were at a boarding school. From the age of 5 to 12, all the children were sent to boys and girls boarding schools as the people of Corabin believed that young children must be taught with a hand heavier than what most parents are comfortable with. April discovered that all the children of the Ho household are between those ages and that the children returned home for a month twice a year. April smiled. There was just so much to learn in those early days.

After a while, the siren went on again. However, there was also a spotlight that shone in the middle of the cellar. The women quickly placed themselves in a circle under the spotlight, facing inwards. Much like what happened at the spaceport; they kneeled and bowed their heads to the middle of the circle. The only difference was that April was now part of the circle. Gulan quietly told her that the men are now leaving for work. While they are out, the women are expected to be in this circle in this position until they have return. Gulan told her that no one was to leave their position in the circle, and there were 4 cameras in the cellar where the men could view them at any time. April smiled at her shock then. The men in the household had probably seem her naked already, and she never knew it!

So her first day on Corabin went past. April smiled at the memory 7 years ago. She is now here under the spotlight, on her knees waiting for the men to return after a new day. The only difference now was that the circle is bigger as the men had married more women. April smiled as she waited.

Homebound (Part 6)

The Patriarch Alliance is basically 2 separate societies living side by side, each rule by its ‘holy’ book. The ‘male’ society is rule by the book ‘Path of Man’; while the ‘female’ society is ruled by the book ‘Way of the Female’.

The Outer Planets, the Lost Terran Empire

                                                Published in Year 8024

          It wasn’t what he expected, but it was quite a sight. Boris arrived home after dinner. He ate some leftovers and spoke to Alfred and his father about his talk with Kiki. When it was time to retire, Alfred went down to the Pens. His father picked Glory while Alfred took Kris. Seeing that he only has 1 cow, Boris of course took Jenny.

          He waited in his room and changed. Soon after, the bell rang. Boris could easily see over the video-com who it was but he asked anyway, “Whose there?”

“The cow Jenny is here to serve her man, sir.” Jenny was on her knees waiting beyond the door. Boris took a moment to compose himself and sat on a chair. “Enter,” He said. The door slide open…and Jenny crawled to his feet.

          Rushing on her hands and knees, Jenny threw herself at the feet of her man. She kissed his feet repeatedly, all the while thanking the man for choosing her for the night. “Thanks you sir for picking this cow for the night. 

Thanks you sir for letting this worthless animal serve you. Thanks you sir, this was what this cow was born to do…” Over and over she spoke. Jenny felt humiliated but this was, according to Sonia, the standard bedroom greeting on Thordaw.

According to her, the cow will kneel at the bedroom door. Once it opens, the animal will crawl to her master and kiss his feet. She will then degrade herself and thank her master for the coming night. Glory to the man, this is only right.

          Boris was not expecting this, but he was no fool. “Stop,” Jenny stop her begging and lay still at his feet. “Standing Position,” he commanded. Jenny jumped up onto her feet and stood straight; she lowered her head and looked at the ground. Boris looked at her and was filled with pride. Here was a 24 year old woman from the Empire and she was all his. “Drop your toh-an and get into the Inspection Position,” He said.

          Jenny almost tore off her toh-an in her rush. She dropped the toh-an at her feet and got into the Inspection Position. Legs open wide, she bend her knees parallel to the ground. She locked her fingers behind her head and thrust her tits out. Both her tits and her pussy were open for inspection. Boris didn’t waste any time. His fingers rubbed against her crotch. His question however caught her off-guard.

“How was your first day on the farm?”

“Very tiring sir.” That much was true. Jenny never ran so much in her life.

“Alfred was impressed with you. He said you worked very hard.”

“Thank you, sir. Though I was in a toh-an while the rest of the girl…cows were in their toh-gan.” Jenny bit her lips for making that stupid mistake. Fortunately Boris chose to ignore it.

“You did well today. Feel proud of yourself. I did.” Jenny was flying from the praise. She has made her man proud. Boris stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “You are very wet.”

No way to deny the truth. “Yes Sir.”

Jenny was rewarded with a kiss. “Get in bed slut.”

          Boris saw the beautiful thing in his bed and wonder how in the universe can one man be so lucky. He dropped his pants and climbed in to bed. Boris was under no illusion about his family jewels. His penis wasn’t the biggest you would ever find; in fact you would have to say that it was at best slightly below average. But one thing for certain, it was there. And in the Patriarch Alliance, anyone born with one outranks anyone who wasn’t. 

          Boris put his hands on the cow’s tits and slowly massage it. Jenny open her legs but Boris waited. He want it to be memorable. He kissed her on the lips and could feel the tits hardening. “Harder,” Jenny whispered. Not wanting to disappoint, Boris squeeze the tits with his hands. A small cry was his reward. This was the way with them, a little pain mix with a lot of pleasure. With time, Boris intend to change that. Boris moved his left hand to her crotch and rubbed it. It was very wet. Gently he entered the pussy. The warm sensation engulfs him and slowly he thrust, as if he was afraid to hurt her. Jenny wrapped her legs around Boris and helped pull him in with every thrust. The rhythm increase and soon Boris was ramming it in with fury. This was the first time they were alone since they have arrived. In fact, you can say it was the first time they have been able to speak to one another. With all the tension and build-up hormones involved; almost too quickly, both of them came.

          One thing strange about Boris was that unlike most men she knew, Boris actually enjoy talking after sex. “So you have no problems with the rest of the cows?” One of the main worries Boris has was how the cows would react to Jenny.

“They are great! Sonia and your mother are going out of their way to explain everything.” A giggle escaped Jenny, “Almost like I’m still in school.”

“You seem to be spending a lot of time with them.”

“Yes. By the way, your father isn’t as bad as you think he is.”

“Why you say that?” Boris didn’t know that his father has even spoken to her.

“He left orders with Mary that I am to feel welcome.”

Now that was a surprise. “Really? Mother told you that?”

“Yes,” Jenny said. “I think it’s because of you.”

Boris considered this for a moment. “You must work hard then. You do that and father will allow you to stay.”

“I know,” Jenny cuddle up to Boris. “If I screw up, it will not be from lack of effort.” This was the opening Boris was waiting for.

“So, you are certain? About staying?” Boris asked.

“Yes. Of course.”

“Why?” The question caught Jenny off-guard again. She considered her answer.

“I’m not a freak here.”

“What? You’re no freak!”

“In the Empire, I am.” Jenny saw the look on Boris and continued, “If we told all my family and friends in the Empire that I enjoyed pain and humiliation. What do you think their reactions will be?”

“Nothing good.”

“That’s right. With equal rights, female justice and all that other crap, they would think I am insane.” Jenny has a blissful look and her face and continued, “Here, I’m just another faceless cow. Crawling and begging like the way all females should be. Here, I am normal.” 

“Crawling, begging like the way all females should be? You had been reading the holy books?”

“Sonia lent a copy of the ‘Way of the Female’ to me. An interesting book, to say the least.”

“You seem to be spending a lot of time with her.”

“Yes. She’s just great. In fact there is a great sense of togetherness among the cows.” Another giggle escaped Jenny, “Though if she knows we are talking like this, she be annoyed with me.”

“Why?”

“You are a master and I am an animal. She’ll probably think that this is wrong.”

“You do know that if we stay, you will live the rest of your life as a cow? An animal and a second-class citizen. At best!”

“I know.”

“Any male in the family walking by can order you to do anything and you will have to obey.” 

“Yes.”

“You will wear the toh-gan? A faceless drone working from sunrise to sunset?”

“I’m looking forward to the toh-gan exactly.”

“I thought you believe it to be stupid.”

“That’s before I saw it at work.”

“At work?”

Jenny took a moment to think out her answer. This will not be easy to explain. “Today while we were working, I took a moment from the running and looked at the rest of the cows.” Boris nodded his head for her to continue.

“As I looked up, all I could see were these gray robes running their ass off for their masters. It doesn’t matter if they were pretty, smart, young or old, they just have to work. It doesn’t matter if they were tired or if they were weak. They just have to run and clean till the men say stop. The…females were just grey robes running around. The toh-gan hides their beauty, intelligence, youth…and everything else. They were as Sonia says, ‘animals’. They were cows. Without beauty, intelligence or even eyes. Without identity, merely animals that will do whatever their master tell them to do. The toh-gan helped in this. Without it, they would be women who run around. With it, they were animals.”

Boris was unsure and said, “And you will be one of these grey animals.”

Jenny shivered in his arms. But it wasn’t from fear, “I look forward to it.”

“You will run on the panels for the rest of your life” Boris needed to be sure.

“A tiring, sweaty, mind-numbing, back-breaking, boring task. Perfect for a cow,” Jenny smiled.

“Someone has really been reading the books.”

“Yes, and loving every sentence of it.”

They couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“So, we’re staying?”

Jenny looked at her man and felt her love grows. She knew how very much Boris wanted to stay, but if she is unhappy, he will leave with her. “Yes. We stay.”

Homebound (Part 5)

“At the height of its glory, the Terran Empire consists of 82 habitable planets. We found many alien civilizations, of which only 10 were space-faring. All were defeated. The Corans were the 11^th. They were reptilians with a resource rich planet. An excurse was found and war was declared. Sadly, we discovered that we were not the first aliens the Corans had ever met.”

The Outer Planets, the Lost Terran Empire

                                                Published in Year 8024

It was a daily ritual. Sonia and the cows in the Pen woke up around 4am. They did their morning routine in the Pen’s bathroom and went up to the kitchen. Prepared the breakfast, arranged the table and waited for the men to come down. They arranged themselves around the rug and fell to their knees. Zhang and Mary joined them from upstairs.

Abram and Alfred came down first, around 4.30am. The cows lowered their head to the ground. The men sat down and had their breakfast. Boris came down later. The 3 men talked. Anytime they wanted something, a cow would crawl to the kitchen and take it for them. Glory to the man, this was only right.

After they had finished, the cows cleared up and prepared their own breakfast. Each cow has 2 dishes. There were some problems with Jenny as she does not have any dog dish. But that was easily settled as the family has some extra dog dish around. The food and water was poured into the dishes. The cows fell to their hand and knees and ate like the worthless animals they were. Jenny had some problems as she had never done this before, but she did not complain and tried her best to eat the food in the same way.

Maybe she was just hungry.

Mary was encouraging the new cow, offering advice on how to best do it. Sonia, to her own surprise, did the same thing. Sonia had discovered that she quite like the new cow. Jenny was beautiful, obedient and absolutely in love with Boris. Glory to the man, Boris was truly smart. He has picked well. Boris came down then and saw Jenny. They shared a look, a smile…and Sonia knew there was still some work to be done.

The relationship between a husband and wife, in the Alliance, is a relationship between a man and his animal. Whether you call them cows, pigs or worms, one thing does not change. Females are not humans. Females are animals. Crawling at the feet of the man you love is the best any female can hope for. The smile told Sonia that Jenny still thought of herself as a wife, a human, a woman.

Sonia decided then that she will pay special attention to Jenny, to teach her the role of a proper cow. She touched Jenny’s arm and told her to lower her head as a cow do not look into the eyes of her master. Jenny did so without question. Sonia smiled. It will be the first of many lessons.

Later…

          It was a daily ritual. Mary took off her toh-gan and stood in the punishment position. Legs apart, she stood straight and lock her hands behind her head. Her elbows were parallel to her body and she thrust her tits out. Sonia showed her the cane and Mary kissed it. Sonia stepped back and delivered the first hit on Mary’s ass.

The pain was great but Mary managed to shout out the phrase. “One! Thank you.”

The second hit struck her back. “Two! Thank you.”

The third hit struck her belly. “Three! Thank you.”

The fourth struck her right tit. “Four! Thank you.”

The fifth struck her left tit. “Five! Thank you.” Mary mentally prepared herself for the final 2 hits. The most painful ones.

The sixth hit struck her face. “Six! Thank you.” Mary screamed. Only one more to go.

The seventh struck her pussy. “…Seven! Thank you.”

Mary held the punishment position and tried to get her breath back. Sonia went on to deliver the Seven Strokes to Glory. Behind her, Mary can clearly hear Zhang delivering the Seven Strokes to Kris. The Seven Strokes was a daily beating the cows gave each other. Every morning after breakfast, each cow should receive the 7 strikes of the cane. This is for their own good. If they fail to please their men today, the punishment will be much harsher than 7 strokes. The Seven Strokes will teach them to know their place and remain them of their lowly position. To remain them, the price of failure

Mary gingerly put on her toh-gan. She turned around and saw Jenny sitting on the floor with Roc and Yancy. As unmarried, they will not be receiving the Seven Strokes. Jenny was looking at Zhang and Kris in terror. Mary could understand why. The relations between the 2 cows were never good; Zhang was beating Kris with relish. Mary saw Zhang gave the cane to Kris. Kris will now return the favor to Zhang. Sonia came over and hand the cane to Mary. Mary took it. She hoped Jenny wasn’t too scared by all this. 

Her master had given strict instructions yesterday on the new cow.

Later…

It was a daily ritual. Alfred would load the cows in the truck and drive them to the farm. He would then unload them and give each of them a wide broom.

The family farm was an energy farm. It consists of 12 solar panels, connected side by side with each other. The panels would catch the rays of Thordaw’s twin suns and convert it to energy. The energy would be stored in a Walien crystal below the panel. That was where his father is right now. Abram would change the crystals whenever one was filled. He would also make sure that the panels were working properly. Alfred’s job was to make sure the cows were working properly.  

Thordaw was not only a planet with a lot of sun; it was also a planet with a lot of wind. Hot wind kicks across the planet daily, throwing sand and dust in its wake. Needless to say, a solar panel with dust on it doesn’t work very well. That’s where the cows come in. With the wide brooms, they would run a circuit around the panels, sweeping off any dust on the panel. Sonia, Mary, Glory, Zhang, Kris and Jenny, that was their job. Each cow would be in charge of cleaning 2 panels. Since each panel was about half the size of a soccer field, it was a lot of work, a lot of running.

Alfred’s job was to make sure the cows do not stop running. To help him, each cow has 2 ankle bracelets, one on each ankle. The bracelets detect movement. Basically, the feet must be in constant motion. If any of the cows stop moving, the bracelets would send an electric charge up her leg. Nothing too painful, but enough to get them moving. However, there are some ways to beat the system. One of which was what Kris was doing now. The stupid cow was leaning on the broom, but moving her feet; jogging on the spot. Time for Alfred to earn his pay.

“You worthless cow, what are you doing? Move your ass before I whip it off you.” Alfred can’t see beneath the hood, but he could have sworn that he saw a look of terror on the cow’s face. Kris immediately took off. Alfred knew of farms that would shoot the lazy animal. With a rifle, the overseer would stun the cow in question, leaving her wringing in pain on the ground. ‘Target Practice’ was what it was called. It was a fun idea that was immediately shot down by his father. “Cows in pain on the ground cannot work” was what his father had said. Alfred grudgingly admits that he has a point.

 Alfred looked around. All the cows were in their toh-gan. Like faceless drones, they were running barefoot across the panels. The only one not in a toh-gan was Jenny. Alfred looked at the cow in her toh-an.

When he first saw her, Alfred thought Boris had made a mistake. Like his father said, ‘An Empire woman in the Alliance will not work.’ However, the new cow had sort of won him over. She was trying her best, doing all the work without complaints. Alfred hasn’t even had a chance to shout at her yet. His father had asked him to keep an eye on the cow and report to him his views on her work. If she continues this way, Alfred will have nothing but good things to say about her. Privately, he wondered whether his father will be happy to hear that.

Later…

It was a daily ritual. Roc and her sister were on daily house duty. That means that they would clean the house and prepare the meals. At noon, the two of them took the lunches they had prepared and walked to the farm. They placed the food near where the hover trucks were parked. Their father came soon after. The two girls fell into the Family Position.

Their father ignored them and went straight to the food. He sat down on the ground and ate slowly. Roc remained silent but was ready for any orders the man might give. At 15, Roc was still a virgin. No man in the Alliance may fuck any woman below the age of 16 unless he has a death wish. It is also the job of the girls’ guardian to ensure that such situations do not occurs. On that, Abram was doing a good job.

Roc thought of her father in detail. A harsh man, Abram Frings was also in a way a family man. His family is the most important to him and if he has to be harsh he would, because he has to always make sure that his wives and children know their duty to the family just as he knows his. In a year time, Roc would be able to get married, to be a full cow of her man. Although it’s not necessary, she wants her father blessing. She loves her father.

“Prepare the cows’ meal.” Roc heard her father’s command and saw that Alfred and the cows were approaching. Roc and her sister immediately took out the cow’s dog dishes. Arranging them in circle, Roc put the food into half of the dishes while Yancy filled the rest with water. The cows got in front of their dog dish and waited. Roc and Yancy then went to the men. They got into the Family Position and waited. Her father and Alfred were talking to each other while eating. Finally, her father asked the daily question.

“Is the food ready?”

The 2 girls answered together, “Yes Sir. The cows are really.”

“Begin.” The shout was for the cows. Behind her, Roc heard the sound of the cows falling to their knees and eating. “You may join them.” The command was for Roc and Yancy. The 2 girls ran to the circle of cows and began eating was well.

Kneeling on the ground with her face to her dog dish, Roc felt content. This was what she was born to do.

Homebound (Part 4)

          A man must protect what is his,

          A man care for what is important,

          If you cannot protect,

          If you do not care,

          Can you call yourself a man?

The Path of Man

He woke up in his old room. Rising up, Boris Frings knew that he made the right decision coming home. He had never slept some peacefully in the 5 years in the Terran Empire. The soft bed and old room remained Boris what he lost when he left. The intercom sounded.

“Up and about yet soft bones?” It was Alfred’s voice.

“Who are you calling soft. Old Man?” Boris said.

“It’s 5am in the morning and you are still in bed! That is a mark of a soft man if ever.”

“This coming from a man who once slept till 2 in the afternoon!”

“I was drunk…and I might add still a boy then.”

“Just get him down for breakfast.” The shout was from their father. Abram Frings was not too keen with the way the conversation was going.

“On my way,” Boris replied. He was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into the old way of life.

          Boris went to the bathroom and washed up. He then put on his shirt and pants. A typical Thordawan outfit. The pants were in light-blue with the gold long-sleeve shirt over it. The shirt and pants were wide, soft and very comfortable. Boris left his room and headed down to the dining room. The house was a two-storey building. The uppermost floor was basically spilt into 2 parts. The 3 men’s room, the guest room and the study were on one side, and the workshop on the other. Two stairs led down. One led to the kitchen, used mostly by the cows, and one to the dining room. Going down to the dining room, Boris was treated to a marvelous sight. There was a big rug in the centre of the room. A low table was in the centre of the rug and a feast was on that table. His father and Alfred were sitting on the rug having their breakfast. Around the rug were all the cows of Frings. Every cow was in the family position with their head pointed towards the table. Knowing the way of the family, no one will get out of their position till the men had finished their meal. Boris saw Jenny at one side of the rug kneeling with his two sisters. He took his seat at the table.

“Finally up uh?” his father gruff voice asked.

“You could have waked me.”

“And make you lost your beauty sleep?” Alfred was enjoying this. “Not likely.”

“Coffee” Abram lifted his cup. Boris heard someone crawling to the kitchen. The cow in question then ran back to the dining room with a pot of coffee in hand. Once she reached the rug, she went to her knees and crawled to the men. She poured the coffee into Abram’s cup. “Enough,” his father said. The cow stopped pouring and then crawled back to the edge of the rug. Once there, she got up and ran to the kitchen. After putting down the pot, she crawled back to her position in the dining room as fast as her hands and knees could take her and assumed the family position again. It was Glory.

“Just like old times.” Boris said.

“They are cows,” his father said. “They live to serve. Do you agree?”

It was an old argument between father and son. Old as in past tense.

“Yes I agree.” Boris said. The look between his father and brother told Boris just how much he has changed.

“You registered yet?” Alfred asked.

“Later. Then I’m going to the city.”

“Where are you going today?” his father asked, never liking the city at all.

“Confirming some job interviews and then I am going to the temple.”

The men nodded their approval.  

The rest of the meal past without incident. Mostly Alfred and his father spoke about the energy farm. Boris avoided the conversation like the plague. After the meal, Boris used the computer in his room to enter the registry at City Hall. Updating the system, he registered his residence at the farm and informed them of his permanent stay. After that was done, he confirm the time and place of his interview at the spaceport. He then changed and went downstairs. He saw the cows having their breakfast.

The cows were on their hands and knees in the kitchen. In front of each cow were 2 dog dishes placed on the floor. Boris knew that one of the dishes has water while the other contained some meat substance. Boris never asked what the meat was made of. Their heads were lowered to their meal. Animals do not use their hands. He saw Jenny talking to Sonia and Mary. He was glad she was doing well. Jenny saw Boris then and they shared a smile. Sonia then touched Jenny on the arm and Jenny’s head lowered to her dish.

Boris left the kitchen and went to the garage. The family has 4 vehicles. 2 trucks, a hover-bike and a small jet for long distance travel. Boris took the bike. The trip to New Dawn City was short. The hover-bike is much faster than the truck and Boris was always a fast rider. He saw the huge Temple easily. Landing at a nearby public car-park, Boris walked towards the Temple of Manhood.

He heard the screams before he saw it. In front of the entrance of the Temple was the

Temple Square

. There were 10 X-frames placed alongside one another in the square. 8 of those frames were currently occupied. A cow was tied to each of those 8 frames and they were secured tightly. Behind them, a monk was whipping each of the cows with a long laser whip. Each laser whip was about 3 meter long. When struck, the pain the cows feel was great. Boris also knows for a fact that the whip give off an electrical charge when it connect with the skin, furthering the pain.

The cows on the frame were there for a reason. Crimes by cows were not unheard of. Usually, the punishment is carried out by the cows’ guardian. This was the cows’ father, husband or son. However, for serious crimes like murder, treason or fraud, the state carry out the punishment. As the death sentence is not allowed for females, the punishment for serious crimes is usually changed to heavy labor and whipping. The cows on the frames were all convicted of serious crimes and the monks were making them regret it. Hitting with gusto, the monks left red marks all over their cows’ body. Each cow has a daily no. of strikes she must endure, ranging from 50 to 100, depending on the crime.

As is usually the case, there was a crowd. Men bought their cows along for the viewing. Standing behind their men, the cows see the X-frames and the punishment for them if they ever even imagine committing a crime. Men can also rent the X-frames for a period for public whipping. The men were showing their cows the price of failure. It is a very good threat.

Boris took a moment to see the whipping. He knew of men who could classify the screams into the categories of good, beautiful or exquisite. He never knew what they were talking about. To him, the screams were just loud. He remembers the first time he hit Jenny.

They were in her room and he was holding a leather belt. He was angry with her and told her to strip. She refused and screamed at him. The belt flew and hit her tits. She screamed again. He threw her facedown onto the floor and put his knee on her back, pining her to the ground. The belt hit her ass and a loud crack echoed across the room. Again and again, the room echoed. Spent, Boris got up and saw her on the floor crying. Only one word could describe his feeling then. POWER! He tore off her panties and entered her. She was very wet. She came before he did…and came again when he finally cum. It was short but intense. The best fuck both of them ever had. From that day on, she was his.

Boris knows that Jenny would never disobey him, but he is unsure about other men. A cow must obey all men in her family and he was not the only man in the family. He will bring Jenny along for the next whipping.

Boris left the square and walked to the Temple of Manhood. It was a huge building. The size of a small football stadium, it was a 15-storey high building with a number of underground floors. It was the most beautiful building in the city. City Hall was bigger, the local Military building was more impressive, but the Temple was the most beautiful. Using the public terminal in the entrance, Boris found the man he was looking for. He was in his private chambers.

No cows were allowed in the Temple but men have free access, so Boris went to the chambers without incident. The door slide open and he saw his uncle. Kiki Frings was a brother of Abram, but instead of entering the family trade on the farm, he decided to enter the monastery. About the height of Jenny, Kiki was a strong man with lean muscles. A martial arts and weapons expert, he, like all monks, strove to be the embodiment of the prefect man. Like his father, Kiki was a hard man. He has 2 cows of his own which he use without mercy. The cows were happy as they belong to a man that strove to be strong. You do not marry a monk of the Temple without knowing that pain will be your life. That monk also has a huge smile on his face.

“Boris!” His uncle gave him a big hug.

“Uncle! How are you?”

“Good. Very good in fact. Come in. When you got back?”

“Yesterday night. Father told you I was coming back?”

“Of course! We had a bet going, you know. I told him you’ll be back sooner or later. You just made me a little money yesterday.”

“Glad to help.” Boris replied. Maybe his uncle knew him better then he know himself.

His uncle asked about Titan and his past 5 years. He was surprised by Jenny but told Boris that he was a man and could do as he wish. That’s why Boris had always liked his uncle. Support. Finally the small talk was over and the serious questions began.

“So…why are you really here.”

“Can a man visit his uncle?” The look on his uncle’s face told Boris he did not believe that for a single second.

“I know you better than that. Why are you here on the first day of your return?” his uncle asked. “You have something to tell me?”

 “Are you still a member of the Temple council uncle?”

“Yes.”

The Patriarch Alliance has a President and a Vice-President elected by the men of the Alliance. Below them, they were advised by the 5 branches of the government; the merchants (Trade), the scientists (Research), the police (Law Enforcement), the soldiers (Military) and the monks (Temple). Boris’ uncle was a high ranking member of the Temple. Not the top, or even in the top 10, but high enough to easily be in the top 50. He can get things noticed.

Boris took a moment to compose himself. This was not going to be easy. “I believe,” he finally said, “that the Terran Empire will soon attack the Outer Rims.” His uncle was shocked…but he recovered. “Explain, Boris.”

So he did, about the 5 years in the Empire, the military build-up in the Empire, the views of the Terran, the money that will be made by the war merchants and finally the desire to regain past pride and glory. His uncle grew grave as his story grew and finally said, “I believe you Boris.”

Homebound (Part 3)

The Patriarch Alliance were among the planets lost to the Walien Theocracy in 7816… the planets had taken the alien’s social, political and even religious doctrine as their own. Most humans consider the humans of the Alliance more alien then human.

The Outer Planets,

The Lost Terran Empire

                                                                             Published in Year 8024

          “You hungry?” The woman asking Jenny sat on the floor. “There’s still some food in the kitchen.”

“No. We ate on the transport.” Jenny looked around her as she settled on the floor. The room was big. After Boris left with Alfred, his mother half-drag Jenny into the kitchen. A downward staircase from the kitchen led to the current room Jenny was in. Jenny saw many single beds with a small cupboard placed in front of every bed. There was however no chairs, so Jenny and every woman in the room were sitting on the floor in the centre of the room.

“Should we be talking?” Jenny asked. “No speaking unless spoken to.”

“Cows are allowed to speak first in the kitchen, in the bedroom and in the pen,” the woman replied kindly.

“Pen?”

“This room. The cows’ room.” 

“This is called the Pen.”

“Where all cows sleep, till her man call her to his great presence.” Another woman spoke. She wore the same outfit as Zhang only without the hood. Once in the house, Zhang took her hood off as well.

Just like an animal. Jenny was proud that she managed not to shutter.

“Where does Boris sleep?”

“Upstairs. In his room, of course.” Boris’ mother sound surprised at the question.

“So the men has their own rooms…while the women sleep together.”

“Yes…and we are not women. We are cows”

“That doesn’t sound very fair.”

“We are cows,” Boris’ mother smiled. “They are men. Glory to the man. It is only right.”

“…OK”

Glory to the man? What the hell does that means?

“A lot to take in, isn’t it?” Boris’ mother asked kindly.

“Yes. May I ask a question?” The look on the women’s face told Jenny she’d made a mistake. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Nothing major,” the mother assured her. “Cows should always speak of themselves in the third person. Try never to use ‘I’.”

“And call yourself something low and useless.” The woman that spoke was Zhang. “For example, you should say something like ‘Can this worthless piece of meat ask something’ or ‘Could this stupid beast ask something’” All the other women nodded their head in agreement.

“Oh.” She was right. It was a lot to take in. “Can this worthless cow ask something?”

“Of course dear,” Boris’ mother smiled again.

“What’s your name?”

The women all stopped. Jenny was afraid that she had made another mistake…then the room exploded. Every woman in the room was laughing her guts out.

“She got you there Mary.” “She too happy after seeing her son.” “Not bad for a first timer.” Everyone was talking at the same time.

“Ok, OK. Everyone calm down,” Mary said, though in truth she was having a hard time controlling herself as well. Looking at Jenny after a long time, she said. “Sorry. You’re right, introductions first. This is Mary of Frings, second of Abram, mother of Boris, mother of Daniel. My true name is Useless” Mary bowed her head slightly as she spoke.

“Second? That means you are the second wife?”

Boris didn’t tell me that

“That’s right. Sonia here is first.” Mary pointed to a much older woman beside her.

“This is Sonia of Frings, first of Abram, mother of Alfred. My true name is Worthless Cunt”

 “This is Glory of Frings, third of Abram, mother of Chan, mother of Elrond. My true name is Used Pussy.”

“What is a true name?” Jenny asked quickly. She was very interested in why they keep calling themselves these horrible names.

“Your name is the name your father gave you when you are born. When you marry, your husband will rename you. This is your true name. The name only your new family would know. No one else.”

“Oh…something liked a family secret.”

“That’s right.” Mary smiled again.

They are smiling? After all that!

“This stupid cow is Zhang of Frings, first of Abram, mother of Avery. My true name is Faceless Whore.”

“That’s Avery?” Jenny asked. Pointing to the baby Zhang was carrying.

“Yes, cute isn’t him.” A mother’s pride was evident on Zhang’s face.

“This is Kris of Frings, second of Abram. My true name is Piss Drinker.”

“This is Roc, daughter of Abram Frings.”
”This is Yancy, daughter of Abram Frings.”

          Roc and Yancy were dressed differently from the rest of the women. Roc had on a sleeveless red dress with a gold bodice. The dress was cut at mid thigh. Yancy had about the same outfit, only it was a blue dress with a light-blue bodice. Both dresses were very eye-catching.

“You’re Boris’ sisters.” Jenny asked. “He said he has 3 sisters.”

“Siti is a worm now,” Mary said. “Roc’s my daughter, Yancy is Glory’s.”

“Worm? What’s that?”

“A female of Kadir. Females are called worms on that planet.” Sonia replied.

 “So, women are called differently on different planets?” Jenny was surprised. Boris never said anything about this…again!

“Yes. On Thordaw, cows. On Kadir, worms. On Whiteside, pigs. Don’t worry; most outsiders make the same mistakes.” Mary assured her.

“And treated differently as well.” Kris added.

“Differently? How?” This was something new to Jenny. Her research never said anything about this.

“Jobs, education and the females are dressed differently as well,” Mary replied. “By the way, how tall are you?”

“1.84m. Why?”

“We’ll get you a toh-an tomorrow.” Mary looked at Sonia. “We got anything her size and height?”

“Size yea. Don’t know about height” Sonia replied.

“So she’ll be showing a lot of leg,” Kris said. “The men won’t mind.” Kris was smiling at Jenny with a hungry look in her eyes. Jenny, with a start, realized that she was not the only one.

“What’s a toh-an?” Jenny wanted to move the conversation along.

“What Roc and Yancy are wearing,” Mary said. “All unmarried female wear the toh-an. When married, you wear the toh-gan.” Pointing at the grey oversized (and very uncomfortable-looking) robe she’s wearing.

“Oh…but we are getting married?” Jenny knew Boris long enough to know how stubborn he can be. She has no doubt that they will be married.

“No ceremony, no test. So you are unmarried.” Mary said.

“OK,” Jenny said. Something must have showed on her face. Mary reached over and touched her hand.

“Don’t worry,” she said kindly. “Glory to the man. Boris is smart. He would not ask you to come to Thordaw if he think you can’t handle things.”

“He is smart.” That is true. Boris is one of the smartest man Jenny knows.

“He is strong, He is smart,

  He is fast, He is wise,

  He is My man,

  He is My master,

  He is My God”

          Every woman in the room intoned the chant. One that Jenny knows.

Time to impressive them that I’m not a total idiot.

“That’s the 8^th chant in the Way of the Female, isn’t it?” Jenny tried to sound as innocent as possible.

“Yes.” Mary looked shocked. “You know the chants?”

“Only the nine major ones. Boris insisted that I learnt them along with some positions.”

“Glory to the man. Your man is wise.” This was Zhang. She sounded impressed.

“Jenny?” Glory said.

“Yes”

“Answer me with the first thing that comes to your head.” Glory looked serious.

She’s going to ask me a question.

“Ok”

“Which chant do you most agree with?”

“The 5^th.” The answer was out before she could do anything.

All the women looked at Jenny. Some nodded their head, some didn’t. Everyone intoned the 5^th chant,

                                      “All woman are cows,

                                        Cows are weak, cows are stupid,

                                        I am a woman,

                                        I am weak, I am stupid.

                                        I am a cow.”

          Jenny was surprised that she had chanted along with the women. “Is that important?” she asked on one in particular.

“Very important.” Sonia said.

“Why?”

“The chant a cow most agree…” The answer was never completed.

“MAN!” Jenny didn’t know who shouted but without hesitation, every woman turned toward the door and fell to their knees. Heads flew to the floor and everyone assumed the family position. Jenny was not going to be the only one sitting when everyone was bowing. She assumed the position as well.

“Cows.” The voice belonged to Alfred.

“Yes, Sir.” It sounded to Jenny that everyone had shouted the reply.

“Father will have Useless today. I will take Faceless Whore,” Alfred said. “Lights out in 15mins.”

“Yes, Sir.” Again the reply was shouted back. Jenny heard Alfred walking away. She was not going to risk a look. When the footsteps were on the stairs, Mary and Zhang jumped up and ran to the back of the room. There was a shower at the back along with a sink. There was also a hole in the ground for the toilet. Several mirrors lined the back wall. Mary took off her toh-gan and jumped into the shower. Zhang was brushing for teeth furiously at the sink. All these were happening right in front of Jenny. There was not a single door for modesty.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Mary and Zhang will serve their men tonight,” Sonia said. “They need to get ready.”

“This is what Mary said earlier?” Jenny asked. “The man pick, then the woman go up to their room to …serve?”

“Yes and we are not women.” Sonia said. “We are cows. We are worthless pieces of meat that are useless unless we are in the presence of a man.” It was then that Jenny first discovered that the woman…cow called Sonia was a very religious female.

“Oh.” Jenny saw Mary and Zhang switch positions. “What about me? I mean with Boris?”

“Did you spend the night with him last night?”

“You can say that. We were together in the transport.” Jenny saw that everyone was preparing for bed.

“A cow may not spend 2 nights in a row with her man,” Sonia was smiling as she said that.

“WHAT?” Jenny was in disbelief.

“In the spirit of fairness, no cow may spend 2 nights in a row with her man.” Sonia continued, “That way, all the cow in the house can spend one night every 5 days with their man.”

“So, the rules are that you get to spend one night every 5 days with your man?” This could be harder than Jenny thought. “One fuck every 5 DAYS?”

“No, of course not!” Sonia was laughing again.

Why do they laugh so much? They should be crying!

“A man can have his cows anytime he wants. He just have to…fuck as you say it, every cow he has at least once every 5 days.”

“So,” Jenny think she is beginning to understand. “A man can have a max of 5 wives and he has to screw everyone he has at least once every 5 days?”

“Yes”

“And he can screw them twice in a row?”

“He can do whatever he wants.” Sonia replied. “He just have to make sure he is not neglecting anyone.”

“So in the spirit of fairness, he is not allowed to spend 2 nights in a row with any 1 cow? Even when he only has 1 wife?” Jenny saw that Mary and Zhang are putting on make-up.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“What if he wants to spend the night with the same wom…cow” Sonia’s look told her to change her sentence to ‘cow’.

“Men has rules just like cows,” Sonia replied patiently. “They must follow their rules just like we follow ours.”

“If they don’t want to?” Jenny was very uncomfortable sleeping alone on her first night in Thordaw. “You said that they can do what they want. Right?”

“Men has rules.” A look of sadness crossed Sonia’s face. “A cow that disobey the rules get punished. A man that flout the rules get death.”

“A death sentence?” Boris told Jenny that the men of the Patriarch Alliance has laws that they were harsh, but never this serious. “For something like this?”

“It is not unheard of.” Sonia looked at Jenny and said, “In some ways, pigs, cows and worms are more protected under the laws than men are.”

“Ok. Then I sleep here?”

“This bed.” Sonia pointed to the bed in question. “It used to belong to Siti.”

“My luggage?”

“Useless.” Jenny grasped at the woman. “You will wear the toh-an tomorrow and everyday till you are married. Then you will wear the toh-gan.” Sonia said not unkindly. “What you have belong to your man. Your man will provide, you will serve, what you have before you came to your knees are useless in your new life as an animal of your man. Your man will order you, command you, and protect you. You will obey, you will understand, you will care. You will suffer and you will be happy. Nothing else matter.”

Jenny stood there shocked. Beyond shocked. She was very turned-on by Sonia’s speech and that was more surprising than anything that has happened.

“Sleep tonight.” Sonia said kindly. “Tomorrow you serve. And you will love your new life.” For some reason that she can’t understand, Jenny believed her.