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THE TAPE SLAVES (mc, sci-fi, philosophy) - (6/&t) 

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that went off better."
     Mindy Atkins smiled as she slid a finger into herself. Life was
funny. Since she and Frank had divorced, they had lost a part of
their relationship, but had somehow gained a better one. Frank and
she still talked at least once or twice a week. Whenever Frank needed
advice about work, he would usually first call Mindy, and maybe not
even bring it up with his wife. And once a month, like clockwork,
he'd drop by and deliver to Mindy the alimony check, plus a little
something extra, too, which Mindy still found she enjoyed. Frank may
not be her husband anymore, but they had spent so many years together
that they were pretty much ruined for anyone else, Marion
notwithstanding. Marion must have sensed this, too. She knew that she
might have Frank's name, but Mindy still had the rest of him. This
disturbed her not a little. She was glad that she and Mindy were
circle partners. She didn't like to think what this lady might
otherwise do if should she take a disliking to her.

     Frank Robinson climbed onto the bed and between Marion's
outstretched legs. Unzipping the jodhpurs, he pulled out his prick.
Laying his swelling cock on her thatch of brunette pubic hairs, he
tickled her underarms with the crop. As Marion squirmed and gave
muffled screams, her nipples rose to full bloom and her pussy lips
began to swell, and swell again. Marion's major lips were just that,
major. When she was fully aroused, she could stretch them enough to
tie them together into a loose knot, as Frank and Mindy well knew.
Frank was ready now. He took his dick in hand, and aimed it directly
between her pillowy lips. With a gentle push the tip nestled between
them, burying itself in her warm tunnel. Frank swatted her thighs and
pelvis and slowly backed out, then in deeper. Marion, unable to move,
pulled at the ropes while the sensations coursed through her.

     Mindy got up from her chair and joined the pair on the bed.
Straddling the hooded face, she ground her twat into the younger
woman's nose. Once or twice the zipper caught one of her hairs, which
caused Mindy to yelp and rub the tingling fur with her hand.

     As Frank felt his climax coming, he nodded to Mindy, who already
knew it. He pulled out and held his cock high in the air. Mindy
lifted herself off of Marion and leaned forward. Frank's load shot
out and into Mindy's awaiting mouth. Mindy drank deep his semen,
milking every drop from his spigot with her hands. When a few drops
spilled out of her mouth, Mindy scooped them up with her fingers and
coated her lips with his sticky whiteness.
     
     "Look's like we'll be doing this again, soon," Frank remarked as
they climbed off of his wife.
     Mindy was confused. "What, you mean do your wife together?"
     "No, silly. I mean a wedding. Kevin and Sally?"
     "Probably so." Mindy looked thoughtful. "Darling, What *shall*
we do about Gina?"

     Gina went up the elevator to her mother's room to see if she
wanted to get some dinner. Mindy answered the door, naked. "Hi,
honey! We were just talking about you." Gina entered the suite and
followed her mother into the bedroom, 
     "Hi punkin. Well, one down and two to go. Looks like your
brother will be next." He flicked the crop down right between
Marion's legs, missing her pussy by millimeters. Marion, unable to
see, still felt the vibration as it struck the mattress so close to
her and started. "We were wondering when you might be finding someone
to settle down with."
     "You remember Richard, the Durham's boy, don't you," her mother
added. "He's a nice young man, a lawyer now. You always used to like
him when you were children, as I recall."
     "Mother, father, if you're through marrying me off to the
highest bidder, I just came up to tell you that Kevin and Sally and I
were going to get some dinner."
     Frank said, "Yeah, that sounds good." Bending down to the side
of the Marion's hood, Frank asked loudly "Marion, are you hungry
dear?"
     Marion nodded. 
     "OK, let's eat." He began to untie Marion's bonds.
     "Wait a second, dad. May I?" 
     Frank handed his daughter the riding crop. "Don't be long."
Frank and Mindy went into the bathroom to clean up.
     Gina looked down at Marion, twisting the crop in her hand. Here
was the woman who had broken up his parent's marriage. This was the
one responsible for all the pain she had suffered. Smack! The crop
landed lightly on her thigh. Marion's leg jumped, pulling the cord
around her ankle taut.
     Gina ran the crop slowly up her skin. Before her father had
married Marion, Gina remembered an active hatred for the girl, which
was reciprocated more or less in kind. She thought Marion a selfish,
shallow gold digger who basically was with her father because he had
bucks. Marion's attitude was that Gina should, A: mind her own
fucking business, B: stop being such a little bitch, and C: grow up.
But then, as a member of the family, she was automatically included
in the family's sex circle. Gina really hadn't wanted to be taped to
feel desire for Marion, but the local Community Center had contacted
her and asked her to come in. Gina came in that same day and was
taped. Now she still didn't like Marion, wished she'd just go away.
But now there was something else between them, a physical attraction.
The shape of her enormous breasts made Gina's mouth water, the way
her pussy lips grew equally enormous when she got excited, like now.
The way she could come just from being touched.. 
     Gina flicked the crop down on Marion's belly button. Her whole
body jumped. Gina, tossing the crop aside, sat down next to Marion
and pushed her face into her twat. Smelling the delicious aroma, Gina
took Marion's huge, puffy lips in her mouth and ran them back and
forth between her lips. Marion orgasmed right there, her body
becoming stiff and rigid, crying out through the zippered hood.
Gina's lips were wet from her bubbling juices.
     Gina sat up again and faced Marion. Slowly she ran her fingers
over Marion's shoulders and breasts. Such lovely, perfectly tanned
skin, she thought. She took Marion's neck in her hands and held it
there, not squeezing at all, trying to remember a dream she had, long
ago. She had hated Marion then, had wanted to kill her.. She was
sitting like this, holding something in her hands. What was it? Her
hands remained loose.
     Gina heard a grunt. She was pulled back to reality. Marion
grunted again and shook her head. Gina pulled open the zipper.
     "Could we finish this later, Gina. I'm hungry," she said, a
trifle coldly.

                              Chapter 14
                              The Parting

"All farewells should be sudden"
     LORD BYRON

"I'm free! And I'm waiting for you to follow me."
     THE WHO

     When Gina returned home from the airport she threw her bags down
in the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Why was travel so tiring
when you spent most of the time just sitting in a cab or an plane,
anyway? Yawning, she slowly sat up, undressed, and walked into the
bathroom for a quick shower.

     While showering, Gina ran the warm water over her body. She
fantasized about Lisa, married to three men. Three men, one for each
hole. Little Lisa would probably get well filled every night now.
And, of course, Gina was part of their sex circle, too. She let the
soothing water massage her body and stuck her little finger in her
mouth with one hand while the other went between her legs. Her thumb
she pushed into her twat, while the first knuckle of her index finger
slid up her ass. Three men, she continued to think, pushing the
little finger deep in her mouth. Her other two fingers began to
masturbate her cunt and anus. She leaned against the back wall,
sucked and fucked herself, and fantasized.
     She was straddling Lloyd, pumping his cock furiously in her
pussy. Then Chris came up before her and held his wicked dick in her
face. She swallowed it and ran her fingernails through the hairs on
his scrotum. Then when she thought she could stand no more, David
came up behind her and shoved his big black organ deep inside her
rectum. Three men, all fucking her at the same time, all working just
to give her pleasure.
     Gina's knees went slack and she slid down the back wall of the
shower, legs bent at the knees, spread wide, her ass floating above
the inch or so of water in the bottom of the shower. Her hand rocked
back and forth, pushing first into her pussy, then up her ass. She
had put two fingers deep in her mouth now, tickling her tonsils. The
water splashed against her face and chest, stinging the nipples to
aching hardness.
     With the thought of 'Three Men' running through her mind, Gina
climaxed hard. Her legs flew out from under her and she landed with a
small splash. The orgasm slowly ran it's course, and her body stopped
trembling.
     
     Wearing a robe, she walked into the kitchen and looked in the
refrigerator. Empty, as expected. Well what did you expect, that the
food elves would come in while you were gone and restock your house?
Gina noticed the blinking light on her answering machine. She pushed
a button on it.
     "-Beep- Hello. This is Lyle MacDonald with the Second Street
Community Center, with a message for Gina Robinson. We'd like to have
her come in for a taping at her earliest convenience. If you have any
questions you can reach me at..."
     Gina checked her watch. About 4:30. Well, the Centers are open
24 hours, and the store will probably close around 10, so I'll head
down to the Center first, and then pick up some groceries on the way
home.

     "Hello, may I help you?"
     "Yes, I'm Gina Robinson. I'm here to see Lyle MacDonald?"
     "Just a second." The receptionist pushed some buttons and spoke
into the headset she wore, "Hello, Lyle? Gina Robinson is here to see
you." Then to Gina, "He'll be right down. Have a seat, please."
     "Thank you." Gina barely had time to look at the magazine titles
before Lyle appeared before her. "Hello, Gina. How are you today?"
     "Fine, and you?" she replied automatically.
     "Just peachy. Would you come this way?" He led her to an office.
A desk and a single chair with the headset built into the arm adorned
the room. "Please, have a seat, we'll have you on your way in no
time."
     Gina settled into the chair and placed the earphones over her
head.
     "Are you comfortable?" Gina nodded. "All right, let's begin."
Lyle tapped at the computer and then pushed the button on his desk.

     "Hello, Gina. Glad you could make it. This is a very special
tape, created just for you. In fact, it's unique. Starting now, you
are no longer a tape slave, no longer part of the community. All the
programming done to your mind over the last ten years is now being
removed. Not just the conscious imperatives, but the unconscious
attitude adjustments also. You are now forever free from taping. In
fact, you are now immune from the effect of the tapes. You may find
some unpleasant memories surfacing in the days and weeks ahead.
Apologies are offered for any inconvenience this may cause."
     "Unfortunately, the ability you have enjoyed for the last ten
years to quickly memorize printed material has also been removed. You
will find that the vast majority of the knowledge you have learned
will still be retained, but you may start forgetting bits and pieces
over the years. Any future material you now read will be absorbed
into your memory normally. It is not known how fast your reading
speed will now be. Probably it will still be extremely fast, but not
as fast as before."
     "Some final words of advice. Note these are not commands, just
suggestions, you may do with them as you like. First, you probably
shouldn't tell anybody of your new status. Although it's not against
the law to not be a tape slave, many people will either not believe
you, or will try to force you to be taped in their presence. Of
course, this will have no effect on you, but the situations that
arise could become well, unpredictable."
     "For now, continue with your life as normal, if you wish. The
immunity you have been granted is permanent. No attempt will be made
by any Community Center to contact you again. You have been given
your freedom, which will be yours for the rest of your life."
     "Goodbye forever, Gina."

     The tape ended. Gina pulled the earphones off and looked around
the room. It was empty. She picked up her purse and left the room.
The corridor was deserted. She walked back to the lobby and the
reception desk. The woman was still sitting behind the counter, the
only person other than herself present.
     "Excuse me, miss?" Gina asked.
     "Yes, miss?" the lady replied.
     "I was just taped, and uh..."
     "Was there a problem? Who was your counselor?"
     "Lyle Macdonald."
     "Who?" The lady obviously didn't seem to remember either Gina or
Lyle.
     "He said his name was Lyle MacDonald. Don't you remember? You
called him on your phone when I got here."
     "And when did you get here?"
     "Just a few minutes ago!" Gina was getting angry, but she was
scared too. She tried to stay cool.
     "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't remember you. And we don't have
anyone by that name working here. If you like, I can check with
another Center. What was your name?"
     Gina was breathing rapidly now. Keep cool, she thought, don't
blow it. "No, that's all right." She said, nonchalantly. "I think
I've made a mistake, that's all."
     "Oh. No problem. Can I help you with anything else?" the
receptionist asked politely.
     "No, thanks. I guess I'd better be going." Gina edged slowly to
the door. Were they just going to let her walk out of here? Where
would she go?
     "Have a nice day." The receptionist pulled a crossword puzzle
book from a drawer and started a puzzle. Gina pushed on the plate
glass door, opened it, and walked through it. Turning, she looked
through the glass at the reception area. The lady behind the counter
looked up briefly and waved, then returned to her puzzle.

     Gina never did get to the grocery store, instead suddenly
finding herself home. She vaguely remembered driving in a daze. She
needed to think! She needed to go home and lock the doors and figure
out what had happened. When she went inside, there was another
message on the machine. Fearing the worst, she played it back. It
turned out to be from her mother
     "Hello honey, it's your mother. I had lunch with Isabelle Durham
today. You know, Richard's mother. She says that he remembers you and
would like to call you. If you like, I'll pass your number along to
her..."
     Shit! Gina had rewound the tape after hearing Lyle's message.
Now her mother had overwritten it. There was no longer any record of
her trip to the Center.
     As her mother's message continued, a flood of memories came back
to Gina. "Oh my *God*! I slept with my mother! And my father!" Gina
was filled with revulsion at some of the things she had done, both
with her parents and her siblings. "And Marion! I put her fat, gross
pussy in my... my..." She found that she could not complete the
thought, but just skirting the edge of it made her want to vomit.
"And dad, he and I... he..." Gina, knowing what was going to happen,
ran into the bathroom and knelt down before the toilet. Gulping and
making disgusting gurgles, finally the memory hit her. "He got me
pregnant!" Gina barfed up her guts into the receptacle. "And I had an
abortion, it was one of those tapes that made me. And then I forget
all about it!" Gina threw up for a long time. Then she cried.

                              Chapter 15
                             The Partners

"Every sin is the result of a collaboration"
     STEPHEN CRANE

"I was always an independent, even when I had partners."
     SAM GOLDWYN

     Hannah Bliss unlocked her front door and entered. Dropping her
attache case on a table next to the door, she went upstairs and
undressed, then climbed into bed. A tall, dark skinned woman was
asleep on the other side of the bed. Hannah lay on her side and
gently placed her hand on the woman's cheek. The woman opened her
eyes halfway.
     "Honey, I'm home." The tall woman rolled over close to her.
Irene Bliss lay her head on the shoulder of her wife of eight years.
She murmured something then fell back asleep. Soon Hannah's eyelids
drooped shut and they napped together.
     A few hours later two men entered through a doorway, along with
two toddlers. The taller man had a thin build, with a long face and
short brown hair. The shorter was of Japanese origin, with a stocky
build, thick arms and legs, and straight black hair which hung flat
encircling his head. The children, a boy and a girl both about two or
three years old were holding stuffed animals. The girl was a fair
blonde with green eyes. The boy was a smaller version of the oriental
man, olive skinned, with tiny slits in his pudgy face for eyes.
     They noticed the attache case in the front room and picked up
the children and carried them upstairs. They set the kids down on the
bed and whispered in their ears, "There's your mommies. Go wake up
mommy!"
     "Mommy! Mommy! Wake up, mommy!" The kids scampered up the bed.
The women were awakened by the commotion of two small children
shaking them. Groggy, they opened their eyes and saw Paula and Doug,
their children. They pulled the babes to them and hugged and kissed
them. In the doorway stood the children's fathers, Matt and Yoshi
Inazuka.
     "How was the zoo?" Irene asked
     "Hot. Crowded. The kids liked it, though."
     "Did you have fun today?" Hannah cooed to Doug.
     "Uh huh. Mommy, I saw horses and went on the choo-choo and..." 
     "He got scared by th' efalents!" Paula interrupted. The children
babbled happily to their mothers.
     Matt said, "If you two want to rest, we can put them to bed."
     "Have they eaten yet?" Irene asked 
     "Yep."

     Hannah and Irene had been married for three years when Matt and
Yoshi bought the other half of the building that comprised their
divided condo. They remembered Matt Leher, now Inazuka, from high
school. He had taken his husband's name when they were married. They
became close friends. Irene and Hannah were happy together and didn't
really want to add anyone to their union, and Doug and Matt felt the
same way. But both sets of couples wanted to have their child, and
each pair needed the other. So Hannah and Matt had their
contraceptive implants removed and produced Paula Bliss, while Irene
gave Yoshi and Matt a child, named Douglas Inazuka. The adults still
had no plans to marry each other, but agreed to raise the children
jointly. So they had a doorway cut into the shared wall, connecting
their homes together. It was a sensible solution, with four parents
the children got twice the attention and love, and each couple had a
built-in baby-sitter. It was becoming common as more people both made
non-traditional marriages and still worked around the one child per
couple restriction. 

     Some houses were even being designed with this in mind, clusters
of attached buildings each with one or two bedrooms, large enough for
a small family, all built interconnected and enclosing a common
courtyard. It was very affordable for young and first-time buyers and
gave both privacy and a feeling of community with one's neighbors.
Hannah knew all this because was an architect. She helped design and
build such homes. 

     After bathing the kids and putting them to bed, the four adults
gathered back in the bedroom. After smoking some grass they began to
feel pretty happy. The four of them smooched and petted each other
for a while. "I bet you two ladies really missed these, eh?" Yoshi
asked, pulling out his still soft dick from his shorts and holding it
out. Matt followed suit, thrusting his hips slightly and grinned.
"Must've been terrible for them." he quipped.
     The ladies raised their eyebrows and looked at each other.
     "Well, don't you fret, ladies. We're here and we're ready to do
our manly duty."
     "That reminds me Irene," Hannah said sardonically, "The next
time we're at the miniature golf course, don't let me forget to get
one of those stubby pencils."
     "Stubby pencil!?" Yoshi grinned. "Madam, prepare yourself for a
hole in one!" Giggling, Hannah spread her arms and legs wide, and he
threw himself on top of top of her. Hannah wrapped herself around him
as he landed and they commenced to kiss and rub against each other.

     Irene reached out and took Matt's still limp cock in her hand.
Scrunching toward her, Matt took her face in his hands and gently
kissed the eyelids. Occasionally they would kiss deeply, tenderly.
Irene ran the backs of her nails over his hairy legs, she could feel
the goose pimples rising on his skin. Matt slipped his hand down to
her pussy and began lightly running his fingertips over her pubic
patch and thighs, gently delving to her swelling lips every so often.
His cock was becoming quite stiff now. Irene loved the slight curve
that Matt's prick got when he became hard. It felt no different
inside her, but when she sucked or jacked him, it seemed strange and
exotic.

     Hannah took Yoshi's hard cock in her hand and guided it to her
wet pussy. "Fuck me hard, you fucker!" she ordered. 
     "Oh, you're gonna get it bad, bitch!" As Yoshi jammed himself
into her, her copious love juices bubbled up around the sides of his
piston. Hannah ran her hands through his dark, coarse hair as he
pushed in and out, faster and faster. He put his lips to her breasts,
swollen these days from nursing the children and suckled from her,
drawing her milk into his mouth.
     "Oh, that's it! Suck my milk. Oh shit, that feels good! Oh fuck
me!" Hannah dug her nails deeply into Yoshi's fleshy back and groaned
loudly.

     Irene and Matt continued to lovingly kiss and gently caress,
arousing one another to a serene state of smouldering desire.
Occasionally they would glance at the pair going at it like a
four-alarm fire.
     "How do you put up with her?" he asked, smiling.
     "The same way you do with him." she retorted. They continued to
kiss long and deep and bring each other to a slow boil. Irene slowly
but deliberately pulled the skin on his penis back and forth, while
he smoothly ran his fingertips up her slit and languorously swirled
his thumb around the base of her clitoris. Matt gently squeezed her
breast. A small trickle of her mother's milk began to flow. He cupped
his hand under her tit and gathered a few drops in it. Bringing it
up, they both lapped at it with their tongues.

     "C'mon cunt, turn over!" Yoshi said, pulling out and stroking
himself before her. The hairs on his balls were matted down from her
excessive lubrication.
     "What do you think you're going to do with that hideous little
fucker?" She demanded, her eyes wide and wicked, her mouth grinning
like a mask.
     Yoshi jabbed his middle finger straight up. "Why, I think I'm
going to *ram* it up your ass."
     At the word 'ram' Hannah's body gave a small start. "Oh! Well,
why didn't you say so then." She turned over onto her arms and knees.
He brought his face down to her puckered anus and started licking and
probing it roughly with his tongue. "Don't fucking tease me, you
cocksucker! Go ahead, shove it in!"
     "All right then, you asked for it!" He placed the tip of his
straining organ against her anus and grabbed her shoulders. Hannah
yelled. He pulled himself in an inch or so, then relaxed, but Hannah
continued to shout "Oh Fuck! Up my *ass*. Push it up my ass, now!" He
pushed deeper into her, then deeper. He was all the way up her now.
"Oh YEAH!" she screamed. Yoshi clamped his hand on Hannah's mouth.
"Shhhh! you'll wake the kids!" Hannah bit her lip, but continued to
make high mewling sounds.

     Irene and Matt continued to masturbate each other. Matt had
slipped a finger into Irene's pussy and slowly frigged her, while she
firmly but slowly jacked him off. The milk oozing from her lactating
mammarys had trickled it's way down her chocolate brown skin, leaving
a glistening trail down to her hairless pubes. Matt moved closer to
her, so that the tip of his cock lay against her smooth mound. Her
milk mingled with his pre-cum as she tightly held his shaft and
rubbed it back and forth deliberately against her skin. They fell
into a robotic rhythm, As she jerked his cock quickly up, he packed
three fingers inside her. They held for an instant then moved swiftly
down and out, then held for another instant. They grunted between
kisses with each motion. As Matt felt his orgasm approaching like a
tidal wave he held his fingers deep in Irene's hole and flicked her
button lightly with his thumb. This sent Irene into a flood of
ecstasy, She sped her hand's motion to a blur and his purple penis
shot a huge load of semen onto her belly. Irene fell back onto the
bed as her own orgasm shot through her. Matt's bulging cock shot a
radiating pattern of streaks on Irene's torso, who milked his penis
for every last drop.

     As Yoshi stuffed his dick in and out of Hannah's rectum her arms
slid forward and she buried her face in the pillow. Hannah brought
her hand between her legs and played with herself as he ass-fucked
her. She continued to scream but the pillow now muffled the sounds.
     Yoshi felt light headed and dizzy from the tightness of this
woman's ass and knew his time was coming. He leaned over her and
commanded, "Play with my balls, bitch!" Hannah squeezed and lightly
slapped his hairless nuts, causing them to pull up in pain/pleasure.
Yoshi's climax hit just as he pulled out shooting a hot jet of come
onto her puckered opening. He aimed his cock high and fired a high
arc of semen into her fiery red hair. He pumped again and again
leaving a trail of stains along her back. The first shot trickled
down to her cunt where her hand rubbed it all over, coating her cunt
inside and out with his sperm.

     Later, after showering and cuddling some more, the men kissed
the ladies good night and returned to their own side of the condo.
Hannah and Irene lay in bed together.
     Irene, nuzzling close to her wife, whispered in her ear, "Lover,
if you can't stop screaming like that during sex, we're just going to
have to gag you."
     "Mmmmm. All part of my master plan."

                    ------------------------------

     Gina turned on the v-phone and dialed a number. Ring. Ring.
Rin-... "Dr. Warren's residence." The video screen remained blank.
     "This is Gina Robinson. Can I talk to Ben, please?"
     "Just a moment." 
     Soon the doctor's face appeared on the screen. "Hi, Gina," he
said affably. "Hey you look worried. Is anything wrong?"
     "I'm... I'm not so good, Ben. I really need to talk with you"
     "Is it important?"
     "It's beyond important."
     "I see. Well, come on over."
     "Thank you." Gina turned off the v-phone and drove to Dr.
Warren's house, a large secluded house across the coastal highway
from the beach, parking the car in the long looping driveway. She
knocked on the front door. A middle aged Hispanic woman answered the
door. It was Mrs. Montoya, the doctor's housekeeper. "Buenos tardes,
Gina. Dr. Warren ees especting you." She led Gina into the study. 
     "Ah, Gina!" Ben gave Gina a quick hug. "Thank you Mrs. Montoya,
we won't be needing you any more tonight." The housekeeper left. Ben
sat on the easy chair and motioned Gina to the couch. "Now, tell me
what's happened."
     Gina related the events that had occurred since she went down to
the Community Center. She broke down crying while telling him about
the memories that had surfaced of her father and her aborted child.
     "I see," he said when she had finished. "I must admit, that's
very extraordinary.."
     "It's true!"
     "I didn't say it wasn't. Would you mind if I tried an
experiment?" Dr. Warren went to the desk and took a tape player from
the drawer. "Would you mind if I taped you, right here?"
     "I told you, it wouldn't have any effect on me." Gina still
wasn't sure if that were true.
     "Please, I insist. Put it on," he said bluntly. Gina looked at
the doctor. He had a serious look on his face. He advanced towards
her and put it on her head. Gina's first reaction was to push it off,
but she thought to herself, "Oh well. What have I got to lose." Ben
pushed the button on the player.
     Gina sat through five minutes of white noise, mixed in with a
high pitched beeping, kind of like a FAX machine. She didn't hear any
voices.. Finally when the noise ended, Gina removed the earphones.
"You had to tape me, didn't you? That was your own programming making
you do that."
     Ben looked regretful. "I'm truly sorry. Everybody must be taped.
No exceptions." He turned away. "The minute I heard you sat that you
weren't part of the community, it was like I wanted to..., no,
*needed* to tape you. Nothing else mattered."
     Gina thought back to the day she had been taped. How the urge to
tape her whole family had overridden everything else.
     "But now that I've seen you be taped with my own eyes," the
doctor continued, "the compulsion is gone. Tell me, Gina, how do you
feel?"
     "The same as when I got here."
     "Extraordinary." Ben stroked his chin. "You've been expelled for
some reason from the community. As a fellow psychologist, you should
realize how valuable you are. We've been arguing for years how a
non-community person would interact with our new world order. Of
course, this has not been possible until now, if you're telling the
truth..."
     "Do you believe me?" Gina asked.
     Ben smiled. "You know as well as I do that what I believe or not
makes no difference. It's what you think that counts. The tapes don't
seem to have taken someone like you into account. I still want you to
join the community, but if you've listened to the tape and still
don't want to join, I don't know what more I can do. You can't join
voluntarily, you know. You're taped and you're in. Period." The
doctor put the tape player away and continued, reseating himself. "Do
you mind if I tape this conversation?"
     "No."
     He took out a small tape player (a real one) and pressed a
button on it. "Now, how do you feel about what happened to you being
set free?"
     "I don't know what to think. I don't want to go back to being a
slave. No offense."
     "None taken. How about the child?"
     "Awful. I think I just want to curl up and die!"
     "Hmm... It's kind of ironic, isn't it? You had both major crises
of your life in the bathroom. Instead of reaching for the aspirin,
this time you reached for my number. Now, how do you *feel* about it?"
     "I feel disgust. And hatred for the Community Centers. All those
people I had sex with. And my *family* too! It's just not right."
     "That's an interesting attitude. In the pre-tape days,
practically every society on Earth had an incest taboo. Sorry to
interrupt. Go on, please."
     "And my father making me... you know. I feel violated, both from
the what we did, and because they took my baby away without my


