The Last Fembot

by KT McColl

  I sat down next to Leonard who wore a bemused expression. "What's up with them?" I asked.

  "I expect they're excited. Some of the Sisters are entertaining a delegation tomorrow."

  "A delegation? From where?"

  "Another city."

  I knew, of course, that there were other cities; I just hadn't met anyone from them. "Of course," I said. "Another city."

  Leonard gave me a smile. "I understand that you have explored."

  "I have, but evidently not far enough to have seen another city, or an inhabited one."

  "This one's several hundred kilometers away," he said. "I've only been there once, many years ago. Mellorton," he said a moment later to my unasked question.

  "Ah," I said as though I recognized the name. "What can you tell me about it?"

  "Mellorton? Well, it's about the same size as our little metropolis and is one of the enlightened centers."

  "The Sorority is there as well?"

  "A version of it. They share some of the same ideology, or at least enough of it that Mother Superior considers Mellorton an ally. They do some things we don't and vice versa, and so they're sending a trade delegation."

  "Are there many others? Other cities like ours and Mellorton?"

  "Enlightened?"

  I nodded.

  Leonard looked amused. "Why do you ask? Are you thinking of travelling?"

  "I'm hardly in a position to travel. Just curious, I guess."

  "In the spirit of openness and honesty, I can tell you that most of the large centers around us share the same basic creed that we do. Even before the Original Sin, there were areas that were closer to God than others, and those areas were more open to embracing the Enlightenment when it became clear that failing to do so would cause chaos."

  A roar of laughter rose up from the other side of the courtyard.

  "Look at him," said Leonard, nodding at Eli. "Fancies himself as Aisha's champion stud."

  It was true. Eli was playing for the crowd, engaging in a bizarre pantomime, part horse riding, part air humping, complete with exaggerated smacks on an imagined rump. I shook my head.

  Leonard turned his attention back to me. "However, I have heard that there are places the light hasn't reached, places on the outer margins that remain benighted in sin. They are weak and dissolute, and if rumors are to be believed, mortals still consort with the unnatural."

  "Bots?" I exclaimed before I could think better of it.

  Leonard smiled knowingly. "Indeed." His eyes narrowed. "There's some suspicion, I understand, that you have some experience with that particular forbidden fruit. Is it true? Is that why you're curious about what lies beyond?"

  I immediately became wary. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "There are no secrets among freemen, Jude."

  "I doubt that, and besides, I have no secrets."

  "Didn't I just tell you what lies beyond the outskirts?"

  "Nothing that I hadn't already heard."

  "Be that as it may, you'd be a hero if it were true. There are some among the freemen who want more, and even the hint of such a thing would give hope. Not everyone is satisfied."

  He was lying.

  "Fembots died with the Enlightenment," I said. "I know it, and you know it, and I certainly don't believe Mother Superior wrong in that assertion."

  He studied me for a long, uncomfortable moment. "Quite right, Jude. Quite right."

  "Sister Aisha will be entertaining a trade delegation from Mellorton tonight. Freemen will be made available to the visitors."

  Some of the men grinned. I guess they knew what they were grinning about; I certainly didn't.

  Goyen snapped her fingers, and a young Sister came forward, eyes trained on the floor. She carried a stack of folded clothes. "All of you are expected to bathe and make yourselves presentable. You will dress in the clothes we give you."

  When the Lozen and Sister left, I inspected the clothing. There was a white tunic and loose white pants. The fabric was finer than anything I'd ever worn.

  As I waited to take my shower, Leonard approached, already bathed and wearing tonight's uniform.

  "This is quite the opportunity for you," he said. "Being the newest member of Sister Aisha's house and all."

  "I'm surprised I've been included."

  "Sister Aisha probably wants to impress the delegation with the size of her retinue," said Leonard. "Then again, maybe she wants to give you an opportunity to fail. Given your recent history, I suggest you be on your best behavior."

  I nodded absently.

  We were arranged by unofficial rank against the dining room wall under the watchful eye of Goyen on the opposite side of the room. Leonard was first, Eli second, then three more young freemen, and finally me -- the caboose of this sorry little train. We were decorations, nothing more. Statues of flesh and blood. We watched as lower ranking Sisters served the various courses. By the time the main course was served -- rib eye steak with asparagus and small potatoes -- my stomach was growling. The freeman to my right nudged me. Wine flowed freely, and the conversation at the table grew louder and more animated. By and large, I and the rest of the freemen were ignored, but occasionally, the women from the delegation would glance at us.

  There were three of them -- Sister Gloria and two younger Sisters who seemed to defer to her. The Mellorton Sisters wore gray frocks with white bonnets, while their hosts wore white bonnets and dresses with red waist cinchers.

  If I was hoping to glean some useful information from the conversation at the table, I was disappointed. Talk revolved around mutual acquaintances, the weather, the sorry state of fashion, and the sorrier state of the harvest given the lack of rain. It was superficial and vacuous, and I soon grew bored. I thought of Jessie and Lexie. I'd learned nothing more about what she had planned and had no further news about Jessie, and my ignorance was killing me. In the absence of any communication, I grew worried that Lexie had somehow run afoul of the Sorority and that whatever it was she had planned would never come to fruition.

  I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched and looked up. Goyen and Sister Aisha were distracted, for which I was grateful. I scanned the table and locked eyes with Sister Gloria. While the conversation continued around her, she remained still, her gaze unwavering. Her eyes were unreadable, and I wondered whether I'd somehow failed again.

  The evening seemed to be winding down. Dessert had been served and the dishes cleared. When one of the visiting Sisters stifled a yawn, Aisha said, "You all must be tired after your journey."

  The yawning Sister nodded sheepishly and Sister Gloria said, "It would be well to reconvene and speak of business when we are somewhat fresher."

  "I understand," said Aisha. "Of course, you may partake of anything my house has to offer."

  Sister Gloria smiled. "Thank you, Sister. That is most generous. I think I may."

  Aisha's offer must have been code somehow, because Sister Gloria rose and approached us. Unconsciously, we all stood a little straighter. She spoke a few words to Leonard, but too quietly for me to make out what was said. She moved on. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Eli, who returned the Sister's gaze with a hint of a smile. The Sister, however, walked past, paying the other freemen little attention until she stood before me.

  Her cool blue eyes twinkled with amusement as she looked at me. She was my age, perhaps a little older, and had lines around her eyes that spoke of the capacity for humor or worry. I didn't know which.

  "I would be delighted to enjoy the company of one of your men," she said. "I choose him."

  The look on Aisha's face was a mix of disbelief and anger. "Surely someone..."

  "No. I like the look of this one. At my age, I've come to recognize and appreciate experience over prettiness."

  Poor Eli, I thought. That would hurt.

  Aisha opened her mouth to speak and then evidently thought better of it. She took a breath. "Very well."

  Sister Gloria
wound her arm through mine. "Come along," she said.

  If Sister Aisha was giving me enough rope to hang myself, then Sister Gloria was now holding one end of it.

  The Sister was well into middle age and was attractive in the manner of women who were confident in their skins. She had every reason to be confident; she was a Sister. Sol called women like her well preserved. I didn't know at the time what that meant. Now I knew.

  "What's your name?"

  I told her.

  "Jude," she repeated. "It fits."

  "How?"

  She ignored my question. "You don't seem like the others."

  "I'm new to this house," I said.

  "But not new to life from the looks of you."

  "I might have years, but life?" I didn't know what made me so unguarded, but something about Sister Gloria brought it out, a delusion that we were somehow equals in more than age. I cursed myself; I would have to tread more carefully.

  She laughed, which was the last thing I expected. "I chose well, it seems."

  She went to the door and whispered something to someone outside. A moment later, a bottle of single malt and two glasses were delivered to the room.

  Setting the bottle on the table, she said, "Rank has its privileges."

  I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd been working my way through several cases of the stuff over the years. Of course, now that I was a freeman, I imagined that my stash would have been liberated. I hoped it was Rabbit who'd done the liberating.

  Still, I enjoyed it. It wasn't the best I'd had but had a hint of the peatiness that I liked. It was a taste that immediately transported me back to my little shack, reminding me just how much I'd lost. I'd gladly have gone back to it, as mean and as rough as it was. I wasn't freer there but appreciated the illusion of it.

  "It's not bad," I said.

  She'd expected a different response. Disgust or wondrous appreciation. I'd learned that scotch was one of those things that seldom bred indifference in those new to it, and she had no reason to think that I was a bit of an aficionado.

  The last time I'd enjoyed a good drink was just after I discovered Jessie. It seemed so long ago now, though it was only a matter of weeks. Given a choice, I'd have gone back to Jessie in a heartbeat despite the sin of it. Or maybe it was because of the sin of it. No, that wasn't it either. I'd enjoyed the sex, of course, and the process of discovery, but there was more to it...

  "Jude?" Sister Gloria was watching me.

  "Sorry," I said. "I was drifting."

  "If you'd rather not be here..."

  "No. I'm sorry," I said again. "Please tell me what you were going to say."

  "Let's drink a little more first," she suggested.

  "I can do that." I managed a grin.

  Over the course of the next half hour, half of the bottle disappeared. I felt relaxed. So, evidently, did she. We chatted. I told her of my life in Lowville, and she related some stories about Mellorton. For long moments, I almost forgot that she was a Sister. We were just two people sharing each other's company. If not for the drink, the dissonance of the moment would have set me on edge.

  She set down her glass carefully in the way of people who were tipsy and didn't want to show it.

  "I have a confession, Jude."

  "Oh?"

  Not quite meeting my eye, she said, "I had ulterior motives in asking you to my room."

  "I kind of got that."

  "No, not that."

  "No?"

  She shook her head. "That too, but something different."

  "I don't understand."

  Taking a deep breath, she said, "I usually don't... But you seem..."

  She seemed weirdly flustered.

  I waited.

  "I like playing."

  I suspected she didn't mean Scrabble. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

  "This is difficult..." I'd never seen a Sister so uncertain.

  "Maybe you could just tell me."

  "Role playing," she said finally. "Have you ever pretended to be something that you're not?"

  "Not usually. I have a hard enough time being who I am."

  A small crease appeared between her eyebrows. "Maybe this was a mistake."

  "Tell me," I insisted. "I can't read your mind."

  She laughed. "Maybe I did choose correctly after all." She took a deep breath. "The men whom I've taken into my bed tend to err on the side of subservience. Completely understandable, but they're deferential because they're afraid. Obsequious. It is a consequence of the world we've created, and while that might serve a purpose and work with some Sisters, it has no place in bed, and mine in particular. I'm a bit of a heretic in my desire for a man to be a man. Does that shock you?"

  I shook my head. I did understand. And it shocked me too.

  "Do you think you can still be a man, Jude? Do you know what it means?"

  I thought about it. Ultimately, she was asking me to be a fool. She was asking me to commit to a duel where I was armed with nothing while she wielded the honed edge. And what version of a man did she want me to be? The caricature or the real thing?

  "It's just you and me," she said. "Nothing done here will leave this room. Whatever happens, there will be no recrimination. Do you believe me?"

  "No." I waited a moment, watching her expression.

  She nodded, understanding, but couldn't quite hide her disappointment.

  "Okay," I said a minute later.

  "Okay, what?"

  I took a deep breath. "Be quiet."

  Her eyebrows rose, but her lips stayed shut. It was the alcohol speaking, I thought. I might have bigger problems than a headache tomorrow if I miscalculated. Unfortunately, now that I had decided to throw caution to the wind, I was navigating blindly in acceding to her request.

  I left my chair and approached her. She looked up at me expectantly. I pulled at the end of the ribbon beneath her chin and lifted the bonnet from her head. I half expected her to end this now, but she didn't. Her hair was done up in a large bun. I reached behind and withdrew the pins that held it together and unfurled it with my hand. Gathering the hair together, I held it in one hand and pulled gently, forcing her head to tip backward.

  She smiled.

  Okay. So far, so good.

  I took a step back and sat on an armchair. My arousal was painful in the cage, and I shifted in the hope that I could find some relief. It was futile. She looked there questioningly and then back to my eyes.

  "Undress for me," I said. "Slowly."

  She looked startled and embarrassed, an attractive pinkness now tingeing her cheeks. I said nothing, just waited, hoping that my words were enough, hoping she was serious in what she'd set in motion. If not, I was done for.

  She stood up. With hesitant fingers, she unwrapped the sash that she wore at her waist and draped it over the back of a chair. She then unbuttoned the front of her dress and shrugged out of it, allowing the fabric to fall around her hips. Not looking at me, she unfastened her bra and allowed it to fall from her fingertips. There was a constellation of freckles across the top of her ample chest.

  To my surprise, she wore nothing more than a garter belt and black stockings. The black lace framed a pussy that was crowned with an exclamation mark of dark pubic hair.

  "Leave the garter. Come here," I said.

  This was dangerous, I realized. I knew there was often a vast gulf between what people said they wanted and what they were prepared to accept. One misstep, one assumption too brazen, and I'd be in the shit.

  She stood before me, her legs straddling mine, naked while I sat on the chair, still fully clothed. My gaze raked her body. Her nipples had puckered, and I could detect the aroma of her arousal. Acting much more confidently than I actually felt, I nudged her hands behind her back and held her wrists loosely in my left hand. I pulled and she sat on my lap.

  "You're very attractive," I said.

  "You say that to all naked Sisters."

  Did she know? I wondered with a st
art, but there was no guile in her expression. It had been a joke. I laughed in spite of myself and she joined in. Laughter was exactly what the moment needed, a reminder that this was role playing, and whatever self-consciousness existed between us evaporated.

  The fingers of my right hand trailed up and down her back, over her buttocks, along the crease. She held herself still while I explored her, denying me nothing.

  She moved up my lap and pressed herself against me, pushing on my caged cock. I winced.

  "What's wrong?"

  So much for being a man, I thought. The moment the cage was exposed, I'd be revealed for what I was, and the illusion would be shattered.

  "I'm caged," I muttered.

  "I thought the key was for your collar." She slid off my lap and knelt before me. She reached for my pants and for a moment, I resisted. Then, with a sigh, I raised my hips and she pulled the pants down.

  "You have the key?"

  She didn't answer. "You poor thing," said Gloria, looking aghast at the cage. "Whatever did you do to deserve such treatment?"

  "I'm sure it was deserved, Sister."

  "It's truly a shame, though. Tell me, has this device done any lasting damage?"

  "I'm not sure what you mean."

  "Can you... Never mind. Let's just see for ourselves." She ran her finger across my testicles. "Do you feel that?"

  "Yes."

  "Good." She inserted a fingertip into the cage and stroked the head of my cock as much as the device allowed. "And this?"

  "Yes."

  Not only could I feel it, but I was also responding. I could feel myself swelling painfully within the confines of the cage and was wondering whether the Sister was intent on torturing me.

  "Would you look at that?" she exclaimed. "Either I have a magic touch or you are singularly in need of release."

  She held my metal-encased sex in her hand and studied me. "Which is it?"

  I hated myself for the response and that I could be so easily manipulated. "A little bit of both, I suspect."

  "I suspect so too. Would you be grateful if I could grant you freedom, if only for a little while?" A slight smile told me that this was a game to her rather than an exercise of power.