Loser

by Valerie J. Long

  I instead rested on one arm. One leg kicked his club away—ouch!—and the other foot hit his chin forcefully. Before he could overcome surprise and pain, I levered him from his legs. His club flew away.

  I fetched it and held it to Klaus’ crotch. “Well?”

  With a smile he capitulated. “Great, Jo.”

  Part Five—Footholds

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  There have been enough reports on the Invasion itself. The smart moves of the Dragon empress, her children, and her Companion and the sacrifices of our soldiers finally led to the annihilation of each single extraterrestrial. We were only indirectly touched by the events…

  For the day of the landing, Eva Keller had organized a party in our summer camp. There we erected large screens—like for Olympia—and she invited our best and dearest clients. Free of charge, of course—she paid our fees for the entire party out of her own pocket.

  Among her dearest clients were some quite influential persons. The more of them I recognized, the better I understood how a whore—okay, a successful escort—could gain a fortune. Eva had to have the right touch for financial stuff.

  In a certain way, I had that touch, too. Now and then, I reached out, touched, and collected loosely scattered money. In this regard, I already had copied our founder—a lady of easy virtue especially had to arrange her retirement.

  So in the garden, we happily sucked and fucked, while elsewhere men fought for their lives. Bizarre, isn’t it? But human, too. The intellectual grasp of the suffering of others is limited, and the human instinct reacts to impending doom with an increased procreative drive. We girls recognized that immediately—the more dramatic the story on the screens became, the more affectionate and, at the same time, hornier our guests became.

  The Europe lander was the first. We could see the gigantic craft as it passed through the atmosphere in a tail of fire. We also noticed the pressure waves of the nuclear explosions that blasted this invader away, and had to re-erect some screens.

  We didn’t have to re-erect cocks, as that went without help when the message of success came through. I don’t remember precisely how many clients I rode in the rapture, how many I sucked, how many caressed and kissed me, but I remember that I felt good.

  Finally, the voice of the young combat pilot went around the world, the one who sacrificed herself to destroy the Asia lander. Her “Banzai” brought any action among us to a halt. Eva broke down in tears even before the death message was broadcast.

  We didn’t have problems with ransackers and rapists, but we had problems with our clientele. While our local core customers were forced by the economic crisis to save and to reduce their visits, the foreigners could only come to us with a very good reason to travel, due to the energy and fuel rationing.

  In exchange, many of the evacuated Netherlanders and Belgians came to us, and we had to sort them into desired and undesired clients first—where economy forced us to be less picky.

  During this time, our pendulum swung toward the ordinary brothel, that is, fucking and sucking without the claim for mutual satisfaction. The clients had to be satisfied, period.

  Frankly said, the glamour was gone. If we had wellness clients, fine. If not, we were left with ordinary prostitution, that is, sex for money—spread legs, let the client plow, next one. It was misogynous and humiliating, sometimes outright despicable. For girls like Lydia or me, who had come without illusions and had been positively surprised, it was bearable. After all, we had our own rooms and enough to eat. As opposed to that, many of our frustrated clients had lost their jobs and their homes, were living off transition money—and thought that they could let off steam to us. We had to endure this, most importantly in the interest of our more delicate girls. Moreover, Eva and Dora changed the assignments. The weaker girls were shielded, so the experienced and hard-boiled whores received more of the problem clients.

  Chapter Forty

  “You should study something,” Eva said to me.

  “Me?” She wasn’t serious, was she? “University?”

  “Yes, sure. You’re a smart girl. It could give you a second foothold. Primarily, it would be for yourself, for the knowledge, not the title.”

  For the knowledge, well. A second foothold? It would actually be a third. “Why do you say that?”

  “Jo, look around. The Invasion now lies three years behind us, and we can see that the business will never entirely recover. Put in plain words—my concept isn’t weatherproof. Rough times foster rough manners, and we’re the ones to feel that first. We still have a few wellness clients who like the old concept—even a few more—but that doesn’t do. You notice yourself—we can’t exist on that alone.”

  “Why? You had stepped up to get us out of the grubby corner. Now society kicks us back there. Is that fair?”

  Eva sighed. “Jo, I can assure you of one thing—life is never fair. It may create such an illusion for short intervals, but if you allow yourself to be lulled, it will stab your back worse.”

  “So why do we pretend we could better the world?”

  “So that it won’t become worse. If the sheepdogs join the wolves, and the sheep try to play wolf, all can only lose—including the wolves. You must be alert. Be fair to the people while they play fair with you, but watch out if their attitudes change—and when it happens, be quicker.”

  “That sounds cynical.”

  “Believe me, Jo, I have a lot of experience.” My boss smiled at me. Was that a kind smile or a wolfish one? “And don’t take it hard. We’re civilized, aren’t we?”

  Civilized, yes, like Hermann, but I had understood the message. I needed alternatives, and I needed them in time, before I became too old. Aw, damn, I was only twenty-five! All life lay ahead of me, and I was worrying?

  Yes, naturally. My father hadn’t had a Plan B. I had had a Plan B shortly before my final exam, and it had been crap. I knew where that led. I couldn’t allow myself to be lulled by the current comfort. I needed true, sustainable alternatives to a life in the brothel. Eva saw the same.

  “Are you talking about it with other girls, too?”

  “Naturally,” she replied. “With different content. To some of them, I proposed to leave us—primarily to the young students. They should instead marry a rich man. He might not bring more love than a client, but the retirement plan is better.”

  She winked at me, but then she returned to our topic. “What would you like to study most?”

  Burgling techniques, but that subject didn’t exist. There was another subject of burning interest to me, but you couldn’t get inside, especially not me. “Dragon technology.”

  Eva cocked her head. No, sure, that was exorbitant.

  “Okay,” she surprised me. “There, I can do something for you.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  “My name is Tim. Welcome here!” the crisp young man happily announced. “My congratulations, too. You’re the thirty chosen, of thirty-thousand, who’ve been picked in the second stage for studies in Dragon technology.”

  Pardon? I glanced around among my classmates—no, fellows was the term now. They beamed with pride and confidence. We are the best, their faces said. They were all noticeably younger than I.

  I hadn’t noticed a selection process. A few weeks after our talk, Eva had given me a flight ticket and a thin folder and said, “Here, see what you can make from that.”

  In the folder, I had found a brief guideline. Please visit this Internet page and work through the check list. Student visa for Australia. Passport number. Long distance travel application. Vaccinations. Clearance certificate. School education—please attach scanned documents.

  So I had applied for a passport, received vaccinations against almost everything—there only weren’t any vaccinations against poverty or work—and processed the paperwork. At the bottom of the folder, I found a sealed envelope, labeled by Eva and addressed to the Chancellor. I had diligently delivered it after my arrival in Melbourne.

  I quick
ly suppressed the impulse to apologize and leave the room. My presence here was no mistake, but some trick I didn’t understand yet. I couldn’t do worse than fail with glory, and for that I still had a few days left—at least so I thought.

  That’s part of the game of being a loser. To play the game to the bitter end. Whoever doesn’t gamble can’t lose—and never win.

  “I know, it’s all new for you here. None of you comes from Australia. Few of you have English as your native language. And you can more or less forget your great achievements in physics and math—Dragon technology is different. To enable you to pass the first term somewhat decently, we’ll bring you to a common level first, with regard to language, culture, society, and in the end science, too. Only once you’ve mastered that, we’ll release the full knowledge to you. Yes?”

  “What does that mean—culture and society?” one of the guys asked.

  “Selim, right? Please remember to speak up with your first name during the next days. We’re in Australia here. Even if Australia is an immigration country, it has developed a typical culture. We expect you to adapt to this culture. When in Rome and so on, clear? In exchange, we’ll show you some of the country during your first weeks, while you can still find the time. That way you won’t travel home one day and then find out you’ve never seen a kangaroo.”

  I raised my hand.

  “Yes? Is it about the current topic? Otherwise, I’d like to answer Selim’s question first.”

  “Johanna. What does that mean, while we can still find the time? Or will you cover that later, Tim?”

  “I’d like to postpone that for a few minutes. Okay, Johanna?”

  I nodded.

  “Fine. I mentioned the social level. That means you need to understand how a Dragon study works. How the Dragons—how we want such a study to work. Think back to the selection process. What did you notice about it, Johanna?”

  Oh crap. Why did he have to pick me right now? No matter. Take the bull by the horns. “I didn’t notice a selection process, Tim.”

  Tim paused. That didn’t match his concept. In search for help he glanced around and pointed at another fellow. “Pam?”

  “It was no closed-shop exam. Neither with regard to time nor location.”

  “Exactly, Pam. There was and there is no way for us to tell if and how much help you’ve received. That’s intentional. You could and you should utilize all options. Guess why?”

  “To find out how honest we are or how much integrity we have?” Pam guessed.

  “What do the rules say, Pam?” Tim dug deeper.

  “That we can use any option, as long as we’re taking responsibility for the answer.”

  “Precisely, Pam. Any option. An entire team of scientists in the back, Internet, libraries, no matter. The selection process doesn’t test your knowledge. What else could it be?”

  I saw his glance wander across the group. Even if I hadn’t participated in the process, I just realized where this went. However, when I looked around, I was the only one. I raised my hand again.

  “Johanna?”

  “Jo suffices, Tim. It’s about the ability to integrate the knowledge from different sources and to show the judgment on which answers are usable.”

  “Perfect, Jo. Exactly, that’s it. You’ll quickly notice that in a few years of study, one human alone can’t possibly learn everything needed for the understanding of Dragon technology. You’ll have to split up the subjects, and you’ll have to rely on each other. You’ll have to finish the study as one team. If one fails, you all fail. You thirty are dependent on each other, and you’ll have to learn to be one head and one ass. You’ll soon spend a great deal of time together, and you’ll find no time for other activities. Jo, that was your question. Is it answered now?”

  “Yes,” I confirmed unhappily.

  Tim immediately noticed it. “Jo, you don’t agree?”

  “I must have missed that in the papers,” I finagled. I rather assumed that I missed some papers. “I have a side job to pay for my studies. What will become of that?”

  “Oh,” Tim said. “We haven’t had that yet. Normally, the stipend includes everything—you won’t have much time to spend money anyway. It would also be unfair to distribute your share of the subject to the others. I can only say, you’ll have to see if you get along—there’s still a little leeway left. You should discuss that with your coach.”

  He turned to us all again. “Next topic. Each of you will be assigned a personal coach who will be a student from the higher terms. They will guide you around the first obstacles, where’s a wash saloon, where can you buy memory chips, where’s food and lodging, and so on. You can meet your coach or phone him, but remember, he’s got the full program in his own term, too. Collect your questions—and talk to each other. You’re one team, I can’t repeat that often enough. So, and now the plan for today. We’ve booked seats in the tram, and there we’ll have dinner. Until then, you have time to find a place to sleep or whatever you need. The other coaches are waiting for you outside now.”

  Thus we were obviously dismissed. I rose and was about to leave, when I heard Tim’s voice. “Jo?”

  “Yes?”

  “I just see I’ve drawn you, so I’m your coach. Would you stay for a moment? To me, it seems we have to discuss a few things in private.”

  “Agreed.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  “I don’t get it. How does someone come here without the selection process? That can’t happen. Who did you say sent you here?”

  “Eva Keller, my boss in Frankfurt.”

  “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “She has a branch here in Melbourne, too. There I’ll live and work.” I knew that I couldn’t keep my side job a secret for long. Better I dealt with that aggressively—out of the grubby corner. “Wellness and Érotique.”

  “The brothel?” Tim uttered. “Oh. Sorry. That term might sound despicable, although that’s a good place. No trouble. Of course, I neither have the time nor the money, but it must be nice there.”

  “Yes.” Should I offer him a free ride? No, that was against the principle. Our service was something valuable that had to be honored. Lost in thought, I let my gaze wander across the walls of the small lecture room. What picture was that next to the side door? I knew that head! I rose and examined it more closely. “Here, that’s her!”

  Tim joined me. “That’s your boss?”

  “Totally sure.”

  “You recognize the black-haired woman at her side?”

  “No.” Black hair, green dress, very sexy, but didn’t tell me anything.

  “You don’t know Zoe Lionheart?”

  Again, I examined the picture. “Sure I do.” But why hadn’t I recognized her? Probably I didn’t expect such a celebrity next to my boss. “What’s she doing next to my boss?”

  “That’s easy,” Tim explained and spread his arms. “These two founded this university together. And I believe, now you know why you didn’t need a selection process. She’s assessed you and found you appropriate.”

  “Played favorites, that is.”

  “No. Not with these two,” Tim objected strongly. “If she’s sent you here, you’ve passed a harder test than any of the others.”

  “Me? I didn’t pass any tests.”

  “What did you do so far?”

  “Fucked.”

  My face must have appeared rather grim.

  Tim sighed. “Excuse my question. Not regarding the erotic aspects, was there any occasion where you’ve needed a special good judgment?”

  I considered that. “Yes. When new clients came in. It was important to assess if they matched our approach. Some girls won’t get along with the rougher guys.”

  “And you’ve done that?”

  “Yes, I’ve done that, when Dora wasn’t in.”

  “What else are you doing? Hobbies? Sports?”

  Burgle villas—I won’t tell you that now. “Ironman.”

  “Phew. You’re going the w
hole hog, are you? And—finished?”

  “Lately in Hawaii, eighth place among the women.” At the first occasion after the Invasion, when travel was possible again, I had fought in Frankfurt for a starter slot. Uncle Bob then had funded my travel. He still came once a year to enjoy my show. Had come, I corrected myself, as now I was far away.

  Why was Tim so silent now? “Hey?”

  “I’m blown away,” he mumbled. “You don’t do things halfway, do you? I bet you’re a top act in your job, too.”

  That earned him my friendliest smile. “You’d win that bet.”

  “Perhaps I’ll come back to that sometime,” he mused. “So you didn’t participate in a selection process. But you knew very clearly what we’re after. How?”

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “The way you watched us, studied our reactions to your question, it had to be about us. I’d guessed that the cultural and social integration you mentioned had to be part of the key. The rest was intuition.”

  “Intuition? And a very sharp observation skill, I’d say. We don’t have to search for the reason of your presence any longer. You’re the Joker.”

  “Joker?”

  “The generalist. Little specific knowledge—I assume—but an extraordinarily good team player. You’ll be the one keeping the team together, even if there’s a quarrel. That’s clear as the sky to me now.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Mercilessly, the alarm tore me from sleep. Five o’clock in the morning. Tired and unwillingly, I rolled out of my bed and put on my one-piece running jersey. Socks, running shoes—in between, I took bites from a tough energy bar. I assumed the name came from the energy you needed for chewing.

  Then it was time for my tour. The wellness-erotic center was situated on the western outskirts of Williamstown, near the Altona Coastal Park. The distance from here to the Sanctuary Lakes and back summed up to about thirty kilometers, just the right training track.