Fat Is Beautiful (Rough Draft)

[Augmentor]

Intro

    This is another story with a basis in nostalgia. The central idea comes from an episode of the short-lived Sid & Marty Krofft TV series The Lost Saucer—not to be confused with another and far better-known Krofft show, Land of the Lost, which drew its thinly veiled inspiration from Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and which was rebooted as a TV series in the early '90s, and later got the big-screen "reimagining" treatment as a Will Ferrell vehicle in 2009. But The Lost Saucer stayed...well, lost.

    As with all the Krofft series—and there were at least a couple dozen of 'em!—The Lost Saucer obviously was produced on a shoestring budget and probably was doomed to obscurity from the get-go. Would you expect anything less of a kids' show starring Ruth Buzzi and Jim Nabors (who was basically playing Gomer Pyle as an android)? The simple premise of the show (revealed in the opening credits) is that a kid named Jerry and his babysitter Alice make the fateful decision to investigate a U.F.O. that lands in the backyard. The U.F.O.—a time-traveling flying saucer, no less!—is piloted by two friendly androids, Fi and Fum (Buzzi and Nabors, respectively), who have an alien pet called the Dorse (because it's part dog and part horse). The androids usher the kids inside the craft, demonstrate some of their far-out futuristic technology, and whoops, go figure, there's some kind of malfunction. The saucer takes off with the kids on board, and they're all whisked off into outer space. The series follows the gang as they wander aimlessly from future year to future year while Fi and Fum try their best to return the kids to their proper time and place on Earth.

    Anyway, there was one episode called "Fat Is Beautiful," in which the saucer lands near a futuristic city called Fatropolis, where everyone is fat. In fact, being thin is illegal there. So the Mayor of Fatropolis tells the kids that they have to eat until they each weigh 500 pounds, but not to worry, a handy-dandy food-making computer will whip up whatever they desire. I distinctly remember the kids sitting at a table with sundaes (or something) in front of them. The younger kid Jerry says something like, "If he thinks we're going to eat all this food...he's dynamite right!" His babysitter Alice smiles and nods, and they dig in.

    I only saw that episode once, in re-runs. I think it's a relic that's well and truly lost forever. There was a reissue of a few episodes of the show on VHS years ago, but I don't think "Fat Is Beautiful" was included. The episode evidently was posted on YouTube a couple of years ago, but it was removed due to copyright infringement. I only found the dead-end video after it had been taken down, so I never actually got to see the episode again.

    In any case, I remember that the episode was pretty disappointing, to say the least. I'm not sure whether there even was any depiction of weight gain. The actor who played the Mayor was heavyset, but that's about it. I think the extras just had pillows stuffed underneath their costumes. And at the end of the episode, something happens to wreck the Mayor's plans. As I recall, the Mayor had been feuding with his polar-opposite brother (who was fit), but by the end of the episode, the two siblings finally resolve their differences. So the Mayor decrees "Stout is out, and thin is in!" And he's shown jogging around while holding a tennis racquet or something to that effect. I promise there will be none of that in my story!

    In fact, I'm going to jettison pretty much everything except for the core idea and the setting. And I'm giving it a bit of the Barbarella treatment, with dashes of Heavy Metal ambience (the illustrated magazine, that is—although this story isn't illustrated) and other retro-futuristic sci-fi touches. I don't consider this story pure science-fiction by any stretch of the imagination, and neither should you. It's WG fiction against a space backdrop.

    After I first started working on this story a few years ago, I discovered that an author named Tracey L. Thompson wrote a book called  Fatropolis: A Novel, which I haven't read, except for snippets of whatever excerpts are available on Amazon, but I'm 90% sure her book also liberally borrowed from this episode of The Lost Saucer and was similarly re-purposed (although hers seems to be more of a BBW/FA storyline, while mine is decidedly WG-oriented). I find it endlessly fascinating, though, that what was obviously designed to be silly disposable entertainment managed to leave an unexpectedly huge and unintended impression on certain members of its target audience.

    As stated in the title, this story is currently in a rough-draft form, so please check back as I add new content and modify existing content.

[Augmentor]

Part 1

     The sleek spacecraft Luna Moth was oddly graceful even as it plummeted. As fortune would have it, the ship was now within the gravity field of the cerulean sphere that was the planet Demeter-12. The ship’s inhabitants weren’t sure which would be a worse fate: drifting aimlessly through the endless void of space with the ship’s power waning, and therefore any hope of rescue in equally short supply; or the very real prospect of obliteration if they crashed into the surface of the planet below. It was the latter scenario that now seemed more likely to play out, as the ship was descending rapidly, and barring some miracle, within decaseconds they would surely wipe out.

     Daesti Derecho and her traveling companion, Lina Lazuli, had cruised through myriad star systems, but their leisurely cross-galactic trip had just come, they now feared, to an abrupt halt. All their glorious plans were now on hold: skinny-dipping in the azure ocean of Kepler-226; hiking through the rocky foothills of Tartarus-15b; wild pub-crawls in the space city of New Drogheda; and other escapades yet to be determined.

     “Losing altitude,” intoned a synthesized voice in the cockpit. Meanwhile, an alarm from the ship’s main console began to breedle loudly and insistently.

     “Drokk it!” yelled Lina, pounding a control panel with her fists. “What a way to cut short our vacation!”

     They were within the upper atmosphere of the planet Demeter-12 and now the Luna Moth was in a near-nosedive, apparently plunging toward the vast open ocean. But as the ship pierced the dense clouds, they could just make out some sort of landmass.

     “We’ll  never  make  it  to  Corus  Sigma,”  said  Daesti, referring to their anticipated destination, where they had intended to dock their ship for routine maintenance and take in some of that port’s famous nightlife—until this recent spate of bad luck befell them.

     Daesti, ever imperturbable, checked  a  reading  on  the  console. “Lucky for us, navicomputer says we’re in the airspace of an island-city. Our mayday beacon’s on.”

     A voice came over the communicator.

     “This is Fatropolis air control tower. State your emergency.”

     Lina and Daesti shot each other an incredulous glance. “Fatropolis?" stage-whispered Lina. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

     Daesti smirked but put a finger to her lips to shush her friend. “This is the Luna Moth, compact  recreational craft, crew of two. Our engine’s malfunctioning and our battery’s low. Requesting interception and permission to land for repairs.”

     “Permission  granted. Dispatching  rescue  pods  to  bring  you  safely  in. Prepare  for interception.”

[Augmentor]

Part 2

      Two squat, round drone pods swiftly appeared on opposite sides of the Luna Moth and formed a virtual net with their tractor beams, slowing the craft’s descent and guiding it to a gentle landing. They touched down in a circular clearing surrounded by a wooded park-like enclosure—it appeared to be a sort of picnic area, in fact.

      From the cockpit of the Luna Moth, two young women disembarked, as slender and graceful as the craft from which they emerged. Daesti, petite but curvaceous, olive-skinned, tawny-haired, amber-eyed. Lina, lithe and a full head taller than her friend, had flaxen hair and ice-blue eyes, hallmarks of her forebears, who had been hearty stock from some icy homeworld. The two stepped down from the craft and surveyed their surroundings.

      Some distance away, a small crowd began to gather round and stare. Before long, the bystanders started to murmur among themselves. They were nudging each other, pointing, and whispering.

      “What’s their problem?” said Lina. She put her hands on her hips defiantly. “It looks to me like they’re the ones with the problem. A weight problem.”

      Daesti looked towards the group. It was true: Everyone in the crowd was fat. Cumbrously fat. Stranger  still, they all appeared to be wearing pajama-like suits with ridiculous patterns printed on them—images of cakes and slices of pie and candy and lollipops. And everyone was eating something. Some held ice cream cones; others held thick sandwiches. All held colorful bottled beverages.

      “I think we’ve figured out why they call this place Fatropolis,” Daesti said at last.

      Daesti had barely spoken when a hovercraft with flashing headlights and an open cockpit appeared further down the pathway and began to approach her and Lina. The vehicle was driven by an enormously fat man dressed in a loose-fitting uniform. He had on a white helmet with a silvery visor that obscured his eyes.

      “Fatropolis Police!” said the man, rather redundantly, because the decals emblazoned on the hood of the hovercraft said as much, and the flashing lights reinforced it. The officer pointed to a large badge on the front of his jacket. He gave Daesti and Lina the once over. “Looks like you ladies are in clear violation of the law.”

      “We don’t want any trouble," said Daesti, matter-of-factly. “We’re just here to get our engine patched well enough to take us to Corus Sigma and then we’ll leave without a fuss.”

      “Sorry, ma’am. City ordinance,” said the officer. “Just because you’re visitors doesn’t exempt you from the law.”

      “And what law is that?” snapped Lina.

      “Fatropolis City Code, Criminal Article, Section 9-503, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph A,” said the officer, as if merely citing it explained everything.

      “Oh, of course,” said Lina, derisively. “Sub-paragraph A. Look, we’ve been here all of three decaseconds. What could we possibly have done wrong, except almost crash-land into this backwards burg?”

      “Excuse  my  friend’s  sarcasm,”  said Daesti  apologetically, as she shot  Lina an exasperated look. “We’ll have to plead ignorance. Can you please tell us how we’re breaking law…Section...9-50-, paragraph...?”

      “You’re...underweight.” The officer said the latter word with a touch of disgust.

      “And that’s some sort of crime here?” asked Daesti.

      “Obviously,” said Lina. “Take a look around.”

      “Absolutely,” said the officer. “By order of the Mayor herself. You’re thin, so I’m taking you in.”

      The officer spoke into his communicator. “Yeah, Control? This is Badge 67302. I got a coupla skinnies here.”

      An incredulous voice came back: “Skinnies? You sure, 67302?”

      “That’s affirmative, Control. Sure as I’m sitting here. I know a skinny when I see one, and I got two of ‘em.”

      “A pair of real live skinnies, huh? Well, I’ll be fragged. Bring ‘em in to the station right away. I’m sure we’d all like to see ‘em.”

      “Come with me, ladies. And don’t try anything cute.”

      Lina was irate. “So what now? You’re seriously gonna throw us in jail for being too skinny?”

      “No, no, not jail. The Fattenarium.”

      “The Fattenarium?” yelled Lina. “And what happens there?”

      “You eat!”

[Augmentor]

Part 3

       “Apologies for the inconvenience, but these two skinnies aren’t going to stick around!” declared Lina. She glanced at Daesti, who returned a knowing look: They would make a break for it. Both were poised to dash, but a brilliant yellow flash immediately disavowed them of that notion. Time seemed to slow to a woozy crawl for the pair as they slumped over. But in fact the incapacitation ray’s effects were instantaneous, and in a split second, the two women were sprawled upon the ground. 

       A multi-armed robotic assistant, as round and squat as the pods which had brought in the Luna Moth, detached itself from the underside of the hovercraft where it had been seamlessly concealed, and hoisted the two young women inside the craft. A restraining apparatus emerged from the back of the vehicle and locked the two in as the robot reattached itself to the craft. 

       A hazy lurching sensation overtook Lina and Daesti as they regained consciousness. Once securely in the police transport vehicle, it only took a moment before they came to, at first mumbling incoherently. A few moments more and they were fully restored to their senses.

       The officer was aware of their stirring and addressed them. “I’m taking you to the station for processing. First things first, they’ll run a few tests on you.”

       “Tests?” asked Lina anxiously. “What kind of tests?

       “Complete body analysis, courtesy of WIDE-AS.”

       “WIDE-AS?” asked Daesti. 

       “Part of Fatropolis’s Central Computer,” the officer explained. “Weight Imaging Diagnostic Evaluation and Assessment System.”

       Daesti and Lina smirked at each other, equal parts amused and worried.

       “WIDE-AS will scan you and determine your body fat composition,” the officer went on. “Then it’ll analyze your body type thoroughly and recommend the perfect fattening regimen for you. We’ve got to get your weight up immediately.”

       “You can’t be serious,” said Daesti. “Is all of this really necessary? Can’t we just pay a fine or something?”

       “No can do,” said the officer. “The law is the law. And the law is, you can’t be skinny in Fatropolis. Skinnies must be turned into fatties. That’s the law.”

       “And what happens to our ship?” asked Daesti.

       “That will be impounded. But it will be repaired and waiting for you...as soon as you reach minimum regulation weight.”

       “This is not happening,” Lina muttered. “This is not happening.”

       “Relax,” said Daesti, not at all sure of herself. “He’s bluffing.”

       “No bluff, ma’am,” said the officer. “But you’ll see soon enough. Fat is where it’s at.”

       Daesti and Lina just looked at each other uncomfortably. They would have to do some quick thinking if they were going to escape from this mess.

[Augmentor]

Part 4

        Daesti and Lina sat in silence for the remainder of the ride, each trying privately to make sense of the absurd situation in which they now found themselves.

        “Well, here we are,” said the officer at last, guiding the vehicle into a small docking bay in a courtyard that opened up to an ovaloid modular building. He tilted his head back to look at his two arrestees. “Will you come along willingly this time?” he asked in a gently exasperated tone.

        Lina glanced at Daesti, as if seeking guidance. Daesti simply nodded. Though by all rights they should have been easily able to flee, the law enforcement in this strange city—though perhaps not themselves physically up to the task—seemed well-prepared enough with gadgetry to handle any such escape attempt. Besides, with their ship in disrepair, Lina and Daesti were stranded in this place, and even if they could manage to escape, they would make for the most conspicuous of fugitives, sylphs as they were amongst an obese population. And they had no way of knowing whether they would meet with outright hostility from the other denizens of the city, who probably would turn them right back over to the police. It seemed a ridiculous endeavor, only a needless new hindrance to getting the Luna Moth repaired and getting on their way.

        “Look, sorry about before,” said Daesti, diplomatically. “We sort of panicked back there. We really just want to get this all over with.”

        “That’s more like it,” said the officer. “There’s really no reason to resist. We here in Fatropolis have got just about the most hospitable police department in the known galaxy.”

        Lina balked at Daesti’s seeming complicity and flashed a betrayed-looking pout, but Daesti winked reassuringly.

        The officer pressed a button on the console of the vehicle, and they were freed from the restraint mechanism. The officer struggled a bit just to extricate himself from the vehicle, and huffed and puffed as he disembarked. Nevertheless, he gallantly offered his arm to to steady each of them as they too stepped down out of the vehicle.

        Though they were no more than ten paces from the entrance of the station, the officer nonetheless boarded a motorized hover-scooter that was parked in the bay. “Offer you a ride?”

        “We’ll walk, thanks,” said Daesti.

        “Suit yourselves,” replied the officer. “Once you've been in Fatropolis for a while, you'll learn to do things the easy way.”

        The station, they soon discovered, was not at all the usual drab and dingy affair. The interior was plush and welcoming, with warm decor and a veneer of newness, a facility that obviously had not been host to an abundance of action. It seemed more of a lounge than a police station. Overstuffed waiting chairs lined the perimeter of the lobby. There was a torpid hum of activity behind the intake desk as the staff (each one as fat as the others) went about its work. Whatever its other glaring idiosyncrasies, Daesti supposed that Fatropolis boasted a low crime rate.

        “Well, I’ll be! Look what Sal brought in!” said another officer behind the desk as Daesti and Lina and their arresting officer came through the automatic door. There was some chatter as others stopped what they were doing to see. 

        “What have we here?” asked another uniformed man.

        Daesti and Lina were uncomfortably aware of being gawked at. As two beautiful young women, they were accustomed to attention, but this was of a different kind. They were not used to being regarded as grotesque oddities. 

        “Let’s have a look at you,” a female officer chimed in. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen any new skinnies. Much less two skinnies at once.”

        Sal—which, they had just learned, was Officer 67302’s given name—gestured to his two wards. “Someone’ll be with you in just a minute to get you measured, ladies. Meantime, feel free to take a load off.”

        “Can I interest you ladies in some doughnuts?” said the female officer, producing a tray from behind the counter of the intake desk.

        “That’s a new one,” Lina quipped sidelong to Daesti. “Even the perps get doughnuts here.”

        But Daesti relented. “Actually, you know what, I am sort of hungry. Why not! Nothing makes being arrested go more smoothly than a nice snack.” She grabbed one of the over-sized sugar-coated baked goods and took a generous bite. It was a jelly-filled confection…fresh and still warm. Her face lit up with delight as she plopped down on one of the plush seats, munching greedily. “Hey, not bad!  Delicious, actually!”

        Lina scoffed as Daesti gulped down the rest of the doughnut. “I can see you’re going to fit right in here.”

        The lady officer tipped the tray towards Lina. “And you, miss?”

        “No, thanks. I’m trying to watch my weight.”

        “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that for you,” said the female officer.

        Daesti broke off a piece of doughnut and waved it tantalizingly under Lina’s nose.“You’re seriously going to pass up free food? If this is what getting arrested is like in this town, we should thank our lucky stars.”

[Augmentor]

Part 5

        As Daesti and Lina waited, they observed that everything in the station—the furnishings and the accoutrements, and for that matter, the architecture of the station itself—was curved, smooth, and rounded. There was nothing linear or hard-edged in sight.

        The station staff continued their unhurried bustling, and at last the auburn-haired female officer, who earlier had offered them doughnuts, walked slowly into the lobby and addressed them.

        “I’m Officer 773961,” she said, pointing to her badge as if there were some doubt. “I’ll be taking you ladies for measurement. Follow me, please.” The officer waddled through an archway off to the side of the intake desk and onto a moving platform, which led down a separate corridor off from the main lobby. “The conveyor will take us right there.”

        “We can walk ourselves, thanks,” replied Daesti politely.

        “Suit yourselves,” said the officer. “The day will come soon enough when you’ll be glad there are conveyors.”

        Even the corridor, Daesti and Lina noticed, was wide and rounded. Presently they arrived at the doorway of what the correctly surmised was the room where they would be measured. The conveyor stopped and Officer 773961 spoke again. “This is where you’ll undergo your body scan. You’ve probably heard of WIDE-AS by now.”

        Both arrestees smirked.

        The officer continued in her business-like fashion. “Before you’re scanned, I’m afraid I’ll have to confiscate your personal possessions. But we’ll hold your property in our inventory room for safekeeping. You can reclaim your things after you’ve reached regulation weight. This includes your clothes—not that you’ll fit into them anymore by then.”

        “What will we wear?” asked Lina.

        “You’ll be issued Resilio-Tex bodysuits, custom form-fitted and equipped with sensors to measure your metabolism and other vitals, as well as your progress, of course. Now, which one of you would like to go first?”

        After a moment’s hesitation, Daesti steeled herself and courageously volunteered.

        The officer addressed Lina and pointed to an overstuffed waiting chair outside the doorway. “You may have a seat, miss.”

        “I’ll stand, thanks,” said Lina in a manner not so courteous as Daesti’s.

        “Suit yourself,” replied the officer, as she ushered Daesti into the scanning room. Daesti looked back at Lina with a look of resignation as she leaned back through the threshold. Daesti wiggled her fingers in a fleeting farewell gesture to her friend. “See you soon,” she said to Lina, as she followed 773961 into the scanning room and the door slid closed behind her.

        Inside, the female officer took her place behind a console and gestured to a round chamber across the room. “Undress in there, please. Put all your own things into the receptacle inside. When you’re finished, step out and onto the platform.” She pointed to a sort of glowing circular dais, which was obscured by a privacy screen.

        Daesti entered the dressing chamber, sighed, and removed her own stylish, sleek garments and all her personal effects. These she placed in a wide bin-like compartment, which then slid closed with a mechanical hiss. A light lit on the face of the bin as Daesti’s belongings were automatically analyzed, cataloged, and packed neatly into a plastic case marked with her identifying information. A transceiver in the chamber had already read Daesti’s medchip, a mandatory implant which all galactic citizens received at birth. The case containing Daesti’s belongings emerged through a pneumatic tube into a compartment beside the console where the officer sat. A robotic arm lifted the case and set it aside.

        Daesti exited the dressing chamber and stepped up onto the glowing cylindrical platform.

        “The scanning mechanism will measure you and analyze your body composition all in one pass,” explained the officer. A scanning hoop maneuvered into place and encircled Daesti’s ankles, then rose higher, emitting a holographic laser as it moved. There was a gentle whirring sound and a flurry of beeps from the console as the hoop finally hovered above Daesti’s head and then quickly descended again, disappearing at last into the base of the dais. WIDE-AS compiled the scan data and fed the information instantaneously to Fatropolis’s central computer.

        “Now just stand still for a minute or two,” said the officer, and Daesti complied. “Your measurements will be used for your new bodysuit. The rest of the information will be kept strictly confidential. Those results are between you and your counselor, who’s already received the upload.”

        Another tone sounded on the officer’s console. “Your bodysuit is ready,” she said. “It’s waiting for you in the compartment inside the dressing chamber. There’s a new pair of intimates in there, too, to get you started. Go ahead and put everything on. Your bodysuit will activate automatically.”

        “And then that’s it? I’m done?” asked Daesti, surprised by the alacrity of the process.

        “That’s it. You’re done,” replied the officer.

        Daesti had to admire the efficiency of this place. Whatever their ridiculous laws, there was no denying that Fatropolis’s tech was amazing.

        When she emerged from the scanning room, Daesti was wearing her new, conspicuously bubblegum-pink bodysuit, which looked something like a full-body leotard gone high-tech. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged to Lina, who went in next, a bit more slowly and more reluctantly than Daesti, and followed the same process.

        Lina emerged minutes later wearing a snug blue-raspberry-colored bodysuit of her own.

        “So now what happens?” asked Lina, anxious as ever.

        “There’ll be an orientation session for you. There’s a vid presentation for you to watch,” said the officer. “Then you’ll be escorted to the Fattenarium, where you’ll meet the counselors assigned to you. Their job is to oversee your nutrition regimen. They’ll nurture you until you’ve ballooned up to regulation weight. You’ll also be shown to your individual rooms, where you’ll reside until you hit your optimum size. By then, you’ll both be nice and big and legally fat, at which time you’ll be free to come and go as you please.”

[Augmentor]

         Part 6

         “And now the holovid presentation is waiting for you, ladies,” said 773961. “So let’s move on.” She looked to Lina and Daesti. “And I suppose you’ll walk?”

         “If you don’t mind,” answered Daesti.

         The automated walkway going the opposite way reached a sort of hub from which branched out several other conveyors, each leading down a separate corridor. The officer pointed to one of the corridors and Lina and Daesti made their way down the designated hallway. They arrived at what appeared to be some sort of conference center, in which was a small amphitheater. 

         “Make yourselves comfortable,” said 773961, gesturing to the chairs. She herself plopped down in a chair near the doorway. “The holovid presentation will be starting shortly. And please, help yourselves to snacks.” There were bowls full of goodies laid out on the table in front of them.

         As they sat, Daesti reached out for a treat, but Lina slapped her smartly on the hand.  

         “What?” said Daesti.

         “You just had a doughnut!” whispered Lina reprovingly. “Why don’t you just deliver yourself to them already chunked-out and wrapped up in a bow?”

         But no sooner did Lina glance away then Daesti shot out her hand again and grabbed a bonbon from a candy dish on the table. Lina sighed.

         “It’s just one,” said Daesti abashedly. “And remember what I said about making the best of this.” She was taken aback by Lina’s admonition. It was not like Lina to assume a parental tone—nor, for that matter, to lead by example. 

         “Being a sitting duck is not ‘making the best of’ anything,” scoffed Lina. “They’ll do everything they can to turn us into blobs, and somehow you’re fine with it.”

         “I’m not fine with it!” Daesti retorted. She realized how loudly she had just spoken and hushed her tone. “I’m not fine with it. But being blatantly uncooperative is a terrible strategy. And wow, those candies are so good.”

         The overhead lights dimmed and the parabolic projector dish lit up.The holovid began with an aerial view of Fatropolis and panned down dizzyingly to a street-level view of the city. Innocuous background music wafted from the speakers. A crowd of holographic fatties lumbered about.

         “Welcome to Fatropolis,” intoned the baritone voice of an unseen narrator. “Since Galactic Standard Year 125, when it became an independent municipality, Fatropolis has served as the galaxy’s premier sanctuary for fatties. You are now a ward of this city. Here in Fatropolis, fat is the law, and everyone within city limits—citizen or interloper—must be in compliance with the law. You are being detained under city ordinance number 9892834. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the city and the procedure for legal compliance with its principal laws.”

         The scene faded and switched to the head of a distinguished-looking and well-coiffed woman with a swept-back silver forelock running through her dark hair. “Hello,” said the woman. “I’m Claire Baerklaus, mayor of Fatropolis—where food is plentiful and fat is beautiful. I personally welcome you to this unique and wonderful city. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay. Your next destination will be the Fattenarium, where our expert counselors will ensure that you’ll be as well-fed as any of our citizens. While all of this may seem new and strange to you, I encourage you not to think of your situation as a punishment. Rather, think of the Fattenarium as a sort of resort, where all your needs will be catered to, while you relax and enjoy the journey. Perhaps you’ll love it here so much that ultimately you too will decide to apply for full citizenship. In the meantime, I encourage you to just relax, enjoy all the delicious treats, and eat, eat, eat as much as you can. I’m sure you’ll come to agree, fat is where it’s at.” She beamed a big smile as the camera panned out to reveal her impressive girth.

         The narrator droned on about the founding of Fatropolis and briefly recounted the city’s history, but Lina already found herself fidgeting. Their predicament was finally seeming real to her.

         Daesti, meanwhile, sneaked her hand into another bowl and stealthily munched a small handful of cheese crackers.

         Meanwhile, the holovid scene switched again to a montage of the body-scanning process. The narrator continued. “As a new detainee, you have been scanned, measured, and weighed by WIDE-AS—the Weight Imaging Diagnostic Evaluation and Assessment System—Fatropolis’s proprietary body composition analyzer, which has calculated your ultimate perfect shape, based on your personal medical history and physiology. And you’ve received your new bodysuit, fitted with sensors to monitor all of your vitals and record your progress as you grow.

         “Next, you will proceed to the Fattenarium. There, you’ll meet with our friendly counselors, who will monitor your progress and assist you in compliance.” There were cutaways to people stuffing their faces, while stout counselors in white lab coats looked on smilingly. 

         “You will take all of your meals in our deluxe dining hall, which serves every food you can possibly imagine, in any quantity you desire. If there’s something you crave that you don’t see on the menu, simply ask one of our specialists, and they’ll use our state-of-the-art food printers to create a meal customized to your exact tastes.”

         As the presentation began to wind down, Daesti’s stomach rumbled, while Lina fretted silently.

         As the holovid ended, the overhead lights brightened. Daesti and Lina both stood up and stretched, lingering for a few moments as the officer struggled to get up from her chair near the door.

         Daesti sighed. “You’re not going to want to hear this,” she confessed to Lina, “but I’m so hungry I could eat an entire Luhman Lunar Lasagna right now.”

         “Daesti, please!” snapped Lina, as forcefully but as circumspectly as she could. She glanced around to see whether the officer might be privy to their exchange. “You’re not taking any of this very seriously. Have you given any thought to how we’re going to get out of this mess?” 

         “It will all work out,” replied the perky, petite brunette in her usual self-assured way. “You’ll see. We’ll figure out something. But at least we’ll get a few nice complimentary meals out of the deal. In the meantime, I’m sorry, but I’m starving!”

[Augmentor]

Part 7

          The officer motioned to Daesti and Lina, and they sauntered down the aisle of the amphitheater, in no particular hurry to rejoin her.

          Lina could hardly contain her impulse to bolt; she looked to Daesti for a cue, some signal to make a break for it, but none was forthcoming. In any event, the police station seemed not the best place to attempt such a maneuver. Of course, there were other significant obstacles to the prospect of escape—not the least of which was the impoundment of the Luna Moth. 

          “Well, ladies,” the officer sighed. “Are you ready for the Fattenarium?” Daesti and Lina looked at each other but offered no reply. They all understood that it was an entirely rhetorical question.

          “I’m sorry to have to do this…” announced the officer. With surprising swiftness, she firmly grasped their wrists in turn and clicked energy restraints on them. “But we can’t trust you just yet.”

          Although the two detainees certainly would have seized any opportunity to escape that might have presented itself, they were nevertheless chagrined by this seemingly gratuitous exercise of authority—the only exercise that the citizens of this city seemed to know. It was as though they were made to feel like misbehaving youngsters held in thrall to codes and rules they did not understand or agree with and to which they would never willingly submit.

          The officer led them out of the station, loaded them into the same vehicle that had brought them there, and transported them a modest distance to a great dome-like structure in the center of a wide circular plaza. This building was the much-vaunted Fattenarium.

          As they proceeded up the main entryway, groups of obese pedestrians in garish garments stopped to stare at them, whispering amongst themselves—just as had occurred when Lina and Daesti arrived in Fatropolis. 

          “Again with the gawking!” grumbled Lina.

          “Well, we probably look as odd to them as they do to us,” said Daesti. “And we are on their turf, after all.”

          “Don’t take it personally,” said the officer. “Lots of Fatropolitans have never seen a skinny in their entire lives, at least not in the flesh.”

          They entered an opulently decorated main lobby, replete with marble floors, frosted skylights, gilded moldings, and classically styled sculptures of tremendously overweight men and women. Throngs of huge people slowly milled about inside the lobby in the course of their errands.

          “You’ll see more of this beautiful building when you’re given your tour,” said 773961. “But your first stop will be the administrative office of GAINPOUNDS.”

          The officer ushered them aboard an elevator.

          “GAINPOUNDS?” asked Lina,with her usual incredulity.

          “That’s the Governmental Authority for the Implementation of Nourishment and Promotion of Obesity in the Underfed through Nuturing and Dietary Services.”

          “Wow, you have an acronym for everything here, don’t you?” Daesti quipped. 

          The elevator ascended and opened up into a waiting area, and they all stepped out. A matronly woman with salt-and-pepper hair was waiting for them. She was dressed in a crisp white uniform over which was a dark blue tunic embroidered with depictions of utensils and steaming plates of food. The woman had a stately bearing, despite her absurd apparel.

          The officer nodded to the woman. “Good afternoon, Ms. Gâteau. Our two detainees, as we discussed. I believe you have all their information.”

          “Well!” said the woman enthusiastically, beaming and opening her arms wide upon seeing Lina and Daesti. “I am so excited to finally meet you! I must say, it is my absolute pleasure to have you here! My name’s Mimolette Gâteau, but everyone calls me Mim, and so should you.” She spoke with a bit of a drawl, and her voice was booming and warmly authoritative. 

          The officer removed the restraints from Daesti and Lina. “Mim is the Executive Director of GAINPOUNDS. And she’s Fatropolis’s best encourager, hands down. She’ll help you with your transition until you’re big enough to leave the Fattenarium. But don’t you ladies worry…she’ll take good care of you.”

          Mim nodded smilingly to the officer. “Thank you so much for delivering these two lovely but criminally thin young ladies to me, Pamela,” said Mim, addressing the officer by name. “I’ll take it from here.” 

          “Good luck!” said 773961, waving to Daesti and Lina. “We’ll all be anxious to see how you come out.”

          “They’ll be just as roly-poly as you please when you see them next,” promised Mim.

          Already Mim was appraising the two charges so newly in her care. “Oh my!” she exclaimed, shaking her head and tsk-tsking. “You girls are looking positively scrawny…clearly malnourished! But we’ll fix all that! It’s what we do best here! Anyway…now you know who I am. Please, introduce yourselves!”

          Daesti nervously stepped forward. “I’m Daesti Derecho.”

          “Daesti…so good to meet you! My, you are a tiny thing, aren’t you! But you’re going to make a darling fatty! That much I can tell already.”

          Daesti smirked surreptitiously, and in mockery of Mim, made a haughty face at Lina, who normally would have appreciated the humor. At this moment, however, Lina was in no mood for joking. Already she felt herself inexplicably admonished by this Mim, though Lina knew that she herself and Daesti had done nothing wrong. Lina was boiling and wanted desperately to voice her protest about all of the events that had led her and Daesti here: their arrest on bogus charges; the scanning and measuring; their being made to surrender their belongings and their ship. It was all Lina could do not to give Mim a piece of her mind. But somehow Lina could not even bring herself to look Mim in the eye.

          Mim approached approached and gently raised her chin. “And how about you, sweetie?”

          “Lina,” said the lithe blonde sullenly, her bright blue eyes downcast. “Lazuli.”

              “Lina! You are just a wisp, aren’t you! But you’ll be a whopping young lass when all is said and done.” Mim winked. “Welcome, both of you! I can see we have our work cut out for us. Let’s not waste any more time, then! You’ll be spending all your time in this building until you reach regulation weight, so I’d better let you have a look of the place. First, let me show you to your rooms.”

[Augmentor]

Part 8

           Mim boarded a hovering platform, and Lina and Daesti followed behind her as she led them back into the lobby, then up several levels on the elevator. They exited into a long, wide corridor along which were situated perhaps a dozen semi-circular rooms. The outside wall and door of each room were made of thick, convex panes of clear glass.

           “These are our…dormitories, let’s call them,” said Mim, stopping at the doorway of the nearest room. She stepped off of her platform and entered the room, which was illuminated automatically. The lighting was warm and inviting, neither harshly bright nor too dim. 

           Mim waved them inside. “Cozy, huh?” she said. “Not the squalid little cells you might have been expecting, I bet. Ms. Derecho, you’ll be in here. And Ms. Lazuli, you’ll be right next door,” she added, pointing in the direction of the adjacent room. From the hallway Daesti and Lina could see that the rooms were essentially mirror images of each other.

           The lodgings were larger than any hotel room either Daesti or Lina had ever stayed in. These quarters, which obviously had been designed to accommodate larger persons, seemed luxuriously roomy to the two skinnies and evoked a cushy ambience. Even Lina, ever the pessimist, noted the plush carpet, the perfectly temperate air, and the sparse but practical furnishings. She and Daesti noticed an enticingly sweet and spicy aroma that seemed to waft about the room, as if something rich were baking in a nearby oven. They couldn’t quite place it, but whatever it was and wherever it was emanating from, it was mouthwatering. 

           “Not five-star lodging, by any means, but functional enough,” said Mim. She began to move about the room, pointing out the amenities as she led them into a kitchenette. “There’s a refrigerator—ready to be filled with whatever perishables you choose.” The doors of several fully stocked cupboards opened automatically. “And plenty more goodies in here,” said Mim. “Snacking is highly encouraged, of course.” 

           Mim led them back into the living room. “There’s a very comfy divan for lounging on. And a huge, fluffy bed. You’ll want to take lots of naps…you’ll find that constant eating can sure tucker a body out!” 

           Daesti leapt on the bed and sprawled out. “I could get used to this!” she said exuberantly, grabbing one of the enormous pillows and hugging it tightly in a display of luxuriation. Lina rolled her eyes, though Lina admitted to herself as she sat down on the edge of the bed that it did seem uncommonly comfortable.
On a small table beside the bed there was a dish filled to the brim with candies. Mim took a candy for herself with one hand while lifting the dish with the other. “Sweets for the sweet,” she said, tilting the dish toward the young women in turn. Daesti grabbed a handful of the candies, but Lina held up her hand and shook her head from side to side. 

           Lina watched Mim furtively but with great curiosity. She wondered whether Mim had always been so fat and how it came to be that Mim was appointed to her job. Mim seemed remarkably sprightly and adroit for a woman of her size, and her face was pretty and charismatic in a way befitting an older woman. Lina apprehended what she perceived as a sinister gleam in Mim’s eye and a portentous smile on Mim’s lips as Daesti enthusiastically accepted the candy offered her—and an equally baleful expression of disapproval upon Lina’s own refusal of the same.

           Meanwhile, Daesti popped several of the candies into her mouth at once but quickly lowered her eyes abashedly as Lina glowered at her. Lina was sure that this also did not escape Mim’s attention, but in any case Mim continued with her presentation.

           “I should point out that you’ll be able to interact with WIDE-AS by voice command from wherever you are in the facility, so feel free to take full advantage of our ever-helpful computer.”

           Mim offered a demonstration. “WIDE-AS,” she said. “Vids, please.” Instantly the entire glass wall became a vid screen.

           “Lots of entertainment to keep you occupied,” said Mim. “You can watch vids to your heart’s content. We have our very own metropolitan media division, and we produce all of our own content. WIDE-AS, channel scan, please.” Several channels were flipped through in succession.

           “It’s nothing but fat people!” snapped Lina.

           “Well, what did you expect, honey?” replied Mim. “We’re not in the business of reinforcing skinniness around here. Ah! And let me show you this! WIDE-AS, blinds, please.” Instantly the glass wall and door turned gray and opaque. “If the vid screen’s off and you’d rather not look out into the hallway, there’s a virtual blind. You can change the view to something that suits you. A waterfall, an open field, a forest glade. But of course, we’ll still be able to see in from the other side.” Mim reclined on the divan and ran her hand over a transparent console that emerged from underneath the furnishing. “This might be an easier way to accomplish the same thing if you’re extra busy stuffing your face at any particular moment. It operates on simple gestures. WIDE-AS will show you a vid guide demonstration if you need help.”

           “Now, with all these conveniences at your disposal, you should be all set,” said Mim. “I imagine you will settle in for many a night of vid-watching. Now, don’t forget those snacks! You can have practically anything you like—popcorn just drenched in butter, or potato chips with dip, or—well, anything you like, really. And should you get hungry for something more substantial at any time after hours, just call out to WIDE-AS, or make the appropriate gesture on the console, and one of our attendants will happily bring by food for you. That’s room service the Fatropolis way!

            “Now, we will have to lock you in each night. Just to be safe, you understand. And it bears repeating that you are still detainees. But I suspect you’ll be so comfortable, you’ll want to stay nestled right in your rooms, where you already have everything you need.”

           Mim continued as she led them out of the room and again toward the elevator. “Mornings, you’ll have some latitude to sleep in. WIDE-AS will quickly adjust to your schedule. Upon your awakening, WIDE-AS will display your daily itinerary on the vid screen. First things first, you’ll proceed to breakfast. I’ll remain as laissez-faire as possible at first, provided you work fervently toward attaining regulation weight, but I will have to meet with you periodically to review your progress. And now, ladies, I’d like to show you to the Dining Hall…the Fattenarium’s crown jewel!”

[Augmentor]

Part 9

            “Here it is! Our magnificent Dining Hall!” exclaimed Mim triumphantly, as she and her two charges proceeded through a wide and elegantly framed archway. Warm and wonderful aromas wafted about as they entered.

            “All you can eat, all the time!” Mim continued with great exuberance. “Isn’t it marvelous!”  

            Daesti beamed. “Everything smells so great!”

            “Of course!” replied Mim, stretching her thick arms wide as though to encompass the entire hall. “There are always so many good things simmering away in here! We have all the food your pretty selves could want—the most sublime foodstuffs imported from every planetary system for light years around.”

            Lina and Daesti tried to take it all in. The hall seemed warmer and more intimate than its vastness betrayed. The architecture was classical and luxurious.  Above them was an opulent domed ceiling. Filling the room were many rows of long, curved tables, to which Mim presently drew their attention, as she ran her hand along what appeared to be a recess in one of the tabletops. “Bariatrically designed to accommodate big bellies. I’m sure the engineering ingenuity is lost on scrawny little women like yourselves.”

            “Thank goodness we will never be big enough to need that,” snapped Lina, tilting her hips to one side as if to emphasize her slim figure.

            “Oh, but you will be, my dears!” Mim replied confidently. “It will take some doing, certainly, but we’ll cure you two of that unsightly skinniness once and for all. Dear old Mim will take great care in plumping you up to size, don’t you worry. And I assure you, lovely little Lina, those hips of yours will be many times wider when I’m through.”

            Lina felt herself going red in the face with indignation, and was about to tell Mim exactly how she felt, but Daesti discreetly shook her head to urge caution.

            “You’ll appreciate all this ergonomic foresight when you’ve grown heavy,” added Mim. “You’ll be able to sit so much closer to the table. No doubt you’ll find the chairs much too big right now as well, but once you’ve amassed ample padding on your rumps, you’ll be thankful, trust me.”

            Mim led them down an aisle between the tables. There were scattered groups of fatties seated here and there. Mim smiled and greeted them warmly. They all glared curiously at Daesti and Lina but did not interrupt their eating to do so.

            “New arrivals,” explained Mim, almost apologetically. “Severely undernourished, as you can see. But not to worry, we’ll get them sorted out!” The diners smiled and nodded. Assorted hellos and welcomes were muttered amidst spirited gobbling of food.

            Mim directed her attention back to Daesti and Lina. “Anyone in the city may eat here for any meal. Not everyone does, nor are they obligated to,” she explained. “Many prefer to stay in their own homes, and that’s totally fine. Our municipal workers generally do take breakfast and mid-day meals here. And we sponsor frequent communal feasts on various festive occasions. For the social experience, it can’t be beat. The food, the atmosphere, the company…I hope you’ll grow to love it all as much as I do.”

            “Well! I’m sure you’re both quite famished by now,” Mim went on. “And you’ve had such a busy day so far. How about taking a break from all the red tape to enjoy your first meal in Fatropolis?”

            “I’m not hungry,” said Lina.

            Daesti was not so self-denying but only spoke up hesitantly. “I could go for a little something,” she said at last, with a shrug. Lina was livid but restrained herself from berating her in Mim’s presence.

            “Ah, wonderful!” said Mim. “Just diving right in! I like your initiative, Ms. Derecho. Now, have a seat anywhere you like and let me show you the process.” Daesti took the closest chair. She settled in the center of the cushion, which left plenty of room on either side of her bottom, and as she pulled in the chair toward the table, she found she fit completely within the recessed table space, with room to spare. Mim snapped her fingers and a pair of roving robots moved towards the table. “Here comes one of our buffet-bots. And its little companion there—that’s a serving-bot,” said Mim. “You’ll see several pairs of them making their way around the Dining Hall, ready to snap to service.”

            “And what are our specials today?” Mim inquired of the larger robot, which had an intricate assembly of mechanical arms that held an assortment of chafing dishes. In the middle of the buffet-bot’s chestplate, such as it was, there was a compact inlaid screen that displayed the menu in text.

            “Our specials today are Luhman Lunar Lasagna with Pegasian Panzanella and Girtabian Garlic Bread; Cor Caroli Curry; and Double-Crusted Polluxian Pot Pie with dumplings,” the robot intoned, spreading out its arms to present the chafing dishes.  A readout beneath each dish displayed its contents.

              The serving bot, poised alongside its counterpart, also readied its multiple mechanical limbs.

            “You needn’t bother doling out your own portions. The helpful serving-bot will do that for you. Please set a place for our guest here,” Mim instructed the smaller robot, which promptly laid out a napkin and utensils on the table before Daesti. 

            Mim shook out the neatly folded napkin and fastened it inside the collar of Daesti’s bodysuit like a bib. “This may be considered gauche in more ceremonious dining rooms,” said Mim, “but here in Fatropolis we are lively eaters!”

            “Now, simply point to your selection, like so,” Mim instructed Daesti, gesturing by way of demonstration with her index finger to the dish containing to the Luhman Lunar Lasagna.

            The little serving-bot readied a plate, swiftly and deftly cut a hearty slice of the lasagna, and placed it on the plate in front of Daesti, without spattering so much as a speck of sauce. It filled a bowl with panzanella and deposited that beside the plate of lasagna.

            “You’ll want some of the garlic bread, too” suggested Mim. The serving-bot was already piling slices of it on a plate in front of Daesti.

            “Just say when,” said Mim.

            “Oh…when!” said Daesti, chuckling. A mound of at least half a dozen thick slices of the liberally buttered bread was stacked on the plate in front of her.

            “I can’t possibly eat all this!” Daesti said, laughing again.

            “Give it a go,” said Mim. “You might surprise yourself.”

            Lina stood gawking at Daesti’s apparent impending gluttony and was startled to feel Mim’s hand on her shoulder.

            “Well, Ms. Lazuli, since you’re not inclined to partake of a meal at the moment, perhaps I might borrow you for a bit. I’d like to have a chat with you, and run a few tests. I’ll come back for Ms. Derecho afterwards. And then, if you’re hungry, Lina, you can enjoy your own meal.”

            But Lina remained adamant. “I’ll pass for today.”

            “Oh, no, no, my dear…now why would you want to do that?” said Mim, a genuine tone of concern in her voice. “Skipping meals is an altogether unhealthy behavior. Ah, but then, you’re still so new here, aren’t you. I’m sure you just need time to adjust to this way of life. I can help you do that. Come along, Lina.” Mim led Lina by the hand, as Lina nervously lagged behind and looked back plaintively over her shoulder at Daesti, who was already digging into the lasagna. Lina was altogether uneasy with the prospect of being separated from her friend, even temporarily. She couldn’t help but suspect that this had been purposely arranged. Daesti was already struggling with the many comestible temptations that had been made readily available, and without Lina’s disapproval to dissuade her, Daesti would succumb easily to those temptations. 

            “It’s okay,” said Daesti, holding a slice of garlic bread in one hand and waving reassuringly to Lina with the other. “You can go on. I’ll be fine here for a little bit. We’ll catch up later.” 

            Mim looked back at Lina and smiled. “I have a feeling she’ll manage to keep busy in your absence.” Mim then called goadingly to Daesti. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert, Ms. Derecho!”

[Augmentor]

Part 10

             “Make yourself comfortable, please,” said Mim.

             Lina hated formalities like these. She was a grown woman, perfectly capable of making herself comfortable if she so chose, or not, if she didn’t. Nevertheless she sat down, and the automated hydraulic recliner seemed immediately to conform to her body. They did have comfortable furniture here in Fatropolis, she had to admit to herself, begrudgingly.

             “I have the results of your scan here,” said Mim, glancing at her console. “You have quite a lot of lean muscle mass—the type of body any woman would kill to have anywhere else in the galaxy, but a liability here in Fatropolis, I’m afraid. I’ve reviewed your medical history as well. The fact of the matter is, your genetics overwhelmingly seem to  favor thinness. So to start out, our main priorities will be upping your appetite and decreasing your physical activity, so you’ll flab out and soften up a bit.” 

             Lina felt a wave of disgust at the very suggestion. 

             “And now I’m just going to run a few tests,” said Mim.

             Lina blenched. “What kind of tests?”

             “Think of them as…personality tests,” answered Mim, as she placed a metallic circlet on Lina’s forehead.

             A servo motor whirred gently as a viewscreen lowered into place automatically before Lina. “WIDE-AS is going to display an assortment of food imagery on the screen, and from your unconscious responses, we’ll get clues as to which foods elicit a positive reaction from you. That will help me design an optimal nutrition plan for you. Now, just relax and get nice and comfortable.”

             Lina shifted nervously in her seat. The reclining chair seemed to reposition itself accordingly.

             “Settle in,” said Mim soothingly. “That’s right. Good girl.”

             Lina, possessed of formidable willpower, steeled herself to block out external stimuli as well as she could.

             “Now, what I’d like you to do,” began Mim, “is simply to think of any food that would taste good to you right now. What do you crave? Picture it in your mind. Smell it cooking. Taste it. Feel it filling you up.”

             WIDE-AS ran through its program. Images of Chili Centarurus with Capricornbread, Fornaxian Casserole, Spacefarer’s Pie, Glazed Minervan Mega-Mushrooms, Elysian Enchiladas, and a great many other foods—sweet and savory, hot and cold, elaborate and simple—flashed before her on the screen. Lina focused on thoughts of slimness and the stoic contentment of an empty stomach and a general feeling of nonchalance.

             Mim frowned. “That’s odd,” she said in puzzlement. “Maybe it needs to be recalibrated.” She spoke several commands and WIDE-AS ran through the program again. Lina remained resolute.

             Mim raised her eyebrows. “I’m not getting much data I can use.”

             “I told you, I’m not hungry,” Lina grumbled.

             “Surely you must be a little hungry by now. Maybe you’re just nervous. A simple appetite stimulant would do the trick.”

             “I’m fine,” insisted Lina.

             “You are thin but not emaciated…at least not by purely clinical standards. You subsisted on something before you arrived in Fatropolis.”

             “Yes. Food that wouldn’t make me fat,” Lina replied.

             “But that was before gaining weight became a laudable goal for you,” said Mim. “I understand, sweetie, I truly do. This is all so unfamiliar to you. You’ve been thin your whole life. You’ve been taught to despise and avoid fatness. You don’t truly know the pleasures of food and the ecstasy of indulgence. It’s only natural that you’d have some resistance. Your own ideals have deep roots. But you’ve got me to help you. I promise I will do everything I can to make your transition as smooth as possible. This should be a pleasant and joyous experience! Now relax, Lina. Without thinking, just tell me the first food that pops into your mind.”

             “Green salad,” said Lina immediately.

             Mim sighed. “Be reasonable, my dear. Do you think we in Fatropolis are renowned for our green salads?”

             “You asked me to tell you the first food that popped into my mind, and I answered,” said Lina caustically. “And you won’t convince me to stuff myself with ridiculously fattening foods.”

             “Your little friend doesn’t seem to mind it,” said Mim. “In fact, she seems to be enjoying herself so far. I like her spirit! Even though she’s still just as thin as you, she is already thinking like a glutton. Her body will quickly follow suit.”

             “I’ll be sure to talk some sense into her as soon as I see her again.”

             “She’s having much too good a time to listen to your so-called sense! You’ll only come across as a busybody out to wreck her fun. But it’s too late anyway. We’ve made food irresistible to her. She was ours at the very first doughnut! Now that she’s had a taste of Fatropolitan hospitality, do you really think she’ll pass up breakfast tomorrow? Or lunch? And dinner? How about all the meals the day after that, and the next day? Not a chance! She’s already hopelessly hooked. I suspect she’s still stuffing her face right this very moment down there in the Dining Hall. From now on, every morsel of food that passes her lips will just pack extra weight on her. And soon…” Mim puffed out her already puffy cheeks and gestured slowly outward with her arms to indicate an expanding figure. 

             Poor Daesti! Lina shuddered at the thought of her friend gorging herself on all that lasagna and bread and who knows what else. She knew Daesti had a great capacity for pleasure, but Lina never figured her for a wreckless hedonist. Daesti had always known when to quit; it was one of the qualities Lina admired about her. She had to find a way to save Daesti—and herself!—from the awful fate Mim had planned for them.

             Meanwhile, Mim continued her provocations. “Even now all those rich ingredients are going to work inside her, converting all that food into a glorious fresh layer of fat. And the best part is, my dear”—here Mim lifted Lina’s chin—”you’ll get to watch as the Daesti you used to know fades into a mound of luscious blubber. Mm! I’m enjoying the thought of it very much myself. You see, fat is beautiful, my underfed little darling.”

             “That’s revolting,” said Lina. “You’re warped.”

             “Oh, Lina…why must you be so disagreeable! Daesti seems to understand what you don’t: Fatropolis is a paradise. Is there anywhere else in the galaxy where being arrested entails lounging around all day long, packing it in to your heart’s contnent? Your arrest was more like a reward than a punishment. Besides, it’s so much work to maintain your figure. Better to be fat and happy and carefree, no?”

             “No!” Lina almost shouted.

             Mim smiled. “When Daesti is fat, you will be an anomaly…the only thing of your kind…a sickly, weak skinny. Do you want to be all alone in a world where no one finds you beautiful?”

             This stung Lina’s ego like a barbed lash. So what if she had pride in her appearance! Mim couldn’t steal that from her! Lina knew that anywhere else in the galaxy, she was gorgeous. Why should she care about the opinions of some horribly misguided people in some backwards screwed-up city in the middle of nowhere?

             But Mim went on. “You poor thing…you just don’t know any better. I’m going to keep a close eye on you, Lina. But I want you to eat of your own volition. That’s important to me. I am woman of principle. When your fattening commences, it will be your own desires that set the process in motion. If it were simply a matter of of getting you up to regulation weight, I can assure you, the obesitizing process would have been underway the minute you set foot in the Fattenarium.”

             Lina squirmed.

             Emboldened, Mim smiled gloatingly. “With one word, I could have you strapped down this very minute and pumped full of blubberizing formula until you ballooned to size, whether you’d like it or not. But that’s a rather joyless method, don’t you think? I would win over your waistline, but I would not succeed in winning over your mind. Now of course it’s all the same to the scale. A 2-decitonne Lina is a 2-decitonne Lina. But I don’t want to roll a 2-decitonne Lina off of some assembly line. No, I’d much rather have a 2-decitonne Lina that I’ve helped to nurture myself, very carefully and strategically and lovingly. Of course there are the physical obstacles to overcome. But we have reliable methods of inducing weight gain, if efficiency is the only consideration. No, the more difficult problem is how to manipulate the passions. Fatness that comes from real greed and edacity is so much more authentic. My job is to find the spark of gluttony inside you and magnify it. Right now it’s still obscured by vanity.”

             Lina was frightened, and doubly so because she knew that Mim sensed it. No, more than that, Mim was exploiting it. Though Lina was fit and strong, Mim was the more intimidating opponent. By herself, Lina was no match for the more physically imposing Mim. Lina suddenly felt vulnerable and frail.  She knew Mim really could have her fattened up immediately if she wanted, and there would be little Lina could do to stop her. Lina shuddered at the thought of being hooked up to some contraption and forcefed to enormous proportions.

             Mim touched her hands gently to Lina’s cheeks and fixed her gaze.

             “You have such a pretty face, my dear…but it has no fullness to it. There’s so much about your form that we need to fix. But I’ll get you in proper shape. It may take some time to find your weakness, but make no mistake, I will find it. And then I will bring all my resources to bear.”

             Lina said nothing further. She was worried now that she had said too much already. Mim was testing her defenses, alternately lording her authority over Lina and trying to establish a rapport, tricking Lina into letting down her guard.

             Mim sighed in resignation. “Well, Ms. Lazuli,” she said with an air of restrained exasperation. “I have a feeling you're going to present a bit of a challenge. But that’s all right. I love a good challenge, don’t you?”

[ulvrik]

This is AWSOME! really love this story! i cant wait for more  

[Augmentor]

Thank you for the kind words! Glad you're enjoying the story so far. I'll be posting every installment up to the most current one, shortly.

[Augmentor]

Part 11

              Back in her cell—apartment? dormitory? room?—she wasn’t sure yet how to think of it or even how she and Daesti were meant to think of their confines—Lina was bored and restless. Though ample distractions had been provided by way of limitless snacks and mindless entertainment—neither of which she wanted any part of—she instead engaged herself by pacing around.

              She could not care less about the closed-circuit vids, which seemed to be a relentless stream of cooking and cuisine programs, food shows, even soap operas and sitcoms liberally interspersed with scenes of fat people stuffing their faces. In addition to this revolting fare, there were an overlarge assortment of entertainment and gossip vid-magazines featuring various overweight celebrities—or “celebrities” exclusive to this particular market, in any case.

              Owing to her unshakeable willpower, Lina was able to forgo the snacks with relative ease. The idea, she assumed, was that she would be tricked into eating constantly out of simple boredom. But she was too clever for that. The real trick, she realized, was how she could manage to get sufficient nutrition and not to starve to death while avoiding excess calories. She had not quite worked out a solution to that problem. It seemed impossible to eat sensibly in this place.

              Mim had returned Lina to her quarters with her figure intact—at least for the time being. But now Lina had new reason to fret. She knew Mim would not indefinitely tolerate her refusal to indulge. And now that Daesti seemed to be in the thrall of the apparently endless supply of food, Lina was doubly worried. She might soon be the lone skinny in Fatropolis, just as Mim had tauntingly forecast. Then there would be no one to help her, and nowhere to go, and Mim would have all the time in the world to fulfill her evil plan.

              Lina tried to plot an escape. Was it possible that there was some neutral place just outside the municipal limits? Fatropolis couldn’t be entirely self-sufficient. While it was nowhere near small enough of a city for Lina’s tastes, neither was it part of some sprawling megalopolis. It was essentially an independent artificial island. It must have some connection with the outside. Some trade line, a port, a shipping center…something. If Lina and Daesti could make their way out of the boundaries of Fatropolis proper—even if it meant braving the ocean somehow—someone sympathetic to their plight might rescue them. But it was a perilous gambit at best.

              Would Daesti cooperate? Lina wasn’t so certain anymore. Now that Daesti had sampled the Fatropolitan food, she seemed to be becoming increasingly enraptured by it. No telling what the ingredients were or what it might be doing to her.  Lina considered the possibility of having to force Daesti to leave—essentially kidnapping her, if it came to that. But that would mean Lina would have to act even more quickly; they would be slowed considerably if Daesti put on much weight. And Lina herself would have to stay in tip-top shape if any escape plan were to remain viable.

              Lina’s reverie was interrupted by the reappearance of Daesti, who was now ambling up the hallway past the glass window of Lina’s room, returning finally from her extended repast. Daesti waved as she walked by and let herself in. Apparently Mim and company were confident enough in Fattenarium security to allow the two to continue associating until lockdown. Lina assumed they were being watched somehow, if not actively and closely monitored.

              Daesti was silent but gave a propitiatory smile as she sauntered in and plopped down on the chaise. Lina glared at her reprovingly. 

              Lina made a pretense of busyness, as though getting her personal effects in order, and plodded around noisily, while the both of them refrained from speaking.

              After a protracted, strained silence, Lina was unable to contain herself any longer. “How much did you eat?” she asked at last. Daesti’s stomach was conspicuously distended.

              “Way too much,” chuckled Daesti, rubbing her overfull belly.

              Lina did not much like this reply. She sighed irascibly.

              “What’s with you?” asked Daesti.

              Lina, still fuming, said nothing.

              Daesti began to grow impatient herself. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been trying to take the heat off of you! I figured as long as one of us is eating well, Mim might back off a little from you.”

              “Wrong!” said Lina. “She already laid into me earlier. She has it out for me for sure. And as for you, she’s convinced you’ll have no problem getting gigantic. I have to agree with her there.”

              “We could have it a lot worse, you know,” said Daesti. “We could have crashed into the ocean, or be stranded on some desert planet somewhere, or..I don’t even want to think what else. So I’m enjoying the food around here. So what? We should thank our lucky stars we’re not space dust right now.” She gestured toward the glass wall that doubled as a vidscreen. “Look, can we watch vids or something instead of bickering?” 

              “There’s nothing on,” snapped Lina. “Just fat people, fat people, fat people.”

              “Well, it’s not like there’s anything else to do,” said Daesti. “You won’t even talk to me. We have to pass the time somehow.”

              She continued scanning the channels and stopped for a moment on one of the cooking programs, on which the hostess was sampling a tremendous slice of Betelgeusian Blueberry Pie à la mode. 

              “I can almost smell it!” Daesti cooed. “I could go for something like that right now.”

              But it was not merely Daesti’s imagination. Lina could smell it, too. The room seemed to fill with the warm aroma of the freshly baked dessert.

              “Oh!” said Daesti, as though her memory were suddenly jarred. “I have to tell you about one of the desserts I had today…it was--”

              “I don’t want to hear!” said Lina, cutting her short. Daesti frowned and continued flicking through the channels. The channel switched to some sort of comedy show about the daily goings-on in the household of a bunch of fat young cosmopolitan types. They were eating together at some restaurant and trading wisecracks. “This one looks okay,” said Daesti. “It’s something we could both watch.”

              Lina muttered in disgust.

              “Got anything to eat around here?” asked Daesti.

              “You’re kidding, right? You just got done gorging yourself, and you’re still not satisfied?”

              “I can’t watch vids without snacks!”

              “Go back to your own fragging room if that’s what you want. I forbid you to eat anything in here. Especially not after your little stuffing session this afternoon.”

              “Will you let me have a snack if I tell you a secret? Say, for instance…that I got the chance to do a little snooping?”

              Lina brightened.

              “Well?” said Daesti, tentatively.

              “You know where everything is,” said Lina. “Your room’s exactly the same as mine. You can barely stretch your arms around here without touching food.”

              “But I’m all settled in,” said Daesti in her most pathetic voice. “I really want a bowl of  ice cream.”

              “Sorry, can’t help you,” said Lina. “I’m all out.”

              “You mean you haven’t discovered the soft-serve dispensers? To the right of the sink.”

              To Lina’s astonishment, there were in fact two nozzles there above the counter. “I don’t know what’s more ridiculous…” she said. “..that there are soft-serve ice cream dispensers in our rooms, or that you actually expect me to dispense it for you.” 

              “I guess someone doesn’t care about getting out of here.”

              “Have it your way,” grumbled Lina, as she took a bowl from one of the cabinets, filled it with vanilla ice cream, and reluctantly handed it to Daesti. 

              “No, bigger,” said Daesti. “Like a serving bowl.”

              “A serving bowl? Have you gone insane?!”

              “If by ‘insane’ you mean ‘good at finding a way to escape,’ then maybe.”

              Lina found a larger bowl, then hesitated. “Listen to me,” she said in a measured tone, after considering the matter. “I am going to hand you a serving bowl full of ice cream. Think about that for a second: An entire serving bowl full of ice cream. Which you cannot possibly finish. But this absolutely, positively has to be your last hurrah. Every extra kilogram is just going to weigh you down.”

              “Fine, fine,” said Daesti. “Then I might as well make this count.” She managed to wrest herself off the chaise, entered the kitchenette, and began to rifle through the cabinets, where she found several packages of assorted candies, tore them open, and dumped them over the ice cream. Then she grabbed an oversized spoon from one of the drawers, took her loving cup of a sundae in both hands, and settled down again on the chaise. Immediately she began to tuck in.  She gestured discreetly towards the vidscreen and Lina knew that she meant to turn up the volume loud as a foil against eavesdropping.

              “Let’s talk,” Daesti mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream and candy.

              “Let’s,” said Lina with piqued interest, a bit put off nonetheless by the gluttonous spectacle, though some small part of her she was morbidly curious to see whether little Daesti could actually polish off the whole thing.

              “I think I’ve worked out a rough route out of here. It may take time.”

              “How long?”

              “A few weeks.”

              “Weeks?! We don’t have weeks!”

              “We don’t have a choice!”

              “Do you realize how fat you will end up in a few weeks?”

              “Do you want to hear this plan or not?” asked Daesti, popping another spoonful of the gooey concotion into her mouth.

              “Fine,” said Lina. “But keep talking. While you eat, if you have to.”

              They discussed at length their provisional plan of action and broached the topics of ventilation shafts and air ducts and hallways and elevators and conveyor systems and bots of various sorts and many other considerations, giving due recognition of course to the placement of security cameras and guards, lines of sight thereof, and alarms. Their plan was haphazard and nearly unworkable in its present incarnation, but they began to feel confident that if they could stall for a few more weeks, they could suss out the details as they went along. 

              As the conversation began to slow, Daesti began to gulp the creamy, candy-studded concoction more spiritedly and greedily.

              “Daesti! Come up for air!” Lina admonished her.

              When Daesti finally had gobbled down the contents of the immense bowl, she took a few deep breaths before erupting into a short fit of hiccups. Lina just stared at her wide-eyed.

              Daesti looked down at her stomach, now undeniably bulging, and gasped.

              “Lina…” beckoned Daesti very deliberately. “What just happened? Did I just…could I possibly have…did I just finish that whole thing?” She let the spoon drop into the bowl with a clatter. 

              Lina nodded, gaping, but after a few moments her expression changed to one of concern. “Are you alright?” she asked Daesti soothingly.

              Daesti groaned. “I’m so bloated,” she said, as she let one  hand fall to her stomach. In the other hand she still held the empty bowl, which she now feebly pushed into Lina’s hands.

              “Get this junk away from me,” Daesti pleaded. “It’s messing with me. I’m sorry. You were so right. We’ve got to get out of here.”

              “I’m the one who should be sorry,” said Lina. “I didn’t realize how much this food has a hold over you. You really can’t help yourself anymore, can you?”

                But now Mim was approaching the doorway. She did not knock or otherwise signal her presence before entering.

              “What are you girls up to?” she asked, mock-accusingly, as she strode into the room. “Ah, enjoying the snacks, I see. Wonderful!” She smiled and glanced around. “Well, girls, consider this lockdown. Ms. Derecho, you’ll need to return to your own room now.”

              Lina and Daesti hugged. “Are you going to be all right?” asked Lina.

              Daesti nodded.

              Mim interrupted. “What’s the matter, dear? Tummyache? We have something for that. I’ll give you some medicine that’ll fix you right up. Come along, now.” Mim led Daesti out of the room. “Good night, Lina,” Mim called out, looking back from the doorway with what Lina interpreted as a knowing glare. “Get some rest, please. You’ve had a long day.”

              Lina turned off the vidscreen and watched as Mim escorted Daesti past her glass wall towards Daesti’s room next door. 

              Lina’s mind was racing. She resumed her nervous pacing and tried to iron out the details of their escape.

[Augmentor]

Part 12

              A gentle voice roused Lina. “Good morning, Ms. Lazuli. Are you well rested? Do you require additional sleep?” It was the synthesized voice of WIDE-AS. Light had begun to permeate the room, dimly at first, then gradually growing brighter. Its source was artificial, but it was a decent enough simulation of sunrise. Lina stretched. She had slept in the bodysuit, which she  had learned had security features to prevent the wearer from removing it unless authorized by WIDE-AS. The bodysuit also relied on biometric feedback and its internal temperature regulation system to keep the wearer in optimal comfort. 

              “Good morning, Ms. Lazuli,” WIDE-AS reiterated. “Breakfast is now being served in the Dining Hall. Would you like something to get started? A breakfast shake, perhaps?”

              “No, thanks,” replied Lina groggily. 

              “I’ll prepare your morning shower,” said WIDE-AS.

              Lina took a moment to get her bearings and to overcome that disorienting feeling of waking up in an unfamiliar bed, though she was not entirely unaccustomed to that. Though she had hoped that she would discover otherwise upon waking, with a moment’s reflection she quickly realized that there really was a place called Fatropolis and that she was a prisoner in it…for the time being, anyway.

              The bed, however, was the most comfortable Lina had ever slept in, which was something that no other prisoner in any cell anywhere else in the galaxy ever could have claimed. It would be easy to lounge around all day out of sheer boredom. She knew that was by design. Ample comfort, constant eating, and sitting idly watching vids all day would be enough to lull any girl into letting herself go. But Lina had a job to do. Her job was to keep Daesti from overstuffing herself until they could both get out of Fatropolis. So Lina rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

              A green light lit on the console by the sink. “Please deposit your bodysuit and undergarments into the bin for laundering,” said WIDE-AS, as a compartment opened for just that purpose. 

              Lina undressed as WIDE-AS turned on the shower. “Kindly test the water temperature. Is it to your liking?”

              Lina held her hand under the shower spray. “Fine,” she said curtly, feeling no particular need to be acquiescent to a computer. But WIDE-AS evidently already had gleaned a good deal about her preferences, because the temperature happened to be exactly as she liked it.

              “Do you require assistance?”

              “Assistance?” said Lina. “No. Should I?”

              The shower stall was extremely wide—far bigger than the tiny little compartment on the Luna Moth, which stood to reason, since room was at a premium on that craft. But in here she could stretch out her arms and still not quite touch the sides of the stall.

              A warm foam with a creamy, vaguely sugary scent squirted from jet-dispensers in the stall. Lina lathered up, knowing that even the soap was formulated to get her thinking about food. Everything in their environment had been taken into account. And she was thinking about food—specifically, how to do without it, as much as possible. Still, a few days without food was one thing. A prolonged period without it would be quite another—especially when there were no distractions from her hunger and everything to reinforce it. She had immense willpower, it was true, but she had never been opposed to gustatory pleasure before setting foot in Fatropolis.

              The bathroom was warmed when Lina emerged from the shower, and a body dryer switched on. WIDE-AS outfitted Lina with a fluffy bathrobe that was much too large for her. She saw that her bodysuit was already neatly folded on a rack, with fresh undergarments beside it. The latter, like the bodysuit, were made of a soft and extremely stretchy synthetic fabric, clearly designed to accommodate an expanding figure without causing the slightest discomfort.

              A hairbrush and hair-dryer emerged from beside the mirror near the sink, and Lina readied herself and dressed.

              “Your weight this morning is…55.5 kilograms,” announced WIDE-AS when Lina had gotten the bodysuit back on. “Body fat percentage is…15%“ She was a already half a kilogram lighter than she had been when she arrived. Lina was quite pleased with herself.

              “Sending results to GAINPOUNDS,” advised WIDE-AS. Mim, on the other hand, would not be so pleased, Lina realized with trepidation. Mim would be keeping close tabs on her and Daesti to ensure that they were progressing quickly towards their respective so-called regulation weights. And their bodysuits, implanted throughout with an intricate array of sensors, would tell Mim most of the story.

              As Lina walked into the living room, she again caught a whiff of food cooking, perhaps wafting up from the Dining Hall. It was an evocative aroma—homey and enticing—and for a fleeting second she felt she wasn’t a prisoner somewhere, but at home, as though she had been transported momentarily to the past and was among family again. She realized, of course, that this was impossible and put it out of her mind. This certainly was no place to feel at home. 

              She went next door to collect Daesti. They would go to the Dining Hall together. There, at least, Lina could keep an eye on Daesti to see what she was eating and (she hoped) prevent Daesti from eating too much. And Mim would not be quite so suspicious if it appeared as though they were making an honest effort to be sociable and to comply with the law. Most importantly, Lina understood, she and Daesti had to stick together as much as possible. Lina knew that if she let Daesti sleep in and eat by herself in her room, Daesti would stuff herself silly.

              The downside to the Dining Hall was, of course, that Daesti still would gain weight. There seemed to be no way to avoid that now. But she seemed quite content to overeat, with or without Lina’s approval. So to the Dining Hall it was.

              Lina was relieved to find Daesti already awake and ready. 

              “Feeling better?”

              “Much, thanks.”

              “Still a little bloated, I see,” Lina observed, gently poking Daesti’s belly. 

              “Would you believe I’m hungry again? I can’t wait for breakfast!”

              Lina grabbed Daesti’s arm. “After everything we talked about last night?”

              “I know, I know, I shouldn’t be hungry…but I am.”

              Lina paused, remembering that Mim had offered Daesti something for her bellyache. “Mim gave you something for your stomach last night. What was it?”

              “I don’t know. Some kind of liquid. It was in a cute little bottle. She said it would calm my stomach, and it did. It stopped hurting right away.”

              Lina looked dubious and apprehensive. “Well, keep your appetite in check. I’m serious. As ridiculous as all this might seem to us right now, the truth is that Mim wants us fat. And for your part, you’re not making it difficult for her. The reason we’re trying to get out of here is to avoid that.”

              “I don’t want to get fat, either, but I can’t help feeling hungry! Besides, food is probably the best thing for me right now. Hair of the dog and all that.”

              Lina feared that it might already too late to spare Daesti from a weighty future. Daesti had fallen for Mim’s machinations all too quickly, and there was no reason to assume that Fatropolitan food’s hold over her would lessen. Even by the time they enacted their plan, Daesti likely would be considerably plumped up. Lina would have to do her best to minimize the toll on Daesti’s figure.

              The Dining Hall was crowded this morning. Already a line snaked out the doors, and Lina and Daesti joined the queue, looking painfully out of place amongst the many corpulent denizens of Fatropolis. Though Fatropolis was now an established city, there must have been a time, Lina surmised, before there were laws on the books establishing regulation weights, when a good portion of the city’s population would have been sent to the Fattenarium. Even some of the people around them must have been thin, or at least significantly thinner, at some point.

              Lina found herself wishing she had paid more attention to that orientation holovid. And what was it the police officers had said? That they hadn’t seen skinnies like Lina and Daesti in a long time? That implied that they had seen skinnies before. But Fatropolis surely had a bad reputation by now and most outsiders probably knew to avoid this city.

              Lina became aware of curious glances at her and Daesti.

              “Hey, what are you in for?”sneered a burly, stubble-faced man with a massive gut, as he and several cohorts guffawed and elbowed each other. They must have noticed the bodysuits; everyone else wore the strange pajama-like outfits with food-themed patterns on them.

              A kind-looking woman with a melodious voice spoke up. “You poor things! You look half-starved! Get some nutrition in you. Eat as much as you can, girls. Best thing for you.”

              “Oh, fresh doughnuts!” Daesti burst out, as they approached a table stacked high with the freshly baked treats.

              “Just one,” admonished Lina.

              “You have to take one, too,” said Daesti. 

              “Absolutely not!” said Lina, keeping her voice as low as possible while doing her best to maintain a decisive tone. “That’s what started this mess in the first place.”

              Daesti tugged at Lina’s arm and beckoned her closer. “Just take a doughnut,” she whispered, with a hint of her old authoritativeness. “And be sure to fill up your plate when the buffetbot comes around.”

              Lina chafed. “No! If you think I’m going to—!”

              Daesti pulled her in again. “Just do it. Don’t worry…we’ll switch plates and I’ll eat everything so you won’t have to. You’ll call more attention to yourself if you refuse everything that’s served.”

              Daesti had a point there. But it all was going to wind up as extra weight on her. This part of the plan would only work if one of them was eating. 

              “And warm cinnamon rolls!” said Daesti jubilantly, approaching trays of the icing-coated delights. “One for me! And one for you! Which means two for me!” Rather than cause a scene by arguing, Lina just looked on.

              When they were seated and the buffetbot proffered stacks of pancakes topped with butter and drenched in syrup, and made-to-order 12-egg omelettes, and heaps of greasy hashbrowns, and hot and cold cereals galore, poor Lina had to watch her little friend greedily stuffing her face.

              “Do me one favor,” said Lina, resignedly. “At least try to eat slowly.”

[Augmentor]

Part 13

              Lina was methodically rearranging piles on her plate while Daesti, shoveling food into her own mouth, watched curiously.

              Daesti paused between bites to pose a rhetorical question. “How long before everyone else notices that you’re not eating? I’ve certainly noticed.”

              Lina shrugged. “I’m worried,” she said. “These people have all of our medical information now, Daesti. You don’t think they mean to use that against us? And you know as well as I do that our bodysuits keep tabs on our weight and WIDE-AS sends the results to Mim.” 

              Daesti seemed unfazed. “Have a little bite of something, at least.” She held up a forkful of food for Lina to sample. “Here, this is delicious. Try a little. Go on.”

              Lina pushed her hand away. “Everything smells so good,” she confided, admitting it to herself as well. ”I wasn’t paranoid about food before we came here.”

              It was this paranoia that kept Lina from sampling the fattening fare as Daesti had. She saw its effect on Daesti, and that was enough to dissuade Lina from giving in to its temptations. And the food was having a subtle but evident effect on Daesti—already her body was beginning to lose definition. To be sure, Daesti was certainly still thin in comparison to the residents of Fatropolis, but among skinnies her newfound flabbiness would have been noticeable. And what was more, Daesti’s resolve was flagging by the day. It was becoming increasingly difficult to separate her from her food. Only by dint of herculean effort and persuasion could Lina keep Daesti to two meals a day…but for Daesti, those two meals were massive.

              It was their tenth day in Fatropolis and Lina had managed to sustain herself while avoiding the high-calorie offerings. But she had to eat something, and to starve in a place of lavish excess like this seemed the cruelest irony. So she devised a plan whereby she would go to the Special Orders line and request the blandest food she could think of: tasteless plain flatbread and salad and citrus water, which she was able to obtain under the pretense that these were only garnishments for her real meal, albeit necessary to honor the dining traditions of her homeworld. But these victuals were far from satisfying, and hunger was gnawing at her. The rest of the food she would pawn off on Daesti. She felt terrible about it, but Daesti didn’t seem to mind. Lina had to stay trim—the success of their plan depended on her not being slowed down. Daesti, meanwhile, was becoming more of a liability by the day.

              While Daesti ate, Lina would move food around aimlessly on her own plate and observe the layout of the tables, the ductwork above, entrances and exits, openings of any kind, and potential hiding places. Whenever an opportunity presented itself to wander about without undue attention, she would stroll the corridors and add to her mental map. Every evening, in the time they had by themselves, she and Daesti would return to Lina’s room to discuss these observations and incorporate them into their escape plan. Whenever Daesti’s hunger pangs became unmanageable, Lina would allow her plain popcorn or dry crackers. Lina did her best to give Daesti pep talks, reminding her of their as-yet-unrealized plans for skinny-dipping in the azure ocean of Kepler-226; hiking through the rocky foothills of Tartarus-15b; and wild pub-crawls in the space city of New Drogheda; and other escapades yet to be determined.

              But now Lina’s patience was wearing thin. It ate her up to see Daesti gorging herself. She watched with distaste as Daesti crammed a thickly buttered roll into her mouth.

              “We’ve got to get out of here, like yesterday. We need to push our schedule ahead. I can’t just sit around while you’re being fattened up like a sow! Mim will have you huge in no time, and then we’ll never get out of here!”

              “Oh, will you quit nagging! Here we are surrounded by all this incredible food—as much as we can possibly eat, and all for free!—and you’re really going to sit there and say I shouldn’t have any of it? That’s just silly! We’ll be out of here in another day or two, tops. Let’s enjoy this while it lasts.”

              Lina sighed. “Maybe you’re enjoying all this. I’m certainly not.” She looked at Daesti intently as though studying her for any changes. “I notice you’ve put on weight already.”

              “I have not!” shot back Daesti, her mouth still half-full. She looked down at her midsection sheepishly.

              “Oh, really?” retorted Lina. “Then what’s all this?” In pantomime, she squeezed an imaginary ring of fat around her own waist.  “You’re going all soft around the middle. Well, go ahead and blow up like an atmospheric probe balloon for all I care. It’ll serve you right. But I won’t let that happen to me.”

              Daesti was indignant. “So I put on a couple of kayjees. So what? At least I’m putting in some effort! I’m taking one for our team while I buy us more time! And what are you doing, besides pouting? Are you really that vain that you’d let a little extra weight get in the way of our friendship? I can lose the weight later!” Suddenly Daesti looked apologetic and softened her tone. “I’m trying not to stuff myself, but it’s so hard not to! I just don’t want to draw too much attention to us. As long as I’m eating, and you’re pretending to eat—they’ll be happy.”

              Lina tried not to think of Mim, who, true to her word, had not interfered while they—or at least Daesti—followed the protocol and began working towards the much-vaunted “regulation weight.” Lina wondered how long this seeming permissiveness would last. Whenever she saw Mim in passing, the portly directress would look her up and down and frown disapprovingly. She suspected that Mim was toying with her. Lina was sure she was overdue for another scolding.

[Augmentor]

Part 14

              “Shh!” cautioned Daesti. She motioned furtively with her head and eyes. Mim was making the rounds, and within a moment was walking up behind Lina’s chair.

              “Enjoying the food, girls?”

              Daesti was midway into a mountain of Axomamman mashed potatoes. She smiled and mm-hmmed and nodded enthusiastically.

              Lina, meanwhile, was deceptively rearranging the food on her plate into little mounds to give the appearance that she had eaten a substantial portion.

              “What’s the matter, Ms. Lazuli…not hungry?”

              Lina forced a smile. “No, no, the food’s great.”

              Mim was unconvinced. “It’s not wise to try to fool me, Lina. You’ve barely eaten since you’ve been here. I know this for a fact. It seems you are actually losing weight, which is the exact opposite of what we want, isn’t it? So, Ms. Lazuli, I’m going to have to recommend that we ramp up your counseling sessions, starting today. Right now, in fact. I’ll need you to come with me.” She reached for Lina’s arm. “And I do mean right now.”

              That was all the provocation Lina needed. Without blinking, she elbowed the enormous counselor sharply in the gut. Though the fat absorbed most of the blow, Mim was nonetheless doubled over with the force of it.

              “Daesti, run!” exhorted Lina, who was already over the table and racing towards a back doorway that led to a service corridor.

              Daesti paused a moment to swallow one more spoonful of food. 

              “Daesti! Come on!” yelled Lina, stamping her foot.

              Then Daesti herself also leapt up and splattered the plate of mashed potatoes in Mim’s face. 

              As the two young women bolted, the fatties, so preoccupied with their meals, barely acknowledged this turn of events, but now a murmuring arose from the Dining Hall, growing in volume as Lina and Daesti raced down the main service corridor, then dashed higgledy-piggledy through several intersecting passageways.

              Now that they were on the lam, all their carefully conceived plans quickly evaporated in the panic of the moment. Daesti, puffing with effort and already lagging slightly behind Lina, paused to survey their options.

              “Over there!” She pointed to a circular opening in one of the corridor walls, a sort of oculus, slightly out of her reach.

              Standing on tiptoe, Lina was able to glance in. “Storage room, maybe. Looks safe.”

              “Give me a boost!”

              Lina looked skeptical. “Will you fit through?”

              “I think it’s big enough.” Daesti sounded hurt. “Hurry!”

              Lina cradled her hands together to form a makeshift step. Daesti, winded, climbed up and began to clamber up into the portal. She had gotten her torso through the opening but now was trying to shimmy through to the other side of the wall. She stopped abruptly.

              “Uh-oh.”

              “What’s wrong?”

              Daesti grunted. “I think I’m stuck.” Her voice was muffled through the wall.

              “No time to fuck around!” said Lina.

              “I’m not! I’m stuck!”

              “No, no, no!” Lina lamented. “Not now! Please, not now! Pull yourself through!”

              “I’m trying!”

              “Try harder!”

              Daesti struggled. A few extra millimeters of flesh were all it had taken to prevent her from squeezing through.

              “I told you not to eat any of that food! Now look what’s happened!”

              An indistinct din was echoing through the halls. Lina peered around cautiously but could not pinpoint the source of the commotion. A sudden yelp from Daesti drew her attention back to her friend’s current plight.

              “Ow! What was that for?!”

              “What was what for? What are you talking about?”

              “Did you just pinch my ass?!”

              “Did I what?!”

              Daesti yelped once more. Then Lina spied the source of her friend’s discomfort: Two tiny dart-like hypos were sticking out of Daesti’s buttocks, one in each cheek. Lina quickly plucked out the offending needles and examined them cursorily. Then she dropped them in sudden astonishment as something much more apprehensible filled her field of vision.

              She stood staring, dumbfounded, as Daesti’s posterior began to expand before her very eyes.

              “Daesti!” she managed to shout at last.” Your ass is getting huge!”

              “Knock off the catty insults and give me a push!”

              “No, I mean it, it’s getting bigger by the second!”

              Daesti was wriggling wildly and kicking her legs. “Lina! Help! Push me through!”

              Lina tried desperately to push Desi’s ballooning rump through the opening, but it was no use. 

              Daesti struggled futilely to extricate herself. Her burgeoning behind had formed a tight seal against the hole in the wall and wriggle as she might, she found herself unable to budge.

              Lina cringed when heard a familiar voice emanating from the adjoining corridor.

              “Grab her! Get her in cuffs!”

              Lina turned around, only to be met by a hulking four-armed securitybot, stealthy despite its size. Immediately the metallic brute pinned Lina’s wrists behind her with one pair of its robotic arms and handcuffed her with the other pair.

              A motorized utility cart appeared around the curve of the hallway, in the back benchseat of which was Mim, her face still flecked with bits of mashed potatoes. Still a bit out of breath, Mim slowly disembarked and approached them. 

              “Looks like our little brunette has grown just a bit wider on the backside, wouldn’t you say?” said Mim, patting Daesti on the buttocks. “Having some trouble squeezing through, honey? Hang around for a bit, Blubber Buns!” she taunted, as she smacked Daesti’s bottom sharply.

              “What did you do to her?” Lina demanded. “What did you shoot into her?”

              “Oh, calm down, it’s only a little Templump,” said Mim dismissively, as though this explanation should be perfectly apparent to Lina. Mim saw her puzzlement and offered a condescending clarification. “A cosmetic enhancer. Puffs up the fat cells. But don’t worry, it’s only temporary. Her ass will shrink down again. For a little while. But we’ll get it right back up to size, once we’ve taken the time to feed her up properly. She won’t need Templump for enhancement when I’ve finished with her.” She smacked Daesti’s backside again and laughed.

               “Help! Lina! Help! Mmmppph—!” Daesti’s behind rippled as she squirmed.

              “Leave her alone!” Lina hollered, straining against the cuffs and the grip of the securitybot.

              “Oh, she won’t be alone. But it’s obvious you two can’t be trusted together, so you need to be separated. Now, you interrupted your friend’s meal, and that was very rude of you. But that’s all right. She’s just about to have the meal of her life. We’ve wheeled a nice cart of food into the room, and two of my best aides will hand-feed her. Without you to interfere, she’ll be free to eat as much as she likes. And as for you, blondie, you’ll be directly under my care now. And when and Ms. Derecho finally see each other again, you won’t even recognize each other.”

              “You can’t do this!” shouted Lina. She was in tears now. As Mim led her away, the last she saw of Daesti was her enlarged behind sticking out of the portal, ponderously round and shiny under the sheen of the bubblegum-pink bodysuit, her legs kicking feebly.

[Augmentor]

Part 15

             “Your new digs,” proclaimed Mim, as she led Lina by the wrist into a circular room enclosed by floor-to-ceiling windows. Arranged around the perimeter of the room were various consoles, supermainframes, holographic displays, and other sophisticated-looking implements the purpose of which Lina could only venture a guess. In the middle of the room was a massive, plush, mechanized chair.

             “You won’t even have the illusion of privacy here,” Mim continued. “Have a seat.” She did not invite Lina to sit so much as seize the girl by the shoulders and push her down into the chair.

             Lina sunk into the enormous lounger—which was no ordinary lounger, but in fact a complex piece of smart-furniture. The cushions were filled with a remarkably malleable elastomer gel and covered with an extraordinarily soft nanofiber. The chair gently slid forward and rearranged itself until Lina was in a half-seated, half-standing position.

             Mim sighed and shook her head. “Lina, Lina, Lina. What are we going to do with you? You’re much too stubborn for your own good. You’re stuck here, under my supervision, and you don’t have your little cohort to collude with. I think it’s safe to say I’ve won. Now, will you eat?”

             Lina said nothing. Mim smirked, while Lina nervously darted her eyes about to avoid Mim’s gaze.

             “What’s going to happen to Daesti?” asked Lina in a trembling voice. 

             “She’ll be properly fattened, of course” said Mim matter-of-factly. “But that’s been the plan all along, so it should come as no surprise to you. I just expect it to happen much more quickly now without your interference.”

             Lina began to tear up again, and she privately chastised herself for having lost her composure in front of Mim earlier. Her already-thin veneer of confidence had crumbled. Now Mim had all the power.

             Mim chuckled. “What a wonderful sight that was, wasn’t it—Daesti’s enormous bottom sticking out of the wall, I mean! A work of art! I should’ve framed it!”

             “Is she still stuck in the portal?” Lina asked worriedly.

             “WIDE-AS has control of that opening,” said Mim. “We’ll just widen the aperture after she’s finished up her meal. All we have to do is make it big enough to accommodate that fat bottom of hers, and then just pull her through. The Templump will have started wearing off by then anyway. Then she’ll be escorted back to her room, where she’ll take all her meals until I decide she’s fat and slow enough to be allowed back in the Dining Hall. Much as she loves to eat, she’s still a flight risk. But not to worry—my girls and I will do everything we can to help her along.” 

             Lina closed her eyes momentarily, took a deep stuttering breath, and tried mightily to maintain a poker face.

             Mim brushed a stray blonde lock on Lina’s forehead behind Lina’s ear. “We’ll take very good care of her, I promise. And without you around to nag her, she’ll be free to gorge herself silly. And we’ll make sure that she does. Bye-bye, sweet, petite little Daesti. Hello, doughy, dumpy Daesti.”

             Mim flashed a wicked smile at Lina’s horrified expression. “Her figure will be drastically altered. But she’ll blow up beautifully, Lina, you’ll see. And after that happens, no one who doesn’t know any better will be able to guess for a second that she had ever been trim and tiny. Even Daesti herself will barely remember what it was like. But by then, she won’t even care. Now, how about you, sweetie? You must be awfully hungry. How about something to eat?”

             Lina remained defiant. “Forget it! You’re wasting your time,” she replied adamantly.

             “So you’re on a hunger strike?” Mim laughed dismissively. “Ah, very  clever! And so ironic! We’ve never had a hunger strike in Fatropolis before. This should be very interesting. We’ll make a note of everything we learn, should this ever come up again in the future. You’ll help us streamline the fattening process. So something good will come of your stubbornness after all. And the next skinny to land in Fatropolis will be the beneficiary of everything you teach us.

             “Do you know what I’ve discovered, Lina?” Mim went on. “I’ve discovered that if you give people the opportunity to be fat and lazy—and downright encourage it—they’ll soon grow fat and lazy. Even if they might be a little vain or reluctant at first. When there’s more than enough food to eat, no one stays skinny if there’s no advantage in it. Fat is the natural state of affairs. Fat is beautiful. We’ve evolved towards fatness. Thinness is a relic of the past, a symptom of deprivation. It’s the opposite of everything we stand for here in Fatropolis.”

             “Talk all you want,” growled Lina. “But you can’t make me eat.”

             Mim placed her hand on Lina’s face and squeezed Lina’s cheeks until Lina’s lips puckered.“So now what will happen? Will you just starve? I don’t think even you want that. And I will not let that happen on my watch. And when you start eating again—which you will, inevitably—I promise that you won’t have a shred of willpower left.

             “You’re just very resistant, that’s all. You don’t want your physique to change, but it will change, Lina, because I will change the way you think. I will keep you thinking about food. I will amplify your appetite, and the weight will follow. I’m going to make a fatty out of you yet, just you wait and see.”

             Mim paused thoughtfully. “But…” she said. “Let’s make this sporting. I’m willing to propose a deal with you—well, more like a challenge, really. Here’s what I’ll do: I will give you 30 standard days to stay thin, during which time I will do everything in my power to tempt you, using every tool at my disposal, short of force-feeding. You can even have whatever tasteless victuals you want—dry crackers, plain salad, bland overcooked vegetables. And maybe some lukewarm oatmeal for breakfast. Plus one standard-issue nutritional supplement to ensure that you don’t become malnourished—that much is mandatory. I won’t be a party to your starvation. But if you succeed and refrain from eating proper Fatropolitan food for the full 30 days without giving in, you will be free to leave Fatropolis. Now, I think that’s a fair bargain, don’t you?”

             “And Daesti?”

             “Daesti’s not part of the deal. She belongs to Fatropolis now. She has to stay behind.” Mim paused and chuckled. “Oh! Ha ha! Behind. I’m sorry, dear. I couldn’t help myself.”

             Lina said nothing but knew already that Mim had forced her hand.

             Mim continued. “It’s alright, dear. You don’t even have to say a word. I assume you’ll accept this offer. You have nothing to lose…except your figure. But if you win, I lose one of my prized skinnies. So let’s see how long you can hold out.”

             Lina understood that Mim was presenting this as a fair challenge and would never have done so unless she felt confident about triumphing. But Lina had no other choice. It would take all of her resolve to see it through.

             Mim circled around the lounger, then leaned in behind Lina and said softly into her ear. “I’m going to win, Lina. You know that. And do you know why that is, sweetie? Because my methods work. And they’ll work on you. I’m going to make you huge. But it will all be set in motion by your own choice, I promise you. You will beg for that first bite of real food.”

             “No, I won’t,” said Lina disgustedly.

             “We’ll see about that.”

             Their diametrically opposed goals now established, Lina and Mim set to work against each other.

[Augmentor]

Part 16

 “Now, what should I try first?” said Mim in a purposefully sing-song manner. She paused melodramatically, index finger to chin, as though weighing the issue thoroughly in her mind.

 Lina, on the recliner, looked on timidly. She had no idea what Mim might try against her. She thought back to the Luna Moth’s plunge and how she and Daesti scoffed when the control tower identified the origin of its signal as Fatropolis. But now it was far from laughable. Lina did not find her present situation the least bit amusing.

 “You want to be hungry, do you? Fine, then. Be hungry.” Mim paced around the chair. “So, the first thing we need to do, Lina dear, is to amplify that hunger. And I’ve got just the thing.”

 Before Lina could protest, a robotic claw shot out from the side of the recliner and tilted a small round vial of liquid to her open lips. She downed the honey-colored substance reflexively in a gulp.

 “But you said you wouldn’t—!” Lina sputtered, the effervescent and ambrosial aftertaste of the liquid still on her tongue.

 “I promised I wouldn’t forcefeed you. I said nothing about administering liquid supplements.”

 “What did you just give me?!” demanded Lina.

 “An aperitif. Or, should I say, appetite-tif. A very effective appetite stimulant. That should sharpen your hunger quite a bit.”

  As the bubbly contents of the glass trickled into Lina’s stomach, she began to feel a disarmingly pleasant—yet somehow still unwelcome—warming sensation in her belly. This internal glow seemed to radiate throughout her body, then gently subsided. But in its wake, her stomach began to feel knotted, like some tightly-wound hyperpolymer band.

 And then came the hunger pangs with a vengeance—slowly encroaching at first, then rising in intensity, giving way to a viciously gnawing emptiness from which she could not distract herself. It was like some lacuna deep in her core. Most irritating of all to her was the feeling of hollowness that was overtaking her. She felt unnervingly insubstantial, as though she had come unanchored and a strong puff of air might cause her to dissipate into a cloud of dust.

 “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Mim reassured her. “I promise it won’t add a single smidgen of fat to your frame. It’s the food that will do that. Speaking of which—” said Mim, switching on an instrument panel. “How long has it been since you’ve really looked at food, Lina? Have you ever really looked at it? Have you ever seen how majestic it can be? The shapes, the textures? So much of the gustatory experience is in the presentation.”

  The recliner recalibrated itself again as simulation goggles lowered into place around Lina’s eyes.

 “Why not have a look, Lina?” Mim said. “Go on. Immerse yourself in it.”

 As her eyes adjusted, Lina began to orient herself to her virtual environment, which gave the effect of being aboard some invisible craft that was gliding through the clouds. But as the image coalesced, she realized that she was seeing wisps of steam rising from what appeared to be an immense smorgasbord. The pico-cameras capturing the scene brought the image into focus. She was drifting over a landscape—or rather, a foodscape. Now she seemed to be hovering over a mashed-potato volcano, molten butter shimmering in its crater. She drifted over giant loaves of warm bread, kettles bubbling with hearty stew, enormous bowls of pasta covered in creamy sauces, and roasted delights of all kinds.

 Mim spoke. “These are all dishes we could prepare for you with a moment’s notice. Just say the word.” Lina’s belly rumbled. It all seemed so authentic; she could even smell all the wonderful aromas wafting up from the feast.

Presently she seemed to be cruising over a massive cake coated thickly with butter-cream frosting. She saw the peaks, the valleys, the swirls, the enticing smoothness of its surface.

With all of her might, Lina concentrated on establishing some mental remove from the virtual spectacle. Despite the verisimilitude of the foodscape, she found she could still maintain some distance from the experience. If she could just luxuriate in the images themselves, she concluded, she wouldn’t need to give in to her appetite. It wouldn’t be so bad to simply imagine that she was full and satisfied.

 The simulation seemed to go on interminably, and hunger taunted Lina all the while. And yet she was prevented from interacting with this imagery; she could only observe.

 Mim rescued her from the tantalizing sensory barrage at last. “I won’t be cruel,” said Lina’s captor. “It’s time for your meal. If you can even call it that.”

A tray emerged in front of Lina, and Mim presented her with a salver containing Lina’s preferred meal, just as Lina had requested: a small plate of crackers, a bowl of plain salad, and a glass of citrus water—and, per Mim’s order, a bottle of standard-issue nutritional supplement. Lina ate quickly, but it all seemed so insubstantial. Still, she remained as resolute as she could manage.

 Nevertheless, she felt something she had not felt the entire time she had been in Fatropolis—disappointment. Lina found herself, at last, coveting a real meal. She also felt a newfound empathy with Daesti, who clearly was not possessed of Lina’s level of willpower—though Lina no longer faulted her for that. Maybe if Daesti had just been in a different frame of mind on their fateful first day in Fatropolis, she might have managed to resist, too. But Lina finally understood why poor Daesti had so quickly given in. Lina now wondered how she herself had managed to stave off temptation for so long.

 Mim said nothing as she observed Lina eating, but her lips were curved in a wry smile. Lina resented this scrutiny and hastily finished her ersatz meal.

“You are my pet project,” said Mim, switching on vids. “But even so, I can’t watch over you 100% of the time. You’ll need some entertainment, some way to pass the time when I’m not here. Otherwise, there would be nothing to do but sit there in the recliner and stare. Comfortable as it is, you’d go stir-crazy with boredom.” Though Lina could never stand watching vids in her former room, even with Daesti, she considered that it might now be a reasonable diversion to distract her, however ineffectually, from her hunger.

 So Lina allowed herself to look at the vidscreen with measured glances and with great distaste, eventually settling on whatever program at the moment seemed to be least offensive to her. The hours dragged by.

 Lina fast fatigued of this endless bombardment by imagery of food and feasting and fatness. Simply watching vids had proved to be exhausting. As though sensing her exasperation, Mim came to check in on her.

 Lina was allowed to prepare for bed. Then Mim showed her to the sleeping chamber—a glass-enclosed alcove within the larger room. Inside was an oval-shaped bed, which itself was nestled inside a partial pod-like encasement. The mattress, like the recliner, adjusted automatically to Lina’s body.

 Mim sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Lina’s hair. “You’re much too uptight, Lina. We need to relax you. How about some nice music?” The lights dimmed. “Some binaural polyphasic soundscapes should mellow you out.” There were speakers built into the dome-like headboard.

 The music was gentle and soothing, rhythmic and hypnotic, ebbing and flowing wave-like. If she concentrated just hard enough, Lina was sure that she could make out a faint whispering deep in the mix, but she couldn’t be sure. The words were indiscernible, if they were there at all, and white noise lent itself to all sorts of auditory hallucinations. Lina knew that it was nothing more than her conscious mind doing its best to find patterns in randomness. But the bed suddenly seemed to disappear from under her, until at last Lina could easily imagine that she was floating in mid-air with nothing underneath her to support her body at all. It put Lina immediately at ease in spite of herself.

 Lina submitted at once and already was beginning to doze. “Sweet dreams, hungry little Lina,” she heard Mim say just before she drifted off. “We’ll have many more sessions together. Good night.”

 Lina soon fell into restless dreaming. She seemed to be walking through the Dining Hall, between the rows of tables, looking on with an admixture of curiosity and repulsion as the Fatropolitans there gorged themselves, though their faces were indistinct and seemed to change if she tried to focus on any one of them. At first the diners seemed to pay her no mind; they were too engrossed in eating, They all seemed to be chewing vigorously in perfect rhythm, cheeks bulging and double chins jiggling. Lina tried to look away, but it had become apparent to her that all of the diners had stood up and had begun to surround her. Now they were beginning to engage in a kind of synchronized dance. They were slowly wobbling and bobbling and swaying hypnotically in time to a slow, steady beat. One by one, they approached her and offered her food. She refused each and every one, difficult though it was, even in her dream.

 Mim wanted to turn her into one of these people? The very idea was repellent to Lina. But to have just a taste of…no, she must not. She knew she would wake up, eventually, and that there would be a meal of dry crackers and salad and citrus water to sustain her….

[ulvrik]

I love it! i just can´t wait to se what this is going

[tasso007]

Wow awesome story! I can`t wait for the next chapter!

[Nate]

this is amazing 

[Augmentor]

Thanks for the kind words! Next installment coming soon!

[blyth]

Cool stuff, and well written  Thanks for the effort!

[Guest nocturnal3]

I look forward to the next installment