INTRODUCTION

 

WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE

 

Sometime in the not-too-distant future the world economy-sustained for so long by the United States--collapses. The haves battle the have-nots for the crumbs that are left-war inevitably follows.

The final war.

Seventy percent of Earth's surface is left unlivable as the remnants of civilization huddle together in the ruins and look for new leadership.

They find it in an unusual place-with the experienced and highly competent women who have labored just under that glass ceiling for so many years...

A Matriarchy rises, running things their own, different way. They use eugenics and controlled breeding to rebuild the population, culling men with too much testosterone to ensure that no man will ever again find himself in a fight for power.

Power is reserved for women.

At the same time, at a Lagrange point near Earth's moon, a small colony of men survive in quite a different way. On their little 'Home' women are slaves-sexual objects that will never have any power at all.

For a time the two worlds co-exist in peace if not harmony. But as Earth's population begins to grow-too quickly for its limited food supply--the Matriarchy began to look for new places to make their own.

Their eyes fell on Home-the men's colony-which they planned to make their own.

But they were too late. The men were fully aware of the Matriarchy's plans and, using the newly-developed Cooper-Fowler Wormhole drive, moved their Colony out of the solar system, re-establishing themselves on Home-an Earthlike planet somewhere along the Wormhole's route.

For a time they were safe. Secure in their anonymity. But then, through an accident, a ship from Earth was tossed from the Wormhole into the space above Home. The captain of that ship abandoned her pilot-and brother--Blake Lake to face the unknown perils of a new world.

Lake landed the ship-and found that this new planet was the home he had been looking for. A home where women were subjugated and men-like him-used them at will. He adapted to his new planet and soon found himself the chief of its (tiny) space navy as well as the second-in-command of the Slave Ministry.

At the same time, he acquired slaves of his own-slaves who showed him what being a master was all about.

Now, many months later, the women of Earth have returned-looking to spread their control-and their tyranny...

Chapter 1

 

"Faster, slave!" I tapped the upraised ass of the girl on the floor with the tip of my switch, being careful to keep the touch gentle-it was, after all, just a reminder. "You're running out of time!"

She gurgled something back at me-unintelligible through the ball gag that filled her mouth. Despite that, I translated the sound as 'Impossible!'-by now I had a lot of practice translating gagged speech.

"You have one minute remaining in which to reach that wall." I slapped her ass with the switch--hard enough to get her to jump as well as leaving a bright and angry red line across her rather splendid behind. "Move!"

That was easy enough for me to order-but for the girl on the floor, moving, fast or slow, was not easy at all. I had corded her wrists and elbows tightly behind her, then banded her ankles together. To move across the floor, she had to push herself forward with her knees, forcing her nicely-developed chest across the floor in front of her.

The even layer of grit I'd had applied to the floor made that more than a little uncomfortable-but not half as uncomfortable as what would happen if she didn't get to the other wall in the time I had dictated. I raised my switch again, waited for a long second, than brought it down at right angles to my last blow.

The girl grunted into her gag and speeded up, grinding her knees into the floor and pushing herself forward just as fast as she could.

I watched her ass twitch and wriggle as she moved. It was a very nice ass, smooth and well rounded.

I had become something of an authority on asses recently, having seen a great many of them since we began defrosting the inhabitants of the captured colony ship. As soon as the warmed and awakened newcomers were conscious, they were taken for training and rehabilitation-the men to various learning centers, the women to the Slave Ministry-my Ministry.

We had decided to defrost the women in fifty-girl segments. There were only thirty holding cells in the training center which meant that we would have twenty in various stages of instruction on the upper floors while thirty were locked below. Master Steele and I had arranged a schedule for each girl, allowing ourselves about a week to break one.

After the usual 'welcome' whipping, I usually started a new girl off with the crawl. It gave her an idea of how low she was in this society-and gave me a chance to gauge how she would respond to orders from a 'master'.

This one responded quite nicely and, after one more stroke across the ass, showed a turn of speed I hadn't counted on-enough to get her to the wall with nearly five seconds to spare.

"Nicely done, slave." I squatted alongside her sweating figure. "You actually managed to obey my command." I patted her on the ass, smiling at the whimper the touch on her tender flesh brought. "I think I'll allow you a little rest and food." I undid her bound ankles and grabbed a handful of her hair. "On your knees, now."

The girl groaned and struggled in her bonds as I pulled her upright but, eventually, I had her wobbling on her knees.

"Stay right there," I motioned to the spot she now occupied. "Don't move." I headed for the communicator over the work bench, keyed it to my new assistant's line. "Edwin." I waited a moment.

"Yes sir?" The response was almost immediate.

"Come in here and take my trainee to her cell." I thought a moment. "Bring a choke chain-I don't think I have one here."

"Right." I could almost hear him nod his head. "I'll be there in a second."

Most of the people of Earth had benefitted from decades of selective breeding and genetic engineering. Men were tall, straight and handsome. Women were beautiful and sexually desirable.

Edwin was different.

Something had gone wrong when he was conceived, something that caused him to be something of a throw-back to earlier times. Short, overweight and balding, Edwin was much like his forefathers-too much so for the rulers of Earth to stomach. Instead, once they were sure he had nothing important to contribute to the home planet they decided to ship him to their colony orbiting Proxima Centauri.

That was a shame. There was nothing wrong with Edwin's mind-he was a first rate theoretical physicist-- a role in which we'd use him sometime in the future. For now, he was a Ministry employee learning the proper way to treat a woman-something he would never have been taught on Earth.

"I have the chain, sir." He held it up for my inspection. "What would you like me to do?"

"Put it around her neck," I gestured to the girl leaning in front of the wall. "And take her to a cell." I thought for a moment. "Make sure she gets some food and water."

"Yes sir." He stepped in the girl's direction, looking her over carefully. "And then?"

"Get the next one in line and bring her up here." I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was tired. Maybe I should put the next girl on hold and go home...

No. I shook my head. Finish the work you laid out for today, give the next one her whipping. I looked at Edwin. Let him do it-it's about time he put a girl through her paces!

"Put her under the winch then call me," I ran a hand through my hair. "I'll be in my office having a cup of coffee."

"Yes sir." Edwin carefully slipped the choke collar around the neck of the kneeling woman before pulling it taut but not tight. "I'll do that." He jiggled the chain, "Time to get up, girl." He waited; eyes on his subject's breasts.