Time Slave Page 10

  "Very well," said he, "—Girl."

  He left.

  On the fourth night, she said to him, "Please tell them I'll be good! I'll be good!"

  "All right," he said.

  "Thank you," she said.

  The next morning Gunther and William arrived at the time of the first feeding.

  Gunther carried a short length of chain, and two padlocks, and William a bowl of warm water, with a towel and soap, and a clean, folded garment.

  "Lie on your stomach on the cot," said Gunther.

  "Yes, Gunther," said Brenda Hamilton.

  She felt one end of the heavy chain looped about her left ankle, snugly, and fastened with one of the padlocks. The loose end of the short chain was then looped about her right ankle, snugly, and fastened with the second padlock.

  Gunther then removed the handcuff from her left wrist, and also from the iron bar at the head of the cot.

  "Kneel," he said.

  Free of the cot, she did so. She heard the heavy links of the chain confining her ankles strike the floor.

  "You will wear the cuff at night," said Gunther.

  "Yes, Gunther," she said.

  Gunther slipped the handcuffs, together, into a small leather case, worn at his belt. He buttoned shut the case.

  "And during the day?" she asked.

  "You are shackled," he said.

  "Yes, Gunther," she said.

  "Is that not the answer to your question?" he asked.

  "Yes, Gunther," she said.

  "The experiments are progressing," said Gunther. "You will shortly be needed." She looked up at him.

  "You will not receive the least opportunity for escape," said Gunther.

  She put down her head.

  "Do you understand, Brenda?" he said.

  "Yes, Gunther," she said.

  He then turned and left.

  William smiled, and put down the bowl of warm water, with the towel, and soap, and laid beside them the small, white, folded garment.

  She looked at it.

  "It is identical to the one you are wearing," he said, "only, of course, it is not filthy, not torn, not marked with blood. It was not dragged through the Rhodesian bush in the middle of the night."

  "I did not know there was more than one," she said, numbly, looking at it.

  "You are permitted, of course," said William, "only one at a time."

  She looked up at him, then understanding better than before the planning that had taken place.

  "When was it purchased?" she asked.

  "With four others," smiled William.

  "When?" she asked, looking at him.

  "When you accepted the retainer," he said, "to come to Rhodesia."

  "I see," she said.

  "These garments were here," he said, "folded and waiting, packed, before your arrival."

  "When I walked in the gate," she said, "they were waiting for me."

  "Yes," smiled William.

  She put her head down.

  "Don't put it on," warned William, "until you are clean and fresh."

  "Very well, William," she said.

  "When you are finished," he said, "knock on the door. I will then bring you water and a shampoo, to wash your hair."

  Brenda looked at him, gratefully.

  When he left the room she knelt by the bowl and threw off the soiled, tattered garment she had worn. Rejoicing, she cleansed her body of the dirt, the filth, of the bush. She wrapped the towel about her head, to keep her hair from her body. She slipped on the new, fresh, pressed, crisp white frock. It was identical to that which she had first worn, thin, very brief, sleeveless. She knocked on the door. "William," she said.

  The door opened and William entered, with two buckets of water, and a shampoo, and a fresh towel.

  He sat in one of the cane chairs, straddling it, its back to her, watching her wash her hair.

  "The brush and comb," he said, "when you want them later, are where you left them."

  They lay at the side of the wall.

  She knelt before the mirror and ran the comb through her hair, straightening it. She would comb and brush it later, fully, when it was dry. It lay wet and black, matted, straight, beautiful, down her back.

  When she looked at him, he said, "Shave your legs, and under your arms." He handed her a safety razor, containing a blade.

  She used the soap and water, and the blade, and shaved herself.

  Then she returned the razor, and the blade, to him.

  William picked up the materials he had brought, the buckets, the bowl, the two towels, the other things.

  She stood and faced him.

  "You are very beautiful, Brenda" he said.

  She said nothing.

  "If you are good," he said, "you will be fed well."

  She did not respond.

  "Well, Brenda," he said, "it seems that things are much as they were before."

  "Yes, William," she said.

  "Except," smiled he, "that your ankles are chained."

  She did not answer him.

  "You have very pretty ankles, my dear," he said. "They look well in chains."

  There were only eight inches of chain separating her ankles.

  "Keep yourself clean, neat and well groomed," he said.

  She said nothing.

  "Kneel," he said.

  She did.

  "Do you understand?" he asked.

  "Yes, William," said Brenda Hamilton.

  He turned to leave and then again, for a moment, faced her.

  "Tonight," he said, "you are to be interviewed by Herjellsen."

  "What are you?" asked Herjellsen, sharply.

  "A woman," said Brenda Hamilton. "A woman!"

  "What is your name?" demanded Herjellsen, sharply.

  "Brenda," she said. "Brenda!"

  Herjellsen leaned back in the cane chair, satisfied. It was only then that Brenda Hamilton realized how different her responses were to such questions than they would have been only two weeks ago. Before, she would have responded, unthinkingly, to the first question, "A mathematician!" and, to the second, "Doctor Brenda Hamilton."

  She knelt before Herjellsen. Her ankles were still chained. But now, too, by Gunther, her wrists had been handcuffed behind her.

  Gunther and William, also on cane chairs, sitting across them, sat to one side, listening.

  "The interview is over," said Herjellsen, getting up.

  Brenda Hamilton looked up at him, astonished.

  "What do you think of men?" asked Herjellsen, looking down on her.

  "I—I think they are very strong," said Brenda Hamilton.

  "Do you desire sexual experience?" asked Herjellsen.

  "No!" cried Brenda Hamilton. "No!"

  "Gunther's report," said Herjellsen, "suggests otherwise."

  Brenda blushed scarlet. She recalled she had, on her knees, begged Gunther to fuck her.

  "That you desire, or do not desire, sexual experience," said Herjellsen, "is doubtless less relevant to the success of the experiment than whether or not you, yourself, are, by others, found sexually desirable."

  "Others?" asked Brenda Hamilton.

  "But," said William, "when a woman does desire sexual experience she becomes, surely, subtly, physically, more desirable."

  "You have in mind," asked Herjellsen, "subconscious body signals?"

  "Yes," said William, "but even more obvious than that such things as smiling, inadvertent posings and touchings, approaching the male more closely than the culturally accustomed distances."

  "How do you read her?" asked Herjellsen. He again took his seat on the cane chair. He looked at Hamilton.

  "I have studied her," said William, "and I read in her body great conflict between resistance and yielding."

  "I do not find conflict," said Gunther. "If I snap my fingers, she will lay for me."

  Hamilton put down her head.

  "I mean more generally," said William. "For example, today, while I watched her comb her wet h
air before the mirror, she was obviously holding herself differently than if I were not present."

  Hamilton swallowed. She realized she had performed this act differently, when under the eyes of William. She had done it more slowly, more luxuriously, more beautifully, than she would have otherwise.

  "That is natural," said Herjellsen. "It is only a young female posing before a young male."

  "Look at her now," said Gunther. "See the shoulders, back, the belly tight. She is presenting herself to us, even now, as a female."

  Hamilton put down her head and wept.

  "Do not weep," said Herjellsen. "It is natural female display behavior. It is quite healthy."

  Hamilton looked up at him.

  "The only thing to be ashamed of," said Herjellsen, "is the guilt."

  Hamilton regarded him, red-eyed.

  "You are really quite beautiful," said Herjellsen. "Straighten your body, put your shoulders back, draw in your stomach, thrust out your breasts."

  Tears in her eyes, Hamilton did so.

  William whistled. "A beauty," he said.

  And suddenly Hamilton was no longer ashamed to be beautiful before men. That right was hers. She was a female. She would be beautiful, boldly.

  "A true beauty," said William.

  Hamilton looked at Gunther.

  "A slut," said Gunther.

  Hamilton tossed her head, and did not retreat She looked away from him, her head in the air. She remained beautiful.

  "Excellent," said Herjellsen.

  He turned to William.

  "How do you read this woman's attitude toward Gunther?" he asked.

  "She desires him, intensely," said William. His voice was flat.

  Hamilton did not look at Gunther.

  "Some women," said Gunther, "who do not desire sexual experience, are extremely attractive. Their very coldness, their haughtiness, is a taunt to the blood, a challenge. It is great sport to take them, and reduce them to whining, panting whores, to break them to your will, to make them beg for your touch."

  Hamilton swallowed, painfully. Her shoulders fell forward. She bent forward, her head was down. She was again only a chained, handcuffed girl kneeling before men, at their mercy.

  "Weakness, and fear, too," Gunther was saying, "can enhance a woman's sexual attractiveness."

  "Among mammals," said William, "one is the aggressor, one the aggressed upon. This is the sexual equation. In most species of mammals, if not all, it is the male which is the aggressor. Sexual aggression in the female commonly neutralizes male aggression and makes consummation of the sexual act impossible. It is a common device used by women hostile to men, to prevent intercourse and insult and punish the male. In their own mind, and in his, if he is uninformed, she appears to be eager for sexual experience and he appears to be unable to satisfy her, or to be impotent. With another woman, of course, he functions normally."

  "I encountered, twice, such women," said Gunther. "I beat them."

  "Scarcely gentlemanly of you, old man," said William.

  "After they were beaten," said Gunther, "they responded perfectly."

  "Abjectly?" asked William.

  "Yes," said Gunther, "and with numerous orgasms." He looked at William. "They only wanted to find a man stronger than they were. Strong women, they wanted stronger men, men strong enough to make them women, strong enough to subdue them, completely."

  "And you were that man?" asked William.

  "Yes," said Gunther. "In their hearts, like all women, they wanted to submit."

  "And you made them submit?" asked William.

  "Yes," said Gunther, "I made them submit." He looked at William. "I made them submit to me—completely."

  "And doubtless they loved it?" asked William,

  "That was not my concern," said Gunther.

  "What was your concern?" asked William.

  "Their submission," said Gunther.

  "Did they seem pleased?" asked William.

  "They were obedient," said Gunther, "and had numerous orgasms. They wished me to keep them with me, on any terms. One was rich."

  "You see, Gunther," said Hamilton, "I am not the only woman who is attracted to you."

  "You were not spoken to," said Gunther.

  "Forgive me, Gunther," whispered Hamilton.

  "Weakness and fear, as I said," said Gunther, "can enhance a woman's attractiveness."

  "They provoke the aggressor," said William.

  "What of servility, and submissiveness?" asked Herjellsen of Gunther.

  "Yes," said Gunther, "particularly if they are enforced upon her—if she is given no choice." Gunther regarded Hamilton. "Women revel in groveling," he said.

  "That is not true!" cried Hamilton.

  "Be silent," said Gunther.

  Hamilton put down her head. Something deep within her stirred. Though she hated the thought, she knew that she was pleased to have been so sharply commanded. Gunther had given her an order, a strict one. It excited her to obey him.

  "What of helplessness?" asked Herjellsen of William.

  "Yes," said William, "helplessness in a woman tends to provoke sexual aggression* it stimulates the male. This expresses itself, of course, in countless ways. She needs him, say, to open a window, carry a bag, move a heavy object. Both he and she are conscious of her weakness; she must ask his favor; he readily performs the tasks; she now owes him, and she, being weak, being a woman, has only her body with which to pay him. She responds with sexual favors; in the civilized situation, these are trivial—smiles, words of gratitude, an entire body attitude of gratefulness. That the male wants these favors is indicated by his customary fury, should she offer monetary payment. It is her 'thanks' alone he wants. Naturally. Her 'thanks,' of course, are a culturally accepted, little understood, muchly desired by the male display of her femaleness before him. Symbolically, he has had her; winning her smile is for him surrogate for the possession of her body."

  "Interesting," said Herjellsen.

  "A most obvious example," said William, "occurs when the woman must take the automobile, in need of repair, to a mechanic. Though her socio-economic status may be far above his she must, in her ignorance, her helplessness, approach the mechanic with typical female submission behavior. Moreover, he will exploit this situation, by being patient, by looming over her, by listening to her attempt to explain the problem of the engine. Very few individuals, incidentally, can speak clearly of a complicated piece of machinery, or even know more than a few names for parts. Yet the mechanic's attitude will make her feel inferior, ignorant, stupid, and he, by contrast, large and wise, efficient and strong. Soon she will be laughing at herself, and pretending she knows even less than she does. She finds herself forced into acting like a fool, petitioning for a favor. She smiles, she laughs uneasily, she moves her body, she is embarrassed, she blushes, she looks up at him. He agrees to repair the vehicle. He will find out what is wrong, and whatever it is he, the noble fellow, will fix it. She leaves. He has had a sexual experience. Similar exploitative matrices may exist in the context of the female student and male teacher, or the female employee and the male employer. Females are forced, in thousands of ways, to be pleasing to men, and, as they struggle to smile, and be pleasing, he symbolically enjoys her, has her, accepts her, for the time, as one of his women."

  "What do you think of this, Gunther?" asked Herjellsen.

  "I think it is true," said Gunther. "Further, perhaps to your surprise, I do not disapprove. Rather I approve. Women should smile, should be forced to engage in submission behavior before men."

  "Why is that?" asked Herjellsen.

  "Because men are dominant," said Gunther. "And it is right that women should submit to them." He looked at Herjellsen. "Women do not smile and move provocatively because society forces them to do so; they do so because they are women; they are not the dominant sex. Display behavior, and submission behavior, is always displayed, throughout the animal kingdom, before the dominant organisms. It is natural for the dominant or
ganism to elicit, or enforce, this behavior. Your mechanic, he in William's anecdote, is dominant. It is thus natural for him to elicit, or enforce, display behavior, submission behavior, in your upper-middle-class woman. She is, after all, whatever might be her socio-economic class, only a female."

  "I'm afraid you are a male chauvinist, old man," said William.

  "As a scientist," said Gunther, "I attempt to ascertain the truth. I do not respond like a slavering dog to political stimuli."

  "When I spoke of helplessness," said Herjellsen, "I did not have in mind such things as being unable to locate one's car keys."

  The three men looked at Hamilton. She had her head down. She knelt, the short white dress well up her thighs. Her ankles, each snugly, were confined in the short, chain shackle. Her wrists, behind her back, were locked in Gunther's cuffs.

  "Brenda," asked Herjellsen. "Are you helpless?"

  "Yes," said Brenda. She lifted her head, and looked at them, red-eyed. "How could I be more helpless?" she asked.

  "If you were nude," said Gunther.

  She put down her head.

  "She is powerless, and at your mercy," said Herjellsen. "You are young males. Does that enhance her sexual attractiveness?"

  "Yes," said Gunther.

  "Yes," said William.

  "It is natural," said Gunther, "for a man to want complete power, absolute power, over a woman."

  "This has to do, perhaps," said William, "with the aggression-submission equation. For the male, maximum power facilitates total aggression; for the female, utter powerlessness gives her no alternative to complete submission."

  "More important than such trivialities as handcuffs and ankle chains," said Gunther, "is to force the female's psychological submission."

  "Of course," said Herjellsen, "we are creatures with minds."

  "The best lay that I ever had," said Gunther, "was a girl given to me for the night by a friend, four years ago, a Bedouin chieftain."

  "What was she like?" asked William.

  "Juicy, cuddly," he said, "brown, quick, large dark eyes, long black hair. When I pulled away her silk I saw that he had had her branded."