Many attachments and accessories are available to accommodate a wide range of punishments, some almost entirely mechanized, others requiring, or perhaps one should say featuring, the active involvement of a tormentor. Severity ranges from moderate to just short of termination, a punishment no longer imposed - it's unnecessary. Humiliating, stressful bondage, electricity and impact are all in the tormentor's toolbox.
Seven-convict punishment sessions work best with at least two women in the lineup; given the realities of the criminal world female volunteers are often needed to balance the manifest. A substantial stipend provides incentive, but it's an auction. Volunteers stipulate how much they'll settle for and naturally some are keener for the experience than others - applications from the lowest bidders are processed first.
How long had it been, five months at least, since Ginny's sister Angie took Liz up on her invitation to view a session?
The two attachments already installed on all seven restraining poles auger this morning's activity, a Class 1 non-impact corporal torment. One meter spacing is entirely adequate; today's punishment will rely on electrical stimulation controlled by the tormentor's handheld pad, administered through wide contact-lined electro-gelled cuffs wrapped around the prisoners' limbs and torsos, together with other strategically placed electrodes.
Given Angie's excitement during the visit it took much longer than Liz anticipated for her application to appear. She wasn't overly pleased when it finally did arrive, suspiciously soon after Jen exited the picture - Bev surely had something to do with Angie's prevarication, Liz concluded, not unreasonably. But Angie's bid near the bottom of the suggested range greased the skids admirably; her application sailed through without delay. Check, number two.
Corporal punishment has been a great success. It's demonstrably more effective than long incarceration, more egalitarian than fines. Group punishment is economical to boot. The restraining poles face a mirrored wall, forcing their occupants to see themselves as they are, to watch each other as they writhe in torment. This is not the only function of the shiny glass divider but the designers correctly estimated the substantial forensic impact of the reflections. By now Michael has firm data to support those estimates.
Liz's original plan involved just the Wentworth sisters, but what good fortune - now Bev too was caught in her web. With an actual female convict in the queue Liz risked flak for needless use of a volunteer, but it would be worth it to get all three into the same session, each unaware beforehand who they'd be sharing the experience with, all expecting to face Liz.
They would face Jen instead, on her first day back. Stuff Bev's insinuations - Liz would sit back and enjoy the show. Strike three - Jen, get ready to go to the mound.
Regardless of the method in use it's great theater. Some relatively gentle Class One flavors such as 'intense electrical psycho-sexual correction' actually turn a profit, deriving considerably more revenue from viewing gallery entrance fees and online sales than they cost to deliver, even allowing for the forgone fines.
Liz climbed the stoop, tired but exhilarated after her busy, lucky day. She unlocked the front door of the House of Bondage, the pet name Liz, Jen, Sara and Michael gave to the spacious, comfortable townhouse they also called home.
No brass plaque announcing 'House of Bondage PC' with the principals' names etched below dresses up the dark red brick next to the front door but they do have one, a gift from Sara's friend Hermann Strauss. It looks just like the usual professional-office kind except for the inscriptions; they'd installed it proudly in the small anteroom leading to their dungeon in the basement. Herr Strauss wasn't disappointed - he didn't expect them to put it up at the front door. He'd had it mounted in a costly platinum frame and suggested several places inside he thought it might go well; its actual location topped his list.
Liz entered, closing the door with a satisfying clop behind her.
The gallery located right on the other side of the front wall's one-way glass provides a comfortable setting from which to view the victims' suffering. Snacks and libations can be had for somewhat inflated prices at the rear, large screens to the sides deliver stunningly clear close-ups along with front-angle views of the tormentor's performance.
Hungry and starting to get her energy back now she was home, Liz sat down at the kitchen table to collect her thoughts and plan her evening. Sara had an appointment with a sponsor at the studio along with Gabe, so he wouldn't be there; by now Sara would have eaten and left. Jen and Michael, not yet completely recovered from their journey, were both asleep.
How could she be so certain, Liz wondered - it was as if she could hear them breathing softly, rhythmically, even though they were several floors up. She'd get herself a light dinner and eat solo, then head up to her bedroom to spend some quality time with her computer before turning in. She needed to be at the facility the following morning to conduct a session; she ought to review the convicts' dossiers once more before greeting them in person. She'd sleep better with that out of the way!
The punishment facility's intake mechanism is quite remarkable. Its construction added considerably to the facility's cost, but MIchael has confirmed its devastatingly helplessness-inducing psychological worth. An overhead monorail runs the entire length of the hall abutting the preparation cubicle exits. It leads into the punishment chamber where it passes all the way across the front.
About a week had passed since Jen and Michael returned to the House of Bondage. Just a little more than two months earlier they'd faced debilitating illnesses; rather than allow themselves to waste away they'd decided, along with Gabe's friend Ariel, to donate themselves to art and science by taking lead roles in an elaborately staged sacrifice scene written by Jen herself, produced by JenLiz Studios, in which they would actually die. Aided by CG originally created by Michael the audience watched with fascinated horror as their bodies erupted like Roman candles, but in fact they were flash chilled for delivery to the Neuroscience Institute in pristine condition.
Liz perused the refrigerator. She wasn't much for cooking, but that was no problem - there were always leftovers, delightful dishes made by Gabe, even better ones since Michael returned. She soon found something satisfactory, heated a modest helping and sat down with a glass of wine, happy to be reunited with her friends, even if at the moment they were asleep.
Short spurs serve the restraining poles themselves. The monorail continues through a door at the other end of the punishment chamber, running past the cleanup stations before returning to the preparation cubicles; prisoners are fully restrained the entire time they are in the process, from the moment they leave the preparation cubicle until they return from their post-punishment cleaning.
Liz loved the bathroom she shared with Jen. Compact but deliciously sumptuous, it could only be accessed from a short hallway between her bedroom at the front and Jen's at the rear, making it feel exquisitely private. On the other side of the hallway a smaller but equally well fitted-out half bath met their requirements if the main bathroom was in use. That convenience had, in addition to its entrance from the private passageway, a door to the main hallway.
Liz was impressed with the practicality of this arrangement when she first viewed the house with Gabe, who bought it for them. They'd come to love hosting large parties so it wasn't unusual for a guest to have to climb all the way to the third floor seeking relief - the door from the interior passageway could be locked from the outside on these occasions. And though the bedroom doors at each end were solid and well-fitted, tonight Liz worried especially about disturbing Jen - she took care of her post-supper essentials before going up.
Should you be unfortunate enough to find yourself in the first half of a preparation cubicle, naked save for your transfer smock after you've obeyed the order to strip and slide it over your shoulders, this is what you can expect. The intermediate door in the cubicle will open. You'll find yourself confronted by a split collar positioned just about shoulder height, its jaws angled a little upward, opened toward you. It's supported on a rod projecting half a meter horizontally from a much thicker rod reaching down from the transport carriage which rides high above on the monorail stub serving that cubicle.
The mechanism is designed to be menacing, to convey the stark inevitability of the punishment you're going to endure. You'll be ordered to step into the open collar, which will close around your neck. The rubber lining will then inflate just enough to initiate your journey into complete psychological submission.
The convicts on Liz's screen presented a pretty motley crew. Five men and two women were scheduled for group torment - neither of the women were volunteers. Their crimes were not all that heinous, also not very clever, but they carried hefty fines. The corporal punishment option meant they could pay their debt to society without going into debt themselves. Proportionally larger fines for wealthier miscreants ensure that not just the destitute elect to endure it.
Your eyes will follow the rigid rod extending horizontally from your encircled neck out to its termination on the transport carriage's pole. Attached just below that, where the carriage's pole ends, you'll observe a compact mechanical hub from the sides of which bands spring to form circles facing you, each about ten centimeters in diameter. You will comply with the command to pass your hands through - if you resist the collar will shock you with increasing severity until you do. The hub will reel in the bands, shrinking the circles to secure you by your wrists. You'll be ordered to spread your legs and place your ankles in the self-closing shackles below.
