Welcome to 2050 where there's a place for everyone and everyone has a place. For some, that place is delivering mail. For others, it's working on a project development team for a multinational company. Basically the same jobs that we've always had, but getting to them is a bit different.
The chaos and upheavals of the past two decades ushered in a mass reorganization. The government teamed up with the same corporations that largely ran the government anyway, and came up with a new path. New standardized tests were doled out. Your successes, failures, strengths, and weaknesses were cataloged once you enrolled in school to the day you graduated. You'd put your cap and gown away, enjoy one last summer, and then report to an employment office to be assigned your job.
Sure, there was upward mobility. You could get promoted. You could even switch career types entirely if you displayed the right aptitude for other things. Demotions and firings were rare unless some boss had a personal grudge. The system proved remarkably adept at placing people where they would thrive.
There were gray areas, kept off record. A person could be labeled as being part of the infantry in the army, when in reality they'd be a spy working in an embassy. As I was to soon learn, there were even gray areas that existed under the banner of Office Assistant.
My name is Chase Jordan. At 18, I had finished my summer, mostly spent partying with my friends, and was now walking into the employment center. My grades weren't the best, but I figured I could make the best of the situation and move up the ladder somewhere. Manual labor was probably out because of my thin frame. My only fear was being enlisted into the army.
"Chase Jordan?" A beautiful 27 year old blonde babe named Julie called from the door to the lobby.
I smiled as I shook her hand and made small talk on the way to the office. If only my job was to worship her day and night, I thought.
Julie made sure my ID was correct and confirmed a number of other vital pieces of information to be sure I was who I said I was (impersonation by paying someone to take your place had been relatively common at the start of this program).
She typed in a few things and I watched in real time as her cheerful smile faded and she scratched the side of her head.
"One second, just gonna rerun this" she said.
My heart sank as I expected the worst. I know I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but surely my ranks couldn't place me in too bad of a spot. It was a struggle to not say anything as she rested her hands on her lap, sighed, and turned back to me.
Before addressing me, she pressed a button on her desk phone.
"Hey Gary, we have a CS. May need some help in a bit.....yeah, according to the data he's not, but who knows....alright, thanks" she spoke into the receiver as this unknown Gary talked back via her ear piece.
"Chase, I need you to understand that this is out of my control. You may feel anger or be upset, but there's nothing either of us can do," she began, looking me straight in the eye.
"I've known a lot of people, men and women, who have been in this program. I'm going to tell you the good news first. It's a ten year commitment. Once you're done, you get a monthly stipend for life based on your average wages plus a percentage of your tips."
"Now," she continued, "comes the bad news, but it only has to be bad if you let your attitude get in the way of your success. You've been assigned to a subset of the Office Assistant field and will be working as a Stress Release Agent."
Julie paused and her face reddened a bit before she started again.
"Stress release can include a number of things, but you have been included in the group that assists male workers relieve their stress via....oral sex."
My initial reaction was disbelief. I wasn't gay. I had never even touched a penis that wasn't mine. Surely there must be some mistake.
"I need to let you know that I re-ran your results several times" she continued, as if reading my mind. "There has been no mistake. I know this may not be opportune, but please make the most of it."
"But, I'm not..." I sputtered.
"Whether you're gay or not has no bearing. The decision has been made" she quickly answered as she pressed a button on her desk.
The door opened and a buff looking guy walked in.
"Hello Gary!" Julie said. "This is Charles. He'll need transport to training. Building 9. Third floor."
Gary nodded and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Alrighty, let's go" he told me as he helped me to my feet.
"But..." I sputtered, not quite believing what was happening, "there must be some mistake..."
"Not a chance" Gary coldly replied as he walked me out of the building and placed me onto the backseat of his work car.
After an hour's drive, we parked at the training center building. Gary quickly rushed over to my side of the vehicle, helped me out, and I was escorted by two similarly buff guys into the building, up the stairs, and into an orientation room.
I was greeted by a 30 year old woman named Tanya and a 19 year old man named Tom. The former was a supervisor for our training team with the latter being introduced as my "sponsor." They both sat smiling and beckoned me to take a seat across from them.
"I...I don't think I should be here. I'm not...gay...I've never done this.." I stammered.
To my surprise, Tanya simply rolled her eyes and said "I don't care."
"You're here, either way. You want to take the risk of bailing? Spend some time in prison? Either way, you'll be doing the same thing. At least here you'll get paid for it" she said pointedly while staring me in the eye. Her entire demeanor did not betray a single ounce of empathy.
"It's really not so bad," Tom said. "I was in a similar position when I started, but I've grown to enjoy it. It's easy. Plenty of free time and tips."
Though this was aimed at calming me, it had no impact. I didn't want to learn to love giving blowjobs. I didn't want anything to do with it.
"Also, you'll be in training for a while. There will be plenty of time before you even have to touch a penis," he continued.
"You'll be living in a dormitory with the rest of the people in your class. We encourage you to be respectful of your classmates" Tanya broke in.
"Your first class will begin tomorrow at 8am and end at 3pm, with an hour break for lunch. The training will be three weeks long and then you will be assigned to a work area" she continued, her lips breaking into a grin.
"Your room has everything you need. Following training, you will be able to collect things from home. We have also taken the liberty of providing a phone for your use during your stay here. Gary has already placed yours in a safe," Tanya said.
My hand dug into my pocket and I was horrified to confirm that my phone was no longer there.
"Ok, I'll show you to your room. Know you're probably stressed and just want to unwind..." Tom added as he rose.
"Make the best of it" Tanya smiled as she got up and left.
As if carried by air, I walked submissively next to Tom as he pointed out the cafeteria, showers, and everything else. I couldn't focus or care less.
We came to a stop at room 310, my "new home." Its layout was pretty similar to dorm rooms I'd seen in shows and movies. It was outfitted with a dresser, desk, bed, mini fridge, and medium-sized box that contained stuff I'd need for class.
"Everything in the box is pretty self explanatory. Someone will come and do a spot check later today. If you haven't gone through everything in the box and completed certain things...it can get dicey. I'd just do it and get it over with" Tom said.
"I'm going to let you settle in. My number is in your new phone, oh, that's also in the box. Any questions first?" He continued.
I sat on the bed, rubbing my temples, still not believing what was happening. I had one burning question.
"How can you...you know, you said you were like me..how could you just do that with another guy?" I said.
"Easy. There's no choice in the matter," he responded. "Everyone gets through it. We've only had one or two people try to run. One came back and learned to love it. The other went to prison."
I hung my head, resigned to my fate. As Tom turned to leave, another question popped into my head.
"The lady at the agency referred to me as a 'CS.' What does it mean?" I asked.
"It's an...unofficial name for us. She shouldn't have used it around you, but...it stands for cocksucker," Tom sheepishly answered before closing the door behind him.
2.
Stunned, I sat there in silence for some time. I knew running was futile, but I kept trying to brainstorm a way out and ran into dead ends each time. My mind soon turned to the box in the middle of my room.