Note: this story has a pretty long buildup before any erotic parts, though I hope the reader's patience pays off in the end. It's got a minor science fiction flavor to it and a small bit of fantasized non-consent, but nothing overwhelming if you're not into that sort of thing.
*****
"Who here has experienced sensory deprivation?" The distinguished professor scanned the audience, tilting her face slightly to look through the correct part of her trifocals.
Out of a conference hall of 300 people, a handful of people raised their hands. Hillary was one of them.
"Of those who did, who enjoyed the experience?"
Twenty-five rows up, Hillary kept her hand raised and glanced around. Only three hands were now up.
Dr. Mullaney's sharp gray eyes bounced from one to the other before landing on the attractive brunette. "You," she announced, gesturing politely up at Hillary's row. "Would you please stand up and tell us your name and where you're from?"
One of the professor's assistants, a cute young woman of Asian ancestry, hustled up the steps with a portable microphone, while Hillary obediently rose. Once she had the device in hand, she answered. "Hillary Beyer," she announced. "I'm a grad student at McAdams State, studying human-integrated robotics."
"And why did you practice sensory deprivation?"
All eyes were on Hillary, but she scarcely noticed. Two years as a teaching assistant made her comfortable in front of a crowd, and even besides that, she was used to people staring. It happened a lot with her face and figure. "I was at another conference, and a vendor made the opportunity available. I couldn't resist."
"And you liked it?"
"Very much so."
"Did you experience any claustrophobia?"
"No, ma'am."
Dr. Mullaney nodded approvingly. "The perfect candidate," she smiled. "I need a volunteer. Would you mind helping us in a display of this new device?" She gestured toward a huge white sphere with which she shared the stage. The device was roughly eight feet in diameter, yet somehow still low key with its matte, dull finish.
Hillary shrugged. "Sure." She was used to this; she was always getting plucked out of crowds. Again, such things happen when you're an attractive woman. And regardless, despite her polite speech, Mullaney had an air of authority that was difficult to disobey.
The assistant gestured discreetly for Hillary to follow, and bounced lightly back down the stairs. As Hillary followed, she continued listening.
The professor, a tall, lean woman whose dark blonde hair was moderately touched with silver, swept an arm toward the sphere. "What we have here is something entirely new, and I think you'll find it intriguing. I asked about sensory deprivation, and this device works in much the same way. However, it's ironically quite the opposite. It's a sensory creator, and it's the first of its kind in the world. It reads mental stimuli and through the use of a new intelligent gel we've developed, it transforms those mental stimuli into physical stimuli. It therefore creates an actual physical experience from an experience that is being imagined by the occupant. We believe it has all sorts of uses from physical therapy to video games to occupational training."
Hillary wanted to hear the rest of it, but had to follow the assistant backstage. Once they were out of the public eye, the petite young woman turned. "Hi!" she said cheerily, offering her small hand. "My name is Lynette. I'm Dr. Mullaney's chief research assistant. Thank you for volunteering!"
Hillary shook her hand. Lynette was a cutie, perhaps 23 or so, and with impressive curves that were unexpected on a woman of her heritage. She was attractive in a very different way than Hillary, a compact bundle of energy and wholesomeness, whereas Hillary liked to think of herself as more smooth and sultry. To each her own.
"So here's how it works," Lynette said. "It's really neat. You're going to be lowered into a vat of our new sensory gel. We'll then have you imagine experiences, and the sensory orb will create those experiences for you."
"It'll create experiences?"
"You'll see. It's amazing."
She motioned for Hillary to follow her into a small room. It contained a couch, a hanging curtain, and a table with what appeared to be a heavily modified scuba mask, along with a neatly folded white bathrobe. Hillary's eyebrows rose slightly.
"I'll explain what happens once you're in the gel, but we have to get you ready quickly. We only have about five minutes. First off, the reason she asked about sensory deprivation is that you'll be completely submerged in the gel. I've done it, and as long as you're not claustrophobic it's an amazing experience and the gel washes right off when you get out."
"Completely submerged?"
"It's not as scary as it sounds. In fact, it's incredible. You'll love it."
"And what happens when I'm in the gel?"
"You just let your imagination run wild. The gel will pick up your brain waves and transfer them to the computer, which will read them and then send orders back to the gel. The gel is autonomous and can form into any shape or consistency on the surface of your body, so it generates a sense of touch that is real - pressure, temperature, anything."
"Anything?"
"It's virtually limitless. However, we do have some overrides. If you imagine yourself getting stabbed, for example, the gel will create that experience and stab you. We don't want that, obviously, so we've manually overridden a number of obvious dangers. Just to be safe, though, don't think about dangers. Think about things like walking on a beach or dancing in a night club, things that have lots of sensory input. It's also fun to remember past events and recreate them."
"So it creates a sense of feel with the gel?"
"Yes, but that's not all." She picked up the helmet. "This helmet produces a virtual reality based on what you're imagining. It creates sights, sounds, and smells. No tastes yet, because that has all sorts of complications. And the sounds are created by vibrating your skull, which lets us leave your ears exposed to the gel. But for the most part, you get four senses."
"Amazing. I can't wait to try it."
"It's fantastic. Dr. Mullaney has had me in the gel for over 200 hours so far, and we've done everything you can think of." She motioned to the curtain. "Now, other than the helmet you have to be naked, so jump behind that curtain and take everything off. There's a locker in there and you can put all your clothing in it and lock it up. Put on this robe and I'll keep your key for you."
"Wait," Hillary interjected. "I'm going to be naked?"
"You'll be naked inside the vat, but there's no way to see in from the outside, and even if they could, the gel isn't transparent. No one can see a thing."
Hillary frowned. She certainly had no desire to be naked on a stage, but this was a scientific conference after all. All of the protocols for propriety would certainly be followed. "You're sure?"
"Oh, absolutely," Lynette laughed. "We've got a system for this. We'll get you in and out very privately. It's no big deal."
Naked on stage wasn't a big deal? Hillary hesitated a moment, but this experiment sounded too interesting to back out. She stepped behind the curtain with resolve, took a deep breath and began removing her clothing. Shoes and tights first, then her blouse and sweater, and finally her bra and panties. She quickly put on the robe. The whole time, Lynette stood on the other side of the curtain, discussing various technical details of how the gel and the sensory generator worked. Hillary had to admit that it was fascinating, and she was looking forward to trying it out.
" - so essentially, you imagine a scene and the gel picks it up through your brain waves and transfers it to the computer that's embedded in the shell. The computer then gives the gel instructions on how to behave, and it creates sensations on your skin and sensory inputs in the helmet exactly how the imagined scene would play out on your senses."
"Do you put sensors or wires on me?" Hillary examined herself in the robe to be sure there were no gaps. It was a plush knee-length terry cloth like one would get in a resort.
"That's one of the great things about this. We don't. The gel is intelligent in that it picks up and distributes everything just via contact. It more or less reads your mind just by enveloping you and picking up your brain waves. Are you about ready?"
"Yes." Hillary stepped out behind the curtain, and the small Asian woman looked her up and down. "You look great," she smiled, winking with a grin. "I hope you won't distract the men from the exhibition. Now, let me fit the helmet onto you, and I need to tell you how the orb reads and displays data from your session. This is very, very important to know, because -"
