Boundary Busters

A big door slammed behind me. I spun round but there was only grass and trees. I was standing in a clearing, surrounded by dense forest with a narrow dirt road bisecting the clearing and disappearing into the dark woods on both sides.

A light breeze brushed my bare skin. I looked down at my body.

"Holy shit!" I was wearing one of those ridiculous fantasy heroine outfits. My breasts were barely covered by a leather bustier that reached about halfway to my belly button and seemed designed to put my breasts on display rather than offering any protection. I'm not hugely busty but nor I am one of your anorexic models. Depending on the brand, I fill out a C cup or a D rather nicely (says she smugly) but this top was barely a B.

Around my hips was a sturdy belt, at least four inches wide, but below that was a skimpy skirt of studded leather strips which would reveal whatever excuse for underwear I was wearing whenever I moved.

My boots were knee high, supple leather with a metal strip up the shins. I rather liked the boots but overall the outfit offered a lot of skin and very little defense. Oh, there was a also a light chain mail thingy over my shoulder and I had wrist guards which possibly made me look a little more warlike but my head, neck, arms, middle and thighs were all completely vulnerable.

A Japanese sword was hanging from my belt on my left side... a real katana... and a short sword.. known as a wakizashi was on my right. Someone was being kind to me, as these were weapons I had used in countless training sessions. Somehow I knew there was another knife hidden in each of my boots. My long auburn hair was being held back by a headband... undoubtedly leather again. The whole ensemble seemed like Conan the Barbarian meets Victoria's secret.

If this was a computer game my clothing would rate 9 for agility and maybe 1 for armor. Then it hit me... all this was computer generated but so completely convincing it was impossible to believe it wasn't real. The sunshine was warm on my skin. The only sound was the rustling of leaves. The air was clean and fresh... except for a strong, unpleasant odor ... like an unwashed dog.

The stink drew my attention to a brown hillock on the other side of the road which to my amazement and alarm began to move, then stood on four massive legs. It was a dog, very like a Rottweiler but standing about 8 feet tall at the shoulder and he was looking straight at me.

Do you remember that kid's story by Hans Christian Anderson about a soldier who was sent by a witch to get a magic tinder box. The box was guarded by three dogs... one with eyes the size of saucers, one with eyes the size of mill wheels and the third with eyes the size of the round tower. The illustrations in the book I owned had large dogs with ridiculously huge eyes... but looking at this dog, whose eyes were about the size of saucers, I realized that maybe the dogs in the story were actually in proportion to their eyes. I also realized that this was a particularly stupid speculation at the moment considering my situation.

If I ran the dog would undoubtedly catch me in a few seconds and devour me in a few more. If I drew my swords he'd probably just rip off my arms... then finish off the rest of me. He was walking towards me slowly. What could I possibly do?

I bravely stood my ground. Well possibly it was more fear and indecision that left me standing still rather than bravery but I stood there trying not to look like lunch as the monster approached and stood in front of me. I felt I should say something... so trying to sound calm and friendly rather than terrified I spoke.

"Hello dog." OK it wasn't brilliant but given the circumstances it was all I could manage. In a remarkably deep, rumbling, growly voice the dog answered.

"Hello human."

"Holy shit! You can talk!"

"And you can clearly state the obvious."

This was beyond bizarre. Not only was I having a conversation with a gigantic dog but he was sassing me. I thought about a smart ass response but quickly thought better of it.

"I'm sorry" I said humbly "Dogs can't talk where I come from... and they're not the size of elephants. I'm Emma by the way." I almost stuck my hand out. "But my friends call me Ems"

"Well done Ems. A lot of humans would have run away screaming... and not just females. It's so much easier to explain things calmly without having to chase you down and hold you on the ground. My name is Augustus Maximillian Cannisimus the third... but you can call me Gus. Not Augie though... I hate that."

"Who wouldn't? So what are you doing here Gussie..." I preempted a real growl... "Just kidding big fella. What brings you to this hole in the woods?"

"You. You're my current assignment."

"Assignment? Like a homework project?"

"I'm here to provide you with answers to your questions... however dumb they are... a degree of protection and transportation."

"Transportation... cool!"

I looked around for a sports car.. a motorbike... even a race horse... but there was nothing in the clearing except of course the gigantic dog in front of me. Gus lay down and put his head on his fore paws, making it possible for me to climb up on his neck. It seemed like the only option. There was no point in staying here and I didn't fancy entering that dense forest by myself.

Gus was wearing a spiked collar which I used like a ladder and ended up tucked in behind his head, my legs straddling his broad neck. It was at this moment I discovered that while the rest of my outfit was metal and leather, my panties were made of some white silky material, almost sheer and only a bit larger than a thong. I longed for my running shorts or even some granny panties. Someone clearly wanted me exposed.

I held on the collar tightly as Gus stood up and began walking towards the forest. As we approached the trees Gus broke into a run. I clung on the collar for dear life but once he was up to speed Gus' gate was fairly smooth. I could feel his mighty muscles rolling and flexing underneath me.

"Stay low!" Gus warned. The forest path was a tunnel in the trees which hemmed in the path on both sides and completely obscured the sky. It was dark, dank and felt dangerous. I had no wish to be swept off Gus by a low hanging branch and left there on my own.

Gus was fast. His long, powerful strides ate up the road and after a fairly short time we burst out of the forest into the sunlight once more. Gus slowed down to a easy trot that I figured was his normal pace. We were now on a plain with sparse, spiky trees and strange outcrops of rock...natural monoliths.

I bent down and shouted in Gus' right ear. "Where are we going?"

"Over the plateau and down to the lake. And you don't need to shout. I have very sharp hearing."

"What's down at the lake?"

"Your assignment. I take it this is your first?"

"Yes it is. I was hoping that wouldn't show."

"You'll do fine." Gus' rumbling voice was comforting. "The first assignment usually isn't too bad, especially for a pretty girl like you. They'll want to keep you on." Perhaps I shouldn't have felt flattered to be complimented by a big dog, but I did.

We trotted onward at a steady pace. The sun was warm without being too hot. The air was crisp and clean. Either I had got used to Gus' smell or our pace was leaving the smell downwind. I was comfortable enough. Gus' brown and black coat was coarse but not unpleasant and his neck had some extra rolls of skin which were almost like pillows behind my back.

I did however have a problem and it was getting worse. My legs were on either side of Gus' thick neck which meant they were widely spread apart... much more spread that if I'd been on horseback. I didn't have stirrups to take any weight so my butt and groin area were pressing down on warm, moving skin. I couldn't help rocking to and fro with Gus' motion which meant my pussy, barely covered by tiny panties, was constantly rubbing on Gus' neck muscles... which naturally were rubbing back.

It felt good. Too good. I could feel myself becoming damp and powerful arousal growing steadily. If this kept up... and there was no sign of the journey ending... I was going to have an intense orgasm on the back of this huge intelligent dog. How embarrassing was that? I tried to distract myself... to think non sexy thoughts.. but the warm pleasure from my groin kept increasing.

I took some weight on my arms, holding on to the collar, to give my pussy a bit of relief. That's when I noticed that a small gem on my left wrist band was glowing bright pink and a similar stone on my right band was also shining with a pale yellow light.

Taking care not to shout I questioned Gus... anything to take my mind off my problem.

"Hey Gus... my wrists bands are glowing."

"Yes Ems... they're indicator lights."

"Indicators?"

"The one on your right wrist shows your audience. It changes from yellow, to green, to blue, to purple according to how many people are following you."

"So up till now I haven't had any fans?"

"Not necessarily. You need a few hundred before it lights up at all. What color is it now?"

"Light yellow."

"That means you're probably over a thousand."

"Wow...that's cool. And what does the other one show?"

"That one shows your sexual arousal. It goes from white to dark red depending on how turned on you are. You'll probably find that as your arousal increases so will your numbers."

"Well that could be very awkward... if I.. ah...actually got turned on... for some reason..." I was so glad Gus couldn't see that my band was now glowing red. I felt Gus chuckle through my legs.

"Ems I could smell you were getting horny for the last half hour." Damn! There was no point in denying it.

"I'm sorry Gus... it's the motion... I can help it."

"Don't apologize Ems I'm enjoying your scent .. almost as much as all your fans."

The thought of thousands of people sharing my growing waves of pleasure was the last straw. I clung to Gus' collar, shaking as a uncontrollable orgasm washed over me. As it gradually subsided I opened my eyes. The left stone was fading back from a dark burgundy to a light claret while the right stone was a steady bright green.

How many followers had just experienced my orgasm... and how many miles did we still have to go?

It took us I would guess well over an hour to cross the plateau. I had no way of telling the time but I could tell from the position of the sun that it was late afternoon. Gus was good company telling me all about the volcanic nature of the plateau which sounds boring but he had a nice dry sense of humor and it helped me keep my mind off the wetness between my legs. Even with this distraction I still couldn't hold back two mini orgasms and one major climax as we descended the steep path down to the lake.

All this time my left band shone various shades of red while my right band remained green. Obviously a large audience enjoyed my involuntary orgasms. Sure it was embarrassing but not even close to exceeding my limits. I was sure that a game called Boundary Busters would have much worse in store.

The technology for the game is well beyond me. I'm not a techie. But from what I know it evolved from the nano implants developed for blind and deaf people. These provided an interface with the brain so it could receive signals from cameras or microphones or both. With these miraculous devices people could learn to see and hear again. Then some inspired nerd worked out that if you could feed signals directly into the brain, those signals didn't need to be the sights or sounds of the real world... the data could be computer generated... as realistic or as fantastic as the viewer wanted.

This opened the door to a whole new world of entertainment. Why just watch a movie when you could live it? It turned out that the other senses - taste, smell, touch - could be fooled just as convincingly as sight and hearing, allowing a total virtual reality experience. The other leap forward was called the CROWN. I can't remember what the acronym stood for, but it was basically a headset with five small pads, two which sat on the temples near the eyes, two behind the ears and one on the back of the neck. These did away with the need for implants bringing the technology within the budget of ordinary people.

The impact was enormous. The television, film and gaming industries scrambled to adapt. The porn industry embraced the crown in a lascivious hug. Book sales and prostitution suffered badly. Actual attendance at schools, concerts and churches diminished drastically with the crown experience being almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Of course there were problems. Many people much preferred the fantasy worlds they could now inhabit to their real lives which fell apart from neglect. After a spate of crowner addicts starving to death, governments had to introduce regulations restricting the hours of use. Like responsible parents, political leaders had to encourage or even force their people to get enough real food, sunshine and exercise.

Another problem was technical. Vision and sound had been recorded for over a century but how did you go about recording smell, touch, pleasure, pain etc. The techno geeks figured out that as well. They recorded vast amounts of data from the brains of thousands of subjects as these people carried out all sorts of actions... from eating creme brulee to having a tooth pulled... from running a marathon to having great sex. Somehow the appropriate sensations could be fed back through the crown so that when you drank wine in the virtual world you.. hopefully...tasted wine in the simulated one.

Your own brain actually helped with the process, supplying memories where it could. If the crown suggested swimming... the brain enhanced the illusion with memories of swimming sensations... making it all the more credible. It was very like the Matrix, but controlled by entertainment companies, not a malign, intelligent super computer. Well as far as we knew.

There were two main types of crown programming... first person and third person. First person was all recorded from the participants point of view. You climbed the mountain, smelt the flowers, felt the burn in your muscles, enjoyed the view from the peak. You could experience exactly what it felt like to be a different race, a different age, a different gender. Naturally cross gender experiences were immensely popular.

Third person crown casts were more like a regular movie except you could choose one of the actors and experience what they were feeling. The general libraries of sensory data were very good but these programs drew on data from one individual. So rather than experience what it felt like to be punched in the face, you could choose what it felt like to be Bryon Sanders and be punched in the face... or any other crown cast star. (Either way it was really painful but while you could be punched unconscious, your body sustained no actual damage.)

It turned out an awful lot of people are voyeurs at heart. The third person shows were a whole lot more popular and among the most popular were reality game shows. Sharing adventures with ordinary people undergoing extraordinary challenges took vicarious enjoyment or suffering to new levels. I guess the attraction of reality shows has always been identifying with the ordinary participants and now with crown casts you could experience everything they did.

Among the most successful of these shows was Boundary Busters... an extremely popular show in which the contestants would be pushed to do tasks way outside their comfort zones... extreme trials of their courage, their morality, their endurance. This is where I come in... Emma Wright, 23, single, former drama student, now mostly unemployed actress.

My story is a complete cliche... growing up in a quiet town, a shining star at college, a champion gymnast and martial artist, now struggling to make ends meet in the big city. In two years I had only landed a few bit parts in commercials and photo shoots. I'd survived by doing a number of part time jobs and was currently working as a trainer in a crown casting gym.

Most exercise is boring but crown casting could make it so much more exciting. Wearing a crown you could be running on a treadmill in reality while your mind found itself running in the Boston marathon or running through some glorious fantasy landscape populated by nymphs and unicorns. Whatever. Our main task as trainers was to make sure our clients didn't injure themselves as they fought monsters in the arena or drowned in our pool as they dived for treasure on a tropical reef.

About six months into the job my boss and some suits from the company HQ approached me to make a crown cast workout. It was easy. All I had to do was the same aerobic workout twice... once wearing an array of recording sensors and the second time wearing nothing but an extremely sexy leotard.

A couple of months later I was asked to make another. This time the outfit was even more revealing and the moves more sensuous but the money was excellent.

Another crown cast was offered almost straight away. The title "Sexercise" said it all. It was pretty much pure porn although the participants would undoubtedly get a lot of cardio during the process.

I agonized over the decision. I never planned or wanted to be a porn star. I'm not a prude. I enjoy sex and have a healthy appetite. I've had sex with a number of guys... and a few girls but being recorded having sex with a bunch of strangers was a different matter entirely. Part of me shouted no way!... but the other part argued that I sure needed the money.

The suits pointed out that there were plenty of other pretty girls willing to do the job if I wouldn't and they could change my face enough in the crown cast so that I wouldn't be recognizable. I didn't feel good about it but I did the job. Not long after that I received an offer to be a contestant on Boundary Busters.

My agent Miles, was very keen for me to do the show. Of course he was. His commission was 15% of whatever I earned.

"Emma you're just the sort of person they're looking for... young, gorgeous, athletic, sexy, talented. They've seen your workout videos and loved them."

"But don't the people on that show have to do all sorts of horrible shit... scary, embarrassing as hell, disgusting even?"

"Yeah, yeah, it can get a bit extreme but it's not like it's really happening to you. Your body is perfectly safe the whole time.

And look, for someone as cute as you they won't make it too hard. They throw the really bad stuff at contestants they want off the show. You they'll want to keep. And remember you can quit any time you want... if it gets too bad."

"And there goes my money..."

"No way. You'll get paid well while you train. That's three months of high paid work and you'll get a generous fee just for appearing. Those you get anyway... enough to keep you going for at least a year. But if you win... and I know you could win Emma... then you get into the really big money. Two or three episodes could set you up for life."

And earn you a fortune, I thought to myself. And you don't have to jump through their hoops and do whatever horrible stunts they come up with.

"This is the big time Emma. You did Sexercise... told me you enjoyed it and you sure enjoyed the money but that was chicken feed compared with this."

I had told Miles that parts of Sexercise weren't too bad. I hadn't told him that I'd cried myself to sleep several nights in a row after doing it. But the money had certainly helped and was now nearly gone... paying off all my debts. I didn't have much saved and there were no other jobs in the pipeline.

Obviously I signed the contract. For three intense months the BB hosts recorded me doing a host of different activities... all the obvious things and thousands you'd never think of. Every expression, every gesture, every reaction I could possibly make they had stored. And yes, they recorded me having sex in more ways than I would have thought possible... masturbating, fucking men, women and combinations of the two. Some of it was highly enjoyable, some... educational and some horrible, especially the sessions that involved bondage, pain and humiliation. Frequently I wanted to walk out, but the contract made it clear, if I left before the training stage was over I would not only be paid nothing but I would incur heavy penalties... which I couldn't possibly pay. I stuck it out.