"Ah, welcome... You're the potential employees, yes? Alex Burns and Tiffany Williams?" They both nodded, clearly nervous, and the secretary smiled understandingly.
Taking on a job at Aphoridae was, after all, not only stigmatised, but there were always rumours. The secretary shook her head slightly. Well, the induction should clear that. She smiled more brightly, and gestured to a door nearby. "I'll be taking care of your induction, answering your questions, and, if you feel this isn't for you, we're quite happy to give you a small fee for interviewing." Alex looked at Tiffany, but they wordlessly followed.
The interview suite was
designed
to be comfortable. A trio of comfortable sofas and a wooden table dominated the center of the room, while posters of natural landscapes, a tea and coffee maker, and a vending machine adorned the walls. The secretary plopped herself down on one of the sofas, and waved her hand. "Make yourself whatever you want, and we'll get to it in your own time. I'm Liz, by the way!" Tiffany went to the coffee machine, while Alex got himself a soft drink, and, soon enough, they were sat down. But they were still tense, Alex with clenched hands on his knees, and Tiffany was fidgeting. Liz nodded. "I'm sure you have questions." Tiffany was first.
"Are you... Are you..." She couldn't bring herself to say it, but Liz shook her head.
"Oh no, that would be silly... And the term is Skillswitched, Tiffany, although you've probably heard 'Droned' a lot." She tapped her chin "Although I suppose it
would
be hard to tell, if it wasn't for the fact that memories can't be artificially created, just mindsets." Alex opened his mouth, and Liz continued "There's a command that your memories aren't
important
during the temporary position, you see." He sat back, and... Well, he wasn't convinced, but his objection had been answered. But he spoke again.
"How are temporary workers protected from being... Skillswitched, you said? How are they protected from a permanent state?" Liz nodded, soberly.
"Yes, that's an important question, and thank you for asking it, Alex! Essentially, a legal waiver form is prepared, but it's not just sent into
our
records. Copies are sent to the police headquarters for the city, and Central. Essentially, if we didn't release our skillswitched after the allotted period, we would be very harshly penalised." Alex and Tiffany both whistled in appreciation. They knew that 'harshly penalised' effectively meant 'armed assault.' "Any other questions?" They both shook their heads.
Liz smiled, but then turned sober again. "Now, I'm not only obligated, but I
want
to ask... Do you want to go through with this? I know the pay is good, but I always ask it, because the memories
of
the position can't really be suppressed, and... Well, you'll be sex workers, and I know, even with the skillswitch, not everyone is okay with that." Tiffany and Alex looked at each other, and it was Tiffany's turn to speak.
"We're having difficulties with our bills, our rent. We're grateful that you asked, but the interview fee... Well, it won't cover them, and we read in the brochure that... Well, this temporary work will pay those for the duration, and give us a little extra." She shook her red hair. "We know we'll remember, and that we have control over what we consent to... So..." Liz nodded. She'd seen a lot of cases like this, and she silently cursed the system that allowed it. But...
"Well, I can definitely appreciate that you've understood your rights under the skillswitch program, so I'll give you the legal waiver forms now, and I'll leave you to it." They both nodded, firm now, and Liz, inwardly, sighed.
Sometimes, she hated her job. She hadn't mentioned it, but it was the biggest sign she
wasn't
skillswitched. But she'd also worked here long enough not to really note how the applicants
looked
. After all... It didn't really matter, once they started.
Later
By contrast, the conversion room was not comfortable. It was
functional
. And it was already at least partly occupied, with masked figures, otherwise naked, held reclined on flat tables. Alex's eyes widened "How many people
are
there, anywa-" Liz held up her hand, sharply.
"I'm sorry, Alex, but your position started the moment you signed, and, as such, there are no more questions to be asked, only prompt assumption of orders. So, if you'll both lie in your assigned tables, as B413-A and B413-B, that would be grand, thank you. No need to undress, that will be taken care of." Alex and Tiffany stared, but quickly stepped up onto their tables, lying back. Liz nodded, and smiled a little. "See you in six months."
Alex and Tiffany both stiffened as they felt a needle enter their arms, and then... They were grateful for the supports. The supports stopped them falling off, and the headsets that had firmly clasped around their heads kept them from slumping uncomfortably. It was
relaxing
, to be converted. All their needs would be taken care of. It would be
useful
to sleep, so they could be told how to serve well, be even
more
useful. And Liz nodded to herself as they fell asleep, as the machine neatly undressed them both, and, once that was done, she pulled the remote out of her pocket, and pushed a button, returning the room to its
complete
state. Further elements of the conversion machines slowly pulled out, the vibes and the kneaders, and the masks of the drones further along in the conversion process lit up, happy LED smiles with artful, LED blushes.
Arousal was an important step, as if people didn't
feel
good during the process, the subliminals didn't take nearly as well. They would both, like the others, be
happy
obedient drones. Looking back at the clipboard, she chuckled. "Exhibitionism, huh? Oh, yes, the check under it is right there, good... Well, best get to it, we've got another four coming in today." She sighed.