Criss Cross

Jane looks at her notebook and adjusts each dial based on computations she had made in her notes. She measures them carefully for position between the major marks on the diameter of the frame.

After a few minutes, they look at each other. Jane says, "Are you ready to get Mary."

"You bet. This is going to be great!"

They walk toward each other and embrace. They kiss, rather clumsily, and then pull apart laughing at each other.

Bill observes, "That was more awkward than I thought it would be! It must have been your fault."

Jane pulls his hand and says in a serious voice, "Come on, Mary is waiting."

They walk back to the 'Stimulation Room.' Mary is starting to wake up; she slowly moves her head back and forth. She looks down, still gagged and clamped into the chair. Her eyes open up wide and she screams (muffled by the gag).

Bill and Jane walk back into the room. Jane says, "Our sleepy head is awake!"

Mary is livid. She tries to talk, but she cannot because of the gag.

Jane looks at her and says, "Well, how do you feel? Has that submissive feeling permeated your body? Apparently, Bill is ready and able to take you as his new slave."

Mary turns red with anger. She wants to respond, but the gag prevents her from speaking.

Bill says, "Maybe we should remove the gag."

Jane responds in mock timidity, "Okay, if you think that is best." She moves over by Mary and unlatches the gag and takes it out of Mary's mouth.

Mary shouts, "What in the hell have you done to me?"

Jane looks astonished, "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. What have you done? Look at me. This is not me. How did you do this? This is not me."

"Mary, what do you mean 'this is not me?' You seem confused."

"You damn well know what I mean. I am not Mary. I am Bill. What did you do to me?"

"Bill, did you hear that? Mary claims that she is not Mary but that she is you. What do you think of that?" Then a look of concern comes onto her face; she turns to Bill, "If she is you, then who might you be?"

Bill looks at Mary and says, "She looks like Mary. Maybe we should take her pants down and see how big her dick is. I know how big mine is."

Mary screams. "You two are crazy. You can't seriously think that I am going to let this indiscretion go unpunished. Get me out of this thing -- now! You are both removed from this project as of this moment!"

Jane looks at Bill, then at Mary and confesses, "Yes, Mary it is true. Actually I should call you Bill, or, I know! You are 'Bill who is now Mary.'" Jane looks at Bill. He nods. "Yes, that will do, let's call you Bill-Mary."

Jane looks back at Bill and says, "Bill, that must mean that you are Mary, is it true?"

"It must be. This world could not handle having two Bills. Why don't you call me Mary-Bill? Is this getting too confusing?"

"Not to me. How about you Bill-Mary? Is this working out the way that you had thought?"

Bill-Mary growled, "You cannot leave me like this. I will have both of you expelled from the program. I will have your records removed. You cannot do this to me. It is illegal! You will both be arrested and tried and put away for a long time. Aaaagh! Mary you get back into that chair. Jane you run this machine again and get me out of Mary's body. That's a direct order from your superior!"

"I'm sorry Bill-Mary. First of all, you are now superior to no one. As a matter of fact, you never really were ever superior to anyone. Don't flatter yourself. Secondly, as far as I know, this process is irreversible. I'm afraid you will have to make the adjustment on your own."

"Aaaaaagh! This is not acceptable. Get me out of this chair now! You two will never live this one down."

Jane grabs Bill-Mary's hair and looks sternly into her eyes, "Listen to me, you son-of-a-bitch. Not only we are not going to undo this, we aren't even done with what we are going to do to you. Let me explain: this device is more than a sexual enhancement tool; this machine is an ancient transmutation tool. You are now in Mary's body and she is in yours. Just like that. The hieroglyphs say more than what we told you. They told us that the society here subdued their rivals in a very unique manner. They started by selecting and training certain woman as agents to undermine their enemies. When the time was right, they would arrange for a talk, 'peace talks', with one of the local leaders. When he would come, they would force him into the device along with the agent. They would exchange bodies. She became the sacrifice in some respects. And she became the new leader. As his replacement, she would help keep the peace by cooperating with the high priest. He, on the other hand, would go back as a submissive -- either serving the new leader, or serving to whomever he chose to sell her. It was a sweet deal. Mary and I have ended your time as a leader and as a lecher. You are now going to go down a new road. You are now the slut. I hope you are ready!"

Bill-Mary shouts, "No, you can't do this! No, you can't!"

Mary-Bill walks up behind her and applies a chloroform-soaked rag across Bill-Mary's mouth and knocks her out. Jane releases the clamps. She and Mary-Bill quickly bind her hands and feet into a tight hogtie. Mary-Bill picks her up like a bag of groceries and carries her into the 'Levitation Room' and places her at the center of the platform. He and Jane lie down on either side of her. Jane takes a small electronic box from her pocket. She touches a red switch that activates the device; she flips a small black switch.

A low pitch hum begins. A dim light begins to glow in the crystal. The room shakes a little. The light in the crystal in the ceiling increases intensity. It continues to increase until a beam begins to shine down onto the platform. The intensity continues to increase until it is so bright that it envelopes all three people. The intensity is so bright in the room that their forms disappear.

Finally, the light's intensity begins to decrease. In another ten minutes, it is over.

The platform is empty.

***

Jane looks around. Everything is hazy. She rubs one eye and tries to focus on the surroundings. It is a dark room. There is a table with a computer at one end of the room and a man is seated there. She looks up -- there is a dark opaque greenish crystal directly above her head.

"Ni hao," the man said. Jane thinks for a second; he is speaking Mandarin.

She looks over at him. It is Jun Xia Ting. She smiles and gets up. She walks around to Mary-Bill and awakens her. Mary-Bill stirs around and stands up. She says, "Where are we?"

Jane answers, "We are somewhere in south-central China. Actually, I never was too sure exactly where it was. Come with me and meet my old friend."

Xia Ting stands. He looks sternly at Jane. "Ni hao ma."

Jane looks at him, smiling, "Wo heng hao, xie xie. Ni na."

"Wo heng hao, xie xie." Xia Ting laughs. "Very good, you have been working on your Mandarin."

"Thank you, Professor Jun. I know a little Mandarin." She holds up her hand squeezing her thumb and index finger together to visualize the amount of knowledge she actually has of the language.

"No, no, Jane, I am Ting, please, call me Ting. Who is your friend?" "Ting, this is Mary who is now Bill. She is the female who entered device in the 'Stimulation Room.'"

"Ah, it is so nice to meet you Jane who is Bill. I knew that you and she would make the old machine work again. No one else has ever been able to translate the glyphs. You have done an outstanding job."

Mary-Bill smiles and replies, "Thank you. Jane has told me about you. I am pleased to meet you."

"And now, Jane, let's meet your other friend. She appears to be stirring. Did you have to bind her so? She looks so uncomfortable."

Jane and Ting walk back to the platform. Bill-Mary is twitching a little.

Ting looks at Jane and says, "zhe ye ge nu ren mei li."

Jane thought for a few second and replies, "Yes, she is quite beautiful."

"Oh, you do not answer me in Mandarin?"

"I'm sorry, we've been very busy. My learning is not great as of yet. We present her to you as our gift and as the completion of my special project."

Ting laughs and looks back to Bill-Mary. He walks to the desk, opens the drawer and pulls out a ball gag. He walks back to Bill-Mary and quickly inserts it into her mouth and attaches it behind her head. She cannot move because of being hogtied -- it is very tight.

Ting stands and pulls a chain with two shackles from a pulley down to the platform. He unbinds Bill-Mary's hogtie and quickly (and expertly) wraps her wrists with the shackles. He looks back at Jane and says, "I use this platform for many things!" He smiles and stands.

Ting pulls the chain and, slowly, Bill-Mary is pulled up. When he stops, she is fully standing on her toes hanging from the shackles. Tings takes a small knife out of his pocket and quickly shreds the clothes that Bill-Mary was wearing. He picks up the scraps and throws them into the fire place. He wielded the knife with such dexterity that there is no mark anywhere on Bill-Mary's body. Nevertheless, Bill-Mary is now completely naked and dangling helplessly.

Ting walks back to Jane and pulls a long skinny switch from his belt. "Look at this, Jane. I have developed my technique so well using this switch, that I can inflict the greatest of pains but leave no damage, no scar, no bleeding, and no bruising on the skin. I am sure you two can calculate the physics involved. But the technique is such that the switch never touches the skin; it is only the force that is transferred to the body. It is a delicate line between this and cutting the person in two. Let me demonstrate."

He walks back to Bill-Mary, stands behind her in a near trance. He then swings the switch toward her back. The motion is so quick that it is hard to even see it move. Bill-Mary screams in pain twitching in her shackles. There is no mark on her back. Ting swings the switch again with the same result.

Ting walks back to Jane, "See, it is a most useful technique for discipline, especially for the unruly student. It has the added advantage of no permanent damage to the student."

Jane smiles and says, "Ting, you have an unruly student on your hands. My notes to you did not exaggerate. Mary-Bill can vouch for everything I say."

Mary-Bill looks at Ting. "I can tell you: this student will be a worthy challenge for you. I wish you the best of luck with her."

Ting goes to the door and shouts something down the hall. Two young ladies come into the room and bow before Ting. He points to Bill-Mary. They walk over to her, lower her and release the shackles. They half-walk and half-carry her out of the room.

Ting comes back to Jane and Mary-Bill. He looks at Jane, "You have done well, my student. Your special assignment here is complete. I know that you have so much more to accomplish and I wish you well." He bows at Jane and turns to face Mary-Bill.

"You have sacrificed much to give up that beautiful body. I commend you on your inner strength and your loyalty to your friend. I know your combined future is filled with great achievement." He bows to Mary-Bill. "If you two will now excuse me, I must attend to my own new special assignment. Very soon she will call me 'ba ba.' That means 'daddy' in Mandarin." He smiles, turns and leaves the room.

Jane and Mary-Bill look at each other and giggle. Jane walks over to Mary-Bill and holds his arm. "Did it hurt you to see you up there being beaten?"

Mary-Bill sighs, "I don't know. It was a weird feeling. I almost felt those lashes. It was almost exciting. But, you know, I enjoyed the part where I knew it was Bill up there. He was such a jerk to me and to every other woman in the world that he knew. It was fitting."

Jane squeezes his arm, "We need to go back now. We have some more work to finish. You will feel better when we get this behind us."

"You're right." They both walk over to the platform and stand where Bill-Mary had just been whipped.

Ting comes back into the room, "Are you ready?"

Jane replies, "Yes, Ting as you know, we have more work yet to do. I would humbly like to ask for you a favor."

Ting replies, "Speak freely."

"We have a friend who is coming to your school next year. While he is here, please allow him a night alone with Bill-Mary. We know that he would appreciate the opportunity."

"Ah, yes, I remember. His name is Jim Edmonson. Does he have a special connection to her?"

"Yes. One night should be good enough for him to relieve his frustrations."

"I understand. Very well, your wish is granted."

Mary-Bill speaks up, "Ting, may I ask you a question?"

"Speak freely."

"You have known about much of the work we do here. I know you dabble in archaeology, but what is your real connection to what we do?"

"That is a good question Mary who is now Bill. I am glad that you have thought this through. My name is Jun Xia Ting. I am currently the high priest of the Bahloo peoples. We still exist. We still perform the services that we perform. Those services are limited to those who find the key, who discover our methods and who have the courage to make the sacrifices."

Ting nods and walks to the desk. He makes a few clicks on the keyboard and punches the mouse a few times. The crystal begins to glow. He says, "Have no fear; your friend Jim Edmonson will be treated very well when he is here. Until we meet again: zai jian, Jane; zai jian Mary who is now Bill."

Jane replies, "zai jian, Ting. Enjoy your gift."

Bill-Mary says, "Good-bye."

Ting bows, turns and walks away.

Jane pulls the controller from her pocket and twirls a few dials on it, and then she presses a black button. A low-pitch hum begins.

***

Jane and Mary-Bill sit on the side of the platform back at the dig site. It has been a long day.

Jane stands and looks at Mary-Bill, "We need to go back to the 'Stimulation Room' before it gets much later. We still have a long drive back to the university."

"Yes, I know. Do we need to 'shut down' this thing?"

"No, it can't operate without my controller. Come on."

They both walk out of the room and head for the 'Stimulation Room.' Jane says, "Let's get up into the machine, I can run it from the controller."

Mary-Bill says, "I'm ready. This is a tough body to live in! I can't imagine how a man can cope with such an ego as this one had."

"He's learning how to live without it right now!"

Jane has automated the entire process. They sit, the clamps engage, the light begins to shine brightly, the light fades again, the clamps disengage and it is done.

Now it is Jane-Bill and Mary-Bill-Jane. The new Bill and the new Jane stand and look at each other.

Bill says, "I love you Jane."

Jane says, "I love you Bill. We are done here, aren't we?"

"Hasn't it been great? I have got to say we have a win-win-win. Don't forget that the old Bill got just what he wanted, too: domination, submission, bondage, some whippings. It's just that a few minor details have been altered, but they are all there somewhere!"

"I feel better being a woman again. Will it be odd for you to screw yourself?"

"Mary-Bill-Jane, I have just a bit of the misogynist of the old Bill. A small amount, but just enough to enjoy it!"

Mary-Bill-Jane thinks for a minute and reflects, "So, we have Bill who is now Mary, after having screwed Mary who became Bill but is now Jane, left behind with Ting who is the high priest. In the meantime, Jane who is now Bill is going to take Mary who was Bill for a while but is now Jane, and pump her until he fills her with his man-juice. Does that about cover it all?"

"That was good. I think you got it. But don't forget, Ting, who we will visit again shortly, will help our friend Jim take Mary, who is Bill on the inside, and thereby relieve his frustrations in what could be an incredible twenty-four hour ordeal."

"Now I'm confused again. Can we just leave?"

They both laugh and walk out of the site hand in hand.

***

It has been six months since that day at the site. The big announcement came. The school entertained a small press conference: site excavated in the hills of south-eastern Utah. Some evidences of habitation. Found a few ancient mechanical devices. Hieroglyphics are nearly impossible to decipher. Site is being deactivated at this time and will be monitored by staff personnel.

There had been a few questions about the whereabouts of Mary. Bill showed his copy of her furlough request which he had approved. Bill said he thought she was vacationing in the mountains somewhere. Jane missed her, but her life had been changed by her recent marriage to Bill. Now the husband and wife team led the department and were championing new study sites all around the area.

The university was getting attention in the world of archaeological study.

***

It is night time. Bill's house is dark, except for a dim light in the bedroom. Bill and Jane are in bed. The mirrors are gone and the walls look like the walls of a real bedroom. The blankets are thrown about. They are cuddling.

Bill says, "It's early in the morning where the new Mary is now. Do you think Ting has turned her around?"

"He seemed to be very thorough in his teaching methodology. On the other hand, the personality that the new Mary started with was pretty well engrained. We should visit them again soon."

"Yeah, the machines still work. I put all the controllers in a trunk in the attic. Ting would enjoy our visit."

"Are we in the clear?"

"Of course. There has been no discontinuity in our service to the university. As far as anyone knows, Mary left on her sabbatical and will likely never return. There is no one who will be able to translate the glyphs in the room without the baseline we were given by Ting. He is happy that he has a new play toy. And, other than Bill's extraordinary personality improvement, we have continued in our new status just as before. No one cares because nothing of significance has really changed. No one is going to look because no one is not where they are supposed to be."

"As always, you are right. Now let's quit talking about Ting and Mary. I want you to screw my lights out." She reaches her hand down between his legs and tickles his balls with her fingertips.

Bill rolls over and wraps his arms around Jane. They begin to kiss passionately.

***

The morning sun is shining into Ting's bedroom. Ting and Mary are in bed. Each of Mary's wrists and ankles are tied to each other. Her knees are drawn up almost to her chest with her ass in the air. Her head is on the bed. Ting sits beside her with his left arm wrapped around her waist. He looks down over her broad ass. He holds his switch in his thumb and index finger on his right hand. The other three fingers are tickling Mary's pussy lips. She is twitching.

Ting smiles. He slaps the switch on her ass. She yelps and cries, "Ba ba, xie xie." There is no mark on her skin.

He rubs her pussy some more and then swings the switch again. She yelps and cries again, "Ba ba, xie xie." His smile grows bigger. As before, there is no mark.

Her answers are translated as 'Thank you, daddy.' Her Mandarin vocabulary is improving. It would appear that the training is going very well.

***

Bill and Jane are under the blankets holding each other. They have made love tonight and now are going to fall asleep in each other's arms. Bill has his arm wrapped around Jane's back. Jane is resting her arm on Bill's chest. She looks up at him and he down at her. Their eyes twinkle at each other.

As we fade to outside the house, all is dark except for the dim light in the bedroom window.

We hear her say, "Good night, Jane-Bill. I love you."

He replies, "Good night, Mary-Bill-Jane. I love you, too."

Then they say together, "Good night, Bill-Mary."

And out goes the light while the crickets chirp.