Lab Accident

Not that it matters, but the accident was really my fault. I had no business being in the parallel universe projector to begin with. At the very least I should have disconnected the power line from the booth before I tried to re-calibrate its orientation circuits. Who knew that getting an early start to the day would have such negative consequences? Naturally, when Doug arrived to work he was going to turn the equipment on. I'm not an especially tall woman, plus I was on my knees. The opaque lower half of the booth completely masked me from vision. Usually, Doug notices me. Even in this day and age, few women enter the parallel physics field, and certainly none of the few others in my field launched their academic career via a beauty pageant scholarship. Yeah, the old guys judging the contest were wolves and pigs from a long gone era but their money was just as good as anybody's. It was always fun disarming the nerds with my looks AND my brains. I'm 1.65 meters tall, keep myself a trim 47 Kilograms. The judges in those contests always enjoyed looking at my long legs and very nice sized ta-tas. I'm most proud, however, of my blue eyes and cascading locks of light brown hair. In any case, I just had time to stand up and catch Doug's eyes and read the look of horror on his face before the electronic beam surrounded me and sent me... elsewhere.

It's not completely hopeless, the chip implanted in the bone under the skin behind my left ear means that if I am able to sit tight for a few months the computers back in the lab SHOULD be able to lock onto my location and bring me home. But it might take much longer. Since my departure occurred when the circuits were set at random, the lab will have no idea which parallel universe I am in so they will have to search all of them and that takes time, which means I have to make myself as comfortable as possible here, wherever here is.

I tumbled out of null space and materialized just above, and then plummeted into a raging river. I struggled in the torrent of rushing water, the current well beyond anything I had ever dealt with or seen. I had time for two thoughts. So this is what drowning is like and at that my chip would, at least, allow them to bring my corpse home. Then, every light in all the universes went out.

I awoke to a splitting headache stark naked between the sheets of a very comfortable bed. A not entirely unpleasant face stared down at me He was African-American and somewhere between sixty and an eternity. He wore a medical smock and a serious expression. As soon as my eyes were open he flashed a little light in them while he took my pulse with his other hand. I was in a smallish room I tried to speak, but coughed like a madwoman for quite some time. When the coughing fit passed, the man handed me a tumbler of blue liquid,

"Drink this, Miss, It will help clear your lungs."

What would you do? I figured that whoever he was, he hadn't rescued me just to kill me. As I scanned the room I spotted bundles of drying herbs and a long wall of glass jars containing all sorts of liquids and solids. I peeked under the sheets and noted that there were bruises an scratches, most of them treated, on my body, it was as though I had been dragged over a pavement. Apparently he was the local doctor. I tipped the tumbler to my lips and downed the liquid. It tasted a bit like whiskey but much mellower. It went down very easily and gave me an inner warmth. I returned the glass to the old man's hand. My headache and the burning in my chest began to ease.

Despite sounding like a cliche my first words were, "Where am I"

"Where else would you be, Miss? You had a nasty tumble in the river, bounced off a lot of rocks. Luckily we fished you out in time. You appear quite intelligent, why did you try to run away?"

"Run away?" I asked.

"Obviously, even though you've shown no signs of ever having been collared and are unbranded, where else could you have come from? Rich man's private stock no doubt."

"I'm not grasping you," I said my mind trying to make sense of the man's words.

"Don't play dumb, Missy, that NEVER works out for your kind."

"My kind?"

The man's expression became cross and he said "What did I tell you about playing dumb? You nearly drowned in that river but you have no head injury, just a few abrasions and about a dozen small cuts. You are very lucky. You really should not have run away, however. The bonding men around here are known as the gentle sort."

"Bonding men?"

"Keep up the stupid act, Missy, and I'll flog you myself."

A voice piped in from the next room, "Hey, Doc, is she safe to travel yet?"

The man tending me replied, "A few minutes, She's being recalcitrant."

He turned to me and said, "How many fingers am I holding up."

"Three."

Next, he made me extend my arms and touch the tip of my nose with each index finger.

He used a tongue depressor to examine my mouth and then had me stand and walk in a small circle. Even though he was a doctor, it felt strange being naked in his presence. I thought every hospital provided a garment of some kind for patient modesty. But the rules of one universe need not be obeyed by another. He gave me a brush and a small piece of leather to smooth out and tie back my tangled hair.

Even though I've traveled to several parallel words, the first day in a new universe always takes some getting used to. In the past, I have always known where I was going and what to expect when I materialized. Nobody but nobody went on random jumps. I felt pretty sure that the first thing the Institute would do after they retrieved me, IF they could retrieve me, would be to fire me. I could not imagine how much of a bill my search effort was going to ring up. I would not go to prison but I'd be out of the parallel physics field in any capacity but researcher. On the other hand, they might be so happy that they were able to track me down they might give me a promotion because of all of the new universes they had uncovered. Whatever my fate, that was a future that, hopefully, would take care of itself.

I pushed those thoughts away and tried to focus on the here and now. Something told me that I was in trouble, but I could not deduce exactly how or why. I completed every task the doctor had me perform. When I was done he smiled and stated,

"You aren't hurt at all, Missy. You are very lucky." After a pause, he nodded and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you."

Then the man stood, turned and said in a loud voice, "You boys can take her now. But please be gentle."

Two very large Black men entered the room. They were carrying fetters and a metal collar. I screamed in terror.

"Oh settle down, Missy." the largest of the two men said. "I'm sure even a private stock bitch like you has been chained from time to time. Real funny, stealing clothes and trying to make a break for it. Of course, the river stopped you, you stupid bitch, none of your kind is smart enough to stay free for long."

"My kind?" I asked.

The shorter of the two men yelled out, "Hey doc, are you sure she's OK?"

"Yes," he replied laconically. "She is perfectly fine. She's trying some innocent act, but I don't buy it for an instant. She should snap out of it when she realizes it is not going to win her any sympathy."

The larger man, who had a shaved head and a demonic goatee, glared at me. "Listen up!" he said, "You can either be obedient or I can force you. Don't make me pull the hard ass act on you. We ran your prints, you are unregistered property so we are taking you to the assessor's office. I expect a pretty little thing like you will bring my partner and me a nice bit of change. Even without papers, you'll make fine breeding stock. You don't know how lucky you are that we found you in that river before you drowned. Then again, your soft life of off-the-books stock is at an end. You really should not have run away."

My mind was running in all directions at once. Always, when transported to a new world I had a backstory, documents, and a convincing alias to go with it. Fear as I never felt before seized me. Never had I felt this alone before, not in the frightening New York where Nazi Germany had won World War II. Not in the world where dinosaurs never became extinct. Not in the world where plague wiped out ninety-five percent of the world's population and not in the world occupied by vampires. I envisioned all of the parallel universes, a near infinity of possibilities, a near infinity of worlds and not a soul I knew or cared about had any idea where I was or how to reach me. I was off the map in every way imaginable.

The larger of the two huge men took a step towards me. In fear I tried to run, it was a fruitless effort. The other man grabbed a hold of me and pinned me to the floor.

"Didn't your master ever teach you obedience?" he asked in an exasperated tone. With astounding dexterity and sense of finality, the two men slid on the ankle fetters, the manacles, and the collar. All were attached with chains which they shortened so that I could only take tiny steps. My hands were cuffed behind my back, meaning I had no way to shield my nudity. They stood me on my feet, handling me in an impersonal way.

The largest man produced a ball gag and waved it under my nose.

"If you keep your mouth shut I won't have to muzzle you. This innocent act ends NOW! Understand?"

I nodded my head and bit my lip. With a man on either side I was marched out into the daylight. I found myself in a small city, not unlike those of my own earth. The sky was a deeper blue and I could not place the trees or shrubbery, but everything else was the same. The words I had heard in the doctor's office and the actions of the hulking man on either side of me, made me realize that I was in for a world of hurt. Then my eyes drank in the entire tableau. Across the street was what looked like a town hall. Several black men and women supervised while white men in chains mowed the lawn with push mowers and swept the sidewalk or painted trim. The realization of where I was and what I was hit me with the suddenness of a punch to the jaw. The men who had chained me were marching me towards a van-like vehicle. I screamed and tried to root my feet to the pavement.

"Ah hell, girl, you were doing so well, too." said the larger of the men who had taken charge of me. He removed a long thin article from a belt about his waist. He touched my skin with object and I felt a painful sting of electricity.

"Move it, gal or I hold this in place until your bowels fail."

With no alternative, I allowed myself to be led to the van. Inside, I was belted to a seat and my collar chained to the wall. There was an older naked woman already seated as well as a naked boy who appeared to be about eighteen. He had what looked like nasty whip marks all over his torso.

The door closed behind me and the van began to roll away, its electric motor nearly silent.

"We waited long enough for you, girl. It gets hot in these things. What took you so long?' said the older woman in an irritated tone.

"What's going on?" I asked."Where am I?"

"Cut the stupid act, honey." returned the woman "You're too pretty to get worked over." the older woman, I guess she was just past forty but well preserved, had long dirty blond hair and a series of what looked like burn marks along her left hip. Her large brown eyes examined me minutely. A short time later she continued with, "Someone who looks like you probably had it good, hell girl, your not even branded! Why the hell did you run away? Me, I had to flee because my master's wife was jealous and she threatened to cut my titties off, I'm better off anywhere else, but YOU! Hell, girl, if I looked like you I'd hope I was sold to a rich guy and live the good life, no matter WHAT he looked like."

"Master? Sold?" I asked, my mind not willing to believe what my senses were telling me.

"I said, quit the stupid act, sister. What the hell think happens to you when you are captured by a bondsman? I know some Masters like their does to ACT stupid but NOBODY wants a moron around the house."

The young man took this moment to rattle his chains, "Why don't both of you cows shut it?. I've dealt with barking guard dogs today and a bondsman with a heavy whip hand. I just want some peace and quiet before I end up at the stockade. While you two go on to normal lives I'm looking at five or ten years of hard labor under guys who will make the asshole who beat me today look like a cream puff."

I looked at the boy, He seemed too young to have seen such hardship. "I'm sorry..." I began.

"You can shove your sympathy. Women slaves have it easy, just spread your legs, suck some cock and you get food, warmth, and compassion. You're not broiling in the hot sun. You're not toiling in the dynamite factories! Worse happens to one of you, your master sends you to bed without supper."

"I can see why they had to wail away on you, boy." said the blonde woman softly. I was too horrified at that point to do much of anything other than to hope that this was all some nightmare and I would wake in my own bed on my own earth. I tried pinching myself but the van and its contents resolutely refused to vacate my vision. Suddenly, I felt quite sick.

I fought against my rising gorge. Of all the worlds I could have ended up on, this one was the most unexpected. My soul was chilled to the marrow. My mind began flooding with images that cause me to breath heavily. I fought off the panic attack, barely. For a brief moment, I wondered if I could asphyxiate myself if I leaned against my metal collar hard enough. In short order, I discovered that was an impossibility. My aims along this track were interrupted when the vehicle came to a stop.

The men who had chained me appeared in the open door. The shorter of the men had a water bottle in his hand, he presented it to the young man who, despite his obvious rage and contempt for the man who controlled his destiny, thirstily lifted it to his lips. The man turned to the blonde woman and myself and said. "This is your stop ladies, time to turn the two of you into cash."

The men wielded weapons this time. Ordering us to be silent and obedient as first the blonde woman and them me were freed from our seats. We were helped to our feet on the scorching macadam of the street. A large building loomed before us. It resembled a prison, Massive gate with an armed guard, narrow barred windows. I nearly wet myself as we were led through the gates into a stark white room.

A rather beautiful black woman in a tight red leather uniform approached us.

"Pete, Vincent, what do you have for me today?"

The taller man spoke for both of them, "Typical runaway, some dispute with her mistress, she was quite contrite, probably just needs a fresh start." The woman in red leather's eyes glided over the blonde woman as though she wasn't there. Her large brown eyes fixed on me and became penetrating and quizzical.

"And this luscious creature?" she asked

"That's a puzzler, Maggie. Near as we can tell she is some rich man's escaped private stock. Her prints didn't show up in the database and, as you can see she wears no brand. She was wearing strange clothes and apparently tried to ford the Liberty River, she was swept well downstream and Vince here managed to spot her and pull her out of the river. Doc Addams had her until she recovered."

"How interesting." said the red-clad woman, her voice almost a growl

She stared into my eyes and said, "Is that true girl? Some millionaire's pet who longed for greener pastures? Well, Maggie will find a new home for you, probably not as lush." she looked at me even more carefully and continued, "Girl your build should have been bred a few times already."

Maggie's touched my shoulder with her right hand and ran it down my body. I involuntarily shivered.

"Have no fear girl, The kind of money you will bring means that you'll be back in a rich man's arms in no time. Maybe he has a nice handsome, smooth-skinned buck for you to play with. Your titties are overdue for nursing new livestock. You would you like that wouldn't you?" Then she emitted a terrifying laugh.

I decided to speak my mind. "Please, I am a scientist from a parallel earth. This morning there was a lab accident and I was transported here by mistake. On my planet all races are equal..."

Maggie slapped me hard across the mouth.

"You speak, Missy only when ordered t!.Is that clear? I'll also not have any more fairy stories out of your mouth. If your old Master let you read books and scientific romances, I suggest you not let others know that information. Nobody but nobody likes an uppity slave."

Her face became a visage of blood-chilling horror for a moment before she smiled and said, "Shall we get started gentlemen? Remove their chains and collars, assessment should not take too long. Got anyone waiting in the van?"

"Just a kid we picked up on a fugitive warrant. Real hard takedown, broke one of our deputy's arms. He's lucky I didn't flog his hide off. He'll be busting rocks and spreading tar for the next five years. That ought to wipe the snot out of him. The prison's our next stop but if the bastard dies of heatstroke in the van, I won't shed a tear"

"I shall not be that long." said Maggie as the men removed my chains and collar. I rubbed my wrists and my neck and shifted my weight on each foot.

"OK girls, let's get you processed and appraised, follow me."

Knowing that refusal would be pointless, I fell in behind my blonde companion and followed Maggie through the swinging doors into the next room. This room was full of equipment, some I recognized, others may have well come from Mars.

In short order, I was weighed, measured, and photographed from every angle. Maggie ran gloved fingers through my scalp and privates and forced her fingers into my sex and anus. Maggie reminded me of my gynecologist as she examined my breasts and sex. It was humiliating but I've endured worse.

She examined my mouth and said that I had fine teeth. I had to answer some weird questions, midway through I realized that it was some sort of intelligence test. I was still so confused and frightened I doubt I did well at it. By far the worst was when Maggie produced what looked for all the world like a dildo attached to wires. Maggie must have seen the trepidation in my face.

"Surely," said Maggie levelly, "even a pampered toy like you must be familiar with the kinetic response ratio indicator."

Maggie lubricated the object and slid it it inside my vagina. It began to buzz and hum. I lost track of the next few moments. The next thing I knew, Maggie was handling the object with her gloved hands, a huge smile on her attractive face. "I can see why you were kept for private stock. Damn, girl!"

Finally, Maggie produced several syringes, "OK girls, almost done, required boosters and prophylactics. Don't worry, won't hurt a bit."

I wondered what these alien drugs would do to my system. There were some rather formidable female guards in this room so I knew resisting the inoculations would be a bad idea. Maggie was as good as her word, I felt not so much as a pinprick on any of the half dozen injections I received.

Once those were over, Maggie stated. "OK, the system has run the numbers." her eyes darted from the readout to me and Maggie exclaimed, "Oh, my!"

I hoped her reaction was good news but somehow, I doubted it. Maggie ignored my inquisitive look.

"This is Vincent and Pete's lucky day. Mine too"

She turned to us and said, "Let's get you girls situated, then I can pay Pete and Vincent before that guy keels over in the van. Through that door girls."

I entered the next room as indicated by Maggie and found myself in a hall full of narrow prison cells. Nearly every cell was occupied by naked white women of varying ages and shapes. I was compelled to enter a vacant cell. Maggie donned a crooked smile as the door closed behind me. "You won't have to cool your heels long, you pretty little thing, the next auction is tomorrow. Remember no talking! Sleep tight!"