The late evening gloom that hung over the empty parking lot was swept away by the glare of headlamps and blare of music as the white minivan careened across the empty expanse and parked at a side door of the darkened factory. Gears ground and lights dimmed as the seven members of the Phi Lambda sorority tipsily stumbled out of the vehicle. Each was dressed identically in Phi Lambda tee shirts and denim short shorts, and all sported shaven heads.
“All right, Phi Lambdans!” shouted Mandy as she jumped from the driver’s seat and out to join her sorority sisters. She, too, sported the group outfit and hairstyle. “I’m excited to tell you that we raised over $10,000 at today’s Headshave For Cancer event. That’s all going to the Children’s Hospital in our name!” The group hooted and hollered in approval as Mandy went on. “Now, it’s time for part two of our Halloween fundraising day! We’ll be making a group appearance in about two hours at the All-Charity social, and in exchange for our services the good people here at Gummi Clothing will make a $10,000 matching donation in our name and theirs! This will put us over every other sorority in the city!”
“Nu Omega won’t know what hit ‘em!” Kiki shouted, and everyone cheered.
Mandy continued, “Now, Freya Tress, the owner of GC, is waiting for us inside with our costumes for the party. Let’s show her some Phi Lambda spirit! Oh, and leave the other spirits in the bus for later.” That got a few laughs and a few groans as the community vodka bottle was passed forward for storage. “Okay, let’s do it!”
With some “Woo!” and “Yeah!” the sorority group followed Mandy to the side door, which she knocked on three times. A few moments later the door was opened by a stern-looking woman in a white lab coat whose face softened into a practiced smile at the sight of the group. She turned to Mandy with an approving look.
“Mandy! How good of you and your friends to come.”
“Good evening, Miss Tress! It’s good to see you again!”
“And you as well, my favorite intern. Come in, everyone! There’s lots to do, and the sooner we get started, the better.” Miss Tress held the door open as the women entered the darkened factory, then looked around cautiously before making a gesture with her free hand. She reentered the building and closed the door behind her as a black silhouette emerged from the shadows at the side of the building, entered the minibus, and drove off with it a few moments later.
Inside, the group was gathering by an impressive machine that filled most of the huge room. More exactly, they were gathering around a small table next to the machine, enjoying champagne in elegant flutes arranged on a comical Halloween tablecloth. Miss Tress took a minute to examine the group with approval. Then she clapped twice and addressed her guests. “Thank you all again for helping GC make this the best Halloween ever!” The ladies cheered and raised their glasses as Miss Tress retrieved a glass of her own from a shelf near her. “A toast! To Phi Lambda! A force to be reckoned with!” Glasses clinked together, followed by a brief silence as the sorority sisters drained their flutes. Miss Tress gave her own a sip before setting it back on the shelf, then walked over to stand in front of the face of the room-filling machine before continuing.
“This evening’s theme is science fiction, and your costumes will not only reflect this theme, they will also show off the avant-garde of GC research. I should tell you – and please, keep this a secret for now – the outfits you’ll be wearing are very similar to the new space suits we’ll be making for the Mars mission! These are nothing like the suits you’ve seen before.” She turned to Mandy with a smile. “Your own sorority president was a great help in the design and testing of the outfit. I’ve asked my current intern to model it before we begin.” Miss Tress gestured to a shiny black curtain at one end of the machine. “Lucy, come on out!”
The women of Phi Lambda gasped as from behind the curtain came an otherworldly creature. It was obviously a woman, one with an athletic build. She was wearing a skin-tight suit of shiny black, with patent leather knee-high boots and matching elbow-length gloves. Articulated armor plates of some thin, polished black material covered her breasts, waist and crotch, while a thin belt with several unknown objects hung from her hips. Her head was covered in a glossy, featureless helmet, an ovoid shell that occluded her identity. The overall impression was of some alien soldier from a galactic empire.
Lucy walked amongst the gobsmacked women, striking several poses worthy of a runway model as Miss Tress continued. “Everything Lucy is wearing will be made and applied by the machine in this room. It will scan each of you for a precise fit, then make the base uniform on-the-spot. The boots and gloves are from stock and are of standard sizes. The helmets are self-adjusting and can be worn for long periods in comfort. Lucy, how do you feel? Are you comfortable?”
Lucy nodded as she spoke, her voice sounding robotic through the helmet speaker. “Yes, Miss Tress. I’m very comfortable.”
“Tell the ladies how long you’ve been wearing your uniform.”
“Since 7am this morning.” That got some gasps from the group. She had been dressed like that for nearly twelve hours.
“And, are you done? Do you want to take it off?”
There was a hint of a moan in Lucy’s voice as one of the sorority girls ran a hand down the glossy slickness of Lucy’s arm. “No, Miss Tress, I’d rather stay in it.”
“Of course you would”, her boss said with a smile before explaining to the group, “The suits have a curious side effect. It seems the wearer tends to find the material rather, shall we say, stimulating. I’m sure we’ll find a way to correct it somehow, but for the moment I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with it.” She turned to her former minion. “It’s not so bad, is it, Mandy?”
“Oh, no, Miss Tress!” she said with enthusiasm. “Quite the opposite.”
“I seem to recall you slept in yours once. Or, spent the night, in any event.”
Several of Mandy’s peers tittered. They all knew her penchant for the freaky side of life.
Miss Tress nodded to Lucy, who walked to the side of the room and came back with a stack of large plastic bins. “Are there any questions?”
Kiki raised a hand. “What if we have to go to the bathroom?”
Miss Tress motioned to Lucy, who in turn pointed to her crotch as she answered. “See this panel? It’s removable. No worries.”
“Any other questions? No? All right, let’s get started. I’m afraid we have no dressing rooms, so you’ll all have to undress here. Please take a bin and put all your clothing, jewelry, and personal effects in it. Don’t worry, they’ll be locked up here, nice and safe.”
The women dutifully began to prepare. As she looked over her recruits Miss Tress admired their uniformity. Very few adjustments would be needed. She also noted with amusement that about half of them were sporting hardened nipples and other signs of arousal. Good, she thought, that will make what comes after all the easier.
Lucy collected the bins as they were filled and put them on a long shelf along one wall. Soon Miss Tress was standing before eight naked, bald young women, ready for processing. “Very good! Now, each of you will enter the machine one at a time, about a minute apart. Don’t be nervous, it’s all perfectly safe. Lucy and Mandy have both gone through the dressing procedure many times. Isn’t that right, Mandy?”
“Yes, Miss Tress. It’s perfectly safe. And if it’s all right with you, I’ll prove it by going first.”
“Of course you can, my dear.” Without further prompting Mandy hopped forward and entered the machine through the curtained doorway at its center. A moment later the machine came to life as display panels lit up with control sets and progress reports. A minute or so passed before a red panel went green. “Ready for victim number two!” Miss Tress said with cartoon menace. “Who’s next?”
“I’ll go”, said Kiki, and in she went.
So it went until the last of the eight nubile, hairless volunteers had passed into the chamber. As the red panel went green for the final time Miss Tress turned to Lucy. “There. All in process now. What about the others?”
Lucy paused a moment, reviewing the stats on her helmet’s HUD before replying. “The ‘volunteers’ from the Nu Omega sorority completed processing seven minutes before this group arrived. Alice is currently integrating them into the larger unit. This brings our current total to seventy-one, not counting these seven. No reported complications.”
“Good.” Miss Tress sighed. “I’d hoped we would have our hundred by now, but we’ll make do.” She pointed at the bins containing the Phi Lambda’s personal effects. “Dump those into the recycle bin and prep for the next group. It’s supposed to be a big one. Hopefully we can meet our goal tonight after all.” She started walking down to the completion area, with Lucy following a step behind. “I swear, if I had to arrange one more headshave challenge…”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the machine, the last of the Phi Lambda volunteers was emerging. She found herself facing seven ebony aliens identical to herself. It took only a moment to see in one of the many full-length mirrors attached to the walls that she also sported a full suit and helmet. She found herself imitating several of her comrades as they became enraptured by the sight of themselves in their skin-tight outfits that seemed to stretch and shine like polished latex. Her hands drifted across her body, enjoying the sensual caress that Miss Tress and her minions had promised.
The women spent some time admiring themselves and one another before they realized that they couldn’t hear one another. Apparently the helmet speakers were not working. One of them went to remove her helmet but couldn’t detach it from the suit. Soon all but one were in a near-panic, pulling on their helmets or other equally stuck suit parts, the one trying to placate them with claming motions of her hands.
Miss Tress walked in to this scene and understood. “Ladies, ladies, please calm down. Everything is all right. First, your suit electronics haven’t been activated yet. That’s why you can’t speak. We’ll solve that in a minute. And the helmet locks are electronic as well.” A concealed door slid open to their left. “We can discuss all this once your suits have been activated. We’ll do that now. Please follow Mandy into the next room.”
Mandy, who had indeed been the one trying to placate the rest, stepped through the door and motioned for the rest to follow. They did, and found themselves in a dark grey room with two dozen steel-framed recliners arranged in a semicircle.
“This is our training center”, Miss Tress explained as she entered the room. “Here we can activate all your suits’ features and show you a short video that will teach you all you need to know. Lucy, Mandy, would you help the ladies get acclimated?” The two nodded and directed the rest to the nearest chairs. Once they were all sitting Miss Tress nodded at her helpers, who began securing a set of straps across the chest of each woman, preventing them from standing up.
“It’s an OSHA thing. Safety first!” Miss Tress watched as Lucy secured the final girl, then walked over to a panel on the wall and pressed a button. Instantly the straps on all the chairs retracted and pressed their charges tightly into their seats. Muffled “Mmphs!” an other complaints could be heard as the seven newly rubberized women struggled and strained to no avail.
“Trick or Treat!” Miss Tress said with a laugh as Mandy and Lucy came to stand at either side. “I’m afraid there will be no event for you to attend this evening, or any other. It was all a ruse to get you here and seal you in your new uniforms. That’s the trick. Now, here comes the treat!” She nodded to Lucy, who went to the panel and pressed the main switch.
Immediately all seven women ceased their struggling and stiffened. A few threw their hands up to their heads and vainly tried to remove their helmets as they realized what was happening. The suits had activated and the helmets were establishing a neural interface with their brains. The GC central system was overtaking their minds, forcing them into submission as the suits hummed to life and set their bodies awash in waves of overwhelming pleasure. Soon all seven were slumped in their seats as their bodies quaked with one orgasm after another while the AI invaded their thoughts, molding them into compliance.
Miss Tress watched with satisfaction at the creation of her new servants. She felt Mandy lean into her right side and placed her arm across Mandy’s shoulder in return. After a few moments she took Mandy in both arms and embraced her. Mandy sighed contentedly and eagerly returned the embrace.
“They’re lovely, Mandy. Quite an acquisition.”
“Thank you, Mistress”, she said through the speaker of her helmet, whose inactivity had been a ruse to fool the others. “I hope this has been a memorable Halloween.”
Miss Tress gave Mandy a final hug before holding her at arms’ length as her smile faded a bit. “It has, but I do wish it could be otherwise.”
Mandy was confused. “I don’t understand. Aren’t you pleased?”
Now her smile was gone. “Mandy, your group is one short.”
“Yes, Mistress. One of the girls left school a week ago. She eloped with her boyfriend and won’t be back.”
“There are only seven of them. The Lady is expecting you to deliver eight.”
Mandy shook slightly. Fear crept into her voice as she guessed what was to come. “Yes, Mistress. What would you ask of me?”
Miss Tress paused, a flash of sadness on her face before she said, “Take your place with your sisters.”
Mandy paused briefly before replying, “Yes, Mistress.” There was a hint of a sniffle in Mandy’s voice as she answered. She went over and took the empty seat at the end of the second row. Lucy went to her and, after a gentle pat on her shoulder, strapped Mandy to the chair.
“Goodbye, my pet”, Miss Tress whispered as Lucy worked the panel. Mandy stiffened, then slouched forward in her restraints.
Miss Tress addressed Lucy without turning from Mandy. “Estimated time until the reprogramming is complete?”
“An hour, Mistress. Maybe more.” She shrugged. “College students always take a bit longer to scrub. Their minds are a mess.”
Miss Tress inhaled deeply, straightened her lab coat. “The final group will be here soon. Tell Alice to prepare the other conversion room to receive them.” She gave Mandy a final look, then walked out before Lisa could see the tear falling down her cheek.
An hour later the final group were slouching against the restraints of their chairs as their programming cycle began. Miss Tress nodded in approval at the sight of twenty-one newly rubberized women breathing in rhythm in their inescapable outfits before walking back to the front of the great machine. There she undressed and left her things in a bin for Lucy to collect. Pressing a special code onto the control screen she took a deep breath and stepped into the machine. Ten minutes later she emerged from the other side. Her suit was similar to those that encapsulated the others, except that her armor plates were a glossy crimson and a shiny black cape rustled down her back to her knees.
Once again encased in her Commandant uniform, the imposing woman strode back into the room where the final group of transformed captives were being indoctrinated. She gave them a glance as she walked to a large video screen at the far end of the room, which lit up at her approach. After a moment the screen showed a place filled with fog. From deep in the mist a pair of baleful green eyes shone out, surrounded by twitching tentacles. A garish, high-pitched voice rasped, “Report.”
The Commandant was glad for the occluding helmet that hid her nervousness. “Project Samhain is proceeding as planned, my Lady. The final group of recruits has been processed and is undergoing mental conditioning. They will be ready this evening. A total of 99 recruits were acquired.”
The tentacles on the screen twitched. “The plan called for 100.”
The Commandant nodded. A hint of stress entered her voice. “I have resolved the issue. The empty slot was filled by one of my personal assistants. She has been prepared like the others.”
There was a momentary pause before the creature on the screen replied. “Her sacrifice is noted. As is yours, Commandant.” The suit-clad woman gasped as the pleasure reward features of her uniform came alive. “You will be allowed to select a replacement during the next harvest.”
“Thank you, my Lady”, the Commandant said as she bowed, doing her best to clear her thoughts of Mandy lest the Lady detect it. “We are now ready to expand our acquisition program. Should all go well, we will increase our forces tenfold by the end of next month.”
“How will you do this?”
“The week-long Flaming Guy arts festival begins in three days. A detachment of our drones will be there to assemble a portable conversion center disguised as a themed experience called Space Force. Their dress and manners will be excused as method acting. A rigged lottery will allow us to select female candidates from the attendees and process them in groups of twenty under the pretense of participatory theatre. Suit application will occur on-site, after which they will be placed on a sealed transport to ‘go on a mission’. The transport is also a mobile conditioning system with restraint chairs identical to those here in the factory. By the time they arrive at this facility they will be completely converted and can be put to work immediately. With several groups processed per day we expect to increase our numbers by 500 over the course of the week. Additional candidates who exceed our ability to process on-site will be identified and personal data collected for conversion at a later date.”
“Well done, Commandant. Carry on.”
The screen went dark as Miss Tress, Commandant of the human conversion base serving the impending alien invasion, fell to her knees and gave herself to the increasing pleasure of her suit. “Thank you, my Lady!”
Back in their conditioning room, the drones who had been the women of Phi Lambda were being released from their restraints by Lucy. Alice entered from the back as the last of them stood and joined her cohorts at the front of the room. Lucy momentarily forgot her charges and greeted Alice with a tight hug that was eagerly returned.
“Trick or Treat!” The hug and the suit overload it created gave her voice a husky touch. Alice touched the top of her helmet’s opaque faceplate against Lucy’s and rolled it back and forth a bit, her substitute for a kiss.
“Mmm, treat.” Lucy ran her hands up and down Alice’s back. “I sure could use one. It’s been a long day.”
“Tonight, when we’re back in our pods.” Alice relaxed her hug and nodded towards the new ones. “Were those the Phi Lambda?”
“Yep. Including Mandy. Numbers were short.”
Alice gasped. “Poor thing! Still, better her than us.” She paused, cocked her head to one side. “Which one is she?”
Lucy broke off and stared at the group. “I…I don’t know. Let’s find out.” She walked up and began running her hands across the suit of the nearest recruit. There was a slight moan and response, but nothing impressive. She moved on to the next with a similar result, until the fifth one responded by rolling her shoulders and making a light, two tone hum.
“There she is!” Alice exclaimed.
“Always was the odd duck. What should we do with her?”
“Do? The Commandant gave us strict orders. Or, did you want to take her place?”
“No way. I meant we should mark her for easy ID. Just in case.”
They thought about it a moment before Alice made a finger-snapping motion. “I got it. Wait here.” She ran to a drawer and began rummaging through its contents.
“Make it quick. The Commandant is waiting for us to deliver this group. And the others are almost done.” As if in answer, a “ping” was heard as an artificial voice said in her helmet earpieces, “Recruit Group 3 ready.”
“Got it!” Alice returned with a silver paint pen, which she employed by putting several small, discrete markings on the compliant Mandy. “There! That should last a while. Okay, I’ll take this batch downstairs.” She gave Lucy a frisky rub of a hug. “Happy Halloween, lover.”
Lucy caressed the side of Alice’s helmet. “You’re my treat.” And, with a final pat of Alice’s bottom, she went off to her waiting charges.
“Okay!” Alice said to the former Phi Lambda sisters. “Look at you all, so delicious in your new latex suits! Well, it’s not really latex, but if you won’t tell, neither will I. All units! Initiate group protocol One!” With that, the drones stiffened and stood up straight, then formed two neat rows and snapped to attention. Smiling behind the darkness of her faceplate, Alice addressed them.
“Congratulations! You are all now servants of the Commandant. All that you were is no more. You do not have names, you do not have faces. You have been encased in your suits, and you will be so encased, so trapped, for the rest of your lives. No one knows you are here, no one is coming to the rescue. You are ours to command. Welcome to your new life.”
Alice knew what she was saying was lost on these already mindless drones but she got a thrill from doing the Big Speech anyway. She pressed a button on her wrist band and watched as eight rubber-clad women writhed in a moment of pure pleasure, moaning as one in desire through the speakers of their anonymous helmets. Just as quickly it ended, leaving the befogged recruits longing for more.
Alice imagined herself as the Commandant, watching a thousand rubberized women stand in ecstasy before her, as she set her own suit on a slow purr. Buzzing in delight, she opened a set of double doors that revealed a ramp going down into darkness. “Unit! Forward march!” The group of mind-controlled rubber slaves moved as one and marched down into the gloaming as Alice stepped to one side, grinding the armor plate between her legs into her crotch with the heel of her hand as she watched her charges march by, thinking as she crested the wave, “This is the best Halloween ever!”
