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The Archway, Part 14
🕑 Added 2021-12-30 04:13:19 +0000 UTCNora was still lying peacefully on the floor. I wasn't sure how long the pacifier would last, or whether it was possible that she might die of hunger and thirst if I didn't rouse her.
Her power was a tempting prize. Granted, I could order around any of my converts with or without her power, and if Suki was right, she could only give someone orders for a short time before they developed a resistance. Still, that would plug a very noticeable gap in my own powers. Right now, my biggest weakness was dealing with any new person or location that I hadn't had the chance to infuse with my quantum effect. Being able to tell Laura to sit down and shut up the second she showed her face was an appealing prospect.
Still, I couldn't run the risk of converting her without knowing how it would affect me. I decided to simply postpone my decision until I had better information.
I plucked the pacifier from her mouth. Her eyes fluttered open as the other's had. “No talking.” I ordered immediately. She seemed startled, but she pursed her lips and shook her head lightly in agreement. I tapped the high-tech collar she was wearing, transforming it into a loop of elastic cord with a much larger pacifier on it than the one I had just pulled out. “Open.” I placed the large rubber bulb in her mouth, filling it almost completely. “I will be seeing to you soon enough. In the meantime, you will be allowed to move freely and take care of your needs, but absolutely no speaking, and certainly no giving orders. Don't harm anyone, don't use your powers, be a good girl. Understood?”
She nodded her head emphatically.
“Cynthia, you look after Nora and make sure she's well taken care of, and that she behaves herself.” Cynthia was at my side the moment I spoke her name. “You got it! I won't let you down.” she assured me.
“I know you won't.” I said, and I meant it. It was clear to me, now that I'd had the chance to assimilate several people, that there was a marked difference between those who had been converted voluntarily, like Sammy, Megan, Jang-Mi, and Cynthia, and those who had been enemies before the conversion. Judith, Suki, and even Princess Boom-Boom were all loyal and obedient to me, but the willing converts seemed to retain a greater amount of their original personality. I trusted genuine loyalty over imitation loyalty any day. It made sense to use the willing converts as my Lieutenants, now that my forces were growing to the point that I needed some. “Nora, Cynthia is your boss now. Do what she tells you.” I ordered. She nodded again, and sucked on her pacifier.
Slowly but surely, Normality, that strange and mysterious force, began to creep its way back into our lives. Out of the chaos and weirdness of the last two days, a new routine began to emerge. Once Cross was finished decrypting the computer system and explaining to me how to use it, I was able to sit behind my desk and start getting work done. The project of liberating the numerous prisoners began. In some of the cells, we found more remnants of Cross' old security team. Some had fled the facility to aid their friends and family in Grand Unity when they heard about Laura's attack, but others had been shut up in cells under orders from Cross after they failed to capture me and became infected with my quantum effect. Having been properly soaked and then left to sit overnight, they were perfectly amenable to me by the time we found them. While I considered what to do with them, they got to work guarding the facility once again.
I assigned most of my most loyal followers to the task of sorting through and liberating the prisoners. Sammy, Cassandra, and Cynthia formed the core of the welcoming committee, greeting each prisoner as they were freed, and making sure their questions about our situation were answered. I wrote up an FAQ sheet to facilitate the process. “Why the hell is everyone wearing diapers?” was near the top.
Larry was quite adept at analyzing figures thanks to his Oddball ability, so I put him to work keeping records on who had been released and their current status. The pacifier ray I had created was used for the tougher cases. Cross' knowledge of her former charges was useful here as well, provided you took her assumptions about their characters with a large grain of salt. Many of the prisoners were indeed quite violent, and there were often close calls when a cell was first opened. I could understand perfectly why someone who could turn her blood into knives or cry tears that could melt through solid steel might be kept imprisoned, especially when they were violently insane into the bargain. Other prisoners were ordinary people who had abilities they simply could not control, such Alicia Welkes, who gave everyone within ten feet of her a severe migraine, or Jeffrey Stonebeater, whose skin produced a natural green pigment that adhered to everything he touched. I soon grew tired of listening to Cross' inane explanations as to why these people ought to be kept incarcerated. Most of them could function in ordinary society with just a few custom gadget and a little understanding.
Clearly, apart from the Knaves, (who indeed showed every sign of being the monsters I had always been told they were) there were only two real reasons anyone was kept here: they were inconvenient, or they were an embarrassment. In Utopia, The Archway wasn't just the source of our brilliant scientists and invincible warriors: it was the source of political authority. Cross was a Noble, and the official head of state was Queen Denise, a Royal. If you only looked at the Royals, Nobles, Knights, Brights, Espers, and Sweets, you got the impression that the Archway was a wise and benevolent thing, empowering the necessary personnel for an ideal society. Here in Special Containment, I began to see just how much of what The Archway produced was random, senseless, bizarre, or just harmful. Cross and her ilk recognized that they had been arbitrarily favored by a process that was fundamentally random, and they sought to conceal that fact as much as possible. Cross, for all her strength and intellect, really wasn't all that well-suited to be in charge. Her powers were totally out of step with her temperament. She was spiteful, domineering, and cared little for her subordinates. I was determined to do better. I wanted to be the kind of leader that a place called Utopia deserved. I wanted to create a world where everyone was included, where no one was shut out or discarded.
Suki set up shop in the lab, trying to analyze my quantum signature and work out the actual rules of what my power could and couldn't do. She seemed confident, but then she always did. I decided that one of my long-term goals should be to track down more Brights to serve as my research team. Cross would certainly not be allowed to keep her intellectual abilities for long, and I had to decide what to do with them. I considered keeping them for myself, obviously, but I was beginning to worry about hoarding too many powers for myself. I already felt a little uncomfortable after absorbing so much physical strength, and I suspected that I would hit a wall at some point if I didn't ease up. My ludicrous strength hadn't really been an issue so far, but I didn't want to be only one who was able to do some heavy lifting, and really, the practical difference between being able to lift a small truck and being able to lift a small mountain wasn't really that big.. I began considering what other arrangements I might be able to make.
Days began to pass. The hallways of Special Containment started to become busier as more and more inmates were set free. At night, I slept in a crowded crib, with my new friends serving as my pillows and my blankets. Usually there were a few pacified prisoners resting comfortably nearby, ready to be converted first thing in the morning.
I was busy in my office, pouring over the prisoner dossiers and trying to work out what to do with them, when Cassandra appeared at my door. She looked nervous.
“Is this a bad time, Ma'am?” she asked.
“No, not at all. What's happening?” I asked.
She silently pulled up a chair. It was a plastic chair with a smiley face and googly eyes for decoration. Nearly everything in the office had been transformed by my powers. It gave it a warmer, more welcoming atmosphere. Of course, it also looked like child's playroom that only looked a little like an office.
I was a little concerned. She had the air of someone who had finally made a decision to broach an uncomfortable topic after weighing the pros and cons at length.
“What's on your mind?”I prompted.
“Well, I...just wanted to thank you for being so...understanding about this whole thing. You know, there are a lot of people around now that would love to have some revenge on those of us who...used to be in charge around here.”
I nodded. She had been head of security in the old regime, and I had basically allowed her to continue with that job. I'm sure it raised an eyebrow or two.
“A lot of people are wondering what your plans are for the future. About Laura, and Cross, and the rest of Utopia. You're basically our leader now, and we all want to back you up. We just need to know what direction we're going to be heading.”
I sighed. “To be honest, I'm just not sure. I'd like to be able to take on Laura, but even if I can do that, I'm not sure Utopia would take us back. Laura has a whole city already, and I'm still working on this one building. I mean, I'd love to help Utopia win against Laura, but we already tried that, and Cross decided to use my willingness to help against me.”
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!” she squeaked. There were tears in her eyes. I hadn't even been thinking about the role she had played in those events. I reached across the bright red surface of my desk and rested my hand on hers.
“Hey! Hey, I'm sorry. I don't blame you for that.” I told her.
She sniffed. “Why not?”
I didn't know what to say. I stared at her, confused.
“Why shouldn't you blame me? I worked for Cross, but I wasn't her slave. I could have stopped her. I should have stopped her! I know you're planning to punish Cross for what she did to you.”
“And you're worried that you'll get punished too?” I asked.
She straightened up suddenly. She seemed offended. “No! I ought to be punished! I deserve it!”
I was surprised. She had seemed like a decent enough person, in spite of her profession. I just hadn't expected this kind of...integrity from her.
“What I'm worried about is that we'll all just decide that Cross was the only one who was responsible for this place. For what this place used to be. And then we'll do something really awful to her. And then we won't be good people anymore. We'll lose what makes us special.”
I leaned back in my chair. I was getting a little misty-eyed myself. She had clearly been thinking a lot about this, and had made some real headway while I had been spinning my mental wheels. “What makes us special? What do you mean by that?”
“I'm...I'm sure you've noticed me watching when you and the people you've converted are together. There's this...feeling in the air. There's none of the distrust or the intrigue I've gotten used to. No one is trying to sabotage or undercut anyone else. No one lashes out because their feelings are hurting. No one is trying to act like they're above it all. Everyone is so open about their desires and their needs. When you like someone, you can just give them a big hug, and its only because you like them, not because you want something from them. There's so much...openness, and care-free intimacy, and...love.”
I smiled. She was right. I felt the same way, but somehow I had never been able to put it all into words. Maybe I had been keeping people at arm's length emotionally, because I was worried that they weren't acting under their own free will. I had missed how happy and liberated my power had made them.
“I feel jealous of the way you can all connect with each other and play together so freely. But it's more than that. I look at you, and Sammy, and Megan, and especially Princess Boom-Boom...and I see the world I want to live in.”
I felt a tear run down my cheek. This whole week, I had been trying to come to grips with feeling like a freak or a monster. To hear her say such kind things...it made me feel like I could really make the world a better place.
“Do you...er... recall what we discussed a few days ago?” she asked.
I tried to recall the last time I had spoken to her. It had been a while.
“Are you talking about diapers?” I asked.
She nodded. “I've made up my mind. I want to be like you and Sammie and all the others. Could you make me a diaper girl?”
I felt my cheeks flush at her words. I really didn't know what to say. I felt the immediate urge to convert her. She was asking for it after all. How could it be wrong?
“I'm really, really happy that feel that way. But I'm not sure I should. I mean, you know that my power is affecting your thoughts, right? Like, right now? And once I convert you, I don't know of any way back. It might be permanent. Are you really ready to risk spending rest of your life pooping in your pampers?”
She giggled, in spite of her tears. “I know your power makes people like you and want to help you. But a lot of people are under that effect now. How many have asked you to convert them?”
That took me aback again. The thought hadn't even occurred to me.
“I want this. I can see the kind of society that you're creating, and I want to be part of it. I don't even mind if you decide to take away my Knight powers. I'll do whatever I can to help out, and make up for the harm I've done under Cross. Please?”
I gave in. I'm not made of stone. She was both literally and metaphorically begging me to convert her. I stood up solemnly from my cute little chair, and came around my cute little desk to her. I embraced her in a hug that probably would have broken a few ribs if she hadn't been a Knight.
“Tell me who you belong to.” I said in a whisper.
“I'm yours!” she gushed. “I'm yours!”
My power flared to life, and she was mine. Her drab uniform melted against her skin. I focused all my attention on guiding the process with my thoughts. I didn't want to take her strength. Instead, I did the opposite. I took the lake of raw power that I had been accumulating and let it flow into her. Her arms tightened around me as my strength became hers. The uncomfortable tightness faded as the power left me. After the chiming music faded, I held her for a little while longer. Then, I backed off and admired my handiwork.
On her head was a blue cap with a black visor, like an old-fashioned policewoman's cap. It looked just slightly too big for her, although it fit perfectly. She wore a white tank-top and a blue denim vest with a shield-shaped plastic badge above her left breast. Her legs were bare. Her thick new disposable diapers were decorated with the same blue shield insignia.
Cassandra admired herself in her adorable new outfit. “This is so awesome! Hold on, I have to try this out right now!”
With a grin on her face, Cassandra bent forward in front of me. With a loud series of farts,the seat of her diaper expanded underneath her. She laughed in triumph as she squished her messy butt.
“This is the best! I gotta go show the others. Oh, and then I have to go find Nurse Wipes. Oh my god, I'm gonna need someone to wipe my butt from now on! Thank you so much, Miranda!”
I gave her squishy rear an affectionate pat. “Any time! Actually, I could use a break myself.”
I strained, and soon I too was in dire need of a diaper change. We stood and giggled for a little while in our dirty diapers, then headed down to Low Security together for a change.
