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The Archway, Part 2
🕑 Added 2021-05-12 22:01:14 +0000 UTCThe Archway
Part 2
It took about forty-five minutes for the chopper to carry us from Grand Unity all the way to Bountiful Gulch, on the outskirts of Utopian civilization. Here was the Special Containment Facility, the most mysterious and feared station in all of Utopia. Here, hundreds of Knaves were kept locked away in the most secure facility that a small army of Knights and Brights could devise. In spite of all precautions, escapees were not unheard of, which is one reason that the outlands are so dangerous.
Special Containment was a fortress, surrounded on both sides by a deep canyon with retractable bridges to allow supply trucks and nothing else in and out. The structure was bristling with watchtowers and anti-aircraft guns. It was a combination high-security prison, secret research facility, and military base, designed to withstand siege from without and within. And I was now to be the newest prisoner.
I started crying as the helicopter landed on a pad on top if the facility. What else could I do? I didn't know if my family or any of my friends were still alive. I was still dressed in the ridiculous costume The Archway had seen fit to put me in as some kind of twisted joke. And now I was doomed to be an inmate in a building that had featured prominently in horror stories I had been hearing since I was a little girl. I didn't know how things could get worse.
“Unidentified Special!” barked the Bright who had escorted me. “Unknown capabilities! Move to Level 3 for analysis. Move!”
Several guards in plain gray uniforms and armed with machine guns escorted me off the helipad and down through the facility. We passed dozens of cells with gaunt, despairing faces staring out at me. The cell blocks were protected with armored gates, armed guards, security cameras, and even automated gun turrets. We used an elevator that required a key to go down to Level 3. The guards forced me through a gate with the word “Analysis” posted above it in unfriendly-looking block letters.
“Welcome to Analysis, Miss Hubble. Please get on the examination table.” said a petite woman in a lab coat. I looked around the room. It was full of huge machines that I could only guess were scientific equipment. There was nothing in here that even looked like a table. I was about to ask what she meant, when I felt a powerful electric shock blast through my lower back, driving me to my knees.
“I strongly advise you to be cooperative in the future, Miss Hubble, or I will be forced to restrain you. Being able to move freely in this facility is a privilege, not a right.”
“I...I didn't...Ahhh!” I screamed as another electric shock sent me sprawling to the floor.
“Back-talk will also not be tolerated. The examination table...now!” barked the Bright.
She gestured to a round platform on the floor in the center of the lab. How I was expected to guess that this was an examination table I do not know. Still, There were electric stunners and machine guns ready to if I question further, so I decided to just try and get it over with. I stepped onto the platform. The rim of the circle raised slightly from the floor, and began to glow red. Trap doors began opening around my feet. Robotic arms shot up and restrained my wrists and ankles...painfully. I was forced to stand in a spread-eagle position as still more devices emerged from the floor. I winced as the scanners and probes did their mysterious work. The guards left, save for one one rotund woman with an especially suspicious glare. The Bright stood at a monitor nearby, presumably directing the scanners and examining the results. After about twenty minutes of being held in this undignified position, my fear began to subside, replaced by annoyance. Also...
“Uh, ma'am?” I tried to get the researcher's attention. Despite being here to examine me, she had hardly glanced up from her monitor.
She did not glance up. “It is Dr. Yamamoto, and you do not have permission to speak right now.”
“But I need to use the bathroom...aaahhh!” I said, receiving another painful electric shock for my troubles.
“Not my problem.” Announced Dr. Yamamoto. In reality, my bladder had released when I had been shocked. Now I was being minutely scanned while wearing a massive, soggy diaper. I couldn't imagine anything more embarrassing.
“See? Problem solved.” announced the doctor coldly. I sniffed and started tearing up again. I couldn't understand it. This facility, for all the wild stories around it, was a Utopian facility. All these guards and researchers had been raised in the same system I had. They had been taught to uphold the Utopian ideals of Altruism, Unity, and Universal Compassion. Why were they being so pointlessly cruel to me? They knew that I had done nothing even slightly wrong.
The examination continued. Doctor Yamamoto began barking increasingly odd orders at me as still more weird instruments emerged from the floor.
“Miss Hubble, please make a fist.”
“Miss Hubble, please touch your front teeth with your tongue.”
“Miss Hubble, please think about the color green.”
“Miss Hubble, please imagine a rhino eating a banana.”
“Miss Hubble, try to remember your nineteenth birthday party.”
The inane demands kept coming, and I began to feel like I was being played for a fool. After hours of tedious questions, the examination table withdrew its collection of frightening toys and Dr. Yamamoto announced that her examination was complete.
“No telepathic potential, physical abnormalities, or other anomalies. Quantum fluctuations are concerning, but appear to be stable. Move to Level 2 for solitary observation.”
The guard approached me. “This way Miss Hubble.” she said without emotion. Rubbing my wrists to try to get blood back into them, I followed.
We took the elevator again. On the way down, the guard explained the rules to me.
“My name is Sonia. I am a Knight, and I will be your observer during your stay here. If nothing happens over the next two weeks, you'll be transferred to Level One with all the other Duds.”
“Duds?” the question slipped before I could stop it. Sonia groaned.
“It's what we call Oddballs whose abnormalities don't represent a threat. Level One is the minimum security section. Duds are kept here for research purposes. Jokers go up on Level 4, Heavy Containment. Jokers are the more dangerous kind of Oddball. If your hands turn into rocket launchers in the next two weeks, you go to Level 4. Otherwise, Level One. Either way, we'll be seeing a lot of each other.”
She led more down several more corridors. The cells here were protected with heavy steel covers, with only a small window showing the interior. Sonia touched her key to a sensor on one of the doors, and the steel shutters automatically slid upward.
“Welcome home.” said Sonia.
The inside of the cell was sparse. A small bed only a couple yards from a toilet. There was no window, just an electric light recessed in the ceiling above. This was a jail cell.
Not wanting another shock, I went in. The steel cover came down behind me. Sonia was looking at me through the window.
“Can I at least have a change of clothes?” I called through the thick glass. Sonia nodded.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Sonia passed me an orange prison uniform in a plastic bag.
“Is there somewhere I can change?”
“Yeh, right here. You have to be observable at all times in this ward. Those are the rules.
I hated this. Everything about it was so deeply wrong. I had believed that I lived in an enlightened, compassionate society. These people knew I was innocent, and that I posed no threat to anyone, yet I was still being treated like a specimen in a jar. I felt like everything I had been told since childhood was a lie. Sighing deeply, I started pulling off my ridiculous outfit.
Or rather I tried to. I tried to undo the string that secured my bonnet to my head, but I couldn't get any purchase on the knot. Frustrated, I tried pulling the entire thing off, but it held as though it was glued on. I tugged with all my strength, but no part of the costume would yield at all. The tee shirt refused to be pulled off, despite not being terribly tight. The diaper sat comfortably around my hips, and yet I couldn't move it more than inch in any direction. It would simply flex and then snap back into place like elastic. After struggling in vein until I was sweating from the effort, I finally came to grips with reality. I was absolutely helpless to remove these clothes.
The shutters slid upward again. “What is the holdup?” demanded Sonia.
“They...they won't come off! None of this shit is coming off!” I whined. I couldn't help it. This just wasn't my day.
Sonia eyed me. “Are you serious?”
“Yes!” I shouted. What, did she think I was pretending? Why the hell would anyone do that?
“If you're lying to me, it will not go well for you.” she warned.
“You think I want to wear this bullshit!” I yelled.
“Ma'am, I will not tolerate shouting or profanity in my ward. You want help? You can ask for it politely.”
I bared my teeth. The condescending tone was what broke me. I was in the middle of the worst day of my entire life, and tomorrow was looking to be even worse. A little compassion wouldn't have killed her, considering it's one of our society's founding principles. But no, now I would be forced to endure still further humiliation.
I swallowed, took a deep breath, and tried to accept what I could not change. I spoke to Sonia as calmly and clearly as I could manage.
“I cannot remove this outfit. I do not know why, it must be something to do with The Archway's effect on me. I need help. Please.”
Sonia rolled her eyes.
“If you're lying to me...” she muttered.
“I am not. I swear.”
She approached me reluctantly. She reached out to undo the bonnet. It slipped off easily in her hands. It wasn't even necessary to untie the string.
“There! I knew you were lying.” she snapped, holding the bonnet up to me as proof.
“It didn't work when I tried it.” I repeated, trying to keep my voice level in spite of my mounting anger. How dense can a person be?
She glared at me, like she still wasn't convinced. “Is this what you're into or something? You get off on having someone else undress you?”
“No. This is absolutely not what I prefer. I did not ask for this, and I do not want it. Please, just get me out of this outfit so I can get dressed? Please?”
She looked at me. She seemed to be considering it. “No, this is bullshit. I'm not doing this”
“Look, this situation is really fu...I mean, really weird and unpleasant. I have to get out of this thing.” I gestured to the ridiculous diaper. “I don't know why I can't do it myself, its like some random magic thing. We're both Utopians here. You can't just turn your back on someone who's in trouble.”
There were tears in my eyes now. I didn't want to cry in front of this woman, but I was just overwhelmed. I felt like the victim of some cruel joke.
“Screw you.” she spat at me bitterly. I was dumbfounded.
“Wha...”
“You heard me. I don't have to swoop down and make all your problems go away. You got into this without my help, you deal with it. That what being an adult means, as opposed to a “Big Baby”. A Big Baby who has to beg a grown-up for a dipey change!”
I was silent for a second.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!!” I shouted.
“I warned you...” she said, but I cut her off.
“No, you shut up and listen to me! I passed under the same Archway as everyone else. As every adult who payed attention is Social Studies knows, there is no correlation whatsoever between a person's desires or abilities and the ability the Archway grants. Sometimes it gives useful powers, and sometimes it does bullshit like this (I gestured to the diaper). Being an adult means dealing with the situation as it exists, not the situation that we would like. Sometimes, people need help from others, and all adults recognize and deal with that fact in a mature and responsible manner. This situation I am in is terrible, but its just a misfortune. Instead of helping me in this difficult time, you're giving me bullshit lectures and schoolyard taunts!”
“I you don't stop, I will be forced to restrain you.” said Sonia.
“Shut up when I'm talking! You are unqualified for the position you are in. You're a useless, juvenile idiot! You should be wearing this ridiculous outfit, not me!”
When I finally ran out of breath, I knew I had made a big mistake. This woman could and would make my life a living hell. Her good graces, such as they were, were my only defense here. She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing speech of her own.
“I...ohhh!” she suddenly seemed to be in some discomfort. She clutched her stomach.
“I...I...ooooohhhh!” an audible gurgling noise errupted from her stomach.
“Uhhh, are you okay?” I asked, my own anger suddenly replaced with concern.
“I...am a...uhhhgggrrr...” she seemed to be struggling with herself. Her eyes were full of fear and confusion.
“Do you need me to call someone?” I asked.
“I...am...unqualified for the position I'm in.” she finally said. Her eyes widened in horror as the words left her.
I stared at her as her uniform altered itself. Her I.D. Badge vanished from her breast. The insignias on her shoulders simply fell off and landed on the floor, as though they hadn't been sewn on. She stared down at herself, not knowing what to do. I did the same. I had no idea what make of this.
“I am a useless, juvenile idiot.” she said. The words came out easily, and she smiled when she had finished saying them, as though she had just come to some wonderful realization.
“Um, ma'am?” I asked, but she just stood there with a big grin on her face.
Her gray uniform began to shift. The material faded, stretched, and compressed before my eyes.
“I should be wearing this ridiculous outfit!” she announced happily as her clothes crawled across her body.
Within seconds, Sonia was standing in front of me in an outfit similar to my own. Her shirt was bright pink and had the words “Useless Idiot” emblazoned across it. Her diapers had the same infantile decorations as mine, only because her figure was so much bigger than mine, her diaper was correspondingly larger, thicker, and more ridiculous. The bonnet she had taken off me flew up of its own accord and secured itself to her head. She looked down at herself and giggled. She seemed delighted by the transformation.
She stood in front of me grinning. I wasn't sure what to say now.
“Hello?” I asked.
She waved at me. “Hiiii!” she said excitedly.
“uh...what just happened?” I asked.
“I dunno!” she announced happily. “You talked to me, and...I got mad I think, and then my clothes changed, and now I'm really happy!”
“...you do realize your shirt says “Useless Idiot”, right?” I asked.
“It does?” she looked down at her shirt and wrinkled her brow. “I can't read!” she said, as though this was wonderful news. “I guess that's cuz I'm a Useless Idiot!”
“Doesn't that bother you? I mean, you're not useless, or an idiot.”
Her smile suddenly disappeared. She looked at me like she had just been slapped.
“I'm...I'm not?” Her lower lip trembled and she started to cry. No, she started to bawl, like a three-year old who just dropped her icecream.
“Waaaaaaaaahhhh!” she wailed. I was filled with compassion. As much as she had angered me, this woman didn't deserve whatever my Special attribute had done to her. I pulled into my embrace and patted her soothingly on the back.
“Shhh...there, there. You're okay. Everything's gonna be okay.” I whispered to her.
“Am I...am I a useless idiot?” she sniffled as she calmed down.
I could see that logic wasn't going to be my friend today. “Shhh...yes, sweetie. So dumb, so useless.”
With that, she enthusiastically returned the hug. “Yay! I love you so much! You're so nice!”
Even if she was essentially brainwashed, I found her joy and energy infectious. And she actually was pretty cute in her thick diaper.
“So...do you know who you are?” I asked, now that she seemed more at ease.
She put a finger to her chin and squinted, as though trying to solve a difficult math problem.
“No, I don't think I do.” she finally said.
Inspiration struck. “Do you know who you used to be?” I asked.
She brightened. “Yah! I was a security guard. I was supposed to make sure nobody got out or made any trouble here. My name was Sonia Hernandez!”
“But that isn't your name now?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, everything is different now. I can't be a security guard, I'm way too dumb and useless! Sonia was really smart and had a really important job with lotsa sponsibilities! That's not me anymore!”
To punctuate this, the newly transformed woman gave herself a hard slap on her diapered butt.
“And, how do you feel about...the diapers?” I asked.
Her eyes lit up. “Oh my gawd, they're the best! I can't believe I usta be potty trained. Diapers are so much better than those boring panties I usta have.”
She waved her huge diapered rear at me. “I mean, look at this! Don't they make me look so, sooo stupid?”
I smirked. I knew that this wasn't really funny. Sonia didn't deserve to be transformed into this ludicrous mockery of herself. But when I was looking at her, it was impossible not be enchanted by how adorable and ridiculous she was.
A loud klaxon started blasting from the speakers mounted in the ceiling. The steel shutter dropped once again, sealing both of us in the cramped cell.
“What is that?” I shouted, covering my ears. Sonia covered her ears too, but continued joyfully wagging her rear.
“Don't ask me!” she announced over the sound. “I'm way too dumb now to recognize a memetic hazard alarm!”
Looking at the speaker in the ceiling, I noticed an embedded camera was up there as well. Someone was watching our exchange down here. Which meant that they knew what had happened to Sonia.
I sat on the bed and waited as the klaxon continued to assault my ears. I wasn't convinced that deafening everyone is a smart move in an emergency situation.
Finally, the noise abruptly stopped. A chime sounded, and then a gruff female voice played over the intercom.
“Miranda Hubble, your attention please.”
I looked up at the camera. Whoever was speaking had seen me turn a guard into giant baby, who was now playing with her toes on the floor. I was definitely in trouble.
“This is Duchess Sylvia Cross. I am the chief administrator of Special Containment.”
“Duchess” or “Duke” was the term for a Noble who possessed both the physical attributes of a Knight and the genius of a Bright. I had never even seen a Noble except on television. I was a bit star-struck.
“This...this wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to! It just happened!”
“I am aware of that. The footage indicates that your ability is a form of memetic contagion. Officer Hernandez's current condition is unfortunate, but I am confident it can be reversed. Dr. Yamamoto assures me that once her analysis is complete, she will be able to effectively neutralize your ability. Then we will restore Miss Hernandez and transfer you to Level 4. In the meantime, both you and Sonia will have to stay where you are to avoid spreading this effect any further.”
“Yay! Sleepover!” cheered Sonia.
I buried my face in my hands. The administrator had already decided to send me to Heavy Containment. That meant I was now officially classified as a Joker. Not evil and insane like a Knave, but otherwise just as bad. I remembered the despairing faces I had passed on the way from the helipad. That was going to be my fate now. Decades of loneliness in a tiny cell. This was a nightmare.
“Ahhh, you look so bummed!” said Sonia, settling down beside me. “Don't ya wanna have fun together?”
I sighed. “I don't feel like having fun. You don't even really feel like it. This is awful.”
Sonia pulled me into a hug. In spite of everything, it really did make me feel better. “don't be sad! You've made me so happy, and I'll always be here for you! You're awesome, and you should never feel bad.”
Reluctantly, I returned the hug. “Thanks.”
Sonia's eyes suddenly widened, as though she had just remembered something important. “Hey! I know what'll cheer you up!”
Sonia jumped up stuck out her butt. Before I could react, she strained and I heard as wet squish as she began filling her diaper, loudly and plentifully. I didn't know how to react. Part of me was disgusted and embarrassed on her behalf. Another part however, found the idea of this grown woman deliberately pooping her pants in order to make me feel better, well, funny and cute. I found myself smiling, in spite of myself.
“Wow, you really are a great big baby, aren't you?”
She sat down in my lap, her mushy butt squishing against me. “Yep! I'm a stinky-pants girl. Thank you so much for putting me back in diapers!”
The smell of Sonia's messy pampers filled the cell, but to my surprise, the smell didn't bother me all that much. Sonia' joy at her full diaper radiated from her every pore, and it was impossible not to be swept along. I found myself bouncing the infantile woman on my knee and cooing at her affectionately. I was amazed at how light she was. Experimentally, I tried picking her up in my arms and carrying her. I was able to walk her around the room with no difficulty. An idea occurred to me.
“Hey Sonia, you're a Knight, right?” I asked.
Sonia blew a disdainful raspberry. “I usta be, but not anymore! Now I'm all useless and stupid. I feel so happy and so weak! It's the best!”
Either Sonia had lost her powers and become super light at the same time, or...
I sat Sophia down on the bed. She immediately began rubbing her diaper and spreading her mess even more. I walked up the steel shutter and gave it a light punch. Instead of merely hurting my knuckles, the entire cell vibrated from the impact. The steel was lightly dented where I had struck it. I hadn't destroyed Sonia's Knightly abilities. I had stolen them.
I wondered how long this would last. The Duchess had said that whatever I had done was reversible, but at least for now I had strength twenty or thirty times greater than normal. And who knew what else I might be capable of? If I got control of my powers, I might be able to serve some useful function within Utopian society. I might be able to escape a life spent in a holding cell. I was starting to feel excited. The idea of having actual power was thrilling. I needed to experiment.
I went over in my mind the things I had been doing before Sonia transformed. The things I had said to her seemed to affect her self-image in her transformed state. Still, I hadn't specifically said that her powers should transfer to me, so that aspect was something inherent to the power. Maybe I just needed to express my desires clearly and aloud.
“I want to leave this cell, right now!” I stated aloud.
Sonia stared at me in surprise. Nothing seemed to happen. Maybe I needed a different sentence structure. When I had spoken to Sonia, I hadn't wanted her to be a useless idiot, I just stated that she was.
“That door will open now!” I declared forcefully. The door remained resolutely closed.
I sighed.
“Ummm, Miss?” said Sonia. She didn't seem as chipper as she had a moment ago.
“You can just call me Miranda.” I said.
“Miranda, my diaper is getting uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, mine isn't great either.” I answered.
“Could I get a change?” she pleaded.
I knew this would come eventually. “I'm sorry, but there's nothing here to change you into. I would need diapers and supplies.” I gestured to the empty cell around us.
There was a burst of sparkling light and a musical chime. The bare wall next to the toilet swelled and changed shape. The shapes swirled and resolved into an adult-sized changing table, with shelves full of diapers, powder, and wipes.
“Okay, forget I said anything.” I announced as I took in what I had just done. No Esper in the world had power like this. To conjure matter from basically nothing, in such a coherent form, was truly a unique and frightening ability. Why it seemed to only work on baby-themed things was another mystery, but there might be ways to work around that. In the meantime, I had my work cut out for me.
“Yayyy!” cheered Sonia as I carried her over and plopped her chubby backside onto the table. I had been a little worried that I would be unable to take her diaper off, as I couldn't take my own off, but I discovered that the tapes popped open with ease. Sonia's butt was in a horrible state by now, but somehow I found that it didn't bother me. There was something cathartic about carefully wiping every last bit of her bottom, powdering her thoroughly, and sealing her into a fresh, clean diaper.
“One tape on, and there's the other! Good girl!” I praised as I finished up.
“You're awesome!” said Sonia. “I can't wait to make this diaper nice and poopy too!”
“I don't suppose you'd be willing to return the favor?” I asked, gesturing to my own diaper.
Sonia snorted derisively. “Yeah, like I'm gonna go around changing diapees like some smart, useful person! Get real!”
Fair enough. I would just have to make do for now. There was still the question of what to do with the wadded-up diaper I had just removed.
I pointed at the toilet. “Diaper pail.” Sure enough, the toilet reshaped itself into a white container with a pressure pedal. Oh, well. It's not as though anyone here could use a toilet. I tossed the smelly mass into it.
After trying one last time to undo my own diaper, I gave up and decided to get some sleep. With a word and a gesture, the meager cell bed transformed into a crib large enough to accommodate both of us. Now there was barely room to stand between the crib and the changing table. Sonia and I snuggled together in our crib. She kissed me softly on the forehead. “Night night.” she whispered. I have to admit, there are worse ways to go to sleep.
