The Instrument

THE INSTRUMENT

By Pete Brown petebrownuk @ yahoo.com

Read all of Pete's stories at groups.yahoo.com/group/petebrownseroticstories

Part Sixteen

"Hey, Steve!", Jason called out, his voice telling me how pleased he was to see me. "You're just in time, man! Another minute and I'd have shot, and I know how you like to bring me off....."

He stopped abruptly as he saw Jamie standing just behind me. "Hey.... And you've brought a present! A good three-way will make a nice change! Perhaps I'll get to do a bit of fucking, for once. Who's going first, me or you?"

"Shut the fuck up, Jason! And Stop jerking yourself off. Come and meet Jamie.... My son."

With that incredible smoothness that Jason seems to manage to get out of his bit strong body, he slid almost cat-like off the bed, and came over to us. His dick was jutting out, thick and proud, and he stuck out his hand - the hand he'd just a few seconds before been jerking off with - in Jamie's direction. "Hi....", he said. "The name's Jason, but I answer to 'Jase', or 'slave', of course..."

Jamie seemed to be almost in shock, the three of us all standing there all naked, but he got himself together enough to stick out his hand and shake Jason's. "I'm James, but everyone calls me Jamie...."

Jason looked at me and gave a low whistle. "Fuck me, Steve.... The kid's just like you.", then, almost without stopping, he asked "How old are you, Jamie?"

"Sixteen. A month ago."

A huge grin broke out on Jason's face. "You sly dog, Steve! Bringing him here just as soon as he was ready for sex! So I guess we'll all be having fun tonight...."

"Shut the fuck up, Jason! I did not bring him here - the Sheikh had him captured and brought here. And he's not ready for sex."

Jason grinned again. "Hey, Jamie, you're sixteen... You're ready for sex... I bet you've already fucked your way around school! I did before I was your age, and your dad told me he did.... A guy like you, well set up...."

Jamie kind of nodded, but I cut in "Listen, Jason, Jamie's been brought here as a slave, against his will..."

"....like me!", Jason added.

"Yes, like you. But not like you - he' only sixteen, and he's my son...."

"And your point is, Steve?"

"...that there's to be no fucking with him."

"You aren't going to be able to stop that, are you? If the Sheikh had him brought here, that means only one thing. And he's a slave...."

"But only because he's my son, Jason! The Sheikh has this stupid idea that he can capture Jamie and have him as a slave, as he's my kid."

"Well, all the pups from when I've been studded will grow up to be slaves. I thought it was the law here that the kids of slaves are slaves...."

"Well, Jamie's different!"

"How so, Steve? How is he different? He's sixteen, he's a slave, he's got a great body.... "

I knew Jason was right, of course. But I could see Jamie looking so lost and bewildered. I didn't know what to say, so I just snapped "Just shut it, will you, Jase. There's not going to be any sex in here. And if you don't like it, you can go back to the stables."

"You know I can't do that, Steve. It's after curfew. Anyway, you invited me over for the night.... So you and me... I suppose you're going to fuck me as usual...."

Jamie looked thunderstruck, then burst out "Dad, are you a fag? Are you and Jason fucking?"

"No, Jamie, I'm not a fag! Don't be so stupid."

"But Jason said you fucked him..."

Jason grinned. "You bet your dad does, kid! And I can tell you, that dick of his, he knows how to use it. I'm not a fag, I fuck women... Well, I stud the slave bitches when they make me. And just occasionally I get to fuck Steve. But Steve.... Well, he likes to use his dick, and around here, that's mostly me.... Although sometimes he has some of the young serving slaves in here as well."

"Dad....", Jamie began.

"Look, shut the fuck up, both of you!", I snapped. Then looking at Jamie I said as calmly as I could "You have to know that it's all different here. Guys do things.... Well, things they wouldn't normally do. It's like.... Well, like when guys are in prison.... Straight guys, married men, locked away without women...."

"But, dad....." Jamie started.

And I snapped at him "Look, I told you to shut the fuck up. And you too, Jason. Now I know you can't go back to the stables tonight, so let's get some sleep. Move over, Jason - we need some of that bed too."

It shouldn't have taken long for us to get to bed - after all, Jamie was naked and I only had a pair of shorts on. But he just stood there, hovering uncertainly. Finally I went and lay next to Jason, leaving a nice clear space on my other side, and I lifted up the sheet and said gently "Come on, Jamie, come and lie here by me."

"No, dad, it's OK - I reckon I'll just sleep on the floor or something..."

"You will not! You've got a long, hard day tomorrow, and you need to sleep. You can't get that on the floor. So come and get to bed...."

"But, dad...."

"But what? "

"Well, are there some shorts or something?"

"Even if there were, you don't need them. Jason and I always sleep in the nude - it's something that all guys like us do around here. So you may as get used to it. Come on, there's nothing to be worried about - you're my son, you know...."

Slowly, and very reluctantly, Jamie crawled into the bed, but he tried to lie right on the edge, well away from me so that our bodies did no touch. Not so Jason, though! The moment I was lying there he scrunched up right behind me, and I could feel his hard cock pressing into my butt. His arm reached over my body, and he began to stroke my cock.

"Leave it out, Jase!", I hissed at him. "Jamie's here, and he wants to get to sleep."

"I want to get to sleep too, Steve! I've been wanting to get to sleep all evening - you were supposed to be back earlier.... And when I gave up waiting and was jerking off, I was just on the edge when you came in.... Come on, Steve - let's have a bit of fun so we can both get to sleep..."

His hand playing with my dick had caused the effect you'd expect by now and he went on "I can feel you're ready for it...."

"Jase - cut it out!, I said! And get to sleep."

Jason's only response was to reach down and prise my butt cheeks apart a bit, so his cock could slide between them even more. Then he began to rub his body up and down against mine slightly, so that his cock slid backwards and forwards. It's very sensual to have a big guy like Jason doing stuff like that to you - especially as he normally didn't take any sort of initiative like that usually (he was too intent on saying he didn't really like man-on-man sex and he really only did it because there were no women available). So when he did make a move like this, I actually did want to encourage him - but now wasn't the right time. And then it occurred to me that he was only doing it because he knew I wasn't going to respond with Jamie lying next to me. - he was just playing games!

"Jase, cut it out! I won't tell you again: it's not appropriate to do this stuff now."

Jason simply increased the speed of his movements against me and the power with which he was forcing our bodies together in response to this. I have to say I lost it a bit then. If we'd been alone I'd probably have cuffed Jason to the bed and then really fucked him unmercilessly hard to teach him a bit of a lesson for disobeying me. But as this option wasn't open to me I said calmly to him, but with that tone in my voice that said I meant business "Listen, Jase - cut it out! You're pulling me in the trap tomorrow, and I reckon a guy like you who doesn't know how to obey a simple order will probably perform pretty badly at his normal work, too - so badly that he'd deserve to feel the whip almost constantly, even if he thought he was working hard. In fact, even if he thought he was working as hard as he possibly could. The sting of the whip, particularly on his shoulders, could probably make him realise that hard work alone isn't enough - he needs to be obedient too! Do I make myself clear?"

Jason's sharp teeth bit into my shoulder, just where it joins my neck. That's such a sensual thing to do that I felt my cock stiffen, even though I hadn't wanted it to in order to discourage Jason. I could feel his hot breath on my skin we were so intimately close, then he moved a bit, nibbled my ear, and whispered in it "Listen up, Steve - I need to fuck, and I need to fuck now. So whether your boy's here or not, that's what's going to happen tonight. You haven't had me cuffed , so you know that if it comes to it, I can overpower you anyway. So what's it going to be? A nice, slow, satisfying fuck whilst your kid sleeps? Or are you and I going to fight, wake up your kid, and then have him watch as I fuck you anyway?"

As he said this Jason's grip on my body tightened even more, and I was very, very conscious that his cock - or, more particularly the hot, moist end of his cock, was pushing at my pucker. I lay still for a moment, and then, almost against my will, relaxed a bit. As his cock slipped into me Jason gave a deep, deep sight of contentment - although I had to screw my mouth tightly closed so that I didn't cry out with that sharp pain you always get when a cock goes into you at first.

Actually it wasn't bad - no, it was pretty good, actually. As you know I don't particularly like taking cock, but somehow Jason was being very close, very loving, even, that night - which was very unusual, as when he did fuck it was normally rather hard and brutal. But after his initial penetration his fucking was slow, subtle, gentle.... Utterly erotic. Especially as we were both so sweaty that our bodies slid over each other, and because Jason kept stopping to nibble and bite at my shoulder and ear as he proceeded. Or, of course, it may be because I relaxed - after it was clear that Jamie was so exhausted that he wasn't going to wake up and find us at it, I managed to calm my panicky thoughts and actually began to really enjoy Jason in this new mode.

I think we both shot at about the same time - Jason has been holding himself back for so long that he was ready for it, and I was so totally aroused by Jason's whole attitude, by his hand which continued to incessantly tease my cock, and by the feel of his cock inside me, especially as it nudged y prostate. "Oh shit!", I thought to myself as my cum spurted out. "Jesus fucking Christ!" - I realised that Jamie's body was lying so close next to mine that he was covered in my cum as I'd exploded with such force. Still, Jamie carried on sleeping (or, I thought with horror, carried on pretending to sleep) so I just left it - it was pretty hot in my room, and the boy was covered in sweat anyway, just as Jason and I were, so if he did wake he'd probably think his body was wet because of that.

Funnily enough we did sleep - I guess Jamie was simply exhausted by his journey after being captured, and by the shock of seeing and hearing all he had. Jason slept as he'd just had great sex. And I suppose I slept as there was nothing else to do - I lay awake for a bit, my brain churning with thoughts and worries about what the future would hold, but so much of it was totally out of my control that I couldn't make any plans (is this an advantage or a disadvantage of being a slave, I found myself wondering. On the one hand I couldn't be blamed if things went horribly wrong - I couldn't even blame myself, as it would be my owner the Sheikh whose fault it was; but on the other hand I had absolutely no control - I had no idea what unspeakable things the Sheikh might require us to do). After all these thoughts had chased themselves around for some time, mostly going around and around in circles, as they do, I finally drifted into sleep. And, of course, when you've gone to sleep like that you tend not to wake up - usually I'm always awake early, but this morning it was Jason, slapping my bare ass, that caused me to come out if it very quickly indeed.

"Come on, Steve!", he said laughingly. "Move your ass! The day's begun....."

Jason was sanding by the side of the bed and I slid out to join him. This noise and movement woke up Jamie, who evidently at first thought all the things the previous day had been some sort of nightmare, as he woke up looking very relaxed - until he saw Jason and me, both totally naked, both sporting our morning hard-ons as we stood there together. Jamie flushed and muttered something, and it was Jason who tried to make it better "Hey, kid - don't worry about it! All guys get hard in the morning, so stop staring at your dad and me like that! It's the same for you, I see....."

It didn't help, of course - Jamie looked down at his own body as he lay there and saw that he too was erect. He scrabbled around, trying to get his hands in place to shield the sight of it from us.

"Hey, kid, stop pissing around! We're all men together, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. You especially: I can see you take after your dad in the dick department! Come on - we're lucky, as your dad has a shower of his own and we don't need to join all the other guys: it gets very crowded in there in the morning usually, and most of the other guys are niggas.... And you know what they're like...."

"No I don't....", Jamie muttered, as much as to try to say something to stave off his embarrassment, as to really want to engage Jason in conversation.

"Well, kid, it's well known: a big buck nigga - and we have a lot of them here, and most of them are VERY big - a big buck nigga likes nothing better than to have a nice white ass, or nice white lips, gripping his dick! You'd better be very careful in the showers until you've learned to take a dick properly - some of those bucks can be pretty forceful, I can tell you - and I mean I can tell you from experience! Even a big guy like me has to watch his back in case they gang up on me - as they have done before, and made....."

I saw Jamie looking really worried, so I snapped "Jason! Quit all this nonsense, and get showered! I've got a really busy day ahead of me, and you know what that means.... And you may remember what I said last night about the carriage whip.... You're not making it any better for yourself, you know....."

"Yes, SIR!". Jason's use of the "sir" was aimed at aggravating me, I knew, and I thought to myself how much I was going to enjoy repaying his insolent attitude with a few more touches of the whip later that day. But I didn't want to show any anger, do anything to make Jamie any more worried, so I said softly "Actually, Jamie, we are lucky - it's good to have the shower in here. So come on, let's get cleaned up as the day's about to start....."

Jamie went first, but as soon as he was in the shower Jason went in to join him. I wondered what to do as Jason began to soap Jamie, sliding his hands all over the boy's body and pushing Jamie's hands away as he tried to protest - and then decided to do nothing. The harsh reality of life here was that Jamie was going to have to get used to the hands of other men on his body, and so he might as well start now with someone relatively friendly, like Jason.

I called one of the slaves going past my room and commanded him to fetch one of the house slave tunics for Jamie, then told Jason to go over to the stables, get fed, and get into harness.

Jamie really didn't like the slave tunic when it arrived - he slipped it over his head, but then stood there tugging almost nervously at the hem as if to try

to make it longer. Well, I suppose I could understand his concern - most men are not used to walking around with their tackle wringing free, are they? And the thought that the loose tunic was all that stood between himself and total exposure was probably worrying. There again, like me he was tall, and had a long dick - so the bottom hem of the tunic, being designed for a "regular" slave, did come exceedingly high up his thigh - and there was a distinct danger that were he to walk too vigorously, or perhaps sit down, the end of his cock would be exposed. But I was really tough with him - it was best that he began to understand all the things in his new life as soon as possible.

"Look, Jamie, it's quite simple. Either wear the tunic, or go naked. It's no big deal, one way or the other. Everyone around here is really easy with young guys showing their bodies. And you saw how easy Jason is with being naked - he never wears a stitch of clothing, ever."

"Well I'm not easy with it, dad! It's not right, having to go around like this..... Look, if I'm not careful, my dick head is going to poke out.... Let me have a pair of your shorts, dad - I can cinch the waist tight to make them fit."

"Can't do, son. The Sheikh - and I guess you'd better get used to thinking of him as 'our owner' - thinks that shorts are only for free men. "

"But you wear them, dad, and you said you were a slave, too."

"Yes, but I'm different. I'm the chief slave - I run this place. I'm called his Instrument, as I play whatever part he wants...."

"Dad, you sound as if you agree with it....." Jamie's tone was one of exasperation, or was it despair?

"Look, Jamie, I reckon you and I need a man to man talk..."

"We did all that stuff when I was twelve!"

"No! not about sex. This is more important. It's about how to survive here. You may not agree with it, you may not like it - actually I'm sure you won't like it, especially at first - but the fact of the matter is that slavery exists here. And the Sheikh, who is a complete and absolute ruler, owns us.... you, me, Jason. There's no laws, no police you can complain to, no Bill Of Rights, nowhere you can plead that you were held against your will, or whipped, or.... " I was going to go and add "raped", but thought better of it. "The Sheikh is an absolute ruler. What he says goes. And that's that. And if you fail to obey him, fail in any way whatsoever, then you get punished. And the punishments can be harsh and inhumane - locked up without food, caned, whipped.... And in very serious cases, death..... In a very unpleasant way."

"So let's escape....."

"Jamie, oh, Jamie..... Wise up! Don't you think that if escape were possible we'd have done it by now? Look, we're stuck here in the middle of a desert. There's no way of crossing it without transport, and all that is very tightly controlled. All the slaves know that they'd be tracked down before they could reach 'civilisation', if you could call the rat holes that surround the Sheikhdom 'civilised' - they're mostly like this. And even if you did succeed in getting there, they'd send you back, just as we'd send back any escaping slaves from them! And you don't want to know what the punishment is for an escapee."

"Yes I do!"

"Well it's automatic - no appeal, nothing. You escape, you get caught, you get crucified. It takes a day or so for you to die, nailed on the cross."

"You can't be serious...."

"Jamie, listen to me! And believe! We had one only last week - fortunately, they're not all that common. It almost made me throw up as they held the poor guys hands down onto the wooden bean and hammered the spikes home....

"You were there? And you didn't try to stop it?" Jamie sounded incredulous, even angry.

I grabbed his arm, and pulled him to shake him a bit. "Listen, Jamie, this isn't a game. This is for real. Yes, I was there. I'm the Instrument, remember? So I was in charge. I was giving the orders to the slaves who were holding the poor guy down, and I ordered the spikes to be driven home, and then for the cross to be raised. "

"How could you...."

"Because it's my job, Jamie! I was obeying the Sheikh!"

"You're like those fucking soldiers who say 'I was only obeying orders....', dad."

"Yes, I am. And suppose I didn't? It would be me on the cross next, and what good would that do? If I didn't do it, someone else would. So, as I said, get real! This is where you live now, there are new rules, rules which you'd better learn pretty damned quick if you don't want to feel the cane or the whip."

"Dad, this is fucking stupid, this...."

I snapped. I lost it. I'd tried to explain to Jamie, and he just wasn't listening. And I was worried - if he didn't start believing, and behaving as a slave, he'd be hurt. Possibly hurt brutally. I had to make him understand. I was so angry, angry and scared - angry AT Jamie, but scared FOR him.

My hand was already gripping his arm, and I dragged him back, thumped my butt down on the edge of the bed, threw Jamie across my knees and gripped his neck, digging my thumb and fingers in so he began to squeal - although his struggles couldn't break my hold on him.

The short tunic had ridden up so his naked butt was exposed to me, and with my free hand I started to slap at it - no, slap's the wrong word - it sounds gentle, almost friendly, something guys do when they leave each other, like a team gesture on the football field, even. No, when a strong guy like me starts to slap your butt, you know it! Jamie's cries of outrage and protest turned to ones of pain, as the creamy white skin of his butt turned first pink, then a deep rose, and an angry red as my blows rained down on him.

When I was exhausted, my anger all played out, I stopped. My palm was tingling and hurting, so I could only imagine how Jamie's butt was feeling. I helped him to his feet, and we stood there facing each other.

He looked angry, defiant.... But his lower lip was trembling, as if he was about to burst into tears.

"Look, Jamie, I'm sorry... Sorry if it hurts. But you've got to learn, son - you weren't listening to me when I said the rules are all different here. I haven't had to spank you since you were a tiny kid, and then I didn't do it hard, as a grown man shouldn't hurt a kid. But you need to learn, and learn soon, Jamie! In this place men, grown men, men like you, can be physically punished if they don't obey the rules. I guess your butt's really hurting now, as I didn't have to hold back - a man can use whatever force he likes to a slave. I need to bring home to you that you're no longer free, your life is under the total control of our owner, and any failure results in harsh physical punishment. Next time it will be the punishment cane, Jamie, and if our butt is hurting now, you can't even conceive how much it would be hurting with the red stripes of the cane criss-crossing your butt and thighs! And I don't even want to think about you, my son, experiencing the agony of the whip!"

Jamie stood there silent as I said this, and I really didn't want to give him an opportunity to say something stupid. So I put my arm around his shoulder and pulled him to me, and went on in a quieter, calmer tone "Look, son, I'm your dad, right? And I want to do the best I can for you. But you've got to learn that there's only so much I can do to protect you from the world here.... So watch what you do, what you say.... And, above all, obey! Obey instantly, totally, completely, even if what you're being told to do is embarrassing to you, or makes you feel ashamed."

I paused for a moment, then went on "Now, come on, let's get some breakfast! And don't worry - when we go into the canteen, all the noise will stop and everyone will look at you." I smiled slightly and continued "Well, who wouldn't look - a handsome guy like me with his son who's almost as good looking!"

"Dad, you had no right to spank me! I'm a man, dad, not some kid......"

"Oh shut the fuck up! Don't you listen? I do have a right to spank you - I'm the Instrument, in charge of slaves here. And being a man has nothing to do with it. Older men than you get spanked, caned, whipped.... It's all about punishment and reward here:

punishment if you don't work hard and obey, and the reward for total obedience is the opposite - the absence of punishment. Now, come on - as I said, a couple of handsome guys like us will make quite an entrance..."

Although I tried to sound cheerful, I'm not sure I convinced Jamie. But he followed me to the canteen, where, as expected, we were the object of curious stares from all the other slaves - until I roared at them to get eating, and get out to their work.

The household slaves don't eat badly, actually - for breakfast they were allowed to help themselves to as much fresh fruit and bread as they wanted, so it was pretty healthy. As Jamie and I sat there munching grapes, dates and figs - well, I sat, Jamie stood as I guess his butt was pretty painful - one of the messenger slaves came up, and knelt in front of me so I could retrieve the message from the small pouch attached to his collar. As I read the note, I saw Jamie staring at the slave in astonishment.

The note was very short - the Sheikh's communications (even when dictated to a slave) - are always curt and to the point, and said simply that Jamie was to be handed over to the exercise master every day, "to build and tone him for my greater pleasure".

I dismissed the slave, slipping him a fig as I did so.

The fig disappeared very, very quickly indeed, and he nodded a thanks to me as he loped off. Jamie was still sitting there almost in a state of shock. I leaned across the table to him and said quietly "Look, that's one of the differences here: anywhere else, it would be a phone call or something. But the Sheikh doesn't believe in phones except for long distance calls. And why should he? There's a huge supply of messenger slaves like that to take messages - and it's not as if he needs to talk and discuss things on the phone - he issues orders, and others obey."

"But, dad.... He was so thin!"

"That's because he's a messenger, Jamie. Look, he might have to run a few miles to deliver a message to the other side of the demesne, and the Sheikh's messages are always urgent, right? So he needs to run fast. So we buy slaves specially for this - guys of sixteen, like you, but niggas from a dealer who specialises in taking them from a couple of selected African tribes. They're all very long-legged when they arrive as all the men in those tribes are more than six-six, and they're all good runners. But they're trained to run for a couple of months - we leash them to a four wheel drive truck and drive across the desert: they either keep up, or get dragged along. So they soon get to be very, very good at running. And of course the thing that makes for a good runner is a light body - take me, for example: even though I'm very fit, I can't run very long distances very fast as I'm just too heavy. So all these guys are kept on very, very reduced rations so they get to be really, really thin - I expect you were looking at the way his ribs all stuck out, and those bones in this butt...."

Jamie nodded, but said "So why was he so smooth... Kind of all over.....?"

"Oh, that - it's tradition, really. All his body is shaved totally smooth every day. The idea is that there's no hair to offer any air resistance. Silly really - it wouldn't make that much difference to let the guy have a bit of hair around his pubes, and it wouldn't slow him down at all. But it's traditional - rather like Olympic swimmers shaving their bodies - it really makes not a blind bit of difference, but they all do it as it's sort of a differentiating mark for them now. And, I suppose, being so very, very thin like that it kind of makes them look even more boyish with no hair at all - makes them look as if they're not mature. Some of the Sheikh's relations and senior staff are quite taken with the thought of young boys - not that it does them any good, as the Sheikh is very clear that there can be no sexual activity until a a slave is mature, at sixteen. Still, they can enjoy seeing a sixteen or seventeen year old who looks a lot younger, I suppose."

I could see Jamie looking kind of incredulous, but I continued "Look, it's very skilful, actually: they need to be starved down to a very light body weight, but they need enough energy to be able to get through the day's work... But only just! So they're always hungry, really hungry.... You saw the way he gobbled down that fig?"

Jamie nodded again. "Well, I shouldn't have done that, really, But he often brings me messages, and he's a good guy - and getting near the end of his time. It's not good to keep a man on the edge of starvation for too long, so we buy them at sixteen and then when they get to be about eighteen, they move on to another job."

"What sort of job?"

"Oh, nothing special. In one of the agricultural coffles, probably. Although they can be fed up and put on muscle, they can never really be turned into one of the slaves who have bodies that are really good to look at, so although they're used to running, they don't become ponies or anything like that. It's probably best, actually, to coffle them - as I said, they're bought in from their tribes in Africa, and being coffled with other slaves makes them feel almost at home.... back with their fellow tribesmen."

"Ponies?"

"Yes - like Jason. He's a typical pony: tall, tough, exceptionally well muscled. He has to be, if he's to pull my trap all day. You may think it's easy on the level, with modern carts with bearings in the wheels and things like that; but it's not all flat around here and uphill pulling is really hard work. And sometimes we have to go across the sand - that's amazingly tough! No, a guy who's been starved from sixteen to eighteen can never really muscle up enough to get into that kind of shape."

"Jesus Christ, dad, for fuck's sake... Jason a pony?... Pulling you?.... I thought he was some kind of pervert, going around naked like that...."

"I told you things were different around here! Forget everything you ever knew about the way men behave in the world outside this place. Now, come on..... I've got work to do, and you've got to meet the exercise master."

"Exercise master?"

"Look, Jamie, take care, OK? We have a special facility here for 'improving' slaves - sometimes the slaves we buy are a bit overweight and need the fat exercising into muscle; sometimes we have messengers like those you just saw, who need strengthening and building up so they can move on... Or perhaps they're regular guys like you, who we're going to turn into starved messengers...."

"No, dad...."

"No, that isn't going to happen to you, son. Our owner wants you to build up more muscle, not lose what you already have. Anyway, we have this facility, where we can do all this exercising... And the slave who runs it is called the exercise master. He's a slave, just like you, but he has special powers, just as I do. So be careful, do exactly as you're told, and that way there's a whole lot less risk of you getting hurt. Just do as he says, and you'll be OK."

"What do you mean.... 'risk of getting hurt...'?"

"Well, some of the equipment we have to use can be a bit dangerous - the machines that do the weight training, for example - if you don't go along with it, they can easily break an arm or something. But that's not going to be a problem for you - there's a lot of expertise in exercising young guys like you just turning from 'youths' in to 'real men' to hasten the process and give you a great, real man's body. No, I'm more concerned about your temper - you're not used to being a slave yet, and if the exercise master gives you an order, and you don't obey.... Well, you may get hurt!"

"How?"

"Well, as I said... The cane, the whip.... If you think my muscles are big, take a look at the exercise master and then imagine him caning you! But I'm more worried about the shocks - most of the machines 'encourage' you to keep the pace up by small electric shocks: think of them as typical gym machines but with electronics to ensure you keep up the reps and the pace. So don't go fighting it - the more you fight it, the more they fight back....."

"Dad...."

"No, Jason. No more time... Come on.... Follow me. What's going to happen is going to happen. The Sheikh has commanded it. And we're going to have to obey."

End Of Part Sixteen.