Of Human Design by Christopher Filippone
"One is not born a woman, one becomes one."
-Simone Bertrand de Beauvoir
She awoke lying face up inside a large stark white room. The ceiling hung dizzyingly high above her head. As she reached up to wipe the long strands of black hair away from her eyes, she came to realize she was completely naked.
She quickly sat up, instinctively attempting to cover her intimate areas with her arms and hands. She looked around the big white room for some evidence of where she was. Her mind raced in a panic. Where was she? How'd she get here?
She wanted to call out, but her fear stopped her. She scooted across the floor a few feet and looked around some more. There was nothing anywhere. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. She closed her eyes and began to rock. "Where am I?" she asked herself, sobbing softly.
Then, out of nowhere, several insect-like creatures scurried toward her. She let out a yelp at the site of them. She began to crawl away. She took one more look back. They weren't insects at all, she noticed. They seemed artificial. She stood up to run away, but the bug machines caught up as soon as she got to her feet. One of them stung her foot, sending her to the floor. She boosted herself on her elbows and frantically tried to pull herself away from them, but they were too fast. They leapt onto her. One short fat bug-thing ran over her thigh and around to the back of her leg. She tried to brush it off, but it clung to her skin. It moved up to her behind, between her buttocks, and began to burrow inside. She screamed from the pain. Another slender mechanism crawled up her side and made it's way to her inner thigh, scurrying down between her legs. In a panic, she scratched at it, but it was too fast. It quickly found her most private area and ran up inside her. She tried to grab it, but it was in too deep. She fell back and screamed in pain. Another long multi-legged thing ran over her chest and up to her chin. She screamed in terror at the sight of it. The thin thing then jumped into her mouth and ran down her throat. She grabbed her chest and fell backward, writhing in agony. She felt the thing run down inside her chest and curl up in her stomach.
The areas inside her where the things scratched and crawled throbbed with burning pain. She rolled on the floor, screaming in agony. In her pain-racked state, several tiny insect things took the opportunity to climb onto her. A few ran up her nose while others ran deep inside her ears.
She rolled over the floor, screamed in utter anguish. She could hear the tiny bugs buzzing insider her head and all over her body. The deeper they traveled, the more painful it was. Then, suddenly, all the pain stopped.
The nude woman lay there for a few minutes in silence. Then she slowly sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes. She pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her face in her knees. "What's happening to me?" she cried.
"Hello," spoke a soft calm voice from above.
She looked up to find a beautiful young woman standing in front of her. Her skin was of a slightly darker pigment than her own. She wore a colorful wrap that clung to her thin frame. A brightly colored scarf covered the top of her head. The mysterious woman spoke again. "All new arrivals are given an guardian. I am to be yours. The masters requested you. You are special." She knelt down and placed her hand on the naked girl in a calming manner. "You have endured stage one of the Masters' cleansing process very well."
"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?" the nude woman said between sobs.
"Shhh…It's okay. You're safe now."
"But those things…"
"Those things are part of the cleansing process. You must be completely cleansed inside and out before you can be in the presence of the Masters. You have endured stage one. Stage two will begin very soon. The mechsects are releasing a chemical inside you. Soon they will make their way out of you. You'll expel the chemical along with them. It will burn a lot. It's all part of the process. I'm afraid it isn't pleasant, but I know you'll do well."
"What's happening to me?" cried the nude woman. "I think I need to…to…go," she whimpered.
"Then it is nearly time." The beautiful young woman then produced a small control and pressed its single button. A small section of the floor rolled away revealing a metal grate. "When it's time, move onto that. The rest will happen on its own," she said while calmly walking a way.
The awkward need to relieve herself overcame the naked female. She crawled over to the grate and squatted down a bit. Out from inside her jumped the short fat bug. It fell to the floor and ran away. She grunted out loud, forcing the hot yellow chemical to spurt out. She screamed in agony from the burning. Then the tiny thin insect scurried out of her groin. Behind it, the hot yellow liquid came poring out. Next, a feeling of nausea came over her. She moved onto her hands and knees. She opened her mouth as the insect that once napped in her stomach scratched at the inside of her gums, trying to get out. It fell from her open mouth to the floor and ran off. She then began to retch. She turned her face down, vomiting the hot yellow fluid onto the grating.
Still on all fours, she stuck her fingers and toes into the holes of the grating, trying to brace herself as hot yellow fluids streamed from her every orifice. It oozed out from between her buttocks and from between her legs. It dripped from her ears and nose. It gurgled up her chest and out her mouth. She even cried yellow tears.
"Make it stop! Please make it stop!" she cried out loud, but the torture did not stop. At times the excruciating pain sent her into a frenzy. The burning pain of the yellow liquid drove her mad. She had to get it all out of her. She needed the pain to stop.
The agony did eventually stop. After several hours of unfathomable pain, she laid motionless on the grating. The areas of her body covered with the yellow chemical were red and irritated. She rolled on her side, arms wrapped around her waist as gurgling and bubbling sounds came from her lower regions.
The young female assistant walked over to the nude woman and knelt down beside her. She turned the exhausted woman over to her back and cradled her head, wiping a spot of yellow from the corner of her mouth. "You did so well. I am so proud of you - so very proud. I will take you to you're room now."
***
She awoke again sometime later under the covers of a large comfortable bed. The room she found herself in was warm and friendly. But the warm comfort of the room wasn't enough to suppress her memories. Images of her torture flashed in her mind. Was it all a just a dream? She hoped it was, but she knew it wasn't. She took notice to the fact that she was still nude. She rolled her hands over her skin. Her whole body felt clean and dry. She moved her hands out of the covers and onto her head. She seemed to have less hair. She remembered having thick black wavy hair that reached all the way down past her shoulders. Now she only had enough to cover her scalp.
She rolled over to her stomach. She tucked the fluffy pillow under her chin and began to weep. She tried to get control of her emotions, but she could not. Her world had been turned upside down. She probed her mind for some piece of understanding - even a piece of her own identity, but there was nothing. Her memory was blank, like the white room she had suffered in. She rolled over to examine the room once again. It seemed familiar to her at first. Her eyes darted around the room until they settled on the window at the far side of the room. It was open. She pulled off the covers and turned her body so that she could see out.
A cool breeze blew through the window, rushing over the length of her body. She closed her eyes as the cool sensation ran over her skin. Once the breeze died down, she opened her eyes and looked out.
The warm sun danced along the grass-covered landscape. The bright warm light was interrupted only by the lush branched of a large tree near the window. On a nearby branch, a songbird sang its melodious song over and over.
A larger gust of wind lashed the trees, rustling the green leaves and bending the dark branches. Upset by the wind, the bird stopped its repetitive song and took flight.
The breeze finally struggled passed the trees and blew through the open window. The naked woman closed her eyes and turned her head as the cool wind rushed over her once more, drying the tears on her cheeks. For a time, she forgot all about her bizarre situation. She lay there, letting her mind float in the air with the cool breeze.
"Hello again," said a familiar voice from behind.
The nude woman turned herself. Standing in front of a heavy wooden door stood a young woman. It was the same woman that appeared to her in the white room. She quickly moved to the side of the bed closest to the young woman, pulling the sheet over her naked body. "Where am I?" she asked in a small timid voice.
"This is your sanctuary. When you have time to yourself, you can spend it here. The Masters designed it especially for you."
The nude woman nervously pulled the sheet up over her chest and looked down at herself, full of woe. "I am so confused. I don't know who I am or where I am. I don't understand. I don't understand anything."
The calm assistant sat on the edge of the bed next to the delightfully sorrowful woman. She placed her arm around her in an attempt to settle her down. "It's all right," she said. "This is normal. The masters always start with a clean slate. Tell me, do you know your name?"
The naked woman laid her head on the other woman's shoulder. "No," she squeaked.
"Well, I'll tell you your name. Your name is Una."
The nude woman raised her head and looked the other in the eye. She swallowed hard and dropped a tear on her cheek. "Una?"
"Yes, that's your name. Now give me a smile, Una."
Una bit her knuckle and giggled. The name meant nothing to her. She didn't know if this was always her name or if it was merely a new label. It didn't matter. She accepted the name as if it were a beautifully wrapped gift. It was part of her now. Overwhelmed by the gift, Una wrapped her arms around the other woman and hugged her tightly.
The woman laughed. "Oh it's all right now. It's all right."
Una let the woman go, wiping the tears from under her eyes with the palms of her hands. "What should I call you, ma'am?"
"You can call me Rachel. How are you feeling? Any pain?"
Rachel's question reminded Una of her strange predicament. A sick feeling ran through her. She cringed, thinking about the torment she went through. "No, I'm okay."
"That's good. Come on; let's get some clothes on you. We've got a lot to do."
Rachel glided over to the thick wooden dresser and slid open the top drawer. She reached in, pulling out a plain white dress. "This will do fine," she said. Rachel tossed the dress over to the bed. It landed a few inches from Una. Una held up the dress. It was a simple one-peace garment with thin shoulder straps. She was about to stand up to put it on when she noticed the young aide watching her.
"Oh come now," said Rachel, "no need to be that way. I've already seen every part of you." She let out a sigh and waved her hand at Una. "Okay, Fine. If it'll make you feel better."
Once Rachel had turned to face the wall, Una pulled the sheet off and stood up. She rumpled up the dress and pulled it over her head. It slid down over her body, falling down over her and stopping just above her knees. "Okay, miss," said Una. "I'm dressed."
Rachel turned around. She drew her hands to her mouth with surprise at first site of Una. "You look just beautiful."
Una glowed with sheer joy at the woman's reaction. "Thank you," she said, beaming.
"Come on now, let's go." Rachel reached over, offering Una her hand. Una hesitated, then took it. Her heart began to pound when her chilled nervous hand came in contact with young Rachel's warm firm hand.
Rachel was about to open the door when she stopped suddenly. "Hey, I almost forgot. Did you look out your window? You should probably take a few minutes now. It may be a while before you get back."
Una looked back at the window at the far side of the room. "No thank you, Ma'am. I already have."
"Are you sure you don't want to take another look out? The Masters made it especially for you."
She saw the urging in Rachel's eyes. Her expression upset Una. She began to wonder what Rachel had in store for her once they left the room. Perhaps this moment would be the last peacefulness she would enjoy for a while. Una choked back a tear and nodded. "Okay, I'll take another look out."
Rachel lifted Una's hand and patted it. "That's good. Come on. I'll come too."
Still holding her hand, Rachel led Una over the open window. Una closed her eyes and leaned forward a little to let the cool air hit her face. She opened her eyes and gazed out at the landscape. The sight of grass covered rolling hills with beautiful flowers and lush fruit bearing trees filled her senses. A tear rolled down Una's cheek and over her smiling lips. How wonderful it was. Una looked over at Rachel who smiled back at her. As she continued to gaze out, awe stuck by the beauty, Rachel continued to watch Una, keeping a sharp eye on her young paragon.
[Chapter 1: Purfication] [Chapter 2: Examination] [Chapter 3: First Meeting] [Chapter 4: Second Test] [Chapter 5: Second Meeting] [Chapter 6: The Begining]