The Freshman
Copyright 2005 by EC

Chapter 35 - Tiffany's third punishment

As the summer progressed, Cecilia realized that she was destined 
to become much closer to Tiffany Walker and Cynthia Lee than to 
Kimberly. The reason was the lives of Tiffany and Cynthia were 
similar to Cecilia's life, while Kim's life was very different. 
Tiffany and Cynthia were single and continued to be very American 
in their outlooks, while Kim was much more Danubian in her 
thinking, only a year away from becoming sworn in as a public 
official, and nearly two years into her marriage with Sergekt 
Dolkiv. When Cecilia got together with other women, she was with 
Tiffany and Cynthia much more than she was with Kim. 

During July Cecilia witnessed an event in Tiffany's life that 
made her understand her fellow American much better. In the end, 
the incident also would help her to understand some details about 
Danubian culture and thinking. On July 12, Tiffany was scheduled 
to receive her annual switching. The punishment was to be a full 
50 strokes, delivered with severity. 

What astonished Cecilia was Tiffany's resignation to her 
punishment and the way she casually discussed it. It turned out 
that Tiffany had absolutely no resentment about enduring such a 
cruel ordeal, nor any indication she was really afraid. Instead 
she was quite stoic. Her attitude was that the annual punishment 
was a necessary part of her life, something that she deserved and 
had to deal with. The switchings were an important part of the 
sentence Apprentice Lee-Dolkivna had negotiated with the 
Prosecutor during her trial, something she fully accepted.

Tiffany explained that July 12 was the date that, four years 
before, she had been indirectly responsible for the death of a 
high school friend while using heroin in Prague. The other girl 
died of hepatitis resulting from sharing a dirty needle at a 
nightclub. Her friend's death, coming only ten days after the two 
girls had abandoned Kim to her fate in Danube City, was the final 
unhappy event that sent Tiffany into a downward spiral of 
depression and drug use.

Tiffany Walker felt very guilty over her actions, which was why 
the annual whippings were such an important part of her life. She 
needed to suffer for what she did, to be forced to remember and 
atone for behavior that ruined the life of one friend and ended 
the life of another. She felt that the intense pain she had to 
experience every July 12 helped keep her soul clean. It was an 
annual ritual she endured, and endured quite willingly.

There was a detail about the punishments that struck Cecilia as 
very odd. Tiffany's fiancé, Vladik Dukov, was the cop responsible 
for punishing her. It was Tiffany herself who insisted that only 
Vladik should be the officer administering her switching. At 
first Cecilia assumed that Vladik was assigned to punish her to 
administer less severe strokes, because he was always very 
courteous and respectful every time Cecilia ever saw them 
together. It was obvious that Vladik and Tiffany loved each other 
and were very committed to their relationship. 

However, during the hour that Criminal # 98946 was strapped to 
the switching table, Vladik Dukov was a police officer, not her 
fiancé. During a punishment he showed her no mercy whatsoever. He 
struck very hard, in a slow methodical manner that left a full 
minute between each stroke, the legal maximum. To experience 
intense pain was what Tiffany expected, and what she wanted. 
Every July she expected Vladik to punish her severely.

"July 12 means a lot to both of us. That's the one day I have a 
chance to face what I've done, and really suffer for it. I have a 
lot of bad memories, stuff that sometimes keeps me up at 
night…and when he's finished whipping me, I don't think about all 
that shit. All I'm thinking about is how much it hurts. I'm just 
thinking about the moment, and nothing else. Anyhow, when I'm on 
the table I'm only getting what I deserve. I don't know if you're 
going to be able to understand this, but the day Vladik is 
switching me is the one day I don't feel guilty about what I did 
to other people. I'm suffering, and especially on that day, on 
July 12, I want to suffer."

Knowing Tiffany's past, Cecilia understood that part of her 
thinking, but she couldn't understand why Vladik was the one 
punishing her. Tiffany continued with her explanation.

"Vladik's the one whipping me, because he's the one who loves me. 
He understands me. He knows my story, and he knows about all the 
crap that I did before I got sentenced. He sympathizes, but he 
doesn't let me make any excuses. He loves me enough to punish me 
the way I need to be punished. It's a special understanding that 
we have with each other. He's the one who loves me, so he's the 
one who's making me atone for what I've done. And when he's 
finished and I'm lying on the recovery table, he holds my hand 
and comforts me, and stays with me until I can get up. He 
understands. I need him to hurt me, but then I need him to 
comfort me and tell me that everything's gonna be fine. I need 
those moments with him, because it's the only way I'm able to 
face what I did with my life before I came back to Danube City."

"What you did was really that bad?"

"Yes. It wasn't just Kim and Susan. It wasn't just the drugs. 
There was more…a lot more. If you'd seen some of my clients, and 
some of the shit they wanted me to do…and I did it 'cause I 
wanted their money…I mean…I still have flashbacks. Vladik's the 
only person who understands that part of me…he knows how he needs 
to treat me. He's always very worried about my honor. He's the 
kindest boyfriend I've ever had. But he also understands one day 
out of the year; things between us gotta be very different. His 
kindness wouldn't mean anything to me if he didn't make me suffer 
when I'm on the switching table. That's just the way I am. I 
can't appreciate pleasure unless every so often I feel real fear 
and real pain."

As strange as Tiffany's logic might have sounded to someone who 
didn't know her, Cecilia realized that what she was saying did 
make sense, given her past and her circumstances. The criminal's 
needs simply were a more extreme version of what Jason needed 
during the first couple of months she was disciplining him in her 
dorm room. Tiffany's punishments were much more ritualized and 
much more painful than anything she ever did to Jason, but the 
basic need was almost the same.

----------

July 12 came and Tiffany was up early. The young criminal was 
scheduled to present herself to the Central Police Station and be 
strapped to switching table at 9:00 a.m. If everything went 
according to plan, she would be finished by 9:50. Kim would then 
escort her to her office to recover. Vladik would stay with her 
until she was well enough to leave the building. 

Cecilia also woke up early, because she had volunteered to be go 
with Criminal # 98946 to the Central Police Station as a witness 
for the Court. The previous evening Tiffany had surprised her by 
asking if she wanted to watch her punishment. She explained that 
a punishment had to be officially witnessed, and that if the 
witness was someone related to the criminal, so much the better. 
Cecilia also realized that her housemate wanted her to see the 
punishment so she could better understand her situation. It was 
as though Tiffany wanted to entrust her with a very intimate 
secret. Cecilia agreed, partially because she was genuinely 
curious to see a Danubian switching first-hand.

Cecilia accompanied Tiffany as she ate a very light breakfast and 
drank some water to calm her nerves. She called Jason to tell him 
to pick up her assignment from their language instructor, since 
she would not be going to the university that day and would have 
to miss classes. She told Jason to tell the professor the truth 
about why she would be gone, that her housemate was being 
switched at the Central Police Station and she had agreed to 
serve as a witness.

Both young women stepped outside at about 7:30, along with Victor 
Dukov and his wife. Vladik Dukov and Kimberly Lee showed up a 
moment later. Tiffany and Cecilia dropped to their knees, as 
customary for two collared women greeting public officials. 

Kim ordered Cecilia to get on her feet and stand at attention.

"Cecilia Sanchez, I understand that you have agreed to witness 
the punishment of Criminal # 98946 for the Court?"

"Yes, Apprentice Lee. Tiff…I mean…Criminal # 98946 requested that 
I serve as a witness and I told her I'd do it."

"Very well, Cecilia Sanchez. You will present this certificate to 
the presiding judge before the punishment begins. I will 
translate and relay any directions from the judge to you. Please 
remember your obligation to exercise correct protocol as required 
for a person performing public penance."

With that Cecilia went back on her knees to take the certificate 
from Apprentice Lee-Dolkivna.

Kim then addressed Vladik in Danubian. She saluted Vladik and he 
saluted back, signaling the transfer of custody. For the next 
couple of hours, Tiffany's fiancé also would be her legal 
custodian. He sharply spoke to her in Danubian. Immediately she 
knelt upright and put her hands behind her back. He quickly put 
on a pair of handcuffs and helped her stand up.

Because Vladik and Kim had shown up at her residence, the 
beginning of Tiffany's annual atonement ritual was not typical. 
Ordinarily a criminal took a trolley to the Central Police 
Station on the day of a scheduled switching. He went directly to 
his Spokesperson's office and waited for the police escort to 
show up, handcuff him, and deliver him to the punishment room. 

Tiffany did not like to do it that way. Instead, about 90 minutes 
before her scheduled appearance in court, Officer Vladik Dukov 
and Apprentice Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna showed up at Victor's house 
and formally transferred custody. Vladik then handcuffed Tiffany 
and made her walk with her hands behind her back from her home 
all the way to the Central Police Station, which was nearly two 
kilometers away. When he walked with her he carried his switch, 
so there was no doubt to any bystanders what was about to happen 
to Criminal # 98946. To Tiffany it was very important that she be 
marched in such a manner through the busy streets of the capitol. 
On her annual day of suffering and personal atonement, she wanted 
the entire city could see her for what she was, a criminal facing 
a severe punishment. Most other criminals would have found what 
she was doing horribly humiliating, but Tiffany took a strange 
pride in announcing her situation in such a public manner.

Although it was by Tiffany's own request that she be officially 
escorted to the Police Station, Vladik treated her as though she 
were an ordinary and slightly uncooperative criminal. He grabbed 
her hard by the arm and brandished the switch in front of her 
face to let her know that he was in charge. Then, with her arm 
still very firmly in his grip, he marched her onto the sidewalk 
and in the direction of the Central Police Station. Kim and 
Cecilia trailed behind, while Victor Dukov and his wife went back 
inside their house to get ready to go to work.

For the next forty minutes the police officer, the Apprentice, 
the criminal, and the penitent made their way downtown. They were 
a strange sight and caught plenty of curious looks as they 
approached the Central Plaza. They walked around the Parliament 
Building and continued across the open square to the main 
entrance of the police building. From there they went down one 
flight of stairs and entered a large room that had a judge's desk 
at one end and a switching table at the other. The table was 
turned so that the bottom of the criminal being punished was 
facing towards the judge. There also was a video camera set up to 
record the punishment, which was a standard part of a routine 
switching. The videotape would be added to Tiffany's criminal 
file to document that she had complied with that portion of her 
sentence.

Tiffany and Cecilia dropped to their knees when the judge entered 
the room. Cecilia heard Kim addressing the judge in Danubian and 
then telling her to stand up to give him her witness's 
certificate. The judge then directly addressed Cecilia in 
Danubian. Kim translated:

"The judge is letting you know that your need to comply with the 
protocol expected for public penance is suspended during your 
time in this courtroom. Your primary duty as a witness is to keep 
your eye on Criminal 98946, and that overrides your 
responsibilities to comply with public penance. Also, along with 
me, you are responsible for counting 50 strokes and making sure 
Officer Dukov does not strike Criminal 98946 to the point of 
drawing blood. You are authorized to raise your hand if you think 
Criminal # 98946 risks serious injury. You will consult with me, 
and I will determine whether or not the punishment may continue 
on that part of her body. If you agree to all that, please say 
'doc-doc' to the judge."

Cecilia turned to the judge and very nervously got out:

"Doc-doc."

"OK, keep your eye on me. When I salute the judge, you'll salute 
him too."

The judge asked Apprentice Lee-Dolkivna about Criminal # 98946's 
custody in Danubian. Kim responded that she already had 
transferred custody at the criminal's house, because of a prior 
agreement between herself and Officer Dukov. Because of that, 
there was no need to transfer custody in the courtroom and 
Tiffany was spared the indignity of having to kiss her fiancé's 
shoes before the switching. However, before the punishment could 
begin, there was the obligatory exchange between the Police 
Officer and the Spokeswoman:

"Apprentice, are there any restrictions concerning the punishment 
of this criminal that I need to know about?"

"No, Officer, no special restrictions."

The judge then spoke directly to Tiffany in Danubian, asking her 
if she understood the conditions of the sentence about to be 
carried out. Without raising her head she responded that she 
understood. The judge then ordered Tiffany to stand up and 
position herself over the switching table.

The punishment table was a very sturdy metal table that looked 
like it could have been taken out of an industrial shop or 
hospital and converted to its current purpose. Several sets of 
thick leather straps were attached to the metal surface and 
another pair of leather cuffs was attached to the legs on the 
side facing the judge. 

Tiffany quietly bent over the table and extended her arms to 
allow her wrists to rest near the straps. Vladik quickly buckled 
the straps, checking to make sure they were as tight as possible 
without cutting off the circulation to the criminal's hands. He 
then wrapped her waist with another thick strap, buckled it 
firmly, and moved to immobilize her ankles. Once her ankles were 
secured Tiffany's legs were widely spread and her shaved pubis on 
full display to the judge.

Although he loved the woman he was about to punish, Vladik did 
not say anything to reassure her. He would later stay with her 
and comfort her, but that would be in the privacy of Apprentice 
Lee-Dolkivna's office after he released her back into Kim's 
custody. In the punishment room he had a single purpose in life, 
and that was to properly administer the switching of Criminal # 
98946.

In spite of her inner need to have this happen to her, Tiffany 
was very scared now that she was actually strapped to the table 
and awaiting her first stroke. Her legs were trembling slightly 
and her breathing came in irregular frightened gasps. Her eyes 
were closed and beads of sweat already were forming on her face.

Vladik did not delay administering the first stroke. He stepped 
back, tapped the base of Tiffany's bottom with the switch, and 
glanced back at Kim and Cecilia. Then he twisted back and 
delivered a fearsome blow across the very base of Tiffany's 
tightly stretched bottom. The criminal jerked slightly and 
clenched her fists. She gasped from the mounting pain of the 
blow, struggling to catch her breath as she involuntarily pulled 
against the restraints.

Vladik waited about 45 seconds to make sure Tiffany felt the 
first stroke in its entirety. Then he lightly tapped the unmarked 
skin immediately above the darkening weal, and once again twisted 
back to deliver a cruel stroke against his lover's unprotected 
backside. Again Tiffany gasped and struggled to catch her breath 
as the searing pain from the second stroke mounted into an 
unbearable burning.

Cecilia's duty was to keep her watch over Tiffany's bottom to 
make sure that Officer Dukov did not draw blood, but she was far 
more interested in seeing the criminal's expression. Even at the 
very beginning Tiffany's face was beaded with sweat, and as the 
punishment progressed her entire body became covered in 
perspiration from her ordeal. It was clear from her expression 
that the only thing on the criminal's mind was horrible burning 
on her backside, which only increased as the minutes slowly wore 
on. The tears were flowing from her eyes and her face grimacing 
from the pain, but she was determined not to cry out as long as 
possible. She had her honor as a criminal to maintain.

Cecilia and Kim flinched in sympathy each time Vladik's switch 
made contact with Tiffany's shapely bottom. Kim knew exactly how 
such a punishment felt, having endured it three times herself. 
Cecilia had an idea of how a blow from the switch felt, but the 
punishment that Ruth Burnside had given her the previous year was 
nothing compared to what Tiffany had to endure. 

Vladik slowly worked his way up to the top of Tiffany's backside, 
laying on new strokes as the older ones at the base of her 
buttocks began to swell and darken. He aim was excellent, because 
each new stroke was perfectly parallel to its predecessor, almost 
touching it. Vladik was able to cover Tiffany's bottom with a 
solid band of welts, laid so close together that they formed a 
solid stripe of dark reddish color on the skin.

Vladik managed to lay 20 welts on Tiffany's bottom during the 
first part of her punishment without allowing any of them to 
cross or touch each other. He would continue by striking the 
backs of her thighs, and then return to her bottom with the 
strokes that would overlay the welts already present. The final 
blows undoubtedly would break her silence. It was during the 
second set of welts that the Spokesperson had to be especially 
vigilant, because it was towards the end that there was a much 
greater risk of breaking the already swollen skin.

Officer Dukov touched the switch to the middle of Criminal # 
98946's thighs to let her know that the backs of her legs would 
receive the next part of his punishment. He struck, leaving a 
cruel weal across both legs. Tiffany grit her teeth and grunted 
from the pain. She was shaking badly but still was not openly 
crying. He moved up her thighs, striking with methodical strokes 
as he closed in on that very first line at the base of her bottom 
that marked where the punishment had started. As the strokes 
landed Tiffany groaned through her clenched teeth, her resistance 
finally beginning to break down.

Once he had worked his way to the very tops of Tiffany's thighs, 
Vladik paused to tap the narrow strip of unmarked skin that 
remained at the precise spot where the fold in her skin divided 
her bottom cheeks from her legs. Vladik struck especially hard at 
that tender area with three strokes in rapid succession. The pain 
was so intense that Tiffany was left breathless for a couple of 
minutes. When she finally caught her breath her voice cracked as 
she started crying in earnest. Her body heaved with sobs while 
Vladik waited for the strokes to take their full effect. 

He continued by striking hard at the main part of her bottom, 
crossing the first set of welts with new ones and leaving very 
painful-looking dark marks across the center of her buttocks.

Tiffany's resistance finally vanished. She had done very well by 
not crying until the 40th stroke, but she couldn't resist any 
more. Her body was shaking violently and she screamed as each 
stroke cut across her already very sore bottom. Between strokes 
she struggled to catch her breath, but then cried uncontrollably.

At the 47th stroke Kim raised her hand. The second set of lines 
was rapidly swelling and some of the weals looked like they were 
just about to break. Vladik stopped, with an irritated look on 
his face as Kim examined the welts to see if any were oozing 
blood. So far, so good, thought the Apprentice, but better to be 
safe than sorry. She pointed at the criminal's shoulders, 
directing the police officer to finish the strokes on her upper 
back to spare her bottom any further damage. Vladik tightened his 
lips, because he did not like striking a criminal on the back. 
However, in that one detail of the punishment he was obliged to 
follow Kim's direction. He obeyed, repositioning himself to 
quickly lay four cruel lines across his sobbing victim's shapely 
shoulders.

Finally Cecilia counted the fiftieth stroke, immensely glad to 
have made it to the end of Tiffany's whipping. She exchanged 
glances with Kim and the two women raised their hands 
simultaneously to conclude the punishment. Vladik was breathing 
heavily, but Cecilia could tell that he also was glad to be done 
with Tiffany's yearly switching. In spite of the importance 
Tiffany attached to the punishments as part of her redemption, he 
did not like hurting her. It had to be done and he was the one 
who had to do it, but flogging Tiffany was not something that he 
enjoyed.

Criminal # 98946 continued to tremble and sob as Officer Dukov 
unbuckled the straps. He freed her legs first, then her hands, 
and finally, keeping a hand on her waist to steady her, he 
unbuckled the large strap that immobilized her torso. He spoke 
quietly to her and she seemed to nod. She struggled to push 
herself off the table as Vladik and Kim each took an arm to help 
her get upright. She was still crying as the other two turned her 
backside to the judge to allow him to verify she had taken 50 
strokes. 

He signed the certificate, and with that Tiffany's third 
switching came to an end. As directed by protocol, she knelt and 
kissed Vladik's shoes. Between sobs she managed to get out:

"Spakeebo dakub moigu."

She kissed Vladik's shoes and then put her forehead to the floor. 
Kim and Vladik saluted each other to signal the transfer of 
custody of Criminal # 98946 from Officer Dukov back to her 
Spokeswoman, Apprentice Lee-Dolkivna. Vladik then approached the 
judge's desk to sign several papers verifying he had administered 
the punishment in accordance with the sentencing conditions of 
Criminal # 98946.

Tiffany continued to remain crouched on the floor crying, her 
entire world reduced to the cruel burning tearing at both her 
body and her soul. The pain was her annual penance, the yearly 
cleaning out of her memories and thoughts by the intense biting 
pain that forced her mind off everything that had tormented her 
over the past year. He mind was cleared, ready to start a new 
year with new challenges. As horrendous an experience as the 
switching might have been, it was what she needed.

The judge told Apprentice Lee-Dolkiva that she needed to clear 
the room for another criminal's punishment. After saluting the 
judge Kim directed Cecilia to take one of her client's hands to 
help her get the sobbing criminal out of the room. Officer Vladik 
Dukov looked on in sympathy, but he could not touch Criminal # 
98946 because doing so would violate courtroom protocol. He could 
only watch as Kim and Cecilia struggled to get the taller woman 
through the doors and up two flights of stairs. As soon as they 
approached Kim's office, Vladik grabbed the door and held it 
open. As soon as the women passed through, he closed it behind 
them.

The normal custom following a switching was for a punished 
criminal to lie down for several hours on a recovery table until 
she had recuperated enough to get up and walk out of the office. 
However, instead of settling down on the recovery table, Tiffany 
reached out to Vladik and collapsed into his arms. Now they no 
longer had to be Officer Dukov and Criminal # 98946, but instead 
could return to being Vladik and Tiffany. He did what she needed 
him to do, hold her and not say anything. She needed to have 
plenty of time to cry, and she needed to be held and reassured. 
And cry she did, leaning against him as her tears stained his 
shirt.

Kim silently tapped Cecilia's shoulder and walked out of the 
office. Cecilia gladly followed, suddenly feeling very uneasy 
about what she was witnessing. The two women left the police 
station and made their way to the parkland along the river. 

Tiffany's suffering had put both of them in a very pensive mood, 
which prompted Kim to suggest going to the park bench where she 
had been arrested four years before. For a long time the two 
Americans gazed out over the East Danube River, while they talked 
about Tiffany. 

The relationship Kim had with Tiffany was very different from the 
one Cecilia was having with her. To Cecilia, Tiffany was a 
housemate and somewhat of a friend. The fact that both women were 
wearing collars made them social equals, and that was how Cecilia 
saw Tiffany, as a fellow American and a fellow college student in 
a foreign setting. Because Tiffany was a recent acquaintance, 
Cecilia had not seen her before the chaotic events that so 
completely changed her over the past four years.

To Kim, Tiffany was very clearly a subordinate. The two women 
were close, but they were not friends in a way that most people 
would define the concept of friendship.

Kim realized that Cecilia felt uneasy about how she treated her 
client and that she needed to explain the purpose of their 
relationship.

"I got a question for you. I guess you find it kinda weird how I 
treat Tiffany?"

"Yeah, Kim, I do. I mean, you've been friends with her since you 
were 13. How can you treat a friend like that?"

"I'm her Spokeswoman and the Path of her Life is to obey me. I 
treat her that way because I have to."

"…and so she's not your friend any more…"

"No. I care for her and I want the very best out of life for her, 
but no, we're not friends anymore. We can't be friends, because I 
am responsible for her. I'm her custodian and I'm sworn to watch 
over her. It is my Path in Life to protect Tiffany from her 
addictions and her tendency to self-destruct. To do that, I have 
to be strict with her. She knows that, and it's what she expects. 
She needs to obey me, because it's the only way I can keep her 
from killing herself."

Kim gave Cecilia a chance to think over what she was saying, and 
continued:

"Anyhow, the Tiffany you're looking at is not the same person I 
hung out with when we were in school. In my life there have been 
two separate Tiffanies, two women who share the same body and the 
same name, but who are two totally different people. The girl I 
knew in school is dead and there's nothing left of her. That 
friend simply doesn't exist anymore. She's totally dead, and in 
my own life I've had to come to terms with that. Someone else 
took over her body, someone who's only about three years old and 
needs me to guide her. Criminal # 98946 is not the Tiffany Walker 
I went to high school with. That's how come I can look at her as 
my client instead of my friend. She's not the same person."

"So, what's gonna happen when she marries Vladik?"

"Nothing, if you mean any changes in our responsibilities to each 
other. Vladik and I talked about Tiffany's future when he asked 
my permission to propose to her. He understands how things will 
have to be. He knows, even though she'll be his wife, I'll always 
be the one telling her what to do. For example, they can't set a 
wedding date until I say it's OK for them to get married, and 
that won't be until the Ancients tell me she's ready. After 
they're married, I'll expect him to come over to my office every 
so often and talk about how things are going. I'll need to hear 
his opinion about how she's doing and what she needs in her life. 
In the end, however, if I tell him I want things done a certain 
way, I'll expect him to respect my authority and comply with what 
I want."

"Dang…so you're even gonna be runnin' their marriage?" 

"Yes. I'm her Spokeswoman and that's my job, to control her life. 
To be honest, Vladik's happy about that, because this way he can 
just relax and enjoy his time with her. He won't have anything to 
worry about, because legally she's my responsibility, not his. 
The Path of my Life is to watch over her behavior. The Path of 
his Life is to love her and comfort her. I get the hard part, and 
he gets the easy part, but in the end we both want what's best 
for her."

----------

That night Cecilia and Jason went to the Socrates Club to watch 
"Socrates' Mistresses" give a concert to the members of club. The 
songs being performed were all completely new, because the band 
felt most comfortable presenting their most experimental material 
in the safe environment where they first started out. Kimberly 
Lee-Dolkivna no longer was a hardened public official on stage, 
but instead a naked ex-criminal performing with other naked ex-
criminals. The Club was where she had come to terms with her life 
as a criminal and where she had found friendship with the four 
other women singing on stage with her. She was home on that 
stage: she was where she needed to be.

Jason took Cecilia home very late that night, after the musical 
presentation was over and the couple had spent their nightly hour 
of lovemaking in one of the "intimacy rooms". They returned to 
Victor's house on the last trolley of the evening, unable to take 
seats because of the restriction against collared people that 
forced them to remain standing on all public transportation. They 
walked the short distance from the trolley stop to Victor's 
house, and with that Jason kissed her goodbye. He had to get on 
another trolley by himself to go to his own home, but Cecilia was 
not worried about his safety. Assaults and muggings were almost 
completely unheard of in the Danubian capitol.

She returned to her room to take a shower and brush her teeth 
before going to bed. She was careful to run a dry washcloth under 
her collar, a standard precaution among criminals and Temple 
penitents to prevent the skin on their necks from chafing. She 
decided to check in on Tiffany and see how she was holding up 
following her punishment. Not surprisingly, she was lying on her 
stomach. She was still awake, given that the pain from her welts 
was still too intense for her to be able to sleep properly. As 
for the marks themselves, they had darkened and were clearly 
visible, even in a room barely lit by moonlight coming in through 
the window.

As Cecilia sat down on the bed, Tiffany asked about the concert 
at the Socrates Club and commented that she was sorry to have 
missed it. That comment struck Cecilia as rather strange. Had she 
been so severely punished and lying in her bed in such pain, 
missing a concert would have been the last thing on her mind. 

She asked Tiffany if she was OK. The criminal's answer was "Yes". 
By the tone of her voice Cecilia could tell that she was very 
serious about that. She was fine, now that the dreaded annual 
punishment had come and gone. Criminal # 98946 had endured her 
allotted dose of suffering for the year and now could look ahead 
to enjoying the rest of the summer. She would be returning to her 
job at the city's largest music store the next morning, and would 
be getting together with Vladik in the evening. She would move 
ahead, largely free from the crushing guilt that had so much 
tormented her before she was sentenced.

Tiffany had found happiness, in spite of knowing that she faced 
another 32 years of harsh restrictions resulting from her 
conviction. She never would be a free woman, at least not in the 
way that most people would define freedom. However, the sentence 
had freed her from herself, freed her from own weaknesses and 
self-destructive personality. She had been liberated from the 
certainty of dying at an early age from drug abuse, freed from 
her psychotic tweaker boyfriend, freed from dancing in a smoke-
filled strip club, and freed from servicing her unsavory clients. 
She was a meth addict, would always be a meth addict, and if left 
to herself would spend all of her time, day in and day out, 
pursuing her addiction. 

The price of her existence in Danube City was nothing compared to 
what she had been able to reclaim in her life. She had her 
health, she had her studies, she had her friends, and most 
importantly, she had her relationship with Vladik. In spite of 
the ongoing punishment and restrictions, Tiffany was much freer 
than she ever could have been in the United States. She was 
actually proud of her collar. The collar was an important symbol 
to her; the sign that in exchange for the harsh sentence, she had 
taken her life back, a life that now was worth living.