Joy and Catty are treated like people.

Agent Raines stepped around the desk and immediately unbuckled and removed both Catty’s and my collars. Setting them on the desk he smiled warmly and asked if we’d rather get dressed first or proceed through the paperwork as is. With barely a glance at each other Catty and I said simultaneously “Dressed!”

With a simple curt nod, Agent Raines stepped out of the cubicle and gestured for us to follow. I could hear several people talking in some of the other cubicles but couldn’t see any of them. When we came to a door, he opened it, stepped in, moved down another hallway to a door marked “Dressing room #40” and stepped inside.

Dressing room #40 was dominated by a large walk-in closet. There were benches and chairs, mirrors and styling stations, but the closet contained at least several dozen dresses along with hats, hosiery, lingerie, heels, and accessories to match each. Turning to face us Agent Raines said “Ladies, you can pick out anything you’d like. We understand that some women, especially those coming from a full life in Gilead, have never selected clothing before. If you need any assistance, please ask. I’ll remain here to provide any assistance I can, but our preference is for you to explore and express your own individuality. Our only guide is that you are fully dressed.”

After agent Raines took a seat Catty and I started going through the closet. While there were a few dresses that I’d consider modern and a small selection whose design I didn’t recognize at all, most of the dresses looked like they came directly from between the 1940s and the 1970s. All of them would show off a woman’s body, though some were more conservative than others. Everything was based around dresses though as there were no skirts and blouses, let alone pants or shorts. After a while I picked out a navy-blue dress with white polka dots of varying size. The wrap dress came down to just below my knees and had a belt to cinch in the waist with a knot to the side. It’s plunging neckline showed off my breasts prominently and its short sleeves showed off my arms. I matched the dress with a navy-blue set of matching lacy bikini panties and push up bra, more because the color matched than me finding comfort in the design. I tried not to look confused, but I had to admit that this was the first time I was being asked to dress myself like a woman as I knew them and not just wearing scrubs or a whole birthday suit. Agent Raines said he loved the dress but before I put it on, he suggested I select out some thigh highs and a garter belt to go with it. Having no desire to buck their traditions I pulled out a pair of nude lacy topped thigh highs and after some trial and error figured out how to put on and attach all the garters to the garter belt. Only when my stockings and belt were on did I remember that I hadn’t put on my panties. Instead of undoing all that work, I simply slit up the panties over the straps and got my breasts into the bra. Once the dress was on, I saw my reflection and couldn’t hide the hint of a smile. The whole ensemble did make me look attractive.

Agent Raines approached me with a pair of heels that was little more than a soul, heel, and straps that went around my toes and ankle. I’d have complained but most of the heels in the closet were similarly minimal and more about style than comfort. Ultimately, the heels were shorter than the ones on the heeled cowboy boots I’d worn before, meaning I’d likely be able to walk moderately well in them. With those slipped on, agent Raines guided me over to one of the styling stations and I saw a whole set of cosmetics. It was at least as extensive as the set in the Angel Treasure house. I do my best to mimic what Everly and Tiffiny… or was it Maisyn and Arlie… did to me a few nights earlier. I do a passable job and my skin is smooth with a light blush on my cheeks. My lips look even fuller and have a glossy kissable look to them. My eyeshadow might be a bit much, but it matches my dress and makes my lashes look thicker and fuller.

I leave my hair fairly simple, just taking the time to brush it out and letting it lie over my shoulder. The last thing I do is spritz some of the perfume on when I see that they have at least a dozen different selections. When I’m finished I look up to agent Raines and get exactly what I wanted… his approving nod. “Miss Williams, you look lovely. Please take a moment to see your whole ensemble along with Mrs. Moore.”

Looking where agent Raines is gesturing, I see Catty standing in front of a tri fold mirror, looking over her own selections. Her floral print dress looks light and airy, especially with its square neck and poofy shoulders. It may not have a belt like mine, but it’s still firmly pulled in at Catty’s waist and spreads out widely to just below her knees. Catty’s makeup is more creatively applied than mine and shows off her golden skin and inky hair which she has styled into a simple but elegant fishtail braid. When I step behind her and look at our reflections over her shoulder, I can’t suppress my giggle as I notice we both selected out the same perfume.

After we admire each other for several long moments, we’re guided back to the cubicle and sit down. The next few hours are tiresome, both because of the monotonous questions and because whatever computer system agent Raines is using seems slow and not very efficient.

When the questions are finished agent Raines sits back in his chair and smiles. “Okay ladies, I’ll have some identification papers for you in a few moments. While we wait for those, let me describe what you can expect in the Alliance of Mishigami People. Understand, this is all general information given without an understanding of what you may already know or not know. I am also unaware of your status with the gentleman who came in as your…” agent Raines looks at his screen again and then continues “…as your husband and owner.”

“Our society is quite different than others. We believe we have the best mixture of freedom and responsibility when it comes to women. The Kingdom of Azadistan has women as second-class citizens, following the whims of either their father or their husband. Gilead treats women as barely more than livestock with the only purpose of breeding. And while the high and mighty Free Union of Western Nations gives women their individual freedoms, they **** them to fend for themselves while providing access to practically any man for the purpose of producing offspring.”

Agent Raines spreads his hands wide as if looking at a spectrum from Gilead’s livestock to the Free Union’s freedom. He then moves both hands further past the Free Union’s space, “We like to think we have a better mix than any of these societies. In Mishigami, women are treated as the deserve. We believe there is a societal and scientific basis for giving women as much pleasure as possible. Women’s nature is to seek out pleasure in all its forms. In the long ago, when society told women to focus on jobs and their own financial responsibility, everyone’s mental health decreased. Anger, depression, confusion, men and women both were plagued by these issues. But this is more than mere hedonism, as we’ve shown over and over and have the historical records to prove that women receive a vast amount of pleasure from taking care of their children and the men in their lives. Unlike the more selfish men, women gain pleasure by pleasing men. You’ll notice I haven’t talked about the responsibilities of reproduction. The Free Union expects women to work at that, while Gilead and Azadistan simply transfer that responsibility to the men and **** the women to copulate upon their whims. Here in Mishigami, we believe nature will take its course. Yes, there are reduced birth rates as there are in all parts of the world. But by focusing on letting women be women and men be men, letting sexual intercourse happen naturally and often, our birth rates are no lower than any other society without any of the **** or controlled aspects other rely on.”

“So, what does this mean for you in a day-to-day way? Well, first you can expect your life to be pleasurable. Mr. and Mrs. Moore will live together as husband and wife. Mrs. Moore, you’ll be expected to care for Mr. Moore, his home, and any children you eventually have. You won’t need to work, but you’ll be able to if you so desire. We’ve found that many women enjoy having that extra time for socialization outside of their husband before they have children, but they also mostly choose to stay at home once children enter their lives.” Turning to me agent Raines continues, “And Miss Williams, you’ll have a home of your own. You’ll be expected to take on a job. Don’t worry, these jobs will have very little responsibility and certainly none over a man. You’ll be in a protected natural order and the men at your job will strive to keep you satisfied and happy. This is a fine way for women your age to socialize and meet men. We will of course hope that you’ll meet a future husband and then choose to have children. You can of course choose to have children before getting a husband, but that will be between you and your partner as he’d be responsible for any children you bear using his seed. If for instance, a married man was offering his service to please you but didn’t want any children outside of his marriage, he’d continue to offer pleasure but would make sure there was no insemination.” He again turns to Catty, “And Mrs. Moore, this is similar to your married situation. We expect any children to come from your husband, but you won’t be denied your natural pleasures. Your partners will just naturally ensure there isn’t any insemination. And if sex is new for either of you, especially sex for pleasure instead of birthing, men will be more than happy to help you through your transition. As I said, we accept it as fact that our whole world will work better if we follow nature’s course… women seek pleasure while men protect and give pleasure to women.”

I glance over at Catty and see that she’s in roughly the same boat as me. This doesn’t make a lot of sense, but there doesn’t appear to be any enslavement like Gilead or **** sex like the Free Union. It’s unusual, but we should be able to get our work done.

I’m relieved when agent Raines goes over our health records. The first thing he does is let us know we’re both healthy and disease free. He also notes that neither of us are pregnant, something I’d been worried about with Isiah’s and my coupling, not to mention the roadside ****. While they accept that both Catty and I are older than our bodies appear, we are given ages that represent what our bodies are rather than the amount of time spent living. Catty is given the age of 25 while I’m given the age of 20. He then gives us identification cards. It’s clear that they have technology beyond what we’re used to in our own century, but they almost seem hesitant to use it. The ID cards are good examples as both the Free Union and Gilead utilized a central identification center where Mishigami uses cards that have photographic representations of us. The cards spell out our statistics and measurements including height, eye and hair color, weight, and even a scannable DNA sequence and retina scan. We could easily prove who we were with the card, but without it identifying us would be more difficult.

When agent Raines confirms that we arrived without any possessions he lets us know that Atticus was given a grant of 10,000 wampum, their form of currency. That amount was designed to cover both he and Catty. I was given a grant of 10,000 wampum just for myself. The extra amount for me is explained by simply saying Atticus is expected to get better paying employment than me and that will cover him and Catty.

After checking his computer, agent Raines tells us that Atticus wanted to us to move on to Chicago as it is Mishigami’s education hub as well as their capital. While he confirms that I want to go there, it seems that Atticus’ desire automatically covers Catty’s. Once I confirm that Chicago is fine, we’re given home lots that populate on our ID cards.

With everything seemingly done agent Raines comes around the desk and gives both Catty and I a hug before guiding us back through the train station. When we see Atticus, he stands up, heads in our direction, and gives us each a bouquet of flowers and a kiss on our cheeks. Moments later we’re on another train and heading out of the station toward our new homes in Chicago.