The Councilwomen's First Ride

Sarah nudges Lydia to applaud too, lest they are suspected of disrespect for their punishment. That never ends well. Sarah-the-whip explains quite needlessly that they will work to cover a part of the route the trams are meant to on their weekends. More specific details follow, however. This may also serve as punishment for other women who committed other offences but expressed support for the project. Parents are forbidden to bring their children onto the transport and must use more conventional alternatives. There is a speed minimum (wheel rotation per minute minimum to be precise, but it is an easy enough conversion) and a simple device to measure it; passengers are of course encouraged to use the whip provided should the cart's speed fall below it or their source of power otherwise perform sub-optimally.

There will be water provided at each end of the route but no toilet breaks; proper facilities may be used once during their shift after a publicly consumed lunch, but Lydia does not let herself for a minute it will be sufficient. She will worry about that when the time comes, though; for now she and her fellow Green are told to get into their new attires.

Unsurprisingly the harnesses to do cover anything a lady would usually prefer to be covered. Equally unsurprisingly the shoes feature high platforms… but actually turn out to be comfortable enough, as far as the two women can tell at the time at least, to continuously walk in for a day. Blushing furiously they make their way down from the podium and are harnessed to the cart by helpful city workers. The crowd is already transforming itself into a loose queue; Lydia expected the designers of their punishment to be among the first quartet to enjoy the ride, but instead they are helping the process stay orderly and controlled.

The cart sways gently as two lucky first couples climb into it, the men helping their ladies. The ladies get the place in the front, in fact, with a better claim to using the whip on the bare bottoms and backs of the councilwomen in front of them. It does not take them long to settle... And on Councilman Lampard's wave (the meaning of which is obvious without any prior instructions), the punished ladies begin to strain against the harnesses for the first time among the thunderous applause of the crowd.

They had no chance to discuss their strategy, but great minds do think alike. They both know they need to find the rhythm to maintain the minimum speed (with perhaps a small margin added on) to avoid the whip on one side and exhaustion which will only end in more whipping on the other. The cart is rolling very smoothly to their relief and they realise almost at once that they must be going faster than necessary. With a wordless glance at one another they begin to slow down... Until, without warning, the whip cracks against Lydia's behind. They speed up immediately, but that does not save Sarah from getting her lash as well.

It takes three lashes painful each, but they find the necessary balance and the rest of the ride goes surprisingly well. They are not even whipped when the cart slows for unavoidable reasons. The laughing and mocking is, of course, ceaseless, but at least they move faster than most pedestrians so they do not have to endure anyone's commentary for too long. A few shouts are even borderline sympathetic. On the other end of the route there is of course an expectant line too; perhaps the two women could have seen their ride being advertised themselves in advance if they knew what to look for.

The cart rolls to a halt to another round of applause and the couples climb off. Their replacements do not take long.