Mai

“An excellent choice, you shall enjoy her body for the rest of your life,” Asam says with an evil grin.

You don’t like the sound of that. Suspecting a trap you turn and reach for the exit panel, furiously typing in your exit code. A moment before your finger touches the last button your hand shimmers and shrinks. You see a long, red, feminine nail at the touching the button. Then the world vanishes as though it were a television being turned off.

You moan. Your body feels leaden. You open your eyes. It’s hot and humid and you instantly realize that this isn’t the virtual suite you entered for your holiday. You see a drab and grimy warehouse with row upon row of young Asian men and women hooked up to virtual machines. “Oh no!” you say as you look down at a set of perky breasts sitting on your chest.

“Mai, get back to work,” a man says, tapping the virtual helmet on your head.

“Who are you?” you ask, realizing that you are not speaking English but a dialect of Cantonese. Your voice sounds cute and sexy coming from your lips.

The man laughs, “I’m Li, your foreman. Not getting those delusions again are you?”

“Delusions?” you ask uncertainly, brushing a stray lock of hair from your eyes.

“Yes, that you’re some wealthy white man,” he rubs your sensitive breasts. It’s disturbing how good it feels.

“But I am! Mai tricked me,” you say indignantly, your voice rising strangely.

The foreman looks around. “Listen, you’re a woman,” he pulls your t-shirt up to expose your generous breasts. His finger traces the sensitive tip of your left nipple as his other hand presses against the smooth mound of your new crotch. The pleasurable signals your body is sending to your mind reaffirm what he is saying.

“But –“

“Shut up and pay attention. This is a work house, where bonded workers earn their keep by ‘farming’ the virtual worlds, carrying out menial tasks and accumulating wealth for our masters. Occasionally someone important in the game pisses of our masters and gets bumped into a workhouse. Whoever you were your old life is over. Mai has your body now and you have hers. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep quiet and get back to work. Draw attention to yourself and you’ll be out on the streets working with your legs in the air in some roach infested brothel or worse. I didn’t put my neck out to get Mai this place for nothing. And even though I know you’re not really Mai, she owes me so you owe me!” he looks over your body to make it clear how you are expected to pay. You nod nervously. He smiles then turns to leave.

You look about at the hundreds of people here. You had always taken comfort in the thought that the people you dealt with in the virtual world were not real. But there were times when you wondered if you were really dealing with artificial intelligences. Now you know you weren’t.

You consider your predicament. You have very few options.