Author's Note:This is not a story about sex or orgasms. If that is what you are looking for in a story then you don't want to waste your time here.

It was a rainy night in May when Larry Brewster pulled into the parking lot of J.G.'s Bar and Grill on the outskirts of Tannerville. Rural America didn't hold any favor with Larry, but with this weather he would be willing to stop for a meal - spend the night even if the rain picked up. It was a gravel lot with mud and puddles everywhere, but he managed to get inside without getting his Nikes soaked. New York to L.A. had seemed like such a good idea this morning, but getting stranded in Indiana was not what he had in mind.

"Evening," the man behind the bar, probably J.G. himself, said when Larry seated himself. "What can I get you?"

"Whatever's on tap and a menu." There was something wrong but it too Larry a little time to put his finger on it. "Is it ladies' night?" he finally asked. There seemed to be very few men in the place.

"Every night's ladies' night," the man replied as he pulled a beer. He didn't sound as happy as a man whose business was frequented mainly by women ought to sound.

"Jake, phone call." Jake looked at the waitress/bartender. "I'll take his order; it's my job after all." She ushered the man back towards the office before addressing Larry. "Stew's good tonight. Burgers aren't bad if you like greasy. Or would you like a little more time?"

"What did he mean by every night is ladies' night?" Larry asked.

"Oh, pay no attention to Jake," the woman told him, but could tell he was still curious. "There was an accident at the factory a couple of years ago. A lot of men died, Jake lost a lot of friends. There's about three women for every man in these parts." Larry's eyes must have lit up because her attitude changed. "And they aren't looking for some stranger to come through and console them. You married?"

"No," Larry answered, caught off guard by the sudden shift.

"Engaged?"

"No."

"Yeah, well at least you wouldn't be cheating on anyone. But still, we don't need some big city boy coming through like this is a brothel. I'll be back with your stew in a minute."

He hadn't ordered, but wasn't about to argue with the waitress. He hadn't thought about looking for a hook-up while he was here; not yet at least. He looked around at occupants of the room. It wasn't the club scene where some guy outside only let the attractive people in, but a normal cross section the population - the female population at least. There were one or two who stood out from the rest in beauty. There were one or two who stood out from the rest in lack of beauty. Most he would have never given a second thought to so far as being attractive or unattractive.

"You'd be more comfortable at a table." The voice beside him caught him by surprise. "And I don't like to sit alone." A cougar was standing beside him - perhaps. Larry didn't know how old a woman had to be before she was considered a cougar, but she looked to be in her mid thirties and he was 26. She had kept up her appearance nicely and Larry realized that there were probably a few women in town who wouldn't mind some consolation from a stranger. "That is, if I'm not being too forward."

"Oh, no," Larry hurried to stand, as a gentleman should. "It would be sort of nice to eat with someone."

"Are you staying with us or just passing through?" she asked as she led him to a table.

"I was just going to pass through, but with the weather being what it is I might stop and see if it's dry in the morning. Is there a place to stay in town."

"The motel is still open-"

"Elaine!"

All conversation stopped and all eyes turned to the bar where his waitress stood glaring at the couple.

"What?" the cougar asked unshaken by this. The two locked eyes for a second and the tension built slightly, but not for long. People went back to their own conversations as if this was not an unusual occurrence.

"Come on," Elaine said, patting Larry's hand. "Pay for your beer and let's go. We can order something in when we're done."

When we're done what? Larry almost asked. He wondered if older women really did know more about sex as he paid for his drink and followed the woman outside. Of course she had driven, so he got into his own car and waited for her to lead the way to the motel and they checked in.

"Your usual room?" The girl tending the desk giggled as she handed a key to Elaine.

"You come here a lot?" Larry asked when they stepped out of the office.

"They know me well enough," Elaine admitted. She put her arm around his waist and breathed into his ear. "That is, they know me well enough not to be surprised by anything that I do. For instance, if you can be undressed before we get to our room I'll have a treat for you."

"But people may be watching." It was unlikely. The motel wasn't that far into Tannerville which looked like a ghost town already. How the motel stayed in business was a mystery.

"You're with me. Nobody will say anything."

Why not? Larry undressed as quickly as he could. Elaine prodded him along as they approached their room and he slowed his pace. He managed to get down to underwear and socks before she had unlocked the door.

"Welllllllll," she seemed to be thinking as she looked him up and down. "It was a valiant effort... But are you really worth it?"

"Yes, I am. I've never had any complaints," Larry gushed.

She fished about in her purse and brought out a steel ring. "Have you ever worn one of these?" she asked as she slid his boxers off his hips and to the floor.

"What is it?"

"It helps a man to please a woman for longer. It's non-chemical Viagra. It's a ring a man can wear and never have anyone question that he's a man."

Larry took the cock ring and looked at it skeptically. He had never studied bondage thinking that it was for freaks. This seemed to fit the category of a bondage device, but at the same time didn't appear to have any kind of locking mechanism.

"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to," Elaine said. "But I get better once I'm warmed up and it would be a pity if you were through by then. A pity for both of us."

What did he have to lose? It didn't even look that small. The ring was big enough to slip over his penis with no hindrance. He could even put his balls through, one at a time, and it still wasn't tight.

"Secure," Elaine said.

"Securing," a female voice that seemed to come from all around said. The ring shrank until there was no way Larry was going to get his balls back through it.

"What the-?" He was surprised by both the voice and the sudden tightening of the ring. It also started to affect him physically and he began to stiffen.

"Activate."

"Activating." There was a strange sensation as a liquid metal came out of the ring, coating his shaft down to the head. It countered his penis' attempt to go erect, curving it down between his legs. It was similar to the special effects from the Terminator movies only when it hardened it stayed a metallic blue colour.

"What the fuck!" Larry grabbed Elaine by the arms and shook her.

"Release her or you will be punished," the voice ordered but he didn't listen until he felt the same sensation he had felt before, only this time there was no visible change in the device on his genitals. The liquid was flowing, but was filling the inside of the already formed tube, squeezing his manhood until he let go of the woman standing in the room with him and collapsed on the floor. Elaine will give you directions to the plant, you will be there tomorrow morning at 8:00. She will explain everything you need to know then. She will be your controller for the present time, so if any further questions come up you will contact her. Get your rest for now." The pressure began to release.

By the time he could stand up Elaine was gone but had left a map, 8:00 circled in red and a note saying she would put in a 6:30 wake up call for him.

"It's all right; he's expected." Larry recognized Elaine's voice over the speaker. He didn't want to know what would happen to him if he were late to his appointment and now was standing outside a security booth a few miles outside of town. "He's the new one."

"Follow the road to Building G," the woman attending the booth told him. "Room 104, your paperwork should be waiting for you." She pressed a button and the electronic gate began to open. "Remember, stay on the road to Building G."

So this was the factory he had been told about. He drove on paying attention to the signs that showed the direction to various buildings and noticing the security cameras, like the one in the security booth, monitoring his progress. Building G had perhaps been a facility for the new workers to be trained. Room 104 looked embarrassingly a lot like a high school classroom complete with the combination desk-chairs that were a pain on the spine. A clipboard with some forms for him to complete was front row center desk. They started out like a job application but a page or two into them started to resemble hospital forms, asking for his medical history. A few more pages and he was answering essay questions. Sunrises or moonlight - which is more likely to make you cry and why? What kind of a question was that?

He hadn't been sure what to expect when he woke up that morning. Half a dozen nervous looking guys occasionally patting their groins as if hoping this were a dream? Instead he was still alone when Elaine entered the room and took his paperwork. The clock on the wall read 9:47; he had been filling out paperwork for almost two hours.

"Good morning," there was a pause as she looked at his clipboard, "Larry." After last night she was just now learning his name. "How did you sleep last night?" She leaned casually against the big desk at the front of the room rather than sitting behind it

"What's going on here?" Larry asked angrily but stayed seated.

"For someone your age," again she glanced at the clipboard as if to confirm her thoughts, "I should think that you've been told that it is rude to answer a question with a question."

"I didn't sleep well. I didn't sleep well at all. You put this thing on me and-"

"I put nothing on you, Larry Brewster. You put it on yourself."

"You lied to me. You told me that it would give me an erection."

She gave a half shrug and pressed an intercom button on the desk. "Number 108 may have conjugal privileges," she said in a matter of fact tone. Larry was stimulated as the metal covering his penis retracted into the ring and very shortly afterwards had a tent form in his lap. He blushed, more flustered than anything. "But other than that you had a good night's sleep?" It was hard to tell if she was toying with him or just unconcerned with what had just happened in his pants.

"Yes," he said quietly, aware that nothing he said would matter.

"Good. Let me tell you a little about our tow before we get to you. Tannerville was a company town; the Tanner family built the chemical plant and about 90% of the families in the area were directly dependent on the plant for employment. The rest of the population provided services for the families of the employees of Tanner Chemical. A few years ago there was a major incident and a toxic cloud miles wide was released - don't worry, the grounds have been cleaned up from any hazards. This happened in the middle of the work day and almost everyone on duty died." A sadness crept into her voice as she related this part of the tale. "The Tanners went bankrupt paying fines and cleanup costs and had to close down the plant. Most of us had lived here for generations and wouldn't dream of leaving and had no place to go.

"So things were falling apart around here. Some people tried their hand at farming others thought they could get some internet business started, but we were mostly barely scraping out a living until a wonderful woman bought the factory. She said she could provide jobs for most of us and bring men back to Tannerville. Well, there was only one man for every five women and it was beginning to cause some problems so we were willing to listen."

"One for every three."

"What?"

"I thought the waitress last night said there are three women for every man."

"That's now. It was five to one back then. That just goes to show that she was right about bringing men to town; she got us you." Elaine paused triumphantly and Larry kept quiet as if he knew that contradicting her was pointless. "She designs security systems, very good security systems, and soon we were supplying most of the North East of the country. I think we've got a few customers in Canada as well," she added thoughtfully. "Anyhow," she said getting back to the more relevant part of her story, "her most ingenious invention was what we call the man-trap."

"What's a-?" Larry started, but stopped himself before she had to tell him the obvious.

"You already know most of that answer, but what you probably haven't considered is that the man-trap keeps law and order. Check the local court records, most of our problems were caused by men. We haven't had a problem with crime even after the male population increased."

"But the men agreed to this?" Larry couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Elaine shrugged. "I don't claim to understand men. A little romance could have had the women fighting over any man, but tell him he can have more sex by putting a ring on his dick and he goes that route. It was easy enough to get those that were already here trapped and the way they were acting we didn't feel sorry for what we were doing."

"But then you started kidnapping strangers - How?"

"There are really only three or four places in town where a stranger stops. Someone like Betty at J.G.'s makes sure they aren't married (we wouldn't want to steal another woman's husband) and signals someone to contact the Council if he isn't. They assign a control for the man and you know the rest. We've gotten quite efficient at it," she said proudly. "Anyhow, that's all the past; let's get to your future. Can you cut hair?"

"What? No."

"That's what Josie thought."

"Who's Josie?"

"She runs the salon. Great beautician, but hadn't a clue how to cut men's hair, but she learned because nobody else could. Anyhow, we've gotten enough men now that the Council has decided that someone can earn a living cutting their hair and Josie was getting so sick of listening to football talk."

"I don't know how to cut hair," Larry repeated.

"Neither did Josie," Elaine repeated. "But she learned and she'll train you. Don't worry, the Council still has to review your paperwork and they'll try to decide if your past work experience makes you a fitting candidate. There are other positions for them to consider you for as well. The Council will be making a lot of your decisions for you, so we'll discuss that when they've reached their decision. You'll be at the motel until they decide on where you're going to live. Let's discuss the rules you'll have to know right away."

"Rules?"

Elaine pressed the intercom again. "Number 108's conjugal privileges are over." Once more the metal seeped out of the ring on Larry's penis and forced his erection out. It was not a pleasant feeling. "Number 108 to receive punishment level 1."

"Punishment level-" The same sensation as the previous night started to squeeze on Larry. "What did I do?" It stopped when it was merely uncomfortable.

"Punishment level 1 is meant to be a warning," Elaine explained. "What you felt last night was level 2. They go up to level 5." Larry stared dumbly at the revelation that there were three levels of punishment higher than what he had felt already, so she continued. "Certain parts of town are monitored and the women on monitor duty have the right to administer punishment as they deem fit. Do you know what an invisible fence is?"

"One of those things that keep dogs in their owner's yard."

"That's right - puppy," she added with a slight grin. "Such devices have been placed ten miles from all of our borders. Any attempt to leave without getting prior permission shall instantly result in level 4 punishment. Would you like a sample of that?" Larry shook his head no. "You may apply to leave if you have to and if your application is approved you will be set up with a portable signal generator. Failure to return within the time agreed upon will get you level 5 punishment until somebody manually turns it off. The signal generator will also include a GPS device, but the further you go away the longer it will take for somebody to get to you. Do you understand this?"

Larry swallowed and nodded.

"Do you know what a gelding is?"

"Some sort of a horse I think," Larry answered.

"A very special kind of a horse," Elaine told him. "A horse that can't have children - snip, snip." She made scissors with her fingers as she said this. "We thought of the possibility that the men might try to storm our control center and installed the gelding contingency. If just one man attempts to break into our control center then every man gets something worse than level 5. It won't actually castrate anyone - we still wish to raise children - but for a while you'll probably feel like you have been. That and the guilty party will have all the men in town mad at them." She pressed the intercom again. "Number 108, release punishment level 1. Prepare for gelding contingency."

The pressure eased off of Larry's penis, but the metal spread covering his full penis as well as his scrotum. "Wait!" he jumped up from his chair.

"You get the idea then?" She smiled, happy more that he was catching on so quickly than out of cruelty. "Number 108, normal containment." She looked back at him as his trap returned to a normal chastity restraint. "Sit down, Mr. Brewster." He complied. "I believe that covers everything. Do you have any questions?"

She waited patiently while Larry thought of his situation. "They called you my controller last night. What does that mean?"

"It is my job to check up on you from time to time and to make certain judgments. You will have to inform your friends and family of your decision to move and I will monitor those conversations. I will approve your requests to leave if I deem they are necessary for you to move things. I will authorize you to pleasure yourself from time to time. I will be responsible for keeping you in line until the Council decides who you are to marry at which point control will be transferred to your wife."

"What?!" Larry jumped up again and Elaine moved away, motioning to a security camera in the corner of the room, a gesture that kept him from advancing on her. "You're going to make me marry a stranger and give her the ability to crush my dick?"

"How many F-2's do we currently have?" Elaine asked into the intercom.

"Three," came a reply after a pause.

"Are any on the premises?"

"Yes, Sheila Duncan works in Building C."

"Will you please send her to the orientation room." Elaine perched on the edge of the desk again.

"What's an F-2?" Larry asked.

"Female - second class citizen," Elaine answered as if it explained everything. Five minutes later a woman entered the room; she was apparently not wearing anything under the long T-shirt that hung off of her. "Show him," Elaine ordered. Sheila lifted the shirt to show that she had a pair of 'panties' on under it made of the same metallic substance that was holding him prisoner. She turned a circle to show that it was complete all around.

"Sheila thought that control meant she could punish her husband for every little disagreement. He filed a complaint with the Council and they reviewed the records and agreed with him. Part of her punishment is the public humiliation of not being allowed to wear pants or a skirt. Part of her punishment is complete and total lack of access to herself without permission. If her husband wants sex he can contact central control and he will be given access to her. If she wants to use the toilet she has to contact central control and ask permission and they will monitor her. We understand that control is a great power and when that power is abused we give a punishment that makes it unlikely the abuse will be repeated. She will not be released until she can convince the Council that she has learned her lesson."

"So when I learn all the rules and show that I will live by them I'll be released," Larry asked, giving in to his fate.

Elaine laughed. Even Sheila managed a smile despite the embarrassment of being displayed to this stranger.

"Oh, if there's one thing history has taught us, Mr. Brewster, it's that men will never learn to live by the rules."

It was a hot day in July when Todd Holmes pulled into the parking lot of J.G.'s Bar and Grill on the outskirts of Tannerville. This was a little off the track from his Civil War studies, but you never knew when some Union regiment had camped in one of these small burgs; local stories might provide him with some unexpected information.

"Afternoon." A man approached him as he waited at the bar for the waitress to be free. "Passing through?"

"I might stay the night, and try to pick up some local color" Todd said. "I'm not sure yet."

"There you are." Nina Brewster was hanging on her husband's arm before he knew it. "I go to the bathroom and you disappear."

"Just thought I'd pay up and ask Jake if he wanted to go fishing this weekend."

"You didn't ask me if you could go fishing yet." Nina kissed his cheek. "But I guess so."

"I'll give Jake your message and have him call you," Betty said before addressing Todd. "What would you like?"

"Just a burger and a Sprite if you have it."

"7-Up all right?"

"Yes. Friendly little town you've got here," Todd said as the Brewsters left.

"We try to be." As soon as her back was to the customer Betty opened the wadded up napkin that she had taken from the bar. There was a note written on it, 'Get out while you can.' She crumbled it back up and put it in her pocket before taking Todd his drink. Larry was still resisting. The Council would have to be informed but right now she had to evaluate Tannerville's newest potential citizen.