Teaching By Example
By:
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NOTE: The following story contains several trademarks of Paramount Motion Pictures, Inc., which are used without permission. This use in no was is indended to present a challenge to said trademarks, and is made in the same vein as various Star Trek (tm) "fanzines" which routinely use them, which are sold for profit, and whose useage has not, to date, been challenged by Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Teaching by Example
Copyright 1997
[email protected] All Rights Reserved
"Captain's log, stardate 52353.7. After our recent encounter with the Romulan ship in the Neutral Zone, I have decided to give the Enterprise crew a brief respite from our routine. Relieved of our patrol duties by the USS Challenger, we are en route to planet Sigma Centauris 3 for some well-deserved shore leave. Counselor Troi and Doctor Crusher seem well on the way towards making a full recovery from their trials over the last few days. Personally, I am looking forward to allowing the rest of the crew this chance to unwind."
Geordi LaForge and Ro Laren were in the Ten Forward lounge, taking it easy after a hard day's duty. Like most of the crew had done over the last day or two, they were discussing what had happened to Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher both on Alpha Draconis VII and, most recently, aboard the Romulan bird-of-prey commanded by the half-Romulan Selar.
"I still don't understand it," said Ro, after taking a sip of her drink. "How can something be called torture if there's no pain involved?" She, like all Bajorans, had never experienced the sensation of tickling. Indeed, the entire species was physiologically incapable of feeling it, because of their differently-designed nervous systems.
"Well, it's tough to describe," said LaForge, similarly nursing a drink. "It's not quite pain and it's not quite pleasant. And different people react to being tickled in a different way. It's just something that's hard to describe."
"I guess I'll never understand," said Ro. "How someone could come that close to betraying the ship just because someone was brushing the soles of their feet. It doesn't make any sense."
"Well," replied Geordi, "like I said; different people react differently to being tickled. For some people, it's really a pleasant thing, and it can be sexually stimulating, too. For others, it's pure agony."
"You seem to know an awful lot about it," said Ro, a curious lilt in her voice.
LaForge cleared his throat and took another sip of his synthahol. "Yeah, well, once I dated this girl back at the academy, and she..."
At that moment, Crusher and Troi, who had been at a nearby table, walked over to Ro and LaForge's table. "Mind if we join you?" asked Troi.
"Please," said Geordi and Ro, both at the same time.
"We were just discussing a curious phenomenon of human physiology," started Ro. "I'm having a lot of difficulty understanding it. And it seems like the two of you are the people to ask about it."
"Yes, we heard a bit of your conversation," said Crusher. "I'm not sure there's really any way to get you to understand, short of a month-long course in nerve-pathway analysis and implemental psychology."
Ro made a face, wrinkling the skin on her forehead around the slight bone ridge over the bridge of her nose. "No thanks," she said, laughing. "I don't think that I want to know about tickling that bad! But I'll admit it sounded quite absurd when I first heard about it; being put in agony by a feather, of all things. A knife I could understand, but a feather? It seems ridiculous."
Crusher and Troi looked at each other knowingly. "Maybe there's another
way," said Troi.
"What's that?" asked Ro, interested.
"Well, as my mother says, 'experience is the best teacher.' If there were some way to allow you to experience the sensations of tickling, then you'd understand it much better, I'm sure."
"But how could we do that?" asked Ro. "Bajorans are incapable of experiencing that kind of sensation. You must know that. That's once of the reasons I'm having so much trouble understanding this in the first place."
Crusher chimed in. "Actually, I've been doing a little research on the subject lately, for obvious reasons. The reason you can't feel ticklishness isn't because of any structural difference; the nerve paths of Bajorans and humans are practically identical. You merely produce an inhibitor chemical that blocks out such ambiguous signals. I could synthesize something to suppress the inhibitor. You'd be ticklish."
"You'd better think about this carefully, Ro," warned Geordi. "I hope you know what you're getting into."
"It sounds very interesting," said Ro. "Imagine the chance to experience a new sense of touch! Of course, I'm sure that, no matter what it feels like, I wouldn't be so eager to give in. If it's not real pain, like you said, then there's no reason to want to stop it. I'd love to give it a try!"
Crusher and Troi smiled to each other, as if to say, "wait until she find's out what it's really like."
"I could have an inhibitor worked up in a few hours," said Crusher. "Let's meet on holodeck 2 in three hours, then," suggested Troi. "Geordi, could I get you to help with an appropriate program?"
"Sure," replied the blind engineer. "But if you don't mind, I'd rather not stick around for the test. Watching people get tortured isn't my idea of a fun evening."
"Oh, Geordi," chided Ro. "You're making a big deal out of nothing. I'm sure I'll even enjoy the experience."
"If you say so," he replied. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
Later, Troi, Crusher, and Ro rendevoused on holodeck 2. Troi described what was going to happen. "Commander LaForge and I were able to modify an old program someone else had created for a private project. It'll be just like any other holodeck program, but we've modified the story so that you'll have ample opportunity to experience your new-found senses. Are you sure you don't want to back out?"
"Not on your life. This is like getting a sixth sense!" replied Ro.
"All right," said Crusher. She held a hypo in her hand and pressed it against Ro's neck. There was a quiet hiss as the inhibitor was placed directly into her bloodstream. "You should be all set."
"I can definitely feel something," said Ro. "My whole body is starting to tingle."
"That's to be expected," said Crusher. "Your brain is trying to cope with a whole new class of ambiguous nerve signals it never had to deal with before. The tingling should pass in a few minutes. The inhibitor should wear off in a few hours."
"All right. Now, what's the program?" asked Ro.
Troi spoke. "Computer," and the computer chirped, signalling it was ready. "Run program Tickling One, but freeze action."
Immediately the white-on-black grid of the holodeck was replaced by damp stone walls and rough wooden furniture. Flames danced from torches on the walls, and the chamber was fitted with what were obviously instruments of torture.
"What's all this?" Ro asked.
"This setting is based on the Spanish Inquisition from old Earth history," answered Deanna. "At the time the dominant religious group on the European continent was engaged in a series of witch-hunts. Torture was used to extract confessions from the accused. We've simply altered the program slightly to fit our needs."
"What do I do?" asked the Bajoran.
"Just wait here," replied Troi. "Beverly and I will be in the scene, but merely as spectators. As far as the program is concerned, we won't exist. You'll be on your own. Ready?"
Ro took a deep breath. "Ready."
"Computer," said Troi. "resume action for program Tickling One."
The computer chirped again, and the scene came to life. There were sounds of pitiful wailing from deep within the recesses of the dungeon, and the faint drip of dampness could be heard. The door to the chamber opened, and a woman whom Ro recognized as a nun of some sort, entered, along with two burly-looking men, probably guards.
The woman spoke. "Art thee ready to confess thy sins of witchery and sorcery? If ye confess and repend here and now, I have it within my power to grant an abstention from the torture."
Ro looked at Crsher and Troi. Troi shook her head "no". Ro got the hint. "No, I will not confess. I am innocent." This was fun, she decided. She would have to use these holodecks more often.
"Very well," said the nun, obviously neither surprised nor disappointed that she was going to get to practice her arts on someone that day. She turned to the guards. "Prepare her for the interrogation."
The two guards moved quickly, stripping the thin and athletic Bajoran to her underwear, with little protest from Ro. She was hardly shy, and knew that the only people that would see her would be Troi and Crusher. If she couldn't trust them, whom could she trust?
The guards then walked Ro over to a large table and lay her down on it, lengthwise. Her wrists were clamped in metal bracelets above her head, and her ankles were secured in similar shackles at the other end. It was a good thing this was only a holodeck fantasy, which she could stop at any time merely by ordering the computer to halt. It gave her the sense of control that she always insisted on feeling.
"This is thy last chance," said the illusionary nun. "Dost thou repent and confess thy evil ways?"
"No, I do not. I am innocent. Do your worst; I'll never confess." She glanced over at Troi and Crusher, who were whispering to one another and smiling.
"Very well," replied the nun. She then began to turn a large wheel at the top of the rack. Ro felt her arms being pulled, but the nun stopped short of causing pain. Ro was stretched taut, however; she couldn't move. The nun reached into her robes and drew forth a long white feather. "This shalt be the instrument of thy torture." She smiled evilly, but Ro was still impassive.
The hologram nun walked to the end of the table, where Ro's bare feet were shackled. She had long, slender toes, which she wiggled idly, waiting for the "torture" to begin. And then it did.
The nun began by dragging the feather down the length of Ro's bared sole. The effect was incredible! Before, she would have just felt the sensation of something soft moving against her skin. But now, with Crusher's inhibitor working on her nerves, the effect was like electricity. She had never felt something so delicately balanced on the razor edge between pleasure and pain. It was not altogether unpleasant, though.
Within a minute or so, though, that assessment began to change. As the tickling continued, and the feather kept on being dragged slowly up and down her soles, Ro began to tense up, and was actively having to suppress the urge to laugh and pull away. It was definitely getting to be somewhat unpleasant. She was smiling broadly now.
"A stubborn one, eh?" asked the nun of nobody in particular. "I think that can be changed." And then she started to move the tip of the feather against the undersides of Ro's thin toes.
If the soles of her feet had only produced unpleasantness, having her toes tickled came close to the agony that Troi and Crusher had described. Uncontrollably, Ro started to laugh. The holodeck nun smiled evilly, and looking over to the corner of the dungeon chamber, Ro could see Crusher and Troi smiling just as widely, enjoying every minute of her ordeal.
But Ro wasn't in any position to worry about that now. Once the flood gates of laughter had opened, there wasn't going to be any stopping it. The feather found itself gliding over her arches once more, and this time every stroke was more agonizing than the last. The inhibitor must be really kicking in, she thought hazily. All she could voice out loud was hysterical laughter.
"Hehehehehehehe!!!" was just about the extent of her vocabulary.
"Doth ye wish to confess now?" asked the nun. "Obviously I have discovered thy weakness. Confess now, and I may stop. If ye remain stubborn, so shalt I."
But all poor Ro could do was laugh. Her holographic tormentor wasn't letting up on the tickle-torture for a second, and Ro had no way to catch her breath. She would have surrendered if she was able, but as it was her only reply was more helpless laughter.
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
"Very well," said the holographic figure. The tickling continued, this time with the woman adding the stroking of her fingertips to the fiendish feather. The effect was even more maddening than before. Ro exploded in a new bout of hysteria, and it was quite obvious she would never be able to catch her breath. The intensity of the tickling was just too great.
Suddenly there was a brief respite. Through the haze of her tormented mind, she could see the woman moving around the table. Maybe the ordeal was finally over!
No, it was a vain hope. Just as Ro managed to gulp down some air, the feather found itself in the hollow of her armpit. Immediately, the Ensign was sent into mindless hysterics once more. The feet were bad enough-- was she this vulnerable everywhere on her body now?
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!" she cried as the feather circled her armpit, dancing in and around it, lightly brushing the tender skin. That was all it took to send Ro reeling into laughter once more.
Her tormentor then switched to the other armpit, and the effect was the same. Nowhere, it seemed, was immune to the effect of this new sensation. She would have given almost anything to end the program, if she could only muster enough breath in her lungs.
The woman halted briefly once more as she walked back to the end of the rack, back towards Ro's helpless tender feet. Quickly, Ro gasped "Computer end program!"
She waited for the chip of the computer, acknowledging her command.
It didn't come.
Troi spoke up. "Oh, didn't I mention it? The computer is programed only to accept commands from the person who activated it. Now maybe you'll appreciate everything we went through on the planet and the romulan ship."
Crusher added, "The sense of helplessness, of being out of control, is an important aspect we didn't want to let you miss."
Before Ro could say one of the dozen or so angry replies that had instantly formed in her mind, the tickling started in once more. She was indeed helpless, and it only heightened her anger. But from her mouth came uncontrollable mirth as the feather glided against the smooth skin of Ro's feet. Desperately, she tried to wiggle her feet, cross her toes, anything to get away from the tickling feather and fingers for even a second. But it was no use. The hologram was quite skilled at following her feet wherever she could wiggle them. With the shackles on her ankles, that wasn't very far.
"No more! Hehehehehehehe!!!" she managed to beg. "Plehehehehehehese!!!" Ro was suddenly aware of a tingling in her loins; somehow, someway, this torture was actually stimulating her sexually! The feeling had been growing slowly within her, but she was suddenly quite aware of it. In fact, she wasn't sure what was worse; the tickling torture she was undergoing or the unfulfilled desire it was causing!
"All ye must do is confess, witch, and the torture shall come to a close," answered the hologram nun. Then Ro suddenly realized what this was all about. She was going to have to acknowledge she was wrong and Crusher and Troi were right. It would gall her, but if it would end the tickling, she'd do it.
"I confess! I confess! No more! I confess!"
Immediately the tickling stopped. "Well chosen, witch. But now that thou hast confessed to thy ways of witchery, we must needs decide upon a suitable form of penance. Might thee have any ideas?" The nun smiled wickedly, twirling the feather between her fingers.
Ro's eyes got big as she understood. "No! No more! Come on, let me out of this thing!" The last was directed at Troi and Crusher, who were still in the corner of the holodeck, looking far too pleased with themselves. Ro would get them both back for this. No question.
"In that event, I've a few notions that ye might find... amusing," said the nun. And once more the feather was being dragged across Ro's trapped soles. Immediately she broke into mindless hysterics. The feather glided evenly up and down her arches, from her heels to the balls of her feet, tantalizingly halting mere milimeters from her toes. She prayed it would not go farther.
"Hehehehehehe!!!" she cried.
On and on the feather caressesed Ro's tormented soles, ranging finally onto the underpads of Ro's ever-sensitive toes. The damnable feather found its way into every nook; around, under, and between the toes. That was the worst of the torment. It seemed to go on for an enternity, when the nun finally stopped the tickling of Ro's poor soles.
"Guards, release her," the nun said.The guards unlocked the shackles on her ankles and wrists, and she sat up on the table, a little wobbily. She was still breathing heavy, and her body was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. There was a broad damp spot in the crotch of her panties that wasn't caused by sweat, though.
"End program," said Crusher. The dungeon scene disappeared, replaced by the familiar grid pattern. "How are you feeling?" she asked Ro.
"That was a dirty trick you played," replied Ro. "Limiting computer access like that."
"Sorry," said Troi. "But you seemed a little too sure of yourself back in Ten Forward. We wanted to make sure this was something you wouldn't forget. No hard feelings?"
"Oh, don't worry," said Ro. "No hard feelings. And this is one day I'm never going to forget! Ummm..."
"Yes, Ensign?" asked Troi.
"Well, Counselor," Ro began. "I was just wondering if, well, if..."
"Yes?" asked Troi archly, knowing exactly what the young Bajoran was going to ask. She could not only sense Ro's sexually excited state, but was well aquainted with the effect herself.
"Is it supposed to arouse me like this?" Ro finally blurted out. "Sexually, I mean."
Troi and Crusher smiled at each other. "In many cases," Crusher began, "there is a direct link between the tickling sensation and sexual response. naturally, in certain individuals, this effect is heightened by the feelings of helplessness that are induced."
Troi and Crusher were too pleased with themselves, thought Ro. They both looked like the cats that had just swallowed the canaries. Ro was embarassed at having proven so vulnerable to the sensations, and at having shot off her mouth so much in Ten Forward. Maybe she would be able to return the favor to them both someday, she decided. She'd definitely have to keep this holodeck program on file. Definitely.
