It seemed like I was at the bottom of a deep well. I heard voices and odd sounds that seemed far away. My eyes were closed, but I started to perceive a little bit of light. I felt cold. Nothing about me seemed quite right. My whole body tingled like when your foot goes to sleep.

As my vision began to clear, I felt something poke my arm. I turned and saw a woman dressed as a nurse injecting something into my arm. A moment later, she shone a pencil flashlight into my eyes and then wrote something down. She turned to someone I couldn’t see and said, “This one’s good.” She then moved out from my sight.

I rolled to my side and sat up on one elbow. I felt an odd shift of weight on my chest and dark brown hair slid across my eyes. I was lying on a mat on the floor. Women all around me were either sitting up like me or trying to stand on wobbly legs. Except for medical people, everyone was dressed the same I was in a dark blue and black form fitting outfit.

Shaking the cobwebs out of my head, I rose slowly to my feet. I still felt a bit dizzy but that was clearing quickly. I looked around slowly trying to spot George. I frowned. What the hell would an eighteen year old female George even look like? There was one girl who hadn’t moved yet, still lying on the floor.

There were quite a few women standing around looking confused. I didn’t bother to count, but it seemed to be over twenty. Most were teen girls though there were several women in their late twenties and early thirties. When I thought about it, someone that age who was already female wouldn’t need a regen. I wondered how many of the teens used to be men like George and me.

The nurse or whatever she was who had tended me when I woke up was talking to what appeared to be a senior medical staff. She was studying a pad computer. The nurse said, “We have one deceased regen. With the three cryo failures, brings a total loss to four, captain.”

The captain didn’t look up from her pad as she nodded. “Thank you, lieutenant. That’s well within acceptable loss.” She looked around the room. “Looks like a good trip this time.”

Another woman stepped into this recovery room. She was dressed in the blue and red coveralls of the company MARS A-TAKS. She smiled as she looked around the room. She said, “Ladies! Ladies. Please follow me to Orientation.”

Still looking confused, everyone exited the room and followed the woman single file down the hall.

We were led into a large, brightly lit room with several rows of long tables with chairs. A large display screen was on the wall at the front of the room. A rather gruff looking woman in company coveralls stood at the front of the room. She was flanked by two younger women dressed the same.

As the woman looked around at us coming in, she said in a raised voice, “Girls. Please find a seat quickly so we can get started.”

Everyone quickly pulled a chair away from the tables. I’m not sure if anyone but me noticed the door we entered from was not just closed but bolted.

The woman obviously in charge of the meeting started to pace back and forth. Sternly, she said, “Girls, the first order of business here is to make clear your situation. The moment you signed the agreement, you surrendered all rights and privileges. For the next five years, you are exclusive property of the corporation. You have no say in the duties we assign you. This was all clearly spelled out on the contract.”

I found this appalling actually. I blurted out, “Ma’am, I had the contract in my hands for maybe fifteen seconds. I didn’t have a chance to read it.” Several teens nodded in agreement.

The woman frowned at me. “And yet you signed it. Sorry, but not reading the contract is on you. We spent a lot of credits on you. We own you.

“The second item to understand is that pregnancy is not allowed. You can’t use getting pregnant as out from your contract. You are given a shot every six months, in fact you just got one before you came in here, that stops your menstrual cycle. You will get a reminder when your next shot is due. However, should you become pregnant, you will forfeit all credits and be sent back to earth on the next ore ship. Depending on orbits, that could take ten to eighteen months. And then, you’re on your own.

“The life of a miner or construction worker on Mars is tough, mentally and physically. The men need not only a release, but a caring hand as well. Whether you read the contract or not, I’m sure everyone here walked into signing up to be a comfort girl did so with their eyes wide open. You’re here to have sex. That’s not all, but really, that’s why you’re here.”

Actually, I was taken aback by that. Yeah, intellectually, I understood what the salesman was saying when he mentioned comfort girls. Maybe I didn’t want to believe him. I was staring at eternity and quite frankly I was in no mood to return my protein. So am I excited about having sex with men? Fuck no.

The woman continued. “Keeping your assigned man satisfied is your primary duty as a comfort girl. But that’s not all. You’ll be required to provide your man with a hot, nutritious meal when he gets back to his cube after fourteen hours of grueling work. And while he’s at work, you’re expected to also keep his cube clean and orderly and wash his clothes.”

She paused and grinned. “Ah, I heard those little wheels spinning in some of your heads. ‘I didn’t sign up to be a house maid! It’s bad enough to fuck some asshole!’ Admit it. You’re thinking that. Well, please re-read section 13-C in your contract. While I know you will enjoy the sex. You wouldn’t have signed up to be a comfort girl otherwise, here’s a short video presentation I need for you all to watch.”

The screen on the wall lit up and the corporate logo suddenly filled the screen. The logo was replaced by the image of a very beautiful, smiling young woman. She said brightly, “Hello! I’m Jennifer-479Z4 and I want to talk to you about being a comfort girl. It’s the best job you’ll ever hate. No! Really.

“I know it sounds like drudge work to have sex with the same man every day, prepare his meals and do his laundry. You might as well be married! Am I right? But it’s much better. MARS A-TAKS doesn’t want you to do something silly like fall in love with your man. That’s why you get rotated every ninety days! Just try that with a husband!

“And check this out! Being a comfort girl isn’t just about having sex and housework. Your man is away from his cube for over fourteen hours every day. No weekends off! After sex and housework, you’ll have twelve to thirteen hours all to yourself. Maybe more! You can use that for sleeping of course. Or you can visit the comfort girl clubhouse! Seriously! There’s a wonderful spa at the clubhouse. There’s an Olympic size pool. A hair salon and a make-up studio. You can sign up for classes for all kinds of things like cooking, sexual techniques, make-up, and fashion. Or you can shop at the beautiful Modern Martian Mall! And don’t forget about a relaxing game of tennis at the clubhouse. You haven’t really played tennis until you’ve played it in thirty-eight percent less gravity! The clubhouse has everything you need to keep your man happy and to keep you beautiful. The corporation demands you stay gorgeous and fit for your man. Just check out section 15-B in your contract!

“So welcome to Mars, girls! Get ready to have the time of your life!” She smiled as the screen went blank.

The woman smiled at us which was not a pleasant look on her. She said, “There you have it in a nutshell. You girls get a week to get used to this place before you’re assigned a man. Get to know each other. Visit the clubhouse. Take one of the many tours. Any questions?”

A girl raised her hand and asked, “Why do you need so many of us? Are you always adding new workmen?”

The woman forced a smile and said, “Good question. You have to remember that, even though we have strict rules against harming or killing a comfort girl, accidents do happen.”

Another girl raised her hand and asked, “Are we involved with the men at the other construction site on Mars?”

The woman shook her head. “We have nothing to do with the UAC. They’re a weapons developer and doing teleportation experiments. I doubt they’ll ever get that to work. If there are no further questions, Holly-50009D4 will assign you all your new names. After that, you’ll be taken to a private room at the luxurious Martian Marriott. Holly?”

A very pretty girl, looking around nineteen stepped up front of the room. If I had to guess, she’d probably had done a second regen. No one that I’m aware of has ever lived past three.

Smiling, Holly said, “Hello. I’m Holly. Everyone who comes to work as a comfort girl gets assigned a new name. I’ll get you a tag to wear so you don’t have to remember all those silly numbers.”

I got my new name after waiting for about twenty minutes. I admit I like my new name of Melissa-1123009B. I finally found George. I was shocked at what a cute little hottie he’d become. His new name was Toni-333GH5.

When I finally caught up with him, he seemed bothered by something. I’m sure it’s just from all the excitement, but he couldn’t remember anything about driving haulers. Come to think of it. I don’t remember much about being a pilot.

It’s probably nothing.

To be continued…