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    Center
    Center
    Center
    Ebook226 pages3 hours

    Center

    By Sharon L Reddy

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    About this ebook

    Communicator groups are needed. The leader is known when he or she uses the power of the group to make someone hear them. That one becomes their center. The past is taken from those judged criminal without hope of rehabilitation and they are placed with groups who haven't yet taken a center. They are sentenced to be loved.

    It was a new place and Tass was a bit nervous and looking around, before he talked to anyone. The big man said exactly the wrong thing.

    Sharon Reddy:
    "This hero is a boy who never got to be one. A raving idealist, who had to make himself worthy of Pritt's helpless adoration. He's sure Tass says it just the right way in brief monologues. Communicators are adults. It's inescapable when they take a center. The job was waiting for the one who took Pritt. Could anyone else?"

    About books by Sharon L Reddy, reviewers said:

    recluse:
    "The author is a fine wordsmith who possesses a marvelous imagination."

    Raven's Reviews:
    "...unique, fast-paced style ...allows one to read almost as fast as one can think."
    "...romantic brain-candy... If you like almost any kind of men at all, you'll like hers..."

    Mistress of the Dark Path:
    "...you will also notice your mind is stimulated."
    "...designed for a more educated and worldly crowd."

    R. Cagle:
    "I got hooked immediately."

    Marji Holt:
    "The characters came out of the books and into my dreams."

    Twenty-four titles. Start your collection today.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSharon L Reddy
    Release dateJun 6, 2011
    ISBN9781583385043
    Center
    Author

    Sharon L Reddy

    I write science fiction romance, but it's the literary definition of romance. Swashbuckle, Baby, in "white tie and tails." High romantic fantasies, million word mysteries, family sagas, statesmen, gurus and wise immortals. Loving dads, sons and brothers, and of course, the women who understand and appreciate them. High fashion and landscape design. Materials and art, the books are built to be read very fast, specifically for the way women visualize. Research on the soap operas of the fifties, trends in international populist (fan) fiction, technological development, and above all, long-term entertainment value. It has to be good in reruns. The intent is create a body of work that's just fun to read, in spurts or bursts over decades. Ethics, responsibility, nobless oblige, the power of money, the use of prestige. I write good guys win. Period. They're fantasies for women. Men with lots of muscle say, "I love you," a lot.Most of what is currently published was written in the first decade, 1991-1999, before Mother Nature changed my personal definition of "mature audience." I hope you'll remain with me as I and my work mature and enjoy the second decade of my work now being published, as well.I've lived many places and visited far more. My current residence is on a high mesa in New Mexico, in the United States, where I am engaged in a habitat restoration project.Explanation of the Pilots Group:Some of these works have been sitting on my hard drive close to twenty years and they're no fun for anyone just sitting there. They're exactly what they've been titled, pilots, like for a TV series. It is my intent and hope that other writers will choose to continue the adventures of the characters. There are only three restrictions. Don't kill off my heroes, don't make good guys bad guys and give my story credit if you publish. Yes, you may publish and make money on your stories. I loved reading and writing fan fiction, but the limitations on it could be frustrating, so... Have fun with these works that specifically don't have them.

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      Book preview

      Center - Sharon L Reddy

      Sharon L Reddy

      Center

      Target Yonder

      Smashwords Edition

      ISBN 978-1-58338-504-3

      Chapter One

      He awoke walking down a hall. He was in manacles and shackles and following a woman with a shaved head. He screamed and fell to his knees. Hands gently lifted him to his feet and then someone, a man, behind him screamed. He stumbled along behind the woman, vision blurred by tears. He would never remember who he had been or what he'd done, but he knew he'd done it more than once and been judged fairly. The evidence he was harmful to society had come from his own mind. He had been judged and his sentence was enslavement by a communicator group. He was one who would be totally possessed until he died.

      It was as fair as they could make it. The communicator groups were needed by the species. They formed when children found other children by their glow in their minds. They became the resource the species needed when one suddenly grabbed the power of the others to force someone to hear them. It came at puberty. For communicators, that instant was when they became adults. The children were given the sociopathic to possess. They were cleansed of their personal pasts and placed where they would be the ones chosen. They were young and physically healthy, and they could be made beautiful.

      He knew everything he'd ever learned, but he didn't know what he looked like. He didn't know if he'd learned all he knew in his life, or if most had come from the comp link that had directed the erasure of his identity. He wanted to scream he couldn't have done anything wrong enough, but he stumbled along behind the woman in silence. He had victimized others more than once. He would be a victim. He would also be very happy. He would have no choice.

      The bunch watched the deafs brought into the housing compound and put to work. They supposedly knew a lot, but they'd scrub floors and fix meals. All four were pretty, but one was beautiful. Even with no hair or eyelashes, he was the most beautiful human any of them had ever seen. The work director told them their duties and left them.

      There were currently four groups in the big house. They were stuck there until one from each became the leader and enslaved a center. That would happen when one of them angered or frustrated the right one. When that happened, the one made slave would answer a call by any one of the group from any distance. The power was in the group, but the one they took was the channel and the link between. That one was also happy to be chosen as the center and would never believe there hadn't been a time when he or she needed to be a slave.

      Monna was curious. She told them to stop wearing clothes. The others giggled and watched them strip. The youngest male seemed a bit reluctant, but was soon too busy doing the comp file exercise routine they were told to watch on the screen, and follow for an hour-and-a-half a day, to notice he was watched.

      Monna took the first one, the older man, when he reached for his clothes to put them back on. She hadn't told him he could. They all knew she'd done it. He dropped to his knees and begged her to want him more than the big, beautiful, young male beside him. They didn't call the director for two days. They were all interested in what she commanded him to teach them.

      Kath said she felt a little sorry for the pretty young man. Monna had made him learn things too. Losk told her to save her compassion for someone who deserved it. He'd been shown a great deal of mercy already or he'd have spent the rest of his life in a cell for the criminally insane.

      He couldn't say no to anything. A flash of anger would be all it took. He'd seen it and knew it. Perhaps, if he didn't make them angry, they'd send someone else. He carefully followed every instruction and worked to be the one no one chose. They called him Pretty and he became the slave of all to keep from being enslaved.

      New groups replaced the ones who had chosen and more men and women without pasts were brought. None chose him, but all used him. He learned a great deal. He wasn't allowed to be idle. If he wasn't physically working, he was at a comp screen mentally working. Nearly two years had passed when they brought the group from Delta.

      The children from the repressed society founded by the Reform Church were a surprise. They'd gathered and gotten off their world themselves. Delta had a planetary communicator, of course. She lived on the space dock. They didn't allow mutants on their world. The children had hidden what they were until they were ready to leave. They were younger, more numerous and far more attuned than most when they presented themselves as a group to the communicator on the station. The oldest boy was, at least temporary, leader.

      Tass looked over the place they'd been sent. He figured he'd done pretty good. He'd gotten all seven of them together and paid their way off Delta. He'd earned most of the money himself. It hadn't cost a great deal for them all to take a shuttle to the docking station for a tour, but there weren't many kids on Delta who could have done it and gotten kids from five different cities to it at the same time. He walked into the room he'd decided he wanted and the young auburn-haired giant called Pretty was cleaning his bath. He was on his knees and undressed.

      Please, Sir, I'll be done in a moment.

      Why aren't you wearing anything?

      I was not told I could.

      Everybody else is dressed.

      Everybody else were told they could.

      Stand up.

      Please, Sir, you're too young.

      It was his first mistake. Another would have known what he meant. Another would not have been angry because he'd battled that same phrase for years, as he tried to find ways to earn money. Another would have understood the new feelings were part of growing up. Tass didn't. He only knew the big man made him feel strange and he became angry that he was sure he wanted something from him.

      Tass smashed into the mind of the one on his knees in front of him and grabbed all the power of his group to do it. He did it before his group was briefed and taught what not to do. Pretty's years of playing slave were over in an instant. His careful role and acceptance became a trap for them both. He screamed when his will was taken. Tass found what he'd meant in his mind, but it was too late. He'd commanded Pretty to always want him in the first instant.

      You are my master. I have been waiting for you all my life.

      And I'm too damn young and so are the rest of my group. It was you who were sure I wanted what I was too young for. You made you like you are. I made it all stronger, but it was you and not me.

      Yes, Master.

      Finish cleanin' while I figure out what to do next.

      I have studied many things in preparation, Master. I beg you to use my knowledge to aid.

      Tass wasn't gentle. He was still angry. He 'leafed through' the big man's knowledge of the culture and their places in it, like he would have the screens on a comp. The man who had been called Pretty writhed on the floor and moaned in pleasure.

      I'm angry you made me do that. You should have been a woman. I'm stuck with you and it'll make me mad a lot. Yeah, I was too young. I was too damn young to know what you thought I wanted! House communications! Get me the director. I took one. From what I saw in his mind, I made about every mistake you were planning on warning us to avoid and came up with a few new ones too. He's mine! Now, get him out of here and get us taught the stuff we need to know that he doesn't know. Out.

      Master, please don't send me from you. I beg it.

      I'm Tass and that's what you'll call me. You don't talk about what you want from me. I'll call you Pritt. When you hear it, you'll think 'slave' and it'll make you very happy. I'll give you my touch when I'm ready. You have a lot to learn before then.

      Yes, Master Tass.

      Pritt, I'll forgive you and we'll get to be real friends someday, but I'm too young for what you want now.

      You had no knowledge of...

      I'm from Delta. 'Sex' is a word married people whisper to each other. I got my group out before they discovered what we were and started trying to find a way to fix us. You won't really be alone, Pritt. You'll have us all in your mind.

      The director called the corrections liaison. They had a mess and he had a feeling the boy, Tass, had decided what to do about that too. He didn't quite know what to think about it, but it was only unexpected because the group was so young and it had happened so fast. He could wish it had been someone else, but wishing would change nothing.

      How the hell did he meet up with him that soon?

      He decided to look things over before he looked to see where he was supposed to be. You said you were sure someone would take him, so we've just stood by and watched. How dangerous is he?

      Very, but that's why he was sentenced like he was. Come on, get your brain working. You saw the way he avoided being taken for two years. Why was he nude?

      He'd been modeling for an art class. No one told him to put his clothes on when it was over. The boy is a power. The other groups felt him take him.

      He may have had to be to take him.

      What? That needs an explanation.

      I can't give you one, but I can tell you the tech doing the erasure called four others to assist and it took six days. I'll also tell you there will be a number of people who sleep much better tonight.

      Yes, that I do understand. Tass wants him moved away from the group physically.

      I'll come get him. They've already got a job. It's been waiting since before he was sentenced. It'll still be waiting when they're ready to take it on.

      Tass went with the corrections liaison when he took Pritt to settle him someplace, to learn what he would need. He was too wise to allow himself to feel guilty for taking him like he had, or to really regret it. He let Pritt sit at his feet and laid his hand on his head. When they got to the university, he looked over the curricula the corrections officer was planning on enrolling him in and made some changes. He used Pritt's mind to figure out what they wanted his group to do, then to revamp the study program so they'd be better at it.

      Tass watched Pritt work on the comp in registration and grinned. He was about ten times as fast as anybody else using it and confirmed Tass' judgment he was about ten times as smart. He would do something about his terror at being left in an apt near the university.

      Pritt followed his master into the superstore. The corrections officer had been told to wait in the car. Tass enjoyed using the account his group had been given. They'd started earning money the moment he'd taken Pritt. He was sure they'd earn it and laughed when Missa laconically commented he was also already sure they were being underpaid. Pritt's incredible joy that Missa had used him to give his master pleasure was almost painful. Tass gently patted his arm and led him to the next stop in the store.

      Pritt worked hard to answer the questions Tass asked. It wasn't easy. It required he analyze the very new phenomena of being the center of the group and the new command to hear them.

      It's as you desired it, Tass. I feel them all as a presence and would know if any were in pain, physical or emotional. I can call them, but will not unless you wish it or they are in need of help. Your presence is a flame in me. I am sure I would die if you denied it to me and I know you could. I can't hear your thoughts unless you allow it. Mine, I could not even try to hide. Serving you is all I can want and nothing could bring more joy. I love you with all I am and my only desire is to be completely yours and that you be pleased I am.

      I'm working on it. Make us money. Do it legally. Let your hair grow to about ten cens all over your head when you stretch out your pretty red-brown curls. I'll do permanent beard removal on you when we get to your apt. Work out an hour every morning between five and six. Add at least ten kilos of muscle and as much more as you can. Don't lose any speed. Get more limber and faster if possible. Don't use a weapon except to learn them and in our defense. Learn unarmed combat well enough the likelihood you'll ever need to use them is minimal. Learn massage. When you get good enough, I'll let you give me one. Learn to give me pleasure. I'd like to be able to give you what I made you need, but it'll never be easy. You'll have to make yourself... desirable. That's it. Let's go.

      Tass told the corrections officer, who was driving them around, to have a cup of coffee or something in the restaurant across the street from the small apartment building where Pritt would be living. He opened the door and placed the key code in Pritt's mind. He told him to take the groceries to the kitchen area, start tea, then strip. He handed him an athletic support and told him he was allowed to wear it when he exercised, but he was not to wear clothes in the apt and only one of the swim briefs he'd bought him over a support when he worked out other places.

      This collar goes around your neck and this chain goes around your ankle. I'm going to weld the chain on and the collar comes off only here and only long enough to wash under it. Install these two rings, one at the head of your bed and one at the foot of it. Weld these chains on them. You aren't allowed to hook the chains to your ankle chain and collar unless I order it, but expect to be chained often. I intend to visit once in awhile, but that's no promise. Put this leash on this hook and hang it over your bed. Bring my tea, then install the rings and hooks. When you're done, you can come back and I'll let you kiss my ankle and lay at my feet. If you do it fast enough, I'll use you for a footstool until I'm done with my tea and ready to work on you.

      Tass sipped his tea, looked in Pritt's mind and sighed. It wasn't going to be quite enough. When Pritt came back, gently kissed his ankle, then positioned himself to be used as a footstool, he made it obvious. Tass told him to get up on his knees and went to work with the depilatory. Pritt trembled when he touched him.

      Quit. I'm not going to spread it all over you. I'll get rid of the hair where I want it gone. The girls like the fur on your chest and curl in the small of your back, but none of them like beards.

      Tass wrapped chains around his wrists and ankles and shoved him into the position he wanted. He spread the depilatory the other places the kids had decided he didn't need hair and grinned when they helped him build their link through Pritt, but not including him. He told him how they were using him and he'd feel pleasure every time they did it that way. Pritt was moaning softly and breathing hard when he pulled him up to his knees to finish his face, beginning with the removal of the depilatory.

      Pammin says shape your brows and hairline. Hold still and close your eyes. I'm making you pretty for me and they're helping. You're still pretty young. I figure late teens or early twenties. You did wrong enough you were convicted of major crimes at least twice. I figure you did wrong enough to be tried as an adult before you actually were one. I also figure we'll find out who you actually were someday. I command you to be very grateful you're not that person any longer and very happy that you're mine and I'm the one who judges right and wrong for you. Keep your eyes closed. Some of what I'm going to do is going to hurt a little. I didn't want to do this, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be enough to put a chain on your ankle and a collar around your neck. I'm piercing your ear and septum. The ring in your right ear will be a thick hoop. You're never to open it, but it'll open if someone pulls on it hard. The one in your nose will fit snug against it and is thin enough to break if someone does get hold of it. I have chains to use on them. Yeah, it hurts and you like it. I figured you would. It's not that you like pain, but you like me to make you feel you're being used.

      Tass pulled him into the lavatory by the chains on his wrists, shoved him into the shower to rinse the depilatory off, then went to work with the cosmetic dyes he'd bought. It took him awhile to get exactly what they wanted, but

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