conscious reprogramming
Here's a fantasy I'm never going to be able to film:
The setting is a far-future space station, mining ship or similar; something long-term enough to have families on board. We're in a darkened, sparse room, a bit like a lab or amphitheatre, stark and impersonal. There's a spotlight falling on a high-tech spanking machine, all brushed chrome and flickering LEDs. Screens display readouts of the vital signs and brain activity of the teenager who is strapped in place on the machine. The spanking is administered by two perspex or fibreglass paddles, one on each side, moving up and down small amounts to vary the aim as they alternate strokes.
Most discipline on the ship is done the usual way - pain-free behaviour modifying implants or rewiring, software downloaded into the brain which facilitates personality changes. However, a small minority of miscreants reject the modern options in favour of "conscious reprogramming". Usually they cite outmoded free will or personal integrity arguments, but the ship is a liberal environment which does not discourage freedom of expression, and is happy to provide an alternate option to the usual treatment for misbehaviour.
Conscious reprogramming involves corporal treatment that is carefully scientifically calibrated to wear down the subject's will to misbehave. It is a more long-winded process than the far neater neural alternatives, but some prefer to remain conscious during the rewiring process. By the end of the treatment the result is the same dampening of ego and will to rebel, but achieved through the far more archaic application of physical stimulus.
When the treatment begins, the teenager's attitude is resigned, angry, distanced. She has clearly been here before. Over time, however, the machine's effect is inevitable; and when the designated number of strokes have been applied at the force and pace calculated for maximum effect on this particular individual, she hangs limp in the machine, all arrogance and resistance effectively dispersed.
It's clear that the treatment works. However, adolescence is a traumatic time, and she keeps on breaking the rules of behaviour defined for her environment - and every time, rather than accepting the quick and painless neural treatment, she opts for conscious reprogramming. She claims it is because she values her mental independence. But she's a smart girl - surely it would be easier just to moderate her behaviour in the first place?
Still, the system operates smoothly, and is perfectly able to accommodate the eccentric choices of adolescents as many times as necessary.
We suspect that the teenager is going through this to attract the attention of the scientist in charge of the CRP (conscious reprogramming programme).
ReplyDeleteI think the intelligence in charge of the CRP is one of the ship's AI programs. For me, this fantasy is all about making is as impersonal as possible, so I'm not sure that's MY teenager's motivation. In my head, she's either a wilful independent mind enduring inevitable punishment for non-conformity, but refusing to be worn down - she'll emerge an embittered AI-hating ideologue and launch a campaign encouraging humanity to free themselves from the technology that's oppressing them.
ReplyDeleteOr she's secretly kinky and keep's accepting CR because inbetween times she finds herself craving it. I haven't made up my mind :)
What an intriguing idea, Pandora. My fantasies often involve a rebellious teenager (or spirit), and this scenario pushes a lot of buttons. Normally the theme for me is about a confrontation with some kind of rigid, traditional authority. The rebel is forced into accepting the method used for correction and rehabilitation, and spanking is far down the list of what they would choose if given a choice. Behavior modification and attitude adjustment are achieved, and not because the miscreant was consciously aware beforehand that it would happen.
ReplyDeleteNow what a boring world it would be if rebelliousness and such could be simply erased through reprogramming. Never mind that it would force conformity around some single chosen ideology, and that it would rob us of something intrinsically human - it would make punishment and discipline obsolete. Where's the fun in that? :)
I find lots of things interesting in your fantasy that resonate with what attracts me to the discipline kink. Though getting a punishment spanking is typically a non-consensual scene, and very difficult physically and emotionally for those concerned, what works for me isn't quite so simple as that. Like your teenager in this future, impersonal world, I imagine my rebel as someone who knows they are courting trouble. They are rebelling against something. It could be a worthy cause. While they don't typically choose a spanking, the scenario is one where that form of punishment is somehow right for them. It does work, bringing them back into the warm fold, and with "all arrogance and resistance effectively dispersed," they are at least temporarily at peace with the regime. In my fantasies, I don't want to see the punished feeling utterly bitter about what happened to them. They're still a rebel, but they also need to be disciplined. I like tension between dependence and independence, ego and humility, emotional distance and intimacy, tradition and non-conformity, and also the conflict in craving for something that is unpleasant.
Despite the appeal of a good human disciplinarian, the authority they wield and caring about their charge, I also like the idea of the spanking machine. I think it's that impartial nature of it. And its measured and merciless precision. It represents a few important ideals I find attractive in discipline. The punishment is determined in a thoroughly rational way, its purpose focused on the needs of the spankee, not on the emotions of a spanker. Once the punishment has been determined, the machine cannot be swayed. The rebel is going to get what they have coming, and they are completely helpless under its control. It is good because that control is only exerted for the benefit of the one who got into trouble. It is also good in that it will be a very precise and safe punishment, and for my taste, I imagine a specific area on the buttocks clearly marked by the procedure. I think the spanking machine is an attractive idea when employed as the executioner of a human judgment and sentence, but I also like the idea of someone using it for self-discipline. So the ambiguity about your rebel's motivation is something interesting to consider.
The budget to make such a film would be too high, but I think your fantasy is the premise for a great story to be written.
The programmer behind this AI might have to do some research to create an authentic experience for the recipient.
ReplyDeleteA truly creative fantasy, Pandora!
This might be possible to film on green screen. The issue would lie with the props and costumes, but it is at least feasible.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an exciting and sexy fantasy. It really touches on concepts I appreciate in Sci-Fi and sexuality. Of course, I love the discipline and the spanking machine is a fantasy I've had since I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteBut also I love the drama, especially the idea of her "launch a campaign encouraging humanity to free themselves from the technology that's oppressing them." Woman hero suffering for a cause is very romantic and also sexually exciting if it involves spanking or whipping.
Perhaps you could borrow Peter Schober's marvelous invention, which you have already auditioned on multiple occasions.
ReplyDeleteMaybe put control of the machine in the hands of the victim. A monitor in front of her face showing a video of her behind with a green stripe across it. A counter showing the number of strokes left in her sentence. A count-down timer showing the number of seconds she has to give herself the next stroke. A button in each bound hand - left button raises the green line a welt-width, right button lowers it. Both buttons at once administer a stroke at the location of the green stripe, decrement the strokes to go and reset the countdown timer. If the victim allows the countdown timer to reach zero, the whip comes down, but the strokes to go does not decrement.
Would be interesting to see what the average time between strokes would be ... say if the countdown starts at 30 seconds.