Chapter 11 - (part ten)

"Make yourself comfortable, please," said Mim.

Lina hated formalities like these. She was a grown woman, perfectly capable of making herself comfortable if she so chose, or not, if she didn't. Nevertheless she sat down, and the automated hydraulic recliner seemed immediately to conform to her body. They did have comfortable furniture here in Fatropolis, she had to admit to herself, begrudgingly.

"I have the results of your scan here," said Mim, glancing at her console. "You have quite a lot of lean muscle mass--the type of body any woman would kill to have anywhere else in the galaxy, but a liability here in Fatropolis, I'm afraid. I've reviewed your medical history as well. The fact of the matter is, your genetics overwhelmingly seem to favor thinness. So to start out, our main priorities will be upping your appetite and decreasing your physical activity, so you'll flab out and soften up a bit."

Lina felt a wave of disgust at the very suggestion.

"And now I'm just going to run a few tests," said Mim.

Lina blenched. "What kind of tests?"

"Think of them as...personality tests," answered Mim, as she placed a metallic circlet on Lina's forehead.

A servo motor whirred gently as a viewscreen lowered into place automatically before Lina. "WIDE-AS is going to display an assortment of food imagery on the screen, and from your unconscious responses, we'll get clues as to which foods elicit a positive reaction from you. That will help me design an optimal nutrition plan for you. Now, just relax and get nice and comfortable."

Lina shifted nervously in her seat. The reclining chair seemed to reposition itself accordingly.

"Settle in," said Mim soothingly. "That's right. Good girl."

Lina, possessed of formidable willpower, steeled herself to block out external stimuli as well as she could.

"Now, what I'd like you to do," began Mim, "is simply to think of any food that would taste good to you right now. What do you crave? Picture it in your mind. Smell it cooking. Taste it. Feel it filling you up."


WIDE-AS ran through its program. Images of Chili Centarurus with Capricornbread, Fornaxian Casserole, Spacefarer's Pie, Glazed Minervan Mega-Mushrooms, Elysian Enchiladas, and a great many other foods--sweet and savory, hot and cold, elaborate and simple--flashed before her on the screen. Lina focused on thoughts of slimness and the stoic contentment of an empty stomach and a general feeling of nonchalance.

Mim frowned. "That's odd," she said in puzzlement. "Maybe it needs to be re-calibrated." She spoke several commands and WIDE-AS ran through the program again. Lina remained resolute.

Mim raised her eyebrows. "I'm not getting much data I can use."

"I told you, I'm not hungry," Lina grumbled.

"Surely you must be a little hungry by now. Maybe you're just nervous. A simple appetite stimulant would do the trick."

"I'm fine," insisted Lina.

"You are thin but not emaciated...at least not by purely clinical standards. You subsisted on something before you arrived in Fatropolis."

"Yes. Food that wouldn't make me fat," Lina replied.

"But that was before gaining weight became a laudable goal for you," said Mim. "I understand, sweetie, I truly do. This is all so unfamiliar to you. You've been thin your whole life. You've been taught to despise and avoid fatness. You don't truly know the pleasures of food and the ecstasy of indulgence. It's only natural that you'd have some resistance. Your own ideals have deep roots. But you've got me to help you. I promise I will do everything I can to make your transition as smooth as possible. This should be a pleasant and joyous experience! Now relax, Lina. Without thinking, just tell me the first food that pops into your mind."

"Green salad," said Lina immediately.

Mim sighed. "Be reasonable, my dear. Do you think we in Fatropolis are renowned for our green salads?"

"You asked me to tell you the first food that popped into my mind, and I answered," said Lina caustically. "And you won't convince me to stuff myself with ridiculously fattening foods."

"Your little friend doesn't seem to mind it," said Mim. "In fact, she seems to be enjoying herself so far. I like her spirit! Even though she's still just as thin as you, she is already thinking like a glutton. Her body will quickly follow suit."

"I'll be sure to talk some sense into her as soon as I see her again."

"She's having much too good a time to listen to your so-called sense! You'll only come across as a busybody out to wreck her fun. But it's too late anyway. We've made food irresistible to her. She was ours at the very first doughnut! Now that she's had a taste of Fatropolitan hospitality, do you really think she'll pass up breakfast tomorrow? Or lunch? And dinner? How about all the meals the day after that, and the next day? Not a chance! She's already hopelessly hooked. I suspect she's still stuffing her face right this very moment down there in the Dining Hall. From now on, every morsel of food that passes her lips will just pack extra weight on her. And soon..." Mim puffed out her already puffy cheeks and gestured slowly outward with her arms to indicate an expanding figure.

Poor Daesti! Lina shuddered at the thought of her friend gorging herself on all that lasagna and bread and who knows what else. She knew Daesti had a great capacity for pleasure, but Lina never figured her for a reckless hedonist. Daesti had always known when to quit; it was one of the qualities Lina admired about her. She had to find a way to save Daesti--and herself!--from the awful fate Mim had planned for them.

Meanwhile, Mim continued her provocations. "Even now all those rich ingredients are going to work inside her, converting all that food into a glorious fresh layer of fat. And the best part is, my dear"--here Mim lifted Lina's chin--"you'll get to watch as the Daesti you used to know fades into a mound of luscious blubber. Mm! I'm enjoying the thought of it very much myself. You see, fat is beautiful, my underfed little darling."

"That's revolting," said Lina. "You're warped."

"Oh, Lina...why must you be so disagreeable! Daesti seems to understand what you don't: Fatropolis is a paradise. Is there anywhere else in the galaxy where being arrested entails lounging around all day long, packing it in to your heart's content? Your arrest was more like a reward than a punishment. Besides, it's so much work to maintain your figure. Better to be fat and happy and carefree, no?"

"No!" Lina almost shouted.

Mim smiled. "When Daesti is fat, you will be an anomaly...the only thing of your kind...a sickly, weak skinny. Do you want to be all alone in a world where no one finds you beautiful?"

This stung Lina's ego like a barbed lash. So what if she had pride in her appearance! Mim couldn't steal that from her! Lina knew that anywhere else in the galaxy, she was gorgeous. Why should she care about the opinions of some horribly misguided people in some backwards screwed-up city in the middle of nowhere?

But Mim went on. "You poor thing...you just don't know any better. I'm going to keep a close eye on you, Lina. But I want you to eat of your own volition. That's important to me. I am woman of principle. When your fattening commences, it will be your own desires that set the process in motion. If it were simply a matter of of getting you up to regulation weight, I can assure you, the obesitizing process would have been underway the minute you set foot in the Fattenarium."

Lina squirmed.

Emboldened, Mim smiled gloatingly. "With one word, I could have you strapped down this very minute and pumped full of blubberizing formula until you ballooned to size, whether you'd like it or not. But that's a rather joyless method, don't you think? I would win over your waistline, but I would not succeed in winning over your mind. Now of course it's all the same to the scale. A 2-decitonne Lina is a 2-decitonne Lina. But I don't want to roll a 2-decitonne Lina off of some assembly line. No, I'd much rather have a 2-decitonne Lina that I've helped to nurture myself, very carefully and strategically and lovingly. Of course there are the physical obstacles to overcome. But we have reliable methods of inducing weight gain, if efficiency is the only consideration. No, the more difficult problem is how to manipulate the passions. Fatness that comes from real greed and edacity is so much more authentic. My job is to find the spark of gluttony inside you and magnify it. Right now it's still obscured by vanity."

Lina was frightened, and doubly so because she knew that Mim sensed it. No, more than that, Mim was exploiting it. Though Lina was fit and strong, Mim was the more intimidating opponent. By herself, Lina was no match for the more physically imposing Mim. Lina suddenly felt vulnerable and frail. She knew Mim really could have her fattened up immediately if she wanted, and there would be little Lina could do to stop her. Lina shuddered at the thought of being hooked up to some contraption and forcefed to enormous proportions.

Mim touched her hands gently to Lina's cheeks and fixed her gaze.

"You have such a pretty face, my dear...but it has no fullness to it. There's so much about your form that we need to fix. But I'll get you in proper shape. It may take some time to find your weakness, but make no mistake, I will find it. And then I will bring all my resources to bear."

Lina said nothing further. She was worried now that she had said too much already. Mim was testing her defenses, alternately lording her authority over Lina and trying to establish a rapport, tricking Lina into letting down her guard.

Mim sighed in resignation. "Well, Ms. Lazuli," she said with an air of restrained exasperation. "I have a feeling you're going to present a bit of a challenge. But that's all right. I love a good challenge, don't you?"