The assembly line : On the way to the third station

[Hialmar]

The first station is found here: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14714-the-assembly-line/

The second station is found here: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14733-the-assembly-line-second-station/

 

The assembly line

On the way to the third station

The immense stress on his body must have caused him to sweat a lot, but the surrounding liquid must have cooled him down and rinsed the sweat away. Ted's mind felt stunned after the repeated impact of the power emissions.The liquid drained away. The cylinder emptied.  His ears were ringing, and it felt like electric currents ran between his teeth. His body felt heavy, and it felt like his ability to feel physical pain had become blunt. Heavy. With a whirring sound, a few white-painted robotic arms extracted his stretcher, rotated him, like he had just been a piece of meat and not a human being, and, not caring for his feelings or well-being, left him hand-cuffed and standing on the movable plate, which was, he was reminded, a lift without walls. It slowly descended into the nether unknowns, like it had done before with Mike and Todd.

As the lift was descending, he could see the pale and scared face of Tim watching him from Station One. Little Tim. Memories welled up inside him: How Ted had assisted Mike and Todd in protecting Todd's younger brother Tim in school. How the bullies stopped harassing Tim, which probably was more thanks to Mike, than thanks to Ted, his guilt-ridden and insecure conscience told him. It didn't diminish the earnest feelings of protectiveness towards Tim, however. How the plucky youngster joined his elder brother's circle of friends, and played Dungeons and Dragons with them when they were teenagers: Tim always wanted to play the wizard. Mike always wanted to play a barbarian with extra strength and extra constitution. Ted always wanted to play a paladin in shining armour. And big brother Todd was Dungeon Master, because none of the other three said they were creative enough or responsible enough to take up that position. How years went. How he didn't expect to return. How he did return, against better knowledge, as a school teacher in his old home town, with all its faults and all its charm. How Tim returned -- a librarian now. How Todd brought them together: Todd, the engineer. How Mike returned from service, a wreck at first -- the old cheer, the old mischief, the old smile returning after a while. How Todd brought them together: Todd, the one who never left. How Mike encouraged them all to join him at the gym, and how Tim had felt disappointed by his lack of results. Little Tim. Pale. Fear. The buzzcut suited him, and had changed his outward look already: Tougher. Sturdier. The injection had begun to work. The remaining liquid from the cylinder caused Ted's now athletic muscles to glisten in the harsh light. Tim watched in fear what Ted had become, and in his eyes shone the dawning realisation, that the automatons relentlessly would try to change him in the same way. The robotic arms inserted Tim into the cylinder, to undergo the same treatment as his brother and his two friends. Ted could hear Todd roaring downstairs: "YES! Turn me into what The Program wants!" And the lift descended.

* * *

The third station is found here: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14745-the-assembly-line-third-station/

Edited April 15, 2018 by Hialmar
added link