SARCOPHAGUS INCORPORATED Lori Nielson, prop.

"Thanks," Flora managed to stammer.

"Yes, thanks," added Jason, "but we've really got to get going." Flora stared fascinated over her shoulder at the cocoon, as Jason nearly dragged her away.

-=O=-

They walked slowly away from the Sarcophagus Incorporated table, both of them slightly dazed. After a moment, Jason broke the silence.

"I guess what amazes me is that she can get away with fisting someone, right out in front of God, Freud, and everybody. I mean, what with the Spanner Case, you'd think everyone would be overly cautious."

Flora wore a bemused expression on her face. "If you think about it," she replied, "she wasn't doing anything all that attention- getting. After all, that cocoon DOES look like a statue- hell, you could have it in the corner of the dining room at High Tea. Any casual observer could assume she had her arm inside a hollow statue- that would be a natural assumption, wouldn't it? I mean, unless you take more than a moment to think about what she was doing. I don't know. Hey- what's this?"

They had come to a stop, as if by some silent agreement, in front of one of the largest purveyors of latex and rubber clothes. This place stood out from the rest however, if for no other reason than they had taken up three booth spaces with their tables and racks, and had an unusually large share of the convention-goers gathered around. Another reason was the highly professional and slick appearance of their presentation. Their area was against one wall, and they had put dozens of huge photo-posters of their fashions high up on the wall. Below the pictures was a continuous row of clothes racks running the width of the booth, holding an astonishing variety of odd-looking clothing and accessories.

In front of the racks were three platforms, upon which models displayed the company's wares. Curtained booths at either end of the area were apparently being used as changing areas.

But the first thing that Flora noticed was the unusual appearance of the models. The girls at either end wore fantastic-looking molded rubber fashions. The one on the left, a blond man with chiseled features and a weight-lifters body, wore an unusual tanktop of very shiny silver latex, which had molded conical spikes covering it in symmetrical patterns. His leather thigh boots by contrast, were black and had large, conical metal spikes attached along the shins, at the front and sides of the knee, and at the back of the heels. She noted with interest that the boots had platform soles and tall stiletto heels. She decided she liked this look on a man. His opposite partner, on the right-hand platform, was a red-head, judging from the ponytail protruding from the top of her helmet. Her costume was much more interesting than the male's, at least in Flora's opinion. A rather bizarre catsuit of polished lime green latex, it had a molded and heavily-boned corset built right in. The corset portion featured a complex "biomechanical" design molded into it, with exaggerated ribs. The bust cups were covered in rubber spikes, and a complicated skeletal pattern, like the spine of a robot, was molded into the back. The rest of the suit consisted mainly of sheets of thick rubber joining the arms and legs, the open-faced helmet, and sides of the suit, such that unless she made an effort, the model was encouraged by the slightly stretched material to stand with her legs wide apart, and her arms akimbo over head. The "wings", the sheets joining each arm to it's corresponding leg, were painted or airbrushed with elaborate, semi- mechanical tendon designs. The whole effect was a bit like a green cybernetic flying squirrel. Flora saw that since the helmet was incorporated into the rubber sheet joining the arms, it was nearly impossible for the model to move her head.

Flora stared in rapt fascination at the woman for several minutes, while the model turned slowly, occasionally demonstrating that she could in fact move her arms and legs around, but judging from the determined look on her face, it took considerable effort.

Finally, Flora turned her attention to the center, slightly higher, dais. This platform was somewhat larger than the other two, with a railing surrounding it, and was obviously intended to be the centerpiece of their display. It was occupied by someone of unknown sex wearing a black rubber inflatable full-body suit. It appeared, after she examined it awhile, that the chest, pelvis, and legs could be inflated separately from each other, as well as the helmet, hands, and feet. Each hand had been inflated so large that they gave the wearer the appearance of a collection of giant sausages and basketballs. The legs and arms were swelled to the degree that the arms were forced nearly to the horizontal, while the legs were pushed wide apart. No shoes or boots were worn on the feet- hardly surprising, since they too were inflated to gargantuan size. The whole assemblage gave the impression of a collection of black balloons that had decided to go for a walk. The face of the helmet was devoid of any decoration or features, except for a single fitting where Flora thought the mouth might be. She wondered for a moment about the sex of the person inside.

Occasionally, and seemingly with great difficulty since the legs were being pressed wide apart, the wearer would turn around to face the opposite direction, so that customers could see the other side.

When he (or she- it was impossible to tell) turned around, Flora saw that a collection of small hoses depended from the waist at the back of the suit, and ran down to a small box, held by one of the employees sitting in a chair. Another hose connected to the box and led under one of the tables.

One of the other employees leaned down to speak in the seated operator's ear, and a moment later, a faint hissing was heard, as the suit's body, hands, and feet deflated to more normal proportions. In a few seconds, the figure looked human again, merely another rubber fiend, trapped in an elaborate body suit. In fact, it was now possible to guess the gender of the model inside, as the swell of hips and breast became apparent beneath the now relaxed sheets of rubber, as did an unusually shaped bulge at the crotch. Now Flora noticed small wires leading from the crotch and breasts, that joined the bundle of tubing from the control console. Judging from the normal size of the mittens, and the fact that the suit appeared to be made from fairly heavy rubber, Flora imagined that when inflated, the fit inside must be very tight indeed!

After a moment, faint hissing was again heard, and the occupant's hands flew to her crotch, as some unseen force caused her balance to become noticeably uncertain. The next moment her hands pawed desperately at her chest, as her breasts appeared to swell in size from inside the suit. In a short time, her bust had swollen to legendary proportions, and several onlookers began to chuckle. Whatever unseen event had caused her to wobble was still at work apparently, for her hands moved again to her crotch for a moment, and then she slowly sank to her hands and knees, her chest heaving. It was obvious that she was breathing deeply and hard. The operator allowed her to stay in that position for only a moment, then one hand and a leg began to inflate. As the leg was forced straight and her hand swelled, she was slowly pushed over onto her side. Eventually, the occupant seemed to get the idea, and struggled deliberately onto her back. A twist of another dial on the operator's box, and her leg and hand gradually resumed their normal size.

The subject had taken to squirming in decidedly excited ways, moving her hands across her ridiculously-sized chest and through her crotch. Flora wondered with great interest just what was going on inside the suit down there.

Apparently, this wasn't enough for the operator, for soon the suit again swelled all over, forcing the occupant's arms and legs wide again. In fact in her new position, there wasn't enough room within the rails for her limbs, and her hands and feet wound up outside the railing supports, below the bottom rail. After no more than a minute, her legs and arms were held rigidly away from her body, but the hands and feet of the suit continued to swell for another minute. When they stopped, it was clearly impossible to withdraw them through the rails- she was trapped in place by the suit! The audience applauded, while the occupant of the suit began to squirm and vibrate in ernest- it was apparent that there was more happening inside the suit than met the eye externally. Finally, the subject arched her back, her pelvis held above the floor for a long moment, while the onlookers held their breath. Then she collapsed with a thump, and instantly, the entire suit deflated. The collected crowd broke into enthusiastic applause, and loud conversations resumed along the front of the booth.

"I'll bet that would keep you frustrated for a while," came a voice at Flora's shoulder. She turned toward the voice and got a fast peck on the lips for her trouble. Mandy had caught up with them, and was admiring the inflatable suit as well.

"Have you looked in their catalog yet?" she asked, "they have a lot more of this sort of thing- they're really innovative, I think. Grab one for me, will you?"

She turned her attention to Jason, who was more entranced by the redhead in the "bat-suit". "Hey, big boy, buy a lady a drink?" She smiled at his startled look when he turned and saw who it was.

"Hey lover," he said, hugging her, "did you and. Ellen was it? .you and Ellen- figure out a design?" He glanced significantly at the bags Mandy was toting. Obviously, she had been doing more shopping.

"Mm-hmm, that Ms. Schiffer is a bonafied genius- I'll have to put blindfolds on you and Flora to keep you from drooling on me when you see it. The best part is. she says she can have it ready for the Grand Ball Sunday night!"

Jason looked dubious. "How?! Unless she has an army of people still working back at her shop. Say, about that drink."

"Count me in too," Flora chimed in. She sounding a bit breathless, Jason thought. "I could use a- I'm a little ah." she looked again at the inflated suit, and the "bat-suited" woman. "I just need a drink," she finished lamely.

Jason laughed, Mandy laughed, and finally Flora joined in. Mandy handed a shopping bag to each, and taking her lovers and slaves arm-in-arm, marched together with them, in search of the bar.

-=O=-